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Korets [Korzec at this time] after the Kortchek River - whose name before the annexation of Volhynia [province in which Korets was/is located] to Lithuania in the days of King Wladyslaw Jagiello and the Lithuanian Prince Witold [=Vytautas] was Korczesk. After the annexation, the city with its holdings was given to Prince Teodor Ostrogski and then to Prince Demetrius Botavav [=Kaributas?], son of Algirdas and grandson of Prince Gediminas. His son, Konstanti Botavav, built the castle in 1399. This castle was enlarged and expanded and fortresses were built in its wings. The city clock was installed on one gate by Prince Joachim Koretsky. In the middle of the 18^th century, a fire broke out in the castle and destroyed it. After the fire, Prince Jozef Czartoryski changed the castle into a residential palace, which survived until the fire of 1832, after which only remnants of the walls remained.

The ruins of the Korets castle

During Polish rule, after unification with Lithuania, when Volhynia was annexed to Poland,

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Korets was controlled by the Leschinsky family and later came into the hands of Czartoryski. After the death of Jozef Czartoryski, Korets, along with the estates in the area, passed as an inheritance to his married daughters - one to Pototsky and the other to Yablonovsky.

After the revolt of 1831, the Russian government, due to the active participation of Count Herman Pototsky in the revolt, confiscated half of Korets. The second half remained under the control of Arthur Yablonovsky and the heirs of Pototsky, the counts Moledsky.

The development of Korets into an orderly city began during the time of Prince Jozef Czartoryski, who took great care to improve it. He renovated the old fortress and turned it into a beautiful palace. He paved roads and straightened the center of the city and its streets. In 1788, he established a number of industrial factories, in particular a factory for faiences, textiles, and china, which was known for its excellent quality, even outside of Poland. For improving the product, he brought guides and artisans from abroad, among whom were the Mezerois [=Meissen] family, known for their china.^[1]

In addition to these factories, Czartoryski established also a sudenia (brewery), mills and factories for belts, which became famous throughout Poland for their quality and beauty. In the city and its surroundings, already in the 18^th century, were fruit orchards which distinguished themselves in their harvest and their quality. In particular, the convent of the Greek Catholic Church cultivated a large fruit orchard. The Catholic Church was founded already in 1620 by the famous Polish Prince, Samuel Koretsky.

During the Ukrainian revolt of 1648, Korets was conquered in July and freed after the Polish victory by Berestechko and the advance of the Poles to Kyiv. In the 18^th century, too, Volhynia suffered from the revolts of the Cossacks. From 1702-1706 the Polish army and that of the Russian Cossacks under the command of Mazepa laid a heavy burden on the Jews. In the cities of Volhynia, they used to collect tributes, plundering the stores and houses. The Swedish armies, too, who invaded Volhynia demanded tributes and would confiscate money and merchandise. After they retreated, the inhabitants suffered from the mischief of the Russian army. The Poles, too, who entered in 1707, confiscated money and food.

In 1775, Korets, along with the entirety of Volhynia, was annexed to Russia and with this, a new chapter of suffering and hardships began.

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The remnants of the Korets castle dominating the city

According to the tradition customarily voiced by the people of Korets, their community is one of the oldest in Volhynia, having been established already in the 12^th century. It is said that, among the writings of the Paroslav monastery in Korets, is a list from 1210 in which a Jewish population in Korets is already mentioned. There were gravestones from the 15^th century in the old Jewish cemetery, although their wording was unclear and it was difficult to decipher them in order to be certain whether they really were from the 15^th century. All this belongs to the world of legend.

According to the historical documents, there is no doubt that the Jewish community in Korets began nevertheless in the middle of the 15^th century. In general, there is no community in Volhynia that was founded before the 15^th century. Only the oldest communities in Volhynia - Kremenets and Lutsk were founded between 1409-1447. After them, the communities of Mindorzhets [?], Kovel (1518), Berestechko, Kamin Kashirskiy, Rivne, Stepan, Torhovytsia (1561), Festelichov [?], Pavlivka, and Mohavice [?] were founded in the beginning of the 16^th century. From this list we learn that the principal stream of Jews to Volhynia began in the first half of the 16^th century during which time the community in Korets was also founded.^[2] Presumably the Jews of Korets received their residence

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permit (privilegia) in the beginning of the 17^th century. At the same time, it was granted to the Jews of Lutsk.

Under the law, the Jews are a special unit in society and in the country. Since 1530 there have been in Volhynia both “government” Jews and individual Jews who were subjects despite the rulers of the city. As is known, Volhynia was in the framework of Lithuania from the middle of the 13^th century until 1569 - with the Unja Lubelska [=Union of Lublin] agreement, according to which Volhynia was cut off from the Lithuanian Principality and added to Poland as of May 25, 1569. From a national-political perspective, the Jews of Volhynia were suited to the conditions of the Polish legal system. The Jews of Volhynia swore an oath of allegiance to the King and to the country of Poland.

The first Wojewoda [=warlord] in Volhynia, Alexander Czartoryski, turned to the King, Sigismund II Augustus, and requested that he be granted jurisdiction rights over the Jews as was customary in Poland. On August 9, 1569, the King replied and granted him official authorization and jurisdiction over the Jews in Volhynia. There was a need to coordinate the legal system of Volhynia with that of Poland.

During Lithuanian rule, the legal basis for the approval of the Jews was the privilegia of Prince Witold of July 1, 1388, which was based on the privilegia of Boleslaw the Pious of 1264. The Jews were subject to the Lithuanian governments in everything touching on jurisdiction and the collection of taxes. They were subject to the jurisdiction of the Archduke or his representative - the Starosta. Over time, independent Jewish jurisdiction was recognized as in Poland.

Beginning with the return of the Jews from the expulsion that they suffered in 1503, the Jews of Lithuania were required to provide 1,000 horsemen for the defense of the country, though later it was replaced by a monetary payment.

In the middle of the 18^th century, the Jews were required to pay 400 large shak [?] [shitser?]. In 1590, the Jews of Lithuania, and among them the Jews of Korets, suffered from persecution. One convert slandered them saying they were bringing Christian children into the covenant of Abraham. After the Unja Lubelska that had disconnected Volhynia from Lithuania, customary Polish law was the norm in Volhynia. And based on the command of King Sigismund II Augustus, which was given on August 9, 1569 to the Volhynian Wojewoda, the legal and national status of the Jews of Volhynia was matched to that of Poland.

Given that, according to the command of the King to Czartoryski, authority of jurisdiction over the Jews of Lutsk, Wlodzimierz [=Volodymyr Volynskyy], and Kremenets was given to him, one could assume that the community of Korets was not yet in existence or was still an unknown settlement. The Jewish community begins to appear only after 1569, though in a short time it is organized according to the pattern of the rest of the communities.

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There were groups and institutions there already in the 17^th century, such as “Bikur Cholim” and also 8 synagogues. When the upheavals of the year 1648 came upon Volhynia, Korets suffered, too. In particular, the situation worsened after the battles at Konstantin [= Starokostyantyniv], in which the Polish army under the command of the Hetman Jeremi Wisniowiecki was forced to retreat and all of eastern Volhynia fell into the hands of the Cossack gangs. Their units, under the command of Kryvonis and Zhagdavili, went wild through Volhynia between October and December 1648, conquered the Kremenets fortress, killed and slaughtered most of its Jews, and from there, went on to the communities of Ludamir [=Volodymyr Volynskyy], Lyuboml, Lutsk, and they also did not skip Korets. It, too, came under the criminal tribe of the murderers of Chmiel. The Lvivian Catholic priest, Tomasz Jozefowicz, wrote in his journal during the years 1634-1690 (Kronika Lwowa) that the Cossacks slaughtered without any distinction the inhabitants of Lutsk, Miedzercze, Ostroh, and Korets.^[3] The extent to which the Jewish community of Korets was destroyed in 1648 is evidenced by the fact that, in the census of 1655, only 10 houses remained in the hands of the Jews.

Nevertheless, due to the geographic position of the city and the region of Volhynia, which constituted the commercial route from the Black Sea to Kyiv in the west, the Jewish community recovered just a few years after the edicts of 1648-1649, re-established its community, and dedicated itself to local trade and the import-export business. From Russia, they brought furs and skins; from Turkey - silk, perfumes, and rugs. They sold them to the west and from the countries of the west they brought all kinds of merchandise - textiles, gold, haberdashery, etc.

The Cossacks burst into Volhynia again at the beginning of the 18^th century. In 1702-1703, their bands invaded Volhynia and, after them, the Cossacks of Mazepa. In 1706, the Swedish armies demanded tributes once again and plundered it all and after them, the Russians. On their heels came the Polish army which, in 1707, harmed the Jews quite a bit. These events were a negative influence on the economic situation of the Jews.

From an organizational perspective, Korets belonged to the committee of the region of Volhynia. However, in Volhynia, only the large communities were represented, while the small ones were subordinate to the large communities and not directly to the regional committee. The large communities of Ostroh, Kremenets, Ludamir [=Volodymyr Volynskyy], and Lutsk were represented in the regional committee. Korets as a small community was subordinate to the community of Lutsk. However, at the beginning of the 18^th century, it separated from Lutsk. At the meeting of the regional committee in Horokhiv in 1717, Korets was recognized as an independent community upon whom lay the responsibility of paying a head tax of 1,150 gold coins.^[4] The entire regional committee paid 30,450 gold coins.

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It is interesting to bring the numbers of the rest of the communities in the district of Korets in the same year for comparison. Zaslav [=Izyaslav] paid 100 gold coins; Polonne 1,700 gold coins; Lyubar - 800 gold coins; Konstantinov [= Starokostyantyniv] - 500 gold coins, and Rivne - 1,000 gold coins.

At the beginning of the 17^th century, R. Pesach, son of HaRav Shimshon Ben Bezalel (brother of the Maharal of Prague), who had been the rabbi in Kremenets from 1587-1597, lived in Korets.^[4A]

Pesach is the father of R. Shmuel of Brody and of the popular R. Shimshon known by the name “Shimshon Ostrapoler,” who was the Maggid of Ostropol,^[4B] and who spread the Messianic Kabbalah of the Ari [=Rabbi Isaac Luria] among the Jews of Poland.^[4C]

Despite its substantial Jewish settlement, Korets did not achieve an important position in the regional committee of Volhynia because the communities of Dubno, Kovel, Ludamir [=Volodymyr Volynskyy], and Kremenets as major communities were given preference and were able to capture control of the government. In particular, the regional community leader, R. Fischel Ben Leib of Ludamir [=Volodymyr Volynskyy], who served as regional community leader from 1705^[5] and who later on was authorized by, and was a community leader of, the Council of Four Lands and of the region of Volhynia, held on to the advantage. Due to the fiscal and organizational difficulties of the region, R. Fischel was asked by the heads of the communities to continue in his position.

Among the heads of the regional council are known R. Yitzhak Ben Ozer of Kremenets and R. Aharon Zelig of Ostroh. In 1687, in addition to R. Yitzhak Ben Ozer, three other representatives of Volhynia participated in dividing the taxes, which were arranged by the Council of Four Lands, among the regions: R. Zvi Hirsch of Lutsk, R. Wolf Be-Rav Avraham of Ludamir [=Volodymyr Volynskyy], and R. Shmelke of Ostroh.^[6]

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In 1718, R. Avraham Bar Meir of Ostroh, Shmuel Bar Efraim of Ludamir [=Volodymyr Volynskyy], who participated in the regional session in Kozin in 1720, R. David Tevil Ben Efraim Fischel of Ludamir [=Volodymyr Volynskyy], who was authorized by the region of Volhynia, are mentioned as representatives of Volhynia.^[7]

In the 30s of the 18^th century (1730), R. Aryeh-Leib Be-Rav Shmuel and Rav Moshe ben Menachem-Mendel Margalit of Kremenets were authorized by the region of Volhynia. In 1758, he was a community leader of the state of Volhynia.^[8] In 1758, the session of the region of Volhynia met in Korets on March 25.^[9]

In the census of 1765,^[10] 937 Jews were counted in the city of Korets and the villages affiliated with the community.^[11] In addition to Korets, in the same year 6,490 Jews were counted in Kremenets; 1,112 in Lutsk; 825 in Kovel; 1,923 in Dubno; 1,394 in Konstantin [= Starokostyantyniv], and 589 in Lakhovitz [=Bilohirya].

In 1784, 94 Jewish houses were counted in Korets, 326 Jews, and in the villages affiliated with the community - 148 Jews. In total, 474 Jews. In comparison with 1765, there is a great decline and the number of Jews was 463 less. However, this is not proof since it was known that, during the census and the counting of the Jews, many Jews, sometimes half or a third, evaded it and fled the city because they did not want to pay the poll tax.

A different picture emerges from the census of 1787, in which 85 Jewish houses and 364 Jews were counted in the city of Korets and 221 Jews in the villages.^[12]

And these are the villages (Parafie) affiliated with the community of Korets and the number of Jews in each one:

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Name of the Village	1784	1787
Babin	3	5
Poddubce	3	4
Pieczywody	5	4
Macharow	3	4
Hoszczowka	4	5
Konsenniow	4	3
Derazna Kraina	2	4
Derazna Srednia	5	6
Tozyr	2	3
Hruda	3	3
Molodkow	4	5
Korytyszcze	2	0
Horbacze Male	3	5
Horbacze Wielkie	2	3
Kudenowicze	4	4
Tokarow	2	3
Jaran	3 (2 houses)	10
Pilipowce	3	8
Kniaza	2	0
Kuzyce	0	5
Krasilowka	2	3
Nihinuki	4	0
Karczyc	2	0
Ruda	0	3
Horodnica	8	3
Luczyce	3	3
Uscie	2	4
Kopyla	4 (2 houses)	7
Starozow	4	3
Morozowka	2	3
Olyczowka	3	4
Kozuczek	5	6
Kopilow	2	4
Haniuwka	4	4
Holownica	3	4
Korzysc	2	3
Brzykow	3	4
Bogdanowka	3	3
Okdow	0	3
Sitnia	5	5
Pelczyny	5	5
Mazylowce	7 (2 houses)	9
Zerebiliwka	3	6
Piszkow	4	6
Dzidowice	3	6
Sucha Wola	3	4
Dubniki	2	3
Smoderowce	0	5
Snienice	0	4
Dabrowka	0	2
One unnamed village		18 (4 houses)[13]

During the aforementioned period, R. Moshe Shlomo Zalman, brother of R. Zvi Hirsch, author of the book, “Tiferet Zvi” (Warsaw 1816), served as rabbi.

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In 1799, he was invited to serve as the rabbi of Cracow after Ha-Rav Yitzhak Ha-Levi. However, before he gave his first sermon, an argument and quarrel arose and he left the city, traveled to Warsaw, and remained there until his death in 1816.^[14]

From an economic perspective a notable turning point occurred in the life of the city in general and also of the Jews. In the middle of the 18^th century, the Polish magnates, owners of the large and comprehensive landed estates, began to be interested in establishing industry. King Stanislaw Poniatowski encouraged this direction and in his footsteps came Czartoryski, Radziwill, Pototsky and Poniatowski. They established factories in their private villages and cities where they employed farmers and city dwellers who were mostly craftsmen lacking a livelihood.

Correspondents, and in particular economic ones, turned the attention of the heads of the cities to employing Jews also and, in this fashion, to bring them to productive occupations. The question of the productivity of the masses of Jews held an important place in these years, whether in the discussions of the governments or whether in theoretical disputes over the question of the Jews that stood, in this period, on the agenda of other discussions.

The development of industry in Poland began, in effect, already a dozen years before the second half of the 18^th century. The first factories were established on the large estates of the aristocrats and the cardinals by their courts and in this way desired to produce the products they desired and to develop new and more fruitful sources of income than from agricultural products. During the time of Augustus III, rich city dwellers also began to establish factories for textiles.

During the period of King Stanislaw Poniatowski, efforts to advance industry were strengthened. The Lithuanian Deputy Minister of the Treasury, August Tyzenhauz, was active in this area and after him came the magnates, who began to develop with great energy different branches of industry.

These aspirations were born out of the influence of slogans that entered Poland from abroad and emphasized the need for a change in economic policy as the mercantilists advocated in asserting that everything should be produced within a country and not be imported from abroad. These slogans stimulated the establishment of a national industry. Prince August Czartoryski established factories for textiles in his private villages, Staszow and Wangerow, that successfully developed and in which Jewish workers, both men and women, were also employed.

In 1786, Prince Jozef Czartoryski established a factory for textiles in Korets, which was composed of 10 plants in which 2 were worked and run by Jews. In 1791,

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the correspondent of the newspaper, Dziennik Handlowy,^[15] wrote that 60 Jews worked in all the workshops in Korets. Most of the Jewish workers were drafted from the poor who wandered about on the outskirts of Korets and were grabbed by the community and the authorities in order to turn them into workers. Nevertheless, over time, they acclimated to the factory and adjusted well to the occupation. The Jews worked in spinning enterprises, but they also accepted work at home.^[16] Czartoryski also established a factory for chinaware and faience at his Horodnica holding near Korets, which later became part of Korets, and there Jewish workers were employed. They produced kitchen utensils, some even with Hebrew letters for dairy and meat.

In 1787, the Jew, R. Pinchas Yisrael of Lutomiersk, also established a factory for textiles in Korets and only Jewish employees worked there. Factories were also established by Jews in Lutomiersk, Wegrow, and Novy Dvor.

Following the prohibition on bringing Hebrew books from abroad^[17], the Jews were forced to establish, in the end of the 18^th century, Jewish printing houses. These were established in Nowy Dvor, Poritsk [=Pavlivka], Aleksinets [=Novy Oleksinets], Slavuta, Polonne, Dubno, Zaslav [=Izyaslav], Medzhybizh, Mezhirov, Myn'kivtsi, and also in Korets.

In the same period, factories to produce tallitot were founded in Siedlce near Danzig, Dubrowna (near Lida), and in Suwalki (there is reason to believe also in Korets).

The Hebrew printing company that was established in 1776 by Zvi-Hirsch Ben Aryeh-Leib Margaliot, a relative of Ha-Rav Yitzhak Isaac Bar Yisrael Schorr-Margaliot, author of “Mincha Chadasha” (Aleksinets [=Novy Oleksinets] 1774), made a significant contribution^[18] to economic development.

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In fact, he moved the printing house and its equipment from Aleksinets [=Novy Oleksinets], which had also been under the control of Prince Jozef Czartoryski. The printing house in Aleksinets [=Novy Oleksinets] opened in 1766. At his right hand stood the expert printer and proofreader, Avraham Bar Avi Ezri Zelig of Glogow, who had worked for many years in printing houses in Berlin, Sulzbach, Wilhelmsdorf, Dyhernfurth [=Brzeg Dolny], Wanzbach, and Hamburg. Under his leadership, young men were trained in the work of typesetting and printing. The printing house suffered from attacks and they didn't work there for three years. In 1772, he renewed the work and published “Zamir Aritzim” and “Haravot Tzurim,” which contained ostracism against Hasidim and their founders.

Seeing the spread of Hasidism and the interest in the books of mysticism, he decided to move the printing house with its typesetters and workers to Korets because in Aleksinets [=Novy Oleksinets] there were opponents to Hasidism. In Korets, his son-in-law, Shmuel Bar Yissachar-Beer Segal, joined him as a partner. During the period of his ownership up to 1781, about 10 books were printed, most of them books of Kabbalah - the “Zohar,” “Sefer Ha-Shem” by R. Moshe de Leon, “Sefer Yetzirah,” “Pardes Rimonim,” “Tikkunei Zohar,” and books of Hasidim like “Toldot Yaakov-Yosef.”

In this same period, the Christian printer, Johann Anton Krieger, owner of the printing house in Novy Dvor, wanted to consolidate in his hands all the printing businesses in Poland. He also presented memoranda to the government on this subject. Seeing that there was an interest in Hasidic literature, he decided to open in Korets, which was then a center of Hasidim, a branch of the Novy Dvor printing house, where he would print only Jewish religious books. To do this, he engaged in negotiations with the printers in Korets and, in 1781, he bought a significant portion of the typographic material and printing machinery from Zvi-Hirsch and his son-in-law, Shmuel's printing house. Zvi-Hirsch moved the remaining portion to Shklow and opened a new printing house there.

Zvi-Hirsch-Chaim Margaliot and the brother of Zvi-Hirsch, R. Shmuel Bar Yissachar-Beer, remained in the service of Krieger - the first as an instructor and the second as proofreader and typesetter. Krieger enlarged the printing house, hired printers, typesetters, and proofreaders, and employed 7 workers. During the period of his ownership, 1781-1878, 20 books were printed.

Between 1780 and 1783, the renowned scholar from among Mendelssohn's students, Yitzhak Satanow, lived in Korets and printed there the books of the Kabbalah, “Etz Chaim” and “Pri Etz Chaim” of R. Chaim Vital. He succeeded in good sales and, in 1783, returned to Berlin and with the money he had earned, published his books. During the time of Krieger, books were published with beautiful letters, but on terrible paper. The printing houses excelled at precise proofreading. In 1789, R. Shmuel Bar Yissachar-Beer returned to Korets and established a high quality printing house in Korets and in Polonne. In 1791, he stopped the work at the printing house and left Korets.

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In 1794, Avraham Bar Yitzhak Aizik came to Korets and, together with his partner, Eliyahu Bar Yaakov Ha-Levi, founded a new printing house which survived for 25 years until 1814. [Note: this is only 20 years?] In 1804, Eliyahu left the partnership and Avraham Bar Yitzhak Aizik became the sole owner.

Books of Kabbalah and the writing of Hasidim were published in the printing house in Korets beginning in 1776.^[19]

Korets also occupies an important place in the history of Hasidism, which put down deep roots in Volhynia right after the Besht [= Israel Ba'al Shem Tov] appeared. His student and heir, R. Dov-Ber of Mezhyrichi, known popularly as “The Maggid,” succeeded in increasing the number of followers and widening the areas of Hasidism all throughout Podolia, Ukraine, and Volhynia. In particular, he succeeded in installing in communities rabbis from among his students, preachers, ritual slaughterers, and the rest of the “holy ones” who used their position to turn their communities to positions of openness to Hasidism. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the work of the Besht and his students, there were clashes between them and the rabbis, such as during the gathering of the “Council of Four Lands” in Konstantinov [= Starokostyantyniv], although over time, Hasidism succeeded in spreading in almost all the communities of Volhynia.

The contemporary and most ardent opponent of the Besht, the Maggid Yisrael Level, author of “Sefer Ha-Viku'ah” (Warsaw 1798), estimated the number of Hasidim in 1750-1760 at 40,000.^[20] In any event, it is difficult to accept that this number was real. It is a fact that Hasidism spread in Volhynia and Podolia due to its center in Mezhyrichi, the home of the Maggid Dov-Ber, son of R. Avraham, “righteous preacher of the holy congregation of Mezhyrichi and the holy congregation of Korets.”^[21] According to the writing of the Hasidim, the Maggid Dov-Ber appeared in a number of communities in Volhynia and, among them, in Korets.

R. Pinchas Shapira, a native of Lithuania, took a special place among the friends of the Besht.^[22] He was born in Shklow in 1726 or 1728. His father, Rav Avraham, a well-known teacher in his city, was

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the son of R. Pinchas of the family of “Megaleh Amukot” and he would travel to converts from Judaism to bring them back and to assure them of “the world to come” and also of his “world to come.” Because of the plot of false accusations against his father, he left Shklow and settled in Miropol in Volhynia. R. Pinchas received a traditional Lithuanian education in his father's house. At the same time, Hasidim became known in their town. The younger Pinchas began to delve into Kabbalah and the books of Musar.

According to “Shivchei Ha-Besht” (p. 20), he and his father used to go to the Besht's house. “They knew him (his father, R. Avraham, who was a Litvak (Lithuanian) and resolute in his opinion, and they feared that he would confound the Besht.)”

From this viewpoint, we learn that the Besht and his circle distrusted them. Perhaps they were mistaken, since over time R. Pinchas began to like the Besht without believing in “his signs and wonders.” He found his path in Hasidism in internal devotion and in lofty ethical attributes. He did not pray with movements and enthusiasm like the Hasidim, but rather quietly because “the essence of prayer is devotion to the Creator of the World and the essence of devotion is undressing corporeality, which is really like the soul leaving the body.” As opposed to the Hasidim, he was against too much immersion in the mikveh. It is interesting that, in every place that R. Pinchas mentions the Besht, he never calls him “Mori” [my teacher] and likewise, the Besht looked upon him as someone like himself and as an equal.

He yearned for simple and pure belief without any enthusiasm and for good and honest attributes without any application. The strengthening of belief is the essence of his Hasidism. One must trust in the benevolence of the Almighty and “even to not pray to the Holy One, Blessed Be He, and not go to the mikveh and other similar things, just to trust.” In particular, he came out against “several tsaddikim of his generation who were not careful about lying,” in particular against the behavior of the author of “Toldot Yaakov Yosef” of Polonne, who did not observe the attribute of truth, “and he wasn't strict that, if among many statements of truth, a little falsehood gets mixed in and I very much hate falsehood.” For this reason, he preferred not to speak too much. He did not suffer the egotistical.^[23]

In the world of Hasidim it was known that, in 1760, he settled in Korets. For this reason he was called Rabbi Pinchas of Korets and many gathered here to hear his Torah and his Musar. Among

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his students were R. Rafael who continued his teaching after the death of R. Pinchas and established the “Bershad” Hasidic sect, R. Zeev of Balta, R. Dov-Ber Bunam, and R. Zeev of Zhytomyr.

His influence was great in Korets and all of Volhynia because he brought the simple masses close to him and loved to speak words of Torah to the masses with simplicity and without the rebukes of Musar. He didn't get involved in the disputes between the Hasidim and their opponents that erupted in his day nor in the dispute between the Saba of Shpola [=Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib ben Boruch] and R. Nachman of Bratzlav.

When the Hasidic rabbi, Shlomo of Lutsk, student of the Maggid of Mezhyrichi, settled in Korets, an argument broke out between him and R. Pinchas, who was by nature a seeker of peace, he left Korets because he couldn't stand this argument and moved to Ostroh during the 70s of the 18^th century, where he bought a house.

In 1791, he left Ostroh because he wanted to immigrate to Jerusalem.^[24] Along the way he went to visit his son, Yehuda Meir, the presiding judge in Shepetivka. He took sick, died, and was buried there (September 9, 1791). He left 4 sons and a daughter: Yehuda Meir, the presiding judge in Shepetivka; R. Yaakov Shimson, the presiding judge in Zaslav [=Izyaslav]; R. Moshe, the presiding judge in Slavuta; R. Yechezkel, a merchant in Ostroh; and Rochel Sheindel, married to R. Shmuel, the presiding judge in Kalenivlat [?] and Zvenyhorodka.

The division of Poland in 1793 cut Volhynia off from Poland and with it the city of Korets and attached it to Russia. This cut-off caused economic harm to the cities of Volhynia following on the loss of her economic home front. Over time, the cities enjoyed the proximity to the border, especially after the nearby Brody became a free trade city, a fact that opened new economic horizons. Of course, a wide gap was also opened for all kinds of smuggling.

The Russian authorities did not look kindly on smuggling. In 1812, the governor of Volhynia, Komburlej, suggested that the Jews should be distanced from the area of the border due to their smuggling affairs, even though the Christian inhabitants, and in particular the farmers in the rural villages by the Austrian-Russian border, as was known from the reports

[Page 30]

of the Austrian authorities - smuggled merchandise and even in greater quantities than the Jews. His suggestion was authorized by the central authorities, but it was never implemented due to the negligence of the local authorities.

In 1816, Senator Sievers visited the border cities and he determined that Jews maintained pubs and managed comprehensive trade in the areas next to the border. On July 30, 1825, the order to expel the Jews received legal force, but this, too, did not bring positive results. The bureaucracy in the days of Nikolai I did not rush to carry out the law for the reason that carrying out this law would destroy industry and commerce in the region of Volhynia and, secondly, because they faced the problem that they hadn't yet figured out a solution as to where to move the Jews. The matter continued until 1856 and, in the end, the Senate in Sankt-Peterburg decided to move individual Jews who were known to be smugglers away from the border.^[25]

In 1800, 1,941 city-dwelling Jews, as opposed to 1,267 city-dwelling Christians, and 28 Jewish merchants,^[26] as opposed to 3 Christians, were registered in the district of Lutsk, to which Korets belonged. There is no data about the numbers in Korets.^[27]

In 1847, there were 3,832 Jews in Korets and they supported themselves principally through retail trade and various crafts.

On July 29, 1881, a fire broke out in the city, which destroyed most of the residential buildings and 13 synagogues, including the synagogue that was built in 1680-1681 by Rav Baruch Katz.

In 1897, there were 4,060 Jews in Korets. Before the first World War, the natural increase of Jews reached 300-400 souls per year. After 1914, a decline in the number of Jewish residents began, such that in 1921 there were 4,946 residents, of whom 3,888 were Jews or 78 percent.

After 1881, the city was rebuilt and most of the synagogues were rebuilt from scratch. Six of them belonged to the Hasidim loyal to the Hasidic leaders of Turiysk, Makariv, Chornobyl, Berezne, and so on. Economic life returned to normal. Trade in produce and wood and also tanning, which were in the hands of Jews, provided the livelihood for most of the Jewish residents. Yaakov-Yosef Hornshtein made a significant contribution to the economic advancement as the owner of estates and forests who employed a large number

[Page 31]

of Jews and established institutions in the community. He was a many-faceted activist and a well-known philanthropist.

In 1886, the “Talmud Torah” was established, and in 1899 - “Moshav Zkenim” [=retirement home] and a hospital, and in 1902 - a Jewish library. A school for boys was also established and evening classes in Hebrew for adults were begun. The Rav, in the name of Nehemiah Gerschenhorn, helped to establish these institutions. R. Moshe-Mordechai Lidski served as rabbi and presiding judge and after him - his son-in-law, Rav Nisan Bashkin. In 1906, two savings and loan banks were established.

Original footnotes:

1. This family established its own factory for chinaware in Baranovtse in the 19^th century. Return
2. Archiwum Sanguszkow w Slawucie, tom IV, Nr. 16. A. Feldman: The oldest information concerning Jews in Poland in the 14^th-16^th centuries [article title in Yiddish]. [Publication name in Yiddish], Warsaw, 1934, p. 71. Return
3. Kronika Lwowa, p. 300. Return
4. Archiwum glowne Warszawa; Dyspartymenta poglownego Zydow.
   *I thank Dr. Mahler who put a copy of the certificate at my disposal. Return
1. During the time of his serving as rabbi, he also participated in the committee meeting of the Council of Four Lands in Jaroslaw and signed, in 1590, the prohibition and ban on rabbis receiving payment and also on the prohibition that was renewed at the committee's meeting in 1597. (The Registry of the Council of Four Lands held by Yisrael Heilprin, Jerusalem, 1948, p. 63. Return
2. R. Shimshon Ben Pesach Ostrapoler was killed on July 15, 1648 in Polonne, together with 300 Jews in the synagogue by Khmelnytsky's Cossacks.
   R. Shimshon wrote the known works: commentary to “Sefer Karnayim,” “Likutei Shoshanim” (Zhulkva 1709, 1794), “Nifla'ot Hadashot” (1797), “Dan Yadin,” a commentary to the Zohar. The book, “Dinei Hanhagot ha-Adam” (Ostroh 1793) is also attributed to him. Return
3. His brother-in-law, R. Yitzhak, was the rabbi of Zaslav [=Izyaslav]. He fled from there to Zhulkva in 1648 and was accepted by the leaders of the community as Maggid. His son, Pesach, filled the position of Maggid after him. He published the “Sefer Karnayim” of R. Avraham of the city of Kardina, together with a commentary to “Dan Yadin” of his uncle, R. Shimshon Ostrapoler, and in the end, sections from his uncle's letters, “Likutei Shoshanim” (Zhulkva 1709). Return
5. Yisrael Heilprin: The Registry of the Council of Four Lands, pp. 93-94, marked [1]881. Return
6. Y. Heilprin: The Registry of the Council of Four Lands, p. 105 marked RN”T, Nr. 21, XXII p. 469, marked [1]899. Return
7. The Registry of the Council of Four Lands, pp. 275-276, marked 1806, 1807. Return
8. The Registry of the Council of Four Lands, p. 313, marked 1921. Return
9. Regesti i nadpisy v. III, p. 102, Nr. 2059. At the same meeting, it was decided, among other matters, that the poll tax of the Jews in the villages affiliated with the community of Teofol were to be removed from that community. In the event of disobedience, confiscations would be applied to the communities of the region and they would be called before the court of the government treasury. Return
10. Jozef Kleczynski and Franciszek Kluczycki: Liczba glow zydowskich z taryf r. 1765 (Krakow 1895), p. 14. Return
11. Of which 64 who had hidden themselves were discovered by the census takers. Return
12. Of which 55 who had hidden themselves were discovered by the census takers. Return
13. Archiw jugo-zapadnoj Rosji, Kyiv 1890, t. V, 2 p. 412 (1784), pp. 525-526 (1787). Return
14. Chaim-Dov Friedberg: “Luchot Zikaron,” Cracow 1904, p. 43. Return
15. Dziennik handlowy, p. 41. Return
16. Nina Assorodobraj: Poczatki klasy robotniczej, problem rak roboczych w przemysle polskim epoki Stanislawowskiej. Warsaw 1946, pp. 161-167. Return
17. Among Polish government circles, they thought that, owing to the fact that every one of the million Jews in Poland bought at least one book a year, there would be the possibility of developing not only a printing house, but also factories for paper, for casting, and in this fashion, to employ a great number of the poor Jews. In Zhytomyr, a factory for paper was established by a Jew in 1789. Return
18. For the history of the printing house in Korets - see the article by Aryeh Toyber, “The printing houses of Poland and Russia.” A. The printing houses of Korets in “Kiryat Sefer,” Year 1 (1924), pp. 222-225, 302-306, Year 2, pp. 64-69, 215-230, 274-277; Chaim-Dov Friedberg, “The history of the printing house in Poland,” Tel Aviv, 1950. Dr. E. Ringenblum, Projekty i proby przewarstwowienia Zydow, pp. 49-50. Return
19. In 1780, “Toldot Yaakov Yosef” was published and in 1789 - “Likutei Amarim.” Return
20. Glaubwuerdige Nachricht von der in Polen und Lithauen befindlichen Sekte Chassidim genannt. In the manuscript Sulamith 1867 II, p. 309. Return
21. According to what the Maggid wrote in one of his letters (at the end of the book, “Darchei Yesharim,” to R. Mendel of Permishlan, Lviv 1862.) Return
22. According to him, his family came from Speyer in Germany, where members of his family were martyred during the Middle Ages. Return
23. He did not suffer the Vilna Gaon because he was suspicious of pride. His son, R. Moshe, was the rabbi of Slavuta and, in 1791, he founded the well-known printing house there with a license from the head of the city, Prince Sanguszko. With the encouragement of his father, he studied copper engraving, the etching of letters and designs, and the work of printing. He published the Shas [=Mishna and Talmud] and did not want to print in it the explanatory notes of the Gra [=Vilna Gaon], something that aroused the opposition of the rabbis in Lithuania and abroad. The publishers in Vilna used this incident, trespassed, and printed the Shas before the time passed that the rabbis had set the Shas of Slavuta by consensus. The rabbis in Lithuania justified the printers in Vilna, erupting in a harsh disagreement. R. Akiva Eiger and R. Moshe Sofer demanded satisfaction for the insult to the Gra [=Vilna Gaon] and prohibited the coming of the Shas [=Mishna and Talmud] of Slavuta into their community. Return
24. About him, see: 1) “Midrash Pinchas” Warsaw 1877 (with additional material from Rafael of Bershad); 2) “Lekutim of R. Pinchas of Korets,” published as an addendum to the book, “Ner Yisrael,” of R. Yisroel of Kozhnitz [=Kozienice] (1831); 3) “Shem ha-Gadolim,” the letter P, symbol 25, p. 116; 4) A. Kahana, “Sefer ha-Hasidut,” where, on p. 269, a holy letter from R. Pinchas to R. Yeshaya of Dunavitz [=Dunayivtsi] is printed; 5) Dr. S. A. Horodezky, “Ha-Hasidut ve-ha-Hasidim,” Berlin 1923, Book I, pp. 141-143; 6) S. Dubnow, “Toldot ha-Hasidut,” Tel Aviv 1930, Book I, pp. 104-106. Return
25. Zbirnik prac zydowskaja istoriczno-archeograficznoj Komisji, Kyiv 1928, t. I, pp. 124-126. Return
26. According to the law, capital of 500 rubles was required to be accepted at the status of a merchant. Return
27. I. Gessen: Istorja jewrejskago naroda w Rosji, Petrograd 1916, t. I, p. 186. Return

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