Nyírbogát Jewish Cemetery · 30 Nisan 5700 · 8 May 1940
Weisz Side · Bobby's Father
Nyírbogát Jewish cemetery, photographed 1990s. The stone still stands.
English Translation
Here lies our dear, beloved, esteemed
Shaul son of Aryeh Refael HaKohen
Weisz
Of upright heart, who feared God all his days. He raised his children to Torah and to good deeds. He went to his eternal rest on the 30th of Nisan, the year 5700.
May his soul be bound in the bond of eternal life.
Mád Jewish cemetery. Devorah was Yitzchak Yosef Klein's wife, mother of Emanuel (Zeidy's father).
English Translation
The dear woman
Mrs. Devorah
daughter of our teacher and rabbi
Avraham Chaim Kohen Tzedek, of blessed memory
who is in the Holy Land
wife of our teacher and rabbi
Yitzchak Yosef Klein
who died and was buried on the 7th of Shevat, the year 5667.
May her soul be bound in the bond of eternal life.
תעתיק עברי · Hebrew
פ״נ
האשה החשובה
מרת דבורה
בת מו״ה
אברהם חיים כ״ץ ז״ל
אשר מ״כ בארץ הקדישה
אשת מו״ה
יצחק יוסף קליין
שנפ׳ ונק׳ ז׳ שבט
תרס״ז לפ״ק
ת.נ.צ.ב.ה.
— MATZEIVAH · MERGED FROM ROCHEL GOLDSTEIN —
Rachel Hindi Goldstein née Kraus
Tiszadob Jewish Cemetery · 26 Adar 5686 · 12 March 1926
Klein Side · Zeidy's Maternal Grandmother
Tiszadob Jewish cemetery, photographed 27 April 2017. Identified as the same person previously recorded under two names (Rachel Hindi / Rochel Goldstein) — confirmed by family tree shared May 2026.
English Translation
Here lies
Mrs. Rachel
daughter of Avraham [Kraus]
wife of R' Pinchas HaKohen Goldstein
died the 26th of Adar, year 5686
The lower elegy panel preserves Eshes Chayil-pattern phrasing: modest, to her husband, to her sons, and the poor, righteousness and kindness — the language used for women who ran charitable households and supported their husband's learning.
May her soul be bound in the bond of eternal life.
תעתיק עברי · Hebrew
פ״נ
מרת רחל
בת אברהם
אשת ר׳ פנחס הכהן גאלדשטיין
נפטרה כ״ו אדר
תרפ״ו לפ״ק
צנועה לבעלה ולבניה
ועניים בצדק וחסד
ת.נ.צ.ב.ה.
— MATZEIVAH · DATE NEWLY CONFIRMED —
Pinchas HaKohen Goldstein
Tiszadob Jewish Cemetery · 5 Av 5687 · 3 August 1927
Klein Side · Zeidy's Maternal Grandfather
Tiszadob Jewish cemetery, photographed 27 April 2017. The arch ornament at the top is consistent with the Kohanic priestly-blessing motif. Year newly confirmed from family tree shared May 2026.
English Translation
An upright man
son of R' Yehuda HaKohen Goldstein
R' Pinchas HaKohen Goldstein, of blessed memory
died the 5th of Menachem Av, year 5687
(= 3 August 1927)
The upper text panel is partly weathered. The body identifies him as a Kohen — confirmed by the priestly-blessing motif on the arch at the top of the stone.
May his soul be bound in the bond of eternal life.
תעתיק עברי · Hebrew
פ״נ
איש ישר
בן ר׳ יהודה הכהן גאלדשטיין
ר׳ פנחס הכהן גאלדשטיין
נפטר ה׳ מנחם אב
תרפ״ז לפ״ק
ת.נ.צ.ב.ה.
— MATZEIVAH · ZEIDY'S BROTHER —
Jenő (Eliyahu) Klein
Brooklyn, New York · Beis HaChaim of Kehillas Kerestir · 21 Sivan 5766 · 17 June 2006
Klein Side · Zeidy's Older Brother · Survivor
Brooklyn, photographed 6 June 2016. The hands at the top mark him as a Kohen. Beneath the family surname Klein, the inscription identifies him as "of the city of Tiszadob" — the village he was deported from.
English Translation
Here lies
Our dear, beloved father, crown of our heads, head of our family
R' Eliyahu son of R' Menachem HaKohen, of blessed memory
Klein
of the city of Tiszadob
He loved peace and pursued peace. Of good heart and soul, eager to do good to others. The fear of Heaven was his treasure. He took the lead to be among the first ten for prayer. He held fast to the tradition of his fathers and teachers. He established generations of upright, blessed ones — all keepers of Torah and Mitzvot.
He went to a ripe old age, to bless Israel — souls of Israel saved from the years of wrath.
He died in good name, age 92, to the sorrow of his family and all who knew him.
Holy Shabbat, 21 Sivan 5766 (= 17 June 2006)
May his soul be bound in the bond of eternal life.
His wife: Milka (Esti néni — Esti Klein, named below)
תעתיק עברי · Hebrew
פ״נ
אבינו היקר עטרת ראשינו ראש משפחתינו
✋ ✋
ר׳ אליהו ב״ר מנחם הכהן ז״ל
קליין
מעיר טיסאדאב
אוהב שלום ורודף שלום
לב טוב ונפש חפיצה להיטיב עם זולתו
יראת ה׳ היא אוצרו
הקדים להיות מעשרה ראשונים לתפילה
והחזיק מסורת אבותיו ורבותיו
העמיד דורות ישרים ומבורכים
כולם שומרי תורה ומצות
הלך עד שיבה לברך את ישראל
נפשות ישראל הצול בשנות הזעם
נפטר בש״ט בן צ״ב שנה
לדאבון משפחתו וכל מכיריו
ש״ק כ״א סיון תשס״ו לפ״ק
ת.נ.צ.ב.ה.
ש״א מילכה
— BOBBY’S MATZEIVAH —
Bobby’s matzeivah — the family in stone
Bobby’s gravestone in Deans, New Jersey (photograph, undated; photographs courtesy of Yehudah Feig) records her Hebrew name, her parents’ full patronyms, her grandmothers’ lineage, and a memorial panel naming her three murdered brothers who were killed at Auschwitz on 12 Sivan 5704 (3 June 1944). The stone is the most authoritative single source the archive has for Bobby’s family’s Hebrew names: it confirms what civil records left half-said.
The matzeivah, photographed in situ in the cemetery in Deans, New Jersey — PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF YEHUDAH FEIG —
Closeup of the memorial panel naming her father, mother, grandmother, and three murdered brothers— PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF YEHUDAH FEIG —
— THE MAIN INSCRIPTION · UPPER PANEL —
Bobby’s own stone
The first letter of each line of the body of the inscription spells out מרת חיה — Mrs. Chaya. A traditional acrostic written into the stone.
פ"נ
אשת חיל עטרת בעלה
חיה ע"ה
בת ר' אריה רפאל הכהן ווייס הי"ד
אשת ר' מרדכי אלעזר הכהן ע"ה
פייג
מסורת אביה ואמה אחזה בנפש חפצה
רצון בעלה עשתה במסירות
תפילות וספר תהילים לא משו מפיה כל ימיה
חינכה בניה ללכת בדרך התורה והיראה
ידוע לכל מידותיה הנעימות
הרבה צרות סבלה בימי המלחמה ונשארה חזקה באמונתה
נפטרה בשם טוב
ז' אייר תשע"ג
ת.נ.צ.ב.ה.
[פ"נ = Po Nikbar — “Here lies”]
A woman of valor, the crown of her husband
Chaya, peace be upon her
Daughter of R' Aryeh Rafael HaKohen Weiss, Hashem yikom damo (= Lipot Weisz)
Wife of R' Mordechai Elazar HaKohen, peace be upon him (= Zeidy)
Feig
— The acrostic spells מרת חיה — Mrs. Chaya —
M — The tradition of her father and mother she held with a willing soul
R — Her husband’s will she carried out with devotion
T — Prayer and the book of Tehillim never left her lips, all her days
Ch — She raised her sons to walk in the path of Torah and reverence
Y — Known to all were her pleasant qualities
H — Many troubles she endured in the days of the war, and remained strong in her faith
She passed away with a good name
7 Iyar 5773 (= 17 April 2013) — the year-glyph on the stone is partly weathered; date independently confirmed.
May her soul be bound in the bond of eternal life.
— THE MEMORIAL PANEL · TRANSCRIPTION & TRANSLATION —
זכרון עולם לנשמות קרוביה שהלכו לעולמם
אביה ר' אריה רפאל ב"ר שאול הכהן
אמה רבקה בת ר' אליהו
זקנתה מרים בת ר' צבי
אחיה אליהו ב"ר אריה רפאל הכהן
אחיה חיים שלום ב"ר אריה רפאל הכהן
אחיה שלמה יהודה ב"ר אריה רפאל הכהן
י"ב סיון תש"ד
שנהרגו על קידוש השם — ה' ינקום דמם
Eternal memory for the souls of her relatives who departed to their eternal world:
Her father — R’ Aryeh Rafael son of R’ Shaul HaKohen [= Lipot Weisz, son of Samuel “Shaul” Weisz] Her mother — Rivka, daughter of R’ Eliyahu [= Regina Feldman Weisz, daughter of Elias/Eliyahu Feldman] Her grandmother — Miriam, daughter of R’ Tzvi [= Miriam Grósz Feldman, daughter of R’ Tzvi (Hirsch) Grósz] Her brother — Eliyahu son of R’ Aryeh Rafael HaKohen [= Erno Weisz] Her brother — Chaim Shalom son of R’ Aryeh Rafael HaKohen [= Endre Weisz] Her brother — Shlomo Yehuda son of R’ Aryeh Rafael HaKohen [= Jeno Weisz] 12 Sivan 5704 [= 3 June 1944] Who were killed for the sanctification of God’s Name — May Hashem avenge their blood.
— THE BOTTOM PANEL · GRANDPARENTS —
Her grandfather — R’ Shaul son of R’ Aryeh Rafael HaKohen [= Samuel “Shaul” Weisz, named for his own grandfather R’ Aryeh Rafael — the namesake passed down to Lipot] Her grandmother — Sarah Rachel daughter of R’ Tzvi [= Roza Grósz Weisz, Lipot’s mother, daughter of R’ Tzvi — sister of Miriam, confirming the Grósz sisters] Her grandfather — R’ Eliyahu son of R’ Chaim Shalom [= Elias Feldman, son of an earlier R’ Chaim Shalom — the name passed down to Bobby’s brother Endre/Chaim Shalom]
— WHAT THE STONE CONFIRMS —
Bobby’s Hebrew name: Chaya (חיה), daughter of R’ Aryeh Rafael HaKohen Weiss
Regina Feldman Weisz — her Hebrew name was Rivka bat R’ Eliyahu (Bobby’s mother)
Miriam Grósz Feldman — daughter of R’ Tzvi (Hirsch) Grósz (new information)
Samuel “Shaul” Weisz — son of R’ Aryeh Rafael (an earlier Aryeh Rafael — the namesake of Lipot, his grandson)
Elias Feldman — son of R’ Chaim Shalom (whose name was given to Bobby’s brother Endre)
The Grósz sisters connection confirmed in stone: Miriam bat R’ Tzvi (Feldman) and Sarah Rachel bat R’ Tzvi (Weisz, = Roza Grósz) share the same father
12 Sivan 5704 (3 June 1944) — the date of the three brothers’ murder, confirming the Weisz-side communal yahrzeit
— BOBBY’S MATZEIVAH · WIDER VIEW —
A second angle
A wider angle on Bobby’s matzeivah at Floral Park Cemetery, 104 Deans Rhode Hall Road, North Brunswick Township, NJ. The standing stone shows her Hebrew name חיה (Chaya) above her father’s patronym and above the surname פייג. The granite footstone in the foreground bears the memorial panel for the three brothers murdered on 12 Sivan 5704 (3 June 1944). See the full Hebrew + English transcription with the מרת חיה acrostic above. Bobby’s and Zeidy’s cemeteries are at the same address in Deans, NJ but are separate cemeteries: Bobby at Floral Park; Zeidy and her brother Feter Isaac at Washington Cemetery just below.
— ZEIDY · 27 ELUL 5750 · 17 SEPTEMBER 1990 —
Sam “Laci” Feig — formerly Klein
Mordechai Elazar ben Menachem HaKohen — buried at Washington Cemetery, Deans NJ. A Kohen of the Klein line of Tiszadob who took the surname Feig at Ellis Island.
Photographed in situ, May 2018.
— THE MAIN INSCRIPTION · WASHINGTON CEMETERY · DEANS NJ —
Zeidy’s matzeivah
The first letter of each line of the body of the inscription spells out מרדכי אלעזר — Mordechai Elazar. A traditional acrostic written into the stone. Beneath the surname פייג (Feig) the stone reads מלפנים קליין — “formerly Klein” — recording his birth family on the marker that bears his American surname.
פ"נ
איש תם וישר
ר' מרדכי אלעזר
ב"ר מנחם הכהן ע"ה
פייג
מלפנים קליין
משאו ומתנו באמונה
רדף מן הכבוד ומן המחלוקה
דלים ואביונים תמך בלב טוב
כל אדם קיבל בסבר פנים יפות
ידיו נשא בברכת כהנים לברכנו באהבה
אהוב ואוהב את הבריות
לתופת ה' מידותיו הנעימות
עניו וצנוע במעשיו
זרעו חנך לילך בדרך ישרה
רוח הבריות נוחה הימנו
נפטר בשם טוב
כ"ז אלול תש"נ
ת.נ.צ.ב.ה.
[פ"נ = Po Nikbar — “Here lies”]
An upright and honest man
R' Mordechai Elazar
son of R' Menachem HaKohen, peace upon him (= Emanuel Klein, murdered Auschwitz 1944)
Feig
formerly Klein
— The acrostic spells מרדכי אלעזר — Mordechai Elazar —
M — His dealings and his business were conducted in faith
R — He fled from honor and from controversy
D — The poor and the destitute he supported with a good heart
K — Every person he received with a pleasant face
Y — His hands he raised in the priestly blessing, to bless us in love
A — Beloved and loving toward all people
L — [Reading uncertain — possibly “a model of the L-rd’s teachings in his pleasant qualities”]
A (ע) — Humble and modest in his deeds
Z — His offspring he raised to walk in the upright path
R — The spirit of all people found rest in him
Passed away with a good name
27 Elul 5750 (= 17 September 1990)
May his soul be bound in the bond of eternal life.
Plaque
Names that almost disappeared
A granite memorial plaque is set into the base of Zeidy’s standing matzeivah above. It names the family members from Hungary who were murdered in 1944 and have no graves of their own — the plaque is the closest thing they have. Zeidy placed his parents’ names, his brother’s, and his sister’s on his own stone.
The plaque has two sections — the family murdered in 1944 at top, and Zeidy’s four grandparents below.
— THE UPPER SECTION · MURDERED IN 1944 —
His father Emanuel — ר' מנחם ב"ר יצחק יוסף הכהן · R' Menachem ben R' Yitzchok Yosef HaKohen · 1st of Shavuos 5704 (= 6 Sivan 5704 / 1944), Auschwitz
His mother Lina — מלכה בת ר' פנחס הכהן · Milkah bas R' Pinchas HaKohen · 1st of Shavuos 5704, Auschwitz
His brother Avrohom Chaim — אברהם חיים ב"ר מנחם הכהן · Hungarian Lajos · Don River, 1942/43, Hungarian forced labor
His sister Ilona — דבורה בת ר' מנחם הכהן · Devorah bas R' Menachem HaKohen · never married, Auschwitz 1944
שנהרגו על קידוש השם — ה' ינקום דמם — “who were killed for the sanctification of God's Name.”
— THE LOWER SECTION · FOUR GRANDPARENTS —
The lower half of the plaque pushes the documented lineage back two generations:
Maternal grandmother:Rachel Hindi — רחל הינדי אשת ר' פנחס ע"ה (new ancestor)
— THE NAMESAKE CHAIN —
Zeidy was named Mordechai Elazar for his paternal great-grandfather Mordechai Elazar HaKohen — whose name is preserved on this plaque as Yitzchok Yosef's father. Classic frum naming: skip a generation. The plaque also confirms Lina's civil maiden name Goldstein matches her father's priestly designation Pinchas HaKohen.
Tatty has said Yizkor for his uncle Avrohom Chaim every year, since he was old enough to learn the names of the dead. The brother between Jenő and Laci was carried, by Laci on stone and by Tatty in the prayer, through every year that came after. Yad Vashem holds the wartime record. The family held the name.
See Zeidy’s profile for the full life behind the inscription.
— FETER ISAAC · 5 ELUL 5761 · 24 AUGUST 2001 —
Imre “Feter Isaac” Weisz
Yitzchak Aizik ben Aryeh Rephael HaKohen — buried at Washington Cemetery, Deans NJ. Bobby’s older brother, the second of two Weisz siblings to survive the war.
Feter Isaac’s stone is the one on the right. Washington Cemetery, May 2018.
— THE MAIN INSCRIPTION · WASHINGTON CEMETERY · DEANS NJ —
Feter Isaac’s matzeivah
The first letter of each line of the body of the inscription spells out יצחק אייזיק — Yitzchak Aizik. A traditional acrostic written into the stone. He was Bobby’s older brother, the second of two Weisz siblings to survive the war.
פ' נ'
ר' יצחק אייזיק
ב"ר אריה רפאל הכהן ע"ה
ווייס
ישר ונאמן בכל דרכיו
צדקה וחסד דרך תמיד
חכמת התורה היתה דבוקה בו
קדושה וטהרה עטרוהו כל ימיו
אהבתו לתורה היתה גדולה מאד
ישב בשלום ושלוה עם הבריות
ידע לחיות במעלות ומדות טובים
זכר לקבוע זמן לתפלה בצנעא תמיד
ידיו שמשו לחבריו בחסד רב
קיים מצוות ברכת כהנים באהבה
נפטר בשם טוב
ה' אלול תשס"א
ת.נ.צ.ב.ה.
[פ' נ' = Po Nikbar — “Here lies”]
R' Yitzchak Aizik
son of R' Aryeh Rephael HaKohen, peace upon him (= Lipot Weisz, died Ebensee 1945)
Weiss
— The acrostic spells יצחק אייזיק — Yitzchak Aizik —
Y — Upright and faithful in all his ways
Tz — Charity and lovingkindness he pursued always
Ch — The wisdom of Torah was bound to him
K — Holiness and purity crowned him all his days
A — His love for Torah was very great
Y — He sat in peace and tranquility with all people
Y — He knew how to live with virtues and good qualities
Z — He was careful to set fixed times for prayer, always in modesty
Y — His hands served his fellows with great kindness
K — He fulfilled the mitzvah of birkas kohanim in love
Passed away with a good name
5 Elul 5761 (= 24 August 2001)
May his soul be bound in the bond of eternal life.
See Feter Isaac’s profile for his full life: born 19 August 1921 in Hungary, survived Hungarian forced labor, married Erzsi Grosz in postwar Hungary, fled with his family in 1957, settled in Brooklyn.
