Before Mona was Mona Rabinowitz she was Ida Tudanger, then Mona Tudanger, followed by Mona Rabinowitz when she got married for the first time. When Mona was an infant she was left at the door of Temple Beth Shulamith resulting in everyone thinking her parents, or one parent, was Jewish.   Neither of Mona’s parents were Jewish.  Her birth mother was of Armenian descent and her father was half Norwegian and half Italian.  Mona was no more Jewish than Brigitte Bardot, someone she would later  physically resemble. The mother was 26 years old and the father 19.  They fell for each other because of their looks.  The relationship did not go beyond their mutual love of sex.  They were both beautiful and of somewhat above average intelligence.  The  mother taught the father and taught the father and taught the father about sex.  She neglected to teach him to use protection.  When mom got pregnant the father left Brooklyn and moved to Manhattan.  He got a job waiting tables in Greenwich Village and what would later become Chelsea.  In two years he was discovered by a models agent and developed a successful career as a male model.

Mom carried the baby to full term and gave birth in Kings County hospital.  She lived by herself on East 21 street in a one bedroom apartment in a six story building three buildings down from where Robert Kluger’s family lived.  She worked as a librarian at the branch of the Brooklyn Public Library on Linden Boulevard,  just off Flatbush Avenue.  She was slim and very fit.  Her pregnancy did not show until the eighth month.  She wore clothing to hide her pregnancy until that time.  She was able to arrange for a leave of absence for health reasons the last two months of her pregnancy.  She did not feel she could keep the baby.  She knew of Temple Beth Shulamith and decided to leave the infant at the door of the temple.  She knew several families who attended the temple.  She did not have to think very long about giving up the baby.  She was back at work the Monday after the baby was born.

The temple’s rabbi at the time, Rabbi Lederer, had no problem convincing the authorities that the infant should be adopted by a family who was a member of the temple.  The Tudanger family, father Harvey, mother Esther and daughter Marsha, lost a baby in a miscarriage 4 years ago and they were heartbroken.  The family kept on trying to get pregnant again but they had no luck.  Rabbi Lederer went to them and suggested they adopt the infant.  Mona was a gorgeous infant.  When the family saw her they readily agreed.  Sister Marsha was 8 years old at the time.  They named the infant Ida, after Esther Tudanger’s mother.  Her full name was Ida Brucha Tudanger.  Brucha meant blessing in Hebrew.  That is how the family looked at her, as a blessing.

Ida was a good student in school, but not a great student.  Her IQ was about 119.  She always got one grade higher than she deserved because of her looks and her outgoing personality.  That frequently made her an A student.  She often worked hard but not always.  Sister Marsha doted on her.  She would and did anything for her, often advising her and sending her in the right direction.  She was popular because most girls that had her looks in high school were snobs and she was not.  She was very friendly, especially with the boys.  She was considered the most beautiful girl in JHS 246 and one of the most beautiful in Erasmus Hall High School.

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