Rachel Calof's Story
Rachel Bella Kahn, an 18-year-old Jewish girl living in Russia, immigrated to the United States in 1894. Her mother had died when she was four, and her life in Russia became one of physical hardship and psychological abuse. Abraham Calof, who had earlier come from the same area to the United States, was in need of a wife, and paid for her passage overseas. Soon after her arrival in New York, he took her to the family homestead near Devil's Lake, North Dakota, where they joined Abraham's brothers and parents on adjoining claims. The years that followed involved a struggle to find enough to eat, to devise ways of keeping warm and clean, and to abide by the “laws” of her religious faith, despite the negative impact that it had on her life in both Russia and the United States. The Jewish faith was a key element in the life of Rachel Bella Calof in Russia and the United States. Rachel’s grandfather was very strict and a religious fanatic, and she was required to abide by the laws, beliefs, and superstitions of her faith; it was this which brought her great anguish and despair several times during her life. This first becomes apparent when Rachel is denied her first chance to experience love while living with her aunt in the
Rachel Calof found herself bounded by similar Jewish laws, beliefs, and superstitions while beginning her life in the United States. Several times, she found herself deprived of her natural, marital, and maternal rights and privileges as a result of religious “law.” One of these many times occurred a few days after the birth of Rachel and Abraham’s first daughter Minnie. As night fell on the day of the Sabbath, Rachel requested that her mother-in-law heat some water for washing the infant and warming milk to feed her. The mother-in-law denied the request because she did not see any stars in the sky, a probable indication that the Sabbath was not yet over, meaning that a fire could not be started. She later consented after rechecking the sky and noticing some stars. In 1894, the 18-year-old Rachel Calof, a Russian Jew, was shipped to the United States to marry an unknown man and stake a homesteading claim with him in North Dakota. She later set down the memories of her childhood and that time, 1894-1904, in prose that reveals her hardships and triumphs, including the negative and positive impacts of her religious faith. Although her circumstances were often dismal and pathetic, Rachel Calof never was. It was also Rachel’s religious faith that first made her dream of a life in America. According to the Mishnah, the first division of the Talmud containing interpretations of Jewish biblical laws, eight
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Approximate Word count = 962
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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