Memories of the way we celebrated Rosh Hashanah in times gone by connect us across the generations, to one another and to our childhoods. For many older people, Yomtov is an occasion for looking back on good times with family, friends and, of course, food.
“It’s not like it was. The East End has changed so much,” says Abraham David, who has lived in the East End since 1954, after arriving from India. “In Stepney and Whitechapel there used to be a hundred shuls, Jewish bakeries, butchers, theatres, clubs and dance halls to go to. On Rosh Hashanah, Yomtov and Shabbat the shops were shut and the atmosphere was very special.
“Everyone went to shul in their new Yomtov clothes; the covers for the ark and bimah would be white for Rosh Hashanah. It was so busy, you couldn’t find a seat. We’d listen to the rabbi speak and then all walk down to Whitechapel together. Those were the good old days; it was exciting to be living in a Jewish area.
“My wife, who was Ashkenazi, used to make me kneidlach, chicken soup and apple strudel. I’ve lived in Shadwell since 1967; it’s next to the DLR. I still go to Bevis Marks Shul or the congregation of Jacob in Commercial Road. Nelson Street and Sandys Row shul in Liverpool Street are still just about going, but that’s it.”
Abraham, 85, is a long-time member of Jewish Care’s Brenner Centre at Stepney Jewish Community Centre at Raine House, where he goes two or three times a week.
Jamie Field, Jewish Care’s service manager for community centres, says: “Many older members of the community come to one of Jewish Care’s five community centres to socialise in a place where they can express their Judaism and share memories with others of their generation. Even in areas where Jewish life is still vibrant, 90 per cent of our centre members live alone and are isolated, so the centres provide a place where older people, many of whom are too frail to get to shul, have the opportunity to enjoy celebrating traditions in a community setting.
“We celebrate the chagim together and welcome visits from school children, so that old and young can sing festival songs, dipping the apple in honey together in centres from Southend to Stepney, Edgware to Golders Green. Our Jewish Care buses, which usually transport members from home to the centres or on trips out, will give members the opportunity to get to the Jewish cemeteries to visit those they’ve lost and pay their respects before the Yomtovim, as is traditional before Rosh Hashanah in the Jewish month of Ellul. The members will come back afterwards and have a cup of tea and a chat.”
Abraham says: “My wife passed away; the Rosh Hashanah visits to the cemetery are very important to me and to others who are on their own now. The Centre is a place to meet friends, talk about the old days and enjoy a Shabbat and Yomtov meal together. I love coming here, I don’t know what I’d do without it. There’s so much to do here, the hairdresser, music, dancing, I still love to dance.”
Renee Stack, 92, also a member of the Brenner Centre, remembers Rosh Hashanah with her family as a young girl. “We always kept traditions up even though we couldn’t afford it because we were so poor; my Dad couldn’t work because of his health. My mother worked and she’d go into the shop to pay three or sixpence each week so we could have new clothes and shoes for Yomtov. The family visited each other on Yomtov and had a nice meal, chicken soup, a roast and then apple and honey cake. My parents knew how to make something out of nothing.”
Beattie Orwell, Stepney’s oldest member, who recently turned 101, has similar memories as a girl going further back in time, “As kids, we went to get new clothes down Petticoat Lane in Abrams. My mother took us every Yomtov and I remember my mother bought me white shoes from the man who sold them in the street for Rosh Hashanah.
“We’d have a nice Yomtov meal— gefilte fish, fried fish, chicken soup and cakes. We went to Sandys Row Shul to hear the shofar and they gave out nuts from Israel. Then we all came out of shul and we walked down together to Whitechapel where we lived. It was lovely.”
And 85-year-old, Freda Ziff, another regular at Stepney, says: “My Booba and Zeide had a barber shop in the East End; we’d all get together on Yomtov. I remember my Mum’s honey cake — it was one in a million. These days I always go and visit my parents at the cemetery in Streatham with my daughter before Rosh Hashanah. I wouldn’t miss it and I love coming to the centre — it’s a place to have a yachna, see friends and forget our troubles.”
To find out more about community centres or for more information or support, contact Jewish Care helpline: 020 8922 2222 or helpline@jcare.org
