The name of the fanatically religious school in Amherst Park, Stamford Hill was Yesodey Hatorah , which I naturally called Yesterday tomorrow, not the translation by the way. There were the totally Chasidish Rabbis of the old school and their offspring of which there many and a spattering of more Anglicized boys. Girls and boys never to clap eyes on one another, girls were temptation and only arranged marriages were allowed.
Cinema and early black and white TV banned. The more anglicized were kind of rebels and did not really fit in, most of us went there to get a crash course for our barmitzvah's or to learn something of long lapsed parental failure to educate us.
Some the 'tales' are interesting; there is a law wool and linen is forbidden in the same garment, it is the law of shutnis. The Rebbe not Rabbi apparently Rebbe means teacher, ours were mainly Eastern European and could just about speak English, wrote on the board ' vool ant linin is vorebidden' A bright spark who sat behind me said 'excuse Rebbe you have spelt is wrong it should be iz, he rubbed it out and put iz, There was laughter and as I was the oldest I used to take the smack round the face, I was the blame boy.
We had nick names for the teachers, by the way we had English in the afternoon and Hebrew lessons in the morning, our English teachers were mainly retired from British schools or just were weird and could not get proper jobs. Many were fired for nebulous reasons. The Hebrew ones we had 'Dustbin Dominitz, High Hat Hochizer, Six Point Pinter, I wrote a story which I called 'Tales of the Smultz Herring Range' and named many other things.
In contrast to that we had one great English teacher F A W Nash and he did not last long but he was a well known Judo Black Belt at the Budokwai and he introduced me to the club. I was the first youngster and joined with the ladies as there were no other youngsters, my teacher was a lady police women Irene Denehel.
The ju jutsu training came in handy and I progressed quickly to the men's section and then came Sensei and we formed our club the Judokwai.
In contrast to this I was doing Judo with what the Chasidish called scutzim (worms) and did not know I went to the Budokwai until later and then I got expelled for two weeks and told to repent. Then I was playing football and was spotted by an Arsenal scout on two occasions and offered me a trial. I went and as there were no academias in those days I used to clean boots and so on and sneak into games on Saturdays, if were caught and one day was, I got another two weeks suspension and repentance. I injured my leg badly and my cricket( I had a session with Middlesex CC) all came sadly to an end and my education secular wise then kicked off.
Another tale there was a Cinema near the school and not far from my home and I used to sneak in and watch Bud Abbot and Lou Costello also Laurel and Hardy if you were caught REPENTANCE.
There was a girl who was anglicized and I used to peek at her, she had blond her and had arrived from Argentina, we used to meet secretly, we arranged to go to the pictures on Sunday and see a film, we were caught coming out.
Both of us were REPENTING and I was summoned to Six Point Pinter's office, he was the head Hebrew teacher. I came in to the office, there was a one bar electric heater on the wall, he lit his cigarette by it and leaning forward to do so singed his beard, I could not help but giggle, I got the customary slap around the face, he then went onto to say 'You were seen coming out the Cinema with a voomans(woman) and this vorebidden, it is a great sin' I being a smart ass said 'Rabbi Akiba (a great saint) was seen talking to a women in the market place and his disciples said 'how come you talk openly with a women in the market place'? The Rabbi replied better to talk with a women in the open about God and the law than indoors and talk about other things' To which he gave the slap and said ' You are not a great Chohim( learned and esteemed Rabbi) get out and I got another long REPENTANCE.
The contrasts were very divergent. A kosher footballing Buddhist Judoka. Eventually I left football, religious school but still kept on Judo and the meditations from my early days in High Wycome. Then a new chapter with Sifu and Taosism, Tai Chi with Qi Gong and an apprentice electrician.
How does a young mind cope with the contrasts a Jewish faith challenged by Buddhism, a broken marriage of my parents leaving Mother to work and keep me although living with Aunt and Uncle and Mothers health failing with many mental health breakdowns and eventually cancer, my brother ten years older than I went away doing his own thing. It was only meditation and the Eastern help from my Sensei and Sifu that got me through.
I then started going to night school and the influence of science grabbed me.
SHACK
joods actueel
UNFORTUNATELY IN SOME RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS THE SEEDS OF SEGREGATION AND HATE CAN BE BRED.
UNFORTUNATELY IN SOME RELIGIOUS SCHOOLS THE SEEDS OF SEGREGATION AND HATE CAN BE BRED.
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