Chapter 4

"As this was the first Succah since our arrival, we were invited by our neighbours to join them. The father, a patriarchal looking old man with a saintly face, sat at the head of the table, and we were fascinated by his looks. His eldest son came in soon after, followed by his other grown-up sons and his daughters. He greeted his aged father with a smile, and wished him good 'Yom Tov' and bowed his head for his father's blessing. Then one by one all the children came to greet him and receive his blessing, with quite a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and last but not least the little great-great-grandchild.

"When my parents looked astonished at the number, one of the daughters quietly said: 'You see that here we marry our children while very young, so that the Psalmist's words are very often fulfilled in Palestine, and nearly everyone has his quiver full.' When all were quiet, our aged friend repeated a prayer over the wine, and the large silver cup was passed from one to the other. This was very solemnly and reverently done.

"After this, our aged neighbour's children who had large families went to their own homes, while those of his children who had small families remained to celebrate the Feast with him. When he had washed his hands before eating and repeated the blessing upon the meal, he took his youngest great-grandchild on his knee.

"The only thing that saddened the scene was the empty chair beside our aged friend--his wife had died during the course of the year. The family all looked at the empty chair and sighed, and the great-great-grandfather, with tears glistening in his eyes, also gave a sigh, and then turned with a smile to his large family and said: 'Let us begin. My little Samuel will start a Brocha,' and the rest listened to hear how the little one lisped the words after his great-grandfather.

"The following day our aged friend sat like a king in his Succah, while relatives and friends came to pay their respects to him, and all was joy and merriment.

"Some of the younger grandchildren wanted to show their grandfather what they had lately learned, and there was quite a scramble around his knees to try and be first heard. With a wave of his hand he said: 'I will hear you all in turn, my children.' This quietened the eager little souls, and they waited patiently for their turns to come.

"While the children were thus busy with their grandfather, the elder sons and sons-in-law and their wives sat around, discussing quietly various topics of interest, till the time for Mincha came round.

"Then the great grandfather went to Shule, followed by all his children.

"Visiting other neighbours during the Succah weeks, we found that they preserved this beautiful and ancient way of keeping the Festival.

"I never realized till then what a great influence for good the surroundings and teaching in childhood can be, and how a father and mother can leave the impress of their teaching in early life upon both sons and daughters. It is the mother specially who forms the child's soul, quite as clearly on the boys as on the girls from their cradle-days, and the father and the teacher only builds on the foundation laid by the mother: this is seen here more than elsewhere."

"Very true," exclaimed the others; "a great deal is done by the mother; but the environment has a great influence on the character."

This caused a good deal of discussion and the meeting did not close till one o'clock in the morning.

HOW CHARITY IS GIVEN

On the following Friday evening, the next letter that Mr Jacob chose for reading to his family and friends was on the way almsgiving, or charity, was managed in Palestine. Before starting to read, he advised his hearers not to forget that the Jewish community in Palestine was very small when this letter was written, and the majority of the people were very poor. Many had spent most of their money and worldly goods in the expenses of travelling there, with the object of ending their days in their beloved land, and being buried with their forefathers.

Mr Jacob then began the letter.

"My dear Millie,--You seem so interested in all I have so far told you about our life in Palestine, that I think you will like to hear of some of the ways that our poorer brethren are helped in Palestine.

"Many of the ways will appear strange to you; yet I think some of them are really better than those adopted by our community in England.

"Here, there is no Board of Guardians, so that the giving of charity, or a 'helping hand' to the sick or needy, is more of a direct personal matter. The givers strive to be wise and tactful, so that our people may not lose their self-respect; for, as a rule, they are naturally very sensitive, and if self-respect is lost some are encouraged to become beggars proper.

"Mother tells us that our Jewish ethics teaches 'that true charity, or almsgiving, is to make personal sacrifices when helping others. 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.

"From early childhood they were trained to give. 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.

"There is one hospital near us; and, though it is known to be well managed, very few Jews whom we know go there for treatment, for it is a Missionary Hospital, and we strongly object to the methods of Christian missionaries. Instead of many of them as formerly, persecuting us for clinging to our dearly beloved religion, they now try, by acts of kindness in times of sickness and poverty, to influence our people in favour of accepting their religion.

"Indeed, I have heard some of our people say that they would rather go to the Arabs for treatment than enter the Missionary Hospital! Therefore those who cannot nurse the sick ones at home take them to the Bikkur-Holim, which a doctor visits once every few days. A mother, wife, or father goes with the patients to give them the necessary food and medicine, for in the Bikkur-Cholem there are no trained nurses. The relatives also keep the patients clean and tidy; but little cooking is done there, as the food is generally brought cooked from the patients' homes.

"I once went to visit the Bikkur-Cholem. One patient I saw had a jug of cold water brought to her, and, though her own lips were very parched, she would not take even one sip, but had the water given to those near her, who, in a very high state of fever, were clamouring for water. Other patients I saw were cheerfully and willingly sharing their food with those who had none. Until I had visited that Bikkur-Cholem I had never realized what real charity meant. For these sufferers, in their love and thoughtfulness and genuine self-sacrifice towards fellow-sufferers less fortunate than themselves, were obeying in spirit as well as in the letter the time-honoured commandment given us 'to love one's neighbour as oneself.'

"The arrangements in the Bikkur-Cholem are most insanitary; disinfectants are unheard of; and I greatly pitied the poor unfortunates that have to go there."

Mr. Jacob was too overcome by his feelings to continue--so for a few minutes there was a deep silence. Then one of the listeners said: "One is thankful to remember that this letter was written fifty years ago, and conditions must have improved since our writer first went to Palestine."

"Yes, thank God!" replied kind-hearted Mr Jacob; and then he continued reading the letter.

"Most of the patients die; but a few get cured and leave. If they do, it is certainly more through faith in God's love and mercy than through the remedies they receive while there.

"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. The Chevra Kadisha look upon such a deed as a Mitzvoth. 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.

"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. 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. No shame is attached to poor girls accepting such help; for it is considered a duty by all our brethren to provide what is necessary for a bride who has not the means to get things for herself.

"I am sorry that I cannot write more by this mail."

One listener interrupted, saying: "Most of what you have read Mr Jacob happens in Russia and in other parts of the world where Jews live in ghettos."

"Quite true," said Mr Jacob, "for wherever Jews live together they keep up old customs, and all old customs are more or less alike in all ghettos. 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. This is a bad habit, and we must do our utmost in the future to guard against it; for, if we all made an effort to retain our own ancient customs that are really good and beneficial to ourselves and others and adopt only the good and healthy customs of our neighbours, then, indeed, we might feel we had a right to call ourselves and be recognized by those we live amongst as 'God's Chosen People.'"

FATHER FROST IN JERUSALEM

The next Friday evening Mr Jacob read the following letter.

"My Dear Cousin Mill,--I have not yet written to tell you how we manage during cold weather. Before we arrived, we were under the impression that it was always warm in Palestine. Certainly the sun does shine more in winter here than in England, and while it shines the weather is very pleasant; but we get very cold weather, too, especially in Jerusalem. We get very little snow, but a good deal of frost, which no one enjoys. No doubt you wonder why, because we all enjoyed the cold and frost in England, and loved the skating and the snowballing.

"The reason is very clear, for here we have no cheery open fireplaces, which give out so much heat in England; in fact there are not even any steel or iron ovens, and the result is, the Palestinian houses are intensely cold in frosty weather. The ceilings are all lofty and in the shape of a dome, which, with the very thick stone walls is very pleasant in summer but very cold in the winter. Then there is very little firewood to be had here, as the Turks try to prevent much tree-planting, so fire wood is a luxury which very few can afford. Instead, we have all copper buckets pierced with holes standing on a tripod and filled with burning charcoal, which is placed in the middle of the room.

"How we all eagerly cluster round it and watch the red hot charcoal, hoping that by _looking at it_ the warmth will go into our bodies! Such a small amount of charcoal as we can afford does not warm a room very much, so all the windows are closed tightly to prevent any cold air coming in. This also prevents the fumes of the burning charcoal from escaping, so naturally the air gets very stuffy, and many suffer from headaches or fall into a heavy sleep.

"You will wonder why it is many people do not get frozen. Well, the old proverb holds good here, that 'Necessity is the mother of invention,' so even in the coldest weather we have a remedy; for we heat also our brass samovar, which holds about thirty glasses of tea, and we drink a glass of hot tea every now and then.

"As the samovar boils all day the steam also sends out some warmth into the room.

"Then, again, the younger children are during the very cold weather kept warm in bed with feather coverlets and pillows, which the elder people try to keep warm in doing the necessary household duties. 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. 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. Sometimes twenty poor people come in on a Sabbath day and say: 'Spare me, please, a little hot water?' No one would think of refusing to give them some, even if they had to share their last glass with them.

"Generally on cold Sabbath afternoons our parents have a nap after eating the nice hot cholent, and we girls and the young married women go and spend a few hours with our old lady friend, who always entertains us with stories and discussions on various interesting subjects. So the time passes very quickly and so pleasantly that we forget how cold it is. About twenty or thirty of us all sit close together on her divan covered up with rugs, and this with the excitement over the tales she tells us, helps to keep us warm.

"Last Sabbath our old lady was not very well, and we were feeling very miserable without her entertaining tales. Suddenly, one of my girl-friends asked me to tell them about our life in London.

"As they had never read or heard about life outside Jerusalem, it was most amusing to hear their exclamations of wonder; for they could hardly believe what I told them was true, till our old lady confirmed our statements.

"First, they wanted to know how young men and women behaved toward each other.

"I told them that every man and every woman, whether young or old, either in the street or in-doors, always shook hands with friends--at this they looked very surprised and some seemed even horrified, exclaiming: 'What a sin to commit.' I asked them where it was written that this was a sin? 'Well,' some replied, 'our parents or husbands say it is a sin,' 'I don't think it is a sin, but only a custom,' said I. 'But it _is_ a sin,' insisted one little wife of fifteen 'to touch one another's hands.' I tried to explain to her, but she would not listen to me and we were on the verge of quarreling but as usual, when there was a difference of opinion between any of us, we always appealed to our old lady and she agreed with me that there was no sin in shaking hands. 'Sin,' she said, 'comes from thoughts--if while talking or laughing or even shaking hands, evil thoughts pass through the minds of men or women then, and then only, is the act likely to be a sin. In Europe,' she went on to say, 'it is quite a natural thing for men and women to shake hands and talk to each other naturally.'

"Then I asked my new friend Huldah (a young wife of fifteen years of age) to tell us all about her own love-affair and marriage. She was greatly shocked to hear me speaking of love _before_ marriage--'Such a thing could never happen to a modest Jewish maiden in those days,' she said.

"I told her that it did happen in Europe. 'May be,' she replied; 'it may happen in lands where Jews mix with non-Jews and copy their ways!'

"As I rather liked to tease her, I said she was mistaken, for here in Jerusalem did the great Rabbi Akiba fall in love with his wife before marriage. 'Oh, that was quite different!' she replied. 'Not at all,' said I, for were not feasts and rejoicing held so that youths and maidens could meet one another in the vineyards and dance in the meadows?--Look in the Bible,' I continued, 'and you will see it is mentioned there.' Then all looked abashed. The only one who smiled was our old lady.

"'Don't unsettle their minds, dear,' she whispered softly to me. 'I don't want to,' I said; 'I only want to show them that, though such things are done in other countries, there is no sin in it as they have been brought up to believe.' 'Well, well!' she said, 'let us hope God will restore our beloved land to us in his own good time, and then we shall again, as in days of old, celebrate such Festivals!'

"We all said 'AMEN,' most heartily, to this wish.

"In my next letter I will tell you of our friend's engagement and marriage. Your loving cousin, Millie."

ENGAGEMENT AND WEDDING CEREMONIES

The hearers waited with eagerness for the next Friday evening, as they enjoyed so much hearing those interesting letters.

The next Mr Jacobs read was this:

"Hulda is only fifteen years of age, and has already been married six months. If she were dressed as girls are dressed in England, she would really look beautiful; but her beauty is, I think, marred by the silk handkerchief she wears on her head, which covers half her forehead and her ears, so that none of her hair can be seen, I mean that part of it that was shaved off. Over the silk handkerchief she wears a black velvet band, to which gold coins are attached and these are put on so coquettishly that it makes the head-gear look quite artistic. Sometimes she wears ornaments with pearls in them. These special trinkets are, of course, worn only on Sabbaths and Festivals or some other special occasions.

"The shaving of part of the young wife's head the day after her marriage is a custom to prevent young married women from being tempted by vanity to show off their hair, which is generally in Palestine very beautiful. The poor things cover up the part so well that there is no fear of any of it being seen.

"Hulda is tall and well-developed for her age, and lively as a cricket, always ready to play and laugh and joke with us. She started by telling me: 'I was invited to visit my betrothed's family during the holidays, and my future mother-in-law let me help her with the baking and cooking, and was specially pleased with the way I stretched out the dough for the lockshen--I made it look so thin, like a paper wrapper. She told me that I would make a good housewife. Then I showed all the family some of the linen garments I had made and had with me, and the crochet I had trimmed them with.'

"Here Hulda turned to me and said: 'our mothers encourage us at eight years of age to begin to make garments for our trousseaux, and at the age of ten we start to crochet lace and embroider, so by the time we get married we have all our things ready, for they cannot be bought ready-made in Palestine. When we become betrothed we work our future initials on our things and make our dresses.'

"'While I was staying at my betrothed's home, we never spoke to each other, except to say Good-morning and Good-night. Sometimes when no one saw us we looked at one another, for already I liked my young man, though he was not handsome. A wise girl does not want good looks in a husband so much as that he should be a good Talmudist and be a good character; this he is, and I could listen to him for ever,' she said, blushing like a rose; 'when he sings Zmires, his voice is like a nightingale, and even in the mornings, when he thinks I am asleep, it is just lovely to hear his sing-song as he studies--it is to me the sweetest of all music,' she said.

"'So it should be, my child,' said our old lady, 'and it is a privilege for us women to help them to study.'

"'So my mother says,' said Hulda, naturally.

"At the same time I thought to myself: 'A nice thing it would be if only our men were to study and our women to work, as they mostly do here and in Russian ghetto towns. No,' I thought, 'I would rather that the men did some manual labour as well as study, and the women have some time for study as well as for household work.'

"But I kept these thoughts to myself, while Hulda continued to tell me what a longing she had to see more of her betrothed; but she did not see him again till after the marriage ceremony.

"I will try to describe the ceremonies to you in detail, as I have now been to several weddings here, and I think you would like to know.

"A week before the wedding, all the relations and friends come to help bake and prepare the wedding-feast; for, as these proceedings last about eight days, it is no easy matter to celebrate them.

"The bride's trousseau is shown to the guests who come, and everything is examined and counted by all, especially the relations of the bridegrooms. 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).

"During the week the bride's friends come every evening and dance and sing in her home, coffee and cakes and baked nuts being handed round.

"The morning of the wedding, both bride and bridegroom fast, and each goes with his or her parents to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, to pray for a blessing on their married life, and then they go to be blessed by the Rav.

"When the bride returns home, she is dressed in her bridal dress. Then she is led up to a chair that has been raised off the floor; her hair is unloosed and allowed to hang over her shoulders; and this is the last time, for the next day most of it is shaved off.