In our regular column “From Your Wisdom
to Our Youth,” we strive to preserve and pass on what forms the inner
foundation of our community – life experience, values, and the quiet yet
profound wisdom of the older generation.
This time, our interviewee was Dr. Klara
Kimyagarova-Kandkhorova – a person well known and deeply respected in the
community, a woman of rare inner strength, wisdom, and dignity, who lived in
Israel for many years.
The author of the column, Sarina Kushmakova, a
student at Hofstra Law, admits that this meeting did not come together easily.
Due to Dr. Klara’s health condition, it was difficult for a long time to
establish contact. Yet fate eventually brought them together, and a brief but
very meaningful conversation took place.
Despite pain and weakness, Dr. Klara found
the strength to share her thoughts and what she considered most important. It
was essential for her to pass on her experience, reflections, and the life
principles she had carried through the years, so they might resonate with the
younger generation.
Soon after this conversation, Dr. Klara
passed away (our condolences to her family are expressed on pp. 46–47). Today,
her words sound especially poignant – as a quiet yet deeply significant message
she managed to leave for the younger generation.
For Sarina, this conversation became
something truly special – as if necessary and not by chance. And for all of us,
it is an opportunity to hear the voice of a person whose wisdom remains with
us.
Dr. Z. Maksumova
Sometimes life introduces us to people who
feel as though they have always been part of our story – souls who appear suddenly
yet leave us wondering how we ever lived without them. That is how I felt when
I met Dr. Klara Kimyagarova.
From the very first moment, she radiated
warmth and familiarity. Almost in the same breath as our greeting, she began
blessing me, as if she had known me for years. There was a gentleness in her
voice that carried deep wisdom. She spoke of her love for life – simple,
profound, and unwavering. Her joy, she told me, came from the smallest things:
the scent of a flower, the warmth of sunlight, the echo of laughter in the air.
She believed that gratitude for these quiet, fleeting moments – these whispers
of grace – was what truly lengthened our days.
Dr. Klara had endured great hardship,
including the unimaginable loss of her daughter. Yet she carried no bitterness.
Instead, she spoke with gratitude. Every morning, she thanked God for another
day, believing that each awakening meant her purpose was not yet fulfilled. One
of her words has stayed with me: “We must live honestly before God, so that
when our time comes, we can stand before Him with pure eyes.” She taught that to
live rightly is to live with sincerity, with a pure heart and honest intentions
toward others – so that when our time here ends, we carry no shame.
I had not known Dr. Klara for long, yet it
feels as though her spirit has always been with me. I sometimes wonder why our
paths crossed so late in her life, but perhaps the timing was exactly as it was
meant to be – that her message would reach me at the moment I needed it most.
Despite her pain and declining health, Dr. Klara
spoke with strength and joy. Her smile shone brighter than her suffering. Her
passing is a profound loss for the Bukharian community. Yet, her legacy – one
of faith, gratitude, and a deep love for life – will continue to ripple
outward, like the lingering fragrance of the flowers she cherished so dearly.
