interwar set texts revision Flashcards
background to Grade’s courtyard
Grade was very left wing, not religious but brought up in similar environment to the one he describes
Wrote post war – published 1982
in vilna - Vilna is a Lithuanian town which at this point was occupied by Polish forces in the interwar years. Population of town is Jewish / polish. Countryside is Lithuanian
Beth midrash
A beth midrash, also beis medrash or beit midrash, is a hall dedicated for Torah study, often translated as a “study hall”. It is distinct from a synagogue, although the two are often coextensive.
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’ - description of the neighbouring courtyard
- the neighbouring Ramayles courtyard was black from the pieces of coal crushed underfoot and littered with short pieces of hemp rope from the bundles of wood sold there.
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- the Jewish street
The Jewish Street rang with the tumult of barefoot children playing in the dried gutter. The fruit vendors stood beside the baskets of last year’s shriveled apples.
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- description of neighbouring courtyard’s inhabitants
- The older men in the courtyard were laborers with wispy gray beards, fingers stiff from years of toil, their bodies crooked and lame like old, rusted metal bars. Exhausted by work and their hard lives, it was all they could do not to fall asleep pat their benches in the workshops or at services in the beth midrash.
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- limitation on marriage
- Porush forbids a marriage between Reb’s daughter and a man from another courtyard- they shouldn’t set up their own marriage and he goes to a Zionist synagogue.
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- divide between young and old
- Porush speaking to Reb – the younger generation has abandoned us because we forbid them things that are allowed
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- rabbi’s old town as a symbol of suffering
- Rabbi Yoel Weintraub quit his job as he said “a Rav must be able to stand up and say what may not be done simply may not be done! If its not kosher, its not kosher! But I just don’t have the heat to forbid so many things”- He had been a rabbi in Zaskowicz which was not a wealthy town as “Jews had to barter with the Polish peasants in rural areas. When the Polish government outlawed even this poor people’s enterprise the bottom fell out for the Jews”. He says it would have been easy to say no to the people had it been a rich area, but how could he tell them a cow was not kosher for example
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- signs of piety
- Reb Heskiah- master locksmith- he would fast and after the doctor told him this was taking a toll on his health and he needed bed rest “even lying ill in bed he would eat only meatless dishes so as not to drive too much pleasure from this world”
- Reb made the Rabbi realize that there were some people willing to abide by the law of Judaism.
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- hwy does Paltiel hate the rabbi
- Another man moved into the courtyard with his wife later on – Paltiel Shklar- gardener from Zaskowicz after they lost all their money attempting to sue for inheritance and their child had died of pneumonia. - The gardener was hated by neighbours of the courtyard his wife Gracia was loved. He stayed seated during silent prayer, did not say good morning, never turned a page of the Mishnayot.
- Paltiel was angry at the rabbi as the rabbi had refused to settle the dispute over the inheritance with his brothers and that is why he lost all his money suing.
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- example of tensions between rabbi and Paltiel
- Argument over whether a man who smelt bad because he worked in cellar with kraut should be allowed into the beth midrash- Paltiel’s face was aflame with rage as he whirled around and exploded at the Rabbi: “So it was you who told this idiot that he’s allowed to stink up the beth midrash? Well, what can we expect? You’ve never had the backbone to inform anyone that there are things that are not permitted”.
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- return of porusch to being a rabbi
- Is it true, Rebbetzin, that your husband is going to be the Rav of Zaskowicz again?”- as a porush, he still found himself embroiled in other people’s problems, in the affair of the upholsterer and his wife and now in that of the locksmith and his daughters. As long as one lived among people, it seemed, one could not help but get involved.
o The role of a rabbi was so central.
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- tension in judaism - Reb and son in law
- Reb got his daughter to leave her husband as he could not tolerate being told where to eat and shop, he spoke in services and could not deal with Reb’s comments on his relationship with her daughter when he would check in on how they were abiding by Judaism
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- Rebel as symbol of male head of house
- His wife and daughter angry at Rebs fasting said they would not eat until he did and his wife was sick because of it- his response “He never told anyone how to live, as no one should tell him how to live.” + had taken a vow to fast for the day
- Reb had refused to let his daughter Serel marry the guilder who was a pious Jew and a good provider + well-respected.
- As soon as Itka started earning money, however, she announced her intention of renting a room of her own: she felt too confined in her parents house. This time Reb Heskiah did not even bother to get angry; as long as he lived and breathed, his youngest daughter would not have her way. He answered calmly that Itka would leave her parents’ house and live apart from them only after she married a young man
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- women as sexual objects
- “It’s not permitted in the middle of the week either,” her father answered. “A Jewish woman should beautify herself only for her husband. Evil lurks in those braids of yours–young men see them and may succumb to impure thoughts.” “If only more young men would look at my daughters, they’d all be happily married by now,”
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- idea of mixing with non-Jews
- “But if Itka (Reb’s daughter) goes to a school, there’s no telling whom she’ll meet,” the locksmith protested meekly.
o “Since she won’t be going to a Jewish school but a Polish one, where the teachers are all Gentiles, (can’t marry a non-Jew) there is nothing to worry about. I doubt if you need concern yourself about Itka converting,” Miklishansky answered.
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- female responsibility in affair
- Reb Heskiah no longer wanted to live under the same roof with his youngest daughter, and his wife feared that the neighbors would curse Itka, hiss and even throw stones at her. So Itka went to stay with her oldest sister, Malka, the divorcee.- known as divorcee. In a sense Itka given agency- seen as responsible
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- responsibility for punishment lay with all of courtyard
- The women taxed their imaginations in condemning Itka, and the men talked of how much they were itching to tear out Moishele’s walrus mustache and pull his eyebrows down to his heels.
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- economic relationship between Moishele and Nehamele
o Nehamele had not wanted to leave the neighborhood where her customers lived, but Moishele insisted that no wife of his would work; he was man enough to be able to provide for her. “Let me have your savings, Nehamele. I’ll furnish our apartment and say good riddance to my boss, that slave-driver. I can work for myself and earn three times as much.
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- attempted mistress standing up to Moishele
o To Moishele- “I understand you very well,” said Bertha, pretending to be calm as she went on with her work-though instead of sticking the threaded needle into the brim of a hat, she pricked her own finger. “You took a wife that everyone pities; a poor frightened creature who will cower when you bellow. And you want me for your mistress on the side. You should live so long!”…
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’-moishele as unhappy husband
o Moishele- said he married his wife because his brothers forced him
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- as the centre of gossip
- The residents of Laybe-Layzar’s courtyard and the young people in the streets knew all about Moishele-about his family, his love affair with the hatmaker, and how deeply he loathed the little woman with big eyes, that spider he had married.
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- female solidarity
- Women forced their husbands to confront Moishele - the women were persistent, and eventually pushed their men into confronting Moishele and reproving him: Such behavior was not fitting for a Jewish young man.
- When Moisehele didn’t respond the younger women stepped in - “They couldn’t stand the thought of a sister of theirs being so mistreated by such a scoundrel.”
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- pity for female weakness
- Though Nehamele was not very friendly with any of the women in the courtyard, they stopped her and started talking to her about her husband… silent, head down. When they saw they were dealing with a wife who was afraid to raise her voice to her husband, they pitied her even more and went back to incite their husbands.
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- pormotion of female independence
- “They say you’re an excellent seamstress. Why not take on some work again and earn enough money so you won’t have to depend on your husband and be afraid of leaving him?” “No! No!” Nehamele cried even louder.
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- religious sect shaming a bad husband
- When Moisehele tried to join the Minyan- “A heathen like that can’t be counted to a minyan, can he, Reb Heskiah?”… “Every Jew may be counted to a minyan,” Rabbi Weintraub answered…. “To shame a wife, especially a woman with no relations to defend her, is a wrong, a terrible wrong. But it has nothing whatever to do with being part of a minyan. Come
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- wife standing up to red
- Reb’s wife to him about their daughter seen the carpenter she was in love with- “Listen to me, Reb Heskiah! If Ruth could go see Boaz at night in a barn, your daughter is allowed to speak to a fine Jewish young fan in the street in broad daylight. Your piety is brutality itself. Remember what I told you: Forbid the young people what is permitted and they will, in the end, do it anyhow and also that which is prohibited. Remember!”
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- story of female rebellion
- Moishele left Nehamele home alone as he was having an affair with Itka, reb’s daughter and she complained she heard demons banging on the walls- kept everyone in courtyard awake so they told Moishele he had to go home and stay home.
o He said to her when he was forced to go home “Are you satisfied now? Ha! Everyone pities you, don’t they? What did I do to deserve this?”- female damsel in distress
o he discovered that the demons who banged on the wall were none other than his little witch!- subordinating language but nonetheless she outwitted him
Laybe-Layzer’s Courtyard’- courtyards physical involvement in business of others
o She ran screaming out of the house, her husband right behind her still showering her with blows, until finally, through the beating, she saw who her pursuer really was. “Help! Save me!” she shrieked. “He’s killing me! Help!” Neighbors rushed into the courtyard, grabbed Moishele, and pulled him away from his wife. Even the Porush had run out of his house. Moishele, still struggling to wrestle free so he could continue beating Nehamele, shouted at the men who held him fast.
what are the awakening lives memoirs
Youth biographies written a the time submitted to YIVO- they are the life histories of readers.
many Holocaust survivors alive today could have entered YIVO’s contests. But it is hard to imagine how their experiences as adolescents in the 1930s could ever be recaptured now, so overshadowed are those years by the tragedy of the Holocaust. – YIVO as written pre holocaust, gives us a way in
Henkh - siblings
- 13th out of 14 child. Only 5 survived.
Henkh- parents
- While Father spent his days in the synagogue poring over holy books, securing himself and his family a place in the next world, Mother wore herself out running the house and the store, providing for our needs in this world—that is, seeing to it that we were fed. His father died when he was 5- insight into hardship.
Henkh- support from family
- A short time later, an uncle who lived in America (a brother of my late father) sent us a considerable sum (in dollars). We used this money to rebuild our old house, which had been burned down by the Cossacks( ast Slavic Orthodox Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia.)
Henkh- changing family structure after death of father
- Female strength, but also no education- Mother cast off the yoke of provider and placed it on my sister’s shoulders. Young as she was, my sister was now the “head of the house.” It was she who sent money and clothing to my brothers in yeshiva, paid for my lessons at home, and took care of household expense.
Henkh- agency of his sister
- His sister did a two year apprenticeship and soon became known as the best dress maker in town. She was also active in a Zionist organisation
Henkh- first education
- Joined a Yeshiva in Grodno
- The yeshiva taught me to weigh and measure my every thought and deed and to be ever mindful of my place in the world. As a result, like others who attended Lithuanian yeshivas, I developed a pessimistic outlook on life. Constant, critical self-scrutiny robbed us of our courage and self-confidence and turned us into depressives, no matter how pious and full of faith we might be.
Henkh- love for another
- My studies at the yeshiva were not hindered by my longing. On the contrary, I had it all figured out: study hard, become a great rabbi, and this will make Matele happy.
- I found a photograph of Matele and a handsome young man, both in bathing suits, she cradled in his lap like a child. Fever- ishly, I emptied her purse and found the business card of a gynecologist who had an office on Leszno Street. Then I noticed several prescriptions on the window sill, issued by the same doctor. In my mind, a horrifying scenario unfolded: the seduction of Matele by a handsome young man in Ciechocinek.
Henkh- critical of wise teacher
- the Hafetz Hayyim was little more than a figurehead, and the day-to-day running of the yeshiva was in the hands of his less-than- distinguished grandsons, as is the case to this day. He limited himself to giving musar talks in his quarters twice a week. For the most part, his two-hour sermons were an endless reiteration:
- Measuring what I heard here against what I had heard there, I began to question the greatness of the aged Hafetz Hayyim. The other students, still in awe of his glorious past, believed that his present teachings were too deep for them to grasp. To them he was the voice of the Divine Spirit.
Henkh- religious control
- Rabbi Eliezer Kopelson, grandson of Hafetz Hayyim His duty, among others, was to keep us pious, to guard the purity of our faith by weeding out heretics before they could contaminate the rest of us. To this end, he organized a network of informers within the yeshiva to spy on every student and to be especially alert for anyone reading forbidden—that is, secular—books. Rabbi complete control over where and, more importantly, with whom a student could room. The supervisor saw to it that a student whose thinking was suspect was assigned a roommate whose faith left no room for doubt and who could be truster to win over the skeptic.
Henkh- tension with fellow student
- This spy ringleader took an instant liking to me and, wishing to keep me under his influence, assigned me to room with him. I didn’t take to him at all, repelled as much by his foul breath (which could be smelled half a kilo- meter away) as by his arrogance, corruption, and egotism, none of which I, a young man of conscience, could abide
- I explained to him that, as the oldest and the youngest students in the yeshiva, we were not a good match and asked him to place me with a more appropriate roommate. He refused. I then took my reques to the mazhgiekh, accusing the supervisor of using his position to further his own interests and of trampling upon the needs of others. This was con- sidered an act of heroism. After all, it was no small matter to pit oneself against the spy ringleader, whose word was enough to have one thrown out of the yeshiva. But the mazhgiekh granted my request
- The housing supervisor, however, didn’t forget his hatred of me. The higher I rose, the more he was consumed with hatred and jealous He wasn’t above manufacturing incriminating incident.
Henkh- exposure to secular reading
- I could hardly wait to rush out each Friday and buy the newspaper, devouring every word and thinking deeply about every article. In the process, I gained an understanding of life and a thirst for secular education.
Henkh- rebellion
- I became the center of a circle of maskilim who met on free days (the Sabbath, fast days, and holidays), three kilo- meters from town. There we discussed ideas and also mocked the yeshiva’s administration and its aged chief spy
- On my own I decided to leave the yeshiva and pursue a secular education
Henkh- deception by a women
- she suddenly announced that, despite all appropriate precautions, she was “in a family way,” I had no choice but to marry her.
- After the wedding, I learned that I had been deceived. My wife was decid- edly not pregnant. I felt such repugnance that I couldn’t stay with her. She didn’t want a divorce, so I fled to Warsaw and resumed giving lessons in Jewish subjects while preparing myself for the matura.
Henkh- university education
- In one year of super– human effort, I passed the matura as an extern and was admitted to the law school. Now, because I can’t pay tuition, I’m not allowed to attend the university, and I find myself half-seriously considering—suicide.
Khane - immediate signs of hardship
- the poor conditions under which I wrote: right after coming home from work I would sit down, tired and hungry, and write, always with a headache.
- “our impoverished house”
Khane- mother’s resilience in WW1
- During WW1 – father went to front line. mother transported illegal goods in the middle of the night, and when she heard shots behind her, she continued on her way without even turning around. She did all sorts of hard work to keep us from going hungry, and she had to raise us as well. Life was hard; food was very expensive and difficult to come by. Mother used to go away for days at a time and leave us in the house. I was so hungry that I would eat pieces of coal and raw potatoes.
Khane- displacement during WW1
- During ww1 – Cossacks had arrived overnight and set up their camp nearby. For two or three days we were trapped behind a thick wall of horses and couldn’t get out. We were afraid to show any signs of life.
- Fortunately, the Cossacks were forced to retreat as the Germans approached. Then some people remembered the woman and her three children. People began to flee the town, heading to any place that seemed out of the war’s reach. They then ran away too
Khane- Everyone in it for themselves- WW1
- When we arrived in Panevezys, we were shown to a small synagogue, which was being used to house the homeless. This was our new home. Mother immediately went out to earn some money; she did laundry, washed floors, and tended to the sick. We no longer suffered from hunger. Every day new families arrived at the synagogue, having fled their homes just as we had.
o In the synagogue - When Mother went off to work, people did whatever they wanted to us. They would hit us, take our food, or move our things to the door
Khane- weakness without mother in WW1
- She was left alone with her rich uncle because she was weak / sick – she was tormented and ignored, didn’t eat even though there was plenty of food. Was glad to go back to her mother
Khane- kindness for another human (the boy)
- One dav, Mother noticed someone lying on some straw at the entrance to the building. She went over to find out who was lying like that on the ground. It was a boy, about fourteen or fifteen years old, who was lame and mute.
- Mother heated some water and washed him, gave him a new shirt, put down some fresh straw, and left.
- the boy ate when we ate, mother didn’t differentiate
- They loved the boy until he died but he couldn’t really talk
Khane- remarkability of act of kindness towards the boy
When people in town found out about this, they couldn’t stop talking about what Mother had done. Then the Jewish community council took an interest in the matter, and they even offered Mother a free apartment and a little money to take care of the boy.
Khane- female force against Jewish establishment
- Once again we suffered from hunger,and the boy suffered along with us. Mother then took the boy in her arms and carried him to the synagogue. She demanded that they provide him with food or she would leave him there and they could take care of him (Mother never really intended to abandon him.) There was a great commotion in the synagogue. Finally, they promised Mother they would take care of everything, and we went home with the boy.
Khane- contrast of father’s selfishness
- Father used to go to the countryside with goods and exchange them for food. When he returned with sacks full of peas, beans, flour, and potatoes, women would gather around him and buy up everything immediately. Every day my older sister and I would go with a big wooden bucket on a stick and get free food from the public kitchen. They would pour us a bucket of water with a couple of potatoes in it, and sometimes not even that. They gave out bread twice a week. But Father didn’t give us any; he kept it for himself.
Khane- divide between mother and father
- Father returned while war was going on with money – rented an apartment and pretended not to know who his wife and kids were. He let them all live between other people until others criticised him and he rented an apartment, more like a shed, for them but on condition mother wouldn’t stay there. Eventually they moved into a better apartment with their dad with their mum left to fend in countryside
Khane- mother standing up for the kids against father
- Once, when we came crying to our mother, she could no longer restrain herself and ran off to see Father in the market. He was there selling apples, which were a luxury at the time. Furious, she threw all the apples out on the street. Since we were all starying, she said, he, too, should go without food.
