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The town itself, Kolbuszowa, I remember only vaguely. There were flower gardens and blooming trees – it must have been April. I remember the town square. My grandfather’s house wasn’t tall but spread wide. There were three rooms and a very large kitchen. To the left of the kitchen there was the room I never entered where lessons were held – those Talmudic disputes – as my grandfather had pupils, a dozen or so. And there were two rooms to the right. One was the ceremonial room where the holiday meals were celebrated; otherwise meals were taken in the kitchen.
There were books everywhere. Even in the kitchen there was a small shelf for small books. In the ceremonial room a whole wall was packed with books, big and small, thick and thin. Those were the holy books with biblical commentary, Talmudic. Sometimes Grandfather would take one of those to his students. He spent every free moment bent over a book. Next to the bookshelves there was a small table with curved legs and a wide top over which an oil lamp hung low. That was where my grandfather read. That table belonged only to him.
There were books everywhere. Even in the kitchen there was a small shelf for small books. In the ceremonial room a whole wall was packed with books, big and small, thick and thin. Those were the holy books with biblical commentary, Talmudic. Sometimes Grandfather would take one of those to his students. He spent every free moment bent over a book. Next to the bookshelves there was a small table with curved legs and a wide top over which an oil lamp hung low. That was where my grandfather read. That table belonged only to him.
Period
Location
Kolbuszowa
Poland
Interview
Noemi Korsan-Ekert