Aaron Chaim Aronson

From "Memories of My Childhood in Zezmer" by Bertha Aronson Evens:

I REMEMBER GRANDPA, Aaron Chaim Aronson as a

handsome man with a white beard, black suit, and a white

shirt with soft collar, white cuffs showing from under his

sleeves. He had the appearance of a real scholar. Most of

his time he spent studying the Gemmorah. In our town he

was considered a very clever person, and many people came

to him with their problems. With this wisdom he tried to

solve their troubles. He loved people and they loved him.

His religion did not consist of prayer and learning only,

but also in doing good things for the poor.

   He never allowed the door of his home to be locked

in the night in case some poor person should be in need of

a place to sleep. Many times my grandparents would find

some man sleeping on the floor or on the long wooden table.

   There was a certain group of Jews who used to live

the life of hobos. They wandered with their families from

town to town, carrying on their shoulders the bags where they

kept their belongings. Each town had a special house for

them that was called "der Hekdesh" (the almshouse). Many

families would come and stay there for a few days. They

would go out begging, and when they had accumulated

enough food and a little money they would move on. Some

of these families would arrive on Sabbath eve. On the

Sabbath they could not go out begging, so my grandparents

used to send down a real Shabbas meal for them. They

had special pots for that purpose, and they made us grand-

children carry this food to them before we had our own

supper.

   Then there was a group of very poor people in Zezmer

who would come to Grandfather for a loan every week. In

our town on a certain day each week, the peasants used to

bring their merchandise into the market to sell. These poor

people would use Grandpa's loan to buy poultry, eggs and

fruit from the peasants, then they would resell these products

to the richer natives of our town and from the profits they

made their meager living. The money of the investment

they brought back to Grandpa. Every week would repeat

itself the same way.

   Grandfather's business in his young days was a dis-

tillery. But in his old age he used to make homemade wine

and beer which he sold for religious purposes. The wine

was sold for Kiddush and the beer for Havdalah, and this

brought in enough for his maintenance. The ice-house where

the liquor was kept doubled as a Succah or Succoth ... In

fact, the structure was built with both purposes in mind.

During Succoth the roof was opened up, a ready-made floor

was laid, and tables and chairs brought in. The room was

very large, and many poor families who could not afford

a Succah of their own brought their food to eat in Grandpa's

Succah. Grandpa really lived in his Succah during the whole

week of Succoth. He slept there, and there he entertained

all visitors. On the last day of the holiday, when all the des-

titute students would come to celebrate in his Succah, a table

with all kinds of goodies and liquers was set for them. They

would spend the day singing, dancing, and playing drunk.

This is how they carried on all day long.

   My paternal grandparents had four sons, David-Noah,

Reuben, Zalman Isaac and Sholom. David Noah was their

eldest son. He conducted a big piece goods store; between

Mincha and Marev he lectured on Gemorrah to his Chevra

of "Shasnikes". His home was conducted in grand style,

because his wife came from a big city. She dressed ele-

gantly, always wore a hat when outdoors; wore her pince-

nez on a black cord. Because of her superior airs she was

not liked by the women of Zezmer. Two of their four

daughters settled in Paris as teachers. He lived with my

grandparents almost all of his life since his marriage had

been a failure. He and his wife belonged to different worlds.

He was a very religious man, and she was a radical whose

way of living was completely unacceptable to him. She

even smoked, which in those days was considered one of the

worst things a Jewish woman could do. The consequence

of such a marriage was separation, tho' she did not wish to

divorce him, and he supported her for many years. She

caused him to suffer all his life