Tag #152530 - Interview #101417 (Sarah Kaplan)

Grandfather Joseph and Grandmother Khaika were deeply religious. They observed all Jewish traditions. Since we lived in their house, we obeyed the rules and traditions. Friday was a difficult day for us, girls. We had to clean the house, wash the floors and polish the furniture before Sabbath. My mother, her sisters and her brothers’ wives cooked dinner for Friday evenings and Saturdays. There were twelve families in the house. They all helped and supported one another. There were several kitchens and stoves in the house and there was enough space for all families. My mother made stew, chicken broth, boiled chicken and pastries, put it in the oven and closed its lid covering it with clay. On top of the stove she put bowls of boiled milk wrapped in heavy coats. By the next morning this milk had turned pink. It was delicious.

When the cleaning and cooking was over we all changed into clean clothes. My mother ceremoniously gave my father starched underwear. My father and the other men went to the synagogue. After they returned the family sat down for dinner. My mother said a prayer covering her eyes with her palms and lit candles. My father dipped a piece of challah into salt and poured some wine for himself and my mother. It was a joyful ceremony.

On Saturdays the whole family went to the synagogue. The youngest children were playing in the yard under the supervision of a guard from the synagogue. I remember two synagogues in Berdichev: one for wealthier Jews and the other one for less fortunate people. Our family attended the latter. The synagogue looked like a palace to me with beautifully carved handrails on the staircase leading to the 2nd floor, where my mother and I went, and a chandelier with clinking pieces of glass. I liked it. When we returned from the synagogue our Ukrainian neighbor Antonina came to the house to take the food out of the oven. Antonina also milked the cow while my mother and other members of the family rested.