Pictures of Jewish Home-Life Fifty Years Ago — John Shaqi
Pictures of Jewish Home-Life Fifty Years AgoTrager, Hannah
Religion
Pictures of Jewish Home-Life Fifty Years Ago
Trager, Hannah
Children -- Palestine; Jerusalem -- Social life and customs; Jews -- Social life and customs
"We carried or pushed all the furniture to one of these ponds, took sand
moistened with a little water, and rubbed the furniture till it was
white and clean. This we have to do three times: such is the rule. If
any of the furniture was polished, you can imagine that not much of the
polish was left after all this scrubbing and rubbing.
"We threw into the pond whatever we could, and as it was not deep, we
pulled up our trousers, and washed those pieces of furniture in the
water. Some threw in boards, and we made see-saws and played on them
till one of us fell in. It was such fun! Sometimes the furniture got
mixed, and it was hard to tell to whom it belonged. Indeed, I never
enjoyed myself so much as on this Erev Passover. Even more than in
London when I went to see _Sindbad the Sailor_. There is plenty of fun
going on when we are left free, but that is not often, you may be sure.
The best fun we had was when someone threw a chair into the pond and sat
on it while other boys pushed it along. Somebody else threw in a barrel
and a few of us got on it, and then over we went into the water.
LOTS OF FUN
"We were not anxious to go home, even for meals, when our mothers called
us. When we did get home, we found all the walls looking lovely with
fresh whitewash. For a few days we were not allowed to go into the house
unless we took our outer clothes off to prevent our bringing in some
chometz. The weather was beautifully warm, so that we really enjoyed
eating our meals out of doors and calling out to other boys as they ate
theirs.
"On the eve before Passover we had the fun of going to the Turkish bath
and then to Mikva and help to have all new things 'tavelt', and then the
greatest enjoyment was on the day for the preparation of the Seder!
THE BONFIRE
"Before I stop writing I must tell you of the bonfire we had on Erev
Passover, when over a hundred of us each threw the wooden spoon and
remnants of chometz on the lighted fire, and then there was such a blaze
for nearly two hours! We caught hold of each other's hands and danced
round the bonfire. Oh! it was a grand sight. Now I'm called to go to a
Bar Mitzvah, but will write you again very soon. How I wish you were
here with me, Jacob!"
"I wish I was, too," exclaimed Benjamin, who had sat listening quietly
whilst the letter was being read. On the faces of several of the elder
people there was a far-away look and sometimes a smile, for the scenes
described in the letter brought back memories of their own childhood
when the holidays and the preparations for them were similar to those in
Palestine.
HOW TO ENJOY THE PASSOVER IN LONDON
One of the boy-listeners said: "I see now why some of us in London do
not enjoy the holidays. It is due to our surroundings. Many of us here
have to work or go to business whether it is a holiday or not, and so we
do not enjoy them in the same spirit as the boys and girls in Palestine,
where they are freer to carry out the teaching of our religion."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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