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Best Tasting Matzah is Baked in Derbent, Dagestan
Not many people remember that every Jewish family once made its own matzah. But come Pesach in Russia, they’ll remember a woman named Teilo.
Born to a poor Jewish family of seven children, at age 10, Teilo learned to make bread and matzah for Pesach. She dreamt only of feeding her younger siblings. Teilo never set out to be famous…yet today Teilo and her family produce up to 70 kilos of matzah daily for families around the country. She is renowned for her unforgettable tasting matzah far beyond Derbent, her small town in the Republic of Dagestan. Matched at 14 years of age to a man 20 years her elder, Teilo worked hard with her husband at the municipal vineyard to barely make ends meet. With higher hopes for her children, Teilo put her training to use. She began taking orders for sweet bread and halvah—traditional treats for fiancées. Soon thereafter, both Teilo’s delicious goods and her name became famous in the town. Over the years, Teilo continued to work day and night to support her growing family of eight children. By the early 1970s, when flour became more widely available, she was able to expand her business by investing in dough flattening equipment and increasing the amount of matzah that she baked. Several other families followed suit as the demand for matzah often outgrew the supply, but many have since moved to Israel. Today, despite her limited mobility, the recently widowed 78-year-old Teilo still welcomes visitors from all over Russia two weeks before Pesach every year to taste her matzah. And so, her dreams of raising healthy, dignified children and pursuing her beloved, important life’s work-feeding others-have come true. To assist her, the JDC-supported Hesed provides Teilo with food, medicines, and homecare. She is one of approximately 7,200 Jews in Dagestan which is a Muslim Autonomy in the southern part of Russia. Over the past eight years, JDC programs have facilitated the renewal of Jewish culture and traditions in the Republic. In Makhachkala and Derbent, cultural activities and events including holiday celebrations have been conducted in Heseds, pensioners' club, and children's club. The JDC also assists disabled children and those in need by providing welfare assistance and yearly Jewish summer camps. April 2007 |
