In his Preface to Rachel Calof's Story, Sandford Rikoon discusses his chance encounter while flipping through the card catalog under "North Dakota" in the American Jewish Archives at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati. He asked to see "My Story" and it was our extreme good fortune that he came upon this remarkable account. He wrote, "I opened the folder, and with rising expectations found the manuscript's first lines: 'I was born in Russia in the year 1876?' I did not know what lay ahead, but I was immediately captivated by her narrative style. And on that warm spring day in Cincinnati, I spent the next four hours mesmerized both by Rachel Calof's telling and by her story." As is so often true with women's historical stories, old trunks in the attic, and musty desk drawers hold personal diaries and letters meant for children and grandchildren which give us insight into women's history, (or "her-story" if you prefer). In Rikoon's case, he stumbled upon a marvelous manuscript that offers the reader a rare glimpse into a little known aspect of the Jewish experience in America. She takes us beyond immigration and the trek to North Dakota, to a first hand encounter from a Jewish woman homesteader's experience. This is a gift!
How to read this Book
The endnotes and the two articles add excellent background information to Calof's story. The endnotes define both Jewish idioms and farming terms with which the reader may not be readily familiar. Rikoon's own essay, "Jewish Farm Settlements in America's Heartland" and Elizabeth Jameson's "Rachel Bela Calof's Life as Collective History" provide important historical background.
Themes found in Rachel Calof's Story
Poverty Loss Family Dynamics Immigration Religion vs. Superstition Role of Women Religiosity vs. Practicality Halachah on the Homestead Making the best out of near impossible circumstances Simple pleasures Counting one's blessings
Discussion Questions The following questions are divided into four sub-sections: Early life, Coming to America, Life on the Northern Plains, and Epilogue.
Early Life
Rachel Calof describes her very difficult life from ages four to eighteen. What are some of the major difficulties she faced? In what ways did these factors affect her in adulthood?
What are some of the harsh realities we learn about the oft-romanticized shtetl life?
Consider the phrase "When a father chooses a stepmother for his children, he himself becomes a stepfather."
What role does Rachel assume in relation to her brothers and sister and how did it influence the rest of her life?
When her father decided to go to America, how did he provide for the children? What do we learn about communal responsibility in the shtetl?
In discussion her love for the butcher boy, Rachel described something similar to a "caste system" what do you think are the reasons for these class distinctions?
Review the steps taken to obtain a mail order bride. What factors influenced Rachel's decision? What does this teach us about the role and status of women in the shtetl?
Coming to America
Specify the obstacles Rachel faced as she set out for America.
On page 12, Rachel discussed the emotions that "whirled through her mind." How did she fortify herself for this new life?
Read aloud pages 17-21and respond to them in personal terms. This material provides a wonderful look at Ellis Island, meeting one's spouse to be for the first time, and the difficulties of beginning a life together with a total stranger.
On page 21, Abraham broached the idea of homesteading with Rachel in North Dakota. How did she respond and why?
Life on the Northern Plain
Review Rachel's reaction to her first encounter with pioneer life (pages 22-23). How did Rachel compare her earlier life in Russia to what she experienced in North Dakota?
Do you find anything surprising in the government homestead agreement described on page 25?
The first encounter with the future in-laws/machatunim for the first time is never easy. But can anyone match Rachel's horror story? (See page 26-28)
Discuss Rachel's role as a woman on the plains. In what ways does she assert herself? In what areas do her opinions matter?
Rachel and Abraham's wedding is described on pages 38 and 39. There are clear elements of Jewish tradition found here, such as the bedeken, the chuppah, and the "rabbi" to perform the ceremony. However, here we find the first example in the story of over-zealousness on the part of the mother-in-law as she attempts to follow Jewish law or halachah when she forces Rachel to keep her eyes blindfolded during the reception. What do you think were her motives?
Winter on the plains can only be compared to the well-known story "It Can Always be Worse," of the man who goes to the rabbi and says his house is too small. The rabbi responds by telling him to bring the chickens, cows, sheep etc. into the house. When the rabbi then tells the man to remove the animals, the man and his family find that there house feels like a mansion. In Rachel's case this was no story; it was a harsh reality. Discuss Rachel's ability to cope!
Pregnancy and childbirth seem a continual state of being for Rachel. What does the reader learn about pregnancy, preparations for childbirth, after birth, circumcision/brit, and childrearing on the Plains?
Superstition played a major role in Rachel's post partum terror after the birth of her first child. Where did Jewish tradition end and superstition begin?
Several times the question of Jewish dietary laws/kashrut came into conflict with hunger and the need for basic nutrition. Find examples of this conflict and analyze Rachel?s and her mother-in law's responses.
In the end, against all odds, the family survives, and even thrives. To what do you attribute its success?
The concept of pekuach nefesh, the saving of a life, takes priority over Jewish law in several places in the book. How did Rachel manage to reconcile these conflicts?
Epilogue
In this short essay by the Rachel Calof's son, he describes the accomplishments of his parents after they left the Plains. How did their earlier life and experiences influence what came later?
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