Putting Colour Back Into Tanya’s Life
Published on: 31.8.2023

By Maxine Carllil
Photo caption: Tanya stands alongside her double painting. One side depicting her life in Belarus. It is colourless symbolising the drudgery and struggles. The other side depicts the colour and vibrancy that life in Israel has brought her.

A visitor to the hostel for elderly citizens where Tanya lives is treated to a display of her beautiful paintings along the hallways. The subjects and textures by this talented artist are amazingly varied. Tanya lived in the same town in Belarus as the famous Marc Chagall, and her skills allow her to follow different techniques and styles, in particular Chagall’s love and use of bright colours. Inside her small apartment, besides the walls adorned with more paintings, she has a collection of her ceramic sculptures. Truly a gifted artist!

Her life, however, has not always been so colourful. Yet it was during the difficult periods that she learned to pray and see her prayers answered. ICEJ Homecare came into her life during one of those down times and she says: “I will be always thankful for all the help you have been.”

Tanya came from a poor but close-knit family of five. Her father, like his dad before him, was a cobbler who worked day and night to provide for his family. The children had to travel a long way by bus each day to take their father a hot home-cooked meal. Despite the antisemitism he suffered, people liked his work and were always lined up at his door, even just to have their shoes cleaned. Tanya found it fascinating to watch him and at age seven she began to help clean shoes.

She still retains a sweet memory of Papa’s homecoming each night when he gave each child a kiss and laid his hands on each head as he said something which Tanya now realises was probably a Jewish blessing. Although the family did not observe the Jewish holidays, like so many other Jews under the Soviet regime, her father was quite open about his Jewishness. To honour his memory, Tanya recently designed a beautiful Passover Haggadah (Passover Seder guide) for children which traces her father’s story.

Tanya married at 20 years old and it lasted for a very difficult 17 years. Away from her family and friends and without much money for food for their two sons, Tanya made a vegetable garden and reared rabbits and other small animals. She made warm hats from animal skins for her family for winter. She then became a widow when her husband died from an alcohol-related disease. So, Tanya returned to her hometown with little means of support.

Tanya eventually made Aliyah to Israel in 1999 with her younger son, then 13. The older son had encouraged her to go to Israel and wanted to come himself, but was made to stay behind in Belarus due to mandatory army service.

“I prayed to God a lot”, Tanya says of that time.

Amazingly, the son received an exemption from the army to take part in a special month-long Israeli program. He quickly applied for Israeli citizenship and received it shortly after. He studied Hebrew, found some work, and did his Israeli army service. His work helped Tanya, who was struggling financially until she could earn a small income as an art teacher.

“How does it feel to be in Israel?” we asked Tanya.

“This is my home. I visited Belarus twice with my son to look back to our memories, but I did not enjoy being there”, she replied.
Tanya with her paintings in her new homeTanya with her paintings in her new apartment.

As an artist, Tanya feels right at home in Israel due to the many talented artists here. She also has been especially delighted to learn about Judaism and keep Shabbat and all the Jewish holidays.

Life on a small income has still been challenging, and a serious illness brought anxiety and physical debilitation. It was during this time she urgently needed to find new housing and feared she may become homeless. But like others under the watchful eye of ICEJ Homecare, Tanya has not walked alone. In partnership with an Israeli social worker, Homecare assisted her financially, and helped her search for the subsidised apartment where she now lives. Most importantly, Homecare has provided encouragement and friendship amid her continuing weakness and necessary medication.

Tanya expressed her gratitude, saying: “I don’t know what I would have done without your support, thanks to all the Christians who care.”

讓坦尼婭的生活重新充滿色彩
發佈於：2023年8月31日

瑪克辛·卡利爾
照片說明：坦尼婭站在她的雙畫旁邊。 一側描繪了她在白俄羅斯的生活。 它是無色的，象徵著苦役和奮鬥。 另一面描繪了以色列生活給她帶來的色彩和活力。

塔尼婭居住的老年旅館的一位訪客在走廊上看到了她美麗的畫作。 這位才華橫溢的藝術家的主題和紋理令人驚嘆地多樣化。 坦尼婭（Tanya）與著名的馬克·夏加爾（Marc Chagall）住在白俄羅斯的同一個城鎮，她的技能使她能夠遵循不同的技巧和風格，特別是夏加爾對明亮色彩的熱愛和使用。 在她的小公寓裡，除了裝飾著更多畫作的牆壁外，還有她收藏的陶瓷雕塑。 真是一位天才藝術家！

然而，她的生活並不總是那麼豐富多彩。 然而，正是在困難時期，她學會了祈禱並看到她的祈禱得到回應。 ICEJ 家庭護理在她的一段低潮時期進入了她的生活，她說：“我將永遠感謝你們所提供的所有幫助。”

坦尼婭來自一個貧窮但關係密切的五口之家。 她的父親和他的父親一樣，是一名鞋匠，日夜工作以養家糊口。 孩子們每天都要坐長途汽車給父親送一頓熱騰騰的家常飯菜。 儘管他遭受了反猶太主義的影響，人們還是喜歡他的工作，並且總是在他的門口排隊，甚至只是為了擦鞋。 坦尼婭發現看著他很有趣，七歲時她開始幫忙擦鞋子。

她仍然記得爸爸每天晚上回家時的甜蜜記憶，當時他給每個孩子一個吻，並把手放在每個孩子的頭上，同時他說一些話，坦尼婭現在意識到這可能是猶太人的祝福。 儘管像蘇聯政權下的許多其他猶太人一樣，她的家人不慶祝猶太節日，但她的父親對自己的猶太身份相當開放。 為了紀念他，坦尼婭最近為兒童設計了一本美麗的逾越節哈加達（逾越節家宴指南），追溯了她父親的故事。

坦尼婭20歲時結婚，度過了非常艱難的17年。 塔尼婭遠離家人和朋友，也沒有太多錢給兩個兒子買食物，她建造了一個菜園，飼養了兔子和其他小動物。 她用獸皮為家人製作了溫暖的帽子過冬。 當她的丈夫因酒精相關疾病去世後，她成了寡婦。 於是，塔尼婭帶著微薄的經濟來源回到了家鄉。

最終，塔尼婭於 1999 年帶著當時 13 歲的小兒子回到了以色列。大兒子鼓勵她去以色列，他也想自己來，但由於必須服兵役，她被迫留在白俄羅斯。

“我經常向上帝祈禱”，坦尼婭談到那段時間時說道。

令人驚訝的是，兒子獲得了軍隊豁免，可以參加為期一個月的以色列特殊計劃。 他很快申請了以色列公民身份，並很快就獲得了國籍。 他學習希伯來語，找到了一些工作，並在以色列軍隊服役。 他的工作幫助了坦尼婭，她在經濟上陷入困境，直到她能夠作為一名藝術老師賺取微薄的收入。

“在以色列感覺如何？” 我們問塔尼婭。

“這是我的家。 我和兒子兩次去了白俄羅斯，回顧我們的記憶，但我不喜歡在那裡”，她回答道。
坦尼婭和她的新家中的畫作 坦尼婭和她的新公寓中的畫作。

作為一名藝術家，坦尼婭在以色列感到賓至如歸，因為這裡有許多才華橫溢的藝術家。 她還特別高興地了解猶太教並遵守安息日和所有猶太節日。

收入微薄的生活仍然充滿挑戰，一場大病帶來了焦慮和身體虛弱。 正是在這段時間，她迫切需要尋找新的住房，並擔心自己可能會無家可歸。 但與 ICEJ Homecare 關注下的其他人一樣，Tanya 並不是獨自前行。 Homecare 與一名以色列社會工作者合作，為她提供經濟援助，並幫助她尋找現在居住的補貼公寓。 最重要的是，家庭護理在她持續虛弱和必要的藥物治療期間提供了鼓勵和友誼。

坦尼婭表達了她的感激之情，她說：“我不知道如果沒有你們的支持我會做什麼，感謝所有關心的基督徒。”