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I went to the cheder when I was 8. Cheder was only for boys and my sisters didn’t go there. Our teacher was teaching us to read and write in Yiddish and Hebrew. We studied arithmetic and knew our prayers by heart. When I reached 13 I had Barmitsva at the synagogue. I read my prayer by heart. I don’t remember the whole ritual, but I remember feeling myself very mature after it was over. I believe it was for the ceremony that my father gave me his thales and tfillin, but at that time it was a mere formality for me and I never put them on afterward.
Period
Interview
Alexandr Nepomniaschy