The Story of Baba

This is the story of my grandmother, Esther Feigel Leibowitz, who I called "Baba". She was born in 1896 in the Old City of Jerusalem and died in the Spring of 1988 in Brooklyn, New York. She is buried on Mount of Olives overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem.

Sandwiched in-between was a lifetime of tragedy and courage. 5 of her 6 children died before she did. Her first-born son Berel, also known as Dov Ber, was born in 1919. Berel died in 1927 from an injury while playing outside. That same year, in 1927, Esther Feigel started an organization - The Zion Dov Ber Torah Fund to help support Yeshiva Meah Shearim in Jerusalem. Esther Feigel Leibowitz led the organization for 60 years. For 40 years she had a weekly radio program on WEVD.

As one of Esther Feigel's six grandchildren, I have had a lifelong interest in her life and legacy. I recently unearthed a paper, an interview of her that I did in high school. In 1996 I started the website about her life and work. Sometime around 1996, my aunt gave me two large bags belonging to Esther Feigel, which my aunt told me was mostly material from the organization and Yeshiva. It was not until 2020 during the summer of Covid that my sister and I went through the bags and found not only material from the Yeshiva but also family mementos. I undertook the challenging task of rebuilding her website, now enriched with newly discovered materials.

I'm still filling in the details of her story, which is very much my family's story as well as a story of history. Adding visual testimony to the life of the only grandparent that I have known, as well as a grandmother of whom I am very proud.

Esther Feigel Leibowitz
Baba