When Sarah “Sid” Ruby was a college student in New York, she supported herself by teaching Hebrew. And if one was to sign up for a Hebrew class at the Berkeley Richmond Jewish Community Center in the past 10 years, chances were the class would be taught by the same Sid Ruby, although a much older version. Ruby taught Hebrew until she was 96 years old.
Sid Ruby, of Berkeley, died on Friday, Aug. 26 in Danville. She was 97.
Sarah Yaffee was born on May 15, 1908 in Glens Falls, N.Y. Her parents were immigrants from Lithuania and Latvia, and her father was an Orthodox scholar, whose plans to become a rabbi were thwarted by his wife’s opinion that it wasn’t lucrative enough. He earned part of his living from inscribing all of the Jewish tombstones in the community.
Sarah was the third of seven children, and had a very traditional upbringing. She obtained her bachelor’s degree at what is now SUNY Albany, where, her daughter, Joan Bloom of Berkeley, believes, the nickname Sid was given to her by her sorority sisters.
She then moved to New York City to attend a Jewish social work program at what is now Columbia University. While there, she met Philip Ruby, who was in the same program. They married in 1931, and moved to San Francisco in 1934, where Philip Ruby had grown up, and then moved to Santa Rosa.
Philip Ruby’s father owned a chicken ranch in Petaluma, but was not managing it well. When the ranch became threatened with repossession, Ruby took it upon himself to save it.
He “dragged my chic, urban, sorority girl mother to a chicken ranch” said Bloom, where they stayed for the next ten years. “It was not a happy time in her life.”
Philip Ruby felt deeply moved by the plight of the Jews in Europe and when World War II ended, he decided to do something to help. Through his network of New York colleagues, he got a job with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.
He left his family — by now they had two daughters — and went to Europe to help resettle Holocaust survivors and aid those Jews trying to get to Palestine. The conditions were such in post-war Europe that he did not want to bring his children right away, as there was hardly enough food.
It was up to Sid Ruby to sell the chicken ranch, sell the car and tie up whatever loose ends there were in California. She did that, and then took the couple’s daughters to live with her parents in New York, before going off to join her husband in Europe. They spent most of their time in Czechoslovakia and Austria, working with the JDC.
Once the couple was settled, Philip Ruby went to New York, retreived his daughters, and brought them to back with him to Europe, where the family remained for the next two and a half years.
They returned to California in 1948, and settled in Kentfield, where both Rubys went to work as teachers. They were among the original founders of Congregation Kol Shofar in Tiburon.
Joan Bloom said her mother was very open and flexible, except when it came to Judaism. Though she did not remain Orthodox, she always kept a kosher kitchen, and was less flexible when it came to the topic of her children or grandchildren dating non-Jews.
She was a life member of Hadassah and was a member of Women’s American Organization for Educational Rehabilitation and Technological Training (ORT). After she moved to Berkeley, she became a founding member of Congregation Netivot Shalom, and immediately began volunteering with the seniors’ program at the Berkeley Richmond JCC.
She lived in a condominium on Walnut St., right next to the JCC, and spent a lot of her time there, teaching Hebrew and attending its kosher lunch program for seniors.
Ruby stayed alert till the end, only stopping teaching Hebrew when she moved to the Reutlinger Community for Jewish Living in Danville. But, even after the move, she refused to give up her apartment, and repeatedly promised she’d be back to teach.
In addition to her daughter Bloom of Berkeley, Ruby is survived by her daughter Bobi Levine of San Jose; five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. She is also survived by her brother Harry Yaffee of San Rafael; sister Leah Yaffee of Danville and sister Reva Rothenberg of Pittsburgh. She was predeceased by her husband in 1990.
Contributions can be made to Congregation Netivot Shalom, 1316 University Ave., Berkeley, CA 94702 or the BRJCC Seniors Program, 1414 Walnut St., Berkeley, CA 94709.