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In our shtetl we had our own Hakhamim [wise men], sorcerers, midwives, and physicians. Here I’d like to tell you about our neighbor Ele-Rose. When somebody got ill, they went to her for a so-called ‘treatment’ (now I recollect it with horror!). She would put her dirty hands into somebody’s mouth or lick specks of dust away from somebody’s eye.
When I read Sholem Aleichem [6] or Dovid Bergelson [7] (descriptions of Jewish life in shtetls), it seems to me that they describe my shtetl Ushachi: our life, troubles, and habits. Sholem Aleichem explained why Jews laughed and made fun all the time, despite their bitter lot and poverty: they had no choice but to do so.
When I read Sholem Aleichem [6] or Dovid Bergelson [7] (descriptions of Jewish life in shtetls), it seems to me that they describe my shtetl Ushachi: our life, troubles, and habits. Sholem Aleichem explained why Jews laughed and made fun all the time, despite their bitter lot and poverty: they had no choice but to do so.
Period
Location
Ushachi
Vitebesk
Belarus
Interview
Boris Lerman
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