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In the following quote from the book Number
Our Days, Rachel, one of the center elders,
describes "domestic religion"—a concept Myerhoff
used to examine the different religious experiences
of Jewish men and women:
RACHEL: "Now I did not like to wipe the dishes
because the towel was so rough, it didn't feel
good, and I did not know how to explain this
to Grandmother....So I rebelled against that.
The job was not well done. I'll never forget that,
how my grandmother, she took me aside one
day....She began first all around with praises.
"Rucheleh," she says,"...you know you are carrying
a holy name. And according to your name, you have
to be perfect." Well, she gave me all that until
when I looked at her, my spirit was rising and
rising, higher and faster until I forget all about
that sturdy towel and my hatred for it....after
that speech, I was transformed into a
different person. The towel became soft as fine
linen and I loved to wipe the dishes. And always
before me, when I was wiping the dishes was
the name of the holy mother Rachel, and
I thought, 'She's right. I am that woman.'
That, that is what I call domestic religion....
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"I think the boys didn't have it that way. They
knew what the sacred words meant so they could
argue and doubt. But with us girls, we couldn't
doubt because what we knew came without
understanding. These things were injected into you
in childhood....When it goes in this way, I
describe, Jewish comes up in you from the roots and
it stays with you all your life."
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