Eliyahu and Sara Tanis can legitimately be described as a “power couple” because they both worked in Israel’s electricity industry!
They grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, met in high school, married and brought up four children. Sara worked in Argentina’s Atomic Energy Commission, where she did her research on uranium for her PhD in Chemistry and managed the construction of nuclear electric power stations. Eliyahu, a mechanical engineer, had a management position in an electric cables manufacturing factory.
On a visit to Israel to see their oldest daughter, Sara was invited to join the Israel Electric Company, so they made Aliyah in 1988. As the company’s quality assurance manager, she was asked to oversee all of their management, administration and electric power generation systems, and she is proud that they were the first Israeli enterprise to receive ISO 9001 Standard accreditation. Eliyahu, who had joined an Israeli electric cable manufacturing company, continued to work until retirement in the quality management of their Sderot production plant.
Eliyahu and Sara lived in Haifa until Sara retired, and then they moved to Hashmonaim, to be closer to their children. In January 2024, following a medical procedure, they sought a high-quality community for seniors. Eliyahu explains: “We chose Beit Tovei Ha’ir because it was the most suitable environment for us, with a mixture of people from different religious backgrounds but all respectful of one another.” Sara’s main criteria were a lovely shul with a respectful women’s section and a good standard of Torah shiurim.
Eliyahu agrees that they have found a wide range of religious facilities and made friends at Beit Tovei Ha’Ir, but for him there was one thing missing. “Yiddish literature has always been a passion of mine, since it connects me with my unknown ancestors from Russia and Poland. We were educated in Argentina in both Hebrew and Yiddish so, when we arrived, I offered to run a Yiddish literature circle.” Every Monday, Eliyahu meets with about a dozen or so Yiddish speakers and they enjoy reading stories together.
Eliyahu and Sara are an inspirational couple who have made a real contribution to Israel’s electricity industry, and who contribute their talents to enhance the electric atmosphere at Beit Tovei Ha’Ir!
