Tag #108494 - Interview #88474 (Jakub Bromberg)

The Jews would make these donations orally, because you couldn’t have money with you on a Saturday. If the city was not surrounded by telephone wires, then you couldn’t carry anything in your pockets on Saturdays and walk too far on foot. [Editor’s note: surrounding the city with wires was connected with separating Sabbath space. This space was treated as one’s own apartment, where you could move around freely, without breaking religious rules.] Only after electricity had been installed in the city, were you able to carry money with you in the area where there were wires. When there was no eruw [expanding the Sabbath borders], then people didn’t carry any objects with them, especially on Saturdays. Later, even when we had the wires, you still couldn’t carry any money. Buying, handling money, giving it to someone, that was all strictly prohibited. You could only carry a handkerchief in your pocket.