Ruth Ushpiz nee Chemdi Levy

Ruth was born in 1940, in Jerusalem in the Nachlat Achim neighborhood, close to the holiday of Shavuot, and thus her name-Ruth. Her father, Eliyahu Chemdi Levy, from Jerusalem and her mother Hadassah nee Kravani (1914) born in Ben Shemen, met each other during one of the sport events organized by "Agudat Hapoel" in Rehovot. After they married, they moved to Jerusalem. At first they lived in Beit Yisrael and afterwards moved to Shabazi Street in Nachalat Achim. Eliyahu Chemdi Levy, the son of Penina (Lulve) and Shlomo, was born in July 1941 in Haifa. During his childhood, his family returned to live in Jerusalem. He went to the 'Tahmoni" Elementary School. He then went to work to help in supporting his family. At first he worked as an apprentice to electricians and plasterers, yet when there wasn't any work in this field he would go down to the coast area and work in the orchards in the Rehovot, and Rishon Le'Zion settlements. Eliyahu had three brothers: Avraham, Itzchak and Yaacov and one sister, Carmela (Danon). With the outbreak of WWII, Eliyahu responded to the call of the national organizations and volunteered to serve in the British Army. He joined the 'Solel Boneh' Unit in the Combat Engineering Unit of the army. He was sent to Egypt where he served until he came down with tuberculosis. He was admitted to the hospital in Egypt but later transferred to the 'French Hospital' in Augusta Victoria on Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. However he died of the illness on March 23, 1944. He was 30 years old. He was buried in the Yemenite section of the cemetery on the Mount of Olives. Eliyahu's parents, Penina (Lulve) nee Danon and Shlomo Chemdi Levy met in Yemen and made aliyah to Israel in 1882 in the "A'aleh B'Tamar" Aliyah. Her sisters, Nedara and Romeya and her brother Yisrael came with them. The family lived in Kfar Hachiloach, Silwan, in Jerusalem. Due to attacks of Arabs on the Jewish population, Penina and Shlomo were forced to leave Jerusalem and move to Haifa. There their son, Eliyahu, was born. They returned shortly afterwards to Jerusalem because of difficulties in making a living. The rest of their children; their daughter Carmela and the sons Avraham, Itzchak and Yaakov, were born in Jerusalem. Shlomo worked as the janitor of the Hebrew Gymnasia in Rehavia. Penina worked as a washer woman. Penina's parents are buried in the Jewish cemetery in Kfar Shiloach. Shoshana (Shimah) Efajin and Shlomo Krevani, the parents of Hadssah Chemdi Levy nee Krevani, came to Israel from Yemen, together with her sister, Gluska. Shlomo was a silversmith. He worked in the factory in the silversmith village in Ben Shemen which was known as "the Bezalel Community" - a factory for the production of silver and gold. He moved there with his family in 1911. Hadassah, beginning at the age of 8, had to work to help support the family. She dropped out of school and worked for the Harlap family, farmers from Rehovot. Hadassah milked the cows, fed the chickens and ran the household. Her sister joined her there. Their father passed away and their mother, Shimah Ifajin remarried Itzchak Boni. They had two children, Rahamim and Yaakov. During Eliyahu Chemdi Levy's illness and his hospitalization in Egypt and afterwards in Jerusalem, his wife Hadassah and daughter Ruti were forced to move to the agricultural school 'Kaduri' in the Lower Galillee where Hadassah worked in the kitchen. They lived there until her husband's death. After Eliyahu's death she returned to Jerusalem and started working in the physiology labs in the medical school. At first she worked on Mt. Scopus. After the War of Independence she worked in 'Gan Daniel' in the center of Jerusalem and afterwards in Ein Kerem. Hadassah worked for close to 30 years in the laboratories and was responsible for cleaning the tools there until her retirement. Ruti Chemdi Levy (Ushpiz) was born in Jerusalem in 1940. She went to a religious kindergarten on Even Gabirol Street in Rehavia. (Today the building houses a synagogue.) At the age of 6 she started learning at the 'Beit Chinuch School for Worker's Children". She completed 8 years of elementary school. She continued her studies at Beit Chinuch in the Old Katamon neighborhood in Jerusalem. At the age of 16 she left school and started working as an assistant kindergarten teacher to help her family support itself. She attended night school at a school for children who worked during the day. At the age of 18 she studied early childhood education at the Beit Hakerem Teacher's Seminary. Upon completion of her studies she was drafted into the army. Ruth served, for two years, in the Officer's Training Base for girls. She held the rank of sergeant. During her army service she studied to become a topographic guide and became familiar, inside and out, with Israel. She did her rounds with arms and communication equipment on her back. After completing her army service she worked as a kindergarten teacher in the development town Ofakim where she met her husband Moshe Ushpiz. In April 1963 Ruth married and worked as a kindergarten teacher from 1962-1963. From 1963-1968 she worked in the Bat Yam immigrant camp. Afterwards she worked as a kindergarten teacher in Moshav Beniya (near Ashdod). From there she moved to the Kiryat Sharet neighborhood in Holon. In 1977 Moshe and Ruthie moved to Jerusalem. During the years of their marriage they had three children: Eli (1965), Efrat (1967) and Itamar (1974). The couple have two grandchildren, Gil and Noa. Read more