English

Life story of the Behar family

Name of speaker: 
ʾEli (ʾEliyahu) Behar
Gender of speaker: 
Male
Occupation of speaker: 
Economist
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
76
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Naʿama Botser
Year of recording: 
2018

Community life

Name of speaker: 
ʾEli (ʾEliyahu) Behar
Gender of speaker: 
Male
Occupation of speaker: 
Economist
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
76
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Naʿama Botser
Year of recording: 
2018

Yom Kippur

Name of speaker: 
ʾEli (ʾEliyahu) Behar
Gender of speaker: 
Male
Occupation of speaker: 
Economist
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
76
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Naʿama Botser
Year of recording: 
2018

Duties of the gabbai (synagogue warden)

Name of speaker: 
ʾEli (ʾEliyahu) Behar
Gender of speaker: 
Male
Occupation of speaker: 
Economist
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
76
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Naʿama Botser
Year of recording: 
2018

Work and relationships with 'non-Jews'

Name of speaker: 
ʾEli (ʾEliyahu) Behar
Gender of speaker: 
Male
Occupation of speaker: 
Economist
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
76
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Documentation: 
Naʿama Botser
Year of recording: 
2018

Karaites in Egypt

Name of speaker: 
ʾEli (ʾEliyahu) Behar
Gender of speaker: 
Male
Occupation of speaker: 
Economist
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
76
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: , Karaites
Documentation: 
Naʿama Botser
Year of recording: 
2018

Aliya and absorption

Name of speaker: 
ʾEli (ʾEliyahu) Behar
Gender of speaker: 
Male
Occupation of speaker: 
Economist
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
76
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Naʿama Botser
Year of recording: 
2018

Bat mitzva and wedding

Name of speaker: 
ʾEli (ʾEliyahu) Behar
Gender of speaker: 
Male
Occupation of speaker: 
Economist
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
76
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Naʿama Botser
Year of recording: 
2018

Foods

Name of speaker: 
ʾEli (ʾEliyahu) Behar
Gender of speaker: 
Male
Occupation of speaker: 
Economist
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
76
Year of immigration: 
1951
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Naʿama Botser
Year of recording: 
2018

Wedding customs

Dedicated to my husband and son, Zecharia and Benyamin David

 
Name of speaker: 
Naʿama David
Gender of speaker: 
Female
Occupation of speaker: 
Agriculture
Age of speaker at time of recording: 
87
Year of immigration: 
1950
Speaker's country of origin: 
Speaker's community of origin: 
Language: 
Conversation topics: 
Documentation: 
Yaʿel Wecsler and Naʿama Ratsaby
Year of recording: 
2019
Translator: 
Naʿama Ratsaby (assisted by Yaʿel Wecsler)

Translation: 

When I was 15 years old, I married my father’s brother. My father told me: “I’ll show you to your uncle. I hope you trust me and respect me”. I told my father: “But he is 10 years older than me, I am only 15 years old.” He said “don’t worry, I will have a wedding no one has ever seen, and I will bring you lots of presents. I will go to Sanaʽa and buy you jewelry”. My father told me that so I will agree to marry my uncle.

He loved me and I loved him.

Ratsaby: The groom?

David: No, my father.

Ratsaby: And you knew the groom?

David: He is family. When he made some money he’d give it to my mother. I said: “dear Lord, I will not break my father’s word”.

Unfortunately, two months after my engagement, my father became ill, and a week later he died from subaʿ (Influenza). My husband mourned his brother for a whole year.

In Yemen, the ḥenna ceremony was celebrated for one week. As part of the ceremony, they would use shazar, which is a black material used for decoration. It is used for making nagosh – a decoration of dots. After a week of celebration, at the end of Shabbat, I was taken to my husband’s home.

Ratsaby: How do they take you?

David: Part of the tradition is to have a parade of singing and drumming while walking from the bride’s home to her husband’s. It is called a zapa. My brothers and sisters walked me while drumming a drum that I still have today. I kept it as a souvenir for my children.

Ratsaby: What were you wearing?

David: Modest but nice clothes: embroidered trousers to the knees with a long dress covering me from neck down with silver filigran beads. Actually, on our way to Israel, we sold our clothes because we had nothing to eat.

Ratsaby: When you first arrived at the groom’s home and sat next to him, what did you do?

David: I was covered, all the way from my house to my husband’s. I was walked by those who escorted me. When I arrived there, they put a veil over my head, and I covered my face. Then the groom came, uncovers my veil, and kissed me. There was no one in the room but me and him. I only allowed him to uncover me after he paid me 2 pennies. That was part of the tradition. It is called ‘yichud’ (consummation). About a half an hour later, guests arrived.

Ratsaby: What did you do after the consummation?

David: We didn’t do anything.

Ratsaby: What did the others do? What did you all do when you arrived at the groom’s home?

David: The guests gave us wedding presents. And some money: a penny-a penny and a half. Sometimes even less.

After the gifts (rift in Arabic), we eat 'asit and samna, which is burgul, honey and oil.