Tag #146258 - Interview #100173 (Rosa Linger)

Our sons were not brought in the religious spirit. We understood that they were to live in Soviet Union and did not want to create additional hurdles for them. We always marked Jewish holidays at home. Our sons knew the history of each holiday and traditions, connected with them. We did not take them to the synagogue, but at home they always took part in paschal seder, Kapores, Yom-Kippur. Even in soviet times we there was matzah for Pesach in the house. Of course, there was no place to buy it officially. There was a bakery, where people brought flour, their matzah was baked for them and then they took it.  Mother got up at 5 a.m. to stand in the line of the bakery. In the evening she and my husband went to the bakery to pick up matzah. There was no way we could miss a Jewish holiday. Of course, the regime constantly was putting obstacles but those who wanted to be a Jew, were not stopped. Mother always bought alive chicken on the market and took them to shochet. She ate only chicken out of all meat. Those who wanted, found the ways. There was Jewish cultural life in postwar Latvia. Jewish singers came from Lithuania and Russia. We had never missed the concerts and the performance. Husband was the amateur theater-goer and I gladly went there with him. We were young, and feeling happy about everything.