240 Matsoh Fund — In the days before Passover it was customary in Jewish communities to collect money for the poor to enable them to buy matsos — the flat, unleavened bread eaten on the holiday — and other necessities.
241 A lulav and esrog — The lulav, or palm shoot, and esrog, or citron, are both part of the Sukkos ritual. Since neither was grown in Russia, they had to be brought by special dealers from abroad.
242 Chto nada—Russian: “Is there something [that you want]?”
243 Chtotakoye, golubchik—Russian: “What is the matter, my pigeon?”
244 Nichevo—Russian: “There’s no need.”
245 Purishkevich — V. N. Purishkevich (1870–1920), leader of the anti-Semitic faction in the Duma, the Russian parliament, and founder of “the Black Hundreds” (see this page).
246 Azef — Yevno Fishelevich Azef (1869–1918), a secret agent of the Russian police planted in the illegal Social-Revolutionary Party, where he rose to a top position while informing on its members and activities.
247 Nikolai the First — Czar of Russia from 1825 to 1855.
248 Blessing the New Moon — In accordance with the lunar nature of the Jewish calendar, it is customary among Orthodox Jews to hold a prayer for the new moon at the beginning of every month. The ceremony is held outdoors — where, the moon being young, there is little light in the absence of artificial illumination.
249 Emigration Committee — An arm of the Jewish Colonization Association, an organization established by the Jewish philanthropist Baron Maurice de Hirsch (1831–1896) for the purpose of encouraging Jewish rural settlement in Argentina.
250 Yeshiva — An advanced school for Talmudic studies and the training of Orthodox rabbis.
251 Hanukkah candles.
252 Elul — The last month of the Hebrew year, occurring in late summer; it is followed by the month of Tishri with its High Holy Days. During Elul it is customary for observant Jews to rise each day before dawn for special penitential prayers in the synagogue and to visit the graves of loved ones.
253 Artsybashev — See this page.
254 Bohopoli, Heysen, etc. — Towns in the southern Ukraine, several hundred miles southwest of the Kiev (“Yehupetz”) region.
255 Witte — Count Sergei Yulievich Witte, Russian statesman and a rail-road engineer himself. He served as minister of communications in 1892.
256 Poliakov — Lazarus Poliakov, a rich Russian Jewish banker who lived in Moscow.
257 Hoshana Rabbah — See note to p. 67 on the Book of Life. 1861 Sukkos.
258 Waved his palm branch
259 It’s only half a holiday — The major Jewish holidays, such asSukkoth, are divided into yomim toyvim (singular, yom tov), days on which most of the restrictions in force on the Sabbath, including that on work and travel, apply, and khol hamo’ed, days on which they do not. Hoshana Rabbah is a khol hamo’ed day, but the following day, Shemini Atzeret, the Day of Solemn Assembly, is a yom tov. It is followed by Simchat Torah.
260 The Book of Life.
261 Simkhes Toyroh — The holiday of Simchat Torah, which celebrates the completion of the yearly cycle of Torah readings. It is a day on which there is much dancing, singing, and sometimes drinking, and is considered the merriest festivity of the Jewish year.
262 A married woman’s hair — Among Orthodox Jews a married woman’s hair must be covered at all times. (Among the extreme Orthodox, it is commonly shaved before marriage, the bare scalp being covered by a kerchief or wig.)
263 Put up his samovar on the Sabbath — Among the many Sabbath restrictions is one on lighting fires and cooking food.
264 Tisha b’Av — A fast day, commemorating the destruction of the Temple, occurring in midsummer.
265 Koshering his dishes for Passover — In accordance with the prohibition on keeping any leaven or leavened foods in the house during the eight days of Passover, observant Jews either change all their dishes for the holiday or else “kosher,” that is, ritually purify, the dishes they have been using.
266 Tallis koton—A small, rectangular undergarment that slips over the head and has fringed tassles hanging from each of its four corners. It is worn at all times by observant male Jews, in obedience to the commandment, “And the Lord spoke unto Moses saying, Speak unto the Children of Israel and bid them that they make them fringes on the borders of their garments, throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a riband of blue.” Numbers, 15:37.
267 Tefillin — The phylacteries, or leather thongs, to which are attached small, hollow cubes containing verses written on parchment, that a Jew binds to his arm and forehead every morning when praying. This is in accordance with the biblical commandment, “And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” Deuteronomy, 6:8.
268 General Tolmachov — The governor of Odessa and a well-known and-Semite.
269 Sixty-six — A two-handed card game belonging to the pinochle family. It is played with a 24-card deck, containing the ace, king, queen, jack, ten, and nine of each suit, and the cards rank in that order except for the ten, which is next-highest to the ace. Points are scored for king-queen melds or marriages (40 for a trump marriage, otherwise 20) and for tricks taken, and the first player to score 66 points wins the hand. If his opponent has over 33 points, the winner is awarded one “game-point”; under 33, two game-points; and none at all, three game-points. Seven game-points generally win a match.
270 Tallis — The fringed prayer shawl worn by observant Jews during the morning prayer.
271 Tefillin.
272 Hanukkah.
273 A two in arithmetic — In the Russian system, students were graded on a scale of one to five.
274 Chto vam ugodno—Russian: “What is it that you want?”
275 Gospodin Direktor, etc. — These words, spoken in broken Russian, are translated by the father himself in the lines that follow.
276 Tak chto-zhe vam ugodno—Russian: “But what is it that you want?”
277 A guaranteed … exemption — Only sons, according to Russian law, were automatically excused from the army.
278 Itsik — An affectionate form of Yitzchok, the Hebrew for “Isaac.”
279 Alter — When a child was seriously ill or otherwise feared for, it was the custom among East European Jews to change his name for good luck. Alter, which means “old one” in Yiddish, was one of the substitute names most frequently used, the belief being that it would throw the Angel of Death off the child’s tracks.
280 Eisik — The Germanized form of “Isaac,” which also had currency among Yiddish-speaking Jews as a name.
281 Government rabbi — As a way of tightening its control over the Jewish communities under its rule, which preferred to conduct their internal affairs with minimal recourse to civil authority, the Russian government enacted a law in 1857 requiring each community to employ a publicly licensed or “crown” rabbi, who was a graduate of a state-run rabbinical school. Such rabbis, who acted as go-betweens for the community and the government bureaucracy, were held in low esteem by the Jewish population, which made as little use of them as possible.
282 Molodyets—Russian: “wonderful!”
283 Stupaytye—Russian: “Get out of here!”
284 Stupaytye, vi nodoyedli veyevrei—“Get out of here, you Jewish pest!”
285 Baron de Hirsch.