זכרנו את הדגה אשר נאכל במצרים חנם את הקשאים

Erev Shabbos, New York City, 1890.

Think of this while you do your Erev Shabbos shopping:

This Yiddele probably came from somewhere in Russia/Poland/Lita to "di goldene medineh" to make a living. He may have escaped pogroms with his family, or maybe his family wasn't as lucky as him, because they were home at the time and bore the brunt of some Czarist-induced mob. In any case he's here in New York all by himself. He finally found a job sweeping coal, or something along those lines, and hence the complexion of his face. (And you thought that was only a job for an Orel...) And where do you think he lived? In that cellar. That's right, you're looking at his Shabbos table there. Tasty looking Challah, eh? The caption to that photo Reads Like That. See For Yourselves. So if you browse the aisles in your local supermarket and see lots of goodies, and maybe you needn't really stretch your grocery budget to the brink like that, think about Yiddel in America a hundred and twenty years ago. Think about the look on that forlorn face and put that Schick's cake back in the shelf. Your wallet and your waistline can both do without.

Read more about Jacob Riis, the photographer