The World That Was
Education
The Cheder
Cheder of Agudath Yisrael
“Beit Yaakov” school for Orthodox girls, Wolbrom
“Beit Yaakov” school for Orthodox girls, Wolbrom
“…Even the poorest people sent their children to the Cheder to give them education, although they could hardly find the money to pay tuition. I remember with sadness how children who were about ten years old would drop out because their poor parents had to take them out of the Cheder. Despite the harsh conditions in the working places, these parents were forced to have their children learn a trade so that they could earn money.
Girls learned in the Cheder in a separate class. As soon as they could read and say their prayers, they would leave and go back home to help their mothers. In the homes of the few rich or well-to-do people they would continue to study with a private tutor….We would watch these girls who did not have the privilege of studying Torah with a mixture of sympathy and scorn, but also with a certain jealousy – since they had more freedom to play outside than we did…..
We would study all day long, returning home for a long lunch, and then going back to study till evening. In wintertime, after Sukkot, we would also study at night…. Every evening many children, aged five and above, would come streaming from all corners of the town, under the dark skies, braving the strong winds, with the rain and mud adding to the winter darkness that covered the place. They would go to the square where the different Cheders were situated, dressed in warm clothes, holding lanterns with burning candles inside…..”
Nathan Chofshi in Wolbrom Irenu
