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Reb Shlomo Bereshkovsky

Reb Shlomo Bereshkovsky was the Headmaster of the Yeshiva in Volkovysk. The Volkovysk Yeshiva was regarded as one of the most important educational institutions not only in Volkovysk, but in its vicinity as well. Before the War, over 800 students attended there. The Yeshiva was also one of the oldest institutions in Volkovysk. In 1880, the Headmaster was Rabbi Yehoshua'leh Epstein, who later made aliyah to the Land of Israel, where he settled in the old city of Jerusalem. His family is highly regarded to this day among the members of the older Yishuv. Rabbi Shlomo became the Headmaster after he made aliyah. Among his pupils were the well-known Volkovysk residents: Fyv'eh & Nakheh Heller, Hirsch Einhorn (the Pharmacist), Chaim Ozer Einhorn (the Lawyer). Among his students were also many Torah scholars who came from the surrounding towns, whose names are well-known far and wide as exceptional intellects from this corner of the world. Rabbi Shlomo himself exuded the characteristics of a Gaon in Torah scholarship and a keen analyst in giving direction. He passed away in Warsaw in a very characteristic way. A student of his, an exceptional scholar from a small town, posed a question to him that Rabbi Shlomo was unable to give the correct and appropriate answer on the spot. It was Hanukkah season, at the time of the bitter cold. He sat for long hours thinking about the answer, and in sitting this way for long hours, he became frozen from the cold. On the Sabbath, it became necessary to quickly transport him to the hospital in Warsaw. Before he died, he requested that his son, Yehuda (the father of this writer), spend the night with him at the hospital. He then conveyed the essence of the difficult question posed to him by his student, and also gave him the correct answer – and on the following morning, he gave up the ghost. This was in the year 1895.

Before the Second World War, the Headmaster of the Volkovysk Talmud Torah, where there were already over 800 students, was Rabbi Yerakhmiel [Daniel]. The members of the school board were: Reb Joseph Berestovitsky (Yoss'l the Beer Maker), Reb Yitzhak Novogrudsky (Itcheh Shmuel Jonah's), Reb Abraham Eliyahu Markus, Reb Yehuda Bereshkovsky (Yud'l Reb Shlomo's), Reb Akiva Yudzhik (the father of Mr. Yehuda'i in Israel), and others. Hundreds of young boys from the surrounding little towns, received their elementary education in the Volkovysk Talmud Torah, and took their daily meals in the homes of the balebatim of Volkovysk.

When Rabbi Abba Yaakov Borukhov, the elder of the Gaonim, as he was called in Israel, became the Rabbi of Volkovysk, the Talmud Torah took on a completely different complexion. Secular studies were immediately introduced. The Zionist ideal, in which Rabbi Borukhov himself was so deeply steeped, became the dominant spiritual force among the hundreds of students who derived their education there. This nationalist ideal became

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even more deeply rooted under the influence of the later Dayan, Rabbi Joseph^[1] Berestovitsky (the father of Azriel Broshi in Israel), who was a nationalistic and advanced [thinking] Jew.

Reb David Feinzilber

After the Russians destroyed Brisk in 1905, and expelled the resident populace, Reb David Feinzilber and his family came to live in Volkovysk, with his daughter Aydeleh and son-in-law, Yehuda Bereshkovsky. Just as he was a close confidant of the Gaon Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik of Brisk, he immediately became a confidant and household member of the Gaon, Rabbi Abba Yaakov HaKohen Borukhov in Volkovysk. Shortly after his arrival in Volkovysk, he took over the post of a Dayan, at the behest of Rabbi Borukhov, and discharged those duties with precision and understanding without any compensation.

By the end of the First World War, when the Germans were retreating from Volkovysk, and the Poles had not yet indicated that they would be taking over control, a self-defense committee was established in the city, that consisted of Jewish and Christian representatives from all strata of the population. Reb David Feinzilber was elected to serve as a member of this advisory body, where, among others, he worked together with Abraham Ain, a well-known communist in Volkovysk. Later on, when the Poles retreated, and the Russians occupied the city, this very Abraham Ain was appointed Chief Commissar of Volkovysk. Abraham Ain took the opportunity on many occasions to express how satisfying it was for him to work together with Reb David Feinzilber, when they were both members of the self-defense committee during the transition period, despite the fact that they were foresworn opponents on the political front.

Reb David Feinzilber died in Volkovysk in 1923.

Yud'l Bereshkovsky

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nominating committee that was set up to designate a new Rabbi. Together with a delegation, he traveled to Yagustov to extend an offer to Rabbi Yitzhak Kossowsky to take over the pulpit in Volkovysk.

In 1929, paying no attention to the Arab riots in the Land of Israel, he settled in Jerusalem with his family, and became a frequenter of the home of the Gaon Rabbi Abba Yaakov HaKohen Borukhov ז”ל, and of the Chief Rabbi, the Gaon Rabbi Abraham Yitzhak HaKohen Kook ז”ל. He lived for fifteen years in Jerusalem, and devoted the entire time to the study of the Torah in Rabbi Kook's Yeshiva. He especially took an interest in the situation of scholars that were unable to reach out and ask for assistance – and he would help them with small loans. He died at the age of 73. Before he passed away, he asked his family to donate his personal Talmudic library to Rabbi Kook's Yeshiva, And also set aside a specific sum of money which provided a foundation for a charitable lending society named after him, that provided loans to needy scholars without interest or guarantees. His grave is found on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, near the graves of Rabbis Kook and Borukhov,זצ”ל.

Yitzhak Novogrudsky

Who in Volkovysk didn't know Reb Itcheh and his wife Fradl? Every boy and girl, before the First World War, would buy wine at his house prior to the Sabbath or a Festival. Reb Itcheh, and his wife Fradl, their son Leibeh, and a number of daughters, would stand beside a long table, which was set with very large containers of various wines that could addle your senses because of their strength, and would measure out the portions of wine for Kiddush and Havdalah with a ladle. Itcheh's place of business was most full of boys and girls on the eve of Passover. In that time, most of the houses of the balebatim retained house servants, Christian girls, but to bring the wine, it was forbidden to send a gentile woman, because of the issue of wine used for idolatrous purposes, and Reb Itcheh was very stringent in assuring that the wine be handled only by Jewish children alone.

There was not a single charitable institution in Volkovysk in which Reb Itcheh did not take an active role, even though he officially did not want to lead. He was active on behalf of the old age home, the burial society, in the Khoma^[2] Bet HaMedrash, and in the charitable lending institution. Together with his wife Fradl, he participated in the winter firewood society, food for Passover, and discreet giving to the needy – and both of them would contribute well beyond their ordinary capacities.

Reb Itcheh and his wife Fradl, for their entire lives, were accustomed to give generously, and tried to impress upon others to do the same. Their conveyance of assistance to the poorer segments of the Volkovysk Jewish populace knew no bounds. Many Volkovysk landsleit in various corners of the world, owe thanks to Reb Itcheh and his wife, for their Jewish upbringing and their way of life, who provided them with support in Volkovysk, and later assisted them in emigrating from their home town to the larger world beyond.

In their day-to-day lives, Reb Itcheh and his wife Fradl also held themselves to the high principles of helping their own brethren. They would never by potatoes, eggs, chicken or fruit for their own use from gentiles, but

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rather seeing to it that this income would go to Jews. In order that the indigent Jewish men and women have enough to eat on the festivals, Reb Itcheh and his wife Fradl would provide many of the poor with kapores^[3] on Yom Kippur Eve. The Shokhet was stationed in their yard, where he would slaughter hundreds of roosters on Yom Kippur Eve, which were then distributed to the various houses buy poor people who earned a little from this for the holidays. There was in Volkovysk an elderly, frail Jewish man who used to deliver cookies, bagels, and a variety of rolls, to the stores, from the Bialystoker baker. All the storekeepers used to buy something from him. He would come to Reb Itcheh last, who always out of pity, bought up his entire unsold stock of merchandise. Reb Itcheh would take part of it home for his family, and the rest he would divide up among poor people or the young, who because of this, had to recite the appropriate blessing out loud. This writer can recall that as a boy, there was not only one instance when he ate either cookies or bagels, received at Reb Itcheh's hand, only in return for reciting the proper blessing out loud. Reb Itcheh did this in order to be of assistance to the elderly Jew. Reb Itcheh and his wife Fradl also did much in connection with charitable lending. Hundreds of people would borrow money from him without a note, without a written commitment, without interest, and without a guarantee.

Reb Itcheh's house was also known in the city as the house in which one could find the greatest number of students taking their daily meals. And during the cold season, the young people would not leave the house without a warm garment. His wife, Fradl would often give away her children's warm clothing to the poor young students. On one cold day, Reb Itcheh himself returned home from the Maariv service without his warm overcoat, and when Fradl asked him for the reason, he told her that he gave the coat away to the Head of the Mirrer Yeshiva, who came to Volkovysk practically naked. Insofar as activity in the society for provisioning brides, Fradl already had a monopoly. The commitment with which she undertook this sacred work of providing for the poorer girls with everything, in order that they could get married, was exceptional. She simply did not take into account any difficulties that stood in her way, and with a smile on her face, she would do all that was necessary to overcome these difficulties in order to attain her objective.

When the time of Grabski's^[4] rule came, and the wine trade was taken out of Jewish hands and turned over to gentiles only, Reb Itcheh went into decline. His substantial wine business was locked up. He confined himself to the production of mead, which the regime did not forbid to the Jews. He did this in a cellar. You can understand, that under these circumstances, Reb Itcheh was not able to contribute in the same manner that he had in prior years, but despite this, he held on to his novel means, and would help the poor to the extent that he was able. The Jewish men and women, from whom he would buy in the good times for the Sabbath and Festivals for use in his home, would continue to come to him every Thursday. He would calculate precisely what he used to buy from them during the good years, ask them what profit they would have made if he bought everything, and then he would pay them only the profit margin, because he could no longer allow himself to conduct his household at the level of generosity he had done previously. Also, the elderly Jew would come to him every evening with his sack of unsold baked goods. Reb Itcheh would count the unsold items, pay the Jew the profit that he would have made, had he sold them, and the Jew would take the unsold baked goods back to the baker without sustaining any loss.

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After his wife's death in Volkovysk, Reb Itcheh went to the Land of Israel to his son, Yud'l, where he later passed away.

Reb Joseph Berestovitsky

He was a great lover of humanity, and his life was filled out with the doing of good deeds. He was full of goodness and dedication. The day he arrived in Jerusalem, the few of us people from Volkovysk went with him to Rabbi Borukhov. After the warm reunion, Rabbi Borukhov approached him with a question, as to whether it was possible to reveal the secret that he had kept to himself all these years. With Reb Joseph's permission, Rabbi Borukhov told, that after the great fire in Volkovysk, when part of the synagogues and Batei Medrashim were destroyed, Reb Joseph Berestovitsky came and expressed his concern to the Rabbi, that when it comes to prayer, the Jews will pray in the surviving houses of worship, but what is to be the fate of the hundreds of young children, where will they be able to continue studying? He immediately took one thousand rubles out of his pocket and gave the money to the Rabbi, insisting that he take it, in order that construction of a new Talmud Torah begin immediately. He requested, in this connection, that under no circumstances should his name be revealed. Rabbi Borukhov observed this condition until that day when he met with him in Jerusalem. Reb Joseph and his wife donated two Torah scrolls, and when the new synagogue was finished being built, a great celebration was put on, with music and a fine repast (in which this writer also participated), and with a great parade ceremony, the two Torah scrolls donated by Reb Joseph were brought into the new synagogue. Reb Joseph was a prominent participant in many Volkovysk institutions, where he always gave donations in generous amounts for the benefits of the needy.

After settling in the Lands of Israel, where he arrived with very frightening sums of money, he continued to advance his good deeds. Many young Volkovysk girls owe him many thanks making their aliyah to the Land of Israel possible. They would personally approach him for his assistance, and he would run all over the banks, looking for guarantees in order to secure their certificates. Today, they are comfortably settled in the Land of Israel.

Sholom Barash was a great Torah scholar, merchant and manufacturer. Apart from a Jewish education, he obtained a secular education and could speak foreign languages well, especially Russian and German. He was an honest man, and a major warrior on behalf of constructive work and modernization. His large iron foundry and casting plant were the most modern in the city, also where the first telephone was installed. He detested falseness and lies, and hated idleness even more. His motto was ‘Torah and Labor,’ and with only these two key points, he would argue, would the Jews be able to construct a state in the Land of Israel; the Land of Israel would eject idlers, because they are an impediment to redemption. He had great respect for those Jews who

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dedicated themselves to agriculture, or maintained land parcels under lease.

Sholom Barash visited the Land of Israel, and after his return, he held meetings regarding threats against land in the Land of Israel. He would strenuously protect and help out every worker that wanted to learn a trade, and he accepted many Jewish workers into his factory in order to train them. He was a strong-willed man with progressive ideas, and in all his undertakings he manifested a strong dynamic force. He always came out with ideas that were too far advanced in the eyes of the Jewish masses. It was only years later that his friends grasped how far ahead Sholom Barash was, a ‘wise man who can anticipate what will be,’ and how committed he was to the interests of the Jewish people.

In the First World War, during the time of the German occupation, Sholom Barash was the unofficial mayor of the city. Thanks to him, the Jewish populace received aid and foodstuffs from the city committee that Sholom Barash helped to found. During the difficult times of the German occupation in the First World War, when the Jewish schools were closed entirely, Sholom Barash personally dedicated himself to the upbringing of the Jewish children, and even taught a number of them in his own house.

Sholom Barash died of a heart attack in the year 1929 at the age of 73 years. Issue No. 134 of the Volkovysker Leben records the following concerning the funeral of Sholom Barash:

“News of his death spread through the city with lightning speed, and elicited sorrowful reaction from all circles in the Jewish and even Christian populace, among whom the deceased was greatly beloved.

The funeral took place at 2PM on Simchat Torah. First in front of the casket, the members of Gordonia, HaShomer HaTza'ir, HeHalutz, the children of the orphanage, and the students of the Hebrew school and Hertzeliya Gymnasium marched in aligned ranks. Behind the casket came delegates from the various organizations and societies, and also from the magistrate and municipal government. Bringing up the rear behind these delegates – an immense crowd, the likes of which has not been seen in Volkovysk in a long time. Many members of the Christian intelligentsia, who strongly befriended the deceased, were seen among the participants in the funeral.”

In the same edition of the Volkovysker Leben, a report appeared about a meeting of the city council which was postponed after the death of Sholom Barash, because he was a council member:

“At the beginning of the meeting of the city council, all those present observed the memory of the deceased Councilman Sh. Barash by standing, The speakers praised the deceased, and cited him as one of the best and most decent of the representatives. Those present then made a motion to eternally preserve the memory of Sholom Barash by installing a city clock on the magistrate's building, that should serve as a symbol and an indicator of direction for the remaining residents of the city. This motion was passed.”

Of the large family of Sholom Barash, his two sons, Ephraim and Menashe were best known. Engineer Ephraim Barash was the leader of Bialystok Judenrat during the last World War. He organized the resistance against the enemy in the Bialystok ghetto, and fell a hero in battle. His brother, Menashe, remained in Russia.

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David Hubar

David Hubar

David Hubar was an educated man, and he also exerted himself to provide his children with a good upbringing. He dedicated his entire life to the education of Jewish youth. Thanks to him, the first modern Heder was established in Volkovysk, and afterwards the first Russian Real Schul. Hanokh Neiman was active along with him at that time in the area of education for children. Both of these balebatim in Volkovysk were the first to send their children to the Land of Israel to study at the newly founded Hertzeliya Gymnasium in Tel-Aviv. They were also the first in the city to by shares of the Jewish Colonial Bank, and bought land parcels in the Land of Israel – in Rukhama. In the year 1929, David Hubar relocated, along with the larger part of his family, to the Lands of Israel, and settled there. Under no circumstances did he want to get involved with business. He invested the large amount of capital that he brought with him into land, and planted a park of 200 dunams^[5] in Tziona. He would complain: “I have given enough of my life to business. I want to be a colonist in the Land of Israel, to sow and plant.”

Sorrowfully, his son, Israel, who had remained in the diaspora, fell as a martyr to the Nazi murderers, with his wife Fanya (Avigdor Bloch's grandchild) along with two children.

David Hubar and his wife Pelteh, not long ago passed away in Tel-Aviv at a very advanced old age.

Meir Shiff was a first-class watchmaker, he was one of the most popular of the balebatim in the city, and in addition to that an active and committed activist on behalf of the general welfare. He was a constant visitor at the Rabbi's home, Rabbi Borukhov ז”ל, to whom he was committed body and soul. He would never taste new fruit without first bringing it to the Rabbi for a SheHekheyanu blessing. He was especially active during the season for gathering firewood for the poor, and for providing food for Passover. At that time, he would never let any of the balebatim get by him without exacting from him what he wanted.

He was very active in the work of the old age home. He was the one who instituted the custom, that at every happy occasion, be it a circumcision, a wedding, or a Bar Mitzvah, that money should be collected for the benefit of the old age home. When a child recovered from an illness, the parents would send a contribution or a bottle of wine for the old folks. On the eve of a festival, Meir Shiff would personally go to the old age home, and bring his friends there all manner of good things that he gathered up in the city, and would spend some time

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with them. In private life, he was a good brother, and had an open hand for charity and was active in the community affairs of the city.

The Barracks at Volkovysk

Herschel Berg passed away in 1923. After his death, I (his son-in-law) was appointed to open his iron safe where his documents were found. In the safe, I found a wooden container that had a lock on it. There were many letters found in the box, visa cards, telegrams, and other significant papers, all of which reflected on his multi-faceted activities in providing assistance and concern for those near and far, for Jew and gentile, for the needy and suffering. There were thank you letters from parents, sisters and brothers, brides and rabbis, officers and generals. Mostly, there were letters of gratitude from mothers, who blessed him for the many favors he bestowed on their sons who served in the 16th Artillery Brigade which was billeted in the Volkovysk barracks. In one envelope with the double-headed eagle and the Czar's crown on it, there was a letter inside printed in gold letters, which had the signature of Nicholas II. This was a thank you for hiding and safekeeping the repository that contained all the funds for the brigade in the year 1905, at the time of the uprising of the soldiers, when the brigadier-general found it suitable to trust the safekeeping of this repository to Herschel, until such time as the unrest died down. Herschel kept the repository at his home for two months time and later returned it in the best of condition to the general.

Among the papers, an order by a Russian general was found, in which a Jewish soldier was sentenced to seven days arrest and to receive four lashes from Herschel the contractor in the presence of a Captain and an Adjutant. The soldier receiving the punishment was standing guard at the gunpowder magazine on the night of Hanukkah. He wanted to light the Hanukkah candles, and he had put them on one of the powder boxes. The soldiers on guard duty at other posts, seeing the light, began to shoot as a means of sounding a fire alarm in the camp. The Jewish soldier was arrested. His excuse for lighting the candles was not accepted, and the matter was turned over to the brigadier, who sent for the contractor. Herschel Berg, in his defense of the Jewish soldier attempted to introduce a humorous tone, in order to make the charge seem less severe. At the conclusion, the brigadier sentenced the soldier to seven days in jail, and he ordered Herschel to do the following: “Give him four good lashes, so that he will know and remember that one does not light Hanukkah candles on Russian powder boxes.” It was precisely in this fashion that Herschel Berg was often able to stand up for Jewish soldiers, thanks to his good name and strong influence in the military circles, and thereby rescue them from harsh punishment, assisting them with loans, and in general assisting them in a variety of circumstances.

Herschel always had a minyan in his home at which the Jewish soldiers could participate in prayer. His home was always open to the soldiers who did not want to take their meals at the military mess. They would always get together at Herschel's, especially on the Sabbath and for Festival holidays, where they would enjoy the good Jewish delicacies that his wife, Leah, would prepare for them. She would also provide them with ritually-fringed undergarments for their use.

The large cholent pots that Leah Berg prepared for the soldiers every Sabbath, were specially stored with

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Jesierski the metalworker. And Leah Berg prepared good Jewish cooking not only for the soldiers. Every Friday, Leah Berg would cook gefilte fish and distribute it to the army officers, in order to always be in an advantageous position to work out all manner of easements on behalf of Jewish soldiers.

What used to go on in Herschel Berg's house on the eve of Passover is literally hard to describe. In order to run a Seder for the Jewish soldiers, every year the walls needed to be taken down, in order to make room for that many more soldiers. Many Russian officers were invited to these Seder meals, whom Herschel would give matzoh to take home, and whiskey that was kosher for Passover.

In his own yard, Herschel Berg put up a private slaughterhouse under the supervision of Reb Yaakov Weinstein, husband of Esther the contractor, who ran businesses in partnership with Herschel. Every Thursday, and on the eve of all Festivals, Reb Yaakov Weinstein, together with Leah Berg, would distribute portions of meat for poor Jews, each according to the size of their family. Others would also receive an allotment of potatoes.

It was particularly a festive time, when an issue over kashrut would arise at the slaughterhouse. Then the Dayan, Rabbi Yaakov Berestovitsky would be called down, along with the Shokhet Reb Yoss'l Yerusalimsky, who was held to be the leading expert in the area of ritual slaughter. Both of these Jewish men would then don large white aprons, and get to the task, which would often last late into the night. Only then, when their work was finished, was a festive meal served. At the head of the table sat Rabbi Yaakov and Reb Yoss'l, the entire Berg family, Reb Yaakov Weinstein, the Menaker^[6] and the workers in the slaughterhouse. The principal speaker was Reb Yoss'l the Shokhet, who would amuse the people with his wonderful stories. And in this manner, they would celebrate late into the night, and afterwards the guests would be escorted back to the city.

Reb Yitzhak Novogrudsky told me, that together with Rabbi Abba Yaakov Borukhov, they would annually visit Herschel Berg for the purpose of soliciting a contribution for winter wood provisioning, and provisioning food for Passover. On this occasion, Reb Herschel would send his coach into town to bring the guests to his house, where a table had already been spread with the best of all manner of delicacies, as befitted the esteemed company who had earned it. After the sumptuous meal, and a discussion of a variety of issues, Herschel would put his hand into his pocket and take out a huge fistful of money – silver and gold coins – placed it into the Rabbi's hand, not bothering to count it, and not even asking him to retain the donation in his possession.

There was also an alcohol distillery in Herschel Berg's yard. In accordance with the decree of the Polish regime, seventy percent of the production had to be set aside in a separate building for military use only. Once, in 1920, about fifty thousand liters of spirit had accumulated in this magazine. At just that time, four transports arrived in Volkovysk with “Haller's” soldiers. The soldiers found out about this huge cache of spirits

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immediately. Armed, they came to the front gate of the magazine, and demanded that the spirits be turned over to them. Despite the fact that they took the matter to the police, the managers of the facility were forced to accept a compromise, and gave the soldiers five barrels of spirit. However, when the matter was taken to Herschel for his consent, he strongly opposed this arrangement with the Haller soldiers. He said that this should not be done, because the soldiers would get themselves drunk, and then launch a pogrom against the Jews of the city. He ordered the management of the facility to extend the negotiation regarding this matter, and at the same time went off to the chief of police, whom he bought off with a specific sum of money and a barrel of spirits, and worked on him to send the soldiers back to Zelva immediately, where the train station was at some distance from the town. He immediately then went to the military gendarmerie and for three barrels of spirit he worked on them to send an armed detail that very night to drive off the Haller soldiers in the troop train transport, and it was in this manner, thanks to Herschel, that we got rid of the pogromshchiks that night in Volkovysk.

The Barracks at Volkovysk

Dr. Tropp came to Volkovysk as an officer in the Polish army. There, he made the acquaintance of Fanya Kaplan, Zundel Kaplan's daughter, and a sister of Shmuel Kaplan, the former president of the Volkovysk Merchants Society who is today in America. At that time, Fanya Kaplan was considered to be among the most beautiful of the Volkovysk girls. Immediately after being discharged from military service, David Tropp married Fanya Kaplan, and opened an office, first in Yoss'l Yunovich's house on the Kholodoisker Gessel, and then later in the home of Avromsky the Pharmacist, near the Russian Orthodox church.

There home was immediately transformed into a rendezvous point for the Volkovysk Jewish intelligentsia. He, with his broad knowledge and intelligence, and Fanya, with her joie de vivre and good-hearted nature, drew the best and the most intelligent of the Jewish youth to them. Their house became the cultural center of Jewish life, where at every evening meal, one could observe any number of guests, who would remain on for hours at a time, to discuss political and community problems. Among the visitors to David Tropp's home, were the finest and most intelligent people of the city, such as: Dr. Yaakov Sedletsky, Dr. Sarah Peisik, Dr. P. Bebchuk, Y. Merkin, Joseph Dwortesky, Milia Goldenberg (Khirurg^[7]) with her husband, Yud'l Khvalovsky, and many others.

Dr. David Tropp was a serious member of the firefighting leadership and active in Maccabi. He enchanted not only the Jewish populace with his refinement and intelligence, but also the Polish intelligentsia that held him in very high regard. He was also appointed as the official dentist of the railroad management, where he was accepted by the Polish regime. The Polish committee members of the railroad showed him great respect and loyalty. He always related to his professional colleagues in a fraternal manner, and was always prepared to help out with both word and deed.

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Unfortunately, the Tropp family remained in Volkovysk for family reasons. Dr. Tropp was killed in the [Nazi] sweep against the Jewish doctors. His delicate and beautiful wife, Fanya committed suicide immediately after his death, and his two young sons perished in the gas ovens of Treblinka.

Itcheh Leibeh Golda's had a store for galoshes in the market square store complex, in Brom, diagonally opposite the brook. He was an accomplished scholar, and active on behalf of the burial society. He was considered to be one of the most prominent of the balebatim in the city. He was very tall with black bushy eyebrows, and as strong as an ox. In the summertime, when demand for galoshes was low – only the discharged Russian soldiers would come to buy half-galoshes, which they would wear on top of their glistening high boots – Itcheh Leibeh Golda's would spend most of his hours, sitting in the store with a book in hand, studying. He had two sons and a daughter. His daughter, Chana, was married to Moshe Leib Khmelnitsky, a lawyer and Torah scholar. She was a very friendly lady and would receive everyone with a smile on her face. Itcheh Leibeh's older son was Moshe Noah, who was also known in the city as “The Boy.” He remained an old bachelor, and he would assist his father in the store. When one would come in to the store and ask for a pair of galoshes, and it was difficult for Itcheh Leibeh to go down into the cellar to bring them up, he would ask the customers: ‘Please wait, my boy will be here shortly.’ Suddenly, it would get dark in the store – and Moshe Noah would appear, a tall broad-shouldered Jewish man, with a beard and large boots – this was what Reb Itcheh referred to as ‘The Boy.’

The second son, Yoss'l Itcheh, lived in Baku, and was married to one of Mikhal Mazya's sisters. He was also tall, handsome, with ruddy cheeks and beautiful mustaches, in the style of Czar Nicholas. Traveling on the way to Baku, not far from Petrovsk, a train accident occurred in which a senior official of the principal petroleum company in Baku was seriously injured. Yoss'l Itcheh Leibeh Golda's, who in Russian was called Osip Isakovich Goldin, pulled the broken manager of the oil company out onto his broad shoulders from a burning train car, and carried him for several kilometers until he brought him to a nearby military hospital. As a reward for saving his life, Yoss'l Itcheh received a very large monetary reward, with which his wife, a provisioner, opened a pharmacy there, and he personally was awarded permanent employment with the oil company.

Gedaliah Pereshetsky the tailor was a diminutive Jewish man with a little gray beard. He undertook the care of guests as the principal objective in his life, and he dedicated his entire life to this great objective. He was primarily active on Friday. At nightfall on Friday, he could be seen going around the Bet HaMedrash, going from one of the balebatim to the other, and haggling with them about having them take a guest home for the Sabbath. He would already see to matching up the guests and the balebatim with whom he had made arrangements, for which he had a good sense, sorting out the poor people into different categories. On the way home from services, one could see Gedaliah running from one Bet HaMedrash to the second, and even when the balebatim were on their way home, and if Gedaliah had additional guests to accommodate, he would go running to the houses with his guests, often in the rain and snow, and he would have no rest until he had provided for everyone for the Sabbath. And when all possibilities were exhausted, he would arrange places for the remaining guests at Hosea the Hassid on the account of the alms box used to take collections at services on Mondays and Thursdays, which was collected by Gedaliah specifically for this purpose.

Not only once, late on a Friday night, when the rest of the community was out taking a stroll after eating, one

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could hear a delayed Kiddush melody coming out of Gedaliah's window, which he would chant only after he had finished his running around all over the city, in order to take care of his guests for the Sabbath. Over a period of time, Gedaliah arranged for those balebatim, who for a variety of reasons were unable to accommodate a guest for a Sabbath or Festival holiday, to reimburse Hosea the Hassid for providing for such a guest. Many young balebatim paid Hosea on a monthly basis to accommodate such guests on their account. This activity grew stronger at the time of the High Holy Days and Passover, when apart from guests, soldiers would arrive for the holidays. At that time, many houses took in tow and three guests for the holiday. The oversight and concern for soldiers during the holidays was very intense on the part of the common people – tailors, shoemakers, carpenters, and wagon drivers, who took the soldiers into their homes with the greatest respect and joy. The leader of this activity was always Gedaliah the Tailor.

His good-heartedness knew no bounds. When the Russian regime, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, began to drive the Jews out of Poland, they were forced to travel through Volkovysk on their way to Russia. The train, however, stopped at the city for only a few minutes. Gedaliah Pereshetsky would stand for hours at a time out in the cold and wait for the train with the Jews, in order to divide some foodstuffs among them for the journey. He considered himself fortunate when it would be his privilege to meet such a train and fulfil this mission.

Who in Volkovysk doesn't remember Leibkeh Patsovsky, the Barber, who was also called Leibkeh Chas'shkeh's? As a young man, he opened his barbershop near the Large Synagogue, opposite the marketplace storefronts, in the wooden building of Mordetsky the Artist.

His barbershop was the center of the Bund and of revolutionary-minded youth in Volkovysk. Revolutionary youth met there. The first Krynki group, with red shirts and Russian bandanas under their coats, would meet there. The first revolutionary proclamations were distributed out of Leibkeh's barbershop. He later relocated his barbershop to the Wide Boulevard, in the building of Sasson the Butcher near Zuckerman's pharmacy. He installed three glittering, comfortable American barber chairs, which always attracted a greater number of customers. But even greater popularity accrued to the barbershop because of his wife, Chana, who was the first and only lady barber in Volkovysk. Because of high expenses, and the chronic crisis with working people, Leibkeh taught his wife the business, and she later even overcame her rabbi – many customers would allow themselves to be shaved only by Chana.

Leibkeh was known for his good character, and his readiness to do a favor for a second person, not for monetary gain. He would always help people without means with charity, and would donate to a variety of community needs generously.

Towards Friday evening, especially in the wintertime, his barbershop would be packed with people, who would sit and wait for their turn to be shaved in honor of the Sabbath. And in so waiting, conversations would develop concerning a variety of problems. The barbershop would then be transformed into a sort of club, where the city leadership would be criticized, debate about world problems and ordinary day-to-day matters. The debates were always conducted in a friendly manner, and in a good mood, without any embitterment, rather the opposite, with a show of consideration and understanding. Among the leading debaters, one could always find: Y. Merkin the Teacher, Tzaphnath, Solkovich the Tailor, Shimon Lev (Yehuda Hirsch the Butcher's son), Shimshon Lev, Yud'l Khvalovsky, Herschel Zuckerman, Joseph Dworetsky, Tevel Smazanovich (the Photographer), Benjamin

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Shevakhovich, Yaakov Goldberg (Shosh'keh's Husband), and others. The proprietors of the barbershop would never get involved in these debates, working quietly, they would listen attentively while observing the strictest neutrality.

When I visited Volkovysk in 1933, I also fit in a visit to Leibkeh's barbershop. By that time, it was a first class barbershop, but just as in days gone by, it retained its original character, and was able to project an intimate and homey corner for all those who used to come in. Sorrowfully, Leibkeh and his entire family were exterminated in the great Holocaust.

Yud'l Novogrudsky, Reb Itcheh Shmuel Jonah's youngest son, and Moshe Rubinovich, the son of Zundel Rubinovich, were thought of in Volkovysk as the one who established and built Zionism. They represented two contrasting personalities: Yud'l – diminutive and short, always looked like a young boy, and Moshe – a tall, broad-shouldered, strong young man. They were devoted to one another with love and soul, sharing one common ideal in their lives – spreading the Zionist concept among Volkovysk youth, and the reconstruction work of the Land of Israel. In the street, one always met them together, speaking in Hebrew. Moshe Rubinovich was a pure idealist, a quiet, committed Zionist. He came from a very intelligent family. His parents were the aristocrats of the city. He himself was well educated, and at every free moment he would be learning and reading. He was easy-going by nature, listening to everyone with a smile on his lips, and would dismiss everything that had nothing to do with the Land of Israel. There was nothing too difficult for him to do if it was for the good of the Land of Israel. He was joined to Yud'l in a deep friendship. One rarely saw him walking with a girl in the streets. In the evening, after meetings, one would see them both walking in the streets. Then they would begin the process of walking one another home, until they would see that the hour was already three in the morning. Then Yehuda would exclaim: “Moshe, will you come tomorrow?” And Moshe would answer in his deep voice, “I'll come, I'll come.”

Yud'l Novogrudsky was the spokesman at every gathering, festivity, or even just at an ordinary meeting of several tens of people. His theme was always the Land of Israel, and his speeches – fiery. Both of them would fight like lions for every little detail if it had anything to do with the Land of Israel or Zionism. There was not a single institution in the city, where both, or one of them, was not a member of the leadership, and all for the purpose of injecting the Zionist ideal into the plan of activity of the institution. The friendship between these two comrades was so great, that when Yud'l received a certificate to emigrate to Israel, he refused the privilege, because he didn't want to leave Moshe behind in Volkovysk. Yud'l's position was that the masses needed to emigrate to the land of Israel to build the land. But the Zionist leaders and activists must remain behind in the diaspora, in order to look after the youth and prevent them from falling under the influence of the Bund or communism, and to work for the Jewish National Fund. The active Zionists, who stand at the head of the army, he would say, have to stand guard and present their efforts for the good of the Land of Israel.

Despite this, Yud'l was privileged to come to the Land of Israel, where he works in the administration of the daily newspaper, HaBoker. Moshe Rubinovich, the idealist and committed Zionist soldier, sadly fell on guard for the sacred ideal, and was killed by the Nazi murderers.

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Moshe & Yankel Rutchik-Kavushatsky

Moshe & Yankel Rutchik-Kavushatsky were two brothers, both very popular. Yankel Rutchik was a short, frail little Jewish man, who additionally, coughed a great deal. He would sit on the bench near his store, and warm himself in the sun. Apart from the food store, which was actually run by his wife and children, principally by his daughter Frum'keh, he conducted significant business in grain and other produce.

Moshe Kavushatsky, by contrast, was a hale and hearty Jew, full of energy. He also carried on large scale business with the nobles, and was befriended by all the gentiles in the vicinity. He was a hard working man. He always had large silos, especially for wheat, corn and bran. He would buy the grain from the gentiles on market days. Running through the market, he would intercept the entire intake of grain for that day. He even know what the peasants had hidden underneath the straw in their wagons.

Frum'keh, Yankel Rutchik's daughter, was in my day, the prettiest of the gymnasium girl students, and one of the happiest girls in the entire city. Her resounding laughter on the porch of Shayn'keh-Bayl'keh's house (home of Reb Nathan the Teacher) would reverberate all over the city. On that porch, she would come together with the golden youth of that era.

Hona Kavushatsky, Moshe's son, was the strongest and fastest young man in the city. To go to Yatevich, Kolontai, or the new train station on foot – was child's play for Hona. With his hands between the suspenders on his trousers, Hona would run literally like a deer. Along with this, he had an unusually good heart, and he was an understanding and talented merchant. He was blindly loyal to people, but if anyone fooled him even once, there was no reason afterwards to envy them.

These two children of the two brothers, Frum'keh and Hona, married each other, and on the level of their parents, conducted substantial businesses in Volkovysk and developed Jewish commerce in the city, where they had business ties to merchants and contractors thanks to their extensively diverse interests.

Their house was a Volksbank for hundreds of small scale merchants and business people, who were drawn to Hona with great loyalty. Many substantial merchants and business people, who were on the brink of going under were saved through the efforts of Frum'keh and Hona, thanks to their readiness to help anyone in their time of distress.

Regrettably, only Frum'keh and Hona were saved from the terrible destruction out of all of the large and branched Rutchik-Kavushatsky family. All the other members of the family, along with their own children, were killed in the Holocaust. Today, Hona and Frum'keh are in Israel.

Meshel Lashowitz was not known by his family name at all. Gentiles and Jews alike called him ‘Meshel.’ He was a tall, broad-shouldered Jewish man, with a patriarchal beard. Meshel did the postal delivery for all the surrounding little towns. He would distribute letters in the towns by horse. He had eight horses, in accordance with the requirements of the position, but his horses more closely resembled large country dogs. But the distribution of letters was not Meshel's principal livelihood.

Meshel was primarily a man of the soil, who listened to the call of the earth and devoted most of the days of

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his life to agriculture. He could not stand seeing a parcel of land lie fallow, when the owner was either destitute or went around getting drunk. “Mother Earth,” – he would say – “Is available, and people go around unemployed, and the horses stand idle in their stalls, and this is why bread and potatoes are so expensive.” Wherever he would see an unused parcel, he would take it over, in accordance with a written contract, and immediately brought gentiles who were going around with nothing to do, hitching up his horses, and begin to work the land, sowing wheat and potatoes. Understand, that when the land began to bear fruit, the gentiles would regret having entered into the contracts and they would drag Meshel to court. This was repeated each and every year, and often the sentimental Russian judges would nod their heads in Meshel's direction and state that they have great respect for this patriarchal Jew.

Meshel was a wise and jolly Jewish fellow, and the gentiles would say that there was not a wiser Jew in the entire world than Meshel. Meshel specifically exacted vengeance from thieves, who attempted to steal from his fields, or Jewish assets in general. Not only one gentile spent months in jail for stealing, because Meshel took him to court. Meshel had a whole operation near his house: roosters and chickens, that he raised himself, storage bins full of grain, and pits full of a variety of potatoes – the fruit of his own agricultural labor.

Only one grandson remained alive out of all of Meshel's large and variegated family – Katriel Lashowitz.

He lived through the extermination of his entire family in the Nazi hell, but managed to save himself in the forest, where he joined up with partisans, and after the liberation from the enemy, he came to Israel.

Padrovsky himself came from Amstibova, but as a Feldscher, he had served in the Russian Army, when the latter fought in the Caucasus Mountains to capture the oil wells of Baku. He was built tall, and looked like a Russian field officer. He later took up residence in Volkovysk, where he won for himself the title of: “Professor of the Children.” He emanated a good psychological approach to handling the children, who upon seeing his friendly smile, would immediately extend their trust, and let themselves be handled.

Padrovsky was a decent man who hated flattery, and always stood up for what is right and was never afraid to speak the truth while looking you in the eye. Even in anti-Semitic Christian circles, where he would often be a visitor – such as in Timinsky's Club on the small bridge – he was shown great deference. He was dedicated to his profession with his whole heart, and he was always ready, day and night, to run and help the sick. He especially gave of himself to the poor children of the city, where he knew that his recompense would be a big ‘thank you’ washed with tears. Many times, he would write out the prescription, and indicate in Russian, На мой счёт (for my account), for which he would later pay himself. In such cases, where he knew that the indigent parents could not pay for his visit, he would come back a second time, without being called, and many times he would bring along a doctor – all for his own account.

He would always come to sick children with a black salve that had a bad odor, with the throat swab and small bottle of iodine. He would make the children laugh at their first encounter with him, and when their laughter, mixed with bitter tears would get intense, he would stick a spoon in their mouth and with the swab smear their throat with iodine. With his familiar Russian Да!, Padrovsky would explain philosophically: “All the holidays will be dispensed with, but Purim will remain: also all the discoveries of modern medicine will also be discarded, but the ‘little cone’ will remain the restorer of health. In his time, Padrovsky saved thousands of children form the ‘English Disease’ and from Diphtheria. Most of the children were from the poorer sections of the city, who could not permit themselves the luxury of calling a doctor.

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The “Kolontai” Company

Velvel Epstein, Berel Kaplan & Yoss'l Ein – these were the three partners in the “Kolontai” Company. The partners got started with a small water-mill in Yatevich, near Volkovysk, and with time, they developed a large modern business organization with offices, bookkeepers, and telephone installations – from which tens of Jewish families made a living.

They were three simple and decent men when they decided to go into partnership, and the partnership in its early years, when the firm was still small, was still based on its original foundations. No books or accounts were kept. All three of them would stand in the mill, dressed simply, covered in dust and flour, each with a leather strap wound around their waist, from which hung a leather wallet, where the days receipts were gathered. Every evening, the partners would empty out their wallets, and put the entire income into a drawer. From there, each of them would take enough to cover their needs, without writing anything down or erasing anything. The trust that one partner had for the other was rare. Each of them knew, that the other partners would sooner let a finger be cut off rather than take so much as an extra kopeck beyond what he really needed for his sustenance. The three partners ran their business in this fashion for years, with a blind trust in each other, without books and accounts. This harmony was even a greater marvel for those who knew them more intimately, because these three partners represented three different types of personalities.

Velvel Epstein came from a rabbinical family and he was observant. He live a quiet, modest life. Berel Kaplan, the son of Reb Yaakov Kaplan, and brother of David Yoss'l Kaplan, was a handsome young man, and loved to dress well. He was from a prominent Volkovysk family, and was a committed Zionist. In general, he presented himself as a very modern European man. Yoss'l Ein was the real worker among the three partners. He was skilled in the flour trade, as well as in dealing in forest products. He was a through worker with a good head on his shoulders, who would travel around the yards, villages and forests, in connection with the partnership and for so much as a groschen of the partnership's money, he was prepared to let himself be killed.

After the First World War, they expanded their partnership, they bought Kolontai, which was a small yard with a water mill that had been seriously ruined in the waning days of the war. In the course of a couple of years, Kolontai grew into a four story large water mill, in which the largest machines of that period were installed. On the ruined property of Kolontai, the three partners planted thousands of fruit trees of all kinds, such as apples, pears, plums, cherries, and strawberries. This work, of planting and cultivating the land, was done by a specialized agronomist who was brought in for that purpose. A stable was installed, where hundreds of cows could be found, along with large half wild oxen. In connection with this, a first-class dairy was established there, where butter, and a variety of cheeses were produced. The entire enterprise was run by a number of Jewish families who lived in Kolontai, under the supervision of the chief overseer, Khatzkel, the quiet and gentle man, who was loved and respected by all. Kolontai which had been ruined and abandoned, quickly began to sparkle, thanks to the energy and the hard work of the three partners.

Apart from Kolontai, the partners also managed a number of other water mills in the vicinity, in order to maintain their level of skill in this area. They bought a water mill in Petroshovitsa, that had belonged to a prominent Polish estate manager, and another water mill in Zelva – and everywhere, they constructed four-story buildings, in which they installed large, modern machines.

Apart from the mills and the many-branched agricultural business of the Kolontai, the three partners invested large sums in the forests, where they developed a lumber industry by themselves. They would produce

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boards and staves for wine casks that they would export to France. It was in this fashion that the Kolontai Company, in time, developed into a large industrial concern that was known internationally, even though it had a modest beginning in this simple three-way partnership.

As it concerns donations to the Volkovysk community institutions, the Kolontai Company always stood at the head of the list of donors and supporters of needy institutions. It would also greatly help out the community leadership with a variety of their institutions when there would be difficult periods in budget management.

They belonged to the people, and stood ready always to defend the honor of the Jewish people. Tall, and with strong fists, developed from laying bricks in construction work, they were always the first at the scene – in case of fire, in a fight with the police, with gentiles that would fall upon and attack Jewish homes in order to rob their assets, with the new recruits who agitated on the Jewish street, with drunken soldiers, who would take out their anger against the Jews. They would respond to all of these attacks with the might of their fists, and use their strength to protect the honor of the Jewish people.

Principally, they excelled in putting out fires in their time. I can still recall as a young boy, during the great fire of 1908, these two were the most effective in saving lives and the contents of Jewish houses, while risking their own lives. This was their trademark at every fire, and quite often they would go around afterwards bandaged up and on crutches because of the wounds they sustained during their rescue work.

I remember once, when a large blaze broke out in a gentile stable in Karczyzna, but the fire threatened the neighboring Jewish homes. In putting out the fire, the burning beams were pulled with large iron pikes. Suddenly a clap of thunder^[8] was heard, that hit a Jewish man who happened to be at the place of the fire. The Jewish man fell down immediately in a swoon. Yankel Palteh's took note of this, immediately running to the side of the Jewish man, and taking note of his bad condition, he dug out a trench with his bare hands, and threw the Jewish man that was struck by the thunder into it, covering him entirely with soil. In response to my query as to why he did this, Yankel replied: “Mother Earth is the best cure for someone who is thunderstruck.” It didn't take long, and the Jewish man jumped up from the trench in good condition.

Shaymeh Mordetsky and Yankel Palteh's instilled fear in the swine of the city, who were constantly the initiators of attacks and pogroms against the Jews. However, they accorded Shaymeh and Yankel great respect, and when they themselves were at risk because they were far from their home turf, they would call Shaymeh and Yankel to help them. Even the police had considerable respect for them, and in any conflict where Shaymeh and Yankel showed up, the Jews emerged victorious.

Shmuel David lived on the Wide Boulevard near the Chayei Adam Bet HaMedrash. He was built tall, and was as strong as a lion. He was missing two fingers of his right hand, which his father hacked off in order that he would not have to serve in the military. Shmuel David himself performed this procedure on his five sons, and

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as a result, not one of them had to serve in the gentile army. He performed the procedure on his five sons, by himself, without taking any excuses. He detested the gentiles for their hatred of the Jews, and every gentile who decided to pick on Shmuel David, got a beating from him to the point that he would be covered in blood. Thanks to Shmuel David and his five sons, the city was saved from a pogrom any number of times. The gentile swine who hated the Jews to the point of death, would provoke pogroms in the city, and call upon help from the gentiles in the surrounding villages. But then, Shmuel David and his five sons would throw themselves into the battle, along with their friend, Shepsel Kvachuk, and other Jewish strong arms, who with their outsized fists rain down murderous blows on the gentiles, instilling a fear not only in these gentiles, but also in the police, who would wait until things would calm down, and then emerge from the corners to re-instate order, so to speak.

In September of every year, at the time of military conscription, the newly recruited soldiers that were quartered in the city, had the custom of going through the streets with concertinas. Their objective, however, was to fall upon the Jewish stores and houses and rob them. The Jewish ‘strongmen’ were already waiting for them on the watch, with the necessary ‘stuff’ and would fall on the new recruits and beat them, whenever the opportunity presented itself. Quite often, they would beat them up so badly, that they were no longer wanted in the military. It was in this manner that our ‘strongmen’ taught them to have respect for Jews and they did this out of a pure desire to protect Jewish honor and property.

We must commemorate with great honor the memory of those Jewish folk people, who with exceptional heroism and energy, stood watch and defended the Jewish population against anti-Semitic attacks at various times, and first and foremost in the time of the Polish regime.

After the First World War, when the German occupation ended, and Volkovysk and its environs became a part of Poland, free trade began to develop again. However, the railroads were still being restricted to military use. A variety of merchandise began to arrive in the city for the starved populace. At that point, all the wagon drivers and peddlers united in one group, in order to organize the distribution of the various material – a part of which was brought by wagon even from Warsaw – and to control transportation costs, as well as that of loading and unloading. This writer was designated to regulate the prices of heavy materials, such as iron, blocks, glass, cement, flour, petrol, etc. At that time, a separate group was established of wood carriers, whose sole work consisted of loading and unloading wood. Every Thursday, we would get together at Eliezer Kossowsky's coffee house. All the wagon drivers and peddlers would come there, and over a glass of beer and a piece of fish, we would straighten out all the prices, sometimes based on the price of bread, and sometimes based on the price of gold. The leaders of this group were the familiar: Herschel Munchik, Itcheh Munchik, and Leibeh Munchik, and the large multi-branched family of Bayer, with the prominent Abraham Bayer, who guarded his black shining horse like the apple of his eye, and who was renown for his humorous stories.

These were all pious Jews, who would run, horsewhip in hand, to the Ein-Yaakov Bet HaMedrash in order to fit in the afternoon prayers, parking their large wagons in a side street, and leaving their horsewhips outside leaning against the handrail by the Bet HaMedrash. These were Jews, who would sacrifice themselves to hear a Cantor or an itinerant Preacher, and upon leaving the Bet HaMedrash, they would manage to scratch up a couple of kopecks and throw th3em into the collection plate, which was on a table near the exit.

These families that I have just mentioned, and many others, whose names I cannot recall, as well as a whole

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group of peddlers, with whom I was a student together in Leib Ahareh's the Teacher's Heder, and who were my friends, on more than one occasion saved the Jewish population from a murder or robbery. When Haller's anti-Semitic pogromshchiks came to the city, and took to their “work,” of cutting off the beards, or just plain beating Jews, they encountered the resistance of these heroic Jews in Volkovysk, and it instilled a fear in them. On one occasion, the Polish police called upon the Jewish wagon drivers and peddlers for help against these uncontrollable pogromshchiks.

The Jewish strong arms waged a separate struggle against the Polish ‘squatters’ that the Polish regime settled on land in the Volkovysk vicinity. The neighboring local gentile residents hated these new neighbors – and in order to quell this hatred towards themselves, these ‘squatters’ incited violence against the Jews and called [the locals] to pogroms.

Their anti-Semitic activities were always carried out at their most intense level on the market days, when thousands of gentiles would come into the city, and it was easy to incite the masses to fall upon and rob the Jews. Our Jewish heroes were ready for this, and were already on guard. On those days, they would leave the work from which they made a living, in order to stand ready to do battle with Jew-haters. With their substantial fists, and with sticks and iron rods, they would instill terror in the pogromshchiks, and before the police arrived, several tens of the pogromshchiks would already be wallowing in puddles of their own blood in the street runoffs. This was the ‘people's’ heroism, ever ready to defend Jewish Honor.

Translator's footnotes:

1. This appears to be an error. Prior text reports the father of Azriel Broshi, and the Dayan to be Rabbi Yaakov Berestovitsky. Return
2. This is the Hebrew word for a Wall, and hence Mauer in German or Yiddish. Thus, this may refer to the Mauer Bet HaMedrash. Return
3. The formal process of absolution of sin prior to the Yom Kippur fast. Modeled on the sacrificial ritual of the scapegoat, a rooster was typically used even well into the 20^th century in North America. It has become customary to substitute coins, or some sum of money, that is donated to charity in place of slaughtering a rooster. Return
4. Also referenced at the end of Yerakhmiel Moorstein's memoir on Zelva, in Volkovysk, the third part of this Trilogy, edited by Katriel Lashowitz. Return
5. There are four dunams in an acre. Return
6. Jews who observe the laws of kashrut, do not normally partake of the hindquarters of an animal, even if it has been slaughtered according to ritual. This restriction is traced to the biblical injunction that can be found in Genesis 32:25-32, stemming from the hip injury sustained by Jacob when he is alleged to have wrestled with an Angel of the Lord. However, by Talmudic Law, the hindquarters can be rendered ritually fit for consumption if the veins (presumed to be the part of Jacob's thigh that was injured) are carefully and completely removed. The process of removing those veins is called trayboring in Yiddish, and the specialist who does this is called a Menaker. Although this is a highly labor-intensive and painstaking work, it was – and still is – deemed cost effective, in order to ‘rescue’ some of the choice cuts of meat for the use of the ritually observant community. Return
7. Khirurg is Hebrew for a Surgeon, indicating that this was likely her profession. Return
8. It would seem that this ‘clap of thunder’ was something in the nature of a shock wave from a collapse in part of the burning stable. Return

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