| Fannie talks about herself
Counting the beams
Q. This is January 4th. Okay, you used the expression “Zahl die Balkes,” Could you tell us about that?
A. That's all I know about it. When you say, “Zahl die Balkes,” That means you count the...what do you call it?
Q. The beams.
A. The beams, and that's because when you come to the synagogue and you don't know how to read, it's always...they refer that to woman, not men. Men always how to daven, you know. But, some women don't know how to read. So they referred to them as “She comes to shul, Zie Zahlt die Balkes”
Q. So it’s out of boredom.
A. Well, she doesn't do it. They only say that you have to do it, so she Zahlt die Balkes
Q. You were saying about how you used to read Hebrew when you were a girl.
A. Yeah. I read so fast that...you know, just like a man. My father...a man from across the street came over, and he was boarding there. So my father says “Fayge, gay daven far Avramen” [“Go read the prayer book for Avram”]. So I didn't want to because I was bashful. So, she asked Bessie. She didn't know any better. She went, and she davened and she did very well. So he went home and told the Foxes ... he lived at the Foxes. He told them that Bessie, the younger one, she davened so well. So Mrs. Fox began to feel badly about it. “We didn’t teach our children so they don't know.” So he volunteered to teach them how to read Hebrew.
Q. Your father?
A. No, no. This man. He lived there. Well, that's all I know about Zahl die Balkes |
