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The Bacău community had a very close relationship with the Land of Israel, even in the 1880s. The first migration of Jews from Bacău to the Land occurred in 1882, alongside Jews from nearby Moineşti. This migration continued in subsequent years. Love for Israel was buried deep in the hearts of Hovevei Zion^[1], Zionists, and even Jews who knew about Kol Israel Haverim^[2]. Many Jews from Bacău dreamed of creating a homeland in Israel and establishing themselves there. It is important to note that the people of Kol Israel Haverim were very active in Bacău. We do not intend to explain all of the influences or history that led Jews from Bacău to move to the Land of Israel before the first world war. We would like to explain a small part of this story, that is almost not researched until now: the relationship between the Jews of Bacău and the Mikveh Israel farming school, before the first world war.

It is important to note that the Mikveh Israel school was established in 1870 by Kol Israel Haverim. It was not a Zionist institution nor did it belong to Hovevei Zion. Similarly, Kol Israel Haverim, the founding organization, was not Zionist. Its creators were Jews from France who wanted to help poor Jews from eastern countries, Islamic countries, and Eastern Europe. The aid they offered – in their thinking - was in the form of vocational education, preferably occupations relating to farming, along with acquiring a modern education, especially in French. Nevertheless, the Mikveh Israel agricultural school

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was established in the Land of Israel, however it did not train its students for Zionism or the building of settlements, but only taught farming skills to Jews. The name, “Mikveh Israel,” recalls “The Hope of Israel,” Rabbi Menashe Ben Israel's book. The people of Kol Israel Haverim thought that “the hope of Israel” was not about the creation of farming settlements in Israel, but rather about the productivity of Jews and their integration into their countries. If an alumni from Mikveh Israel found a job as a farmer in Israel, so be it. If not, Kol Israel Haverim would employ them as a farmer in a Jewish farming settlement in a different country, where they thought there were more opportunities, such as Canada, Australia, or Argentina. In those countries, there existed Jewish farming settlements based on Kol Israel Haverim's ideology which emphasized that farming was a Jewish responsibility, grounded in the principles of territorialism. This was the case for some teenage boys from Bacău.

Registration for Mikveh Israel was under the approval of Kol Israel Haverim's headquarters in Paris. Poor Romanian families - who were close to Kol Israel Haverim's approach - went to its headquarters, asking that their sons get accepted with exemptions from tuition fees and ensuring that the school would be accountable for supporting them for the duration of their studies. This also required the approval of the school principal and later the recommendation of a Kol Israel Haverim representative in Romania, Y. Astrock. Sons of people who had already immigrated from Romania to the Land of Israel could also be accepted into the school. Students from Bacău were from both groups.

On July 5 1892, H. Greenberg was accepted into Mikveh Israel as a student. He was born in Bacău 15 years beforehand, and his family moved to the Land of Israel to the moshavah^[3] of Rishon Lezion. He wanted to be a farmer, but gave up his desire after a year of studies. On the 31st of December, 1893, he left school and started working as a barrel maker in Rishon Lezion, the moshav he lived in. (See the Central Zionist Archives in Jerusalem in file J41/301: archives of the agricultural school Mikveh Israel).

In 1896 a student by the name of Reuben Segel, who was also born in Bacău, started attending Mikveh Israel. He was among the top students at the school. In his fifth year at school - 1901, the principal, Yosef Neaga, recommended him to be an agricultural technician, in Kol Israel Haverim's new school in Slobodka Lesna in Galicia. “Reuben Segel is one of the best students, about to finish his studies in school, a student whom we had no complaints about, in his whole time at Mikveh Israel, not about work, not about discipline, and not about his persistence in his studies.” These are the words of the principal of the school, Yosef Neaga, in a letter addressed to the secretary of Kol Israel Haverim Jack Bigar. Neaga later says that not only are these alumni and two others some of the best students at the school, but they could be very useful to the principal of an agricultural school in Slobodka Lesna. In 1908, another student named Bernard Adelshtein, from Bacău, arrived at Mikveh Israel. He was 15 when he came to Israel with five other new students from Romania, on the recommendation of Y. Astrock.

The number of students off Romanian origin increased, following the peasant revolt in 1907 and the consequences

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of antisemitism on Romanian Jews. Ideas of productivity, territorialism, and immigration spread even more among Romanian Jews.

The Adelshtein family had a strong connection not only with Kol Israel Haverim, but also with the Land of Israel. The parents of the father -- N. Adelshtein -- lived in the moshavah Zichron Yaakov, “in which most of its settlers come from the Jewish community of Bacău.” (from the letter of Mikveh Israel's principal, S. Lupu, from August 11, 1909: the Central Zionist Archives, file J41/127). He even asked the principal of the school to allow his son, who lived in the dorms, if he could visit the moshavah where his relatives lived during the summer vacation.

Bernard Adelshtein was also one of the top students in Mikveh Israel. However, like many teenage boys, he had disciplinary problems. His father, who continued living in Bacău, kept up with what his son was doing and even became worried. After severe warnings from his father, Bernard promised he would fix his grades (he had lost 3 points due to repeated bad behavior). N. Adelstein was a father of 6: 4 girls and 2 boys, the youngest of which was 5 years old in 1910. In a letter to Shmuel Lupu he wrote “I hoped that by sending my son to the institution you so honorably lead, he would become my support in my old age.” (From the Central Zionist Archives, file J41/134, letter in Romanian). His fondness for Mikveh Israel is obvious from his writings.

Bernard Adelstein turned into an excellent and disciplined student. “He is one of the top students in his class. I hope his behavior will soon match his academic and occupational achievements. I am happy to tell you that my wants have finally started to become a reality.” (A letter from Shmuel Lupu, principal of Mikveh Israel, to N. Adelstein - the worried father from Bacău - August 5, 1910. The Central Zionist Archives, file J41/333).

Bernard graduated from Mikveh Israel on September 1, 1912 as one of the top students. His family did not stay in Romania. N. Adelstein decided to immigrate to Argentina; although his son, Bernard, was very fond of his relatives in Israel and classmates from Mikveh Israel, he too agreed to immigrate to Argentina. This may also be an effect of his studies about productivity and creating settlements using Kol Israel Haverim's practical approach of prioritizing productivity over settling in the Land of Israel. Bernard Adelstein returned to Romania in order to help his family prepare for the move. His dad was very impressed with his son and the education he received from Mikveh Israel. “It's my duty to express my thanks for the good education my son received at Mikveh Israel under your esteemed supervision and responsibility. You treated my son as if he was your own. I sent my son to your honorable sir and with the help of God he came back self-aware. May the Holy One Blessed Be^[4] bestow on your honorable sir many years for the good fortune of the school and longevity for his distinguished family.” (N. Adelstein's letter to Shmuel Lupu on July 5, 1912. From the Central Zionist Archives, file J41/143. The letter is in Romanian). Bernard Adelstein wrote a letter to Shmuel Lupu in French, thanking him for the financial aid he received when he migrated to Israel (before this he also thanked Y. Astrock)

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and “for worrying about me…I will never forget the assistance your honorable sir bestowed upon me…I will always remember your honor, and the four years that I was under your guidance.” (A letter from November 5, 1912. From the Central Zionist Archives, file J41/144).

The 19-year old that temporarily came back to his hometown after a four-year absence described the situation in Romania, particularly in Bacău, in a gloomy light. His account, from 1912, reflects a time of economic and political crisis in Romania. His perspective is that of a Jewish man that studied abroad, adopted the ideology of Kol Israel Haverim, and knew farming very well. Feeling uneasy and frightened, he is impatiently waiting to leave the country as soon as possible. His letter offers a valuable perspective for historians researching this era.

“Here we are leaving Romania in a threatening situation. There is a real crash in the capital market. Only a few people have not gone bankrupt. Two main reasons for this financial crisis are that the farming production is slow this year and the Balkan war.

The summer crops initially appeared promising until continuous rain in the autumn caused significant damage. This was especially true for the corn crops, which are a nutritional staple for Romanian farmers. It is known to Your Honor that in order to harvest corn crops, they have to be fully ripe and dry. This year that was not possible as it started snowing unexpectedly when the grain was still in the field, which caused the farmer to panic and harvest the grain in a hurry. However, it will be hard to store grain whose ripeness is questionable and that is soaked with water. Pellagra, a terrible disease, will spread in Romania's ruined villages. As for the other species of grains, they rotted in the field and what was harvested are only crops that are of poor quality. The vineyards were also damaged; this year's crop was not only scarce, but also not of good quality. The bean and potato crops also fared much worse compared to last year.

We are only receiving extremely unclear information about the development of the war. From the front page of the same newspaper, we read conflicting reports: “A big win for the Turkish”, “The Bulgarians have advanced”, “A huge win for the Turkish”, “The Turkish are requesting an intervention of the great powers.” But contrary to these reports that are all different, here we know approximately what is happening. Turkey is dying. There are also rumors of a general draft in Romania, although the government says that this country will present its demands at the end of the war.

I imagine what situation Mikveh Israel must be in now, lacking workers, and I am curious to know if it's true that many Jews from the Land of Israel volunteered to enlist in the army to go to war.

A new law regarding local industry came to put an end to the ambiguity surrounding the Romanian Jew, and it seemed like the start of a better future. This law stated: “A Romanian is considered any worker who does not enjoy foreign patronage”. This is the first step in receiving human rights, for which we need to bless the “Union of Romanian Jews”.

I forgot to mention in my letter about the wine industry and how it works in Romania. It's unbelievable, but true, that in Europe they don't know a thing about our important pasteurization work.

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The wine industry in Romania is among the most failing industries. People don't know that grape juice turns into wine because of bacteria. Nor do they care at all about the fermentation of the wine. There is no ventilation, no plan, and no daily supervision. The wine was left as God's concern and therefore Romanian wines are of mediocre quality.

Nevertheless, many Romanians, whose mouths and throats were destroyed due to excessive consumption of spicy things, are ready to swear with the Evangelion^[5] in hand, that good wine from a particular Romanian vineyard is a lot better than the wines from vineyards in Bordeaux or Medoc. This perspective can be understood after seeing a Romanian drink spicy wormwood in one gulp.

(And soon they will start elections for the parliament and our citizens will spend many days drinking the best Romanian wines).”

It is certainly possible to discuss more at length -- to do special research into -- these interesting remarks and the news that the new alumnus of the agricultural school passed along. It seems that this was the last letter he sent to Romania.

Bernard Adelstein and his family moved to Argentina, on December 7, 1912, after a 17- day long boat trip. The Adelstein family settled in the farming community of Santo Tomás. Bernard Adelstein started working as an agricultural technician in the Estancia 25 farm, not far from the capital Buenos Aires. He was very successful in his job and was promoted. He even kept his promise of still writing letters to Shmuel Lupu, his teacher and Rabbi. He sent insightful observations, written with considerable literary talent, describing the situation of Jewish agricultural settlements in Argentina. He explained the situation in all of Argentina: the people, leaders, incidents, ways of farming, and also the start of the Jewish farmers' movement and the socialist movement in Argentina, as well as the celebration of May 1. He is still interested in the state of the Land of Israel and in the state of his classmates, his old teachers, and Romania along with the rest of the Balkan countries. His remarks seemed to have also been used as a source of information by Kol Israel Haverim, regarding the situation of the Jewish settlers in Argentina, who settled there through the organization.

However, his correspondence with Shmuel Lupu has taken a new form, that of a relationship between two old friends. Shmuel Lupu continues to appreciate Bernard Adelstein in a very positive way.

These writings, which continued until December 1913, shortly before Shmuel Lupu retired from his job as principal of Mikveh Israel, are kept in the archives at the agricultural school.

(An excerpt from a broader article presented as a lecture at the center for the study of Romanian Jews, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Based on the research of the archives at the agricultural school, Mikveh Israel, that is in the Central Zionist Archives of Jerusalem).

Translator's footnotes

1. Hovevei Zion was a social/political movement of the late 19th century in Eastern Europe.  Return
2. An international Jewish organization whose mission was to provide education and social development to Jews in the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe. Return
3. Colony. Return
4. HaKadosh Baruch Hu (God).  Return
5. The Gospel. Return

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