I was
born in the town of Skempa in
Poland, in the year 1935. No
one remembers the day or the
month. I arrived in Israel on
28/06/1950, and so the clerk in the
registry office set the date
28/06/1935 as my date of birth, and
so it remained. Skempa is one
of the towns in the vicinity of
Lipno. Not far from Skempa
there is a vacation area, with a
lake and forests. Many
families visit this place with their
children in the summertime, to relax
among the trees, to sail and swim in
the lake, to walk in the area, and
to enjoy the clean air and the
wonderful view. My father
owned a clothing store in the town
square. Workers in the store
were seated next to sewing machines,
pumping the pedal forwards and
backwards with their feet, while
moving the fabric with their hands,
under the needle that moved up and
down, piercing the fabric. My
father stood behind the fabrics with
scissors. From time to time,
people entered the store. Some
purchased ready made clothes, while
others ordered them to size.
When they ordered to size, my father
would pause from his work behind the
table, and would take his measuring
tape, marking chalk, and pins, in
order to measure, mark, write, and
sketch.
The
Skempa town plaza was square, and
had four streets leading away from
it, in each direction. I used
to go and sit at the store entrance,
on the top step. From there I
could see the water--well located in
the middle of the square and the
passersby. On market days, the
square crowded and lively.
Farmers from the neighboring
villages and towns would arrive with
carts filled with vegetables, fruit,
eggs, milk and dairy, livestock,
farm products and handiwork, to
sell, buy, or barter.
I
loved to watch the farmers and their
wares, to smell the strong scents,
and to hear the sounds of the
chickens and ducks, which mingled
with the sounds of buying and
selling. From time to time,
they would pump water from the well,
take a drink, and water the horses
and the other animals. In the
afternoon, the farmers dispersed,
left the town, and peace would
return to the square. On the
other side of the square lived my
mother's sister, Aunt Rivkah.
She was older than my mother; her
husband was named Shlomo, and they
had three children, 14 year old
Shimeck, 12 year old Phela, and 10
year old Sarah. Aunt Rivkah
and Uncle Shlomo owned
a supermarket in which they sold flour,
sugar, coffee tea, sewing tools, and
kitchen wares.
One night my
father took me to the square. It
was full of people, noisy and
bustling. My father put me on his
shoulders and I could see horse-mounted
soldiers crossing the square. He
explained to me that Germany declared
war on Poland, and what I was witnessing
was the fleeing Polish army. Up
until the declaration of war, we were a
happy family of five; father,
mother, me, the eldest, my sister
Felusha who was two years younger, and
my brother Hilick, who was two years
old.
From Piles of Pine Needles,
by Abraham Shavit, Israel 2005
Translated from the Hebrew by Maor Shavit
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