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My father was born in Kovachevtsi in 1885 and moved to Sofia as a young man to study to be a hakham - that is what we call the rabbi's assistant in our synagogue, who can also read prayers and perform religious rituals. A hakham has a lower position in the hierarchy than the rabbi. There was a special Jewish religious school in Sofia that existed before the Central Synagogue was built in 1913.
My father married straight after graduating from the hakham school, stayed in Sofia and started trading. My father wasn't a chazzan at the synagogue, but he often went there to recite prayers because he had a lovely voice and knew a lot of prayers in Hebrew. He translated several books from ancient Hebrew to Ladino, including one book of the Talmud. This way my father contributed a lot to Jewish culture in Bulgaria. I donated his religious books to the synagogue after his death.
My father married straight after graduating from the hakham school, stayed in Sofia and started trading. My father wasn't a chazzan at the synagogue, but he often went there to recite prayers because he had a lovely voice and knew a lot of prayers in Hebrew. He translated several books from ancient Hebrew to Ladino, including one book of the Talmud. This way my father contributed a lot to Jewish culture in Bulgaria. I donated his religious books to the synagogue after his death.
Period
Location
Sofia
Bulgaria
Interview
ester josifova