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I liked celebrating the Sabbath very much. But you won’t find a person that wouldn’t reminisce about it. It belongs to the poetry of the Jewish religion. Everywhere absolute cleanliness and a set table. On the table wine, barches and chicken soup. On Saturday we had shoulet for lunch. My mother would make it on Friday. We had an oven that was lit, and I remember that when the shoulet was put in the oven, she didn’t take it out until later, on Saturday. It smelled wonderful! We also had meat – usually goose. It was very festive. We of course observed all the holidays. I remember that I liked the carnival – Purim, because I liked acting. Jewish children from several villages would get together, and we’d put on plays. I usually played the part of a drunk. We made fun of Haman, the Hitler from three thousand years ago. During the Purim holiday my grandfather would tell me about how in the Persian Empire the Jews were threatened by genocide, which Haman [Purim recalls the victory over Haman, the minister of the Persian king Ahasuerus, who wanted to exterminate the Jewish nation. These events took place during the years 369 – 356 BCE – Editor’s note] wanted to unleash. When we were talking about it, he reminded me that the Jews were persecuted later as well, in Spain. They forced them to convert to the Christian faith, and those that didn’t do it, they murdered, burned them alive [4]. From him I learned of the Inquisition.
During childhood there was one more holiday that I liked, that that was because it was poetic. It was Sukkot, the holiday of tents. It’s a commemoration of the fact that Jews didn’t have any houses, when they were wandering through the desert for 40 years, being led by Moses. The sukkah was covered by evergreen branches, and my sister and I would make all sorts of decorative garlands. It was beautiful. Also an interesting holiday. My mother served food into the sukkah through the window. And no one in Pusovce damaged the sukkah.
Well, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and purification. At the age of 13 I fasted. I didn’t even drink water. Even as a Communist, when I remembered Yom Kippur, I went to the Heyduk [in Heyduk Street in Bratislava stands the only preserved synagogue in the city – Editor’s note] and studied the prayer book there for a while. I at least partly fasted. And then a person is glad that the fast is over, and supper follows. I’ll still return briefly to the evening before this High Holiday. I’ll always be connected to it by the enchantment by the beautiful melody Kol Nidre [Kol Nidre (all vows): sung three times at the beginning of services during Yom Kippur – Editor’s note].
During childhood there was one more holiday that I liked, that that was because it was poetic. It was Sukkot, the holiday of tents. It’s a commemoration of the fact that Jews didn’t have any houses, when they were wandering through the desert for 40 years, being led by Moses. The sukkah was covered by evergreen branches, and my sister and I would make all sorts of decorative garlands. It was beautiful. Also an interesting holiday. My mother served food into the sukkah through the window. And no one in Pusovce damaged the sukkah.
Well, and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and purification. At the age of 13 I fasted. I didn’t even drink water. Even as a Communist, when I remembered Yom Kippur, I went to the Heyduk [in Heyduk Street in Bratislava stands the only preserved synagogue in the city – Editor’s note] and studied the prayer book there for a while. I at least partly fasted. And then a person is glad that the fast is over, and supper follows. I’ll still return briefly to the evening before this High Holiday. I’ll always be connected to it by the enchantment by the beautiful melody Kol Nidre [Kol Nidre (all vows): sung three times at the beginning of services during Yom Kippur – Editor’s note].
Location
Slovakia
Interview
Jozef W.