"The reason is very clear, for here we have no cheery open fireplaces, which give out so much heat in England; in fact there are not even any steel or iron ovens, and the result is, the Palestinian houses are intensely cold in frosty weather. The ceilings are all lofty and in the shape of a dome, which, with the very thick stone walls is very pleasant in summer but very cold in the winter. Then there is very little firewood to be had here, as the Turks try to prevent much tree-planting, so fire wood is a luxury which very few can afford. Instead, we have all copper buckets pierced with holes standing on a tripod and filled with burning charcoal, which is placed in the middle of the room.

"How we all eagerly cluster round it and watch the red hot charcoal, hoping that by looking at it the warmth will go into our bodies! Such a small amount of charcoal as we can afford does not warm a room very much, so all the windows are closed tightly to prevent any cold air coming in. This also prevents the fumes of the burning charcoal from escaping, so naturally the air gets very stuffy, and many suffer from headaches or fall into a heavy sleep.

"You will wonder why it is many people do not get frozen. Well, the old proverb holds good here, that 'Necessity is the mother of invention,' so even in the coldest weather we have a remedy; for we heat also our brass samovar, which holds about thirty glasses of tea, and we drink a glass of hot tea every now and then.

"As the samovar boils all day the steam also sends out some warmth into the room.

"Then, again, the younger children are during the very cold weather kept warm in bed with feather coverlets and pillows, which the elder people try to keep warm in doing the necessary household duties. Very few go out in the streets, except the men when they go to Shule, and the elder boys when they go to the Yeshiba or Cheder, and even they are very often kept at home.

"One comfort is that 'Father Frost' does not stay long, so we can manage to bear his icy breath: the greatest hardship is when he visits us on a Sabbath, for of course on that day we cannot heat the samovar and so we have to do with less tea.

"We prepare our Sabbath meals in a small scullery, or porch, in which a small brick oven is built to keep the food hot for the Sabbath. A few pieces of wood are put in, and, when well lighted, the oven is half-filled with charcoal-dust—this again is covered by pieces of tin or lime, and, on top of all, the saucepans are put containing food for the Sabbath meals: also bottles or jars of water are thus kept hot for tea or coffee. Neighbours who are not lucky enough to have such an oven bring in their food, and we let them put it in our ovens. In this way we have enough for every one to drink who may come in. Sometimes twenty poor people come in on a Sabbath day and say: 'Spare me, please, a little hot water?' No one would think of refusing to give them some, even if they had to share their last glass with them.

"Generally on cold Sabbath afternoons our parents have a nap after eating the nice hot cholent, and we girls and the young married women go and spend a few hours with our old lady friend, who always entertains us with stories and discussions on various interesting subjects. So the time passes very quickly and so pleasantly that we forget how cold it is. About twenty or thirty of us all sit close together on her divan covered up with rugs, and this with the excitement over the tales she tells us, helps to keep us warm.

"Last Sabbath our old lady was not very well, and we were feeling very miserable without her entertaining tales. Suddenly, one of my girl-friends asked me to tell them about our life in London.

"As they had never read or heard about life outside Jerusalem, it was most amusing to hear their exclamations of wonder; for they could hardly believe what I told them was true, till our old lady confirmed our statements.

"First, they wanted to know how young men and women behaved toward each other.

"I told them that every man and every woman, whether young or old, either in the street or in-doors, always shook hands with friends—at this they looked very surprised and some seemed even horrified, exclaiming: 'What a sin to commit.' I asked them where it was written that this was a sin? 'Well,' some replied, 'our parents or husbands say it is a sin,' 'I don't think it is a sin, but only a custom,' said I. 'But it is a sin,' insisted one little wife of fifteen 'to touch one another's hands.' I tried to explain to her, but she would not listen to me and we were on the verge of quarreling but as usual, when there was a difference of opinion between any of us, we always appealed to our old lady and she agreed with me that there was no sin in shaking hands. 'Sin,' she said, 'comes from thoughts—if while talking or laughing or even shaking hands, evil thoughts pass through the minds of men or women then, and then only, is the act likely to be a sin. In Europe,' she went on to say, 'it is quite a natural thing for men and women to shake hands and talk to each other naturally.'

"Then I asked my new friend Huldah (a young wife of fifteen years of age) to tell us all about her own love-affair and marriage. She was greatly shocked to hear me speaking of love before marriage—'Such a thing could never happen to a modest Jewish maiden in those days,' she said.

"I told her that it did happen in Europe. 'May be,' she replied; 'it may happen in lands where Jews mix with non-Jews and copy their ways!'

"As I rather liked to tease her, I said she was mistaken, for here in Jerusalem did the great Rabbi Akiba fall in love with his wife before marriage. 'Oh, that was quite different!' she replied. 'Not at all,' said I, for were not feasts and rejoicing held so that youths and maidens could meet one another in the vineyards and dance in the meadows?—Look in the Bible,' I continued, 'and you will see it is mentioned there.' Then all looked abashed. The only one who smiled was our old lady.

"'Don't unsettle their minds, dear,' she whispered softly to me. 'I don't want to,' I said; 'I only want to show them that, though such things are done in other countries, there is no sin in it as they have been brought up to believe.' 'Well, well!' she said, 'let us hope God will restore our beloved land to us in his own good time, and then we shall again, as in days of old, celebrate such Festivals!'

"We all said 'AMEN,' most heartily, to this wish.

"In my next letter I will tell you of our friend's engagement and marriage. Your loving cousin, Millie."



ENGAGEMENT AND WEDDING CEREMONIES

The hearers waited with eagerness for the next Friday evening, as they enjoyed so much hearing those interesting letters.

The next Mr Jacobs read was this:

"Hulda is only fifteen years of age, and has already been married six months. If she were dressed as girls are dressed in England, she would really look beautiful; but her beauty is, I think, marred by the silk handkerchief she wears on her head, which covers half her forehead and her ears, so that none of her hair can be seen, I mean that part of it that was shaved off. Over the silk handkerchief she wears a black velvet band, to which gold coins are attached and these are put on so coquettishly that it makes the head-gear look quite artistic. Sometimes she wears ornaments with pearls in them. These special trinkets are, of course, worn only on Sabbaths and Festivals or some other special occasions.

"The shaving of part of the young wife's head the day after her marriage is a custom to prevent young married women from being tempted by vanity to show off their hair, which is generally in Palestine very beautiful. The poor things cover up the part so well that there is no fear of any of it being seen.

"Hulda is tall and well-developed for her age, and lively as a cricket, always ready to play and laugh and joke with us. She started by telling me: 'I was invited to visit my betrothed's family during the holidays, and my future mother-in-law let me help her with the baking and cooking, and was specially pleased with the way I stretched out the dough for the lockshen—I made it look so thin, like a paper wrapper. She told me that I would make a good housewife. Then I showed all the family some of the linen garments I had made and had with me, and the crochet I had trimmed them with.'

"Here Hulda turned to me and said: 'our mothers encourage us at eight years of age to begin to make garments for our trousseaux, and at the age of ten we start to crochet lace and embroider, so by the time we get married we have all our things ready, for they cannot be bought ready-made in Palestine. When we become betrothed we work our future initials on our things and make our dresses.'

"'While I was staying at my betrothed's home, we never spoke to each other, except to say Good-morning and Good-night. Sometimes when no one saw us we looked at one another, for already I liked my young man, though he was not handsome. A wise girl does not want good looks in a husband so much as that he should be a good Talmudist and be a good character; this he is, and I could listen to him for ever,' she said, blushing like a rose; 'when he sings Zmires, his voice is like a nightingale, and even in the mornings, when he thinks I am asleep, it is just lovely to hear his sing-song as he studies—it is to me the sweetest of all music,' she said.

"'So it should be, my child,' said our old lady, 'and it is a privilege for us women to help them to study.'

"'So my mother says,' said Hulda, naturally.

"At the same time I thought to myself: 'A nice thing it would be if only our men were to study and our women to work, as they mostly do here and in Russian ghetto towns. No,' I thought, 'I would rather that the men did some manual labour as well as study, and the women have some time for study as well as for household work.'

"But I kept these thoughts to myself, while Hulda continued to tell me what a longing she had to see more of her betrothed; but she did not see him again till after the marriage ceremony.

"I will try to describe the ceremonies to you in detail, as I have now been to several weddings here, and I think you would like to know.

"A week before the wedding, all the relations and friends come to help bake and prepare the wedding-feast; for, as these proceedings last about eight days, it is no easy matter to celebrate them.

"The bride's trousseau is shown to the guests who come, and everything is examined and counted by all, especially the relations of the bridegrooms. When there happens to be less than expected, woe betide the bride, for she is always reproached about it by her mother-in-law or his other relatives.

"On the Sabbath before the marriage the bridegroom is called up to read the Law, and friends pay him visits.—First they send him nicely baked cakes or puddings and a bottle of wine. (It is a good thing that this is the custom, or else a poor man would be ruined by the cost of all the feasting that he is expected to provide).

"During the week the bride's friends come every evening and dance and sing in her home, coffee and cakes and baked nuts being handed round.

"The morning of the wedding, both bride and bridegroom fast, and each goes with his or her parents to the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem, to pray for a blessing on their married life, and then they go to be blessed by the Rav.

"When the bride returns home, she is dressed in her bridal dress. Then she is led up to a chair that has been raised off the floor; her hair is unloosed and allowed to hang over her shoulders; and this is the last time, for the next day most of it is shaved off.

"Her young friends stand near her and each sings a song, bidding good-bye to her maiden days; and the bride weeps, fearing what the future may hold in store for her. Then the bridegroom comes in, led by his friends, who carry candles. He is given a veil, which he throws over his bride's head, and then leaves with his friends for the Synagogue.

"Though some parts of the ceremony look ridiculous, yet all is carried out so solemnly that one feels very much impressed.

"The bride is then led by two of her relatives or friends, who carry candles, and all the other friends follow them through the streets, some also carrying candles. As there are no carriages to be had in Jerusalem, they have sometimes to walk some distance to the Synagogue.

"The usual bridal canopy is in the Synagogue, and they walk round it seven times; then prayers are said, and the glass is broken; Mazzeltov is said, and with songs and clapping of hands the bridal pair is led home again. Near the home a large Bagel is held by a friend, and as the couple cross the threshold it is broken over their heads, and the pieces are distributed among the guests. The bride and bridegroom are then led into a room, and the door is closed for five minutes—I suppose to be sure that they are the right persons, anyhow the bridegroom lifts the bride's veil and gives her the first kiss he has ever given her. (I do not know if she kisses him, for she may be too shy: they will not tell when I ask).

"After the five minutes have passed, the bride is led out of the room to a room where the women-guests are assembled, while the bridegroom goes to a room where the men-guests are. The feasting lasts for a few hours in each room. Then the bride is led by some of her women friends to the room where the men are, and the bridegroom takes her by the hand and starts dancing; the other guests follow suit. It is amusing to see the old grey-bearded scholars, who, one would think, could not move their legs, dance and rejoice while the lookers-on clap and sing. It is far more exciting than a wedding in London, for it is considered a 'Mitzvah' to rejoice with a young bridal couple.

"The dancing goes on for some time, the only miserable pair, I expect, are the bride and bridegroom, who generally become very weary of it all, for they started their wedding pilgrimage very early in the morning and had fasted till the feasting began late in the afternoon—I often wonder that they have any energy left in them, poor things, for they cannot retire till late at night.

"The next day comes the ceremony of cutting off the bride's hair. The bridegroom's mother hands her a few silk handkerchiefs to be worn on her head on special occasions. Sometimes the poor little bride is so young that she cries while her beautiful plaits are being cut off.

"At times a quarrel begins between the two mothers: the bride's mother sometimes insisting that her child's hair shall only be cut short and not shaved, and she generally gets her way.

"Some brides do not mind being shaved, for they like the idea of wearing the pretty coloured silk handkerchiefs.

"At nearly every wedding a table is spread for the poor, and I was present at a wedding when more than a hundred poor men came regularly for eight days, and the table was spread as bountifully for them as for the other guests. Here in Palestine the poor share in the joys of their richer brethren.

"When the eight days of Festival are over, the young couple usually settle down close by or in one of their parents' homes, who give them a room. A great deal of the happiness of young couples depends on the character of the mother-in-law, for they have the power of making or marring their happiness more than anyone else.

"Huldah told me that she would have been quite happy in her mother-in-law (for she really was a good kind woman) if only she would more often allow her to talk to her husband, 'and I do so like a talk with him,' she said to me with a sigh, 'for he is so wise. When my mother-in-law sleeps after the Sabbath dinner, we go into the next room and we sit talking, and he tells me tales from the Talmud, and sometimes reads aloud from it. I do so enjoy those Sabbath hours,' she continued, 'for I have only my bedroom which I can call my own, but I am not allowed to be much in it,—the little time I have with my husband each day makes me very happy, for I know he loves me dearly (although he does not say so), for when he comes home his first word is for me,'

"'Sometimes, when my mother-in-law is in a good temper, she lets us eat out of the same dish, and then he jokingly puts the daintiest bits on my side; often when I wake in the mornings I find pinned to my pillow a few words he has copied from the Song of Songs, put there before leaving for the Synagogue.' Then Huldah added 'After returning himself from the Synagogue on Sabbath Eve, my dear husband always looks at me with a loving smile when he reads that part where it says: ''The price of a virtuous woman is far above rubies, the heart of her husband trusteth in her.' 'Yes indeed,' she said, 'thanks be to God—I am a very happy wife, and when God blesses us with children, my cup of joy will be very full.'

"And this child-wife of fifteen did indeed look very happy as she spoke—and I, deep down in my heart, thought, 'What would they say to such match-making in England and Western Europe,' and yet in Palestine such marriages arranged by the parents are nearly always happy.

"I must close now, Your loving Millie."

When Mr Jacob had finished reading, some of his young listeners said they thought it was a very foolish way to arrange marriages. One of them remarked: "How could there be any love, if a couple rarely met each other before marriage."

Another said: "For my part, I would never marry unless I felt sure that I was in love with my husband to-be and that he also was in love with me. Love is everything in life, I think."

Then said a middle-aged lady, much loved and respected by all the listeners: "How often has many a marriage not turned out well, even when as young people a husband and wife had a passionate love for each other. The seed of love may be sown before or after marriage; but, unless carefully cultivated during married life by both husband and wife, through deeds of kindness and thoughtfulness and forbearance and mutual sympathy and understanding, the tender plant may soon wither and die. The old customs of our race, which this letter shows are still kept up in Palestine and I believe in other parts where ghetto life still obtains, if they are not carried to extremes, are, I think, very wise; but, unfortunately, our people are very tempted to go to extremes, and a good custom can thus be distorted and brought to ridicule."

"True, true," murmured some of the older people.

"In all things moderation and balance are safe guides to follow," said Mr. Jacobs.

The next book will be all about Millie's love affairs and marriage and her life, impressions, and tribulations in Palestine.



APPENDIX

THE CELEBRATION OF THE JUBILEE OF ZORACH BARNETT

(Translated from the Palestine Daily Mail of Friday, December 2nd, 1921).

Those who felt stirred to celebrate the jubilee of this illustrious old pioneer did very well indeed. For a young man who leaves all his business enterprises far behind him in London and who migrates to Eretz-Israel over fifty years ago—at a time when Jaffe did not posses even a Minyan foreign Jews; and at a time when the way from Jaffe to Jerusalem was a very long and tedious one—aye, a way fraught with all possible dangers, and moreover, teeming with robbers, a journey which lasted three whole days, such a Jew is indeed entitled to some mark of appreciation and respect.

A Jew who has worked for the re-building of our land for over fifty consecutive years in which period he visited the lands of the Diaspora fifteen times and all that he did and profited there was afterwards invested in the re-building of Eretz-Israel such a Jew has indeed merited to be praised even during his life-time.

A Jew who was one of the first to found the colony of Petah-Tikvah and therefore merited that people in Jerusalem should mark him out as an object of derision and scorn because he was a dreamer—a man who built the first house in this Petah-Tikvah—who was one of the founders of the "Me'ah Shearim in Jerusalem—who constructed perfect roads in Jaffe—who founded Zionist Societies in the lands of the Diaspora at a time when Zion did not occupy such a foremost part in the heart of the Jew—such a Jew is indeed worthy that a monument of his splendid achievement be erected for him even during his life-time!"

It must, moreover, be mentioned that Z. Barnett and his wife are one of the remnant of those noble men who participated in that famous assembly of Kattovitz—that noble gathering of illustrious men which can be verily described as the Aurora as the Dawn of the conception of the Restoration of the land of Israel.

The celebration took place on Sunday, November 27th, in the private house of Mr. Barnett. Those who had assembled were many, in fact, there were present representatives of every shade and section of Jewish communal life in Palestine. Thus there came along Rabbis of all the various congregations, various Jewish communal workers, heads of colonies, teachers, business men and workpeople and even beggars who came to enjoy the material blessings of this great national festivity.

Mr. Joseph Lipshitz opened the proceedings by explaining the importance of this great red letter day for Mr. Barnett and then called upon Rabbi Auerbach of Jerusalem who had come specially to take part in this celebration. Rabbi Auerbach delivered a long Talmudical dissertation in which he recited the great merits of the jubilant. He compared Z. Barnett to a king, because he based himself on a Talmudic statement concerning Omri which asserts that he who builds a little town or village is worthy to be called a king. The learned Rabbi also emphasised the importance of acquiring land in Palestine by many pithy remarks. Then spoke the Rabbis: Joseph Ha-levi, Shneiur Lenskin, Joseph Arwatz and Joseph Rabbi. All these testified to the great qualities of their host, who besides being a great idealist was also a very practical man too.

After the Rabbis, Mr. S. Nissim, chief of the colony of Petah-Tikvah spoke. He narrated in a very realistic and eloquent way how that pioneer Zorach Barnett came fifty years ago to build up the ruins of the land and how he bought up the land of Petah-Tikvah, which was now a flourishing colony, but which was then a howling desert wilderness, such as only insane men could ever think of converting this into an habitation of men. At the present day, thousands of pioneers are flocking to the land, but they are only a continuation of the pioneering of Z. Barnett and his stalwart companions. The speaker concluded by blessing the jubilant that he should survive to see thousands of Jewish Colonies in Palestine and tens of thousands of pioneers flocking here from every part of the world.

Mr. I. Adler, chief representative of the Council at Jaffe, also spoke on this great member of the Jewish community at Jaffe. Such men are really a blessing to the whole of Israel; they are not only Banim (sons) of the Jewish people, but also Bonim (builders).

Many were the letters and telegrams of congratulation received on this occasion from various ranks of Jewish representatives in Palestine. The private secretary of Sir Herbert Samuel wrote: "I am commanded by His Excellency, the High Commissioner, to acknowledge your invitation to partake in your celebration of the 27th inst. His Excellency, is, however, restrained from accepting this invitation owing to the various duties which occupy him at present. He sends you his blessing and hopes that all your ambitions will be realised with, the greatest success."

The Chief Rabbi of Eretz-Israel, Rabbi A.I. Kook, wrote: "I should very much have wished to be present at the occasion of the jubilee of my dear and respected friend, who first trod upon this Holy soil over fifty years ago and who has since then been building up the ruins of our land, but, unfortunately, to my great pain, I am not able to realise this my wish, owing to the present troubled state of the Jewish community. Please accept my heartiest blessings for a happy old age, in which you may verily see the re-birth of our People and of our land."

Rabbi Rabbinowitz wrote: "I bless our jubilant from the depths of my heart. This occasion is not only a happy one for him, it is also for us. This shows that though the enemies of re-building Palestine were, and are still, many, Palestine is, nevertheless, steadily but surely being rebuilt."

Mr. Diznoff, in the name of the Colony of Tel-Avis wrote: "On this great occasion, we should like to say, that as you have merited to see that the "howling desert" you have found, you have succeeded in creating into a "Garden of Eden," thus may you merit to see the flourishing state of the whole of Palestine."

Mr. Ephraim Blumenfeld wrote: "Though I should have very much have liked to be present, yet my present bad state of health does not enable me to do so. This is a happy moment for all lovers of Zion. May you merit to see with your own eyes the restoration of Israel on its own land."

Messages and telegrams were also received from the Yeshivah Me'ah Shearim, Mr. D. Slutskin, from the scholars of the Yeshivah "Or Zoraiah" of Jaffa and many synagogues. Also from Mr. Friedenberg of Jerusalem, Mr. S. Tolkovsky, Dr. Eliash, from the Chief Rabbi of Alexandria, from the "Old Aged" Home in Jaffe, from the Mizrachi, from Rabbi S.L. Shapiro of Jerusalem, etc., etc.

At the request of the host, who is a British subject, a special prayer was offered up for the Divine protection of King George the Fifth, and also prayers in the name of R. Barnett for the health of the High Commissioner, the Secretary, the leaders of the Zionist Movement—Weitzman, Sokolov and Usishkin, for the Chief Rabbis of Palestine and for the Rabbi Sonnenfeld, Rabbis Diskin, Epstein, etc., etc.

Mr. Barnett offered a certain sum in the name of each, and among the numerous institutions to which he contributed were the following: Hebrew Archaeological Society at Jerusalem, the building of a synagogue on the site of the Old Temple Wall, the school for the blind, the poor of Jaffe, the Home for Aged Jews, etc., etc.

Mr. Barnett was then enrolled in the Golden Book by those present. Great indeed was the honour which R. Zorach Barnett and his wife received on that day, but they were really worthy of it.

May theirs be an example to others!



GLOSSARY

BAR COCHBA. The heroic Jewish leader who led the final revolt against the Romans in the year A.D. 123.

BAR MITZVAH. Confirmation of a boy at the age of thirteen.

BEZEL. A cake made in the shape of a ring.

BIKKUR-HOLIM. Used to denote a Hospital.

BROCHA. A blessing or a thanksgiving used on various occasions.

CHALLAH. White bread shaped as a twist used for the Sabbath sanctification.

CHASSID. Pietist; a name assumed by a sect of Jews mainly in Galicia established by "Baal Shemtob."

CHAZAH. A cantor, or Synagogue reader.

CHEVRA-KADISHA. A burial society.

CHOLENT. A dish of various vegetables and meat, eaten on the Sabbath.

CHOMETZ. Leavened bread.

EREV. Evening.

HAMANTASCHEN. A triangular cake eaten on Purim, shaped according to the hat Haman was supposed to have worn.

KAFTAN. A long coat, worn by Jews in eastern Europe.

KIDDUSH. A blessing of sanctification over wine, said at the ushering in of Sabbath and of Festivals.

LAG B'OMER. The 33rd day of the seven weeks between Passover and Pentecost: a students' holiday.

MAZZELTOV. A greeting signifying Good Luck.

MEAH SHEORIM. A Hundred Gates: the name of a suburb of Jerusalem.

MINCHA. The afternoon service.

MITZVOTH. Acts of piety.

PARA. A Turkish coin of small value.

PESACH. Passover.

PRINCESS SABBATH. A poetical expression, used for welcoming the Sabbath.

PURIM. The Festival referred to in The Book of Esther.

RAV. One learned in rabbinical lore.

SAMOVAR. A tea-urn.

SCHPIELERS. Strolling-players.

SCHTRAMEL. Head-gear worn by Chassidim.

SEDER. The Service on the first two nights of Passover.

SEPHARDIM. Jews of Spanish or of Portuguese origin.

SHALACH MANOTH. Gifts—especially used with reference to distributions on Purim (vide The Book of Esther).

SHALOM. Peace.

SHIROS. Oil made from the sesame seed.

SHULCHAN ARUCH. The Jewish religious Code; compiled in the middle of the 16th century and regarded as of high authority.

SHULE. Synagogue, derived from the German Schule (school).

SIMHATH TORAH. The festival of the Law, following the Tabernacle festival when the reading of the Pentateuch is completed and recommenced amid great rejoicing.

STRUDEL. A sweet pudding or cake.

SUCCAH. The tabernacle used as a dwelling on the Feast of Tabernacles.

TAVELT. Immersed; used in reference to the Ritual Bath.

TORAH. The Law; specially referring to the Mosaic code and its derivatives.

TSENNAH URENNAH. A Jewish German translation of the Pentateuch, embellished with legends for the use of women.

TSITSITH. Knotted fringes worn by men according to Mosaic injunction on Tallith or praying-scarf, and also used for a small four-cornered fringed garment worn on the chest, under the coat.

YEMENITES. South-Arabian Jews.

YESHIBAH. A Jewish theological Academy.

YOM KIPPUR. The Day of Atonement.

YOMTOV. Holy-day

THE END