[Page 74]

The First Group of Volkovyskers in the Holy Land in 1911 Bottom row (R to L): Mordechai Epstein, Eliezer Golomb, Shmuel Golomb Second row: Yaakov Neiman, Jekuthiel Zusmanovich, Moshe Einhorn, David Golomb Third row: Eliyahu Golomb, Zus'keh Berman, Abraham Sukhovolsky, Sholom Bialsky, Jekuthiel Neiman, Moshe Kaplinsky

The Volkovyskers in 1913, with the author, Yaakov Rabinovich Sitting below: Eliezer Golomb, Lipa and Joseph Zusmanovich (Jekuthieli) Second row (R to L): A. Wolfowitz, Y. Neiman, D. Golomb, Y. Kaminer, Eliyahu Golomb, Shereshevsky, Z. Berman Third row: Wolfowitz, M. Kaplinsky, Y. Jekuthieli, M. Einhorn, M. Epstein, the author, Yaakov Rabinovich, A. Sukhovolsky

According to the record in Dr. Einhorn's book, towards the end of the 19^th century, Chaikel Shiff and his wife Sarah-Taiba made aliyah from Volkovysk. What moved this young couple to go to the Holy Land – we don't know from the available evidence, but it is safe to assume that the reasons were religious in nature, since Chaikel was a student at the Volkovysk Yeshiva for a number of years. His wife was the daughter of Moshe-Shimon Lev, one of the distinguished balebatim of Piesk, near our city. Chaikel was a watchmaker by trade, and during the first years of his residence in the Land of Israel, he continued to ply this trade, but after a while he began to deal in real estate, buying vineyards, and orchard, and land in the Montefiore district in particular. He always remembered his home town, and he would host people from Volkovysk in his home, who made aliyah at the beginning of the 20^th century. Also, his wife Sarah-Taiba always graciously received young people from Volkovysk in her home, who were invited there, and she also established a Free Loan Society on behalf of the gymnasium students who arrived in 1909. They knew, that if their allowance from their parents was late in coming from Volkovysk – they could always get a loan ‘to tide them over,’ from Chaikel and Taiba, until the money arrived. The atmosphere in their home was always pleasant, to the point that the young people from Volkovysk felt they were in their own home. Sarah-Taiba served as an intermediary for many needs, including ‘charity given in secret,’ as it was practiced in her former home town.

The really strong ties, between Volkovysk and the Land of Israel, began in the year 1909 with the aliyah of a group of young people to Israel to study in the Hertzeliya gymnasium that had been established in Tel Aviv. This undoubtedly came on the heels of what must have been the true pressure in this direction, that was provided by Dr. Ben-Zion Mosensohn, who came especially form Poland to encourage the better off parents to send their sons to study at the first Hebrew gymnasium. Eliyahu Golomb, the son of Naphtali Golomb, if not the first, certainly paved the way. The letters that he sent back to Volkovysk were full of enthusiasm, and were passed around in Volkovysk from hand-to-hand, and there is no doubt that these moved his friends and members of his family to follow his example (see the

[Page 75]

memoir about E. Golomb by Azriel Broshi). Dr. M. Einhorn, who was one of these young people, recalls Eliyahu's brother, Eliezer, in his book, Zus'keh Berman and Yaakov Neiman, as those following in this path. Towards the end of 1910, the members of Eliyahu Golomb's family made aliyah, as did the families of Benjamin Kalir, Boruch Zusmanovich (a Teacher), and three of his sons (who changed their name to Jekuthieli), and Eliezer-Lieber Shereshevsky. During the summer of 1911, a number of the gymnasium students arrived from Tel Aviv in Volkovysk for vacation, and there is no doubt that their enthusiastic tales about their new lives that were beginning to take shape in the Land of Israel, about the Hertzeliya gymnasium, and the ambience of life in the Holy Land, caused many young people of their age group to begin manifesting serious interest in the possibility of making aliyah to Israel.

The Volkovysk “Colony” in the Holy Land grew significantly in 1911-1912, when apart from the previously mentioned people, the following also settled in there: Moshe Kaplinsky, Mottel Epstein, Jekuthiel Neiman, Israel Hubar, Mordechai Chafetz, Zvi Weinstein (Carmeli), the Wolfowitz brothers, Yitzhak Kaminer, Abraham Sukhovolsky, Sholom Bialsky, David Epstein, and others. In Dr. Einhorn's book, we find a characteristic description of the Volkovysk colony in the Holy Land:

Every Shabbos afternoon, Tel Aviv was visited by many guests. The Sephardim from the Jaffa ghetto, the Ashkenazim from Neve Shalom and Neve Tzedek. Also, colonists from nearby settlements would gather together in Tel Aviv to observe the great miracle, how the first one hundred percent Jewish city was being built. Herzl Street was full of people. At the same time, the young people from Volkovysk would gather on the sands near Tel Aviv. We would spend a few hours together, sing Hebrew songs, and then we would form ranks and march off to Herzl Street. Near the gymnasium, we would regroup anew into a single line, hand-in-hand, singing, and all at once, broke into couples.

– Make way, here come the Volkovyskers! – could be heard from our comrades.

The onlookers were not opposed [to what we were doing]. On the contrary. People stopped and watched, making the way clear for us. All of Tel Aviv knew about us and wondered, how did such a comparatively small city like Volkovysk send such a large number of students [to the Land of Israel].

Einhorn continues:

When a Festival holiday arrived – Simchat Torah, Purim, Khol HaMoed Passover – many from Volkovysk would get together to keep company at Eliezer Shereshevsky's house. Ever person would contribute a set amount, and Mrs. Shereshevsky would prepare, with the help of several other women, a really fine meal with good dishes, and delicious drinks – and the Volkovyskers made merry. It was sort of a “get-together party” of landsleit from Volkovysk. The author, Yaakov Rabinovich, ז”ל, who was a landsman from Volkovysk, would come to these gatherings from Petakh Tikva.

With the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the stream of olim from Volkovysk to the Holy Land came to a halt, but it started up again after the war, especially in the early twenties, when the pioneering movements that were established in the city proved their success by facilitating the aliyah of their members. The events of 1921 in the Holy Land along with an economic downturn and depression, did not deter the members of this movement from making aliyah to the Holy Land, and it is worth noting that the veteran olim from our city provided assistance to the relative newcomers. On the eve of the Second World War in 1939, there were already close to four hundred families that had made aliyah from Volkovysk.

It can be said without fear of exaggeration, that the Jewish population of Volkovysk lived and breathed the Holy Land, and felt itself close to the Jewish Yishuv there without any reservation. Every event in the Holy Land would elicit many reactions, and every decree by the Mandate Government called forth a unified response. Thus, we read in the local newspaper about the reaction of the Jews of Volkovysk on the incidents in the Holy Land during the late summer of 1929:

“The dark mood of the Jewish community

[Page 76]

because of the news of hostilities from the Holy Land was ameliorated slightly by the good news published in the newspapers from Warsaw, but by the end of the week, when the radio bulletins communicated the bloodbath that Arab rioters had inflicted on the Jews of Safed, the pain was exacerbated. The assembly that was organized in the hall of the orphanage on Saturday night, as a result of the efforts of the various Zionist groups, the community and the Rabbinate, was held under the pall of the saddening news that arrived from the Holy Land. At this meeting, it was decided to set up a committee of thirty appointed members of the community to collect funds on behalf of the victims.”

During the week, members of the committee visited the homes of Jews in order to collect donations, and they were all positively received, with each person giving according to his means. On Monday, a large rally was organized in the synagogue. The stores and factories in the town were closed, beginning at four in the afternoon. After Cantor Stashevsky from Baranovich read several suitable chapters from the Psalms, the Rabbi eulogized the martyrs who fell in the Holy Land. The eulogy continued for about two hours, and the attending audience of three thousand people burst into bitter tears. Many fainted, especially among the women in the Women's Gallery. After the memorial was read, the Rabbi once again turned to the assembly, and asked everyone to respond to these events, with deeds that will contribute to the building of the land, indicating that this would be the most appropriate response to the Arab rioters.”

Even in 1939, when the infamous ‘White Paper’ was published, that included a variety of decrees against the Jews in the Holy Land, the Volkovysk Jewish community reacted with anger against the government of the Mandate. The participation of the Volkovysk Jews in all Zionist activities and the national funds was especially prominent. In 1939, the sum of 9,545 zlotys was collected for Keren HaYesod – double the amount of the prior year.

The same was true about Keren Kayemet, in which the various chapters of Zionist youth movements participated. In 1925 the sum of 8,700 zlotys was assembles, and in 1930, 9,231 zlotys.

Meetings and presentations by Keren Kayemet took place frequently in Volkovysk. The ‘Blue Box’ could be found in most Jewish homes, and the motto, ‘Give to us to redeem the Land’ resonated in the heats of Jews in all walks of life. Emissaries from Warsaw would come to the opening of every Zionist initiative, and they were received with great respect by all ranks of the Jewish populace.

We have been unable to provide summaries of the contributions of people from Volkovysk in the past in all areas of the creation of the Holy Land and then the State of Israel, because in any attempt to be comprehensive in this matter, we ran the risk of making errors and omissions. We can adapt the words of the folk song, A Dudeleh, by saying, ‘Where can I find thee, and where can I not find thee, sons of Volkovysk?’ – in a variety of the kibbutzim and settlements along the entire length and breadth of the Land; in all branches of industry; in the Haganah, the guard units and ranks of the Palmach, the armies of the State of Israel; among the prisoners of the prior Mandate government; in detention camps both in the Holy Land and in the diaspora; in the Jewish Brigade during the War; in all units that were recruited in the War of Independence; in all the wars that Israel has had to fight in the past 40 years to preserve the State; in institutions and centers of the state, and the Histadrut offices of all parties in Israel, that is where you are to be found.

[Page 77]

In the fullness of time, we hope that perhaps some researcher, a scion of Volkovysk naturally, may try to assemble a definitive set of summaries on this subject, but until then – we cannot but remain satisfied with the following assumption: the Zionist city of Volkovysk has demonstrated its Zionism, proving that there is no one stands above her in the great contribution made by those born there to the creation, security aan protection of Israel, of which only a glimpse can be brought to this book.

In the coming pages, the stories of those Volkovysk scions, who have earned the praise of their countrymen for their work and achievements in many walks of life, will be told. It is doubtful that we have succeeded in doing this for everyone who deserve this, both because of the deadline to publish, and also the limited information at our disposal. We have not expanded in writing about famous people, like Eliyahu Golomb, the author, Yaakov Rabinovich, and others, about whose lives and work it is possible to read in various encyclopedias and lexicons. We haven't attempted to get stratospheric, nor have we attempted to ‘co-opt’ personalities such as Yitzhak Shamir, the Prime Minister of Israel, who spent only a [small] number of years in Volkovysk, and who himself was born in Ruzhany, near our city. This is also true of the Knesset member and Leader of MFD”L^[1], Zerakh Wahrhaftig, and others. For this, we did see a need to include Giora Even, the son of Hillel Epstein, not because of his father, but because of the 17 enemy jet fighters he has shot down.

Translator's footnote:

1. Hebrew abbreviation for Miflaga Datit L'Umit, or the Religious Zionist Party. Return

Eliyahu Golomb

Eliyahu was 16 years old when he made aliyah to the Holy Land to study at the Hertzeliya gymnasium. Dr. M. Einhorn, who himself was a student at Hertzeliya at that time bears witness to the fact that Eliyahu was an excellent student, and ‘remembered things by heart.’ In his student days, he became friends with Moshe Shertok and Dov Hoz, and these friendships lasted a lifetime. While still in the gymnasium, he organized a group of students to do agricultural work in Bet-Shemen, but after a short while they returned to Tel Aviv. He completed his studies in the first semester of 1913, and set up a ‘limited corporation,’ to which the members of the first class belonged, whose mission was to ‘serve the Yishuv.’

In 5674(1913) he went for training in Degania, with the groups, and during his stay there, very strong bonds of fellowship were developed between him and the pioneers of the working settlements, and the image of Joseph Trumpeldor was especially influential on him. With the death of his father, Eliyahu returned to Tel Aviv, and with the outbreak of the First World War, he began to fill positions in the area of security and defense. He established strong relationships with HaShomer and opposed the efforts of Nili. When the front moved the south of the Holy Land, Golomb took advantage of his relationship with Jewish officers in the Turkish army to obtain weapons and put them in the hands of the Jews. The concern of providing arms for the defense forces dogged him for his entire life.

[Page 78]

Golomb was one of the principal workers and activists of the voluntary Jewish brigades. He was selected for the ‘Volunteers Committee,’ and afterwards to the brigade committee, where he served as a Corporal. During his service in the brigade, he grew close with Berel Katznelson, and joined the Ahudat HaAvodah. After they were discharged from the brigade at the end of 5680 (1919), he worked for a while in the Kineret group, and at that time he was also a member of “The Committee for Organization of the Haganah,” and was active in rendering assistance to Tel-Chai.

From 1921 on, he was a member of the Haganah Committee of the Labor Histadrut, and served as the head officer of the labor movement of the Haganah and its institutions. From that day on, his entire life was dedicated to defense and security, and worked on sourcing weapons and enlisting youth both in Israel and without to serve in the ranks of the Haganah. Beginning in 1931, he was one of the three officers of the ‘Left,’ in the national command of the Haganah, and the lines of establishment of its development. He had a great personal influence on everyone who came under his purview, many of them who went on to the senior ranks of the Haganah.

During the events of 1936-1939, he was among the activists in the Plugot HaSadeh and among the founders of the Palmach, and of the Hagbalah. During the Second World War he was among the ones who were in the paratroopers who served out of the Holy Land, and the establishment of the Jewish Brigade.

It is worth noting his warmth and relationship to the Volkovyskers in Israel (see the memoirs of A. Broshi and Gedaliah Pick in this book).

(Davar, 8 Tammuz 5705)
On the Seventh Anniversary of His Death

The voyage of Eliyahu with another few young people from Volkovysk to the Holy Land, in order to study at the Hertzeliya gymnasium in Tel Aviv, a few years before the First World War, was in its day, an event that made a great impression on all the Jews of the city. The letters that arrived fro them, suffused with enthusiasm for the Land, and the visits of the Israeli gymnasium students to Volkovysk during vacation – all these served like a life-giving dew to the Zionist movement in Volkovysk, and stimulated more strong Zionist activity. In those days, there were established the “Club for Hebrew Language Lovers,” the Hebrew library, and Heders in which Hebrew was taught in Hebrew, all received a great boost. Young people began to dream about the Holy Land, and orient themselves to going there. The visit of Joseph Shprinzak^[1] to Volkovysk, and his illegal meeting with us in the days of the Czar, in the Tiferet Bakhurim Synagogue, brought the youth closer to the Labor Movement in the Holy Land.

After the [First] World War, the first group of halutzim arrived from our town (Volkovysk). We found our landsman, Eliyahu, in the front ranks of those who were realizing the ideal of Socialist-Zionism – and we were very proud of him. And how happy he was, when he saw that his very own landsleit were paving the Haifa-Jeddah highway, smashing rocks in Beit She'An, and building the Sarafand-Lod railroad line.

During he frequent trips abroad, Eliyahu would from time-to-time drop in and visit Volkovysk, and meet with the friends of his youth. He helped a number of them – when they came to the Land of Israel.

[Page 79]

A few days before he died a message was given to the secretariat of the organization of his landsleit, that he wished to meet with one of them. I met him at the Vaad HaPoel building of the Histadrut. As was his habit, he placed his good hand on my shoulder, carefully reviewed the list of those landsleit who escaped [the Holocaust], remembering a goodly portion of the names recorded on the list, and in the end, let out a bitter sigh: “Of my friends, not even one remains: where is Tevel Smazanovich, where are you, all my landsleit?”

So I said to him: I remember when you made aliyah to the Land of Israel, Eliyahu! Now we are here by the hundreds – spread out in cities and villages, we have organized ourselves to provide help to those survivors from our town. We chose not to invite you to the initial meeting of our landsleit in Tel Aviv, because we know the burden of work, meetings, and assemblies that you must attend to, but from time-to-time, we want to keep you advised of our activity. He stopped and thought for a short while, and then said: “It is indeed good that you have the list of the survivors in your pocket. Do you really believe that Lev (the Bialystoker baker) is still alive – he must be an incredibly old man by now?” What a good Jew he is! Joseph Ein is on the list – he was called Yoss'eleh Ein in town. I remember every street and every byway of my town. The fate of the Volkovysk community is no better than that of other Jewish communities in Poland. I beseech you, let me know if added news becomes available about survivors.”

Our great loss is that he was taken from us at a critical time, when we were so much in need of him relative to the building of our homeland that had just been resuscitated. May his soul be bound up in the bond of life with the lives of other heroes of our people.

Translator's footnote:

1. One of the founders of HaPoel Hatza'ir, and the first Chairman of the Knesset of the State of Israel. Return

Yaakov Rabinovich, the renown Hebrew author, was born in Volkovysk in the year 1875. His father, Rabbi Abraham Aaron, who was a prominent scholar, and compiled a commentary on the Jerusalem Talmud Seder, Zera'im, died at a young age. His grandfather, Rabbi Meir Jonah – who published the book, HaItur, Har HaMoriah, with “Corrections of Errors” and “Thoughts on the Rambam” – was, for a short time (less than a half year) the Rabbi of Brisk, and for most of his years – in the shtetl of Svislucz (Grodno Province). His mother, Chaya Hadassah, was from the Vinogradsky family.

Yaakov Rabinovich received a traditional Jewish upbringing in his home town, in Heder and Yeshiva, and afterwards began to study general subjects. He left the country, and studied at the University of Bern (in Switzerland). Before leaving the country, he spent two years living in Vitebsk, where he was involved with teaching. He began his Zionist activity there. He studied in Switzerland for four years (1900-1904) and lived in Bern and Geneva. His literary activity began in those years. In the year 1904, he moved to the city of Odessa, which at that time was the center of the Hibat Tzion movement, and in 1907 he was elected to the committee of the Hovevei Tzion, and he worked in the information bureau of the committee. He visited the Land of Israel twice, and a short time after 1910, he settled there permanently.

In 1905 he visited the Holy Land, and his impressions were published in ‘HaSholeakh.’ In the course of three years, until 1910, anticipating his own aliyah to the Holy Land, he was active on behalf of the Odessa committee and, in fact, was the loyal assistant to [Menachem] Usishkin. When he made aliyah, he settled in Petakh Tikva, and lived there until 1923. In Petakh Tikva, he acquired a parcel of land and planted a vineyard, but his large ambitions were not in agriculture, but in literature. His works were published in Hapoel HaTza'ir, and for a number of years he was one of the premier reporters of the second aliyah, and fought for the use of Hebrew in all sectors of activity, especially in agriculture. In his book, ‘The Wanderings and Burdens of the Watchman,’ Rabinovich describes the life of the second aliyah in the Holy Land.

After the war, together with his friend Asher Barash, he founded a literary-publicizing drama troupe, that

[Page 80]

brought together the old and new guard in Hebrew literature, and looked after the literary ambience from the time of the third aliyah. In this literary establishment, Rabinovich published the work of Hebrew authors, and essays and opinions on issues of the day. In addition to his participation in the periodicals of those times, Yaakov Rabinovich had a regular column in [the newspaper] Davar, and he provided reactions to events in the Holy Land and the rest of the world in a fundamental and insightful manner. Apart from articles, essays and publishing books, he also published poems, signed [with the pseudonym] M. Zutri. He also was heavily involved with translations into Hebrew in those languages that he had a command: Russian, German, and French. He wrote mainly in Yiddish during the time of his Zionist activity in Odessa.

Among his many books, it is worth noting in addition ‘The Wanderings and Burdens of the Watchman,’ that we had previously mentioned: ‘Stories & Portraits,’ ‘When there is no Root,’ ‘Light & Ember,’ ‘The Summer Ambience,’ ‘Aims,’ and others.

Yaakov Rabinovich maintained ties to the first of the olim from Volkovysk, and appeared at memorial services for the Volkovysk martyrs (see his writings on this subject, which do not appear in this book).

This was in the month of June 1920, when a group of 24 pioneers from Volkovysk set out on the way to the Holy Land. They loaded their bags on wagons, and the young men walked behind the wagons, singing Zionist songs. All the Jews of the city came out to watch the young men and escort them. They covered the distance to Bialystock on foot, and from there they continued to Warsaw by train. On August 9, 1920 they reached the Holy Land on the ship Halna. The oldest in the group was Moshe Metchik, for whom the group was named, and the youngest in the group was Moshe Saroka –age 17. A member of the Hapoel HaTza'Ir who dealt with receiving olim, took them directly to a tent encampment, on a sand hill near modern-day Allenby Street, and after a number of weeks of idleness, the entire Volkovysk contingent, which belonged to Hapoel HaTza'Ir to work on the Haifa-Jeddah highway. Moshe Metchik and Moshe Saroka were responsible for the economic affairs of the group. After about two years, the Volkovysk group transferred to Hadera, and there Moshe met Perelson, one of the founders of the hospital system.

[Page 81]

This meeting, perhaps, set the course of Moshe's life, and when Perelson sought a suitable person to head the hospital system in the Emek – he didn't find anyone better than Moshe.

Balfuria was Moshe's first stop in his mission for the hospital system, and Moshe Saroka established a facility for the sick. Not a clinic, not a hospital, but a room for the sick, as simple as those words. In the summer of 1922, the hospital system promoted him to a more important position, and he was called upon to organize the Tuberculosis hospital in Safed, and to run it. After that, he was sent by the central authority of the system to establish sick rooms in Nahalat-Yehuda,.and from there he went to the workers of Khevrat HaMelakh in Atlit. From that time on, Saroka continues to prosper and grow, along with the hospital system, and he transformed this institution into a large and powerful empire that extends its services and physicians to almost 90% of the population of the State of Israel. Even those that argued against the beauty and luxury of the hospital buildings that Saroka erected, came to admit later on, that Saroka's approach was the right one, and his concepts justified themselves from every angle.

And this is what Golda Meir wrote after Saroka died:

“Saroka was an unusual man in many respects, and it is no coincidence that he grew with his position – from the head of the hospital system in the Emek to the management of one of the largest and most important institutions established in the State. This growth, foremost, needs to be attributed to his credit. He had an unusual modesty, and abandoned all concern for personal visibility. Or thoughts, or desires for personal publicity. What we today call publicity, or public relations – was totally foreign to his character. His behavior, and modest smile carry within them an interesting contrast to the concepts, vision, and large-scale deeds that characterized his works. Saroka was the man who, for many years, was the driving force and prime mover for the expansion and strengthening of the hospital system. Even with his great vision, Saroka did not overlook small details, about people, the need for a picture on the wall of a clinic, for garden space surrounding the hospitals. He was concerned about every patient. He was always afraid that in some obscure point, that medical help was not reaching those who needed it. He was a man of pleasant disposition and has a good esthetic sense. He dressed simply, but always tastefully. I was always of the opinion that his external appearance reflected the inner man: clean, orderly, bright. His esthetic sense was primarily evident in the hospitals and clinics he built. He did not stint on any detail. He always wanted the very best. He wanted the sick person to be surrounded with a pleasant environment. Not everything came easily. He had great disputes both within the hospital system and outside of it, but he knew how to take the battle to his protagonists, and he always remained loyal to himself and his values.”

Saroka left a huge legacy – an empire. This empire, as is known, is now in crisis. It is now possible to hear, that if the great builder, Moshe Saroka were alive – the hospital system would not have come to a crisis, and even if it dis – Moshe Saroka would have saved it from the crisis.

He died on August 12, 1972, and was interred in the Petakh Tikva cemetery beside his mother.

Hanokh was two years old when his parents came to Volkovysk together with his brother Moshe, older than him by a year. As was the way of other Jewish boys of that era, he too was schooled in a Heder, and after he grew up – in the public high school, and in the afternoon at the Hebrew School. In 1919, he joined HeHalutz, and quickly became one of the pillars of the Volkovysk chapter.

He followed in the footsteps of his older brother, and made aliyah to the Holy Land. His first stop was at Afula. He worked on creating the road system, and excelled especially in laying water pipe from Kfar Hassidim to Afula. Hanokh was among the workers of HaPoel HaTza'Ir, and in 1932 he was among the first of the settlers in Tzofit in the camp of the ‘The Settlement of the Thousand.’

Like his brother, Moshe, he had a good sense of organization, and he invested the best of his energy

[Page 82]

and skill in all his endeavors, but there is no doubt that his crowning achievement was – the establishment of Bet Berel in Tzofit, that was transformed into a wellspring university of the Labor Party. Zalman Shazar, the President of the State of Israel, wrote as follows, regarding his work and achievements on the occasion of the death of Hanokh:

“Hanokh, my loyal friend, you knew how to put flesh and skin on the dreams that hovered before the eyes of our spirit, and we didn't know how to make them real. You were from a family of doers. I see the houses about me (Bet Berel) and I remember how they grew because of your energy, under the aegis of your guidance and faithfulness. We knew that everything that you wanted to get built – would get built. You took upon yourself the burden on yourself to build them: a library, classrooms, dormitories, houses for teachers and hostels. You conceived of them and built them. And you were not only a man of deeds, but also a man of ideas, of an educator, and a man of deeds capable to live the lives of others, and to draw them near until they are made to feel important in this place.”

Hanokh was a member of the central Labor Party, and a member of its secretariat, and a representative to Zionist Congresses. He dreamt of an institution that would be a university of enlightenment for the members of the Labor Party, but he did not live to see its completion. In 1945, he was called to build Bet Berel, and until the day of his sudden death, he stood at the head of this institution, and invested his entire energy and strength in it.

In a letter dated 12.10.1970, Ben-Gurion writes, after visiting Bet Berel, that he feels much joy from what he saw:

“I was saddened to learn after my visit, that the creator of Bet Berel is no longer with us. While it is appropriate that this work is named for Berel, unwittingly, Saroka erected a permanent monument to himself. Indeed, there are miracle workers among us.”

In 1971, in a publication ‘Bet Berel,’ a piece in his memory appeared, called ‘Haskalah & Community,’ that includes things about Hanokh, and also things written by Hanokh himself.

His creative spark, that first revealed itself in Volkovysk, did not fade, and his interest in art, especially the theater, did not stop increasing the entire way. He was accepted into the Hebrew Theater under the direction of David Diovdov, and after a while into the Art Theater under the direction of Y. M. Daniel. When the KumKum Theater was established under the direction of the writer, Avigdor HaMe'iri in 1927, Klatshkin traveled to Europe, completed his training in Berlin and Paris, and also appeared in plays. When he returned to Israel in 1929, he was accepted into the HaBima Theater, and during 60 years, he played many roles with great success, and was one of the outstanding actors. He earned the Israel Prize for his life's work in the arts. He passed away in 1987.

Sample of the front page of Der Yingl

[Page 83]

undoubtedly be happy to read of the ‘discovery’ that has fallen into our midst thanks to Katriel Lashowitz and Yehuda Gabbai, the director of the Theater Archive in Tel Aviv. We are looking at five pages of a periodical that appeared bi-weekly under the name of Der Yingl, that appeared in Volkovysk under the editorship of Raphael Klatshkin. The pages spread out in front of us are dates from the months of April-June 1920, and to the best of our knowledge there was no comparable periodical in any city or town in Poland. The living spirit of this bi-weekly periodical was Raphael Klatshkin. The banner of this periodical reveals its mission, and this is how it describes itself: ‘An illustrated literary-humorous twice-weekly youth journal.’ The newspaper was printed in hectograph, and even the drawings were Klatshkin's. The language of the paper was Yiddish, except for page 4 of 15 from the issue of May 1920 and was appended to them as a ‘Hebrew Addition.’

There was no party or institution behind this paper, but one could find all manner of things inside: gossip, poems, small messages, short essays on current events, jokes, epigrams, drawings and much more. Klatshkin filled about 80 to 90 percent of the paper in which a lively spirit can be sensed in all of its pages. In his quips, epigrams and jokes, Raphael'keh (as he signed his work) would provide reactions to the issues of the day, on the condition of the Jews in Poland, on anti-Semitic incidents, etc.

Let us bring an example of one of the jokes signed, ‘Raphael'keh,’ about the trains in Poland, and here is what it says:

– Are you aware that the extensive delays in the movement of the trains in Poland are actually very useful?

– Useful? In what way?

– Very simple. If someone is thinking about committing suicide by laying down on the railroad tracks, it can be very many hours before the train will come and kill him, and the victim can become disgusted with waiting, and will return home without committing suicide.

– Do you think that the Poles did this intentionally in the first place?

– Certainly. After all, the Poles knew that conditions in the country would cause many people to become disgusted with their lives, and want to commit suicide.

This is just one example among many of Klatshkin's sharp sense of satire, and he was 15-16. A special edition of Der Yingl, (No. 5, Second Year, June 1, 1920) was dedicated to the ‘trip of our editor Raphael Klatshkin to Palestine.’ From this newspaper we are told on the neighborly and friendly and deep ties between Klatshkin and his friends. The banner of this paper carries a picture of Klatshkin, as well as a big headline as follows: Raphael'keh! Your Yingl is lonesome for you. That is to say – before he has even left Volkovysk, Klatshkin's friends and newspaper partners are already pining for him. Many blessings for Raphael and his brother Natan appear in this paper, on the occasion of their travels to Palestine. Klatshkin himself expresses his feelings prior to his voyage, with jokes and writings. We will reproduce a few lines from his poem, Meine Gefiln (My Feelings).

I travel away from my shtetl
Very far
Like a leaf that has been torn off
Before its time.

I travel to the Jordan, with its clear waters
Into the valley
I travel to the beautiful mount of Lebanon
Now and then

I travel to work hard there
With sweat
My face will become wet
At least I know

All the writers of Der Yingl accompany Klatshkin on his journey with words laden with deep kinship. One of them, a regular writer who signs with the name ‘Dorf's Jung’ published a letter of departure that ends with these words, which bear witness to the valued relationship felt for Klatshkin by his

[Page 84]

associates: ‘Live well in the land where you will find yourself, and spread your shining brightness wherever you go.’

A moving poem that touches the heart, from Rapahel Klatshkin is dedicated to his mother, to whom he is bound with bonds of love. The opening lines of the poem are:

Who has loved me so strongly
Who thought only of me?
And who in the night
Made my bed wet with hot tears?

Who kissed me and cherished me
Who is ready to die for me
Who, with fervent, sweet words
Love me unto death?

Klatshkin's literary, humorist and satiric talents that budded in childhood, matured, as is known, in the course of years, in his appearances in plays he would also permit himself to read from his own works. In what Klatshkin left behind, there are also found poems that were written in a later period, more when he was already in Israel. A number of them appeared in the youth newspaper BaMa'alah and many of them simply lay in his drawer until they were found.

Meeting of Volkovyskers with the actor, Yaakov Einstein on his return from a tour of Argentina

Yaakov, Dvora and Arik Einstein

After finishing his gymnasium studies, and coming to the Holy Land, he had great struggles within himself, but in the end, the call of the theater prevailed over the call of the kibbutz, and Yaakov was accepted into the Labor Theater, Ohel, and in time, he came to play leading roles in the theater group. His role in I. J. Singer's Yosh'eh Kalb was especially memorable. Yaakov continued his artistic career with this theater group, until the last curtain call of the Labor Theater.

Apart from his theater roles, Yaakov covered the country doing dramatic readings and acting, and met with great success. The repertoire of these presentations was drawn largely from Hebrew literature, by which Yaakov cared for the elevation of his programs, and did not satisfy himself with trivial presentations, or schund, as many did in those days.

Apart from the plays that he organized in Israel, he also toured outside the country as well, the most recent being a tour of Argentina. His appearance there, at various Hebrew schools, organized through a variety of groups, met with success, however, because of the onset of a serious illness, to our sadness, he was forced to return to Israel.

Einstein had recorded part of his repertoire, and in the last days of his life, when public appearances were no longer easy for him, he would personally sell his records. According to Gedaliah Pick, a member of kibbutz Amir, he remained troubled by the fact that he never realized those ideals that he fostered in his time as the head of the HaShomer HaTza'ir chapter, and did not join a kibbutz. Nevertheless, Einstein was well received in many kibbutzim, with friendship and affection, when he would bring them ‘the song of the Land.’

[Page 85]

Volkovysk bequeathed two good theater actors to the land of Israel: Raphael Klatshkin and Yaakov Einstein. To our great sadness, we must add those somber letters, ז”ל to both their names, because neither of the tow is today alive. I was a very close friend to one of these, and in the following lines, I plan to portray Yaakov Einstein as a friend and companion.

Yaakov was a friendly and stimulating man, and after I reached the Holy Land by means that were not exactly simple or easy, with the partisans, Yaakov and his wife Dvora took me in warmly and graciously. I came and went in their house like a member of the family. Yaakov showed great curiosity about me, and all that I had experienced during the war, and would listen to my stories and “sold” them, as I later came to know, to the members of Ohel, who themselves were eager to hear the tales and experiences of a Jewish partisan. He wasn't always accurate with the facts. As an artist, blessed with talent, and as a man with a presence, he would occasionally embellish with something of his own imagination in order that the story appear even better.

In one of my visits to his house, I told Yaakov, that I was interested in renting a home in Tel-Aviv, and I already had the means to pay the rents demanded. A few days hadn't gone by, when Yaakov notified me, that he found a one-room place in an attic of a friend's home, and in order to agree on the rent, both of us would have to visit with the owner, and that's what we did. When we reached the house that evening, Yaakov asked me to remain outside, and when it will be necessary – he'll call me in to sign a contract or lease.

As I later learned from Yaakov, he saw a need to tell the owner exactly who the tenant was, and praised me as a fighting partisan, etc., etc. The lady of the house was busy at that time preparing some coffee and a snack, and she overheard us from the kitchen, catching only fragments of what we were saying, and before she brought in the coffee, she told Yaakov that she had no intention of renting the attic room to a partisan who had lived in the forest, skilled in sabotage, who knows how to shoot a gun, attack, etc., etc. She was simply frightened of this ‘type’ of an individual. None of Yaakov's explanations helped, as to who sent me, why I did what I did, and she did not agree to permit him to present me personally, so she could see for herself that the ‘devil isn't really all that bad,’ and that I represented no danger to her. She stood her ground: under no circumstances!

When Yaakov came out of the house, he relayed this story to me emotionally, and told me about the peculiar woman of the house, who had heard fragments of the conversation about me, and then refused to rent me the room. I saw that he was completely crushed and depressed, and I felt a need to comfort him. Since the house stood at the corner of Arnon Street and Am Yisrael Chai, in the north of Tel-Aviv, I said to him as a vote of confidence: don't worry Yaakov, look, Am Yisrael Chai, and a solution to the problem will be found, the influx of new olim into empty housing is very much the vogue right now, and I have in my life dealt with much greater problems…

I gave him a hint, and he got it. He said: I have no qualms about proving to the landlady that you were a partisan. They were my friends, but were. From this point on – the friendship is over.

I tried to persuade him otherwise, that it was not worth losing friends on account of so trivial a matter, and that I would most certainly find another place, but Yaakov said: “On the contrary, I want you to learn a lesson from this bitch, whose husband is nonetheless a decent sort of person, but she seems to be a mean person from birth. He proposed to me that we take advantage of my status as a partisan, and to arrange the occupancy that night by moving my effects through the room of this murderess of the house. He added that if to do this, it would be necessary to enlist the help of additional partisans, or to delay the process for a couple of days in order to assure its success – his assistance was guaranteed.

[Page 86]

“This bitch will yet come an beg your forgiveness for her behavior towards a fighting partisan.”

I decided to cause him some spiritual relief, and myself some residential relief. I took his advice, but I didn't ask his participation, and there was no need for his help. When I let Yaakov know that Am Yisrael Chai, and the partisan Katriel Lashowitz was already living in the bitch's house – his joy was boundless. Not only did the members of the Ohel troupe hear this story, elaborated with all manner of details, but also all his friends and acquaintances. His wife Dvora told all her friends about this adventure in the organization of working mothers, and also, their prominent son, Arik had he been a little older at the time – would have composed a song on this subject…

Abraham grew up and was educated at a Hebrew High School in Volkovysk, and after he graduated, he traveled to Nancy in France, in order to complete his studies in electrical engineering. When he returned for vacation to his family in Poland in 1939, the Second World War broke out. Abraham attempted to continue his studies at the University of Lvov, while this city was still under Russian control, but he was forced to suspend his schooling when the city was captured by the Germans, and his father was killed by Poles during pogroms that took place in Volkovysk. During the days of the first ‘action’ by the Germans, the remaining members of his family were wiped out. Abraham succeeded in fleeing. He wandered to the south, crossed the Carpathian Mountain range, and entered Romania. He was imprisoned there, but Jews who had commercial relations with his father got him released. He arrived in Israel by indirect means, and continued his studies at the Technion in Haifa, supporting himself by a variety of jobs, such as washing dishes in restaurants, hauling freight, being a guard at the electric company, etc.

A. Meged tells about this period:

“The image of his murdered father, and his family members who were driven to extermination camps – pursued him. The Andres army was in the Holy Land at the time, and he made a decision that in the light of those times appears absurd: at a time when Jewish soldiers were being yanked out of the army and ‘swallowed’ into the settlement, Abraham decided to enlist, on the assumption that in this way he would be able to get back to Poland and find members of his family, when Poland was liberated. But this illusion was quickly shattered. Two months after he enlisted, and after the broad-based anti-Semitism of this army became evident, and after the expectation of participating in the liberation of Poland vanished – he discarded the uniform, and returned to his studies. In 1944, he graduated from the Technion as a machinery and electrical engineer, and a year later, he married Malka Cohen, a graduate of the Teacher's Seminary in Tel-Aviv. Already then – he was recognized as a man with the skills and talents associated with fundamental concepts – he was drafted into the Haganah, to work in the underground munitions factories. From this point on, a career begins that is out of the ordinary, and mostly secret, that continued for 35 years, until he became head of the central section of the Israeli Military for the procurement of armaments, and a Deputy Managing Director and one of those who raised the military manufacturing industry to a major concern, not only strengthening Israel's security, and contributing to its victories in battle, but also

[Page 87]

made it into a first-class international force in the advancement of all manner of weaponry. The equipment of tanks with 105mm cannon, that was developed by him, proved to be the best in the world. Orders that were received by the TA”Sh from its inception have totaled over one-half billion dollars.”

Up to here is the summary of Aharon Meged, who was also related to Abraham Makov. His life's work and what Abraham accomplished is told by the CEO and Managing Director of the Israeli Military Industry, and his words provide a good perspective on Abraham's great accomplishments over the course of nearly forty years:

“Abraham arrived at the TA”Sh in 1947, on the eve of the establishment of the State, as a machinery engineer, and from that time on, never ceased top give of his energy and skills to the development of military manufacture, and its transformation from very modest factories to a manufacturing concern that employs about fifteen thousand workers. He was literally a genius at developing modern weaponry, and his achievements in this sphere can serve as a model of the development of Jewish talent in the area of day-to-day manufacture. He was able to complete projects within 5% of their target – a feat that many managers find difficult to achieve. With the meager resources at his disposal, with a handful of trained people – he succeeded in competing with the best talent and engineers in all parts of the world. His contributions to the improvements of the weaponry used by the IDF, under his supervision, is immense indeed, and it is because of this that he twice was awarded the Israel Security Prize, and was also awarded a commendation for his unique contributions in the development of tanks, which occupy a front row in the arming of the IDF for a modern war.

Abraham Makov continued to accelerate development up to his last days, and it is sufficient to note that up to half of the output of TA:”Sh is of his own design.”

Regarding his final months of life, Aharon Meged writes:

“The last five months of his life – are a chapter of remarkable heroism. Despite the physical agonies that grew worse daily – he traveled each day to work, with the help of his chauffeur Albert, in order to provide oversight to development projects that he had initiated. As to examinations, radiation therapy and medical care – that he would only turn to after working hours. When because of the pain, he was no longer able to leave his home – all of his thought was dedicated to what was going on in the place where work was being developed. He remained in telephone contact with the factory, giving advice to the workers. Even when he became bedridden, with the cancer eating away at his body – his mind did not cease trying to provide solutions to technical and engineering problems. He would write them down on pieces of paper, or ask his wife to take dictation from him. His wife, an outstanding teacher and educator, told me that sensing the end was near, stimulated his intellect, as if he was seeking to round out and design additional concepts, so long as he still had a breath in him. When he was finally enveloped in the darkness of hallucination, the pain would confuse his mind, with regard to the unsolved problems at work, and from his thrashing about, he would give out confused sentences, half of which dealt with a complaint about his deteriorating spine, and half about a missile that wasn't mounted correctly. Like Jean Christophe, in whose ears the strains of music resonated in his last moments, he too, up till his last minutes, was producing solutions to engineering problems. In one of these last minutes, he mumbled to his son out of an hallucination: “They killed my father.”

The memory of those depredations haunted him all the years he was in the Land. It is possible to believe that a hidden agenda to prevent a second Holocaust, was the moving force behind his feverish activity, from which he never rested, and was the fire that ignited his creative capacity.”

On Wednesday, 29 Sivan 5741 (1980), when Abraham was no longer alive, he was awarded a third Israel Security prize, in the presence of the President of the State, the Prime Minister and the Head of the IDF, Head of the Security Office and the CEO and Managing Director of military manufacturing. The prize was received by his wife, Malka, and his son Ron. The prize was given to him for “a lifetime of dedicated work, and for his seminal contribution to the development and design of weapons for the IDF and for export.”

[Page 88]

In his concluding remarks at this event, the CEO and Managing Director of The Israeli Military Industry, Michael Shur said the following:

“To our great pain and sadness, Abraham Makov is no longer with us, and his illness brought him down at the point where he was still full of ideas and plans for development and advancement. The award of this prize will remain as a tribute to his memory, and a recognition of his work during his long years of service, and will be a sign of honor to his family and the many thousands of workers in the family of the workers in military manufacture.”

We, the people of Volkovysk can add only a few words: the contributions and achievements of Abraham Makov are also an honor and a source of pride to the Jews of Volkovysk in whose midst Abraham grew up.

Translator's footnote:

1. Hebrew, for “They are of the Holy Seed” Return

The twin brothers, Shimon and Nakhumn

In time, when he was already a student in the Hertzeliya Gymnasium, he was appointed as a director of the movement, and when the time arrived, close to the outbreak of the war, he went for naval training in Gdynia, as part of an objective to organize a naval unit for Gordonia that would then make aliyah together to the Land of Israel.

The war subverted and nullified may plans, including those of Shimon. The Russians were not very enthused by his Zionist plans, and decided to exile him and a few other of his Gordonia comrades to Siberia. On his way to Siberia, the War between Germany and the Soviet Union erupted, and yesterday's enemy became today's ally. Shimon understood that everything had to be done to assure a victory for the Soviet Union. Among other things, he organized an effort in Siberia to produce skis for the Red Army. After a while along with the second Polish group, he was transferred to the Caucasus, and here he boldly renewed his energetic work, with an enthusiasm that had never left him, because he was appointed head of an orphanage.

At the end of the war, he went to Poland and joined efforts to re-establish the movement. Deputy Pesach Perlman, who participated in a Gordonia seminar organized by Shimon in Lodz in 1946 tell of him: “Shimon presented a variety of subjects to us, beginning with the teachings of A. D. Gordon, to creating settlements. Everything he had to say was well received by us, not only because of the content and presentation of what he said, but because we valued his modesty, the self-effacing way in which he conducted himself, and all the members knew that Shimon was not just a good speaker, but was also a good doer.” Among his many fine qualities was his love for another person because he was a human being. Day and night, he would emphasize that it is necessary to be patient with the public even if they are not acceptable to you.

Shimon always had a word of encouragement for every member, and when he accepted an assignment in the ‘Evacuation,’ he was very concerned about offering encouragement to the refugees and “prepare them emotionally for the difficult journey ahead during the time of crossing the Alps into Italy from Innsbruck.”

After his own arrival in Israel, he continued to work

[Page 89]

ardently in the assembly of the aliyah, and he did it in his own unique way: he went to the homes of the olim, spoke to them at great length, and attempted to understand what was bothering them – and then help. In 1960, he was designated as revenue director and was transferred to the western Galilee. The door to his office was always open to everyone in need, and his eternal optimism stuck to everyone who came in contact with him. One of his friends at work tells that “Shimon would distribute small loans out of his pocket to the needy, without the recipients knowing where the money came from.” He visited youth settlements frequently, and was a facilitator of relationships between world Jewry and Israel. The youth in the land rewarded him with their love and esteem, just as the members of Gordonia has done during his younger days.

The heart indeed aches that people like these are taken from us before their time.

Upon his arrival in the Holy Land, he followed the same path at others in the Third Aliyah: he worked on road-building, in tobacco, etc. Broshi specialized in the knowledge of the country, and in time became famous as a tour guide in the Holy Land. He knew each byway and road in Israel, and the Tanakh never disappeared from his hand, and in his explanations of various sites in the Holy Land, he knew how to integrate the past with the present, and to all the tourists under his guidance, he was an encyclopedia on knowledge of the Holy Land. Only someone who loved the Land of Israel, with a love that was boundless, could lead tours the way Broshi did. He instilled this love in everyone who participated in tours under his direction. Occasionally, he also conducted tours in adjacent countries, and he demonstrated substantial expertise there as well.

In the first year of my arrival in Israel, in 1946, Broshi included me in a three-day tour of the Western and Upper Galilee. People like Ben-Gurion, Levi Shkolnik (Eshkol), Golda Meyerson [Meir] and others, participated in this tour. The direction of this tour by Broshi was a very profound experience for me. Thanks to this tour, I also decided to conduct tours of the Galilee. [I did so] during two seasons that I was in Safed and one season in Tiberias.

When the Tourist Office was established in the Operating Committee of the Histadrut, it was natural that it be headed by Broshi. To the thousands of tourists from the United States and other lands, Broshi served as an address and a reference point at the same time. He was also active in the Organization of Volkovysk Émigrés, never missing a meeting with his townsfolk, and did his utmost to help those needing assistance, especially the survivors of the Holocaust that reached our shores towards the end of the forties.

Noah didn't experience the great Holocaust, but it is possible to say without exaggeration that he not only spoke and heard about it, but he lived the Holocaust with every element in his body, it was etched into the fiber of his heart, and he wanted with his entire might and main to assure that it would not be forgotten, and that the members of the younger generation should re-live this tragic episode without parallel, and that they too, should know how to assess the contribution of the Jewish community of Volkovysk to Jewish

[Page 90]

creativity. Because of this, he wanted to know about everything that had transpired in this community, and he took an interest in the smallest details, went to great lengths to meet and talk to people who remembered the city or lived in it, until the Abrogator descended upon it. He assembled material for a Volkovysk Memorial Book, and looked after assuring that everything that was written about it was proof-positively correct, without exaggeration or embellishment. He also didn't want things to be published without obtaining the permission of the contributors. He saw a mission in the creation of this book, which he carried out faithfully. His ‘tour’ of Volkovysk that he carried out in his mind's eye, that is presented in this book, is but one element out of thousands, that bears witness to his great affection for the institutions of activity, and for the rank and file, good Jewish people of his birthplace.

He did not know that his end was near. If he had known – he would have certainly driven himself and his friends even harder to assure the appearance of a Volkovysk book. He ‘turned me on’ to this work, on behalf of the book, back in the days when we were still engaged in erecting a memorial to the memory of our townsfolk and those from its vicinity. There is no doubt that if we have been privileged to publish this book – it is in large measure thanks to Noah Tzemakh, ז”ל, for which many will be grateful to him. He died on 23.12.86.

And finally – an interesting detail: Noah's son, one of the senior officials in the Israeli police force, Deputy A. Tzemakh, would certainly know that his father went about with the idea of the preservation of the Jewish community where he was born, and when I came to their house on the day after Noah died, to fulfill the commandment of comforting the bereaved, he anticipated me by saying: “Don't worry about the memorial book. I will continue with the work in my father's place, and get it done.”

Giora Even was not born in Volkovysk, but he has a relationship to this city, because of his father, Hillel Epstein, a man of the Negev, who was born in our hometown, and was very active in our time as the head of the HaShomer HaTza'ir chapter during the early thirties. We saw a need to bring the story of Lt. Col. Giora, who has the highest number of kills of enemy aircraft. During his service in the air force as a Mirage pilot, Giora shot down no less than 17 jets. His story, which follows, was first published by the air force office of defense, under the title of ‘Skies Cleaned of MIGs.’ The story speaks for itself, and it would appear that people from Volkovysk in the past, and especially their children and grandchildren, would find it interesting.

[Ed Note: The text of this diary has not been translated. It consists of the notes of the pilot during his various sorties to shoot down the MIGs that are credited to him]

  Vawkavysk, Belarus     Yizkor Book Project     JewishGen Home Page

Copyright © 1999-2024 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 09 May 2024 by JH