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At the age of six I went to cheder in Svaliava, seven kilometers from Pasika. There was no cheder in Pasika, but my parents wanted me to have a Jewish education. My older brother Vili also studied in this cheder. I commuted to Svaliava by train. A monthly ticket cost me 10 Czechoslovak crowns. My parents gave me money to buy a ticket, but sometimes I spent this money to buy sweets. I then commuted by train for free and I only paid for a ticket when the conductors caught me. I left home in the morning and came back in the afternoon.
At the age of seven I went to a Czech elementary school in Pasika. I attended classes in the morning and in the afternoon I went to Svaliava where I had private classes with a rabbi. I studied Hebrew and learned to read and write in Hebrew and Yiddish and also studied the Torah and the Talmud. There were several Jewish children in the Czech school. The attitude toward us was very friendly. I studied well. There was a state school in Svaliava where children could finish the 5th-8th grades. Those that planned to enter the Commercial Academy in Mukachevo had to finish another year at school. My parents rented a room for me at a Jewish family's place in Svaliava. My landlady cooked for me and did my laundry. I spent my weekends at home. Besides going to secondary school I had classes with a rabbi until I had my bar mitzvah.
At the age of seven I went to a Czech elementary school in Pasika. I attended classes in the morning and in the afternoon I went to Svaliava where I had private classes with a rabbi. I studied Hebrew and learned to read and write in Hebrew and Yiddish and also studied the Torah and the Talmud. There were several Jewish children in the Czech school. The attitude toward us was very friendly. I studied well. There was a state school in Svaliava where children could finish the 5th-8th grades. Those that planned to enter the Commercial Academy in Mukachevo had to finish another year at school. My parents rented a room for me at a Jewish family's place in Svaliava. My landlady cooked for me and did my laundry. I spent my weekends at home. Besides going to secondary school I had classes with a rabbi until I had my bar mitzvah.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
zoltan shtern