Pictures of Jewish Home-Life Fifty Years Ago | Page 2

Friday afternoon everyone was very busy in Benjamin's home
washing and dressing to go to Shule. The mother was getting the
living-room clean and tidy for the Sabbath.

THE OFFENCE
The family lived in a few rooms off Commercial Road, in one of the
many back streets. The underground kitchen had to be used as the
dining-and sitting-room, for they had not been many years in England
and it was a hard struggle for Benjamin's parents to make ends meet
and provide for a large family.
The father and the elder boys were dressing as best they could in this
room. Just then the mother came in, very excited, and said to her
husband: "What will you say to this? I gave Benjamin his Sabbath
clothes and a clean tsitsith, and what do you think he did?"
"What?" asked the father, and stopped brushing his clothes.
"Why, he took the tsitsith and threw it on the floor, and said he would
never wear it again. I punished him, and told him to put it on again. So
you had better go to him and give him what he deserves."
"You are rather hasty, my dear wife," said the father; "for, before
punishing him, you should have asked him why he did such a thing."
"What!" exclaimed the mother, "do you think I have nothing else to do
but to stand and argue with him just before Sabbath, when I have so
much work? You are far too easy-going, Jacob--you should really be
firmer with the children."
"No, no!" said Jacob, who was a kindly man and understood human
nature better than his hasty, but well-meaning and loving, wife. The
struggle and constant hard work in keeping the home of a large family
was telling upon her, and any disobedience in the children irritated her
very much.
"We must not be hasty with the children," continued Jacob, "especially
now-a-days, for they live under different circumstances from those we
knew when we were young. Instead of hastily scolding and punishing
them, let us rather quietly reason with them, when possible, and show
them where they are wrong."
"Perhaps you may be right," said Benjamin's mother; "so let us leave
the matter till you return from Shule and have had our Sabbath
meal--then you can quietly ask Benjamin why he acted as he did."
THE BOY BENJAMIN
An elder brother was sent to call Benjamin to go to Shule with his
father and brothers. Benjamin expected a scolding from his father
similar to that which he had had from his mother, so he came into the

room looking very sulky. 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.
When they returned from Shule and nothing was said, even at the
evening meal, about the way Benjamin had annoyed his mother, he was
rather surprised. His mother, during the time they were at Shule, had
made the living-room, which was really the kitchen, look so clean and
bright with the five lighted candles placed on the snow-white
table-cloth, and the old stove so well polished, that it almost looked as
bright as a looking glass. What interested the young ones most was the
saucepan which stood on one side of the stove waiting for its contents
to be put on the table, and, oh, how they enjoyed the sweet savour
which came from it!
FRIDAY EVE
They all gathered round the table to welcome the Princess Sabbath. The
father made kiddush, and the wine cup was handed round to all. Then
they washed their hands and said a prayer before sitting down to the
evening meal, which passed off very pleasantly, and zmires (or songs
or psalms of praise) were sung at intervals during the meal.
When the meal was ended, and the grace said by the father, they all
separated: one or two went out for a walk, while the other members of
the family took a newspaper or a book and quietly read.
When the table was cleared, the mother sat down to rest. Grateful,
indeed, was she for this Sabbath rest after her week's hard work. She
often said that, for such as herself, no blessing