Dorothy Cantor memory of Cheder

First of all I went to Cheder in Paradise Square and then to classes at Brunswick Street. I remember I used to go every night and have the same lessons with the boys until I was thirteen.

The late Mr. Finklestone was my headmaster and I was one of his star pupils. I loved Cheder – it’s most unusual I know, but maybe it’s because I always got prizes for different things. Mr. Finklestone was a wonderful teacher. He used to walk about with his arms behind his back, up and down the room and say, “Again the same! Again the same !” and this is how it was instilled into us, and I still remember quite a lot of the things I learned at Cheder.

Most girls just went on Sundays, but if you were advanced then you went every day from school. I used to go all the way down to town from the High School, and trail down there in all weathers. I looked forward to going. Kashrut of course we learned at home, but this was all furthered, and we learned about the famous women of the Bible from Mr. Finklestone and from Mr. Valenchik and Mr. Sussman. I don’t remember any lady teachers at all. I’ve got a Book of Jewish thoughts that was given me as a prize, and one of `Laws and Customs of the Jewish People’. Mr. Finklestone was very strict and there was the cane you know as well, but I thought he was marvellous. I suppose I had a bit of respect for him.

The most outstanding thing about Cheder that I remember were the wonderful outings we had. They were really wonderful gatherings because there was such a fabulous atmosphere – not like today. I remember one wonderful one when we went to Knutsford where the late Sir Rufus Isaacs lived, and another when we went to Monsal Head. All the parents went along, in charabancs, and everybody joined in the fun. We had wonderful sports days – egg and spoon races, sack races. I remember once winning seven prizes for seven races. And we had picnics. There were wonderful spreads, laid on by the Talmud Torah.

Whether you believe in everything today the same way – as then, or not, it doesn’t matter. The Talmud Torah was such a marvellous foundation, and then of course the festivals were really festivals, and we all took part in them wholeheartedly.

(Source: ‘The Best Days of Our Lives’, Interviews by Judy Simons, in Sheffield Jewish Journal, No. 105, April 1972, p. 11)