The Rachel Donofsky Mystery: A Tale of Scandal, Resilience, and a Few Lost Shmattes

Picture this: a fierce Jewish woman, a disappearing husband, and a family tree so tangled it could star in its own Yiddish soap opera. Meet Rachel Donofsky (née Zietman… or maybe Cohen?), the matriarch who turned chaos into chutzpah. Here’s her story—part history, part mystery, and all meshuggeneh—from Poland to London, with a few laughs along the way.

From Warsaw to Whitechapel: Rachel’s Epic Journey

  • Roots in Poland: Rachel likely grew up in Warsaw, where her father ran a tannery—think leather, not lox. Family lore says she was forced to marry Joseph Donofsky, an older alter kocker, so her dad could remarry without guilt. Oy, the things we do for family!
  • Escape to London: Around 1908, Rachel schlepped to London with her six-week-old daughter Faygul (later Fay)—a baby so tiny she probably fit in a matzo ball soup bowl. She came to join Joseph, only to find him shacked up with another woman. Legend has it she gave him the boot faster than you can say “gefilte fish.” (Or so we thought in 2002—stay tuned for the plot twist!)

The Warsaw Tannery & The Case of the Missing Brothers

  • The Tannery Clue: Rachel’s father’s tannery at 82 Grzybowska, Warsaw, might hold the key to her past—if only the building hadn’t vanished like my Polish vocabulary. One day, I’ll brave the Warsaw archives, armed with nothing but determination and a babka for courage.
  • Brothers Pinchas & David: The family’s got more questions than a Passover seder. Was Pinchas the brother who hightailed it to America, never to send a postcard? Was David a younger sibling—or just Pinchas with a bad memory? We’re still searching for these mishpocheh mysteries.

Rachel in the Rag Trade: A Shmatte Scandal

My Aunt Leigh and Mum regaled me with tales of their grandma, “Booba” Rachel, a rag trade maven with a brother who’d give Houdini a run for his money. In the early 1900s, London’s small factories—tucked into basements, back rooms, and half-empty warehouses—buzzed with sewing machines and shtick. They dealt in “cabbage” (offcuts and overstock) and second-hand threads once worn by the fancy-shmancy, now affordable for the working class.

But here’s the kugel in the tale: Booba’s brother sold the whole stock, cleaned out the bank account, and poof—vanished, possibly to Pennsylvania. Mum swears Booba had kin there. Maybe a DNA test will turn up a cousin with a closet full of vintage shmattes. Until then, it’s the family’s juiciest bubbe-meise!

The Enigma of Joseph Donofsky: A Husband or a Headache?

  • Disappearing Act: Back in 2003, we thought Joseph changed his name to Green and vanished like a bad date. But after years of pestering Mum and Aunt Leila, the story grew more layers than a babka. Then, in 2019, I cracked it: a typo! He was “Domofsky” in the Federation’s online death register. At the cemetery, the grounds book said “Donofsky,” but his death certificate (September 1911) read “Donafsky.” Turns out he didn’t go Green—he just went kaput. His son-in-law was the witness, and with that clue, I grew Joseph’s family tree. Spoiler: he was already married, living nearby in Gravel Lane. Oy vey, Rachel, what a shanda!

Unanswered Questions (Because Every Jewish Family Needs a Few)

  • Maiden Name Mishigas: Zietman or Cohen? DNA or a Polish ketubah might tell us if Rachel was hiding her yichus.
  • Joseph Donofsky: Husband or hustler? Was he really hers, or just a schmendrick stringing her along?
  • The Tannery Trail: My friend snapped a pic of 82 Grzybowska—nada. It’s gone, like yesterday’s knishes.
  • Pinchas/David in America: Ellis Island manifests? Zilch so far. Maybe they’re hiding under a different shtetl surname.

DNA Detectives & The Genetic Jackpot

I hit the mazel jackpot with a DNA match to a Joseph Donofsky descendant! Time to play Sherlock Shammes and see if we can stitch together more of Rachel’s story. This genealogical schnozzle is in my blood—I’ll keep digging!

The Family Name List: Meet the Mishpocheh

  • Rachel Donofsky (née Zietman or Cohen?): The fierce balabusta who kicked scandal to the curb.
  • Joseph Donofsky (or Domofsky, or Donafsky): The husband who couldn’t commit—or spell his own name.
  • Faygul “Fay” Donofsky: Rachel’s daughter, born 1908, tiny but mighty.
  • Pinchas Zietman/Cohen (?): The brother who maybe sailed to America.
  • David Zietman/Cohen (?): Another brother—or Pinchas with a fake mustache?
  • Unnamed Tannery Dad: Rachel’s father, the leather maven of Warsaw.

Help Us Solve the Shtick-y Puzzle

Got any kibbitz to share? We’re looking for:

  • Photos or letters mentioning Rachel, Joseph, or that Warsaw tannery.
  • Gossip about the “older husband” scandal or little Fay’s early days.
  • Clues about Pinchas or David—did they strike it rich in the U.S. or just strike out?

Reach out! Let’s keep Rachel’s defiance—and her dad’s leather legacy—alive. After all, every Jewish family needs a rebel and a riddle. Rachel’s both, with a side of chutzpah.

“Every family has a Rachel: the woman who stared down scandal and said, ‘Nice try, bubbe.’”

P.S. to Grandma Fay’s descendants or the elusive Zietman/Cohen line: Your ancestor’s secrets are calling—let’s crack them open like a good bottle of Manischewitz!