Full transcript:
In fact, in all of Germany you were either very religious or you weren't aware of your Jewishness at all--you were very, very Reform. Conservative Judaism had not been invented yet. [Laughing] So, yes, we were very religious and, um, interestingly enough, um, the...the..the religion was state supported. In other words, we always had to mark on, on taxes or on any forms--on birth certificates, wedding forms, or anything--our, our affiliation. It was always "Jewish" because the state paid for the upkeep of the synagogue. The state paid for the salary of the rabbi or the hazan [synagogue official; cantor] or the shohet [person licensed by rabbinic authority to slaughter animals for use as food in accordance with Jewish laws]. So, there was never a question that we were very Jewish, and everybody knew that and everybody, up to a certain point, respected it too. |