00:00–02:39
The woman recalls songs from Khotin that her family sang and says she sang at concerts at the Hesed. She says she worked 42 years and describes the celebration of her jubilee.
Later expeditions, 2012–2018 › 2015 Expedition
AHEYM-2015-026 · Sternberg, Rosa
Chernivtsi (Chernovits in the project's index)
2015-05-21
73 min · 10 stretches
Yiddish 92% Russian 8%
Not online: the recording is held by the project and is not on Media Collections Online, YouTube or archive.org. Everything below is a paraphrase of a machine transcript, the weaker of this site's two transcript layers — see how it was made.
Summary
Recording at the home of Rosa Sternberg in Chernovits (Chernivtsi), 21 May 2015. She sings and recites many Yiddish songs and verses, some in Russian, and talks about prewar Jewish life in Khotin, her work, and her time in a camp (Kopaygorod). Kerler asks for songs and about her camp experience, then the talk turns to arranging a return visit and copying cassettes.
Stretches
02:40–07:51
She talks about prewar Jewish life: full synagogues with daily minyan, Sabbath cooking and the cholent, and the behavior of girls and wives then versus today. She mentions the singer Pushman (?) from Moldova who gave concerts in Khotin. She recites a verse about Friday night, the rebbe and the children.
07:48–13:33
Talk about Purim and about passing on her songs to the young, who no longer know Yiddish; she says she is now alone. She sings a sad song about an orphan selling cigarettes in the street and some Russian verses.
13:33–23:06
Singing and talk of a Russian song about a bridegroom who went to war, then chat about earlier visitors and a wedding in Moscow. She sings a song about a father and son (Nakhum?) and a young girl, and a love song.
23:08–31:09
Kerler asks what was sung at Purim, and she sings Purim songs. She sings about Hanukkah and the cheder, and about the Messiah and paradise. She also sings a song about paper dolls and America; the talk includes a mention of a wig-maker.
31:05–39:53
Kerler asks where she was during the war, and she promises to tell about the camp later. She sings songs about a Jew going to the Land of Israel, about Jerusalem, and about a cottage by the town. She also sings songs about a man in America and a marriage, and about luck and a wheel.
39:51–43:29
Kerler asks if she was in Transnistria and for songs from then, and she mentions two cassettes. Team members discuss the recording equipment and copying the cassettes. Short passages in Hungarian and Russian occur.
43:29–53:04
She sings the song about Reyzele in the attic and a humorous song about a former teacher who fell in love and went to Boston, and says Pushman also sang it. She also sings a Tumbalalayka song and a song about a foolish bachelor.
53:04–57:10
Kerler asks about songs from the camp at Kopaygorod; she says she composed a Russian song there and sings it. She mentions papers and pensions after return from the camp, and reluctantly sings a bitter camp song.
57:10–1:13:20
Arrangements are made for Kerler to return the next day at about eleven, with talk of copying her cassettes, her passport and the camp songs. She says she sang at the Hesed concerts, and that her son lives in America. Kerler says she is among the most important of the almost five hundred speakers in the archive. She ends by saying she will sing about a drunkard.