Selected text
In Travnik
there were a lot of Jewish families, more Sephards than Ashkenazis. There
were rich and poor families. My great-grandfather was a small merchant and
lived very modestly with his family. The male children learned a trade and
female children did not go to school. My grandmother Rahela was very
adroit, hardworking and curious about everything. She and her brothers
learned Hebrew script and read religious books. Since the prayer books had
Ladino (a medieval Spanish dialect written with Hebrew characters; Ladino,
or Judeo-Espanol, was to Spanish what Yiddish was to German), she was able
to use the Ladino to learn Hebrew. She spoke Ladino, Turkish, Hebrew and
Serbian. She went to temple regularly, which was rare for female children
at the time. She married Moshe Albahari when she was 17 years old. My
grandfather Moshe's family lived in Travnik, and later moved to Tesanj, a
small place in Bosnia. Moshe and Rahela lived in Tesanj and had a small
shop. Rahela gave birth to 7 children: Salamon-Buhor, Jakob, Sabetaj, Leon,
Gedalja, Ester and David.
there were a lot of Jewish families, more Sephards than Ashkenazis. There
were rich and poor families. My great-grandfather was a small merchant and
lived very modestly with his family. The male children learned a trade and
female children did not go to school. My grandmother Rahela was very
adroit, hardworking and curious about everything. She and her brothers
learned Hebrew script and read religious books. Since the prayer books had
Ladino (a medieval Spanish dialect written with Hebrew characters; Ladino,
or Judeo-Espanol, was to Spanish what Yiddish was to German), she was able
to use the Ladino to learn Hebrew. She spoke Ladino, Turkish, Hebrew and
Serbian. She went to temple regularly, which was rare for female children
at the time. She married Moshe Albahari when she was 17 years old. My
grandfather Moshe's family lived in Travnik, and later moved to Tesanj, a
small place in Bosnia. Moshe and Rahela lived in Tesanj and had a small
shop. Rahela gave birth to 7 children: Salamon-Buhor, Jakob, Sabetaj, Leon,
Gedalja, Ester and David.
Location
Travnik
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Interview
Rahela Perisic