Regina Grinberg Sofia Bulgaria Interviewer: Svetlana Avdala Date of interview: Regina's favorite subject at school was mathematics. And indeed, the world that she reflects upon presents itself with mathematical clarity. This is due not only to her good memory, but also to her curiosity, her interest in the new, the unusual and the colorful. In her childhood, she would grab the camera and take pictures, capturing the unique moments that were alive to her. For me, this meeting was particularly interesting for two reasons.
Firstly because the details demonstrate the interaction between three cultures - Jewish, Bulgarian and Turkish -and secondly because her life clearly shows the gradual disintegration of a very traditional, patriarchal way of life. My name is Regina Emanuil Farhi [now Grinberg through marriage]. I was born on 23rd February in Shumen. Shumen is a Bulgarian town in Northeastern Bulgaria where Jews moved as early as The town was founded in the early Middle Ages as a fortress with a village in the region of Hisarlak.
In the th century it was known as Misionis. The first Jews settled in the town in with the permission of the local pasha, as Shumen was then under Turkish rule. They lived in some houses in a large yard - something like a ghetto with gates - that was locked every evening.
There were four charity organizations in the town at that point in time, two Jewish schools supported by Alliance Israelite and a small synagogue. By Jewish families lived in Shumen, and by there were 2, in addition to 4 Jewish charity organizations and a small synagogue.
My sisters, Senyora and Sharlota, and their children in Israel researched our family tree and discovered that our roots on our father's side originate in Spain and those on our mother's side come from Venice. I cannot say how they discovered this information, as I only know that my cousin Yako Farhi went to Spain to research this.
