* Talya and I both really liked the name. The translation of Alma in Ladino is 'soul,' which we felt honored the woman Alma would be named after.
** We decided to honor Talya's late safta (grandmother), Gittel Ferber (nee Lustiger), who passed away earlier this year at the age of 94. Safta was one of the most remarkable women I've ever met - from her survival in Poland during World War II ... to her dogged stubbornness to bring life into this world ... to celebrating & enjoying every breath she felt blessed to take ... to maximizing the time she had with the amazing family she felt so privileged to have. Despite struggling to communicate with her - her Hebrew wasn't that good and my Yiddish non-existent - we 'got' each other and laughed together non-stop. I will miss those laughs, and hearing my wife translate her stories of how despite all the hardships she faced, she was grateful for her lot ... and eternally grateful for being able to love her 2 children, 8 grandchildren & 12 great grandchildren. She may not be with us anymore, but her soul is forever a part of our family's fabric.
Talya & I also thought that as well as honoring Safta, the combination of the names - one in Ladino and one in Yiddish - was a way of honoring our backgrounds, as they became one here in our homeland.
