Tag #123922 - Interview #78792 (Harun Bozo)

Iliya Hidir was a skinny man. He was a reserved man; he never wore suits but would go around in a 'kusak' [large belt wrapped around the waist]. He was quite well off, knew business well and was a very rational man. He was also a rabbi but he didn't do it professionally. He was very knowledgeable in religious matters. He gave lessons in religion and everyone would gather around him. We had a rabbi called Moshe Atiye, who came to Istanbul afterwards. Moshe Atiye, my father, Davut Hidir and his brother, shochet Azur, studied religion at the synagogue in the mornings. The younger generation would gather around them to learn from them. They would read a text and then discuss the interpretation. They learned how to do what, when and how. That's how they learned about religion. Reading the Agada at Pesah usually took one hour in Urfa, but it would take two to three hours in our house because my father - may his soul rest in peace - would sit and teach us all. We would read the Agada in Hebrew and then read its translation into Arabic, so we could understand what it was saying. Sometimes, we would sit till morning interpreting certain parts of the text.