Ariadni Moutafidou

It is most difficult to put in paper, who Haim was for all of us. For me he was first of all the beloved husband of Jenny, who -together with her - opened his heart and his home for me and later on for my mother, in a time when I came to Israel for the first time as “a traveller and a stranger”. Their hospitality, their deep kindness and their friendship became so precious to us that we consider them since not only as friends but also as members of our family.
The most important thing we do all remember with great joy was that Haim loved Jenny more than anyone and anything in the world. My mother used to say all the time that Haim loved Jenny deeply and above all people and that Jenny could never find a husband, who could love, cherish and honour her more than he did, in the whole world. Indeed he showed every moment of his life that she was the most precious person in the world and that she was the one that always came in first.For me there are two incidents, which spring in my mind every time I think and I talk about him.
When I was staying in Israel I was impressed that Haim never let me pay, every time I was with both of them. He did the same thing when my mother came to Israel, and we spent time all together and made wonderful excursions. When my mother told him one day: “When you both come to Greece, very soon I hope, then we
will be happy to show you around, and then, of course, you will be our guests”, Haim responded in a way I will never forget in my whole life. He said: “In a home where there is no father and no husband, how could I ever allow such a thing!”. I lost my father when I was a little child and all these years of my life I never experienced such a behaviour, which could move my heart so deeply. This deep sympathy for every human being, mostly for every unprotected human being, characterized Haim’s behaviour every moment of his every day life.
 
 
יָגֹרְתִּי פֶּן יֵלֵךְ גַם הוּא מֵאִתָּנוּ  בְּלֹא בִּרְכַּת הַפְּרִידָה...  כֹּה נוּגוֹת הָעֵינַיִם:  בְּזָוִיוֹת הַפֶּה מְרִירוּת נִצְפָּנָה;  בְּשַׁעֲשׁוּעֵי תִּינוֹקוֹת יִסְתַּכֵּל רְצִינִי,  יִגְעַשׁ וּלְפֶתַע יִדֹּם, כְּאוֹמֵר: הַכֹּל אֶחָד... וְעֶרֶב יִהְיֶה וּבִמְסִבַּת חֲבֵרִים מְקוֹמוֹ יִפָּקֵד. וְנָשְׁכָה הַבִּטְחָה כְּפֶתֶן. וְחִיוְּרִים נִתְרוֹמֵם כֻּלָּנוּ, וְחָרַדְנוּ לְחַדְרוֹ וְהוּא אֵינֶנּוּ, וְעַל גַּבֵּי הַשֻּׁלְחָן אַחֲרוֹן מִכְתָּבוֹ יַלְבִּין...
רחל המשוררת
haim-horowitz
French (Fr)Hebrew (Israel)