Batyah Lockitch Mayer was born in Los Angeles in 1982. She grew up as a Reform Jew in Santa Monica, California. She moved to Syracuse, New York for college and later Oakland, California until returning to Santa Monica to receive an Aesthetician license. After the death of her grandfather, Sid Lockitch, she became increasingly interested in entering into Ultra Orthodoxy and making Aliyah to Israel. She got married in June 2014 and moved to Jerusalem two months later with her husband, Dan Mayer, August 2014. She lives in Arnona, a suburb in South Jerusalem with her two children Emet and Shalom Leib. The following oral history account is a result of an 1:31:57 conversation occurring on February 18, 2018.
Batyah Lockitch Mayer is my first cousin. We grew up closely, but I have yet to meet her children and know very little about her life since she made Aliyah to Israel. Her two sons cried during the conversation making the transcribing difficult. She presumed I knew more Yiddish/Hebrew then I do, and I had to look up certain terminology that she used in the conversation. This I tried to note as accurately as possible.
- Hailey Loman, February 24, 2019
I found myself admiring her devotion to Judaism. I often fantasize about seeking a more religious life and use her as a model. Admiration and being in disagreement with her politics are two conflicting feelings I oscillate between when I talk with Batyah.
- Hailey Loman, February 24, 2019