Hannah Trager

“ She so understands all our fun that we sometimes forget she is old. We just talk things over with her as we would with our young friends. Not only we girls, but young married women, just love spending part of the Sabbath afternoons with her. The room is often so full that we have to sit cross-legged, like the Turks, on the marble floor, which in summer time is quite the coolest seat. ”

“ Do we laugh at the symbols and charms that many of them wear? Every nation,' they said, 'has its tokens and symbols, and we Jews have ours, and we should rejoice in wearing ours when they are to help us to feel that God is near us when we think and act rightly.' All this made me think very seriously, and in a way I had never thought before. ”

“ By the Chevra Kadisha beggars and tramps are thus washed and buried when dead, free of expense, by these good, self-sacrificing people, at all times and in all weathers, as a sign that in death all are equal. ”

“ You reinterpret to the Jewish youth of to-day the treasures they are so carelessly abandoning, you will shed light and reawaken love and hope in the heart of many a Jew, who seemed to feel that our glorious faith had no message for the child of to-day, unless it were shorn by our 'religious' barbers, robbed of its native beauty and reduced to some platform-commonplace. ”

“ During Purim this is not looked upon as stealing, but merely as a joke or a bit of fun. The youngsters will not move an inch unless they can trust someone to take their place. So I leave you to try to imagine the noise and the chatter. There is probably not a thing that has happened in Jerusalem during the last two months that is not discussed around the public oven while people are waiting for their cake-tins; and, as everyone wants to talk rather than to listen, the noise is like the buzz in a factory. ”

“ There is no self-sacrifice in giving what you cannot make use of yourself.' Indeed, one Jewish ethical teacher wrote: 'If one who has lived a luxurious life becomes sick and in need, we should try to deny ourselves, in order to give the sick one dainties such as chicken and wine.'
"Really some of our neighbours here seem to rejoice in giving away not only all they can spare, but also in making personal sacrifices in helping to relieve a needy neighbour. ”

“ Dear Millie,—I want to tell you how we spent Lag B'Omer here, for in London we used not to make much of a holy day of it. Here days are taken in preparing for it, baking cakes and preparing tasty meals. Both old and young spend that day in visits to the graves of our great Rabbis and in picnics on the Mount of Olives or in the cool shade of the many caves in the neighbourhood. Those who have large families have their hands full, for the walks in the open air give the children huge appetites ”

“ The simple joyousness of your style, the beauty and freshness of the atmosphere, which you very well succeed in bringing to the pages of your books, the strength of your faith, and the vividness of your description, the love of Jew above the love of Palestine, all these combine to render your volumes valuable additions to the small stock of good Jewish literature in English. It is not only that you teach, while talking so pleasantly ”

“ In fact, it was the happiest Purim I have ever spent, and I doubt if there is any other place where it could be spent so happily. For here in Jerusalem we are all like one large family: respect is paid to the righteous and to worthy scholars, whether they are poor or rich. ”

“ Now, I want to tell you of a voluntary service which respectable, well-to-do men and women, and even scholars, do, for the poor who die. These kind folk are called 'the Chevra Kadisha.' No doubt because of the heat, there is a strict law that no one who dies in Palestine is allowed to remain unburied long; and it is believed here that the dead continue to suffer until they are entombed. So the custom is to bury within twelve hours every one who dies. ”

“ Even then we had always to keep a watch over ourselves, for one of our wise sages wrote: 'One is never sure of himself till the day of his death.' We all saw the wisdom of her advice, and made up our minds that we must all help each other, for very often the calm quiet natures are those who love teasing and provoking the hasty-tempered ones, for the fun of seeing them get into a temper ”

“ Our religion is not a thing to be kept only for the Sabbath and the Holy Days, and left out of our minds on all other days. Our religion must be a living influence, always with us, so the tsitsith is a very simple kind of symbol to be ever worn to remind a Jew of his God, his duty to Him and to his neighbour. It is not only we Jews who have religious symbols ”

“ I think what you both say is true, and the only way is to try to keep our Sabbath in the spirit, as well as in the letter as much as possible. If each of us tried to do this in his own home, even in London, gradually a difference would be seen in the neighbourhood in which we live. A wise man wrote: 'All reforms begin with man and not with men.' The first important step is to think good thoughts; for 'thoughts have wings,' and, when expressed, they are readily impressed upon the minds of those in sympathy with the thinker. ”

“ As to the beggars, I never imagined there could be so many in one country. We generally get enough beggars coming to us on Fridays and before holy days, but at Yom Kippur and Purim they come in crowds. Most of them are Sephardim and Yeminites. It is true you give each of them only a para, which is about a quarter of a farthing, and they give you a blessing for it; but, if they come to a rich class of home and are not given there according to the style of the house, they upbraid the people, and even curse them, so the children are told to stand at the doors with paras and cakes, etc. ”

“ A few pieces of wood are put in, and, when well lighted, the oven is half-filled with charcoal-dust—this again is covered by pieces of tin or lime, and, on top of all, the saucepans are put containing food for the Sabbath meals: also bottles or jars of water are thus kept hot for tea or coffee. Neighbours who are not lucky enough to have such an oven bring in their food, and we let them put it in our ovens. In this way we have enough for every one to drink who may come in. ”

“ At other times the women here gossip a great deal, and the girls naturally copy their elders and gossip too; but, when preparing for Purim, they are all too busy to talk or even to ask questions. The boys, too, up to the age of twelve, are allowed to help. Some break up the big pieces of loaf-sugar, and beat up the eggs, and take the cakes, when ready, to the public ovens, for here there are no proper ovens as there are in London houses, so a public oven is built not far from the Synagogue. It is very large, and each family sends its cakes in its own tins to be baked in it. ”

“ As I went with a few of my girl-friends from group to group to see and hear all I could about what was going on, we came to a group of women, girls, and youngsters, and in the centre of them all a lovely little child about three years of age sitting dressed in silk, and a plate near by with some lovely black curls lying on it. I, of course, asked what it all meant, and was told that those people who had only one boy, or who had lost some by death, never cut the hair of their children till they were between three and four years of age. ”

“ The people who can afford it leave enough money to pay all their own burial expenses or these are paid for by their relatives.
"Acts of charity towards very poor girls who have no dowry or suitable wedding-clothes are very touching and generous. It is considered a disgrace to the community if a poor girl is not given the opportunity to marry, and a community not only provides a dower, but also seeks for a bridegroom for her. The housewives willingly and generously prepare the wedding-feast, for everyone is willing to give something from their store-room. ”

“ Really, it must be very hard for those people who have little to spare, but Father says this is one of the means by which every Jew in Palestine is trained to love his neighbour as himself. I feel he is right, for I never saw so much kindness and thoughtfulness for others as I have seen since we arrived here. Everyone naturally does what the others do, and it has proved to me how true it is that example is far more powerful than preaching or teaching. ”

“ The first time I heard the call I could not understand the reason until Father told me that, as there are no bells in the suburb and very few people have clocks, one of the highly-respected members of the community undertakes the job of going right round Meah Sheorim every Friday, so that the women may know when to light their Sabbath lamps—for directly the Sabbath call is heard all the women stop whatever work they are at and go to light the Sabbath lamp, which has seven wicks, in a basin of oil hanging from the ceiling, for there are no candles here. ”

“ At nearly every wedding a table is spread for the poor, and I was present at a wedding when more than a hundred poor men came regularly for eight days, and the table was spread as bountifully for them as for the other guests. Here in Palestine the poor share in the joys of their richer brethren. ”

“ It was simply grand to watch them, for some were old men with long, white beards, while others were serious-looking young men who are to be seen daily in the street walking to and from their homes and Shules, always deep in thought and so very serious-looking that you would imagine that they did not know how to smile. ”

“ In every Jewish home in Palestine we see from two to perhaps more than a dozen boxes placed in various parts of the house, and written on each is the special charity to which the box is devoted. Into these boxes even tiny children are trained to drop a coin at special times, and it is considered a happy privilege to do so at times of Thanksgiving to God. The coins thus collected are from time to time distributed amongst the sick and the needy. ”

“ As nothing was said to him on the subject when he came into the room, he took his prayer-book, and followed his father to Shule.
Benjamin was like many other boys of 13, not very clever, but blessed with a good deal of common sense. His great ambition was to become a teacher, and so he worked steadily at his lessons. His reason for wishing to be a teacher was that he wanted to rule and to punish boys as his master did. Whenever he had a caning from his headmaster he always consoled himself with the thought that his turn would come some day—when he was a teacher—to do the same to other boys. ”

“ If a poor woman dies, one of these kind women at once goes to wash the corpse and lay it out ready to be put on the bier—then when all the relatives and friends of the deceased have given vent to their sorrow by weeping, some men and some scholars belonging to the Chevra Kadisha voluntarily carry the bier on their shoulders to the place of burial (which I think is the Mount of Olives) , while others dig the grave and a scholar or two read the Prayers over the Dead. ”

“ Others, who had hasty passionate tempers, said the Rabbi was quite right: it would be far easier, they felt sure, to take a city than to control their tempers, for the whole nation would help them to take a city, as it was considered a grand thing to do, but very few people would help them to control their tempers. In fact, even their relatives and friends provoked them to be hasty and passionate. When provoked or irritated the blood rushes so quickly to the head that it makes it very, very hard to remain calm, and then we often say or do things we are really sorry for afterwards. ”

“ Very few go out in the streets, except the men when they go to Shule, and the elder boys when they go to the Yeshiba or Cheder, and even they are very often kept at home.
"One comfort is that 'Father Frost' does not stay long, so we can manage to bear his icy breath: the greatest hardship is when he visits us on a Sabbath, for of course on that day we cannot heat the samovar and so we have to do with less tea.
"We prepare our Sabbath meals in a small scullery, or porch, in which a small brick oven is built to keep the food hot for the Sabbath. ”

“ Then said a middle-aged lady, much loved and respected by all the listeners: "How often has many a marriage not turned out well, even when as young people a husband and wife had a passionate love for each other. ”

“ When there happens to be less than expected, woe betide the bride, for she is always reproached about it by her mother-in-law or his other relatives.
"On the Sabbath before the marriage the bridegroom is called up to read the Law, and friends pay him visits.—First they send him nicely baked cakes or puddings and a bottle of wine. (It is a good thing that this is the custom, or else a poor man would be ruined by the cost of all the feasting that he is expected to provide) . ”

“ It is only when we Jews live outside the ghettos, under different surroundings, that we are tempted to throw over many religious customs. The unfortunate thing is, that we are too often inclined to throw off the really good customs rather than the useless ones, and more inclined to adopt the bad traits and customs of our neighbours rather than the good ones amongst whom we live, be it in England, France, Germany, India, or elsewhere. ”

“ Now imagine if you were to go up to a Christian boy and mock him and say nasty words to him for wearing a cross, or crucifix, he would turn round and fight you, and he would be right in doing so, for no one has a right to insult another for wearing or doing what he believes to be holy. ”