Press "Enter" to skip to content

More of a Jewish Studies question… did Jews living in shtetls in the Pale of Settlement live in Izbas like other Russian peasantry?

I’m currently reading The Bear and The Nightingale, which heavily centers Russian folklore, including the Izba, the ovens central to that living style, and beliefs about domovoi, or the house spirits that inhabited living spaces.

Ashkenazi Jews have lived under Russian rule for a significant portion of our history. Did Jewish homes in shtetls have similar ovens that were slept upon? Are there early writings or some other form of responsa that may indicate how Jews dealt with the surrounding culture’s belief in house spirits?

I guess more broadly, to what degree did Russian Jewish life resemble broader Russian peasant life?

I couldn’t find anything clear and readily accessible by a google search, so if you all have any interesting reading to point me to as well, please link it here!

submitted by /u/zehtiras
[link] [comments]
Source: Reditt