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From 1992 I was a ritual supervisor – it is called mashghiach – for the Federation [the Federation of the Jewish Communities in Romania]. The Federation in Bucharest made a request asking whether they could send there someone from Botosani. You weren’t required to have special studies, I know these things from my family, my family fully observed the kashrut, and I knew the rules, but I was examined by rabbi Rosen [7]. I couldn’t move there permanently, for my sister was still alive, I had to come home as well, spend time with her, and I went there for 4, 5, 6 months, and then I returned home where I stayed for several months, after which they called me there again. In the meantime, during the period that I was in Botosani, they hired someone else. I worked like that, intermittently, for 2-3 years.
I went to the slaughterhouse in Bucharest. There was a very large slaughterhouse in Bucharest – it is called Grina – and that’s where they sacrificed the cattle for the ritual canteen of the Federation in Bucharest. I went there with 2 hakhamim and slaughtered animals. I was in charge of supervising the slaughtering. When they slaughter the cattle, they take the lung out and inflate it to see if air doesn’t escape, if it doesn’t have holes – to see if the animal wasn’t ill. They check the liver to see if it is clean. And they check the insides of the cattle’s stomach to see if there are no nails, metal chains, or what not there; if there were, it wasn’t good for eating anymore, it was no longer kosher. I also brought meat from there to Botosani. I also assisted the slaughtering here, in Botosani, whener the hakham came. Now they no longer send a hakham here as the expenses for doing so are high.
I also worked at the home for elderly people in Bucharest. I lived there during the time that I stayed in Bucharest, and I worked as a mashghiach for the canteen over there, as well as for the Federation’s canteen where food was prepared for the assisted living in Bucharest. Usually, there were 2 kitchens at the homes for elderly persons. In Bucharest as well there are 2 kitchens with separate dishes, with separate silverware, everything was separate. There were 2 models – one model for meat and one for milk. Those need to be supervised as well. Until recently, the Federation ran 4-5 homes for the elderly. There were even more, but as Jews passed away, their number diminished, now there is a home for the elderly only in Bucharest and in Arad. They also accommodated Christians in these homes, but only those who worked for the Federation.
I was already working for the Community in Botosani the last time when I was in Bucharest. A new kitchen was being inaugurated at Balus, in Bucharest – which has been dismantled in the meantime. I was there for the opening, and I stayed there for 6 months on that occasion – from around January until after Passover. I haven’t been to Bucharest ever since.
I went to the slaughterhouse in Bucharest. There was a very large slaughterhouse in Bucharest – it is called Grina – and that’s where they sacrificed the cattle for the ritual canteen of the Federation in Bucharest. I went there with 2 hakhamim and slaughtered animals. I was in charge of supervising the slaughtering. When they slaughter the cattle, they take the lung out and inflate it to see if air doesn’t escape, if it doesn’t have holes – to see if the animal wasn’t ill. They check the liver to see if it is clean. And they check the insides of the cattle’s stomach to see if there are no nails, metal chains, or what not there; if there were, it wasn’t good for eating anymore, it was no longer kosher. I also brought meat from there to Botosani. I also assisted the slaughtering here, in Botosani, whener the hakham came. Now they no longer send a hakham here as the expenses for doing so are high.
I also worked at the home for elderly people in Bucharest. I lived there during the time that I stayed in Bucharest, and I worked as a mashghiach for the canteen over there, as well as for the Federation’s canteen where food was prepared for the assisted living in Bucharest. Usually, there were 2 kitchens at the homes for elderly persons. In Bucharest as well there are 2 kitchens with separate dishes, with separate silverware, everything was separate. There were 2 models – one model for meat and one for milk. Those need to be supervised as well. Until recently, the Federation ran 4-5 homes for the elderly. There were even more, but as Jews passed away, their number diminished, now there is a home for the elderly only in Bucharest and in Arad. They also accommodated Christians in these homes, but only those who worked for the Federation.
I was already working for the Community in Botosani the last time when I was in Bucharest. A new kitchen was being inaugurated at Balus, in Bucharest – which has been dismantled in the meantime. I was there for the opening, and I stayed there for 6 months on that occasion – from around January until after Passover. I haven’t been to Bucharest ever since.
Period
Location
Bucharest
Romania
Interview
Solomon Meir