Of course, Jewish traditions were also observed in our family. There were separate dishes for milk and meat. There was no pork. Hens were taken to shochet, whose shichta was in the yard of the synagogue. I often went there as per mother’s request.
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Displaying 44191 - 44220 of 50826 results
Yakov Bunke
Father did not go to the synagogue every Saturday, but he marked Sabbath at home for sure. We celebrated Sabbath in our rented apartment and grandparents in their place. On Sabbath mother cooked festive meals- chicken broth with noodles and gefilte fish. She also made deserts- imberlakh, all kinds of tsimes. I was never interested in the recipes. All my life I did not have a need in learning how to cook. Cholnt was the main Sabbath dish. It cooked in a large pot. The ingredients were meat, potatoes, beans. On Friday it was placed in a heated oven. I usually took it to grandmother, as their stove was always hot after challah baking. Grandmother gave us several fresh challahs, which was mandatory on Sabbath table. On Saturday I picked up our cholnt and we had it for lunch. On that day parent did not do anyting, though it was hard for my father to stand the loitering of that day.
We marked all Jewish holidays. Parents went to a nice and big synagogue and took us with them. I remember that I came in there for several times only. I mostly stayed in the yard with my pals. The biggest holiday – Pesach required beforehand preparation. Our apartment was scrubbed,and clean, dishes were koshered. We had special table dishes for his holiday, which was stored in the chest. Pots and pans were boiled in a huge pot in the yard. Matzah was brought from the synagogue. There was not a single bread crumb in the house on the first day of the holiday. I do not remember any special Pascal traditions. The first sedder was at home. Father reclined on the pillows at the head of the table and hid a piece of matzha under the pillow. One of us found it afterwards. Younger brothers asked four traditional questions about the holiday. On the second day we usually went to grandparents, when seder was stricter as grandpa was a deeply religious man.
Yakov Furmanas
. My maternal grandfather, Mikhail Ragalin was born in Siauliai in 1870. He most likely got both secular and religious education. He was a rather modern man with democratic views. He had a wide circle of acquaintances. My grandpa Mikhail owned a large tannery in Siauliai. During the soviet time bike plant was built in place of grandpa’s factory. He often went to Moscow. He had his own sales representative there before revolution [2]. Grandpa was one of the richest and the most respectable men in Siauliai. He had his own honorary seat in the synagogue. Though he was not a zealot, he sacredly followed Jewish traditions. Like many Lithuanians he wore a small beard and a nice kippa on his head.
Grandma was several years younger than her husband, but still she was the leader in family and business issues. She was tall and stately, with authoritarian character. Her adult kids strictly obeyed her. Like all Jewish ladies she covered her head. When she walked to people, she wore a wig, at home she had a lacy kerchief.
Meyer and his wife perished in Siauliai ghetto during occupation. Their son survived. He is currently living in Israel.
My mother Anna Ragalina was born in Siauliai in 1890s. she got a good education for that time- she finished Russian lyceum. She was fluent in written and spoken Jewish, Russian and Lithuanian.
My paternal grandpa, born in 1860s, was the merchant of the fist guild [3]. He lived with his family in Moscow. His name was Dovid Furman. I cannot recall grandmother’s name. Dovid was a very wealthy man. He owned stores and he was somehow connected with Mikhail Ragalin.
Grandpa died in late 1930s and we found out about it only after Lithuania was annexed to Soviet Union [4]. Before 1941 our Moscow relatives did not communicate with us, because they lived in the USSR and in those years to have relatives in the bourgeois country it was dangerous for them [5].
My father Nuchim was born in Moscow in 1890s. Upon graduation from lyceum, he became a merchant and started helping father.
My parents got married in Moscow in 1915. Though, both families- father’s and mother’s were rather modern, the wedding was Jewish. Parents were wed in chuppah in the central Moscow synagogue.
In 1916 I, Yakov Furman, the first-born came into the world. Lithuanian ending “as” was added to my last name when parents moved to Lithuania. When the revolution was about to start my sagacious parents did not think twice and moved in Lithuanian town Siauliai, where mother was born.
Siauliai was a rather big city with developed industry. Tannery and footwear production were the most developed here. Most factory owners were Jews. The largest tannery belonged to the richest Jew of Siauliai- Frenkel. He was a very modest man. His clothes were not posh, but expensive. He chose London for permanent abode. He came in Siauliai almost every month for his managers to report to him. Plant manages were also Jews. Frenkel was the most respectable man in town. He was actively involved in charity. He mostly helped Jewish community, but he also gave monetary assistance to Russians and Lithuanians, provided money for town’s needs. He made part of his house, which looked more like a palace, into the premises of Hebrew lyceum. He founded and sponsored nursery home, where old paupers, Jews lived, and a canteen for poor Jews. Frenkel owned some trading companies. He built a rather large synagogue for plant workers. There were other rich Jews in town apart from Frenkel– factory owner Mureck Khrazinksiy, owner of soap making plant Zifa, bankers, merchants. Almost all stores in downtown pertained to Jews. Simpler Jews were concentrated in the market area. Those were craftsmen- cobblers, tailors, glazers, watch menders etc. there were several synagogues in the town and almost all Siauliai Jews were religious. Some of them were pious, others paid a tribute to the traditions like my grandpa Mikhail. On Saturdays, grandmother attended synagogue and took his honorary place.
The house, where we were living, was very large. It was one-storied mansion, where grandparents, our and Meyer’s family were living. Before departure for France, uncle Meishe with his family and aunt Nina were living here. Each had his own apartment here consisting of several room- drawing room, parents’ bedroom, study. Even I, the youngest, had my own large room facing the garden. There was a large kitchen with a huge stove, on which housekeeper cooked meals for the whole family under the supervision of mother and grandmother. The three families got together at the table. A large Russian stove [6] was in the kitchen, nice tilled heating stoves were in each room. We had all conveniences in the house, which was very rare. We had a toilet and a bathroom in a separate corridor. The water was pumped from the well and it was distributed between bathroom and kitchen. We had an expensive, nice solid furniture. I remember carved cupboard and a wardrobe, nice beds with the tester, sofas, a huge table with velvet cloth, pictures and Chinese porcelain vases. There was a large garden, where I spent my childhood. There was an orchard with apple, pear trees.. In summer and spring mother cooked jams, I still remember that sweet aroma which was felt in every room. There was also a husbandry –chicken and geese. Housekeeper took care of all chores, but at times we hired people for harvesting.
Our house was breathing with Jewish culture. The food was cooked by kashrut. There were separate dishes for milk and meat, even separate utensils which were never mixed. It was even stored in different drawers. Chicken, geese and other poultry were taken to shochet. His shichta was next to synagogue in the downtown. It was close by.we bought meat at the slaughter house, there was a special Jewish Siauliai slaughterhouse, where cows were killed in line with kashrut, and blood was drenched so that the meat became kosher. We never had pork at home, though w always wanted to taste pork ham and sausage, sold by Lithuanians, but there was not way to do that.
Saturday was the most important day of the week. Factory was closed on that day as well as other Jewish places. Lithuanians, who worked for grandpa, had a Sunday off as well. On Thursday challachs were baked in oven for Sabbath. On Friday everybody was busy mother, grandmother, Meyer’s wife, housekeeper. All of them were getting ready for Sabbath. Our house was always clean, but it was sparkling on Fridays. There was starched table cloth. The table was laid with challachs, wine, festive dinner. Grandpa and uncle Meyer went to the synagogue. At times my unreligious dad joined them. We were looking forward to see them back. When the first evening star appeared in the sky, grandmother being the eldest woman in the house, prayed and lit candles on the antique sconce. On Saturday we had the tastiest dishes. The mandatory dishes were gefilte fish, chicken brother, boiled and friend chicken and all kinds of tsimes. All of those dishes required heating. Thus they were served by a Lithuanian housekeeper. The most important Sabbath dish was cholnt- meat with beans and potatoes, which was kept in heated oven since Friday. On Saturday adults did not work. They spent time having conversations, took walks on the broadway, in the park with their children and families. In general, it referred mostly to rich Jews like our family. As for poor Jews, they also had to celebrate Sabbath, but they did not have money for it. There was a special charity committee and my grandpa was also a member of it. On the Sabbath eve, some of the Jews came over to us and got necessary things –money and products. I had never seen those people as they came from the back door. Our housekeeper and grandma fed them there.
We had a posh celebration of all Jewish holidays at home. On those days my father, and later I obligatorily went to the synagogue. On Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah everybody went to the synagogue and on that day shofar were blown, which made the air of festivity. Fish was served on that day and the head of the family –grandpa- ate the head of the fish. After his death, uncle Meyer did. There were a lot of deserts- all kinds of cakes, pies, imberlakh and tsimes. On Yom Kippur, adults fasted and even kids were given scarce food. On Yom Kippur each was given a poultry- boys were given a rooster and a girls were given a hen and we went to the shochet, who made kaporez rite- rotated the hen with while saying a prayer. –I liked autumn holidays. Sukkah was set up in the garden. If the fall was warm, children had meal there with the adults. If it was cold, we stayed in. Grandparents and the rest members of a large family had meals there for a week being shrouded with warm blankets. Simchat Torah was the most mirthful holiday. I will always remember those festive with the dances and songs around the synagogue on that day. We played treylakh on channukah and ate tasty potato latkes and doughnuts with jam during the holiday period. Besides, the adults – grandparents, uncle and aunt gave us money the so-called channukahgelt. Purim was also very joyful. I remember the carnival- the so called Purim spiel when I was a lyceum student. The tastiest were pies with poppy seeds- hamantashen, the deserts – the presents which we took to each other – shelakhmones. We experienced all those things in my childhood. When Purim was over, we started getting ready for the most important holiday of the year- Pesach. I did not take part in any preparation, but I remember that the house was shining. There were lacy tablecloths, the silver was shining. Huge baskets with matzah were brought from the synagogue. Pascal dishes were taken from the garret- set of dishes, tableware, antique china, crystal goblets and tots, kitchen utensils. Grandpa carried out the first sedder. He reclined on the head of table, read prayers and was the leader of the holiday. He hid matzah under pillow, some of the younger kids found it, and got the present for it. We asked four traditional questions about the holiday. First it was my task and when Dovid grew up, he started asking question. When grandpa died, uncle Meyer started carrying out seder and took up the responsibilities of the head of the large family. The table was laid with all traditional hagad dishes as well as the most scrumptious dishes cooked in our house. We made our own kosher wine and drank it. We filled the whole glass with wine for the prophet Iliagu and waited for the whole day for him to come in. It turned out in the morning there was less wine in the glass and we thought it was Iliagu who drank it. When grandpa was alive, he made sure that all Jewish traditions were unconditionally observed.
When grandpa was alive, he made sure that all Jewish traditions were unconditionally observed. I remember circumcision rite for my brother. A man from synagogue did it better than any surgeon would do. Grandpa taught me to write in Ivrit. I was not a bad student. When I turned 13, it was grandfather who led my bar mitzvah. He checked my knowledge which I got from the tutor. We had a grand celebration of my bar mitzvah. I got on the elevation in synagogue and read an excerpt from Torah which I learnt by heart. The table was laid at home and relatives and friends were invited. I knew the prayers and I was supposed to pray like a man. Now grandpa made sure every morning that I put the teffilin on my hand and prayed before going to the lyceum. Though, he also spurred me on with money. He gave me one lita a day for a good behavior which implied praying.
After grandpa died in early 1930s, Jewish traditions were not as ardently followed. Now father went to the synagogue only on big holidays. Kashrut was observed of course, but as far as I could see, father could break the rules when he was not at home, in the company of his friends. Now mother showed her posh plaits to the world and stopped covering her head. On course, on Saturday parents did not work and got together at the family table like they used to. Of course, celebration of holydays was not as grand, but still it was done the way grandpa Mikhail liked.
Now, the whole family went to the cinema. There were three movie houses in Siauliai. We loved movies. At that times there were mostly mute movies. I often watched Russian movies. My father and I enjoyed them. We were subscribed to Jewish papers and Russian newspaper Izvestia [one of the most popular communistic papers in the USSR, issued in the period of 1917- 1980s, with the circulation exceeding eight million copies]. Mother loved reading Russian novels. She finished Russian lyceum, where she got used to Russian literature.
I was enrolled in Hebrew lyceum at 8. It was the lyceum in Frenkels yard that I was talking about. The new premises were underway with construction, which was also sponsored by Frenkel. My grandpa Mikhail crammed me for the lyceum. When I was about to enter it, I had already known the basics of. The teaching was in Ivrit. We studied all compulsory subjects – physics, chemistry, mathematics, German an English, Latin, in a word the whole course of lyceum, which was secular since its founder was a layman. We did not study Judaism, but we studied Jewish history. We marked Jewish holidays. There was a drama circle where we staged the plays of Jewish playwrights. I found no interest in that. I was dreaming about entering the history department at the university. We had to pay a tuition so here only children of well-off people studied here.
There were a lot of political movements at that time- there was Zionists [7]. There were also underground communists in town. I would not join any of them, though my father supported the left ones, though he belonged to the class of exploiters so to say. It seemed to him that what was happening in the USSR was wonderful and enjoyed reading Russian press.
Aunt housed me in her huge apartment, having given me a separate room. She received me like a son. She took me shopping, having dressed me with French elegance, though I had pretty good clothing before. To my shame, in spite of classes with madam Fursje, I understood nothing and could not say a word in French. I started attending French courses. Owning to my knowledge in Latin and some basic knowledge I was taught at home, I became fluent in French rather quickly. I had a great living. I was fully provided by aunt, and my parents also sent me the money. The family of Rachil was very modern. Nobody observed Jewish traditions here. Though, the products and many other goods were purchased in the Jewish block in Paris (there was a street where only Jews were living, unfortunately I do not remember its name). There were Jewish stores, kosher cafes and restraints, souvenir workshops owned by Jews. We often went here for a walk, to go to kosher café. We also walked in the synagogue, which was on the same street. It was very rare, and it was not on holidays or Sabbath or holidays. Though, the biggest Jewish holidays were celebrated at Rachil’s place. As a rule, on Pesach one Jewish couple from Paris and our relatives came over. Only French was spoken in aunt’s place, though everybody knew both Russian and Yiddish very well.
I entered dentistry department of Paris university and continued the family dynasty. There were a lot of foreigners enrolled for a course- a lot of people from Africa, Arabians, Asians. I was struck by the democratic relationship there. Nobody cared what nationality people were. People were appreciated by the personal traits. e.g. I was friends with the student from Albania.
All those years were afflicted by the fascism regime. Germany was close by, and of course France was also imminent with danger, but nobody could picture what atrocities fascists would be capable of. It was a crystal night [8] and many Jews were leaving Germany. My uncle, Rachil’s husband, received fugitives from Germany. He helped them with money, found lodging for them. He was aware of what Hitler had in store for our nation.
In spring 1937 planned on returning. Again I was to go through Berlin, but I had to wait for the train. During the passport control, I was fairly treated as they took me for Lithuanian, not for a Jew.
Everybody was supposed to work, so I also got a job at the dispensary of the Jewish Healthcare Organization. The consultations were free of charge and mostly poor people came here as they did not have money for medical services, which only rich could afford. So, my income was skimpy. I could always count on father’s assistance and was pleased with work- I enjoyed the idea of helping the poor and that job gave me a valuable experience.
Upon my return, “left” ideas started appealing more and more to me. I had a friend, the underground communist, who became my ideal. I was involved in underground work- took part in the meetings, disseminated pro-Communist and pro-soviet leaflets and other propaganda. In spite of the wealth of my family, I did not see any contradictions in living at the expense of somebody else and at the same time trying to reach the equality. I sincerely dreamt of the society, where everybody would be as equal as in the USSR. Though, at that time we had no idea what was going on in Soviet Union. My father knew about my passion and showed that he was displeased, but mother was indifferent to that like many other women. All she cared about was my health.
In 1939 I had to go to Germany as per request of my uncle Meyer. Some of our family companions lived there. I was supposed to get some money and documents from him. Meyer bewared going there himself as he had a typical Jewish appearance. I saw no danger in that and went there calmly. In actuality, it seemed to me that I came in a civilized country, met a Jewish companion there and took a heavy parcel from him. There was fascists symbolism everywhere, policemen had fascist fylfot,, but I was very frivolous became of my age. I got on the train the same day and went home. I do not know what happened to that man. He must have perished without having a chance to leave the country on time.
,
1939
See text in interview
I was thrilled about soviet regime in Lithuania in June 1940. My comrade, a communist left prison and recommended me to the communist party. At that time the leading positions in the party were taken by the Jews, who were in the communist underground in capitalistic Lithuania. Thus, the first secretary of the municipal party community was a Jew. I joined the party very swiftly. I had a conflict with my parents in connection with that by that time our business- tannery and a store – was nationalized. Fortunately, our house was untouched, and our family and the family of Meyer remained in grandpa’s house.