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Grandfather and Grandmother were both Sephardim. They spoke Ladino with the
children and the children responded in Ladino. Religious customs were
regularly observed. Every Shabbat was celebrated with two candles, and all
the holidays were celebrated first in temple, then at home. All of this
occurred not long after the Turks left Bosnia, which means during the
Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia, so my grandfather, like all Jewish
men, wore a fez. At the time, even members of other religions wore fezzes
and they knew who was of which faith based on the color of the fez: Turks
wore a deep red fez, Jews wore a dark brown fez; this is how they
distinguished one another. My grandfather continued to hand down all Jewish
customs and all the feelings that a Jew should have, and this was the same
with my father, who wanted to raise us in a Jewish spirit and strictly
observed the rules that were customary among Sephardi Jews. The Sephardi
Jews were religious, but they were in no sense Orthodox. They were not too
religious like the Jews in Poland, Ukraine.
The Jews socialized together. This helped ensure that marriages were, in
general, Jewish. A Jewish man was obliged to marry a Jewish woman and vice
versa. If the opposite happened, it was considered a great misfortune and
an embarrassment to the family. This also was true for the other religions.
children and the children responded in Ladino. Religious customs were
regularly observed. Every Shabbat was celebrated with two candles, and all
the holidays were celebrated first in temple, then at home. All of this
occurred not long after the Turks left Bosnia, which means during the
Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia, so my grandfather, like all Jewish
men, wore a fez. At the time, even members of other religions wore fezzes
and they knew who was of which faith based on the color of the fez: Turks
wore a deep red fez, Jews wore a dark brown fez; this is how they
distinguished one another. My grandfather continued to hand down all Jewish
customs and all the feelings that a Jew should have, and this was the same
with my father, who wanted to raise us in a Jewish spirit and strictly
observed the rules that were customary among Sephardi Jews. The Sephardi
Jews were religious, but they were in no sense Orthodox. They were not too
religious like the Jews in Poland, Ukraine.
The Jews socialized together. This helped ensure that marriages were, in
general, Jewish. A Jewish man was obliged to marry a Jewish woman and vice
versa. If the opposite happened, it was considered a great misfortune and
an embarrassment to the family. This also was true for the other religions.
Period
Location
Gračanica
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Interview
Cadik Danon