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Dulse de roza de Grandmaman

Nota del redaktor: Prezentamos oy el treser kapítulo del livro Dulse de roza de Grandmaman, en ladino i inglez, por Yossi Suede i traduksion Shelly Roza Swed. Puvlikado kon el apoyo de la Autoridad Nacional del Ladino i kon el apoyo de Fania i Bondi Roza. Yerushalayim, 2026.

   El livro de puede merkar en el Sentro Menachem Begin, en Yerushalayim, o en amazon.com.

Editor’s note: We present today the third chapter of the book Grandma’s Rose Jam, in Ladino and English. Published by the National Authority for Ladino and the generous support of Fania i Bondi Roza. Jerusalem, 2026.

   The book is sold in the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, en Jerusalem, or in amazon.com

El Ashuar—La Dota

En estos diyas puede pareser ekstranyo. Ma en akel tiempo Grandmaman estava mas kontente ke pudo salvar su ashuar por ke no se kazo kon akel ladron.. 

El ashuar de Grandmaman no era una koza simple. Era un trezoro. Una kacha imansa ke lo yamavan baul. Eya aresivyo el baul kon todo su kontenyete de su madre, ke lo aviya aresivido de su madre, i eya de su madre. No va estar en shok si mezmo topamos un pedaso de toka de kavesa ke apartienava a muestra madre "Sarah". 

El baul se topa asta oy en su kamareta, ma dengunos se atravienen a mirar lo ke kontyene i deskuvrir sus sekretos. 

Es un arte de meter tantas kozas kon una kapasida enkreivle, ke si se toka alguna koza lo ke va afitar puedria pareser mas mal de una eksplodisyon atomiko. 

Kualo no aviya aya, kualo ke vos diga, kualo ke vos konte. Todo lo ke teniya de menester una mujer para toda su vida i en la vida de sus ijos, inyetos i bizinyetos . . . Fina la fin del mundo.

Aviya manteles brodados, dantelas, kavesales, fronyas, kolchas, savanas, demidras, tapones de kama, tapetes, shales, shemiz de nuit, pijamas kalsados kalsas, charukas, takunyas para el banyo tases i peshtemales, guantes i chizmes todo lo ke kereiya se topava en este baul ma solo Grandmaman saviya lo ke avina en este baul i komo kitar las kozas i, lo mas importante, komo serrarlo.

The Dowry

Today this may sound strange, but more than she was happy about not marrying that dubious character, her joy was in having saved her dowry.

Grandmama's dowry was no trifling matter. It was a veritable treasure chest-an enormous container called in Turkish a baul. She received the baul and its contents from her mother, who received it from her mother and so on and so forth—back to the dawn of time. I wouldn’t surprised if among the goods you'd find the tichel (head covering) of our matriarch Sarah herself. In fact, Grandmama was legendary in the realm of dowries. To this day, you can find among the Istanbul Jewish community hundreds of u dowry designs by "Madame Roza." 

Kasha del livro.

The chest, incidentally, still stands in all its glory in her now-empty room, but no one dares to open it and explore its secrets. It contains a stockpile of items packed with such concentrated compression that the release effect might be more devastating than nuclear fission.

What isn't there? Everything a housewife would need for her lifetime and the lives of her descendants for all eternity: embroidered tablecloths, lace doilies, o fabrics, pillows, cushions, blankets, sheets, pillow bedspreads, shawls, nightgowns, slippers, infulas (decorative headbands), stockings, house slippers—gloves-just ask it's there. But only Grandmama knew what was truly in there how to take things out—and more importantly–how to put them back in.