Pictures of Jewish Home-Life Fifty Years Ago | Page 6

that they did, for I don't know what would have become of us out
here, away from our old friends, where the ways of living are so
different from what we have been used to. Whether it will always be so
or not, of course I can't say--time alone will show.
"Very soon afterwards they found us a vacant dwelling, which Father
was very thankful to get, and in my next letter I will tell you something
of our life after we had moved in; but I must tell you more of what
happened when we were staying with our kind host. The first afternoon,
one of our visitors insisted on our I going to her home; so, when I and
our youngsters arrived, we were taken to a room, and in it was a table
covered with lovely apricots, and delicious-looking pastries and jams;
also wine which only cost 3d. a bottle, so it is very nearly as cheap as
buying water. When they handed us some of the good things we
naturally took them and ate them.
"Suddenly I saw our host's children move away from us saying: 'She is
a Shiksa,' and 'He is a Shakitz,' and they kept on whispering and
pointing to us. I could not think what we had done to make them act in
such a way, and so asked their mother. She answered: 'They are
surprised to see you eating without making a Brocha (a blessing), for
our children unless they first make a Brocha never taste anything.'
"You know, dear Milly, that, though we too were taught to do as they
here, yet the hurry and scurry of going to school and the busy life in
London have made us forget to practise these religious laws. We,
however, felt very uncomfortable and ashamed of ourselves, and made
up our minds to get into the habit of doing it--that is to remember to
thank our Creator for every blessing we receive, including food--so that

it should become a matter-of-course.
"Now I must tell you about our water-supply, for the scarcity of water
struck us, very much, coming from London; for here every drop is
precious and is used for several things, as every drop has to be bought,
and money amongst our Jerusalem brethren is very scarce. In fact, it
often costs more than the wine of the country.
"A water-carrier brings us up every morning a skin bag of water (it is
made of skins sewn together, with a small outlet at the top); for it we
pay twopence, which is equal to more than a shilling in London. The
water that he brings he pours into a large earthern jar, which keeps it
cool, and to it is attached over the mouth of the jar a sieve which is
made of thick unbleached calico: if this were not done, hundreds of
little red worms would get into the jar, because the water in Palestine is
full of them. A law was made by the Jews that to drink water that had
not been passed through a sieve was a sin; and, as little children are
taught not to commit any sin, they do not drink any water that has not
been passed through a sieve; owing to this, many illnesses are
prevented among the Jews that are rampant among the Arabs and
others.
"The Jews are also very careful about their water for ordinary use, yet
they really employ it more plentifully than we do in London when used
in connection with laws of health as laid down in the Shulchan Aruch
(a book of laws). For example, as soon as you step out of your bed, you
pour water over your hands, wash your face, gargle your throat, and rub
your teeth with a clean finger and rinse your mouth. No one would
think of moving out of the room without doing this. I know among the
very orthodox Jews in London they do the same thing, but the average
Jew does not do it, and here it is done by everyone--even a baby is
taught to do it the same way.
"Later in the day, or when the men go to Synagogue, and we have
finished with our household duties, we have the regular soap-and-water
wash. Then again, everytime we have a meal we have to wash our
hands and repeat a blessing; and, as this is done at various other times
in a large family, it takes a good deal of water, but as it is used for
cleaning purposes we need not stint ourselves. This law is especially
valuable here, for it is very hot, and, if we were not very clean and
especially careful about cleansing our eyes and mouths and throat, we

should run the risk