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Grandfather was a very respectable man. He was a rabbi. And in my childhood, when I came for a visit, I saw how he performed religious ceremonies. He sat down at a table, prayed, put on a striped tallit with tzitzit. Grandfather would pray, and if we misbehaved, he asked us to be quiet and listen to the prayer. We understood some Hebrew, but certainly, not all of it. And after that we were to kiss the tzitzit and say that we would be good and obedient children. Then Grandfather had breakfast and went to the synagogue, not every day, but quite frequently.
Also he gathered young people around himself – it was all forbidden then – and studied Jewish books with them. And he often told us about the Ten Commandments: don’t steal, don’t kill, be honest, and the like. He put on a solemn suit and a tie. He wore a kippah, and he had a hat with wide brims, like Hasids [5] have. When he was going to the synagogue, he put it on.
Also he gathered young people around himself – it was all forbidden then – and studied Jewish books with them. And he often told us about the Ten Commandments: don’t steal, don’t kill, be honest, and the like. He put on a solemn suit and a tie. He wore a kippah, and he had a hat with wide brims, like Hasids [5] have. When he was going to the synagogue, he put it on.
Period
Location
St. Petersburg
Russia
Interview
Valentina Fidelman