Page 36 - The Legacy of Abraham Rothstein - text

Cheder

crocheting, and the pupil would become even more confused and
ashamed, mixing up his answers, like Jeremiah for Isaiah and Saul for
David, which made the whole class giggle.
My aleph-bet teacher had his school in his own home, but I do
not remember him or his classroom very well, as I was only five years
of age. Some of the teachers I had were not with their families; they
came from another town to earn their poor living. Their families
lived with relatives, or they had an old house somewhere too small
for a classroom, or they were working to pay off bills or raise a dowry
for a daughter. Such a teacher would rent space in a house, gather
some pupils, and was in business. The woman of the house in which
we had to study would make the life of the teacher miserable.
Because the pupils upset the house, breaking dishes or a window, she
would curse him with all the curses found in the Jewish language. But
she could not afford to drive out the tenant who paid three rubles a
semester—that is, six months, from Succoth to Passover. For three
rubles she could buy a dress for her daughter, a kaleh moyd or
marriageable girl looking for a husband. Or if she had small children
she could buy three pairs of shoes for Passover.

32