90th birthday celebration of Sister Regine

Sister Regine was born in Bulgaria to a Jewish family. She studied in the school of Our Lady of Sion in the city of Sofia. With the Nazi occupation, many Jews were expelled from Bulgaria and Regine and her family – her father, her mother and her brother – left by ship for Palestine, The ship sank in the Black Sea and among those who perished were Regine's mother and brother. She and her father found themselves without documents in Istanbul. From there, Regine was able to travel to Palestine in the framework of the Youth Aliyah and after some time she was able to get her father permission to join her.

After a few months on a kibbutz, the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion in Jerusalem invited her to their convent. A short time later, she was baptized and entered the congregation. She was sent to work in Egypt for many years and then to other countries too but finally she returned to Jerusalem at the beginning of the 1970s. She then resided in Ein Karem until a decision was made to send her to live in Tel Aviv, where she shared an apartment with two sisters from another congregation. For many years she worked in a bank. In those years, Regine was a member of the Jaffa kehilla. When she retired, at the age of 72, she returned to Jerusalem and since then she has lived in the city and frequents the Jerusalem kehila.

At the solemn mass celebrated in her honor, members of the kehilla thanked God for her life, her faith and her witness and for all the gifts that the kehilla has received through her. After the prayer, the members of the kehilla gathered in the community hall together with a number of Sisters of Sion who had come specially for the occasion. After partaking of the delicious fare that had been laid out, Regine spoke briefly about her life and she urged her listeners: "Do not be afraid, that is the main thing. You are called to be like Christ and to live as he lived".

Mazal tov Regine, may you reach 120 and thank you for all you give us!