[Columns 193-194]

Natan Hadas

Naturally, the first to join were members of prominent families, and those who were sure of their intentions. After all, the announcement stated “First come, first served.” However, they did not last long – either because the work was too hard, or they were impatient; or for both reasons. After they had left, a second batch of would-be pioneers was sent. Your faithful writer, was one of them.

We arrived in Skryhiczyn (a village in the area), and immediately went to work. Logs lay in the forest, each as large as Og the king of Bashan.^[1] There were large open wagons nearby, into which we were expected to roll the logs. The wise guys, real heroes, organized the work: N., the student, M. P., the comb-maker, and N. G., the railroad worker. The latter considered himself a specialist, and distributed the honors: I was supposed to stand at one side, someone else at the other side, and the “specialist” in the middle for steering.

I'm standing at one end of the beam, and thinking, “God in heaven, how can I roll this enormous log? I've spent my life in a synagogue, observed all the fasts, and weigh only 107 pounds – can I handle this? Would it have hurt God to have grown ten small logs instead of that huge one? Is the world too small for that, isn't there enough space?”

As I'm standing there, pondering God's actions, I suddenly hear the deep voice of the expert: “Hey, you there, what are you philosophizing about? Do you think it's a page of Talmud? Get going!”

I clutched the log with all my might, and started rolling it upward. When it was almost there, there was a sudden loud crack. The log started rolling back down, as though possessed. Where do you think it went? Of all places, onto my hands – was there no better place?

When I began to yell for help, I heard demonic laughter from the other guys: “Ha, ha,” guffawed another pioneer-in-training. I finally found a piece of cloth, wet it down, and bound up my hands. You can imagine what my hands, and the work, looked like.

Once the day was over, I hurried to the “barracks,” which were our quarters. I will say nothing about the food – that's a prosaic matter. After all, everyone in the world eats. But I will tell you about sleeping.

After a day spent rolling logs, we needed no pills to help us fall asleep. The question was – where would we sleep? There was a sort of box in the barracks, made out of thick boards which had been nailed together; they called it “a bed.” We had inherited it from earlier groups, following the phrase “Moses received the Torah at Sinai, and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders” and so on.^[2] That so-called bed could accommodate three men. However, God is great, after all: that afternoon another pioneer-in-training had come from Horodło. This posed a problem. Where would the fourth man sleep? Clearly, one would have to sleep on the floor. We held a meeting. The majority decided that Hrubieszow would sleep in the bed, and Horodło would sleep on the floor.

Lying on the floor, the Horodło pioneer started complaining: “How can this be? What about equality, the pioneering spirit, collectivism, and other isms?” In short, the pioneering conscience wouldn't let us fall asleep. We decided unanimously to invite him into the bed with us. But the miracle of “The people stood pressed together, yet had room enough when they bowed down” had happened only in the Temple of Jerusalem.^[3] It wasn't the case for us. Only someone who had his finger clamped in a door could have felt our pain. We were clamped-in on all sides: those at the edges of the so-called bed suffered the most. We lay like this all night, not moving, like the herring in the barrel of Yankev Aba, the herring-seller. When we wanted to get up, the entire bed rose up with us. We had become, as the verse says, “one flesh.”^[4]

We did not stay long in Skryhiczyn, for the following reason. One Saturday, Efroyim Glazberg, Feyge Dvoyre Elboym, Lederkemer, and Mantshi Sakal showed up with mandolins, and began playing their instruments. The moment the sawmill owner found out, he sent us on our way. There was nothing we could do; we hurried back to Hrubieszow.

It wasn't long before our friend Y. A., who was then a member of the central committee of He-Halutz, managed to obtain two spaces for pioneer-training for people from our town. This was a rare achievement. Once again, I hoisted my pack and set out on my way. I was accompanied by Y. P., and a guy from Horodło, a real nuisance. That evening, we came to Bilgoraj. We walked a few kilometers from the train station to the town. When we arrived, tired and sleepy, the Horodło guy remembered that he had forgotten his pack in the train car; and he would not budge without his pack. You can understand that every guy from Horodło was a pain.

There was nothing we could do. We had to get his pack. We walked back to the train station, carrying our packs, like the fools of Chelm.^[5] Miraculously, we found the pack, as though it had been waiting to be found. We hauled ourselves back to the town and began looking for the pioneers' center.

[Columns 195-196]

By now, it was past 2 a.m. The town was as quiet as a graveyard. Everything was asleep. A fire was visible far away, and we headed in that direction. It turned out to be a small synagogue. We walked in, and saw a group of young men who were playing DOPNIK. “Guys,” we asked, “what do you do?” They tell us that they need to report to the army. They had no food, and were playing the game so as not to fall asleep. We stretched out on the tables and slept like the dead.

The next morning, the synagogue manager came and drove us out. We took our packs, and one of the guys took us to the leader of He-Halutz in Bilgoraj. He sent us, along with a few guys from the town, to a nearby village. We were taken into a peasant home. This was to be the hotel of the pioneers-in-training.

On the first day, we did not work, nor did we receive food. We thought that they had not expected us. The following day, we still did not go to work, because they had not asked for fresh workers. Once again, no food.

“How is this possible?”

They tell us that people who don't work don't get food.

“But we want to work. Where is the pioneering spirit, and collectivism?”

It was useless. As the Talmud says, everything is dictated by local custom. We went to the peasant, bought a loaf of bread and a pail of milk, and fed ourselves for two days and two nights.

They finally sent us to work on the third day. We laid stones, poured sand, and a road was made. The village peasants and their families worked with us.

When we returned from work, they set dumplings and potatoes on the table, mixed with black hair. We went to the cook and asked for another plate. “Why?” In order to put her black hair on a separate plate. She sprang up furiously: How dare we! She was in charge of the kitchen, as well as being the treasurer and the secretary. Everything was up to her. She decided who would be better or worse off – who would get food and who wouldn't. Everyone was afraid of her. Who were these two nobodies who told her off and weren't ashamed?

She, by the way, was definitely somebody. She was an early pioneer, who had been to the Land of Israel and had returned. She claimed to have returned in order to cook for pioneers-in-training, and that when her cooking job was finished she would go back. She had another advantage: the full support of chairman of the Bilgoraj branch of He-Halutz, who visited us occasionally and brought us the Folk un Land newspaper.^[6] We were members of the right-wing Po'alei Tziyon, and this newspaper was like pork to an observant Jew. It was no small thing to be a pioneer who had already been in the Land of Israel!

But we guys from Hrubieszow were not impressed. We couldn't digest the food she cooked. And her hair didn't go down well. She was very unappreciative, and she looked for ways to annoy us. But we were not put off by annoyances, and did not accept them passively. We began organizing the group, but our words fell on deaf ears.

Binyomin Retig (may his memory be for a blessing)

The central committee sent a delegate, who was none other than Y. Ayzenberg, one of our own. There was a large pot in the yard, in which the housewife would cook potatoes for the pigs. We banged the pot until everyone gathered. Once all were there, one of us gave a report on recent events. Then our member Fogel spoke. He maintained that according to the ideology of Leftist Po'alei-Tziyon, we needed to leave the training camp because we were depriving the starving peasant families of their livelihood. Someone interrupted him: “But the work is given to the starving pioneers.” An argument began as to who was more deserving. I stood silently in one corner, holding my sides and hoping that I wouldn't burst out laughing. Finally, someone proved conclusively that hungry people were incapable of working. He began to count the calories that a laborer needed. Apparently, he was something of a chemist. He explained it all. Until then, no one knew about calories-shmalories. His calories were more convincing than Y. F.'s Socialism. We decided unanimously that the idea had no merit.

The next morning, I was sitting in the wagon once again with my pack, and – turning back. That was the end of my second pioneer-training period.

Soon I was preparing to go to a landowner, thinking that I could find some training work. True, at this point there are no forests in the Land of Israel, except perhaps the Herzl Forest.^[8] Can you imagine me, Nosn, the son of Motl the scribe, picking up an axe, and like a robber, going into the forest and chopping down trees – like the bath-house non-Jew (pardon the comparison) who chopped wood to heat the bath-house in our town?

I was packing for my trip, and suddenly – Stop! Immigration to the Land of Israel was cut off! A huge padlock was hung on the door to the Land of Israel. A stop to immigration, the end.^[9]

Apparently, there were enough peasants in the country

[Columns 197-198]

and there was not enough land for more of them. Transjordan belonged to Abdallah, the Negev–to the desert. Taking all this into account, you will see that Lord Simpson was right to say that there was no room even for a cat in Palestine.^[10] Naturally, the Jews were downcast, and said, “Dear Mr. Nobleman, you are quite right as far as the peasants are concerned. But there is, after all, a shortage of artisans and craftsmen. Who will sew a pair of pants for the peasant, and who will make shoes?” The Englishman could not oppose this. He took the pipe out of his mouth, said “All right,” and “Yes.”

That “Yes” soon spread throughout the Jewish diaspora and reached our town, when I found out about them. Obviously, plowing and planting were out of the question. The only thing was a trade, but which? Should I learn tailoring, or shoemaking? No!

What should I do the next day, when the Englishman says, “Why do you need tailors and shoemakers?” He sends in the ship Queen Mary, filled with shorts and sandals. That would flood the Land of Israel as well as Transjordan for generations. But shipping tables and chairs wasn't a good idea; a leg or a leaf would be broken en route. Bringing carpenters for repair wasn't worth it, either. The result would be, as Mishna Avot states, “The gain would disappear in the loss.”^[11]

A group of pioneers-in-training in Skryhiczyn, 1924[12] Top row, from right: Matisyohu Valdman, Noyekh Gertl, …Goldman, Khane Fayer, Me'ir Holtser, Feyge-Dvoyre Eylboym, Yankev Vayner, Manya Aynhorn, Khane Finkelshteyn, and Yekhi'el Vayntrob Middle row: Hutsye Glozberg, Avrom Harman, Felye Lederkremer, Shmuel Glozberg, Ester Finkelshteyn, Yankev Ayzenberg (Eshed), Yoysef Lederkremer Bottom row: Moyshele Frimer, Lyolik Perets, Goldshteyn, Dovid Abramant; Beyle Zak, Motl Kirshner, and Shmerl Mints

On the first day, he placed me at a half-broken whetstone, gave me an old chisel full of defects, which – according to Jewish law – may not be used for slaughtering, set down a can of water, and said, “pour water on the stone and rub it; we'll see what you rub off!!” I rubbed and poured water all day long, and by the end I had made a large hole in the stone.

The next day, I “graduated” to polishing the tongues of old woodworking planes, but I wasn't entrusted with the large tongue of the rybonek, the queen of them all.^[13] They wouldn't let me handle it.

Early that morning, the housewife appeared at the threshold of the workshop. She gave me a look of satisfaction, as if she had found a good bargain, such as a son-in-law worthy of room and board.^[14] It was no small thing: she was employing the son of Motl the scribe –who would believe it! And in fact, groups of women soon began walking back and forth on the street and peeking into the workshop. Some would come in on a pretext: “May I take a bit of carving?” And another: “Oh, blessings upon you, please give me a glowing coal.” And, as she was walking up to the fire, where a clay pot was always kept hot (like an eternal candle in the synagogue – pardon the comparison) she would sneak a look at me and notice that I had no head-covering. She reported that to the neighboring women, and the news soon reached my father (may he rest in peace). I had a royal reception when I came home that day. “I have nothing against you learning a trade, but why bare-headed? Did Yochanan the Sandal-maker also work bareheaded?”^[15]

Once I had finished my polishing training, they gave me a saw. After I had mastered that, I was set to work with another apprentice, Khayim-Yankl Vayner, cutting plungen from thick oak boards; they were called tratske.^[16] I stood at one side, and he stood opposite me. He pulled the saw towards himself, and then I pulled it towards myself, as the verse says, “What's yours is mine and what's mine is yours.”^[17]

This went on for several days. It wasn't easy work. The other guys told me that in order to go on working, I needed to make sure I ate fatty foods, such as pork. That same day after work, the guys visited the store owned by Pril, the pig-slaughterer, and emerged with a kielbasa sausage under their coattails. We took the bargain and went to the alley of the priest's orchard, where no one goes. They regaled me with a bite of the sausage. The guys started pulling and tearing at the sausage, chewing and spitting. I had the taste of tallow in my mouth, but I'd do anything for the sake of the Land of Israel!

We'd buy a “quarter” every evening, to bring to work the next morning. This posed a problem: where should we hide it overnight? There were three large pictures in the house. One was the city of Jerusalem with a depiction of the Temple, with the large inscription “Model of the Holy City of Jerusalem.” The second picture showed the Vilna Gaon (peace and blessings be upon him) wearing a tallis and holding a feather quill. The third picture had Rabbi She'ur Zalmen of Liady.^[18] The space between each picture and the wall behind it was large enough to hide something. Now a question arose: which picture would hide our package. Behind the image of Jerusalem? That would mean bringing a pig into the Holy of Holies–

[Columns 199-200]

by no means! Nor did I want to start a fight with Rabbi Shne'ur Zalmen. But the Vilna Gaon, I thought, opposed Hasidism. He might be more flexible. That proved to be the case, and that was my misfortune, as you will see.

The event took place Saturday evening, when a member of the Po'aley Tziyon central committee, Dov Ber Malkin, held a speech titled “Before Locked Gates.” We understood this to mean “Before Locked Doors.” Haters of Zion tried their best to interrupt the lecture, and we had to bar the doors and place a close watch, to prevent them from bursting in.^[19] After our great victory, we gathered at a friend's house and had some food. Malkin was surrounded by the most important people, as well as those who took practical action and fought physically. And so we sat with our Rebbe until late into the night. There were leftovers on the table, and I gained an extra portion, which I packed up, and–off to home!

I crept into the house on tiptoe so as not to wake anyone (God forbid), went over to the picture of the Gaon (whether he agreed or not), stuck the package under his shoulder, and went straight to bed, as though I knew nothing.

The next morning, I dressed quickly and went over to the Vilna Gaon, and –woe is me – I couldn't believe my eyes. The package had disappeared. My God, who could have taken it? Everyone in the house was asleep, except for my father (peace be upon him) who had gone to pray in the synagogue. Surely, I thought, he had done it. If anyone had been able to taste my heart then, he would have been poisoned. Out of sheer desperation, I began to lay tefillin, and vowed that if this episode passed with no ill effects, I would stop working, give up carpentry, and never let a morsel of pork into my mouth.

Apparently, the one above heard my prayer. My sister went over to make our father's bed, while I sat across from the Gaon's picture, never taking my eyes off it, praying and thinking about the wrong I had done him. When my sister began shaking out the sheet, I saw a package fall out. In the blink of an eye, the package was in my hands.

“It's a packet of party brochures,” I told my sister. When I calmed down, I saw that it wasn't the Gaon who was flexible, as I had thought, but the nail that had bent. My father (may his memory be for a blessing) apparently slept well, thanks to the package that warmed his ribs.

I kept my vow, and gave up my plan to become a carpenter; I don't remember whether I kept the second vow.

Young people of Hrubieszow in the training camp in Skryhiczyn From right: First – Noyekh Gertl; third –Feyge Dvoyre Eylboym; seventh – Shoshana Ya'avetz; eighth – Me'ir Holtzer; in front of him – Dovid Abramant; ninth – Yoysef Lederkremer; tenth – Moyshe Frimer. The others were from towns in the vicinity

They held a meeting, and decided to accede to our demands. True, it was time to act, it was “time to build,” but – “they have forsaken your law” was too much.^[21] If they agreed to that, no one would study. They wanted each of us to pass a kind of examination. Each person who passed would be confirmed and would immediately go to the Land of Israel.

Each region convened a sort of examination committee, on which all the factions were represented equally; no one was short-changed. A group of us, myself among them, was called to appear on a specific day before the committee in Zamość. I was not afraid of the examination. I was familiar with examinations from my cheder days, when Traytl (may he rest in peace) would come to our house to examine me every Shabbat. Besides, I had started my Zionist career in the Tze'irei HaMizrachi, and was familiar with the negotiating processes

[Columns 201-202]

and so was not afraid. On the contrary, I anticipated the confrontation. For added confidence, I paged through Borokhov's “Platform” and the works of Nachman Syrkin.^[22] It couldn't hurt.

In the morning, I set out for the Zamość office of the local committee, as though about to visit a hasidic Rebbe, or to be drafted (excuse the comparison). Members came from the entire region: Kryłów, Łaszczów, Tyszowce, Horodło, and other cities and towns.

It was finally my turn. The examination was merciless; it was a cross-examination the likes of which I had never endured. When one person ended, another began; but they did not throw me off, as they did others. These were my answers, one by one.

1. What hasidic group did Rabbi Yitzkhok Yankev Raynes belong to– the Turisk group or the Belz group?
   He was a misnaged.
2. What did the high priest at the Temple do with the hide of the red cow?^[23]
   He made a pair of boots.
3. What did they do with the horns of the red cow.
   They made two shofars, one for the messiah, son of Joseph, and the other for the messiah, son of David.^[24]
4. What kind of a doctor was Theodor Herzl? An ophthalmologist or a dentist?
   Neither an ophthalmologist nor a dentist. He was a general practitioner, “who heals the sick of his people Israel.”^[25]
5. Did Dr. Herzl play tennis? If so, did he wear a blue or a black outfit?
   Dr. Herzl played tennis, and wore neither a black nor a blue outfit, but a blue-and-white outfit, like the colors of the Zionist flag.

It didn't take long before I was officially notified that I had been confirmed as an emigrant to the Land of Israel.

Original footnote:

1. Dedicated to the memory of those who participated in the training course but did not go to the Land of Israel, and to the memory of Binyamin Rettig, one of the first to join the course, who died tragically. Return

Translator's Footnotes:

1. The reference is to the biblical Og, the Amorite king of Bashan (Num. 21, 33), whose “height was like that of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks” (Amos 2, 9) Return
2. Mishna Avot, 1,1. Return
3. Mishna Avot 5,5. Return
4. Genesis 2, 24. Return
5. One of the stories about “fool's town” Chelm is that they felled some trees on a hill and carted them down in wagons. Told that it would have been easier to roll the logs downhill, they carted them back up the hill so they could properly roll them down. Return
6. Folk un Land was the official organ of the Zionist workers party in Poland, published in Warsaw in the 1920s and 1930s. The Po'alei Tziyon party had split in 1920. Its right wing was less Marxist and more nationalist, and favored a more moderate socialist program. Return
7. Leviticus 19, 34. Return
8. A forest named for Herzl was planted after his death in 1904. It is better known as the Hulda Forest. Return
9. There were several suspensions by the British government of Jewish immigration to Palestine during the 1930s. Return
10. Sir John Hope Simpson's report to the British government in 1930, recommended limiting Jewish immigration to Palestine, based on the development of the country's economy and the effect it would have on the livelihood of current residents. Return
11. Mishna, Avot 5,11. Return
12. The number and gender of names does not always seem to conform to the number and gender of figures in the photo. Return
13. I could not identify this tool. Return
14. Wealthy parents of brides often supported scholarly sons-in-law and their families for a set period of time after the marriage. Return
15. Yochanan the Sandal-maker was a sage who lived in second-century Palestine and is often praised for combining manual work with scholarship. Return
16. I was unable to translate these terms. Return
17. Mishna, Avot 5, 10. Return
18. The Vilna Gaon (1720-1797), or Elijah Ben Solomon Zalman, was a Talmudist, halakhist, kabbalist, and the foremost leader of misnagdic (non-hasidic) Jewry of the past few centuries. He was one of the most familiar and influential figures in the rabbinic world. Shne'ur Zalman of Liady (1745 – 1812) was an influential rabbi and the founder and first leader Chabad Hasidism. Return
19. It is not clear whether these were non-Jews or Jewish political opponents. Return
20. Exodus, 1, 7. Return
21. Ecclesiastes 3,3; Psalms 119, 53. Return
22. Ber Borokhov (1881-1917) was a Marxist Zionist and one of the founders of the Labor Zionist movement. Nachman Syrkin (1868-1924) was a political theorist, a founder of Labor Zionism and a prolific writer. Return
23. A red cow was brought to the priests as a sacrifice, and its ashes were used for the purification of an Israelite who had come into contact with a corpse (Numbers 19). Return
24. The messianic tradition speaks of two messiahs. Messiah, son of Joseph, will wage war against the evil forces and die in combat with the enemies of God and Israel. God will then resurrect the dead, and Messiah, son of David, will then reign over the Jews. Return
25. The phrase in quote marks is from the daily Amidah prayer, and refers to God. Return

On Tuesday, the second day of Shavuot, Comrade Tiger visited us and held a talk about the association opposing Jewish workers in the Land of Israel. The “Reds” and the Bund had made preparations to disrupt the lecture, but weren't allowed to take steps.^[1] The audience was well prepared for the lecture, and applauded the speaker.

Shortly after the lecture, preparations began for the open-air protest meeting against the immigration decrees. An audience of 4,000-5,000 people gathered at the set time. Comrade Vaksman opened the meeting in a serious tone, speaking for the Po'alei Tziyon Committee. Comrade Hofman was the first speaker, explaining the significance of the protest meeting, as well as the grave situation of Zionism due to the recent immigration decree against Zionist pioneers. He was followed by Comrade Tiger, who gave a fascinating talk, calling for more intensive development of the Land. We sent regards to our friends who had departed for the Land of Israel. Here, as well, the “Reds” and the Bund attempted to heckle the speaker, but they were drowned out by the huge audience. After the protest resolution had been passed, Comrade Vaksman closed the meeting, and the audience dispersed.

We decided to organize a festive family celebration, to mark the fourth anniversary of our Frayhayt organization. This took place at 8 p.m. on February 2. Comrade Krelnboym opened the event, at the Brenner Library. Comrade Hubel spoke about the significance of the family event. The chorus sang the Oath of Youth. Greetings were then offered by Comrade Vaksman, a member of the town council,

Comrade Tsimerman of the Brenner Library, Comrade Tsigel of the board of the “Tel-Chai” school, Comrade Abramant of the League, and Gertl, from the YIVO committee. Recitations and hora-dancing completed the first part of the evening.

The second part opened with a lecture by Comrade Palushka, about our tasks. This was followed by an American-style auction of the memorial book. It was resolved to send regards to those of our comrades who had started to establish the organization and are now in the Land of Israel, America, and training camps. The interesting event ended at 5 a.m., and was concluded by Comrade Hofman.

Translator's Footnote:

1. The reference to “Reds” is presumably to Communists. Return

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