"There is great talking among those waiting their turn for the use of
the oven, and great teasing, and sometimes fighting, amongst the boys.
Now and then one of the elder men pulls their ears with a vengeance for
being 'shkotzim', as he calls it. Then they keep quiet till he goes
away. When our turn came, Millie kneaded the flour, while father
poured the water on for her. You remember what a strong girl she is, and
she did the kneading with such a will that I warned her not to get too
hot. No flour-dredgers are used. My duty was to roll out the dough, but
Mother wasn't satisfied with the way I did it, and sent me to put more
wood in the oven. When the oven was hot enough, I had to sweep all the
burnt wood and ashes out to get it nice and clean.
[Illustration: CHADAR (SCHOOL)]
"Then we started to put the matzos in, one by one. Oh, it was hot work!
I hardly knew what to do, it was so hot. Mother came and pushed me
aside, saying to herself I was good for nothing. In fact, my dear Jacob,
one wants training to stand such heat, as one does to be a blacksmith.
Mother said that making matzos teaches us to realize what some of the
hardships were that our forefathers went through in Egypt. I hope it
will become easier in time, for all the others are quite happy making
and baking them, singing at the same time.
"Well, well! to be a true Jew is a hard matter. As I grow older and get
more knowledge and sense I shall find a pleasure in doing these things.