Selected text
My grandfather did not conduct services in Zagreb because he was already
too old. He went to temple. There were two temples in Zagreb, one Sephardi
and one Ashkenazi, which was enormous and was destroyed by the Ustashe in
1941. My grandfather demanded that all of his children - and this was not
hard because they all listened to him and respected him - observe the
Jewish tradition, practices, go to temple on the holidays, if not every
Saturday and Friday evening. All of his children had to teach their
children about Judaism from a young age, which we continued later in the
Jewish school. I remember when my mother taught my sister and I the basic
Jewish prayers. We still had not started school at that time. She would
take us in her lap and recite Shema Israel, and we would repeat it a few
times. After a few days we knew the Shema Israel. My mother - and even more
so her brothers, two of whom had studied to be rabbis - observed the
holidays at home. The two of them surely observed kashrut. From the
earliest childhood, we received lessons in Judaism and knowledge about our
roots. When we began the Jewish elementary school we received even more.
too old. He went to temple. There were two temples in Zagreb, one Sephardi
and one Ashkenazi, which was enormous and was destroyed by the Ustashe in
1941. My grandfather demanded that all of his children - and this was not
hard because they all listened to him and respected him - observe the
Jewish tradition, practices, go to temple on the holidays, if not every
Saturday and Friday evening. All of his children had to teach their
children about Judaism from a young age, which we continued later in the
Jewish school. I remember when my mother taught my sister and I the basic
Jewish prayers. We still had not started school at that time. She would
take us in her lap and recite Shema Israel, and we would repeat it a few
times. After a few days we knew the Shema Israel. My mother - and even more
so her brothers, two of whom had studied to be rabbis - observed the
holidays at home. The two of them surely observed kashrut. From the
earliest childhood, we received lessons in Judaism and knowledge about our
roots. When we began the Jewish elementary school we received even more.
Interview
Albert Eskenazi