AbouT BooKs

Uncovering History

The author of a book about Jewish children offers surprising
insights on girls, education and parental involvement.

About The Author

John Cooper is the author of The Child in
Jewish History (Jason Aronson Inc.), a compre-
hensive study of Jewish childhood from biblical
times to the 20th century.
A native of London, Cooper studied history at
Oxford, then began practicing law. His first
book was Eat and Be Satisfied: A Social
History of Jewish Food (Jason Aronson, 1993),
which discusses, among others, the origins of
cholent, gefilte fish and the bagel. His latest project is a book on the
history of physicians and lawyers in England, focusing on the years
between the world wars. He lives in London with his wife and two chil-
dren.

Elizabeth Applebaum
AppleTree Editor

Q: What was the inspiration

behind your decision to write
this book?
A: Occasionally, one has the good
fortune to read a seminal work, such
as Philippe Aries' book on the history
of childhood, which is brimful with
thought-provoking ideas. Since read-
ing Aries' volume in the 1960s, I
began looking for material to illumi-
nate the history of Jewish childhood
as there seemed to be few books on
the subject. I wrote two or three
chapters of The Child in Jewish
History in my spare time, when prac-
ticing as a lawyer, and after I retired I
spent two years completing the pro-
ject.

Q: Can you tell me a little

about your own childhood?

A: In the 1880s my grandparents

emigrated from what is now Poland
to Britain. I grew up in a household
that was Orthodox, but my parents

had been educated in this country
and were comfortable with the
English way of life. I went to Hebrew
classes a few times a week and had
a wonderful private teacher, Yehiel
Galas, but I spent many hours in the
local park playing cricket with my
brother and friends. Other great influ-
ences during my childhood were my
warm and caring uncles, the local
library and the summer holiday trips
to the Continent with my parents after
World War II. Visits to Italy were par-
ticularly enchanting.

Q: Can you give a brief sum-
mation of the difference
between Jewish and gentile
households in ancient times?
A: The idea of the nurturing Jewish
parent has its origins in biblical cul-
ture and was reinforced by the early
rabbis. This can be seen throughout
history. Greco-Roman civilization was
warped by the harmful effects of an
over-reliance on slaves which meant,
for instance, that punishments were
harsher throughout the Roman school

system than in the equivalent Jewish
educational establishments. During
the Middle Ages, Jewish children
[unlike gentile children] tended to be
raised by wet nurses in their parents'
homes, where their activities were
closely monitored.

0: This idea of the nurturing
Jewish parent applies not
just to the mother, but to the
father, is that correct?
A: Yes, I think this was the case
through the Talmudic era, during the
Middle Ages, and to a lesser extent
in Eastern Europe. Once, however,
the Jewish people migrated to Britain
and the United States, the status and
influence of the father sometimes
sharply declined. When
the second-generation
Jews started moving to
the suburbs from the
1930s onwards, the
father left home early in
the morning for work
and returned late at
night, so that much
more of the responsi-
bility for the upbring-
ing of children
devolved to mothers.

Q: Can you
describe a typical day in the
life of a Jewish child during
the Middle Ages?

A: Jewish boys attended elementary
school and were, on the whole,
more closely supervised than gentile
children. They suffered fewer fatal
accidents and could read — even if
the majority could not write. When
the boys first joined the cheder, there
was an exciting initiation ceremony

with honey cakes and eggs, and a
magical ceremony to boost their
memory. Roaming the streets, boys
played boisterous games and rode
the hobby horse; both sexes played
various games with balls, and one
with nuts and apples. Girls kept close
to their mothers and were trained
from an early age in such household
tasks as cleaning, assisting in the
kitchen, sewing and weaving.

Q: Everyone has heard sto-

ries about life in yeshivot in
Eastern Europe. Are they
true?
A: While it is true that teachers in
Eastern European yeshivot were strict,
discipline came from the magnetism
of the teacher, who
imposed heavy work
schedules and
instilled a feeling of
awe in their pupils. In
late 19th-century
Russia, as the Jewish
population growth
accelerated, a large
pauper class of
Talmudic scholars and
Jewish intellectuals
emerged. Among the
outstanding heads of
yeshivot were Rabbi
Moses Sofer (1762-1839) who for
decades used to study standing, and
who would soak his feet in cold
water if he felt sleepy, and his con-
temporary in Lithuania, Rabbi Israel
Salanter ( 1 8 1 0-1 833), who encour-
aged his pupils to indulge in self-
scrutiny by reading ethical literature,
and to come to terms with their
unconscious desires and fears, very
much like a Freudian analysis. ❑

2/20
1998

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