“Anton was 10 years old when his mother died. I do not know for sure about the biological father of this Jewish boy. Anton was taken in by an old grandmother who over time was physically unable to take care of him and planned to send her grandson to a boarding school.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Anton was 10 years old when his mother died. I do not know for sure about the biological father of this Jewish boy. Anton was taken in by an old grandmother who over time was physically unable to take care of him and planned to send her grandson to a boarding school. The head of the institution told the difficult story of this unfortunate child to Mrs. Hani, the wife of the chief rabbi of Kyiv and Ukraine Reuven Moshe Azman and the mother of my friend and brother Mandy Azman, who is an extraordinary person and served in the Israel Defense Forces, the IDF.
Mrs. Khana, a beautiful woman with a huge heart, an ardent patriot of her land, offered her husband to take this poor boy, whose psyche was already damaged, to their home. Rav Moshe agreed. This despite the fact that they have eleven children (and twenty-four grandchildren, or more, I don’t know). Children related by blood were told that Anton is the same child as them, and they will be treated with the same love. Anton took the name Matityagu in honor of the heroic leader of the Maccabean rebellion against the invading empire more than 2,200 years ago – the event that became the basis of the Hanukkah holiday (the Jewish holiday of miracles, the holiday of victory in the war between holiness and impurity – ed.).
Motya (Matityagu, Anton) grew up and began to live separately. In 2024, he had a daughter. I received a summons. It is clear that his father could smear him. And he certainly had the passport of an Israeli citizen. But this amazing family refused to do that. Matityagu Samborskyi died for Ukraine in a heavy battle in Donetsk region in August of this year. The other day, they were finally able to take his body and say goodbye in a human way… He was only 33 years old.
Ukrainian patriotism is not about ethnicity or religion. And about the boundless faith in freedom, for which he is ready to give his life. I didn’t know Motya that well, we saw each other from time to time at events.
Ms. Khanna recalls: It was a very happy moment for me when he called me MOM. He had a choice at the age of 14 to stay with us or leave. And he stayed with mom and dad. We have a large family and I really hope that we were a good family for him.
All of Ukraine should now be a single family, no matter what. I cry with your family, Rav Moshe. God is one, providers are different. Baruch Dayan aEmet.
Andriy Lozovyi