Tag #152553 - Interview #101417 (Sarah Kaplan)

I always observed all the Jewish traditions that my mother had taught me. My husband and I spoke Yiddish. We celebrated all Jewish holidays. The synagogue was closed, but we prayed at home every day. We have our prayer books at home. There was no place to buy kosher food, but we never ate pork or dairy and meat products together. Even when it was impossible to officially get matzah there were underground bakeries where we could always get some for Pesach. All Jews knew the addresses of these bakeries and kept them a secret from outsiders. My husband and I always fasted on Yom Kippur and commemorated the deceased. Religious Jews always had religious calendars that their friends brought from Israel. They made copies of these calendars and sold them to Jews. We never acknowledged or celebrated Soviet holidays, but used them as an occasion to meet friends and invite them to our house to have a good time together.