Geula Bachar
Geula was born in 1942 at the Dajani Hospital in Jaffa, to parents who themselves were Israel-born. She lived in Givatayim until the 8th grade, when her family moved to Herzliya. Her mother was a homemaker, her father, a construction worker, and Geula was the third of six children. Her relationship with her siblings was especially close. In her early childhood, fear and hardship would drive her to the bed of her older sister Etti, to find solace.
Geula was quite an athletic child who loved to play soccer and was the fastest 60-meter sprinter at her school. Despite her cleverness and love of learning, she only completed 8thgrade, then moved on to help feed the family by working at a rope factory. At 18, she joined the Nahal Brigade in the IDF as part of the "B'nei Yitzhak" group. The group spent part of their service working on Kibbutz Shluhot, and that was where Geula met Yitzhak.
Geula and Yitzhak's relationship was beautiful, loyal, and devoted. Their deep love helped them through life's tribulations. Geula used to tell her family that for her first birthday that was spent with Yitzhak, he bought her a mixer, and she in turn, gave him an electric kettle for his birthday six months later.
In 1963, Yitzhak and Geula married at the Tel Aviv Rabbinate and started a family. First, they lived in Rehovot, where they had Yossi and Rivka. In December 1965, they followed Yitzhak's brother Chico to Kibbutz Be'eri. There, Tami, Naomi, Oved, and Meirav were born. Geula worked in the kindergarten at first, then held jobs in gardening and at the chicken hatchery, but most of her years she spent caring for seniors. She had a deep sense of professional dedication and studied geriatrics to be better qualified for what she saw as sacred work.
Her sons, daughters, and grandchildren were the center of her life and a source of pride for her.
In 1992, Geula's daughter Naomi suddenly passed away at just 22. Her death broke Geula's soul, and she sought strength to carry on living. She found it in her first grandson Dagan, born three months before Naomi's passing, and in the rest of her family.
Over the years, Geula had 21 biological grandchildren and another 4 who became her own as well. Her heart and home were always open to her children and grandkids, who visited often. She had a unique relationship with each. Geula hated cooking. Her grandchildren enjoyed such easy-to-make treats as grilled cheese sandwiches, a special salad on Shabbat, and her famous cheesecakes – she was especially delighted when these were devoured within the day.
Geula loved Kibbutz Be'eri; it was her home in every sense of the word. Like her, her children also made their homes in Be'eri.
May her memory be blessed.
