Tag #125934 - Interview #78405 (Rafael Beraha)

My grandfather Yuda Daniel Beraha was born in 1848 in Kazanlak. He died in 1936 in the same town. He was the first-born son, but unfortunately, despite his high intellect – he graduated from the famous Robert College [a prestigious French college in Istanbul] – he was infamous for being a habitual drunkard. This character trait isn’t typical for Jews in general. My grandfather dressed modestly. He drank away all the money he got from the many houses left to him as inheritance. They called him ‘grandfather Yuda, the Don-Cossack’, because he loved throwing drinking parties on cabs, to which he invited gypsies filling the streets of Kazanlak with their shrill zourias [ancient shrill instrument similar to a whistle]. Sarina Bidjerano Beraha was the wife of my father’s father. Unfortunately, I know nothing about my grandmother.

I remember a typical story about my grandfather. Once, probably because he had wasted too much money, they had to mortgage one of his houses. But Grandfather Yuda was very wild; he started chasing my father and uncle Yako with an axe, because they told him about the mortgage. He went to the mortgaged house and knocked it down with his axe – he was that angry.

My grandfather also had a fight with the rabbi in Kazanlak. My mother told me that. According to her, the rabbi allowed women to sit next to men in the synagogue and not in their assigned places; nobody knew why. Once my grandfather got very angry, although he wasn’t religious at all and started beating the rabbi with his cane. He was a very bad-tempered man. I’m very happy that none of his children inherited his horrible character.