Elisabeth G. Frank
Presented by The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation
Elisabeth G. Frank
In 1960 I came to New York on a two- year contract for an international firm headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. I never left. Just a few years later in 1964, I made the most decisive, far- reaching, and over-arching decision and change of my life. I became a Jew. I vividly remember how it happened. I was sitting on a bench at Battery Park in Lower Manhattan at lunchtime, watching ferries coming and going and observing the noisy seagulls. I suddenly had an epiphany. I realized I was living amongst a sizeable Jewish community and yet was working for a German company. At that moment, I was overwhelmed with guilt at being born a German. I cried and began
Elisabeth and her husband, Stephen Frank, taken in Jerusalem on the Greater Miami Jewish Federation 1991 Israel Mission
to look for excuses–that I was only a child growing up in Nazi Germany, that I had not known about the atrocities, etc. It was then that I vowed to do everything in my power to help Jews and do restitution. I just didn’t know then how I would
fulfill this pledge to myself. Fast forward from 1960 to the ‘90s. I had converted and had married the love of my life, Steve, a Jew. I had given birth to two children and had instilled in them Jewish values and the expectation that they would continue being Jewish and would marry Jewish spouses. I had embarked on a lifetime of studying
Judaism, had become a Bat Mitzvah and had immersed myself in the Mikvah . I attended years of Melton studies and felt accepted within the Jewish community. I was and am proud to be called to the Torah as Ruth ben Abraham. Married to my most loving, caring and generous husband Stephen Frank and his supportive family, I was able to fulfill my pledge. It was Steve who endowed my Lion of Judah as a surprise to me. I had thrown myself into Tikkun Olam
Elisabeth with her daughter, Sabina Frank Holtzman
volunteer work at Temple Beth Am in Kendall and had become involved with the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. Most of my social life is centered on Jewish activities and my wonderful Jewish friends. My contributions to Jewish life and volunteering are meaningful to me. My help extends now for over 45 years. It began by my working to resettle Russian refuseniks and progressed to supporting Jewish life in Moldova. Currently, I am helping renew Reform Judaism in the cradle of Reform Judaism in Hamburg, Germany.
I am proud to know that my daughter Sabina Frank Holtzman and my son Dr. Adam Frank will step up where I will eventually leave off. Sabina is a proud Lion of Judah in Miami and in honor of her birthday, I created a Lion of Judah Endowment fund in her name. Like me, she will forever be a Lion in this community.
“The reason I joined SAR EL is that I wanted to make a difference. The Second Intifada had just begun and I knew that I could take one menial job of a soldier - then they could do their job in the army” – Sabina Frank-Holtzman
Temple Beth Am AND Rambam Day School
Presented by The Foundation of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation
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