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After baking bread my mother started cooking. First she made food for Friday: gefilte fish, chicken broth, potato pancakes and carrot tsimes. My mother kept geese and we always had a roasted goose for Sabbath. Then she put a pot of cholnt into the oven for the next day. She also closed the door to the oven with clay and the stew was kept there until the next day.
On weekdays my mother did all housework herself, but on Friday she always invited a Ukrainian woman to help her with washing. On Friday she always changed bed sheets. My mother had a lot of work to do before Sabbath. Se had to go to the mikveh before the first star appeared in the sky. On weekdays we washed in a basin at home, but on Friday all went to the mikveh. In small villages men and women took turns to get washed. Our village was big and there was a big mikveh. There were two buildings, one for men and one for women. There were 4 bathtubs and a swimming pool in each building. At first it was necessary to get washed in the bath and then dip into the swimming pool three times. On Friday morning all water was drained from the swimming pools. The swimming pools and bathtubs were washed with milk. The rabbi watched the process. Then the rabbi said a blessing and it was allowed to fill the swimming pools with water. There were steel stoves plunged into the swimming pools to heat water. They started the stoves and added wood from above. I went to the mikveh with my father and brothers. Before going there my mother washed us in a basin, but we still had to wash with soap in a bathtub before jumping into the swimming pool. There were bath house attendants in the mikveh watching the order. When the boys became naughty the attendant threatened to throw us out. Of course, it never came to that. After the swimming pool we had to get dressed quickly since my father didn’t like waiting.
When we came home from the mikveh, my mother had everything ready for us. She had also returned from the mikveh and wore her fanciest dress. Then we sat at the table, my mother lit candles and recited a prayer over them. Then we prayed together and started dinner. When the candles were lit, it was not allowed to do any work until the evening of the next day when the first star appeared in the sky. It was not allowed to put down the candles they were to burn down. There was a poor Ukrainian family living nearby. The mother of this family came after dinner to clean the table and light the lamps. [shabesgoy] On the next day she came several times to start the stove, take out the pot with cholnt and milk the cows and oxen. My mother always gave this neighbor this Saturday milk. On Saturday morning we went to the synagogue. The boys under 8 years of age went to the synagogue with the mother and then, when they grew older, they went with the father. The adults were not allowed to eat till they came from the synagogue, but the children did not have to follow this rule. The adults had to start praying in the morning. They stayed at the synagogue till late afternoon. It was not allowed to do any work on this day. If one touched anything, but the book of prayers, he had to wash his hands three times. On Saturday it was not allowed to eat alone, apart from the family. Everybody sat together at the round table and took to dinner after a prayer. After dinner the family sat around the father and he read the Saturday section from the torah to us explaining it or told us something of the Jewish history. Then he went to the synagogue. When he returned home, the family sat down to supper. My father conducted the Havdalah service: Havdalah means “separation” and is a service used to separate the holiness of the Sabbath from the rest of the week. There was a glass of wine on a plate and everybody had his own glass for wine. Everybody drank wine; even younger children got a little to wet their lips. My father lit a candle, poured some wine into his glass and said a blessing over the wine. Everybody had to sip wine and pray. Then my father poured wine into a saucer and put down the candle in wine. Then everybody wished each other a good week. Only kosher wine made by Jews was good for Havdalah. Subcarpathia is the country of vineyards, and almost every family made wine, but one had to make sure of its kosher compliance before buying it even from a neighbor. Therefore, Jews either made their own wine or bought it from others Jews who made kosher wine and whose wineries were inspected by a rabbi who issued permits for wine making.
On weekdays my mother did all housework herself, but on Friday she always invited a Ukrainian woman to help her with washing. On Friday she always changed bed sheets. My mother had a lot of work to do before Sabbath. Se had to go to the mikveh before the first star appeared in the sky. On weekdays we washed in a basin at home, but on Friday all went to the mikveh. In small villages men and women took turns to get washed. Our village was big and there was a big mikveh. There were two buildings, one for men and one for women. There were 4 bathtubs and a swimming pool in each building. At first it was necessary to get washed in the bath and then dip into the swimming pool three times. On Friday morning all water was drained from the swimming pools. The swimming pools and bathtubs were washed with milk. The rabbi watched the process. Then the rabbi said a blessing and it was allowed to fill the swimming pools with water. There were steel stoves plunged into the swimming pools to heat water. They started the stoves and added wood from above. I went to the mikveh with my father and brothers. Before going there my mother washed us in a basin, but we still had to wash with soap in a bathtub before jumping into the swimming pool. There were bath house attendants in the mikveh watching the order. When the boys became naughty the attendant threatened to throw us out. Of course, it never came to that. After the swimming pool we had to get dressed quickly since my father didn’t like waiting.
When we came home from the mikveh, my mother had everything ready for us. She had also returned from the mikveh and wore her fanciest dress. Then we sat at the table, my mother lit candles and recited a prayer over them. Then we prayed together and started dinner. When the candles were lit, it was not allowed to do any work until the evening of the next day when the first star appeared in the sky. It was not allowed to put down the candles they were to burn down. There was a poor Ukrainian family living nearby. The mother of this family came after dinner to clean the table and light the lamps. [shabesgoy] On the next day she came several times to start the stove, take out the pot with cholnt and milk the cows and oxen. My mother always gave this neighbor this Saturday milk. On Saturday morning we went to the synagogue. The boys under 8 years of age went to the synagogue with the mother and then, when they grew older, they went with the father. The adults were not allowed to eat till they came from the synagogue, but the children did not have to follow this rule. The adults had to start praying in the morning. They stayed at the synagogue till late afternoon. It was not allowed to do any work on this day. If one touched anything, but the book of prayers, he had to wash his hands three times. On Saturday it was not allowed to eat alone, apart from the family. Everybody sat together at the round table and took to dinner after a prayer. After dinner the family sat around the father and he read the Saturday section from the torah to us explaining it or told us something of the Jewish history. Then he went to the synagogue. When he returned home, the family sat down to supper. My father conducted the Havdalah service: Havdalah means “separation” and is a service used to separate the holiness of the Sabbath from the rest of the week. There was a glass of wine on a plate and everybody had his own glass for wine. Everybody drank wine; even younger children got a little to wet their lips. My father lit a candle, poured some wine into his glass and said a blessing over the wine. Everybody had to sip wine and pray. Then my father poured wine into a saucer and put down the candle in wine. Then everybody wished each other a good week. Only kosher wine made by Jews was good for Havdalah. Subcarpathia is the country of vineyards, and almost every family made wine, but one had to make sure of its kosher compliance before buying it even from a neighbor. Therefore, Jews either made their own wine or bought it from others Jews who made kosher wine and whose wineries were inspected by a rabbi who issued permits for wine making.
Period
Location
Kamyanske
Ukraine
Interview
Yacob Hollander
Tag(s)