The community of Semiatich

The Community of Semyatitch
( Siemiatycze, Poland)

52°27' / 22°53'

Translation of
Kehilat Semiatycze

Editor: E. Tash

Published in Tel Aviv, 1965

Acknowledgments

Project Coordinator

Robert Cherniak

Our sincere appreciation to Yad Vashem
for the submission of the necrology for placement on the JewishGen web site.

This is a translation of: Kehilat Semiatycze (The community of Semyatitch),
Editor: E. Tash, Tel Aviv, Assoc. of Former Residents of Semiatich in Israel and the Diaspora, 1989 (H,Y,E, 449 pages)

Note: The original book can be seen online at the NY Public Library site: Siematycze

This material is made available by JewishGen, Inc. and the Yizkor Book Project for the purpose of
fulfilling our mission of disseminating information about the Holocaust and destroyed Jewish communities.
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Hebrew Translated by Yocheved Klausner

Title page
Memorial Volume Committee
The Book	The Editor	9
Memorial to the Siemiatycze Community	Eliezer Tasch (Tur-Shalom)	11
From the Fire (poem)	Chaim Gury	17

History

The past of the Siemiatycze Community	Dr. M.N. Gelber	21
The History of 150 Years	Arie Spialter	38

Siemiatycze as Reflected in the Press

The Great Fire in 1884	Mordechai Kapluschnik	57
In the Clutch of Wars	Y.L. Goldberg (the Official Rabbi)	58
The Deportation to the Villages during World War I	Avraham Mazor	60
Twenty-Four Hours of Jewish Rule in Siemiatycze	Eliezer Tasch (Tur-Shalom)	62

The Spiritual Life

The Rabbis and the Religious Judges of Siemiatycze	Collected by Moshe Tzinowitz	69
Rav Yakov son of R'Shmuel
Rav Yehoshua Heshel		69
Judge Kalman Ginsburg
Rav Moshe Ginsburg
Rav Lifshitz		70
Rav Katznelenbogen
Rav Heilpern		71
Rav Rubinstein
Judge Smaltinski
Rav Levin
Rav Kushlewitz		72
Rav Yoselewitz		73
Rav Remigolski		74
Rav Gerstein		76
Rav Yosef David Shachor	Zalman Zev Shachor	78
The Religious Life in the Siemiatycze Community	Rav Titzhak Levi Schulsinger	80
A Community with Excellent Qualities	Rav Shlomo Tenebitzki (Tene)	83
The Pursuers of Torah and Knowledge	Tzvi Halpern	85
My Hometown and my Family	Avraham Mazor	87
The Hebrew School “Kadima"	Rikel Lev	89
The School and the Club	Yitzhak Shkedi	92
Theater Activities in Our Town	Yitzhak Kaplan	93
Youth and Aspirations	Yehoshua Giv'oni	96
The Siemiatycze Youth and the Struggle for Education	Dr. Shmuel Sukenik	107

The Way of Life and the People in Our Town

The Burden of Memories [a poem]	Yitzhak Kaplan	113
Sights and Fragments of Life	Pinchas Pachter	115
A collection of Memories	Yeshaya Pundek	121
The Bank in Siemiatycze	Alter Slochovski	123
The Tile Factory	Yeshaya Deutsch	125
A Nightmare in the Synagogue	Aharon Sokolski	126
Events, Experiences and Memories from Home and Family	Dr. Shmuel Sukenik	127
Mr. Brill goes to America	Arie Spialter	132
Memories	Yechezkel Kotik	135
Siemiatycze in the Eyes of a Passer-by	Moshe Weissman	136
Portraits	Yosef Halpern	139
Episodes and Types	Ben-Tzion Mazor	147
Moshe Winyar	A"Sh	148
In the Yoke of Night [a poem]	Moshe Winyar	148
Malka Weinstein; Bila Zablodovski; Hershl Chomski		149
Dr. Chaim Perelis		150
R'Berl Ribovski	M. Richtsler	151

Movements and People

In the Company of a Great Teacher	Yitzhak Giv'oni	155
Moshe Pundek and His Family	Yeshaya Pundek	157
The Story of a Street	Meir Kravitz	160
An Aliya that was Canceled Because of Grave Trouble	Yitzhak Kaplan	162
My Father's Zionism	Yehuda Albanay	164
Lights from My Father's Home	Sara Magen-Tash	165
The “Hechalutz” and “Young Hechalutz” Movements in Siemiatycze	Yehoshua Giv'oni	167
Memories from “Hechalutz"	Lea Rog	173
My Brother, My Brother Heshy	David Wiesenberg	173
The Training Kibbutz [Hachshara] “Shahariya”	An Article in “Hatzefira"	174
The “Shahariya” Farm	Yeshaya Pundek	175
Kibbutz “Tel-Chay” in Siemiatycze	Yakov Krupnik	177
“Shahariya”	Uri Marmur & Yosl Yablon	178
The “Hashomer Hatza'ir” movement and its Activity Among the Youth	Yitzhak Kaplan	180
Our Brother Yakov Doliner	Miriam & Simcha Doliner	186
The “Poalei Zion” Party and “Freiheit”	Shmuel Goldstein	186
Moshe ben Peretz and Chana Pachter	Yehudit Pachter	187
The “Freiheit” Organization	Avraham Mazor	188
The League for “Eretz Yisrael Ha'ovedet” [the Working Eretz Yisrael]	Chaim Roseman	189
The “Brit-Trumpeldor” Movement	Arye Spialter	190

Our Community Destroyed

The Beginning of the Disaster	Arye Kneppel	195
The Day-to-Day Life in the Ghetto	Bat Sheva Ariel	199
The Last Days in the Ghetto	Duba Marmur-Goldshtern	200
Siemiatycze's Path of Suffering	Rachel Kalles Lisogurski	201
From the Bunker in the Ghetto to the Underground Life in the Forest	Chaim Marmur	208
My Escape from the Death Train	Kalman Goldwasser	213
A Letter from the “City of Slaughter"	Y. Giv'oni	215
A Visit to Siemiatycze in 1957	Chava Markuse	218
These Are the Names of the Members of the Siemiatycze Community, which Was Totally Destroyed		220

In Eretz Yisrael

The Aliya along the Generations	Yitzhak Kaplan	231

“The Fallen in the High Places”

Gedalyahu Rugatchevski	From the “Yizkor” prayer	237
David Tur Shalom	Yosef Margalit	238
Heroism and Vengeance in Judaism	David Ta"sh (Tur Shalom)	239
Pinchas Ram	From the “Yizkor” prayer	240
Ben Ami Pachter	Mother	241
We Are Your Children [poems]	Ben Ami Pachter	242
Amihay Schulsinger		243
Yakov Tuchman (Tomy)	Ata"sh	244
Thoughts about the Group	Yakov Tuchman	244
Menachem ben Tzila and Yeshaya Pundek		245
A Lament on the Death of Menachem [a poem]	Chanan Shadmi	246
Kites [a poem]	Menachem Pundek	247

Portraits of People

By the Merit of Grandfather, R'Eli David Schulsinger	Mina Kaplan	248
The Descendants of Eli-David Schulsinger: a. Joy; b. the Rav Yitzhak	Eliezer Tash	249
Menachem ben Puah and Moshe Pundek	E. Tash	252
Simcha Sier	Eliahu Porat	253
The Appointed Rabbi R'Yitzhak Eliezer Goldberg	Beruria Erlichman	254
Shalom Pachter	Pinchas Pachter	255
Meir Kravitz; Yosef Halpern; Lea Zablodovski	The Editor	256
Yitzhak Minz	From the Book on the Kapluschnik Family	258
Yosef Shoshan		258
R'Mordechay Kapluschnik, the Kadish Reader in our Community	Arye Spialter	259
Yitzhak Kaplan	a. Eliahu Porat; b. Arye Spialter	261
Our Union / General View	Arie Spialter	263
Sealing the Book	Yehoshua Giv'oni	268

Yiddish Donated by Robert Cherniak

Explanation of the American Committee for The Book of Remembrance		273
The Time of Remembrance	Isur Rabinovitch (Willy Rubin)	274

History and Legend

Semyatitch Until the First World War	Dr. N. M. Gelber	277
Semyatitch Between the World Wars	D. Fristar	293
Stories of the Semyatitch Synagogue	Z. Averbukh	306
Reb Tsvi Hersh of Semyatitch	Peysakh Markus	308
Episodes from the First World War	Dovid Kimchi	309
The Expulsion During the First World War	Avram Mazur	310

Culture and Life

The Religious Life	Aryeh Shpyalter	315
Memoirs of Revolutionary Years	Shmuel Pyeker	318
Semyatitch - A Zionistic Town	Avram Mazur	320
The Zionist-Revisionist Movement	Dovid Kimchi	322
The First Training Kibbutz “Shakharya”	Mikhal Radzinsky	325
The “Drama Circle”	Dovid Kimchi	328
Jewish Livelihoods	Aryeh Shpyalter	332
Semyatitch Hooligans Are Punished	Dovid Kimchi	335

Figures

Moyshe Vinyar	A. Sh.	343
My Mother's Blood Screams	Moyshe Vinyar	343
Semyatitch Types and Friends	Yashe Halferin	344
The Jewish Doctor's Triumph (Dr. Goldberger)	Moyshe Vaysman	347
Yankev Tikatski	Aryeh Shpyalter	349
Reb Shamai Yudl Yablon	Rabbi Yitskhok Shmidman	350
Sh. Y. Landinsky	Helen Landinsky	351
Remembrance (Fragments)	Sh. Y. Landinsky	354
Reb Elyahu Mazur	Ben- Tsion Mazur	354
Grandma Malke	Yankev Marmur	356
Reb Elkhonon Kimchi, May G-d Avenge His Blood	Dovid Kimchi	359
Episodes and Types	Ben- Tsion Mazur	360
Semyatitchers in the United States	D. Fristar	365

The Holocaust

In the Woods	Helen Shabat	375
Under the Soviet Occupation	D. Fristar	376
From Semyatitch to Kazakstan	Leah Byelitski	379
Under the Nazis	Helen Kimchi	403
A Semyatitcher among the Partisans	Dovid Kimchi	403
I Ask	Yehuda Albonay	412

Remembrance		413

Section III

Siemiatych - Its Growth and Destruction		I-XIII

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