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My parents got married through matchmakers. It was customary with Jews at that time. Of course, they had a traditional Jewish wedding. It couldn't have been otherwise at that time. In smaller towns Jews observed all traditions. They lived in close communities and everybody watched everyone else and people were concerned about rumors or their neighbors' opinions.
After the wedding my parents settled down in a house that my father bought in Pasika. This was an adobe house. Sun-dried bricks were a common construction material in Pasika. Only wealthier people could afford wooden or stone houses. There were two rooms in the house. The bigger room housed my father's shop and the other room served as living quarters. There was also a kitchen with a big Russian stove [4] for cooking and heating.
My father had a small store. Every now and then my mother or my older siblings helped him there. The assortment of goods included kerosene, salt, flour and bread. My father brought bread from a bakery. He earned very little and they could hardly make ends meet. My mother had twelve children. Five died in infancy. All of us had Hungarian names written in our official documents and a rabbi issued a birth certificate with a Jewish name. All sons had their brit milah in accordance with Jewish traditions. My oldest brother, Vili, was born in 1914. His Jewish name was Josl. Then came my older sister Jolana, born in 1917. Jolana's Jewish name was Hana. I was born on 1st September 1919. My Jewish name is Esotskhar. Then came my younger brother Miki, Mekhl in the Jewish manner, born in 1921. My other two brothers, Yankel and Herman, and my other sister, Sima, were much younger than Miki: they were born in 1928 and in the 1930s, accordingly.
There was very little land near the house where we had a wood-shed and a stable in which we kept our livestock. There was no garden or kitchen garden near the house. My grandfather Kaske, my mother's father, gave us a plot of land of about 1,500 square meters where we grew potatoes for the family. We were a big family and mother was always concerned about food provisions. At first my mother kept a goat of a breed from Czechoslovakia. This goat gave more milk and it was delicious. Then we had a cow that we kept in the stable in the yard. There were also chicken and geese there. One had to keep livestock to make a living.
My father was a thin man of average height. He didn't have a beard or payes. He wore a black yarmulka called 'shrama' in local dialect. My mother wore a wig after she became a married woman. Sometimes she wore a kerchief.
My parents were religious. My father had a tallit and tefillin. He went to the prayer house on Sabbath and Jewish holidays and prayed at home on weekdays. We celebrated Sabbath and Jewish holidays. My parents weren't fanatically religious, but they strictly observed Jewish traditions. We knew that the situation was radically different in Russia and Ukraine after the Revolution of 1917 [5]: that religion had no big place in life and that Jews didn't have an opportunity to lead the life they wanted in this respect. During the Austro-Hungarian and Czech rule, the Jews observed their traditions.
After the wedding my parents settled down in a house that my father bought in Pasika. This was an adobe house. Sun-dried bricks were a common construction material in Pasika. Only wealthier people could afford wooden or stone houses. There were two rooms in the house. The bigger room housed my father's shop and the other room served as living quarters. There was also a kitchen with a big Russian stove [4] for cooking and heating.
My father had a small store. Every now and then my mother or my older siblings helped him there. The assortment of goods included kerosene, salt, flour and bread. My father brought bread from a bakery. He earned very little and they could hardly make ends meet. My mother had twelve children. Five died in infancy. All of us had Hungarian names written in our official documents and a rabbi issued a birth certificate with a Jewish name. All sons had their brit milah in accordance with Jewish traditions. My oldest brother, Vili, was born in 1914. His Jewish name was Josl. Then came my older sister Jolana, born in 1917. Jolana's Jewish name was Hana. I was born on 1st September 1919. My Jewish name is Esotskhar. Then came my younger brother Miki, Mekhl in the Jewish manner, born in 1921. My other two brothers, Yankel and Herman, and my other sister, Sima, were much younger than Miki: they were born in 1928 and in the 1930s, accordingly.
There was very little land near the house where we had a wood-shed and a stable in which we kept our livestock. There was no garden or kitchen garden near the house. My grandfather Kaske, my mother's father, gave us a plot of land of about 1,500 square meters where we grew potatoes for the family. We were a big family and mother was always concerned about food provisions. At first my mother kept a goat of a breed from Czechoslovakia. This goat gave more milk and it was delicious. Then we had a cow that we kept in the stable in the yard. There were also chicken and geese there. One had to keep livestock to make a living.
My father was a thin man of average height. He didn't have a beard or payes. He wore a black yarmulka called 'shrama' in local dialect. My mother wore a wig after she became a married woman. Sometimes she wore a kerchief.
My parents were religious. My father had a tallit and tefillin. He went to the prayer house on Sabbath and Jewish holidays and prayed at home on weekdays. We celebrated Sabbath and Jewish holidays. My parents weren't fanatically religious, but they strictly observed Jewish traditions. We knew that the situation was radically different in Russia and Ukraine after the Revolution of 1917 [5]: that religion had no big place in life and that Jews didn't have an opportunity to lead the life they wanted in this respect. During the Austro-Hungarian and Czech rule, the Jews observed their traditions.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
zoltan shtern