English

A mother's fable

From Prof. Jacob Mansour’s (1924-2020) research

In the memory of one of greatest scholars of Baghdadi Jews’ spoken Arabic, and one of the founders of the Department of Hebrew Language at the University of Haifa and the Department of Arabic at Bar-Ilan University

Name of speaker: 
Ezra Mashiaḥ‘
Gender of speaker: 
Male
Occupation of speaker: 
Accountant
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
63
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Prof. Jacob Mansour
Year of recording: 
1973
Translator: 
Prof. Jacob Mansour

Tale of an angry man

From Prof. Jacob Mansour’s (1924-2020) research

In the memory of one of greatest scholars of Baghdadi Jews’ spoken Arabic, and one of the founders of the Department of Hebrew Language at the University of Haifa and the Department of Arabic at Bar-Ilan University

Name of speaker: 
‘Ezra Mashiaḥ
Gender of speaker: 
Male
Occupation of speaker: 
Accountant
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
63
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Prof. Jacob Mansour
Year of recording: 
1973
Translator: 
Prof. Jacob Mansour

Tale of the man and the porter

From Prof. Jacob Mansour’s (1924-2020) research

In the memory of one of greatest scholars of Baghdadi Jews’ spoken Arabic, and one of the founders of the Department of Hebrew Language at the University of Haifa and the Department of Arabic at Bar-Ilan University

Name of speaker: 
‘Ezra Mashiaḥ
Gender of speaker: 
Male
Occupation of speaker: 
Accountant
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
63
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Prof. Jacob Mansour
Year of recording: 
1973
Translator: 
Prof. Jacob Mansour

Shabbat and Rosh Ḥodesh (first of the month)

To my children Ḥezi, Asi, Vera and Aviva

Name of speaker: 
Daisy Elias
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
Housewife
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
82
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Lilach Rocker
Year of recording: 
2019

Purim

To my children Ḥezi, Asi, Vera and Aviva

Name of speaker: 
Daisy Elias
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
Housewife
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
82
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Documentation: 
Lilach Rocker
Year of recording: 
2019

Hanukka

To my children Ḥezi, Asi, Vera and Aviva

Name of speaker: 
Daisy Elias
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
Housewife
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
82
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Lilach Rocker
Year of recording: 
2019
Translator: 
Nathan Himmelfarb

Translation: 

I remember…dad was alive. Because…he died…it seems to me (I think) in the year (19)43. Either (194)2 or (194)3. I was young. She had…my mother had…Hanukkah…what a hanukkia. Such size. It (was made) entirely of silver. Of silver. And it (was) entirely cups…how many? Eight cups, right? For Hanukkah? It was eight (cups). They would put…oil…oil…sesame oil and water, and put in a wick, how beautiful! And it was this big […] and they hung…they would attach it to the ceiling. There’s something special, (they would) attach it and light it…every day a cup. Every day a cup. And we would…all of us would…we would all sit around dad, and he would light the candles and say the blessings and we (would) all (say) amen. Every day (it was) like that, every day (it was) like that. And of course they (would) do (something) like a party. Every day, for eight days, they would do (it) like that.

 

Sukkot

To my children Hezi, Asi, Vera and Aviva

Name of speaker: 
Daisy Elias
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
Housewife
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
82
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Lilach Rocker
Year of recording: 
2019

Yom Kippur

To my children Ḥezi, Vera, Aviva and Asi

Name of speaker: 
Daisy Elias
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
Housewife
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
82
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Documentation: 
Lilach Rocker
Year of recording: 
2019

Birth and midwife

 To my children Ḥezi, Asi, Vera and Aviva

Name of speaker: 
Daisy Elias
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
Housewife
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
82
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Lilach Rocker
Year of recording: 
2018

Shiv‘a (week-long mourning)

To my children Hezi, Asi, Vera and Aviva

Name of speaker: 
Daisy Elias
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
Housewife
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
82
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Lilach Rocker
Year of recording: 
2018
Translator: 
Nathan Himmelfarb

Translation: 

Oh… shivaShiva was at our place in Ba’aquba. Dad’s shiva was in Baaquba. The shiva… is seven days (long). Dad died in Baghdad. In the hospital… hospital… was called “Meir Elias”. “Meir Elias”. The hospital… (was a) private (hospital). It was private. (He) was in the hospital for six months. He…  (had) a bed, and my mother (had) a bed. She didn’t leave him (alone). They were… very happy as a couple, in love, (and) they had children. They loved each other. Really! Her name was Farḥa. (He) used to (call)… he used to call her “Faraḥ”. “Faraḥ”. (He) used to pamper her like that. And she was beautiful, fair, and her hair was black, and she was very beautiful. Also… dad was also handsome. So… we heard… we heard that dad had died. Dad had died. Everyone started filling our house in Baaquba with carpets. Our economic situation was good. And people started coming, consoling (us). Jews, and Arabs, and Jews, and Arabs, and you know, the Arabs, when they come, (they) make lamentation noises…   evenAbraham, Avi, my brother, was one year old, when dad passed away. He was in a panic. (He) was in a panic. People said to me: Daisy, take him and go outside,  The boy (was) panicking. Poor thing, poor thing. I (would) take him, I would go outside next to the door. Seven days like that. The house filled up. The house filled up). People came and went and so on, until it (the shiva) ended. Afterwards, it was very very hard. Thank G-d, he (dad) left us a lot of money, a lot of… two orchards, and we had more orchards. He (dad) loved (it), (he) loved it, (he) really loved it. And we were living very well, but it was awfully hard for (my) mother. (She was) young, she was… thirty-eight years-old. (She) was really… my brother… my older brother, Meir, was seventeen. And the younger (brother), the younger (brother) was one year old, when dad passed away. But thanks to G-d, we lived well. And the older boy, Meir, worked in dad’s place, and did what was needed, and so on. Afterwards, with the Arabs, he started selling and buying (trading), and so on, orchards,  they tore orchards, we had… I forgot to tell you,  (he) had… dad had… bought an orchard from an Arab man… eight brothers… and a father. Dad bought it all from them. Believe me, as soon as he bought the orchard, and it was put into his name, he was admitted to the hospital. He was admitted to the hospital. Poor thing, he didn’t leave (ever). He was in the hospital for half a year. Afterwards, (as) I told you, he passed away. And my brother (did) this and that. He had young (children), they were studying. The older (children)... none of them were working, because…there was… afterwards, they all went to high school, and (it was) nice, and (it was) good. and we lived. And that’s how the world always (is). But mom, poor thing, it was awfully hard for her. Very, very, very (hard). Thank G-d, we didn’t live in poverty. We always had…  We lived in happiness, the house was full, there were guests. Her family from Baghdad always used to come to (visit) her. So… that’s life. What… what (can) we do? That’s the way it is.

 

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