A recent article by Rifca Goldberg, "A Stitch in Time"
[Parshas Truma], brought to mind some recollections of the
wonderful world of creative handwork, knitting, crochet,
needlepoint and design.
As a small child, I would sit and watch my mother knit
mittens, socks, scarves and sweaters for us to wear in the
cold winter. In Iowa, where we lived, temperatures would
sometimes fall as low as 40 degrees below zero F.
My mother told me she couldn't teach me to knit because she
was left-handed and I was right-handed. I wanted so much to
learn; my heart would break, but I sat quietly, watching her
fingers fly, finger uplifted with the yarn rapidly slipping
across. As the years went by, I forgot about this yearning.
Or at least, made peace with my inability to learn.
When American soldiers were engaged in World War II, the Red
Cross gave free lessons in knitting. I was in the twelfth
grade at the time and took the course. Upon completion, we
received a certificate declaring us as bona fide
`Knitters.'
We were then given large bags of yarn to knit sweaters that
were sent to the soldiers at the front line of fire. It felt
good to be doing something for the war effort in Europe.
After I got married, I began knitting sweaters, hats, gloves,
mittens and, in fact, all of my children's winter clothing.
Whenever we needed extra cash, I would take orders for
special items and knit baby clothes, scarves and sweaters.
When my boys went off to yeshiva and the girls to the
seminary in N.Y., I had a lot of time on my hands. I offered
to teach handiwork at the local community center. At this
time, the government began setting up Adult Education courses
in cities with Community Colleges and our city qualified.
First, though, I had to take a course on how to teach adults,
which differed from teaching children.
A child learns because his parents want him to learn. An
adult is motivated to acquire the knowledge. Many adults drop
out of classes for lack of interest but I seemed to have the
good luck to keep my students motivated. Our community
college offered a wide variety of courses ranging from
languages, history, bread baking, cooking etc. My husband
taught Russian for the first time.
There is a tremendous element of satisfaction and even
relaxation that comes with working with one's hands. It says
somewhere that even if she has a maid, a woman should do the
handiwork and not sit idle.
I must say to our credit that in the courses I taught, no one
ever spoke loshon hora. People knew instinctively that
this was forbidden in my classes. Handiwork occupies the
hands, but it also occupies the mind since one must pay
attention to what one is doing. Strangely enough, the ability
to create and learn something new is both stimulating and
relaxing.
There was a social circle in the small Midwestern town where
I lived. The Jewish women used to meet every Wednesday at the
Tallcom Hotel, eat lunch and play bridge. The food was not
kosher and I never took the time to learn this card game,
which I felt to be a waste of time. I might have enjoyed the
weekly company of my Jewish acquaintances, of which there
were not too many in our town, but instead, I stayed home and
did needlework. In fact, I made it a project to learn
something new related to some aspect of handicraft -- every
single day. I bought and borrowed all kinds of knitting and
craft books and magazines, and picked up a great deal of
knowledge, which I immediately put into practice during the
long afternoons. I was thus able to avoid speaking loshon
hora or be tempted to do things that were against my
strict Jewish upbringing.
When I came to Israel, I was asked to teach children
handiwork. I said that I had only learned how to teach
adults. But I plunged in, nevertheless, and found the
challenge stimulating and enjoyable. In fact, in my knitting
classes, I sometimes taught young girls, young mothers and
even middle-aged women at one and the same time. And it made
no difference to them! They enjoyed being productive and
turning out beautiful handmade creations of which they never
dreamed they were capable.
Rifca's article made my fingers itch again and I would like
to start organizing groups of knitters or crocheters in my
neighborhood, Mattersdorf.
If you are interested in time-out for a relaxing, creative,
very enjoyably productive exercise, just give me a call and
we'll see what we can do.
Mrs. Lipshitz at 02-5372513. Waiting to hear from you.
