In his home country, he was a horologist. In the USSR, Lev Hidekel’s services were sought out by businessmen, gangsters, and commoners alike. When his son decided to join the Zionist enterprise in Israel, Lev was dismayed. He agreed to emigrate, but it pained him to leave behind the life that he had built. Like so many other Soviet experts and expats, Lev traded his prestige for anonymity, for a minimum-wage job in a grocery store. But unlike most, he never lost his trade; Lev fixed watches on the side, saving up his profits until he was able to buy a new store from another Soviet expat.
