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Ostroshitskiy Gorodok Cemetery

By Vitaly Charny
translated by Neville Lamdan
with appreciation to Tammy Sarote, Richard Argosh, and Victor Chausov

Belarus SIG members are urged to submit their burial data to JewishGen's Online Worldwide Burial Registry Project, where it will be incorporated into a massive searchable database.

The following pictures were taken in Ostroshitskiy Gorodok, Belarus.  

Gravestone 1

(Here lies)
? ? Our Teacher, Rabbi
? (given name illegible) son of  Our Teacher, Rabbi Schne'er
Zalman, died 21 Adar II
5646 (=29 March, 1886) may he rest in peace.

OG01.jpg (49459 bytes)

Gravestone 2

Here lies
The woman, Mrs. Rivka
daughter of Reb Tsevi,  who died on 5
Av in the year of 5604 (= 22 July, 1844). may she rest in peace.

OG02.jpg (42893 bytes)

Gravestone 3

Here
lies (formal formula) Our Teacher, Rabbi
Michal Zu??? (son of0 Israel,
who died on the New Moon of Shvat in the year of
5612  (= 23 January, 1852). may he rest in peace.

OG03.jpg (46741 bytes)

Gravestone 4

Illegible

OG04.jpg (50166 bytes)

Gravestone 5

SASSON

Formula
(not wholly legible)
SARAH
daughter of Reb Moshe of blessed memory. Died 19
Kislev 5627 (= 28 November, 1866)

Note: Unusual stone because headed with 'Sasson' in large letters.
'Sasson' means 'joy'  - so is out of place.
Could be a surname, but strange for 2 reasons:
family names do not appear on these stones:
and 'Sasson' is generally a Sephardi, and not an Ashkenazi, surname.

OG05a.jpg (12442 bytes)

Gravestone 6

Here lies
a modest woman, Mrs.
BASYA
daughter of Our Teacher, Rabbi Shalom. She died
26 of the month of Iyyar in the year of
5609 (= 19 May, 1849). may she rest in peace

OG06.jpg (47155 bytes)

Gravestone 8

(Here lies)
a modest woman
BEILA
daughter of Our Teacher, Rabbi Nechemiah. She died
2 Nissan in the year of 5609 (?) (= 26 March, 1849).

OG08.jpg (52000 bytes)

Gravestone 9 

Double stone (presumably husband and wife).  Wife's year of death is missing (damage), but her place on stone suggests she died first. If she passed away just months before her husband, the double stone could have been carved at one time (bearing in mind that in some traditions, the stone is only erected 11 or 12 months after the death).  If so (and this is pure speculation), the wife died in the late summer of 1908.

Here lie

a modest woman
Mrs. Frieda
daughter of  Our Teacher, Rabbi Moshe.
She died 25 Ellul       
(Year missing).

and a righteous man
Our Teacher, Rabbi Yosef son of Our Teacher, Rabbi
Abraham. He died
/29 Shvat 5669 (= 20 February 1909)
may he rest in peace
OG09.jpg (57218 bytes)

Gravestone 10

Illegible

OG10.jpg (61572 bytes)

Gravestone 11

A modest woman, Mrs
RACHEL
daughter of Reb Yosef, who died
17 Iyyar in the year of 5626 (= 1 June 1866) may she rest in peace.

OG11.jpg (35351 bytes)

Gravestone 12

Here
is interred a righteous and upright man
Our Teacher, Rabbi Abraham Isaac son of Our Teacher, Rabbi
Shmuel Aryeh. He died 20
El(lul) 5640 (= 28 August 1880). may he rest in peace.

OG12.jpg (46505 bytes)

Gravestone 13

Here is interred Our Teacher, Rabbi
(Eli)ezer (?) son of Our Teacher, Rabbi Pinhas.
He died 29 Sivan in the year of
5638 (= 1 July 1878). may he rest in peace.

OG13.jpg (29804 bytes)

Gravestone 14

Of Blessed Memory
(Formal  formula  - 2 lines  - not clear)
DOV BER (?)
son of Our Teacher, Rabbi Zalman. He died on the 10th
day of Shvat in the year of
5617 (= 5 february 1857) may he rest in peace.

OG14.jpg (73375 bytes)

Gravestone 16

(  ?  )
(Formal formula -2 lines - not clear).  
The modest Mrs.
SHEINA
daughter of Our Teacher, Rabbi Israel. She died  13
Cheshvan 5602 (= 29 October 1841). may she rest in peace.

*************

REMEMBER - stones are very blurred and there may be mistakes in the names and dates, while the layout is generally clear (and more or less standard).

OG16.jpg (70724 bytes)

Gravestone 17

Here
is interred Our Teacher, Rabbi Yechiel
Michel son of Our Teacher, Rabbi Ary(eh)
who died on 11 Cheshvan in the year (of)
5628 (= 10 November 1867) may he rest in peace.

OG17.jpg (47020 bytes)

Gravestone 19

Here lies
Our Teacher, Rabbi Me'ir son of Reb
Joshua Ha-Levi. He died
on the 2nd day of 'Shavu'os'  563(?)

NOTE: precise year chipped off. If we assume year was 5631, then date of death was 28 May 1871.  Best to say that person died in 1870's.

OG19.jpg (83016 bytes)

Gravestone 22

Here lies
A modest woman
Mrs. Dobba, daughter of
Our Teacher, Rabbi Yitzhok Aisak.
who died on ??????

NOTE:  Very primitive carving.  Date completely blurred and broken - so unreadable.

OG22.jpg (80761 bytes)

Gravestone 24

Here lies
The modest woman
Tsippe
daughter of Reb Baruch, who died
on the New Moon of Tevet in the year of
5626 (= 28 December 1865).

NOTE: 'Tsippe' or 'Tsippo' is probably short for 'Tsipporah'.
OG24.jpg (76166 bytes)

Gravestone 25

Here lies
the woman Chasya Leah
daughter of MTR Tuvyah, who died
on 8 Nissan on the year of (????)
may she rest in peace

Note: year illegible, and so date irretrievable.
OG25.jpg (82894 bytes)

Gravestone 28

Note: barely legible (given name indecypherable):

Here lies
the modest woman
(????) daughter of Our Teacher, Rabbi
Joshua. She died on 'Aleph Shin Pey" (= Ist day of Pessach?)
5625 (= 11 April 1865). may she rest in peace.

OG28.jpg (41601 bytes)

Gravestone 29

Here is interred the dear
young man Our Teacher, Rabbi Abraham
Ya'akov son of Our Teacher, Rabbi  Hanoch.
He died 16 M(enachem) Av in the year of
5632 (= 31 July 1874).  may he rest in peace.
OG29.jpg (67061 bytes)

Gravestone 30

Here lies
A modest woman Mrs.
Elka Beila daughter of Reb
Judah. She died on the 20th day of
Cheshvan 5650 (= 15 November 1889). may she rest in peace.

OG30.jpg (58851 bytes)

Gravestone 32

Here lies
A venerable man
the Rabbi Our Teacher, Rabbi
Chayyim Elazar
son of Ze'ev Wulf
HELLER
from Lubokash
Died 'Shemini Atzeres'
5652 (= 25 October 1891).
may he rest in peace

NOTE: This last stone is the most interesting of them all.  It is different in shape (tall and narrow), carving and textual style.  Notably, it is the only one (so far) to give a surname and place of origin.

OG32.jpg (65623 bytes)

Last updated January 20, 2001 by ELR