SEMYON ZILBERMAN
CLOTHING CUTTER, TAILOR (RETIRED)
By profession, I was a men's clothing cutter. I inherited this profession from my father. For ten years I worked as a tailor in a Riga studio, and for 25 years as a cutter in Leningrad.
WHERE DOES YOUR FAMILY COME FROM?
My father and mother come from Poland, but later moved to Riga. Riga is my hometown: I was born and raised there, and I studied in a Jewish school there. Studies were conducted in Hebrew until the Soviets came to power, at which time instruction was in Yiddish. There were five children in our family (three boys and two girls), and we lived a strictly observant Jewish lifestyle. We didn’t even no any other way – we ate only kosher food, observed Shabbat, celebrated all the Jewish holidays, and attended the synagogue. It was a large synagogue known as the “Gogol Shul” because it was located on Gogol Street. Like many Jews, we were not able to have a separate set of dishes for Passover, so before Passover would kosher our dishes at the synagogue in a huge vat of boiling water in which the glassware was immersed. Silverware was koshered using the hot ash of the fire burning under the vat. The special pot used to make gefilte fish was plated with a new layer of tine every year.
In our school, boys and girls studied separately. In the second grade we learned all the prayers, and in the fifth grade we started studying Talmud. We were also taught to work: In the winter, the children of the lower grades were taught to weave fishing nets, and from the 4th grade to make skis. As a result there was no delinquency as everyone was busy with useful work.
The inspector of the Jewish schools of Riga at that time was Rabbi Haim Mordechai Khodakov, personal secretary of the Rebbe Rayatz, the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe. The historic wedding of the previous Rebbe’s daughter to the Rebbe took place in our school, “Torah Derech Eretz.”
YOU WORKED AS A CUTTER IN LENINGRAD. HOW DID YOU GET THERE?
I fell in love with a girl from Leningrad. She came to visit my neighbors, and they asked me to show her Riga. We corresponded for six years and eventually got married. We have two wonderful sons.
DO YOU HAVE ANY HOBBIES?
When I became a pensioner, my son gave me a keyboard as a gift. I starting making music, and became interested in writing songs. I found poems and composed music to them. I wrote and composed two original songs in Russian and Yiddish. Today I am the author of twenty-five songs. In addition to music, I wrote two books: the historical and biographical “War-Scorched Years” and the reflective book “Women, Wives, it’s Not Too Late...”
I also enjoy cooking. I love to bake Teramisu, biscuits, and crackers. I also cook salmon and make soup. I go to the synagogue for prayers and attend classes, I take part in various programs of the Jewish community. I also love to dance and attend dance evenings.
IF YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A “L’CHAIM” WITH SOME FAMOUS PERSON, WHO WOULD YOU CHOOSE?
Most of all I miss my dear wife. She was an unusually bright and interesting person, the most significant person in my life. She was the core of our family, and she planned our life. Our departure from the USSR was also her idea. First, we lived in America for a period, and in 1981 we came to Canada.
She was a pianist and all her life, even in Canada, she worked as a music teacher. When she was gone, it was very difficult for me to come to terms with this sad fact. And I really miss her...
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
I recently turned 90 years old. I am interested in everything that life has to offer: travel, performances, books, singing in a choir. And in order not to weaken my spirit, I try to do a bit of everything. I want to mention that I do not have a special musical and literary education. Nevertheless, people are grateful to me for the songs and books I created. Human qualities are determined not by education, but by personal achievements. From the height of my age I want to wish all people of the “golden age” to be more active and spend less time watching TV. I wish everyone to get involved and live life to the fullest.
