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The old prayer house goes up in flames, hit by plumes of smoke, shooting angry sparks. The glory of the ancients.  A bright tradition of grace fading slowly. In the tangle of a fire full of smoke, The fire eats everything, cuts the boards, the engravings falling, gloomy, black-faced. An ancient house of prayer, full of moans of contemplation, you have come to your end, the vision of redemption was closed. Because your focus is our focus, we, the burnt ones, wonder here about the land. Beaten and embarrassed. Call the institutions of heaven, ask for our justice, light our way, a robbed house of prayer. I will swim with spread out palms, in front of your ruins I will be speechless, I will sit sad on the ground saying lamentations. We don't have the strength to fight, we don't have the dagger, only He, the One sitting in heaven, He will avenge you – the Almighty. An old prayer house passing by like a dream in flames.

(The author was born in Tel Aviv in 1937. He wrote the poem in 1960. As a child, he had heard stories in his parents' home about the town of Olkeniki and the old synagogue.)

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The synagogue was built on a small hill at the northeastern end of the dense Jewish settlement in the town. The residences were distant from it. The closest building to the synagogue, about 10 meters away, was the new Beit Midrash, which served as a place of prayer and study throughout the year. On the other hand, the synagogue was only used as a place of prayer on Saturdays and holidays, especially in the summer, spring, and fall. There were no stoves in the synagogue, and on Saturdays in the winter it was bitterly cold. Across the road, in front of the synagogue, stood the rabbi's house and a few other houses on the communal land. A traveler or walker who approached the town saw from a long distance the synagogue, which rose above the rooftops. Only the two churches, those of the Orthodox and of the Catholics, rivaled it in height, but it stood out with its three stories of sloping roofs and its beautiful external form.^[2]

The color of the synagogue's outer walls was dark gray. The gray color was due to the fact that the thick wooden beams, which were probably brought from the surrounding forests, turned black over time from the rain, snow, and wind that had plagued it during its existence. Although its age was approaching 150 years, the hardwood showed no sign of rot. In recent years, its walls have been strengthened by a combination of vertical wooden beams. Its high foundations, on the southern and eastern sides, were made of granite stones, and in its corners were placed large cornerstones and sloping stone embankments. These embankments served as a place to play for the town's children. Probably already many years ago, the corridor (“the polish”) was added to the synagogue along its western wall. The upper edge of the corridor, that was adjacent to the wall, covered the western windows of the hall, almost up to half. It is possible that the synagogue had sunk somewhat over time, because it is not

The synagogue – at the entrance to the town On the right - the road to Vilna; In the horizon - the village of Cizhouni[3]

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reasonable to assume that they [who had planned the addition of the western corridor construction] wanted to hide the [synagogue's] windows.

Two square pavilions were built at either end of the “Polish” corridor, with roofs that sloped in four directions, thereby forming a kind of square pyramid. The right pavilion had two windows that faced to the west and south, [and] on the left pavilion the two windows faced to the west and north. The pavilion on the right was used in recent times as a place of prayer and rest, and the other, on the left, was used as a place for the storage of torn books and “the names” [writings with the name of God].^[4] One would enter the corridor through two doors. In the wall between the doors there was a hexagonal window with colored glass. Along the western wall of the ”corridor” stood a bench of thick and long wooden beams. On the outside, in front of the entrance doors, there were large, flat granite stones. An orator or eulogist would stand on these stones when addressing a gathering of people. The square in front of the synagogue was used as a place for public meetings, weddings, and funerals. The “women's section,” which was next to the north wall of the synagogue, was built at a later period. Its roof, like that of the “corridor,” hid part of the synagogue's high windows. Apparently, at the beginning of the construction of the hall, it was intended that women would pray in an inner gallery in the hall, adjacent to the length of the western wall.^[5] The [later-added, second-floor] gallery was supported by two pillars. Special spiral stairs that were built into a special cell in the building's north-west corner, went up to the gallery. The women's gallery was apparently added as the number of Jews in the community grew. It is worth mentioning that in the town's administrative record it was written that anyone who purchased a place (a shtot) in the synagogue also purchased a suitable place for it in the women's section. On the second floor of the sloping roof, on its eastern and western sides, there were two windows, which illuminated the attics. Small roofs were built above these windows, which looked like small pavilions from a distance.

The synagogue was built in the years 5558 – 5569, 1798 - 1808, after the ancient old synagogue which stood in this place was burnt.

According to the tradition, which was prevalent among the elders of the town, the synagogue was built at the expense of the Jewish congregation, with the participation of the Polish estate owner (poritz^[6]) Gronovsky. Apparently, he owned the lands around the town. In the congregation register, which was destroyed during the Holocaust, I read that a congregation meeting was held in the year 5550 (1790) in which they discussed the sources of financing for the building of the synagogue. According to the division of the “places” (stedt in foreign language), each homeowner had to pay a certain amount in advance for the needs of the building (see below the copy of the certificate). According to the certificates mentioned in the above register, a contract was made between the leaders of the community and the builder Reb Mordechai Gershon, who took it upon himself to build the building for the synagogue and the addition for women's section.

The plan of the synagogue. Prepared by the editor in 1933.

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On the wooden ceiling of the synagogue, which was built at a height of about 15 meters, was engraved an inscription with the following language: “A creation I'm proud of… I am Reb Mordechai Gershon.” According to tradition, his assistants, laborers, and artists were from Germany.

The inner hall was almost square. It was 12 meters long and 10 meters wide. The floor was about a meter lower than the “corridor” and the surface in front of the synagogue, so going down to the hall was by 5 wide steps. The area of the hall was divided by four square columns into nine parts, the height of the columns reached 12 meters and the width of their base was 80 centimeters. Between the four tall columns, which served as a support for the high ceiling, the 8-sided bima [platform] stood separately.

The inner walls of the synagogue were unpolished, with no paint and no decorations. Only on the west wall, to the right of the entrance door, were written in white on black, the thirteen “I believe” [articles of Jewish faith] of Rambam.^[7] Written on the left side of the door, on a black square in white letters, was the traditional prayer for mourners: “May the Lord comfort you among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.” According to the custom of the people of Israel, on the Friday night after the end of a period of mourning, the mourners who came to the synagogue would sit on a bench near the inscription, and the congregation would recite the blessing and go to greet them.

Each wall had two colored windows. There were 8 windows in the hall. The windows were set high above the floor, over four meters, and there was always darkness in the synagogue. In addition to this, as mentioned, some of the windows were hidden by the Holy Ark in the east, and by the “corridor” roofs and the women's section from the west and north. Along the walls in the hall wide wooden beams were placed on top of wooden anvils, which served as benches for the worshipers. In addition to these benches, simple benches and “lecterns” were installed, which could be moved from one place to another. Along the walls were fixed wide wooden planks, moving on hinges with supports, which were used to hold the prayer books. The benches and “lecterns” stood in no particular order, and the worshipers did not sit in rows, but as at a friends' party.

The internal construction of the synagogue

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Shiviti^[8]

The legendary whale

On each side of the frame was a lion clasping a “crown” and holding the circled frame, inside of which were printed the 13 measures, 13 principals, various verses including holy names according to the books of Kabbalah and the Zohar. It would be said that the shiviti is an amulet - a virtue for burning.

Among the many legends associated with the synagogue, there was also this one, which described the shiviti, whose shape was symmetrical, as if the two halves were made by two artists, and here is the legend:

The artist Reb Yaakov, the son of Rabbi Shlomo of Rasin [Raseiniai], who built the Holy Ark, was about to die. He invited the town's leaders and gave them one half of the Shiviti, saying that only the artist who could do exactly the second half would win the bid to build the bima. And indeed, they found an artist who managed to carve the second half of the Shiviti, and he was the one who built the bima with decorations that were more impressive than the decorations of the Holy Ark. It is possible that the origin of the legend lies in this, that our ancestors noticed that the style of the bima was different from the style of the Holy Ark. The structure, contours and engravings of the bima were similar in their style to the neoclassicism with baroque style arches, but the Holy Ark resembled to the Renaissance style, combined with motifs from the Baroque period. Various animals were combined in the engravings of the Holy Ark, while there was not a single animal on the bima, except for the “rooster,” which stood at its head.

According to the inscriptions and rebuses^[9] written in several places on the Holy Ark, it can be safely said that it was built by Reb Yaakov, the son of Shlomo of Rasin. The Holy Ark, which occupies a large part of the eastern wall, was about 10 meters high and about 4 meters wide. It consisted of many parts, forming 3-4 floors. The first floor was simple in structure, and was built as a gallery fenced by a railing, with engraved cylinders. There were several steps that were leading from the floor surface to the first floor, when putting in and taking out the Torah scrolls.

The second floor of the Holy Ark was the widest, and included the ark for the Torah scrolls. In its doors and in the columns on both sides, called by the name “Yachin” and “Boaz,” in memory of the columns in the Temple, were installed four movable boards, rotating with special mechanisms, which indicated with their hands the periods, the births, the holidays and the dates for the entire days of the year, according to the cycle of the moon, compared to the cycle of the sun. The board included calculations from the time of its installation in the [Hebrew calendar] year 5558 until the end of the Sixth Millenium, that is, for 448 years.^[10]

The name of the author of the boards and the “keys” to decipher the calculations of the births, periods, etc., were written on sheets of parchment that were installed inside the glass frames of the columns.

The wonderful boards attracted the attention of the thousands of visitors to the synagogue.

The doors of the Holy Ark were covered with a parochet and kaporet. Until World War I, the kaporet that Napoleon had donated to the synagogue was hanging on the Holy Ark (see below). For fear of theft, or confiscation by the authorities, the kaporet was taken down and given to the gabbai^[13] for safekeeping. Later on, it was given to one of the city's dignitaries, Reb Yosef Levin, who kept it until the Holocaust and the destruction by the accursed Nazis.

Above the “Yachin” column was the inscription of the donor of the Holy Ark: “This was donated by the Governor and the famous donor, Yosef Yehuda Leib from Leipine.”^[14] And on the second column on the left, was the inscription: “And it was donated for him and for his modest wife Mrs. Dvora, the daughter of Yekutiel from Leipine.”

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The “Whale”

Between the two columns with the inscriptions, on a prominent area in the shape of a bow was placed the legendary whale, folded like a ring and holding the end of its tail in its mouth (according to the legend, if the whale takes its tail out of its mouth, a flood will come to the world, because the seas will wash the surface of the continents). On either side of it, next to the inscriptions, hang two small lamps with branches of glass and “reflectors” made from cut-out mirrors embedded in circles.

At an angle tilted back about 30 degrees, over a meter long, spread out symmetrically on both sides were two flat “wings,” attached to hollow circular columns, carved with ornaments. Among the various decorations there is one of styled eagle and a dove. In the front frame of the wing, a ram and an ibex are intertwined in grape twigs with their clusters. They stand out because the artist painted them with a little cream color, which distinguishes them from the light wood carvings. The outer part, which hangs in the air, and almost touches the eastern wall, is an interweaving of grape twigs from wood carvings, with two animals on them. A ram with forked horns is carved from above, that jumps forward, and from below – there is a legendary figure of a lion, whose back part of the body is like the tail of a twisting fish. The tail is covered with silver scales. The front of the body and legs are painted brown.

This part, the widest of the Holy Ark, which is divided into areas of different size and shape and is in the viewer's field of vision, makes a strong impression. It should be noted that the impression is enhanced by the amazing fact that nearly 140 years passed since its construction, and still, all the wood carvings look as new, as if they were created by the artist just yesterday.

The third floor is much higher than the eye of the viewer. It extends at the height of the building's windows, which are also about 5-6 meters above the floor. The structure and the ratio of the parts of the third floor are similar to the second floor. The artist dedicated the front part to everything related to Matan Torah (the giving of the Torah). In the center are fixed the two Tablets of the Covenant, inclined to each other at an angle. On the tablets are written in prominent wooden letters, the Ten Commandments, and above them is a Kesser Torah (Torah crown).^[15] On either side of the Tablets of the Covenant lean a carved wooden lion, standing on top of ornaments intertwined with flowers. Under

The facade of the upper floors of the Holy Ark		Right wing of the Holy Ark – the lower floors

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Kesser Malchus (royal crown) – a two-headed eagle – the symbol of the Kingdom of Russia at the top of the Holy Ark

As mentioned, the third floor was also symmetrical. On both sides of the ornament integrated into the Keser Torah were placed two hollow pillars, corresponding to the engravings of the columns of the second floor, except that they stood on square bases and their only engravings were of flowers. Above them rose two inclined “roofs” closing on “Mount Sinai” and the Kesser Kehuna. Two frames were installed on both sides of the columns and wooden engravings were interlaced in them. Above was a leaping deer, below was a winged lion combined with the ornaments. Next to the lions, on special bases, stood two vases with symmetrical handles. Inside were colorful artificial flowers.

The outer area that reached up to the windows was also featured plant and flower engravings. Above, a lion that faced the Ark is intertwined in the engravings, and below it – a winged eagle. The third floor was somewhat narrower than the second; it was architecturally beautiful, because it bound the gaze to one and only perfection.

The upper floor was very high, and with the naked eye it was difficult to distinguish the details, if we take into account the darkness prevailing in the synagogue. A two-headed eagle^[16] rested on a small gallery with three directions. On its head was a Kesser Malchus with the inscriptions. On his body it is written Shiviti [ha-Shem] lenegdi tamid [I have always placed the Lord is before me].^[17] In his right claw, the eagle holds a lulav and in his left foot – a shofar. The length of the lulav and the shofar is over a meter, but at a height of 9-10 meters they look smaller. On both sides of the eagle stand vases. Artificial flowers are placed inside the vases. Also, on the Kesser Malchus at the top of the Holy Ark was a wooden vase with flowers and fruits inside.

The Holy Ark on all its floors made a huge impression on the viewer. It was not possible to move away from it and see it, because the bima was only three meters away from it. All of its bright engravings, its forms, and its general style will not be forgotten by anyone who saw it at least once in his life.

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The Bima [Platform]

The bima [platform is a work of art that is in a different style from the Holy Ark. The decorations, the engravements, the ornamental elements are different. The engravements are thinner and more delicate, and there are no animals intertwined in them. The prominent decorations that form frames for the awning, pedestals, and cornices of the bima are the “rows of eggs,” the “rows of teeth,” and the “rows of pearls.”

The bima, which is eight-sided, has several floors that rise one above the other and integrate with each other. Its height, from the floor to the head of the “eagle” located at its top, reaches ten meters.

The bima stands as a separate body, as a kind of great canopy, between the four square columns that support the domes of the ceiling.

The interior of the synagogue, the bima and the gallery along the Western Wall

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The double ceiling and the upper stand of the hall – in the center – the “Eagle”

The lower floor of the bima rose about a meter above the ground level of the synagogue. On the eastern side of the floor was a table for reading the Torah. In front of it stood a bench, on which sat the person honored with the hagbah [the lifting the Torah scroll in the synagogue to display its contents to the congregants]. The entire space under the bima floor was filled with “names” and torn books from past generations.^[18]

The bima was ascended by stairs from the south and north, through two gates, which stood on the ground and were connected above by sloping triangular roofs. At the top of the roofs were carved wooden vases. The cornices of the awnings were the “rows of eggs,” the “rows of teeth,” and the “rows of pearls.” In the center of the triangles of the awnings was fixed a flower and stylized leaves. The inclined sections of the stairs were connected to the columns and the bima's railing. Along the entire length of the railing and stairs was spread an ornament of three ribbons with diamond-shaped engravings, a kind of mosaic of shaped wood.

At the supporting corners of the railing were eight Corinthian columns, which supported the canopy. The column headers were raised above the viewer's eye at a height of four meters. The eight columns were connected at the top by a frame with eight sides. Above each two alternating columns rose canopies similar to those above the gates of the ascent to the bima. The four high gates corresponded to the four spirits of the world. At their top were 4 wooden vases with artificial flowers.

The foundation for the third floor was created by delicate frames made of two rods, with leaf and flower engravings between them, integrated along the length of the rods. The 3 frames bound the bases above the Corinthian headers. From these bases rose four double arches, which stood on a slope and supported a kind of a “gallery” with eight sides, decorated with “rows of eggs,” “rows of teeth,” “rows of pearls,” flowers, acanthus leaves and other leaves. At the place where the arches meet, there were eight wooden vases. Between the vases, garlands of branches on their clusters and flowers hung in the air. These decorations formed the lower part of the canopy. Two branches of the garlands were missing, and it is not known how they were brought down from such a great height, approx. 7-8 meters above the ground.

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The “eagle” at the top of the stage - the symbol of the Polish kingdom

According to the legend told in the town, in one of the fires that ruined the town, they took down the wonderful branches as a keepsake.

A round column rose from the middle of the gallery. The column was decorated with “rows of eggs” and carried a pedestal, made of two belts: One of acanthus leaves and the other of cylindrical sticks at equal distances in the frames.

From the middle of the frame rose a column thinner than the previous one, with engravings. On this pillar, high up in the space of the synagogue in its center, at a height of ten meters or more, stood a bird, a kind of eagle with spread wings and a crown on its head. It is assumed that this is the symbol of the Polish government, although there is no evidence to it.

It should be taken into account that in the construction of the bima and the Holy Ark, iron nails were not used, but wooden nails, similar to the verse “you shall not raise iron on them,”^[19] as in the construction of the altar in the Temple. Every visitor was amazed from the integrity of the parts and the strength and stability of the delicate engravings, the harmony of the forms, at the beauty of the engravings, the braids of the flowers, that created such a great wonderful canopy that was high in the air. The Holy Ark and the bima remained unruined only one hundred and forty years. Along this period, they rejoiced hearts, refined the taste, planted pride in the hearts of all who saw them, for the perfection of the forms and their beauty.

As mentioned, the ceiling was supported by four hollow square columns, pilasters, in the Renaissance style, inside of which there were tall wooden beams. The beams, whose height reached 12 meters, were probably brought from the surrounding forests. The columns were narrower upwards. According to the frames that surrounded them, it can be concluded that the builders who built the four columns took into account the structure of the bima with eight sides.

The builders achieved the transition from the four walls of the building to an eight-sided ceiling by covering the four corners of the building with planks that were connected at the top of the ceiling with the planks of the four walls, in order to equalize uniformity with the eight-sided dome and match the rest of the building. As mentioned, the lower ceiling dome was open in the middle, creating a gallery. Around its open rim, which had eight sides, were fixed rolls connected by an upper belt. This was actually the railing of the gallery. Under the railing, a kind of wavy ribbon, a cornice, stretched along the entire length of the gallery. Along the gallery, inside the attic, were laid planks that were used as a floor. It was possible to walk on this floor around the gallery and look down into the interior of the synagogue. I heard from the elders that in the past, the chazan^[20] would go up to the upper gallery

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The arches of the bima canopy

I also reached this gallery, in my youth, through the spiral stairs that led from the south western corner, from the inner gallery to the upper gallery, and from there through additional stairs. We climbed above the upper ceiling - the dome - to the sloping upper roof. A small door was installed in the roof. When we opened the door, a great view of the surroundings was revealed, the forests, rivers and settlements in an area of many kilometers.

As mentioned, above the eight-sided upper gallery, there was an upper dome. The dome was made of the same white boards as the lower dome. The upper dome was sunken in its center; from there, a conical cylinder protruded down on the ceiling. Near the kesser malchus of the Holy Ark, high up on the ceiling, was painted a simple wooden house, whose chimneys were burning and rising smoke. There is a legend in the town that this painted house symbolizes the palace [manor house] of Poritz Gronovsky, who donated the wood to build the synagogue. Since the townspeople did not agree to his demand to hang his picture in the synagogue, they had to at least paint an image of his palace. Nearby, on the right side of the Keser, was written in a circle the following inscription: “A creation I'm proud of… I am Reb Mordechai Gershon.” This was the builder who built the building, the ceiling domes and the supporting column.

As mentioned, there were four central supporting columns of the pilaster-style ceilings from the Renaissance period. From their upper bases, decorated with rows of eggs and rows of teeth, rose inverted pyramids, that were integrated into the boards of the lower ceiling dome, near the four sides of the gallery. The columns were divided by three cornices into floors. On their lower floors, as far as the eye can see, it was written in 5609 (1850), prayers for the Days of Awe and other prayers, among them Mi anochi she'ezke le'hispalel… (who am I that I will be privileged to pray…), Tefilla Zakka, Ovinu Malkenu, Mi Sheberech, etc. The letters were written in white. To highlight the letters, the letters had red and dark blue outlines. The year in which the letters were written is evident from highlighting in a special color special letters in the prayers, such as the Tav, the Tet, and the Resh – which comprise the year 5609, in the prayer u'chitov le'chaim tovim kol bnei brisecha (and write for a good life all your allies). Therefore, it seems that the prayers were written on the columns nearly fifty years after the completion of the synagogue building. The writing on the columns was square, clean, evenly spaced and in straight lines. Every prayer was written

The gate of the bima –the prayer Mi Anochi… in written on the right column

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in a frame and simple paintings decorated it. The prayers attracted the attention of all the visitors of the synagogue.

The inner gallery, which was twelve meters long, was set along the western wall, above the entrance door. The gallery rested on two columns. Its height above the floor of the synagogue was about three meters. The railing of the gallery was made of conical cylinders connected by a support. A thick, wavy cornice ran along the base of the railing. It was possible to go up to the gallery through spiral stairs that were built in a special closed cell, in the southwest corner. This cell had to be climbed up via brick steps.

The brick stairs also led to the only door, through which there was an entrance from the women's section to the synagogue. Above the doorpost was the inscription Baruch Ha'Ba (welcome). There was a time when the babies were circumcised in the synagogue. Through this door, the woman giving birth would bring the child in through the women's section. That is why the door is called the circumcision door (Milah Tir^[22]).

In order to make the circumcision, there was an “Elijah's chair” in the synagogue that was placed by the western wall, under the gallery, next to the sink and canopy. The chair was old. One of its legs was sloping. On the high backrest of the chair was written the inscription “Elijah's chair.” In the last generation, this chair was no longer used. It was used as an ancient exhibit for display.

There were two “circumcision tables” in the synagogue. The tables were made of simple pine wood without decorations. The upper part of each table was made in the shape of a box, the depth of which reached 25 centimeters. The box was full of clean yellow sand. Over time it became dark. After each circumcision, the foreskin was buried in the sands of these tables. In recent years, these tables, and the sand inside them, have been used to set memorial candles on holidays.^[23]

“Circumcision tables” are known from the customs of the Jews in various countries. But these tables in the synagogue in Olkeniki were among the only remnants in Lithuania that were photographed and brought to the public's attention.

Besides the lamps, the heavy copper chandeliers and the oil and gas lanterns, which had recently been installed, were fixed on two supporting columns, two hammered tins in the shape of shields. Arms and candles were soldered to the flat base of the shield. The height of the shield was about 30 centimeters, and its width at the base was about 25 centimeters. In the center of the shield was a single-headed eagle with a crown on its head.^[24] Above the hammered tins and the protrusions of the various ornaments was a large crown. Below the eagle were hammered various decorations and weapons of war. In the middle of the shield was a monogram combined with Latin letters. A kind of “F” and “R.” According to the legend told by the people of the town, one of the Polish landowners gave his shield and its symbol as a gift to the synagogue, which he liked very much. The Jews “Judaized” his shield and made from it a lamp to be used in the sanctuary on Saturdays and holidays.

For this purpose, the large spotlight that hung on the eastern wall to the left of the Holy Ark was used. The spotlight was round and of large dimensions. Its diameter reached 50 centimeters. The middle part was concave. On the edge of the spotlight were hammering out split branches, flowers from the Land of Israel and fruits, among which stood out clusters of grapes, figs and pomegranates.

A spotlight of this size, and in a similar style, I saw in the ancient Wawel Polish palace in Krakow. How such a spotlight rolled from the palaces of kings to a Jewish synagogue in a small town is unknown to me.

The Torah scrolls were kept in the Holy Ark for generations. Among them were ancient books that were hundreds of years old, which were saved from the fires that struck the ancient synagogue. The scrolls were of different sizes, tied with sashes, and wrapped in robes embroidered with various decorations. There were small scrolls, the letters of which were rhymed like pearls, in straight lines, with large spaces. These Torah scrolls were given to the old or the young who had no strength in their hands, to carry them in laps during [the holiday of] Simchat Torah.

The books that were used for reading the Torah were heavy, their sheets were large and their letters were clear. By the way, the synagogue had many kosher scrolls to read, and the Ba'al Koreh [the one who was designated to read the Torah during a prayer service^[25]] would try to replace the Torah scrolls, so as not to discriminate between the holy scrolls, even though “everything depends on luck, even the Torah scroll in the synagogue.” On some of the Torah scrolls they read, they would put a crown made of gold and silver. The “hands”^[26] – teytl - which were used to guide the Ba'al Ko'reh in reading so that “he would not hurry up in the reading of the Torah,” were kept in the cabinet of the bima. On Simchat Torah days, or on other occasions, they would take out Torah scrolls and read from them in the Minyan, which was held in the right pavilion of the synagogue's corridor.

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A copper spotlight (reflector) about 1/12 of its size, photographed in 1933		A copper shield of a Polish noble, about 1/16 of its size, photographed in 1933
“Elijah's chair”, photographed in 1933. On the left - the sink for washing hands and the receptacle for the waste water that were made of copper. On the wall – Ani Ma'amin [I believe].		Foreskin table – Mila Tish - photographed in 1933

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Napoléon's parochet, photographed in 1933

Olkeniki's parochet was famous and mentioned in encyclopedias under this name. The parochet is actually a kaporet, which was hung across the Holy Ark above the parochet. The fabric of the kaporet was made of cloth and silk that was embroidered like a tapestry and on it an application of ornaments woven from silver threads. The kaporet was about 90 centimeters in length and 40 centimeters in width. On one side tassels were tied to it. It had two parts. The upper part, about a third of its width, had shield symbols embroidered with threads. In the two external symbols, whose shape was like a rectangle, two crowns were embroidered in a combination of ornaments. Inscribed in the middle shields with woven silver threads were the [Latin] words: Gloria et Patria [For Glory and Country]. Below the embroidered inscriptions were embroidered ornaments and decorations of war tools, drums, flags, batons, etc.

This part of the kaporet covered about a third of the cloth surface of the kaporet. At the edges of this covering, in the center, the silk threads were torn and frayed. Only the warped part of the fabric remained. The legend in the town was that in the center of the kaporet was embroidered in gold letters the name of Napoleon Bonaparte.

As he passed through the town, on his way to Russia, he [Bonaparte] had admired the work of art inside the synagogue and as a sign of this admiration he ordered to cut out a part of a cover under the saddle and gave it as a memory to the town and the synagogue. The heads of the community prepared kaporet from it.

The lower part was also intertwined and embroidered with flowers, fruits, branches and stylized leaves. Two more crowns were embroidered in its two corners, and below them - the inscriptions mentioned above.

The fabric of the kaporet was stiffer than the metal texture and it was difficult to fold it, its weight exceeding three kilograms.

The townspeople appreciated the valuable property in their possession. They would keep a watchful eye on it, because the authority was plotting against this property. The museums in St. Petersburg and others offered large sums of money for it, but the townspeople would by no means agree to remove it from their possession.

I was told that during the First World War, the kaporet was taken to Vilna by high officers of the Russian army. The mourning in the town was great. So, a delegation of the townspeople, headed by the gabbai, Yosef Dvortsen, went to the supreme commander in Vilna, and through pressure from public figures and multiple efforts, they received the kaporet back. Therefore, it was decided not to hang it during the year on the Holy Ark, but to keep it in a safe place with the gabbai, or the person in charge of it on behalf of the town.

Before immigrating to Israel, in 1934, about 7 years before the fire, I tried to suggest that they let me move it to Israel, but no one would listen to me. I took the kaporet to my home, photographed it, smelled the cloth and the wonderful decorations, copied the inscriptions, and returned it to the custody of the gabbai of the synagogue, Reb Avraham.

I was told by the survivors of the Holocaust that during the Holocaust, there was a consultation of the elders of the community about the fate of the kaporet and it was decided that it would be better to burn it so that it would not fall to the hands of the murderers.

As mentioned, a kaporet was hung in the synagogue until the First World War, for all days of the year except Tisha B'Av,^[27] when they would take it down as a sign of mourning. And here it happened that a poor passerby came to spend the night in the town and because there was no room for him, he stayed in the synagogue. When he saw the kaporet embroidered with silver and gold, he took it with him and went his way. On his way,

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he unraveled the gold threads and embroidery. When it became known to the shamash of the synagogue, they pursued him and returned the kaporet. But Napoleon's name could no longer be embroidered on it again.

I remember that about 40 years ago I asked Chaikel Lonsky, the famous folklorist writer from the Strashun Library^[28] that perished in the Vilna Ghetto, why he did not mention this story in his essay about the synagogue. His response was, how can it be written that a poor passerby stole the kaporet? It is possible that because of this they will close the door in the face of another passerby and will not allow the poor man to sleep and stay in a synagogue…

“There was no decorated lectern for the chazan in the synagogue. In the thirties of the 20^th Century, a Jew from the town donated a “lectern” made of copper. The lectern was handed over to the chazan in great splendor. The floor under the “lectern” and the place where the chazan stood was lower than the floor level, to fulfill the verse: “Out of the depths have I called Thee, O Lord.”

At the entrance, to the left of the door, a copper sink stood on a base. The water was drained from it by a faucet. The receptacle for the waste water was also made of copper.

On one of the bima's pillars was hung, from year to year, a white and round matzah, a reminder of the Eruv Tavshilin.^[29]

The entrance door to the synagogue was wide and arched. The door was made of wood, joined with iron bars and nails. The hinges were big and thick, holding the door despite its heavy weight.

The mechanism of the lock was unique, made by a master blacksmith. The bolt, the bolt head and the key, worked properly for about 140 years until recently. Above the door, on the side of the corridor (the “polish”), was an inscription: “My house will be called a house of prayer to all nations.”

Although in the old administrative record of the town it was recorded that every householder, who acquired a right to a place in the men's synagogue, at the same time also acquired a right to a suitable place with the women's section, (see the copy from the town register on the next page), it seems to me that the women's synagogue was built at a later time. The inner gallery, as mentioned, was initially used as a place of prayer for women, according to its size it was enough for a few dozen female worshippers.

The Synagogue and the Beit Midrash - on the northeast side On the right - the women's section attached to the northern wall

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By the way, the elders of the town would say that in the past the women would pray in the inner gallery. It also appears from the construction of the roof of the women's section, which covered half of the windows on the south side, that it was built in a later period. It is very possible that the Great Synagogue sank over time, but the simple form of construction, without any special style and without any adaptation to the monumental, large building, also indicates that ordinary builders built the women's section in a much later period. The women's section was built along the length of the northern wall, at ground level, which gradually rose on the northern side. The roof had one slope, which was supported by the wall of the synagogue on the northern side. The building had three windows on the southern side and two windows on the thin wall, the eastern.

In the thick northern wall of the synagogue, that is, in the southern wall of the women's section, there were small narrow windows, so that the women could see what was going on in the men's synagogue and hear the chanting and prayer. The external entrance door to the women's section was on the west side, next to the left pavilion of the corridor. As mentioned, there was a second door, the circumcision door, through which it was possible to enter the synagogue hall from the women's section. In the years when there were not enough classrooms for school children, the gabba'im would allow the teachers to teach the children at the women's section.

The leaders of the community together with the members of the assembly and a number of virtuous individuals decided that the building of our community's synagogue will be built here, together with a women's synagogue, as described in the agreement made between the leaders of our community and the master craftsman, the honorable Mr. Mordechai Gershon… (the writing is unclear) and we hereby confirm that every one of our community who has a place with the men's section and the women's section, is obliged to give a quarter of the value of their places for the synagogue building. Also, those who have places in the synagogue with the Men's section and the women's section, their right to the new addition to the Women's section will stand for them and their household members permanently. And it is expressly said, that whoever has a place in the east side, so shall his right be in the new addition to the women's section, and whoever has a seat near a side window of the synagogue, so shall his right be in the new addition of the to the women's section. With this we agree that everyone who has a right in the synagogue with the men's section and the women's section is obliged to give a third of the value of the place in the addition of the new addition to the women's section and his right to the new addition to the women's section will stand to him and his household permanently. And anyone who does not give money according to this value… (the writing is not clear) will lose his right to the place he has in the synagogue, but when he completes the payment in the manner described, his right will stand for him and the members of his household permanently. This decision was accepted rightly and it has the same validity as a judgment, and we hereby signed it today, Monday, 11 Tammuz 5558.^[30]

The spokesman of the holy community of Olkeniki, the late Zvi Hirsch Moshe

(12 signatures of homeowners)

The Inscriptions in the Synagogue

ראשית מלאכתי
בניסן החדש הראשון ערכתי
בסוד ישרים ידי משכתי
ובכי טו”ב גמרתי
בחנוכת הבית הכשרתי
שנת הסר שרי חמשים
ממצוות ישראל קדושים
ושים פחות לשלישים
למנות ימינו נגשים

The deciphering: The beginning of the work in the month of Nisan 5562 (1802), which sums up from the combination of the dotted letters ב', י', ש', ר', י', ם to five hundred and sixty-two. The work ended on the 17^th of Kislev, 5565 (1805). As mentioned, remove fifty (50) from six hundred and thirteen (613) – Taryag Mitzvot and you will get five hundred and sixty-three (563), add two years (2) to them, which are less than a third of the seven days of the week. And you will reach 565 - 5565.

Hence, the construction time of the Holy Ark lasted two years and eight months.

[Page 83]

The Inscription Written by the Craftsman Who Built the Holy Ark

הרוצה לידע שמי בברורים יקח עשרת הדברים ומאלים שבעים תמרים ומאה ברכות הנאמרים ושני לוחות חבירים ולשם אבי קח המפרד לשלשה ראשים והכי נכבד מן השלשים ואחרון מרכב פרשים ובריה קלה דלית בה ממשים טלשון צאן קדשים

Anyone who wants to decipher the craftsman's name that is implied in the inscription Will take the ten things – 'י And seventy dates – 'ע And a hundred blessings that are said – 'ק and two boards – 'ב And for his father's name take The letter separated into three heads – 'ש The highest letter in the word “שלשים” – 'ל And the last letter in the word “פרשים” – 'מ And a sign of lightness that has no substance – 'ה

It is clear from the inscription that the craftsman's name is יעקב (Yaakov) and his father's name is שלמה (Shlomo).

הפעם הרביעי אודה לאלהי הברכה המשדד לטובה מערכה הנותן ליעף כח לאין אונים עצמה וארוכה והנחנו נתיב דרוכה בנקי כפים ובר לבב נמוכה אשרי העם שלו ככה

For the fourth time, I will thank the God of blessing, who improves for the good every battle, who gives strength to the helpless, strength and patience, and guides us on the right path, with innocent and a pure heart. Blessed is the nation that this is its fate

In the old craftsman's inscription a hint is given to the legend, that he fell ill before the work was finished. He entrusted the further construction of the bima to another craftsman.

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Legends About the Synagogue

It is for a good reason that the late Hikel Lonsky referred to Olkeniki in his list of towns as “Olkeniki, the town of legends.” Only in an ancient town are legends and traditions created [and] passed down from ancestors to sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons.

Apart from the short lists in the community's administrative record about the construction of the synagogue, there is no other historical data. All that is presented in the book is based on observation, learning, research, and tradition from the elders of the town, whose presence I was privileged to enjoy in my childhood.

Besides the legends mentioned above, several more legends about the synagogue should be mentioned.

• It was reported by the elders of the town that the builder, Reb Mordechai, who built the building, was an old man in those days, and during the time of the construction, which lasted several years, he ate his meals at the houses of the town's house owners.
• About the nobleman, the owner of the estate, Gronovsky, who donated the wood for the construction, it is said that the synagogue was very dear to him and that he wanted it to fulfill its role perfectly. For this reason, he would urge the Jews with a stick to go to the synagogue to worship the Lord.
• About the philanthropist Reb Yosef, the son of Rabbi Yehuda of Liepine, who donated the Holy Ark in exchange for a place in the cemetery for his daughter, as it is written in the administrative record, it is said that his wealth came from a treasure he found in the ground, which soldiers buried in the ground when they rested in the camp in the fields of Liepine… (according to the legend, which does not correspond to reality, these were Napoleon's soldiers). Reb Yosef did not want to take advantage of the treasure and donated the money to the building of the Holy Ark.
• Another legend tells that Reb Yosef, who lived in the village of Liepine, was involved with the people and was a wise and intelligent man. He would participate in hunting animals with the owners of the estates around him. One time, when the noblemen went out to hunt, a bear emerged from the forest. The noblemen, and the farmers who came to their aid, could not control the bear. It was only later, when Reb Yosef, who was unarmed, arrived and hit the bear that the bear was killed. Reb Yosef's esteem increased greatly in the eyes of the noblemen and their acquaintances. They often engaged him in negotiations and from this he became rich in a short time. To enjoy his wealth, he donated money for the construction of the Holy Ark.
• The brothers Yosef, Azriel, and Yaakov Sheskin from Vilna, who were bankers and factory owners, used to come from time to time for their business (carton factory) to Olkeniki and would pray in the synagogue. There was a tradition in their family that Reb Yosef of Liepine was one of the ancestors of the Sheskin and Dvortsen families.
• In one of the fires that struck the town, the nearby Beit Midrash burned down. Lacking water to extinguish the burning building, the townspeople threw mud on it, which was plentiful nearby. A company of Russian soldiers who were encamped in the town also participated in this rescue operation.

On the first day of Tammuz 5701 (25.6.41), a bomb that was dropped from a Nazi airplane hit a Soviet gasoline tank which was standing in the town's market in front of the Catholic church. About four-fifths of the town's buildings, including the synagogue and the Beit Midrash, caught on fire. Three months later, on the Eve of Rosh Hashanah [September 20,] 1941, (20.9.41), all of the town's [Jewish] residents were taken to the nearby town of Eishyshok^[31] for extermination. The few who survived in the ghettos, in the forests, in Siberia, and in the Red Army, returned to the town in 1944 to find it destroyed. The square of the old synagogue and the Beit Midrash was desolated, and weeds had overgrown their foundations. How sad it is for those who were lost and are not among us.

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