Jehudah was born on March 21, 1937, in Budapest, Hungary, as the eldest of four brothers in an Orthodox Jewish home. His father was only allowed to marry his mother on the condition that they would eventually make Aliyah to Israel, a promise that was never fulfilled. Jehudah attended Bnei Akiva during his youth. In 1944, he vividly recalls watching German tanks cross the border into Budapest.
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He was given a yellow star to wear, marking him as Jewish. His mother was a fierce defender of their faith, even selling her wedding ring to buy ham for her children, although she refused to eat it herself. Despite having ID papers stating they were Christians, they still faced harassment, often being subjected to humiliating demands, such as being told to "drop your pants" to prove they were not Jewish.
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Jehudah witnessed his grandfather being arrested, a common practice where groups of five were tied together, with one being shot into the river. His mother once bravely entered a Nazi house and later made a run for it, but despite an officer’s command to stop, they were inexplicably let go. During Nazi roundups, Jehudah’s mother would send him into the kitchen to pray "Avinu Malkeinu." He prayed twice, and both times, they were spared.
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However, when he prayed the same prayer a third time for his mother when she was ill, she did not survive, leading him to believe that the prayer only works twice. After the war, Jehudah escaped Hungary in 1956 and went to Israel. His family moved to the United States in 1957, and he later lived in the Lower East Side.
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Jehuda Lindenblatt interview at Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy - 2023-2024
Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy