Thursday Aug 28

Had another little meeting
at the order S.O.Z. offices
rehearsing the rituals

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"Order S.O.Z." stands for "Order Sons of Zion," a.k.a. B'nai Zion, the Zionist fraternal organization Papa belonged to.

It's slightly unusual for him to refer to the parent organization or mention a visit to its 23rd street offices; most of his B'nai Zion activities revolved around "The Maccabean," as his Lower East Side chapter, or "camp," was nicknamed. He was his camp's Master of Ceremonies, though, so it looks like he had to attend occasional refresher courses in fraternal ritual (like the initiation rite he conducted a few days ago to swear in a new member with the fantastic name of "Treskinoff.")


Papa's Diary Map

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Note: I'm having some trouble finding out exactly what kind of rituals B'nai Zion might have conducted in the 20's, so if you, dear reader, know anything more about this kind of thing, please send a note or drop a comment.