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At Pesach my grandfather used to read from the Haggadah and we would read passages from the book after him in turns. It was very interesting because we had to read and sing in the same time. Later, when I got married my family used to read the Haggadah only in the first years of our marriage, while we were still living with the parents of my husband.
My grandfather was faithful to the Jewish traditions. He was always present at the synagogue on every holiday. He had a prayer book and a tallit. He was a very kind person. He used to bring large bags full of fruits on the holiday of Frutas [4]. However, we didn’t talk with him about anything special, not even religion.
We always had a very rich menu on the holiday of Pesach. One of the compulsory things was the wine, which everyone had to taste. There was a special dish called pastel, which was prepared of thin layers of dough, which were stuffed with meat. The matzah had to be chopped and sprinkled with water so that it could get wet. It was then covered with the seasoned minced meat, which on its turn was covered again with matzah. We used a lot of spices in the meals, especially parsley and pepper. We rarely used mint for example when we cooked beans. We sometimes had meatballs and potatoes. I wouldn’t say that our cuisine is very different from the traditional Bulgarian one. Maybe the one dish that truly makes a difference is that we prepare leek balls. We couldn’t do without it on holidays like Pesach and Rosh Hashanah. A typical Jewish dish is potato stew. It’s interesting that we used to cook beans every Monday. Even when I got married my mother-in-law always cooked beans on Monday. On this day she used to do her laundry, she wanted more time for this task and so she preferred to cook the easiest dish. There is one tradition about the day of Pesach, which I observe until now. We made a dish, called burmoelos [5] and we treated our neighbors with it even if they were Bulgarians. Burmoelos is prepared out of special dough, which firstly needs to be soaked in water. Then it is made into balls, which are fried.
Frutas was a very nice holiday. We had to put seven fruits in a bag. We put inside oranges, dates, tangerines, figs and so on. We used to prepare the same bags for all our close friends, including Bulgarians. We were happy to treat them like that and they were also pleased. In return, our Bulgarian neighbors used to bring home their Easter cake and colored eggs, which they prepared for Easter.
We would always light candles on the day of Chanukkah. What was typical of this tradition was that the candles had to be lighted by the man in the family. Any other holiday tradition allowed a woman to do this. My family used to observe all the high Jewish holidays. My mother and grandfather didn’t eat anything on the day of Yom Kippur, but the kids could have a bite. In the evening the shofar was playing so we used to go to the synagogue. I was told that there was a carnival in the Jewish quarter on the day of Purim, but we didn’t do that at home. I knew there was a great celebration in the Jewish quarter in Sofia’s Iuchbunar, but I had never attended it. Our only visits to this part of the city were when we were guests to Aron and Vitali Bali.
Saturday was the day that we should visit our friends. Sometimes my mother had to work on Sabbath. Every time I went to my friend’s house and my mother prepared sweet bread for me to take as a present. In these years it was obligatory to bring presents when you visit somebody at his place. People would never go without a present. Usually, my mother prepared cakes and for the Jewish holidays she made tispishtil. This was baked dough, which was soaked in sugar syrup with walnuts and raisins. When we had guests at home we welcomed them serving jam.
My grandfather was faithful to the Jewish traditions. He was always present at the synagogue on every holiday. He had a prayer book and a tallit. He was a very kind person. He used to bring large bags full of fruits on the holiday of Frutas [4]. However, we didn’t talk with him about anything special, not even religion.
We always had a very rich menu on the holiday of Pesach. One of the compulsory things was the wine, which everyone had to taste. There was a special dish called pastel, which was prepared of thin layers of dough, which were stuffed with meat. The matzah had to be chopped and sprinkled with water so that it could get wet. It was then covered with the seasoned minced meat, which on its turn was covered again with matzah. We used a lot of spices in the meals, especially parsley and pepper. We rarely used mint for example when we cooked beans. We sometimes had meatballs and potatoes. I wouldn’t say that our cuisine is very different from the traditional Bulgarian one. Maybe the one dish that truly makes a difference is that we prepare leek balls. We couldn’t do without it on holidays like Pesach and Rosh Hashanah. A typical Jewish dish is potato stew. It’s interesting that we used to cook beans every Monday. Even when I got married my mother-in-law always cooked beans on Monday. On this day she used to do her laundry, she wanted more time for this task and so she preferred to cook the easiest dish. There is one tradition about the day of Pesach, which I observe until now. We made a dish, called burmoelos [5] and we treated our neighbors with it even if they were Bulgarians. Burmoelos is prepared out of special dough, which firstly needs to be soaked in water. Then it is made into balls, which are fried.
Frutas was a very nice holiday. We had to put seven fruits in a bag. We put inside oranges, dates, tangerines, figs and so on. We used to prepare the same bags for all our close friends, including Bulgarians. We were happy to treat them like that and they were also pleased. In return, our Bulgarian neighbors used to bring home their Easter cake and colored eggs, which they prepared for Easter.
We would always light candles on the day of Chanukkah. What was typical of this tradition was that the candles had to be lighted by the man in the family. Any other holiday tradition allowed a woman to do this. My family used to observe all the high Jewish holidays. My mother and grandfather didn’t eat anything on the day of Yom Kippur, but the kids could have a bite. In the evening the shofar was playing so we used to go to the synagogue. I was told that there was a carnival in the Jewish quarter on the day of Purim, but we didn’t do that at home. I knew there was a great celebration in the Jewish quarter in Sofia’s Iuchbunar, but I had never attended it. Our only visits to this part of the city were when we were guests to Aron and Vitali Bali.
Saturday was the day that we should visit our friends. Sometimes my mother had to work on Sabbath. Every time I went to my friend’s house and my mother prepared sweet bread for me to take as a present. In these years it was obligatory to bring presents when you visit somebody at his place. People would never go without a present. Usually, my mother prepared cakes and for the Jewish holidays she made tispishtil. This was baked dough, which was soaked in sugar syrup with walnuts and raisins. When we had guests at home we welcomed them serving jam.
Location
Bulgaria
Interview
Matilda Ninyo