Pictures of Jewish Home-Life Fifty Years Ago | Page 5

Mitzvoth as they can. Really, the boys are as full of fun
and pranks as we English boys, and they just love a bit of play and
larking when they can get it.
"I must now end this letter, but I have a lot more to tell you, and I will
keep my promise and write you by degrees of all I see. Meanwhile, I
send you the greeting of Zion and Sabbath. Rachael wanted to put a
letter into my envelope to your sister, but she says she has not finished
it yet, although she has already written ten pages. So I will wait no
longer, in case I miss the post, as it goes only once a week from here,
and sometimes only once a month."
Thus ended the first letter, and Benjamin's brothers and sisters were so
pleased with it that they were delighted that one of the bundle of letters
should be read aloud after the Sabbath meal on every Friday evening.
Benjamin was quite happy now, for, although he had done a thing
which was not right, now that he had repented good would come out of
it, for there was a chance of their now having pleasanter and more
instructive Sabbath evenings than they had ever had before. Besides, he
now made up his mind always to wear his tsitsith.

THE WELCOME

On the following Friday, after the Sabbath evening meal, the boys
asked their father to read them another letter from his cousin in
Jerusalem. He was pleased at their eagerness, and, while Upstairs
getting the letter, some of the boys' friends came in and settled
comfortably down, for all were eager to hear the letter read.
Mr Jacob said: "This time I will read a letter from your Cousin Dora to
my sister which will certainly interest you, my dear," turning to his
daughter, "but at the same time, I think it will interest you all."
"My dear Milly,--Isaac must have written to Jacob all about our arrival,
so I will begin by giving you some idea of our life here and my
impressions. The people, who so kindly asked us to stay with them till
Father finds a dwelling, have a few rooms in a house, which has a
marble paved courtyard. Six other families also have two or three
rooms each. All the work is done in the courtyard, even the cooking;
for each family uses tiny stoves, made of mud, into which they put a
little lighted charcoal and cook just outside or near their own doors; for
there are no kitchens or fireplaces in any of the rooms, and thus we see
what each family cooks. The Sephardim (Jews who have lived here for
years) eat their meals in the courtyard. They lay a mat on the marble
tiles, on which they place a small low table, and they sit on the mat and
eat. Two Sephardim families have rooms in the house and they speak
Arabic and Spanish, and their ways of living are more like those of the
Turks, just as the Jews in England live more like the English.
"Everyone seems most interested in us. Many people have come to visit
us, to see the new arrivals!
"The evening of the day on which we arrived was Friday; there was a
clear moonlight such as you would not often see in England, and it was
very warm, too; so we and our visitors sat in the courtyard. All eagerly
asked us many questions, till quite late; and thus the evening passed
very quickly and pleasantly.
"After prayers on Sabbath some people sent a bottle of wine and a most
delicious pudding, which is made nowhere but in Jerusalem. It tastes
like milk and honey, with other tasty things mixed up in it. Others sent
a lovely sponge cake, coated with different-coloured sugar-icing: many
other good things were also given to us; and they lasted us for nearly a

month.
"Later in the day the people who sent the eatables paid us visits, and ate
some of the good things. It is rather a nice custom, I think, for new
arrivals to have no bother to prepare food for their visitors, as it gives
them time to enjoy their company. What a lot of talking there was! The
men discussed several things with Father, while the women wanted to
know many things about England which Mother could tell them. The
boys and girls could not take their eyes off our clothes, so much did
they admire them! It was quite amusing, the funny questions they asked
us about them. They all promised to help us look for a dwelling; and
they kept their promise. I can tell you it was a great help and comfort to
us