Tag #129398 - Interview #78777 (masha zakh)

When my grandmother was alive, we observed Jewish traditions. My grandmother did the cooking and did her best to follow the kosher rules. It was hardly possible to buy kosher meat after the war. It was hard to buy any food at that time. However, if there was meat at home, it was beef, veal or poultry. My grandmother didn't accept pork meat. She watched it that we ate dairy and meat products separately. We didn't even add sour cream to meat soup. We celebrated all Jewish holidays according to the rules.

For some time after the war matzah wasn't available in stores and my grandmother made it herself. I was there to assist her, since matzah has to be rolled during a 15-minute cycle to be appropriate. My grandmother used to roll the dough and I poked holes and put it into the oven. It was hard to cook all traditional Jewish food on holidays during the post-war years, but my grandmother did her best to manage. She made gefilte fish or chicken. She tried to make something delicious for holidays.

My stepfather also celebrated Jewish holidays with us after he moved in with us. On Yom Kippur we fasted as required for 24 hours. Well, my mother or stepfather didn't go to the synagogue, though. They were members of the Party, and if somebody had known they observed Jewish traditions, they would have had problems at work. The Soviet rule didn't appreciate religious people and fought against religion [16].