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“The child is gone”

In the Great Synagogue, before it was destroyed in the First World War, there was a porthole up the north wall and above it the inscription “The Child is Gone”.

According to the legend, the Ba'al Shem Tov once visited Gwozdziec and met with “HaShor HaKaddosh”. The two tzaddikim gathered in the old synagogue and ordered everything not to disturb them. A group of curious children could not overcome their urge, they let one boy climb on top of them and he poked his head through the porthole, to see what was happening inside. However, the boy “peeked and was hit” and fell dead on the spot.

In memory of the event - and probably as a warning - they installed on the north wall the inscription “The Child is Gone”.

In Gwozdziec, it was not customary that the groom, who was about to consecrate a woman under his canopy, cover the bride's face, which was contrary to the accepted custom in all Jewish communities. The reason for this unusual custom lie in a tragic incident that happened there. Once during the Kiddushin ceremony, held near the old synagogue, at the moment when the groom covered the face of the bride, both - the groom and the bride - collapsed and died on the spot. The unfortunate couple, who haven't been reunited yet, were later buried next to the synagogue where it happened. Since then, a groom who was about to marry a woman was forbidden to cover the face of the bride.

Another custom, which took root in the town following the death of the couple, was throwing garlic over the grave of the two on the ninth day of Av.

Due to the tragic case of the bride and groom who died together under their canopy, which was placed in the courtyard of the old synagogue, and they were buried in the southern corner of the courtyard, on the area east of the synagogue, the area east of the synagogue remained empty and it was forbidden to build on it, even for the use of the synagogue itself.

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The penknife

The Jewish craftsman who was involved in the construction of the synagogue, used for the sculpting work of the Holy Ark the same penknife that was used to sculpt the Holy Ark in the synagogue of the Holy Ari in the city of Safed in the Holy Land.

In the First World War, when the Russian army burned all the houses in the town, the fire started after a group of soldiers found a treasure of schnaps. After they got drunk, as it was customary among the Russian soldiers, they set fire to the brewery along with all the schnaps left in it. After that they went from house to house and set it on fire, until all the houses of the town were burnt. Only one building was not damaged by the flames, and it was the large and old synagogue, even though it was also made of wood, like all the other houses that were burnt. The soldiers took flammable material and poured it on the synagogue, but it didn't help. despite that, they did not let go of their plan, and three days later they succeeded in their plot. Only a small handful of ashes remained from the synagogue.

The Cossacks carried out their plot and the synagogue, which had stood for about three hundred years, was completely burned down.

A few days before the election day of a new rabbi, one of the melamedim was engaged in several acts with the elder of the tailors in the town. First, they both went to the mikveh to purify themselves, then they prayed Shacharit with the Anenu prayer, as being done on a fast day, and then they went to the cemetery, where they walked

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straight to the grave of “HaShor HaKaddosh”. The elder of the tailors of remained standing some distance away by the fence while the melamed ascended the grave of the tzaddik.

As it was well known, this was against the prohibition of the famous will, which was accompanied by the threat that anyone who violates it, will be punished and die.

But the melamed approached and begged, saying: “HaShor HaKaddosh”, let us have the Great Synagogue, please help the election of Rabbi Malmberg!

When this became known in the town, upon the return of the melamed and the elder of the tailors, many people came towards them and began to preach morals to the melamed and it seemed that he was comforted by this act.

That day in the early evening, the melamed's son was about to go to the city of Horodenka and the father accompanied him to the train station. It was during the winter and the road was slippery and the melamed fell and injured himself. He was immediately taken to a hotel, which was near the train station, from where a doctor was called and when he arrived some time later, he could only determine a cerebral hemorrhage. That night the melamed passed away and the next day he was brought to the same cemetery where the tzaddik was buried. The elder of the tailors didn't last long and he passed away a month after the event.

Rabbi Yitzchak Shor, known as “HaShor HaKaddosh”, writes G. Shalom: “was Av Beit Din in Gwozdziec, who some of his family members were among the leaders of the sect (Shabtai Zvi), writes in response about a book of the Torah, written by a scribe from the members of the sect: “those who follow the instigator and inciter “Barkiya of Slonik”, who is one of the most famous liars, who even did not change their name, their appearance and their speech from my ways of the Law of Moses, but part of their heart was not devoted to it, They deviated from the straight path of the Torah”.

(Q&A Shor, section 31, Kolomea, 5648 (1888), page 57, 63. The author passed away on 5536 (1776). The sect had a settlement in the vicinity of Gwozdziec, there was a large number of them especially in the nearby city of Horodenka).

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