Sopotskin, Belarus

Sopotkin;
in Memory of the Jewish Community
(Belarus)

53°50' / 23°39'

Translation of
Korot ayara ahat; megilat ha-sigsug ve-ha-hurban shel kehilat Sopotkin

Edited by Alexander Manor (Menschinsky)

Published in Tel Aviv, 1960

Acknowledgments

Project Coordinator

Alfred Neil Kramer

Our sincere appreciation to Alexander Manor, for permission to put this material
on the JewishGen web site.

This is a translation from: Korot ayara ahat; megilat ha-sigsug ve-ha-hurban shel kehilat Sopotkin;
Sopotkin: in memory of the Jewish community. Ed, Alexander Manor (Menschinsky),
Tel Aviv, 1960, Sopotkin Society. 126 pages (H)

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With the appearance of the book
Title Page	7
Instead of a foreword	9

Chapter 1 – Outline of the History of the Jewish Settlement in Sopotkin

The beginning of the settlement	15
The origin of the name	15
The geographical conditions	17
The structure of the town and number of its inhabitants	18
The sources of existence	18
The act as intermediary between the village and the town	20
A list of families and professions and occupations	24

Chapter 2 – Sopotkin as Zionist and Cultural Center

Sopotkin als Zionist und cultural center	37
The writer and Rabbi Samuel Yaakov Rabinovitch – Sopotkin as Zionist Center of the Grodno district	41
The first appeal on behalf of the Jewish worker	45
Samuel Tchernovitch	49
His childhood and development	49
The influence of the town on Samuel Tchernovitch	51
Yaakov (Jacob) our teacher – the Zionist social worker	54
The Rabbi and the writer Mordechay Eliyahu Rabinovitch	55
The Glikson Family	57

Chapter 3 – The Atmosphere of the Land of Israel

The Atmosphere of the Land of Israel	59
The Period of World War I	61
The National Awakening	67
The Movement of the "Hechaluts" (Pioneers)	70
The Youth Movement	75

Chapter 4 – Fragments of Being (Formation)

Mutual Help	85
Common Responsibility and Self-Defense	91
The Volunteer Fire Brigade	93
Volunteer Theater	95
Celebrations and Holidays	98

Chapter 5 – From the Characters of the Past

The Peoples' Teachers	103
Image of Ordinary People	105

Chapter 6 – From the Scroll of Destruction, Annihilation, and Extermination

From the Scroll of Destruction, Annihilation, and Extermination	111
In the Grinder of the Poles	115
Under the Russian Boot	115
Under the German Axe	117
From Kilbasin to Auschwitz	118
The Last Remnant	120
The Kaddish (Prayer for the Dead) of the Orphan	123
The Tradition Continues	124

List of the Pictures in the Book	126

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Contact person for this translation Alfred Neil Kramer
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