"We did not have our own shokhet (Jewish ritual slaughterer) for eight years in Krasnaya Sloboda," Elazar Nisimov reflects as he wets and sharpens, wets and sharpens, wets and sharpens his long blade. "My friends could not have meat for the holidays, so I decided to learn to be a shokhet, so everyone could have kosher meat." Elazar studied eleven months in Israel to be certified before returning to his village. This is his first day on the job. He tests the blade on his calloused thumb, then continues methodically sharpening. "If it is cut wrong, it's tref (unkosher)." Dozens of villagers gather in a cluttered square with their chickens for the upcoming Passover feast, birds and men all clucking with excitement. Elazar, well-trained and unfazed, slits one chicken throat after the next. The young, religious men are especially eager. One observes that he has gone over a year without meat while waiting for a certified shokhet to visit.

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