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We lived on Inzhenerny lane. My parents rented a house. The owner's last name was Kotkov and his houses were called 'Kotkov's houses'. He was a Jew. He owned several houses in one yard. We lived in a one-storied brick house. There were four rooms, a bathroom and a kitchen. The walls of the house were always damp and I remember that when it rained we placed tubs along the walls to collect the water. My sister and I stayed in the children's rooms. My parents had a bedroom and the biggest room served as a dining room and a living room at the same time. There was running water in the house. My mother cooked on the Russian stove 7 in the kitchen. There were wood-stoked stoves to heat the rooms. We only had the most necessary furniture at home: beds, wardrobes, a table and chairs. It was inexpensive furniture. Since we lived in the center of town there was little space and there were only a few trees near the house. The center of town was overpopulated and the houses stood very close to one another.
My father was a shop assistant in a food store. My mother did the housekeeping and looked after the children. Ours was a family of average income. We had enough food and clothes. Once a week a Ukrainian milkmaid from a neighboring village delivered milk, sour cream and cottage cheese. These weren't kosher products, but my mother and father didn't mind, I guess.
My mother didn't wear a wig and I don't think many women in Uman even knew about this tradition. My mother wore a kerchief and my father only wore a hat when he went out. My parents wore common clothes. They spoke Yiddish to one another and Russian to me and my sister. My father had religious books. Each of my parents had a prayer book that they took to the synagogue. My father went to the synagogue on Sabbath and on Jewish holidays while my mother only went there on holidays.
We always observed Sabbath at home. My mother made food for two days on Friday. It wasn't even allowed to heat up food on Saturday. I remember that my mother lit candles on Friday evening. My father blessed the meal after a prayer and we sat down to dinner.
My father was a shop assistant in a food store. My mother did the housekeeping and looked after the children. Ours was a family of average income. We had enough food and clothes. Once a week a Ukrainian milkmaid from a neighboring village delivered milk, sour cream and cottage cheese. These weren't kosher products, but my mother and father didn't mind, I guess.
My mother didn't wear a wig and I don't think many women in Uman even knew about this tradition. My mother wore a kerchief and my father only wore a hat when he went out. My parents wore common clothes. They spoke Yiddish to one another and Russian to me and my sister. My father had religious books. Each of my parents had a prayer book that they took to the synagogue. My father went to the synagogue on Sabbath and on Jewish holidays while my mother only went there on holidays.
We always observed Sabbath at home. My mother made food for two days on Friday. It wasn't even allowed to heat up food on Saturday. I remember that my mother lit candles on Friday evening. My father blessed the meal after a prayer and we sat down to dinner.
Location
Ukraine
Interview
yakov voloshyn