 His father, Khatskl (Zachar) Shagal, was employed by a herring merchant, and his mother, Feige-Ite, sold groceries from their home.His father worked hard, carrying heavy barrels but earning only 20 roubles each month (the average wages across the Russian Empire being 13 roubles a month).Chagall would later include fish motifs "out of respect for his father", writes Chagall biographer, Jacob Baal-Teshuva.