Or did it blend in with it or was it the same? (A big question, I'm sorry)
"Rabbi!" she says. "My son Avram has a very strange fear - he is afraid of kreplach!"
The rabbi says, "Kreplach? He's afraid of the meat dumplings we make for Rosh Hashanah?"
She nods. "Yes. I've tried to tell him there's nothing to be afraid of, but whenever he sees kreplach he runs out of the room screaming. I want to help him learn there isn't anything to be scared of. Do you have any suggestions on what I can do?"
The rabbi leans back in his chair, strokes his beard, and thinks for a few minutes. Finally, he says, "Bring him into the kitchen before you start making kreplach. Show him the steps to make a single piece. Do them one at a time and explain each one slowly and clearly. At the end, he'll see that there isn't anything at all to be afraid of!"
The woman thanks the rabbi and heads home. Later that day, she says, "Avram, come to the kitchen!" Avram rushes into the room, and the woman says, "Now, watch this. I'm going to make a piece of kreplach."
The boy looks like he's going to bolt but she adds, "Don't worry, you'll soon see that there isn't anything to be scared of," and he stays put. She takes a small piece of meat and puts it in the middle of a triangle of soft dough. "See, right now it's just a bit of flour and a piece of beef. Is there anything scary so far?"
Avram says, "No, not at all. It's just flour and meat."
The woman takes a corner of the dough and folds it over the top of the beef. "So now it just has one little fold in it here, right? This isn't scary."
Avram nods. "Yeah, it does, and it isn't scary."
The woman takes a second corner of the dough and folds it over the top. "So now we have two corners. It's just the same as before!"
Avram says, "You're right! There isn't anything scary here at all!"
The woman blesses the rabbi in her heart, before folding over the third piece of dough. "And here is a piece of kreplach!" She turns to Avram...
Only to find him running out of the kitchen, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Aaaaaaaah! Kreplaaaaaaaaach!"
About a year ago I posted a piece of old Jewish humor around Rosh Hashanah. Today is the day of for this year, so I decided to continue the tradition. I first heard this story from my grandfather (of blessed memory), who told it as though the child were a cousin of his in New York. For years his children (including my mother, and vicariously my father) believed this was a true story but I since found it in a book titled "The Joy of Yiddish" about a family in Poland. Presu
... keep reading on reddit β‘Yes, this really happened exactly as the title says. Wikipedia even has an article about it.
Background: There are several small towns in the Hudson Valley (basically the part of New York State that's north of the City, but not quite far north enough to really be Upstate) that are basically all-Hassidic Jewish: New Square, Kiryas Joel, Kaser, and Palm Tree are the major ones. With populations ranging from about 5,000 to 25,000 (and growing fast because of their enormous families) they function as little semi-autonomous theocracies, their inhabitants mostly speak Yiddish at home, and the local religious authorities basically can do whatever the fuck they want.
The limits of local rabbinical authority were tested in 2011, however, when resident Aron Rottenberg decided that he would no longer worship at the town's synagogue, but instead would attend Shabbos services in an old folks' home out of town. Communities like this are not strangers to vigilante justice over tsuris like this; in Kiryas Joel, dissident Jews have been pelted with stones by angry mobs, a resident who ran for school board without the town rebbe's permission got death threats from hundreds of people including the rebbe himself, and in 2017 a contract killing conspiracy had to be broken up by the FBI. Meanwhile, in New Square, a small group of people who prayed outside of the town's synagogue had their car windows smashed, allegedly on the orders of town Grand Rebbe David Twersky.
But something about Rottenberg's decision really, really drove people berserk. Finally, local youth Shaul Spitzer, who happened to be living in Grand Rebbe Twersky's house and working for Twersky as a butler, tried to break into Rottenberg's house early one morning with a can of gasoline, in an attempt to burn the house down. But Rottenberg had installed a home security system due to the months of threats, and his oldest son saw the intruder. Rottenberg rushed out to confront Spitzer, and in the ensuing shemozzle, Spitzer set both himself and Rottenberg on fire.
Spitzer was not badly hurt, but [Rottenberg was hospitalized with third-degree burns, lost the use of his right arm, and was
... keep reading on reddit β‘
Hi folks,
I donβt know how many Yiddish-speaking genealogists with a knowledge of Poland there are on this subreddit but Iβll give this a shot:
Iβm trying to figure out where my Jewish family came from in Poland. My immigrant Great Great Grandfather wrote shortly before his death that he was born in βDubzin, Poland capitol of Plotz Gerberniaβ. He also writes this is where his family has been from for a few generations so Iβm very curious to find out where it is.
Iβm assuming Plotz Gerbernia is in fact PΕock Gubernia, a governate under the Russian Empire in what is now Poland, though I may be wrong. Iβve been told by several friends that the name is probably a Yiddish derivation of a Polish town name, which would make sense. Iβve found tons of lists of Shtetls online showing their Yiddish and Polish names, but havenβt found anything close apart from the towns of Golub-Dobrzyn and Dobrzyn nad WisΕa.
If anyone could help me figure out what this town name is in Polish and if anyone knows anything about it and the history of itβs Jewish residents during the late 19th century, I would be incredibly grateful.
Many thanks in advance!
Hi,
This question is about Jewish history. My ancestors, like many Jews immigrated to the United States from the shtetl (small Eastern European settlements made up of almost exclusively Orthodox Jews), these were very isolated towns, which people rarely left.
Were the Jews of this time and place aware of the existence of non-white gentiles?
And on that note, as most Jewish immigration to the United States took place between 1890-1920, were the immigrating Jews aware of the racial dynamics happening in the United States and the Civil War, which would have been a quite recent event at that time?
If you donβt know the answer but know someone who may, please consider passing along.
I'm reading a book about the history of death camps and information like this isn't really covered or mentioned. I'm wondering if anyone has any insight and if possible any must read books on this topic. Thanks!
My reading so far suggests that education and general learnedness was highly prized among boys and men in Eastern European shtetls. The βyeshiva boyβ was a thing for a reason.
However, it also seems that some of the more intense scholars, in devoting their time to their studies, relied on their wives (and to a lesser extent other female relatives) to keep the household running and money of some kind flowing in. Iβm yet to see an example where it goes the other way - seriously dedicated female scholar, and those around her just accepting that her studies were her life - but Iβve seen accounts of men living exactly like that.
If a girl could not go all out on religious study as her brothers or father did...what kind of education DID she have?
The Haganah and Warsaw Uprising clearly demonstrated the Jewish will to fight. Were there any accounts of successful defenses against Cossack attacks in Eastern Europe?
Hellooo. I am trying to learn what medical and/or healthcare were like in the shtetls especially around through the 1910s-1920s. I know they had doctors and pharmacies but I am hoping to find out more detailed information on exact medical practices. Did they use a lot of herbal remedies? What medication did they have access to? I have hit a brick wall so any advice is well appreciated. If anyone knows of any books or journals that have more information on this topic, that would be great too. Thanks.
