Selected text
We didn’t keep the Jewish traditions until the democracy. But after that, after 1989, they remembered me and called me to the first management team after the changes. Together with Eddie Schvartz we were in the first management team. The first thing we did with Marko Isakov was the new regulations. That’s how we started and I was gradually becoming familiar with things. My husband died in 1996. Now my emotions are focused on the activities in the Jewish Cultural Center. I’m very excited by the revival of the Jewish traditions. I’m a member of Bnai Brith [41] of the clubs ‘Health,’ ‘Golden Age,’ ‘Ladino’ and ‘Roh Hodesh,’ women who gather once a month to observe the holidays of the month, so the holidays are kept and there are discussions and stories told. [All these are clubs at the organization of the Jews in Bulgaria ‘Shalom,’ which gather representatives of the golden age and middle-aged people] I’m also a member of the Spiritual Council [the Israelite Spiritual Council].
It was my idea to tell stories from the Bible twice a week. In the beginning it was formal and quite stagnant but gradually, with joined forces, we revived certain traditions. For example, every Friday, when the prayer is over, we greet each other and shake hands. Every Saturday morning we used to drink coffee but I went to Horkhe [Jorge Diener – director of American Joint for Bulgaria and Hungary] and I managed to obtain meals at which Jewish dishes are served. We have to convene, to talk about the traditions, about the past of our families. When people are at the table there’s always fun and dynamics. It helps people relax. We also invited Lika who sings some Jewish songs. [Lika Ashkenazi – a singer who collects and releases discs of typical Sephardi songs with her band ‘Dulse Canto.’] We join her and we assisted her in her conquests and helped her with our experience. It’s nice!
And even the other night, when I finished with the Ladino, I was exhausted because I put in a lot of effort. There I’m very active because it’s important for me to instill nostalgia to the father’s home, to the mother’s house, to the mother’s knitting, gastronomy. I was tired, but I couldn’t leave right away and so I stayed. I saw that there were women in the hall, they were dancing, singing. [Dance Club where Jewish women and wives of Jews gather every Monday and Tuesday to learn Jewish dances. The club is organized by Mati Samouilova.] It seemed to me that I was young again and I was back in Pazardzhik, in Maccabi, in the yard of the Jewish school. I can see that nowadays women with children come to dance here – they feel united together. It’s not important whether they are Jews or not but they feel well together when they sing and dance. This gives me great pleasure.
I have read lectures to young children in the children’s camp in Kovachevtsi. [A Jewish summer camp for children founded by ‘Shalom,’ American Joint and ‘Ronald S. Lauder’ Foundation. Children of Jewish origin from all parts of Bulgaria have been gathering there for ten years during their summer holidays in order to be together.] I have also read lectures to adults. I could see the rise of their Jewish consciousness; they want to be Jews. His grandmother was a Jew, and now he’s coming to the Jewish Center; his grandfather was a Jew and he wants to be a Jew, too. It seems to me that there’s a unification of the community on every level. When I visited the children’s camp in Kovavhevtsi I said to myself, ‘My goodness, how many Jewish children there are!’ A boy came to me and said, ‘I’m not a proper Jew; my grandfather was Bulgarian. Don’t you have a bad attitude towards me?’ ‘Of course not.’ I didn’t receive any compensation from the Swiss aid. I didn’t get a single cent for anything.
When I was given the ‘Shofar’ award, somebody asked me if there was a financial award as well. I replied, ‘No, there isn’t.’ [The ‘Shofar’ is an award given by the organization of the Jews in Bulgaria ‘Shalom’ which was created three years ago (2003) with the aim of popularizing the activities of the Jews. Sofi Danon got the first ‘Shofar’ for her voluntary work. Among the awards there’s a division for Ethnic and Religious Tolerance. The award is given to non-Jews: journalists and public activists who had proven their ethnic and religious tolerance.
It was my idea to tell stories from the Bible twice a week. In the beginning it was formal and quite stagnant but gradually, with joined forces, we revived certain traditions. For example, every Friday, when the prayer is over, we greet each other and shake hands. Every Saturday morning we used to drink coffee but I went to Horkhe [Jorge Diener – director of American Joint for Bulgaria and Hungary] and I managed to obtain meals at which Jewish dishes are served. We have to convene, to talk about the traditions, about the past of our families. When people are at the table there’s always fun and dynamics. It helps people relax. We also invited Lika who sings some Jewish songs. [Lika Ashkenazi – a singer who collects and releases discs of typical Sephardi songs with her band ‘Dulse Canto.’] We join her and we assisted her in her conquests and helped her with our experience. It’s nice!
And even the other night, when I finished with the Ladino, I was exhausted because I put in a lot of effort. There I’m very active because it’s important for me to instill nostalgia to the father’s home, to the mother’s house, to the mother’s knitting, gastronomy. I was tired, but I couldn’t leave right away and so I stayed. I saw that there were women in the hall, they were dancing, singing. [Dance Club where Jewish women and wives of Jews gather every Monday and Tuesday to learn Jewish dances. The club is organized by Mati Samouilova.] It seemed to me that I was young again and I was back in Pazardzhik, in Maccabi, in the yard of the Jewish school. I can see that nowadays women with children come to dance here – they feel united together. It’s not important whether they are Jews or not but they feel well together when they sing and dance. This gives me great pleasure.
I have read lectures to young children in the children’s camp in Kovachevtsi. [A Jewish summer camp for children founded by ‘Shalom,’ American Joint and ‘Ronald S. Lauder’ Foundation. Children of Jewish origin from all parts of Bulgaria have been gathering there for ten years during their summer holidays in order to be together.] I have also read lectures to adults. I could see the rise of their Jewish consciousness; they want to be Jews. His grandmother was a Jew, and now he’s coming to the Jewish Center; his grandfather was a Jew and he wants to be a Jew, too. It seems to me that there’s a unification of the community on every level. When I visited the children’s camp in Kovavhevtsi I said to myself, ‘My goodness, how many Jewish children there are!’ A boy came to me and said, ‘I’m not a proper Jew; my grandfather was Bulgarian. Don’t you have a bad attitude towards me?’ ‘Of course not.’ I didn’t receive any compensation from the Swiss aid. I didn’t get a single cent for anything.
When I was given the ‘Shofar’ award, somebody asked me if there was a financial award as well. I replied, ‘No, there isn’t.’ [The ‘Shofar’ is an award given by the organization of the Jews in Bulgaria ‘Shalom’ which was created three years ago (2003) with the aim of popularizing the activities of the Jews. Sofi Danon got the first ‘Shofar’ for her voluntary work. Among the awards there’s a division for Ethnic and Religious Tolerance. The award is given to non-Jews: journalists and public activists who had proven their ethnic and religious tolerance.
Period
Location
Sofia
Bulgaria
Interview
Sofi Eshua Danon-Moshe