Dina Orlova with her family

This is a family photo. In the first row from left to right are my mother Nehuma Roizen holding my daughter Svetlana Orlova, and my father Mendel-Bert Roizen. In the second row are my husband Efim Orlov, me and my cousin, Michael Roizman. The photo was taken in Chernovtsy in 1965. We went for a walk in the town and had our photo taken. I met Efim in Chernovtsy. He visited our distant relative from Murafa. They both came to our house. We met when I returned from work. He was a student at the Medical School in Vinnitsa. He came to Chernovtsy on vacation. After he went back to Vinnitsa we started to correspond with each other. A year later he came to Chernovtsy and proposed to me. My husband's real name was Efim Srulevich. Before our wedding he changed his Jewish surname to Orlov, a typical Russian surname. He probably thought this would make our life easier and our children would have fewer problems. We got married in 1962 and had a civil ceremony. Then he returned to Vinnitsa to finish his studies. When my husband returned we had a traditional Jewish wedding. We had a chuppah at home, and a rabbi from the synagogue conducted the wedding ceremony. The rabbi said what's traditionally said at weddings. My husband and I exchanged rings and then had a glass of wine given to us. We sipped wine from the glass and the rabbi told me to throw the glass to the ground and break it. We only invited our closest family and friends to our Jewish wedding party. My parents gave me and my husband one room and moved into another room in the same flat with my brother. My husband and I observed Jewish traditions. Of course, it was difficult to follow the kashrut because there was no place to buy kosher products. On Friday evenings the family got together for prayers and the ceremony of lighting candles. We couldn't observe Sabbath because it was a working day, but we got together on all other Jewish holidays. My daughter Svetlana was born in 1964, and my son Vladimir in 1966. He was circumcised. Our children were raised Jewish. We spoke Russian in the family, but we also taught the children Yiddish. They knew Jewish traditions and observed Jewish holidays with us. My husband taught our son the traditional four questions [the mah nishtanah] to be asked at seder on Pesach. My husband didn't go to the synagogue at that time because the practice of religiosity was punished by the authorities. My husband worked a lot to provide for the family. I also worked and took care of the household. We often had guests; my husband and I liked guests. Mostly we had Jewish friends visiting. We celebrated both Jewish and Soviet holidays. 9th May, Victory Day, was the best holiday ever! Every year on Victory Day we thanked God for our survival. On other holidays we just got together with friends for a party and to have a good time. We used to have up to 30 guests on every holiday. My husband liked singing Jewish songs on Jewish and Soviet holidays. We invited our Jewish friends on Jewish holidays. I made traditional Jewish food. I've always liked cooking and make delicious food: gefilte fish, chicken broth, chicken neck stuffed with liver and fried onions and strudels. On Purim I make hamantashen. On Pesach there's matzah at home and we follow all rules celebrating this holiday.