New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-08-16
THE POLISH JEW.
HIS CURIOUS sUPERsTITIONs OBSERVED
IN NETWORK.

Africa. mat Is 10 say ClVlilIdlioh o"Oo NV
them more. nor does 1t have gradually moulding
influence out of American life almost as com
pletely as II they still In the Russian rae
scores hundreds OF families are living 'o-oay
a few blocks from Third-aye., ten minutes walk
from Broadway. speaking English in fragments
only the women not at all, and preserving anu
stcadfasly guarding all OF their Old World CUSTOMS
and superstitions. These people are the foiish
Jews of New-York. and from their ranks come a
great number OF the now famous "striking tailors
Of Walhaa Hall The term Polish Jew Is mis-
leading, however Taken TO represent cer'a'"
body Of people. It stands for far more IMAM inc
words geographically imply. BY Polish Is meant
not only the Jews from Poland itself but RUSSIAN
Rumanian Austrian Gacian and South German
sons and daughters OF Israel. all those VINO come
from that great belt of country. the Pale. ana
the lands touching It. They are one race OF peo-
pie; they have the customs and curious De-
liefs and they stand out strangely as being tho
one race OF the world that have for many hundred
years touched elbows with civilization and yet held
aloof and kept to its own ways
In the tenements Of Norfolk. Suffolk. Hester and
Chrystie SITS there are Poles who, in the heart OF
the New World. living the life OF their an
cestors Of a thousand years ago They are.
with hardly exception wretchedly poor
Yet Impoverished they are. the old GUS
toms, the traditional superstitions. have not
lost one particle OF their force. No orthodox head
during his seven days term Of mourning for wife.
child or parent II there Is no bread in his rooms
and no money he looks to OF the benevolent
societies to feed him and his; he must mourn I'M
stintedly In ashes and with rent garments No
customs OF the Polish Jews are more picturesque.y
strange than those concerning death. AS soon as
the breath has left the body 1t is put on the floor
and covered with a sheet. Candles are placed in
semicircle around the head, and all the looking
glasses in the room are covered up so that the
corpse may not be reflected in them. Should the
white form the floor be shown In a mirror II
BODIES Ill. Two watchers. women or men, accord
ing 10 the sex of the dead stay by the body, never
leaving the room for an instant This IS to guard
against evil spirits. Watching the dead being
a toilsore task when IT must be continued over
forty-eight hours. there in the Ghetto profes-
sIonal watchers" who drive a good trade for small
fees
On the day of the burial the body IS curiously
clothed. Be 1t OF man woman. the grave clothes
are alike a single garment OF white. 1t IS really
nothing more than q great sack with two holes
for the arms pulled on the head and tied at
the feet completely incasng the body. over each
arm a smaller sack IS slipped and tied below the
finger tips The dead is then placed In comm
made Of six plain boards, implanted. unlined with
out a single ornament. Under the head pillow OF
earth is laid. Just before the coffin is closed there
comes the ceremony Of breaking plate, three Of
part OF the sack that covers the head two just
over the eyes the third over the mouth.
This Is the tradition which explains the custom:
The Polish Jews believe that some day In the ages
to come all tho sons OF Israel. dead and alive will
he summoned TO Jerusalem to rebound the city and
10 live there in eternal bliss The dead will travel
so the tradition runs. through the earth In
straight line from their grave Now some Of them
will be buried for thousands of years Their bodies
will have long since become dust. and yet IL IS
part Of the Promise that they shall appear at Jer-
salem the New as they were on earth. The bits
of broken plate TO indicate their features and
to aid the God of Israel in recreating their bodies
quite as strange the mourning customs "A
widow. widower. father or son must mourn seven
days after the funeral. sitting immovably on low
stool or on a pillow on the floor. and barefooted
No work can be DONE nothing OF any Sort during
these seven days, and the garments must be rent
uhis Injunction is generally carried out by the
Jews of this country by tearing out the buton-hole
of coaO aud ashes sprinked on the shoulders
An orthodox Polish Jew offers up prayer three
times a day 1.-TWO hours in alb continually during
his life When death comes he must for year In
corporate a special prayer In each one or these
After the year has passed he must observe the an
nversary Of the death through the rest Of his days
Younger brother is expected 10 marry the
widows OF the elder. as In Old Testament times 1t
is seldom among the rigid orthodox that this IS not
observed The man may, however, avoid 1t by
"absolving' the woman. or releasing her The
ceremony of this is peculiar He goes TO her house
necessary number among these people IN imat t
of religious law or of vital importance-tei making
and takes off her slipper or shoe. The woman is
then free to marry as she Will
AT weddings the most curious rite Is me mar
se-toff' or the Congratulations to the newly
welded pair. Each guest takes piece or crockery
GERS and plates has been laid in). and. raising his
arms over his head. smashes It Down on the iloor
M Sut no e Polish jewish couple is well started in fo
without IT, OF course If the ceremony taxes place
I'm svnagogue these congratulations are left until
the bride and bridegroom have ertered their new
home which they do Immediately Another custom
of the ceremony is for the bride to drink out OF the
same ne. cup as her husband and there is also the
rule that on the day OF their marriage both con-
generally takes place in the evening and THIS
makes necessary fast OF twenty four hours. >,
brews Of the Pale are rigid according TO the fun
letter OF the law. AS 10 the spirit OF II, mere are
six strange provisions. No work OF any kind
NAV be done on the Jewish Sabbath; nothing must
not even handkerchief. II 1t is absolutely neces-
sary for man to take handkerohiet WIN h hlm,
bis waist Letters or kilograms cannot be received
or onened on this day. and no fires can he lighted
MUr os Whatever 1t is said that II orthodox
Polish Jew walking along the street on the Sab
be y,,ould not dare stoop and pick it up.
The evasions practised by some OF these people
letter or a telegram themselves on the sabbath, but
they will get Christian TO do II Tor theI Snd
rnai the contents aloud They will not touch 4
piece Of money, but laying some on N Gonyenient
ne coins needed or a large knife blade. and In this
way hand them over. They would not under any my
circumstances do work about their rooms on me
Snventh Iay but they argue to themselves that IL
is not wrong to get others to do II for them There
- octuallv I'm the New-York Ghetto number OF
Itai,ans who make n good living by doing Noi on
The sabbath for the Polish Jews Each OF these
f,,i,ans has arrangements with from twenty TO
,hirtv Of these families and for few cents
homsShold visits each several times during Satur-
day building fires and performing o'her uo"'eS"c
labors. 80 - 49,, rood ,bou,b tina
cris are OF course. becoming educated In the PUP
fic schools The dragnet Is too complete Tor the'n
to escape Each house Is ruled ever IN pSh, ,,o
orcbal fashion by the father who mas absS iute
control over the marriages of MS chthr"n mere
Is one feature of the year when the Jewish head OF
,be family nuts on all his traditional 'iignty ara
authority Ii comes in the spring ana for ,nis oo