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Since Zolkiew was a branch of the Lvov community, it was inclined to accept the direction of the Lvov Rabbinate. But in 1626, on 27 Sivan 5386 (21 June 1626) the leaders of Zolkiew decided to appoint a Rabbi of their own.

1. The first Rabbi was R' Yekhezkiel Issachar ben Chanoch Avraham, who served in the rabbinate until the year 5387 (1637). We have no details on what he did in Zolkiew.
2. After him, the seat of the Rabbinate, the positions of Bet-Din Senior and Teacher of Justice was occupied by R' Moshe ben R' Shakhna, as is said on his headstone: ‘a man alive with activities.’ He died on 23 Heshvan 5413 (1652). It is not known if a new Rabbi was selected immediately after his death.
3. The Rabbi selected in the year 5440 (1680) was the remarkable Torah scholar, a Maskil^[1] in general sciences, and a specialist doctor, Dr. Yitzhak Meir Teomim-Frenkel, the son of R' Jonah Teomim, author of the treatise ‘A Summary of the Law.’ His father was the Rabbi in Grodno (1643-1654) and afterwards, the Headmaster of the Yeshiva in Pinsk and Vienna. From Vienna, he was invited to oversee the congregation in Metz. It was there that his son Yitzhak Meir received his education at his father's knee. When he became eighteen, they brought R' Moshe Mirelsz to Vienna as a Dayan, and in 1670, he was compelled to leave because of the expulsion. From Vienna, he left by way of Terebíneicthrough Hamburg to Amsterdam, where he served as a censor for Hebrew books. He examined the translation of the Tanakh to Yiddish by Jekuthiel Blitz (Amsterdam 1676-1678), and put [a subtle but discreet] distance between those places offensive to the Catholic Church, and for this reason at the end of the book, he publicized the name ‘Markus Frenkel Doktor and Rabbiner’ in a signed declaration of his authorship. In the year 1684, he again visited Amsterdam and published ‘Ein Yaakov’ with an explanatory supplement he called ‘Gifts of Light.’ Frenkel was thoroughly versed in secular sciences, taught medicine in Metz and was an expert doctor (Doktor Medicina).
   He served as the Rabbi in Zolkiew from 1670-1681. Afterwards he went to Slutsk, and from there he was called [to serve] in Pinsk. In 1685 he was chosen to be the Rabbi in Poznán, but that did not materialize. He died in 1702. It appears that a dispute between him and the leaders of the community broke out. In the ordinances of the year 1696, Chapter 61 it is said: ‘In connection with the distinguished Rabbi, Our Teacher Meir Frenkel he should treat the

leadership as it is stated in the compromise they worked out between them at the past market fair in Yaroslav, in the year 5450 (1603), that they should argue their case before two mediators one from each side as written in the document they authored, and for as long as they don't seek a judgement or a ruling of Kulikovo^[2] in his period, the community does not have the right to give any portion of honor to another.’
4. After him, R' Hillel ben Naphtali occupied the seat of the rabbinate (1615-1690) and was one of the most prominent of the Rabbis from the community of Zolkiew. He was born in Zolkiew. His father R' Naphtali Hertz, a son of one of the well-connected and well-known families in Polish Jewry. He was the son of Rabbi R' Shmuel ben Moshe R' Hillel from Lithuanian Brisk. He was a Parnes and leader of the committee of the Va'ad Arba Aratzot in Brisk and his brother was one of the Gaonim of Poland during the 17^th century, R' Aharon Zelig, the author of ‘The Pledge of the Seven Pillars’ (Cracow 5393, 1632).
   R' Hillel was educated in Lithuanian-Brisk where he studied with the darshan^[3] (orator) the Rabbi R' Hirsch, and in Vilna with R' Moshe, the author of ‘The Portion of the Chiseler (lawmaker).’ He was a Dayan in the Bet-Din of Rabbi R' Moshe In Vilna. In the years 1663-1669 he was the Rabbi in a number of communities in Lithuania. In Kedainiai he served as a Rabbi in 1669, and was invited to take the seat of the rabbinate in Hamburg-Altona. During his time there, the communities of Hamburg united, from Altona to Wandsbek (relocated to a settlement – 1675), and were separated because of a disagreement during the days of R' Meir Ashkenazi (1668). His wife died in Altona, on 19 Menachem [Av] 5435 (1676). In the year 1680, he was chosen to be Rabbi of Zolkiew, and according to what his son, R' Moshe said, he seriously and willingly returned to the ‘city that was a Mother in Israel full of wise men and writers, Zolkiew a royal city, which was a beautiful in appearance in all the land, and where its good name was known to the ends of the country.’
   While In Zolkiew, he completed his massive work ‘Beyt Hillel’ regarding ‘Yoreh Deyah’. To this end, he invited his oldest son R' Moshe, who was the Rabbi of Kępno in Greater Poland, to organize all of his innovations into four sections. And he organized his innovations for ‘Yoreh Deyah’

and ‘Evven HaEzer’ and published them after his father's death (Diharnfurt^[4] 5451) together with the approvals of the Rabbis of the ‘Va'ad Arba HaAratzot’, in Jaroslaw 2 Tishri 5451.
Rabbi Hillel had a persona of a highly traditional nature and an aura of loftiness. Given their importance and standing in their communities, rabbis were known to belittle the position of their fellow Polish Jews in the 17^th century. Rabbi Hillel died in Zolkiew in 1690.
Rabbi Hillel left behind three rabbinical sons. R' Moshe was the Rabbi of Kępno, R' Avraham, and R' Aharon Zelig were together in Altona. His son R' Aharon Zelig, who was born in 1650, moved to Zolkiew after his father's death and was given the community franchise. After a short while (1693) he was chosen as one of the heads of the community and its leaders. He served in this capacity for years, for we know that as late as 1723, he signed a promissory note on behalf of the heads of the community. He died in 1733 at the age of eighty-three. The inscription on his tombstone says: ‘The important head and leader, the venerable student of the Torah.’
5. Following him, from 1693-1697, the Rabbi R' Joseph Issachar Ber Ben Ovadiah the Holy, who before serving as the Rabbi of Zolkiew, was the Rabbi in Tziltz, Hatzenplatz and Galuga. He was invited to become the Rabbi in Kremzir, in Moravia, and did serve as Rabbi there until his death on 8 Sivan 5461 (1700).

6. R' Avraham (Avli) ben R' Mordechai R' Leibusz was received as the Rabbi on 16 Adar I 5459 (1699). His father R' Mordechai Ber (Israel) Isserl the brother of R' Avraham Avli, a Parnes of the Va'ad Arba Aratzot and a leader in Lublin, was a Parnes in Zolkiew, the son-in-law of the Rabbi R' Alexander Sender Schur, the author of ‘The Grains of Schur’ and ‘The New Dress.’
   R' Avraham Avli was the son-in-law of R' Yitzhak (Itzik) of Zolkiew, one of the rich men of the city. Before he served the rabbinate in Zolkiew, he was the Rabbi of Brzesko. After he was selected to be Rabbi in Zolkiew his relatives, the Head R' Mordechai, the Parnes R' Eliezer Lipman, the brother-in-law of ‘Avraham Avli,’ the Dayan Alexander Sender Schur and the venerable leader R' Mordechai Gumprecht, took on the responsibility with a sworn oath, that they were forbidden to be one of the seven good people of the city as long as R' Avraham Avli was the Rabbi of Zolkiew.
   According to the inscription on his headstone, ‘he judged Israel for forty years.’ The date of his death is unknown.
7. During that same period of time, R' Naphtali Hertz Hurwitz served as the Bet-Din Senior who ‘judged Israel for forty years.’ During the 1750s he stood at the head of the supporters of Rabbi Eibeschutz.
8. During the years 1719-1729, R' Yitzhak Segal Landau ben R' Zvi Hirsh was the Rabbi of Opatow. By the year 5489 (1729) he already occupied the rabbinic seat in Zolkiew. During the years 1735-1753, he served as the Rabbi of the Lvov valley, against the will of the Lvov community.
9. R' Ze'ev Wolf ben R' Yehoshua Heschel (1738-1741).
10. R' Pinchas Moshe ben R' Avraham R' Chaim's was taken on as the Rabbi in 1743. His father was a Parnes of the Va'ad Arba Aratzot. [He was] the son-in-law of the Parnes of the Va'ad Arba Aratzot R' Israel Isserl of Zolkiew, who was the Rabbi of Svirzh. On 2 Shevat 5504 (1743) ‘the heads of the city went to the city of Svirzh with the consent of all the balebatim and placed the crown of the rabbinate on the head of the Rabbi Pinchas ben Rabbi, Bet-Din Senior of Svirzh, יצ”ו.’
    However, he gave himself over more to the issues of the Va'ad Arba Aratzot, and faithfully served as a Parnes of the Va'ad of the Lvov valley, until the Va'ad was dissolved in 1764. He and his father were among the supporters of R' Yehonatan Eibeschutz, and it was through his efforts that an embargo was announced against his opponents in 5511 (1750) in Zolkiew. He had two sons. R' Joseph was the Rabbi of Jaworow, Witkow, Skohl (Sokal?), and afterwards in Poznán, where he died in 5561. R' Shmuel was the Rabbi in Bilgoraj from 1792, in Tarnopol, and after his brother died in 1801, he became the Rabbi of Poznán. He took the name Falkenfeld in 1795. He died in 5567 (1806).
11. R' Shimshon ben R' Yaakov Meiseles was the Rabbi in Cieszanow. From there, he was taken on as the Rabbi in Zolkiew to take the place of R' Pinchas who was occupied with the matters of Va'ad Arba Aratzot. He remained in Zolkiew for a scant seven years, until 1757 and then returned to Cieszanow. He seated his son to take his place.

He gave his approval to the book of Maggid Maysharim^[5] in Brody, R' Peretz ben Moshe [titled] ‘Beyt Peretz’ that was printed in Zolkiew in the year 5519 (1759). Concurrently, R' Avraham Mordechai Heilperin was the Bet-Din Senior, and Teacher of Justice in Zolkiew.
12. R' Avraham Mordechai ben Israel Heilperin served the community as Rabbi from 1763 to 1772. He was the Rabbi in Warunki before his move to Zolkiew. He left the Rabbinate after 1772 and settled in Brody, where he died on 3 Tammuz 5541 (1780). He had consented to a second printing of the book, ‘Shomer Emunim,’ for the Headmaster of Urgasse, on the 5 Av 5520 (1766). On 26 Tishri 5538 (1771) he approved of the book ‘Ateret Joseph.’ Written above his approval are the words, ‘who is now resident with the holy congregation of Brody.’ The book was further signed by the youth Avraham Mordechai Bet-Din Senior of Zolkiew, on 28 Iyyar 5541 on the book ‘Etz Chaim’ of Rabbi Vital, and signed, ‘Bet-Din Senior and Head of the community of the holy congregation of Zolkiew, currently residing in the holy congregation of Brody.’
13. One of the great Rabbis, R' Moshe Zvi Hirsch Maiseles, who had previously served as Rabbi in Lancut, was selected to be the Rabbi of Copenhagen, but he did not want to leave Zolkiew, and occupied the Rabbinical seat until he passed away on 18 Kislev 5561 (1801).
14. R' Yaakov Meshullam son of R' Mordechai Ze'ev Orenstein was selected despite his youth, to inherit his place. After the passing of R' Zvi Hirsch Rozanisz in 5561 he was chosen to be the Rabbi in Lvov, but despite this, he remained in Zolkiew until 5564 (1805).
15. After Rabbi Orenstein went to Lvov, the duties of Rabbi in Zoliew were taken over by the Dayan R' Joseph Juzpa Segal Stern from 1805-1809, together with Elazar Gottlieb. He served as the Yeshiva Headmaster and taught many students, among them were the Hebrew author Dr. Meir Latriss, the Enlightened publisher Shaul Meyerhoffer, Avraham Goldberg and Aharon Lerner. He was an outstanding teacher.

There were Bet-Din Seniors and Dayanim with prominent names during the time of Zolkiew's existence. The following Bet-Din Seniors were familiar to all during the 17^th century.

1. R' Moshe ben Shakhna who died in 1652.
2. R' Yeshaya ben R' Yitzhak was the Bet-Din Senior in Zolkiew and the Headmaster of the Yeshiva of Lvov,
   1. R' Zelig was the Bet-Din Senior at the end of the 17^th century.

3. R' Moshe ben Daniel, who was born in Zolkiew, authored ‘The Complexities of the Talmud,’ published at the end of the 17^th century.
4. R' Benjamin Ze'ev ben R' Joseph was the Dayan at the end of the 17^th century.
5. R' Menachem Manisz the Bet–Din Senior was also a prominent orator on behalf of justice. He was a member of the Bet-Din of the Gaon R' Naphtali Hertz Hurwitz, in the second half of the 18^th century.
1. R' Abraham ben R' Moshe the Bet-Din Senior, was recognized by all as one of the Great Ones of his generation, ‘the Rabbi that shone the great light and the Hasid steeped in the Kabbalah.’ Before coming to Zolkiew, he was the Maggid in Dabrowa. He died on 20 Nissan 5494 (1723).
6. R' Yehuda Moshe ben R' Baruch from Zolkiew, and the Bet-Din Senior, wrote the book ‘The Good Fountain,’ dealing with the Shulkhan Arukh and Yoreh Deyah.
7. R' Gedalia ben R' Benjamin Wolf signed the embargo of 5511 along with R' Naphtali Hertz Segal Hurwitz. He died in 1776.
8. R' Naphtali Hertz HaLevi Hurwitz ben R' Mordechai, the Bet-Din Senior and Headmaster of the Yeshiva, served for forty years as a Dayan in Zolkiew.
9. R' Israel Mordechai be R' Boruch was head of the court. He took part in the meetings of the leaders of the Lvov Valley area which were held in Lvov, on 8 Adar 5512 (1751), together with R' Naphtali Hertz Hurwitz, R' Joseph ben R' Yitzhak HaLevi Landau, R' Naphtali Hertz ben R' Meir, R' Moshe Pinchas, a trustee of the Va'ad Arba HaAratzot, R' Zvi Hirsch ben R' Moshe head of the government in Zolkiew, R' Israel Mordechai ben R' Baruch, a Bet-Din Senior from Zolkiew.
10. R' Alexander Sender ben R' Ephraim Zalman Schur, was the son-in-law of R' Mordechai Leibusz's, a Parnes of Va'ad Arba HaAratzot, and brother-in-law of R' Avraham Avli Rabbi in Zolkiew.
11. Out of personal modesty, R' Naphtali Hertz Hurwitz ben R' Moshe did not want to assume the rabbinical seat. He dedicated himself to Torah study, and was the author of ‘The Grains of Schur’ and ‘The New Dress.’ In what he said he revealed a major fluency and conceived of new laws. He died in Zolkiew 27 Shevat (1736).
1. R' Mordechai ben R' Chaim ז”ל was a member of the court of R' Naphtali Hertz the Levite Hurwitz.
12. R' Naphtali Hertz ben R' Moshe son-in-law of the Parnes R' Israel Isserl of Zolkiew, and the brother-in-law of R' Moshe Pinchas, Parnes of R' Moshe Pinchas Parnes of the Va'ad Arba HaAratzot and was a Head of the Court in the Court of R' Naphtali Hertz Hurwitz afterwards of the R' Shimshon Meizhles.

13. R' Zvi Hirsch ben R' Raphael HaLevi Head of the Court, a great-grandson and grandson of R' Yitzhak of the Holy Congregation of Zolochiv, who afterwards became a Maggid in Zolkiew. Author of the book ‘Avodat Shir’ Torah innovations, and Talmud Tractates^[6] (In Zolkiew 5533).
14. R' Yaakov from Lvov, was a Dayan in the second half of the 18^th century.
15. R' Moshe of Zolkiew was a Bet-Din Senior in Buczacz, and afterwards a Dayan in Zolkiew.
16. Ephraim Sheinert, was excellent at analysis. He died in 1809.
17. R' Joseph Eliezer Gottleib was a Dayan at the Court of Rabbi Orenstein.
18. R' Joseph Juzpa Segal Stern was a Dayan in the Court of Rabbi Orenstein, and afterwards took his seat in the chair of the rabbinate.
19. R' Eliezer Lipman was the Bet-Din Senior of Strelsk, and afterwards a Dayan in Zolkiew.
20. R' Shmarya Shmeryl ben Yehuda Leib Shapiro was the Rabbi of Wysoka, and afterwards was received as the Bet-Din Senior in Zolkiew.
21. R' Moshe Zvi Hirsch Ashkenazi (Zvi the Wise) was the Bet-Din Senior in Zolkiew and afterwards the Rabbi of Kamienka.
22. R' Issachar Ber Dayan (1693).

Many well-known Rabbis lived in Zolkiew during the 17^th and 18^th centuries. Those who we know were Yeshiva Headmasters or temporarily filled the role as Rabbis and Torah scholars were:

1. R' Aharon Zelig ben Moshe from Zolkiew, brother of R' Shmuel, was a Parnes who sat in the Va'ad Arba HaAratzot in Brisk, and authored the book, ‘The Seven Pillars’ in Cracow 5332 (1632), which consisted of five sections of explanations and behaviors on the Old Zohar, and New Zohar. Sayings from the Zohar are presented elsewhere. He died on 10 Elul 5403 (1643).
2. R' Avraham ben R' Israel Heilperin was the Rabbi in Waroniki, and after, moved to Zolkiew. He lived in Brody at the end of his life, where he died on 7 Tammuz 5541 (1646).
3. R' Yitzhak ben R' Jonah was one of the great scholars of his generation. He died on 21 Heshvan 5541 (1646).

4. R' Shimon ben Ephraim ben Ephraim Yehuda was the author of the book ‘Samson's Portion,’ (Prague 5447, 1687). He composed simple thoughts, others that required explanation, and deeply subtle ones, and organized them into thirty sections.
   He reached Zolkiew after the expulsion of the Jews from Vienna in 1670. Together with others who fled, he escaped from Vienna to Bohemia and from there to Poland. He was born in Eisenstadt (א”ש), where he came from one of the respected families there. In the foreword to his book he wrote: ‘…and I was forced to scatter my legs, like a bird that sensed the eagle until I came to the land of Poland to the holy congregation of Zolkiew, a city and Mother in Israel.’ At the end, it says, ‘Of the precious folk in Vienna and from those driven from Eisenstadt, Our Rabbi R' Shimon of the Holy Congregation of Eisenstadt.’ He also published the book ‘Reincarnation of Souls’ to R' Menachem Azaryah of Panow, about all of the people who fled under the conditions mentioned. He received 70 ‘srug for the work published in Prague in 5448 (1688),’ which was brought to the printing house by the author R' Shimon ben R' Ephraim Yehuda Eisenstadt who additionally added a bit in the name of others. A second printing was carried out in Frankfurt in 5562 (1802).
5. Rabbi R' Yehoshua ben R' Meir HaLevi Hurwitz was the brother of R' Yekl the Rabbi in Brody.
6. At the end of the 17^th century, R' Shlomo ben R' Israel lived in Zolkiew. He was the author of the book ‘The Glory of the Sanctified.’
7. R' Eliezer ben R' Avraham owned a Yeshiva. He died on 2 Adar 5562 (1802).
8. R' Aryeh ben R' Avraham was a great scholar, in whose hands ‘both the obvious and hidden were revealed. Matters of wisdom were revealed to him as if he were one of the men of renown.’
9. R' Aryeh Yehuda Leib ben R' Shmuel Gershon was the Rabbi in Skała and afterwards lived in Zolkiew. He wrote the book, ‘Escort to Grace’. He died on 23 Adar 5489 (1729).
10. R' Yehuda Leib ben R' Israel author of ‘The Offering of Yehuda,’ contained simple matters, hints to others, and teachings on the tradition of the Torah and the Five Megillot, (Zolkiew 5549, 1789) as well as the book ‘The Soul of Yehuda,’ simple texts on explanatory lectures, on the difficult sentences from the Tanakh, and on the connections between the orders of the Mishna and additions to his book ‘The Offering of Yehuda,’ called ‘Additions to Mincha’ (Lvov 5556). He died on 11 Elul 5552 (1792).
11. R' Yehoshua Fyvel ben R' Israel Teomim was the brother of the Rabbi of Zolkiew, Yitzhak Meir Teomim, and author of the book ‘Ends of the Earth, an Explanation of the Borders of the Land of Israel.’ (Zolkiew 5551). He died on the First of the month of Tammuz 5532 (1772).

12. R' Bezalel Zolkiewer ben R' Yehuda Leib The Levite, wrote the book ‘In the Name of Bezalel,’ which was an interpretation of the Tractate of Avot (Frankfurt, Adar, 5531, 1771). He also organized and published the book ‘The Light of Value,’ and he published the Jerusalem Talmud, three volumes with the explanation of the MAHAR”A Fulda, also published in Frankfurt.
13. R' Meir Ber'l Levi, author of the book ‘My Master is Gold,’ provides simple explanations about the order of the Torah, in the name of the Great Ones of that Generation, along with an addendum of his own (Nowy Dwor 5549), and the book, ‘Scrolls of Gold’ (Zolkiew 5513).
14. R' Yitzhak Isaac ben R' Avraham the friend of R' Aleksander Schur, the author of (The Grains of Schur), died 16 Shevat 5496 (1735). The Rabbi, R' Yehuda (Father of Rabbi R' Shlomo Klausner) nicknamed him ‘The great Light, the Tzaddik of the foundation of the holy world.’ R' Yitzhak Isaac was known to say that the city of ‘Zolkiew is full of Torah and Wisdom.’
15. R' Shlomo ben R' Israel, authored the book ‘The Holy Glory’ Piurda 5461 (1700), which was a dissertation on [three Pentateuch] books, Vayikra, Bamidbar, Devarim (Prague 5473, 1712).
16. The Rabbi R' Dov ben R' Nathan Neta died in the year 1781.

It is worth remembering the Headmasters of those Yeshivot that placed numerous students are the following:

1. The Rabbi R' Asher Zelig ben R' Israel Shmuel who was known as a teacher and a scholar, died on 20 Adar 5428 (1668).
2. R' Naphtali Hertz Ber, son of Parnes R' Hanoch Henykh, was a prominent member of his generation. He was known for his analytical skills and thoroughness of his knowledge. He died as a young man on Menachem Av 5491 (1731).
3. Rabbi R' Benjamin Ozer ben R' Meir of Klimantov was accepted as a Headmaster in Zolkiew. He wrote the book ‘Evven HaEzer,’ which provided innovative interpretations regarding the [major Talmud] Tractates of Berachot, Shabbat and Eruvin etc. (Zolkiew 5530). He died on 25 Iyyar 5470 (1709).
4. R' Joseph Juzpa ben R' Shmuel HaLevi, a Yeshiva Headmaster, wrote the book ‘The Hand of Joseph’ (Zolkiew 5589). He was respected by the members of his congregation, who saw him as a ‘Miracle of the Generation.’ He died in Tevet 5587 (1826).
5. Rabbi R' Akiva was a Dayan in the court of Yaakov Meshullam Orenstein and a teacher. His only son, R' Mordechai, was a very sharp scholar and thoroughly grounded in all aspects of the Torah. A large number of outstanding students studied at his Yeshiva, [covering] Talmud Poskim Rishonim

and Akharonim.^[7] He became ill with a mental disease at a young age, and he died in a hospital for the mentally ill in Lvov.

The walls which form the ramparts of the town

A lane in Zolkiew		The ‘Farah’ Catholic church in which the grave of the city's founder, Hetman Stanislaw Zolkiewski is located

[Page 56]

Zolkiew also was privileged to have many who functioned as a Maggid or a Darshan, all of whom were ‘sons of the Torah.’ During the First Period, the Darshan, Teacher-Director R' Yokhanan ben R' Avraham, with whom we are familiar, died on 17 Sivan 5399 (1639).

In the years Ta”Kh v'Ta”T (1648-1749), along with the stream of refugees from Wolhyn, the Rabbi of Zlotów, R' Yitzhak, came to Zolkiew, and was taken in by the heads of the congregation as a Maggid. His brother-in-law, the well-known Kabbalist R' Shimshon ben R' Pesach from Ostropol (Ostropoler) also moved to Zolkiew. Afterwards, R' Yitzhak's position as Maggid was filled by his son, R' Pesach. He published the book ‘The Book Horns’ on behalf of R' Avraham from the City of Kardina. It contained the Kabbalah along with the explanations ‘Dan Yadin,’ by his uncle Shimshon of Ostropol. At the end of this book was a collection of letters under the name ‘A Collection of Roses’, published in Zolkiew in 5469 (1708). He died on 15 Adar II, 5485 (1725).

R' Zalman Chaim Likver was a Kabbalist Hasid, and a Maggid of the Zolkiew congregation. He was the father of the Maggid drawn from the wise men of the Kloyz in Brody, R' Menachem Mendl Zolkiewer.

A great Darshan who was a Kabbalist and known expert in this field was R' Yehuda Leib ben R' Nathan. He was called ‘R' Leib Polack’ by the common folk, because according the stories of his contemporaries, ‘The truth of the Torah was in his mouth here, a little jewel.’ He was a force in the lives of the Polish Jews in the middle of the 18^th century during difficult times. He brought innovation to Torah study in his orations. Many of these lessons were recalled in books written by his uncle, R' Gedalia ben R' Yitzhak of Lunz, a student of the Examiner of Polno. The books are ‘Teshuot Khayn’ and ‘Rolls of Gold’ (Zolkiew, 5513, 1753). He died on 16 Adar II 5554 (1764).

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The Maggid R' Yitzhak Shimshon ben Pesach lived in Zolkiew at the end of the 18^th century when the city was under the supervision of R' Zvi Meizhels, the Maggid R' Yitzhak. Shimshon ben Pesach, formerly a Rabbi in Rawa, was a wondrous scholar who also served on the Bet-Din of R' Yaakov Meshullam Orenstein.

During this period, in the year 1760, R' Yaakov ben R' Ze'ev Krantz was taken on as a Kabbalist. He was known as the Maggid of Dubno. He gave lectures in Mezritch, and he developed a reputation as an Enlightened Maggid throughout the area of Lithuania and Reisen^[1]. The heads of Zolkiew invited him to serve as a Maggid in their congregation. He was called to Dubno from Zolkiew, and was there for 18 years as a Reciter of the Truth. He was a friend and a neighbor to the GR”A^[8].

The community of Zolkiew had a strong foundation and the means to preserve the lives of its significant members and great Rabbis. These Rabbis were known to be advanced in their Torah knowledge and spent most of their lives in Zolkiew studying Torah and performing service to God. They designed and shaped an orderly and properly organized community. Under their influence, the leaders of the community sought to free Zolkiew from the control of Lvov. Their desire was to achieve a situation of autonomy in their own enclave. This was an important goal for this prominent congregation which succeeded to the extent that it is included in the chapter about autonomous Jewish institutions.

In addition to feldschers, there were expert doctors in town who had studied in medical schools. Michael ben Israel was one of the first doctors in Zolkiew. He was nicknamed the ‘fat man’ and according to the description engraved on his headstone, he was ‘A loyal, skilled and trusted [person], and his reputation was one of the best.’ He died on 14 Nissan 5374 (1614). Emanuel da Jonah was one of the better doctors who served the Jews in Zolkiew during the reign of King Jan Sobieski. In addition to his practice of medicine in the courtyard of the King, he also served the Jewish Hospital (Hekdesh)^[9] that was already in existence in the 17^th century. We know from Austrian records that in the 18^th century, Dr. da Jonah settled in the City proper, on a street neighboring the Jewish ritual bath and the Community House.

The Feldschers worked only in the Jewish Hospital. In the first quarter of the century Dr. Uziel Avraham, born in Zolkiew and a son of R' Joseph the emissary from Brod (not native to Zolkiew), practiced medicine in Zolkiew for a number of years, and later settled in Brody. He was a graduate from a medical school outside of Poland.

During the 1730s Avraham ben Yizhak was a degreed doctor in Zolkiew. We also know that there was a Dr. Koppel Stein, a medical doctor in Zolkiew at the end of the 18^th century.

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There were also Jewish pharmacists in Zolkiew. Moshe Aptayker^[10] was the pharmacist in 1748, and Avraham filled this role in 1765.

Another personality from this area was the Scribe of the congregation, Eliezer Pavir ben Yaakov Koppel from Tarnopol. He was one of the first to publish Yiddish books. Pavir served as a proofreader in the printing establishment in Zolkiew. He began his printing work by translating literature. In 5557 (1797) he printed a didactic-romantic performance in Szklov, writing in prose using the style of R' Chaim ben R' Avraham Yehuda Leib the Kohen of Mogilev, called ‘A War During Peacetime.’ He told the story of Joseph and his brothers, in parts, by using conversation and discussion, and acting as an intermediary. The substance of the travesty was the story about the sale of Joseph by his brothers to the Ishmaelites, and their arrival in Egypt to procure food. The second part featured the crux of the scroll, which were discussions among the sons of Jacob and the heads of the Egyptian embalmers, and the gatherings Joseph had for his brothers.

Pavir translated this scenario into Yiddish, and this book became a favorite of the Enlightened. Multiple editions were published with the title, ‘The Greatness of Joseph,’ by the printing house of Mordechai Stein in Zolkiew, in 1801. At the beginning of the book, the transcriber from the Holy Tongue to Yiddish added a foreword detailing the translation of the contents from the Holy Tongue to German. Many pleaded with him to copy ‘this beloved book into German,’ because ‘it is sealed off to people who have no facility with our language.’ He did this so that the masses should absorb, understand, and garner a taste for the honeyed words, and teach those who have strayed. This, to allow them to not perish by the gentiles or speak wrongly by people who mock such things. The story in this book is an example of intermediation, wisdom and tradition.’ Pavir not only translated the text, but worked the scenario in many places, in a manner that in his time was a modernization of Yiddish. Similarly in his translation of ‘The Test of the World,’ by R' Yedia Badraszy, he conveyed an inner understanding Yiddish that was fresh and rare, published in Zolkiew in the year 1805, together with the Hebrew source, in which he revealed his literary talents.

Pavir translated part of the book ‘The Storybook,’ which was written in the Yiddish-German used during the middle ages, into the Yiddish language understood by the Jews of Poland-Lithuania, and he published it in 1807 in Zolkiew, with the title ‘Tales of Wondrous Acts.’ The book presented stories and events from the life of the Gaon and Hasid R' Shmuel and his son R' Yehuda the Hasid and his like (Zolkiew, 5560). He translated ‘The Praises of the Baal Shem Tov’ into YIddish in 1807. He was one of the first of the Enlightenment in Zolkiew at the end of the 18^th century, and one of its first ‘Pioneers’ of simple Yiddish, that he tried to inject into the proletarian literature, to insert the language of common people, the spoken language of the masses, without the intermediation and flowery constructions of the German language. He translated ‘The Test of the World’ for R' Yediah the Pearl, son of R' Avraham the Badraszy called ”Clear Language’ in the style of the Hebrew language, with a short explanation, in Zolkiew in 5565 (1805).

He was an influential person in his congregation and among residents of the town, but also perceived as spiritually disappointing. Because of its common or proletarian feel, his books were accepted by the readers of his time who didn't know Hebrew, especially the women.

Translator's footnotes

1. A person who is considered to be an exponent of the Haskalah. Return
2. Possibly Kulikovo, pronounced as ‘Kulikov’ by the Jewish community. Return
3. One skilled in interpretive reading of Holy Writ. Return
4. Possibly Dietfurt in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Return
5. The Orator of Righteousness. Return
6. The use of the descriptor ‘Tractate’ will be limited to a supplementary identification of a significant portion of the Talmud. Return
7. A Posek in Hebrew describes a scholar deemed qualified and capable of designating a religious law. There were two separate generations of these Poskim: a first (original) one Rishonim, and a second final one Akharonim. Return
8. An acronym referring to the ‘Vilna Gaon,’ a renowned spiritual persona of his time. Return
9. Possibly being used in its derogatory sense to identify a messy, ruined place. Return
10. A possessive declension of the noun for ‘the pharmacist,’ derived from Russian. Return

Zolkiew was first to indicate in Reisen that it had severed its ties from the Lvov congregation, in 1626, to create the Lvov Valley Commission. This commission was established in a manner similar to the other Commissions of the Valley, in accordance with the commands of the Reisen authorities, each in their respective Sejm set up in Wisznia in the year 1658.

After the invasion of the Cossacks and Tatars, the congregations linked to Lvov through branches in Brody, Zolkiew, Bubarka, Buczacz, Tysmenytsya, Horodeczny, Rohatyn, Zlotow, Leask and Rohatyn, began to extricate themselves from its [sic: Lvov] customs, and requirements to follow Lvov's counsel in the matter of taxes, budgets and issues of general interest. The country of Reisen was created on this foundation with Lvov at its center. After the peace was brokered with the Turks in Buczacz (1672) and after the peace of Karlowitz (1699) the Jews of Podolia broke away as they did not want to be part of the country of Reisen, or to recognize the leadership of Lvov and Rawa-Ruska. They created their own 'country' in 1713, with a Rabbi in Satanów as the Rabbi of the country.

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The community of Lvov was the center of Ruthenia. Nine congregations were created in Ruthenia in accordance with the will of the people. The Va'ad Arba Aratzot in Jaroslaw or Lublin was launched, and among the 'mediators' serving as representatives of the entire country, some also dealt with internal issues of the royal entity, regarding taxes throughout the area. The various different congregations which were branches stemming from Lvov, created during the time of war, found it difficult to break away from the control of Lvov at the end of the 18^th century.

The country-wide Va'ad Arba Aratzot was the controlling leadership among the Sejm Jews and among their congregations. It also directed the internal affairs of the country and filled positions to control the country-wide taxes from their own ranks.

For political reasons, the hegemony over Poland was important with regard to preservation of the country. The King allocated special privileges to committees within each country and specified the territorial boundaries of each country-wide Va'ad. In these country-wide locations, the heads of the Voievode consisted of 'Patronus Judaeorum' (exemption of the Jews), or the commissars that were responsible for each area. These heads and commissars carried out the work in the settlement to satisfy the leader directing the country-wide hegemony. On the Jewish side of the Country-Committee were the heads of the country and their leaders, the Rabbi of the Lvov congregation who also served as Chief Rabbi of the country, and officials elected by the congregations. On average, the participation of those seated in the Va'ad of Ruthenia, consisted of 3 Heads of the Community, and 15 leaders of the communities: 4 from Lvov, 4 from Brody, 3 from Zolkiew, 1 from Tysmenytsya, 1 from Stary, 1 from Leask, 1 from Jaworow. One more person sat at the head of the group as the leader of the country, and directed judgements.

The participants sat in designated seats at meetings in accordance with an order specified by the Head. For example, at the sitting in Berezhany in 1740, the participants were seated in the following order: the country Leader sat at the head. Beside him were 2 officers from Lvov. Across from them were 4 officers from Brody. Across from them were 4 officers from Zolkiew. Three of them were elected officers and the fourth was the Head of the country. Next to these were officers from Brody and Zolkiew, on the other side were the officers from outside the city of Lvov. The officers from Lisok, Stary, Tysmenytsya, and Jaworow, sat in the last places. The officers of the Va'ad Arba Aratzot were also seated for country sessions.

The mechanism of appointment consisted of an emissary, a scribe, an accountant, 7 tax collectors, 2 appraisers and two Shamashim.
The Va'ad of the country of Ruthenia was limited to the Va'ad Arba HaAratzot that included 3 appraisers, in accordance with the following order: 1 from Lvov and 2 from the provincial congregations, or 2 from Lvov and 1 from a province. The job of these appraisers was to present the issues of the country that needed to be assessed by the country-wide Va'ad.

In the 18^th century, the influence of Lvov declined to the point that only the Rabbi of the country remained.

Fights broke out in Ruthenia between Lvov and the remaining congregations who did not want to recognize Lvov's superiority over their communities, and there was a boundary set up for the Va'ad Arba Aratzot either in Jaroslaw or Lublin. The congregations of Zolkiew, Brody and BucZacz led the opposition against the control held by Lvov. In the 1664 seating of the country-wide Va'ad, the Va'ad of Szwerz sharply attacked

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the community of Lvov, whose desire and plan was to remain in control of all the community issues. The Va'ad of Szwerz took special objection to the amendments of the Voievode, Mark Maczinski, who had declared that the Parnassim of the Lvov community were also officers for all of Ruthenia. Despite this, they arrived at an agreement, and entered a number of amendments in the set of Zolkiew.

In 1707 (11 Elul 5465), the Va'ad of the country entered Strelsk to judge a dispute that occurred between the congregations of Leask and Sanok. The dispute was adjudicated by a court consisting of the Chief Rabbi of the country, R' Naphtali Hertz Ashkenazi as the chairman, the Rabbi of Zolkiew, R' Avli ben R' Mordechai Avraham, Rabbi Hirsch Bliskov and the leader of the Brody community, R' Yaakov Avraham Zolkiewer ben Yitzhak Zolkiewer, who was a Parnes in the Va'ad Arba Aratzot.

To our disappointment only a very small amount of information from the archives of the Va'ad has survived. We do know from the archives of the country Va'ad, that in 1714, Burstein participated in a sitting for the purpose of allocating the head tax, and also in Kulikovo on July 17, 1720 (11 Tammuz 5486) in which 5 powerful men participated from Zolkiew. Among them were the Parnes of the Va'ad R' Nathan ben Bezalel, the tax collector, 3 powerful men from Brody, 1 from Buczacz, 1 from Zolkiew, and 1 from another city, together with the Rabbi of the valley. Fifteen members from Lvov also attended on this date.

This court gathering adjudicated the conflict between Lisok and Sanok, and Lisok prevailed. This sitting resolved a dispute between Lvov and other congregations of the Valley over the appointment of a Rabbi, and the position of the first Rabbi was filled by the Zolkiew contingent.
After the death of the Rabbi, Gaon, and Sage, Zvi, in 1718, R' Yehoshua Falk (1681-1756) was chosen to be the Rabbi of Lvov and the Valley. A short time after his selection, one of the rich men in Lvov, placed his son-in-law, R' Chaim Lejzor'l in this Rabbinic Seat, with the support of Jablonksi, the Voievode of Ruthenia. In 1720, when R' Falk completed his term of service, the congregation did not accept his appointment, and chose R' Chaim ben Lejzor'l as the Rabbi of Lvov and the Valley. This choice was again supported by the Voievode Jablonski as well.

Rabbi R' Yehoshua Falk, author of 'The Face of Joshua,' was compelled to leave Lvov and go to Buczacz, the home of his mekhutan^[2], R' Aryeh Leibusz. From there, he turned to the congregations of the Valley, who leaned towards him for his goodness, and did not recognize Rabbi Chaim ben Lejzor.

At a particular sitting of the Va'ad of the Valley, the Va'ad announced a ruling regarding the excommunication of R' Chaim. It was explicitly stated in this ruling that 'the people of the Valley have no claim to part or claim of inheritance from the holy congregation of Lvov, or to accept the Rabbi's benediction. However, all of us, as one, all the communities of the valley, from one end to the other, all of us are owed to be under the honor of the Rabbi and Gaon, Our Teacher and Rabbi Yehoshua. He will solely and by himself, be the Senior among us. The selection of the place where he will live among one of the congregations of the valley will be decided, and from there we will be attuned to listen to him in all matters pertaining to the rabbinate.' The officers of the Zolkiew congregation, especially R' Nathan ben Bezalel,

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supported this. Because of all these disputes, the officers of Lvov did not participate in this meeting.

The deputy treasurer, Pszabendowski, moved the Valley Commission to Bóbrka on June 10, 1723, to oversee the allocation of the head tax. The Va'ad returned again to the town of Zaluzhany on January 15, 1724. The authorities took an interest in the resolution of the disputes among the community heads in Lvov and the heads of all the communities in the outer parts of Ruthenia. We learn this from the letters of the deputy Treasurer J. Pszabendowski, who was sent from Warsaw on November 13, 1725 to the Parnes of the Valley, R' Chaim Reitzes.

The conflicts continued between Lvov and the provincial congregations, regarding the question of the power of the commission and its level of control. The heads of the provincial commissions did not agree to partner with the neighboring forces of Lvov in the country-wide commission. The disputes also intensified when it came to organizational and financial matters. The rulers had to become involved when they could not resolve the matter of the head tax.
A letter from the deputy treasurer to the Parnes of the valley, R' Chaim Reitzes, warned about the lack of concordance between the Parnassim of Lvov and the provinces. The deputy treasurer demanded that the issue should be settled by turning it over to the country-wide commission in Bialikamon, near Brody, to order the division of the tax on the communities. Nothing happened during the meeting of the commission on October 8, 1725. It appears that the warning of the deputy treasurer fell on deaf ears. The seating at Bialikamon did not happen because the heads of the provincial committees did not want to participate with the leadership of Lvov in this country-wide commission.

The dispute among most of the Leaders regarding matters of organization and finances continued until 1740. In its attempt to resolve these issues before the Va'ad Arba Aratzot in Jaroslaw, they ordered the settlement of Berezhany to institute a head tax, as they were under pressure from the rulers, to carry this out. The head tax was a matter that was tied to stable relationships within the country-wide commission and its influence on the communities.

Eighteen officers participated at this seating. Among them were officers from Lvov, the country Head R' Isser, from Brody, R' Mordechai Babad, Leask, Stary, Tysmenytsya, Khodorov, Janowa from Lvov and others.

The issues that affected Ruthenia in this sitting took up 15 pages. In the end 1 was set in place, that at the time when taxes were evaluated and their division among the communities 2 of the Shamashim from Lvov and 5 from the entire nation opposed them. As to the election of country-wide Parnassim, one must count 2 leaders from Lvov and a number of the leaders of the country, this being in accordance with the decision of the sitting at Biaritzuv (Chapter 2).

In planning a date for the sitting to take up the formation of the country-wide committee, the leaders asked for a group of 6 members from Lvov, and 12 from the Valley (Chapter 3). At the sitting of the Va'ad Arba Aratzot there will be 2 leaders from Lvov participating and 2 heads from the provinces (Chapter 4). At the gathering of the Va'ad Arba Aratzot called to set the level of taxes for the kingdom's treasury, 3 Shamashim will participate from all of Ruthenia, at the first meeting, and two from Lvov. The next meeting will have 2 from the valley (Chapter 5). The head tax set for Lvov will be set for the same amount as for the largest city without branches. Due to the economic setback that had hit the Lvov community, this Chapter

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held the sitting of the Va'ad in Bóbrika on July 2, 1763 in favor of Lvov. It was decided that the required sum of the taxes would begin on Lvov, and be set at the time of the collection itself.

In the seventh Chapter, the privilege of the officers from Lvov to select members of the Va'ad was revoked. This privilege was given over to the Head Parnes of the country and the Rabbi of the valley. Chapter 8 dealt with the order in which signatures were to be affixed, the decisions of the Va'ad and the order of seating. The Va'ad was composed of the following individuals: the Chief Parnes of the Country, 4 leaders from Lvov, 4 from Zolkiew, 4 from Brody. The order of their seating was established as follows. The Parnes, which in the first half of the 18^th century was always the Leader from Zolkiew, sat at the head of the table (Marszalek). Sitting on either side of him were two members from Lvov, who came from communities outside of the city. Then there were four leaders from Brody, and one from Lvov (outside the city). There were 13 members in the Va'ad.

In Chapters 9-12, the selection of the Rabbi of the country was discussed by those who were placed there by the Parnes of the Va'ad, who was always from Zolkiew, and by one leader from Brody. It was in this manner that Lvov ended its efforts in matters pertaining to the Rabbi of the country despite the fact that the Rabbi of the country also served as the Rabbi of Lvov

In Chapter 15 it was set that the Lvov leaders who participated in the sitting of the Va'ad of the country would receive double 'Diatus' (אש”ל) aside from that which was given to the rest of the leaders from the valley. This matter also pertained to the Shamashim head taxes. It is from that time of the sitting of the country-committee in Berezhany that Lvov lost its influence over the valley area of Ruthenia.

In the first half of the 18^th century the Rabbis and the Leaders of Zolkiew were prominently visible in the sittings that took place in Zolkiew, especially those sessions that were held in Kulikovo, Bóbrka, Brody and Burstein. During the first quarter of the 18^th century, the first Parnes selected was R' Gershon Nathan, who, for many years, stood as the public face of the country-commission. His father was Bezalel, the tax collector, who had intimate contact with King Sobieski's courtyard. R' Gershon Nathan was respected in his role in the community, which he had inherited from his father. He was an aggressive and steadfast man. He knew how to expand the extent of his land holdings not only for his community but also the country-wide commission. R' Gershon was a Head and Leader in Zolkiew in 1659 (26 Elul 5419), and was initiated together with the other Parnassim and the leaders of the Va'ad Arba Aratzot in Jaroslaw.

R' Gershon, together with Hanoch-Henykh, the son of Bezalel the tax collector, controlled the county commission country-side. Hanoch-Henykh was one of the respected men of Zolkiew, and as Bezalel's son-in-law, he carried out burdensome tasks in the community. When Bezalel was selected to be the head of the community in 1688, he accepted with one condition, that of his right 'to render honor to his son-in-law, the officer as Our Teacher and Rabbi Hanoch-Henykh and to take his seat instead of himself and act in his capacity in all matters, etc.' He was a scholar and a quick decision-maker in leading all of the community matters. R' Gershon too, was a scholar and the novelties of his work were always apparent. When he argued before the local ruler, the Rabbi of Tarnopol, R' Yehoshua Heschel, the son of R' Yitzhak of Cracow, was not even considered. Aryeh Leib's position was taken by R' Yehoshua Heschel, son of the Rabbi Yitzhak of Cracow.

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Through the marriages of his daughters, Rabbi of Tarnopol, R' Yehoshua Heschel was connected with the most highly pedigreed families among the Rabbis of Poland. One daughter was married to Rabbi Mordechai Heilperin, and the second, Leah ben R' Yitzhak, to Elchanan of Cracow, the Bet-Din Senior of Zolkiew and afterwards Bszarogorod. The third daughter was the wife of R' David son of the 'Sage Zvi', who was the Rabbi of Byaritzov in his older years. R' David left the rabbinate and settled in the town of Leshniv which is near Brody, and was the Shammes of the synagogue without revealing his identity. However before he died, he did reveal that he was the son of the Rabbi and Wise Man, Chaim Zvi. R'David is the progenitor of the Halberstam family, from whom Rabbis and community leaders are descended in Ruthenia.

At the time during which R' Gershon Peretz was the Head, the dispute between Lvov and the congregations of the Valley regarding who would be the Country Rabbi fell to the Committee, which assented to his will.

The disputes regarding who should be the Country Rabbi continued up until the Austrian conquest. Until the end of the 17^th century, a Rabbi of the Valley came from the region of Ruthenia, with no opposition; most of the population of Lvov was outside the city. As was the case before, the disputation began after the election of R' Yaakov Yehoshua (author of 'Pnei Yehoshua.')

After Rabbi Chaim ben Lejzor'l was forced to flee Lvov in connection with the sentence pronounced by the convert, Jan Filipovic, R' Aryeh Leib ben Shaul, who was married to Leah, the daughter of the Wise Rabbi Zvi, was selected to take his place in the congregation in 1755. The Parnassim of Lvov tried to give him the added advantage to preside over the whole country, without the consent of the Valley Commission. Influenced by the Lvov commission, the King, August III, conveyed in a letter, that from November 11, 1735 the Voievode Adam Czartoriski, had control over the Parnassim of those communities outside of Lvov, and gave notice that they should consider this a directive to recognize Lvov.

But even the letter of the King did not help. At that same time, the Parnassim of the Valley chose the Rabbi of Zolkiew, R' Yitzhak ben Zvi Landau, the son-in-law of Dr. Emmanuel da Jonah as the Rabbi to oversee the Valley. He transferred the location for the country office to Zolkiew. It is understood that Lvov did not agree with the appointment of this individual. R' Aryeh ben Shmuel, the Rabbi of Lvov, took exceptional disagreement to the appointment. The quarrels among the two rabbis ended in the year 1749, when R' Aryeh Leib returned to Galzuna (?) His departure from Lvov prompted the officials of Zolkiew to capture the 'cup of the rabbinate' for R' Yitzhak Landau, however, the congregation of Lvov did not agree to this.

The seating of the Valley Commission held at Berezhany in 1740 demanded that the rabbinate of the Valley be divided: half to Rabbi Landau, and the other half to whomever was chosen as the Rabbi of Lvov. In the instance that the Rabbi, R' Yitzhak might make aliyah to Jerusalem, or take a position in another city, the Rabbi of Lvov would come to take his place, and control all of Ruthenia. Rabbi R' Chaim ben The Rabbi and Gaon R' Simcha HaKohen Rapaport, who was the Rabbi of Slutsk, was chosen as Rabbi in Lvov.

The quarreling erupted again when Rabbi Landau was selected to be the Rabbi of Cracow in 1754. After R' Gershon Nathan had served as a Parnes of the Country commission for the position for thirty years, the senior members of the Va'ad selected R' Israel Mordechai Isser's. But even R' Israel Mordechai Isser's, who was a prominent citizen with connections to the family of the Bet Din Senior, and the highest placed people in Brody, was opposed.

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In 1728, R' Israel Isser's was arrested in Zolkiew in connection with a plot against R' Yehoshua Reitz's in Lvov, and the Rabbi of Lvov, R' Chaim, fled to Zolkiew, thanks to having been warned well in advance. All the assets of R' Israel were embargoed.

R' Israel married off his daughter, Esther, to R' Naphtali Hertz, who was the Rabbi in Rawa. In 1742 (5453) R' Naphtali was accepted as a Dayan and a Teacher of Justice in Zolkiew, the city in which his father-in-law resided. From that time on he was called R' Hertz R' Isser's. He married off his second daughter, Rivka, to Moshe, son of the Parnes of the Lublin community, Avraham R' Chaim's, who was the Rabbi in Svirzh. Moshe joined the community of Zolkiew through the influence of his father-in-law R' Pinchas, during the time of the great dispute surrounding R' Yaakov Eibeschutz. With the considerable effort of R' Israel, a Great Embargo was pronounced in 1751 (5511) with the full force and strength to be put 'over those that speak on the Tzaddik Our Teacher and Rabbi Eibeschutz with derision.' Even R' Isser signed this embargo.

After the death of Rabbi Israel Isser's in the summer of 1746, a sitting of the Va'ad of the Valley took place in Zaluzhany on the 19^th of Elul (5506) in order to select his successor. After receiving counsel on the matter on 19^th Elul, a decision was accepted. The Va'ad nominated the Head of Brody, Rabbi Khytin, R' Yitzhak Issachar Berisz as Bab”aD, as the head for the entire country.

The Parnassim of the Valley were like a heavy yoke and burden. The Valley had large expenses that went up every year and ran into thousands of Gulden. Seeing that there were few expenditures that were made for the good of the Valley '… we close the doors of privilege. We take upon ourselves on this day, the large and awesome embargo, in order to lighten the burden of the expenses of our Valley. We agreed among ourselves, that from this day forward to the end of two years' time, the leadership from Brody saw it as an initiative against them. They were not disturbed by the threat of embargoes and fines, and in 1750, they picked a leader for themselves, with the consent of the country rulers.'

The leaders of Zolkiew refused to agree to the selection of R' Berisz Bab”aD as the country head. The leaders approached the reigning authorities, and charged the leaders of Brody with the complaint that this selection was a product of the same sort of thinking, a plan to impose their own rule on them through the Parnes of the Valley. Even the officials of Lvov and Tysmenytsya embargoed the deliberations of the seating of the county Commission that Bab”aD brought into Brody on July 19, 1750, as a solution to paying off a debt of 150,000 Gulden. The indignation was clarified and expressed by R' Berisz, assuming Bab”aD would divide the head tax without the participation of the officers who were embargoing the Va'ad, and he did as he said.

After launching this dispute, the heads of other cities, such as Khodorow (1752), Sanok (1754), Strelsk (1755), Drohowycz, Dulina, Rohatyn, Kulikovo, Pomorzany, Gorodok (1756), and Bulikova (1760), joined the complaints set before the Vice-Treasurer of the kingdom. Zolkiew was removed from its position on the Country Commission. Its leadership succeeded in only one action: the father-in-law of R' Isser's, R' Pinchas Moshe ben Avraham R Chaimish, was nominated to be the trusted secretary of the Va'ad and the Bet Din Senior.

As a country trustee of Reisen, R' Pinchas participated in judgements relating to the division of head taxes. He was viewed as an upstanding character, and was given the Polish nickname: 'Pinchas Abramowicz, Wiernick z provineji Ruskiej, obywatel miasta Zolkwi'

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Originally, R' Pinchas Moshe was the Rabbi in Svirzh. He became the Rabbi of Zolkiew in 1745, and in the year 1745 under the influence of his son-in-law, R' Israel Isser's. He also served as the Parnes of the Country, and afterwards as a trustee of the Va'ad Arba HaAratzot. He served in these capacities until 1764. He argued sharply against R' Yaakov Emden in his struggle against R' Yonatan Eibeschutz, and organized an embargo against those who quarreled with him. But with the passage of time, he regretted his decision because he supported R' Eibeschutz. When the credibility and trust in him became more firm, the embargo was announced in Lvov, Lutsk, Brody and Dubno. R' Pinchas and his father regretted what they did and fell silent. The latter stood in the Va'ad Arba Aratzot at the head of those supporting Eibeschutz, and the help they had extended to them because 'of the indignant manner, Yonatan the eldest who maligned The Land of Israel and Svirzh, and Yonatan was hasty, and caused Pinchas Moshe to announce the embargo in the Holy Assembly on his books and amulets.'

His son, R' Shmuel wrote about him: 'he was a Bet Din Senior of a Holy Congregation, quick to act, Parnes of The Lvov Valley commission, a trustee of the Va'ad Arba Aratzot, and, in him you had Torah and greatness in one place.'

The standard of influence and general standing of Zolkiew declined during the period of leadership of R' Dov Ber Bab”aD in the Valley Va'ad. During the time of the disputation over the issue of who should be the Rabbi in the Va'ad of the Valley, during 1755-1771, the Council of the Four Lands made an attempt to seize its former position, but it was in vain. The period of community autonomy in Poland had passed by, which led to its cancellation in the year 1764.

The officials of Zolkiew participated in the Va'ad Arba HaAratzot. In 1666, R' Moshe ben Aharon from Zolkiew, and other officers of the community of the Jews of Poland, signed a promissory note that they turned over on January 3, to the secretary of the treasury Casimir Kowalski, as a payment obligation for the needs of the military.

During the years 5484-5491 (1724-1731), R' Yitzhak bar Zvi Hirsch Landau participated in the sittings of the Va'ad Arba HaAratzot (called Hirsch Mellisz) in his role as Rabbi of the country. R' David ben Yizhak Prager from Buczacz, the Head of the country from Lvov, also participated in this sitting, as well as in the sitting of the Va'ad of the province.

David ben R' Yitzhak the Scribe was one of the leaders in the Va'ad HaAratzot.

Translator's footnotes

1. The German name for Ruthenia. Return
2. A uniquely one-word Hebrew/Yiddish designation of the father-in-law of a married couple. Return
Return

Notwithstanding the profound disappointment that descended upon the followers of Sabbatai Zvi after he converted to Islam, and the efforts of the Rabbis and community Heads in Poland to uproot every memory of his movement by burning pamphlets and pages from the annals of communities that mentioned his name, there remained in Poland, especially in the eastern regions, loyal adherents who saw Sabbatai Zvi as the redeeming Messiah, who would be revealed anew. Clusters of people with these beliefs worked underground in secret,

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in order not to arouse pursuit and erroneous accusations. The emissaries, Shabtai Rafael, and Mordechai from Eisenstadt (also known as Mordechai the Hasid from Prague) encouraged the believers in Sabbatai Zvi in Poland, and after a few years, they associated with Hesh'l Tzoreyf from Vilna (and later, Cracow), and Chaim Malakh. These individuals revealed their Sabbatean faith only to believers and people close to them, aligned against the outside world.

Years before the aliyah of the followers of Yehuda the Hasid and Chaim Malakh to the Land of Israel, there was an active group of Sabbatai followers in Zolkiew led by Chaim ben Shlomo, known as R' Chaim Malakh, who had joined the ranks of Sabbateans in his youth. He was a scholar and experienced in the Kabbalah, and students came to study with him, even from among those in the Rabbinate. The force of his oratory influenced and inflamed his listeners.

R' Chaim Malakh traveled to Italy in 1690 where he learned the esoteric lore from the head of the Kabbalists in Italy. He studied with Moshe Zacut, and from Zecut's student, R' Benjamin Cohen Marigin, considered a dedicated Sabbatean, in the opinion of Natan the Daring. R' Chaim Malakh returned to Poland as an emissary of the Sabbatean faith. He lived in Zolkiew from 1690-1692, where he spread the lore of the Italian people and the beliefs of Natan the Daring among the wise men of Poland, often preaching from the home of R' Benjamin Cohen. Malakh's writings were called ‘Genesis,’ and ‘Secrets of Divinity.’ He taught the Kabbalah in the Bet-Ha Medrash of Zolkiew, where many came to learn with him.

In 1692 he left Poland for Turkey. He resided in Adrianople until 1694 and studied with Shmuel Primo from the books of Sabbatai Zvi, the leader of the Sabbateans, who lived in Turkey. R' Chaim spent some time in Andrianopole where he was Bet-Din Senior. He connected with the Doenmeh, an extremist branch of the converts. This branch taught a different view of the Kabbalah than that of the Sabbateans, which, according to Gershom Sholom, caused nihilism and idleness, wild behavior and sinful deeds.

After he had absorbed these teachings, Chaim Malakh left the left the lore of the Sabbateans and their converts, and went over to the camp of the extremists, because he had found favor with their leadership in Turkey, and they saw him as an emissary of their beliefs. He lived in Podolia and Zolkiew from 1694 to 1699, during the time when the area came under Turkish rule. While he was there, he preached the lore of the extremist Sabbateans. While living in Zolkiew, he studied at the Bet-Hamedrash of the congregation, which eventually became one of the important centers for the extremist Sabbatean faith in Ruthenia.

Malakh wrote a letter to Avraham Ravieno and Benjamin Cohen, with the involvement of Mordechai Ashkenazi, who had returned from Zolkiew to Italy. He presented the foundations and interests of the Sabbatean faith in this letter, as they reseted on ‘Secrets of Divinity’ and the ‘Truth’ as he learned it, from the mouth of Shmuel Primo. As to the ‘Deep and Esoteric Matters’ he will convey them ‘when God May He Be Blessed will allow us to meet face-to-face and we will sweeten the secret, and it will perhaps soon be with God's help to do this, because we are traveling to the Holy Land. I heard from those studying with me that you too have the idea to travel there. If so we will see each other there together, and I will serve you as a student serves his Rabbi.’

His oration made such an impression on his listeners, that they were left in awe. He knew this because among those who praised him, was R' Gershon Nathan ben Bezalel, the tax collector, who also served as the head of the congregation for many years, and was the head of the country of Ruthenia. He added a couple of lines about this in the previously mentioned letter. In them he made clear that ‘it was already two years since he learned at the Bet HaMedrash

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the scholar among the rabbis, the Kabbalist נ”י (candle of Israel, May his candle continue to give light), ( פ”ה the light of his generation, the Hammer of his Generation) as Our Teacher and Rabbi, R' Chaim.’

The efforts of Chaim Malakh in Zolkiew had influence beyond its boundaries. Through his speeches, he prophesied that in 5466 (1706), forty years after his demise, Sabbatai Zvi would return to life and make himself visible again. And like Moses Our Teacher, who brought the Jewish people to the land of Canaan after wandering in the desert for forty years, he will redeem Israel from its troubles and sins.

Despite the harassment from the Rabbis, a number of students joined his group and that of a group of Hasidim who were planning to go to Israel. It was not until 1703 that Chaim Malakh revealed himself in the open as a Sabbatean while in Jerusalem. He made a statue of Sabbatai Zvi, and his followers carried it to their synagogue and proceeded to dance and sing with it.

R' Chaim Malakh traveled from Jerusalem, to Turkey and the Balkans, and to Austria and Poland. He acted as an emissary collecting money for Israel even though he did not have authorization to go on such a mission from the Ashkenazim in Jerusalem. When his actions became known in Jerusalem, the Ashkenazic leaders there sent a notice with the special emissary, R' Yekhiel Mikhl to the Va'ad Arba HaAratzot. The Rabbis of Kshota^[1] also notified the heads of communities warning them ‘not to fall into the trap of uncertified people and not to give them money for the poor in the Land of Israel, because they are asking for its money to be used by themselves.’ Despite such warnings, R' Chaim Malakh traveled around Poland as an emissary from the Holy Land.

He was in Tiktin during Kislev 5469 (1708), also in the role of an emissary from Israel, and he succeeded in obliging his audience to provide a donation of 400 Gulden. This is reported in the folio of the congregation (page 284) by a witness, who said, ‘when this pure and holy man passed through, a big man who was dear to us, the Wise Man who knew Torah well, His Honor, Our Teacher and Rabbi R' Chaim ben Our Teacher and Rabbi Shlomo Hamurgal, in front of the people following R' Chaim Malakh, he received a written message from the school of officials, rulers, officers, heads and leaders of our congregation יצ”ו to pay four hundred Gulden for the poor, and that the leaders of the congregation were obligated יצ”ו to pay all this money for the poor of Israel, as was previously mentioned. When the matter became clarified, that there was no connection between Our Teacher and Rabbi R' Chaim, and he has no control over this, and he should therefore return the funds to the leaders, or give the funds directly to the poor in Israel, or some official or Gabbai in Israel, and tell them that all of this is for the poor in Israel, and this should be some emissary from Jerusalem, the holy city. I wrote and signed this in the presence of the Head Officer of the movement, 1 Kislev 5469 (1709).’

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Chaim Malakh expanded on his secret while in Zolkiew, and spread this religious philosophy to cities and towns in Podolia and Reisen. His message was rooted in the teachings of the extremist Sabbateans. He left Poland for Germany, and from there, continued on to Amsterdam. The man from Zolkiew who announced his Sabbatean belief in public was Moshe Widislav, who was one of the members of the sacred group of R' Yehuda, the Hasid. It is not clear if he made aliyah to the Land of Israel.

He took up residence in Zolkiew, and behaved like a pliant Hasid, eating no meat during the normal weekdays.

R' Yaakov Emden tells: ‘He revealed himself openly and announced to everyone that Sabbatai Zvi was The Messiah, and no other… and he has no fear of standing on the city tower and call out this news in a loud voice, to let this be heard in the streets, and does not feel that they will kill him for this.’

The Sabbatean R' Mordechai ben Yehuda Leib Ashkenazi was a merchant who lived in Zolkiew. He was not born in Zolkiew, but his wife and her parents were native to the town. According to his writings, he became involved in an argument with one of the higher ups in front of the King, Jan Sobieski, and he prevailed in his argument. He would come out of his home and go through the King's courtyard; from this we can gather that he was an important man of standing in Zolkiew. He especially made a point of underscoring the fact that the King was amiable towards Jews. In 1695, Ashkenazi left Zolkiew, and went to Italy. He was received in Modena by Avraham ben Michael Rowigov, who was a rich man and knowledgeable in the Kabbalah. Ashkenazi was not well-acquainted with the Torah, and according to his own words, he ‘was exposed and known to all who understood science, from the time when I was ignorant and didn't know left from right. And why would I be proud of, or say such things, that are obvious from my head, and everyone who would listen to me, would mock me.’

Rowigov introduced him to the study of the Kabbalah, and did not give him leave to return to Poland until he finished his studies. In Sivan 5456 (1696), he traveled to Poland in order to retrieve his wife and son from Zoliew. He returned to Modena with them in Kislev, 5457 (1696).

Rowigov influenced R' Mordechai Ashkenazi to write the essence of his dreams in a notebook, as well as the revelations of the ‘Maggid’ whose voice he would hear in his dreams. The ‘Maggid’ revealed things to him, from his ‘folio of dreams.’ This folio included the Maggid's own sayings, secrets of the Torah, secrets and explanations to prepare for the coming of the Zohar, and issues standing at the top of the world.

This notebook collected questions that Rowigov asked of the Maggid and the responses he received. The Maggid also gave directions to Ashkenazi regarding his trip to Poland. These directions delayed his intent to buy goods in Italy to sell in Poland, in order to cover some of the costs of the trip from the revenue he would earn. Quite the opposite, the Maggid demanded that Rowigov dedicate his time to study. Similarly, he instructed Rowigov to give him 50 Gulden, in order to be able to hire a rabbi in Zolkiew. After Ashkenazi returned from Poland with his wife and son David, the Maggid ordered him to concentrate on his studies. His revelations from the Maggid served as material for his book ‘The Grape Cluster of Avraham’, which was about the Zohar. In order to get it printed rapidly, Rowigov traveled together with Mordechai Ashkenazi, to Fürth, in Northeastern Bavaria, in 1700.

In his ‘folio of dreams,’ we stand with the believers, with the help of Natan the Azati, Mordechai the Hasid from Einstadt, the names of his family members with their wives, and the friends and students of Avraham Rowigov.

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On January 16, 1701, Rowigov left Lepanto to go to the Land of Israel with 25 people, including R' Mordechai Ashkenazi and his family, and he reached Jaffa on the 23^rd of Tevet 5462 (1702). At the time they arrived in Jerusalem, a cattle disease plague had broken out, and Mordechai Ashkenazi and his wife and daughter died. He left behind two sons who were raised and educated in the group of Hasidim supported by Yehuda the Hasid. His son, David, left in 1745, and served as a Jerusalem emissary outside of The Land.

After Chaim Malakh left for Germany, Yitzhak Kadainer was the head of the Sabbateans. According to Rabbi R' Yaakov Emden, the Sabbatean faith spread a little at a time, all over Reisen to a great extent, and especially in Zolkiew, Pidhirtsi, Rohatyn, Gorodok. Aside from the other locations, there was compliance and adoption of Sabbatean practice in Zolkiew. Yitzhak Kadainer was the responsible head at the time.

Kadainer was a wise man, and as to the words of Frank that were recorded in (‘Ksienga Slawa’) he was forced under the pressure of an embargo placed on him, to confess in the Bet-HaMedrash.

‘In the city of Zolkiew, an embargo was placed on Rabbi Yitzhak Kadainer, and he was forced to walk to the synagogue to give a lecture to specifically curse ‘that First One’ (Sabbatai). He opened his oration with the following words: Don't be happy, my enemies, even though he fell, he will come again. I heard of his fall, but not of his resuscitation.’

Fishl, from Zlotczow, was among the most intelligent of the Sabbateans in Zolkiew. He was a formidable scholar, who knew the entire Shas^[2] practically by heart. The Rabbi who authored ‘The Lion' Roar’ told R' Yaakov Emden, that when he was in Zolkiew, he became aware that Fishl of Zlotczow was rich, and spent most of his time studying, alone in his room. Fischl prayed as Hasidim did, as he mastered the Hasidic traditions and became a powerful instructor. On one occasion, Fishl approached Emden in order to confess his sins, and revealed to him that he was a member of the Sabbatean coterie. Fishl admitted to eating leavened bread on Passover, etc. He acted as if he were a returning sinner who wished to seek forgiveness. But the community caught on that he was going back to his old ways, drinking corn liquor in the synagogue on Passover, and committing other serious sins. When he was asked about it, he replied that to suffer such indignity for Sabbatai Zvi was a very large change.

Fishl was the son-in-law of Moshe Meir Kaminker of Zolkiew, one of the extreme Sabbateans. According to Rabbi Emden he was ‘known among the gates as someone who would lead to sin… And this was the accursèd one that wanted to have relations with his wife during her period, in order to rectify his heart, and she refused to listen to him, and said she would ask her mother… and this question forgave her.’

When the deeds of the Sabbateans were publicized in the various Jewish settlements of the region, the more conservative Va'ad Arba ArAtzot, declared that the Rabbis of Lvov and all of the cities in the Reisen Valley, should burn this evil from the land. On 17 Tammuz 5582 (1722) an announcement to this effect was made in the Great Synagogue of Lvov. In the presence of a large gathering, the young Rabbi from the Valley, R' Yaakov Yehoshua son of the ‘Pnei Yehoshua’, pronounced an embargo on the offenders together with seven of his Dayanim. This embargo was also announced in other cities and towns. As a result, the leaders of the Sabbateans did not attempt a stand in Poland, and went to Moravia, Bohemia and Germany.

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Moshe Meir Kaminker was sent as an emissary for the Sabbateans in 1725, to forge ties and make connections in these countries, and to realize ‘their bad efforts’ and obtaining money ‘to incite Israel to pursue the unclean behavior by Sabbatai Zvi.’ According to Emden, Kaminker ‘was a man of the fields who knew how to hunt,’ and was made an emissary in connection with sin, and to foment and delay the Jewish followers of his creed. He went through Prague, and for Shavuot,^[3] he lodged for several weeks in the home of R' Jonathan Eibeschutz who had written a pamphlet called, ‘And I will come to you unseen’ and a letter of explanation about Isaiah, Son of R' Yehuda Hasid, in Mannheim. In the pamphlet, Eibeschutz pronounced that ‘the man Moshe (Kaminker) will tell him everything.’ Kaminker was also involved with the Sabbateans in Moravia and Prausnitz, a congregation of 328 Jewish families consisting of 1,700 people. Here too, he met with Leib'eleh Prausnitz, another well known Sabbatean. He reached Mannheim without being recognized, where there was a group of Sabbateans with R' Isaiah Hasid as noted above. Suspected of being a Sabbatean, he confessed in the synagogue, but secretly, he continued the esoteric Sabbatean teachings. Together with Kaminker, Eibeschutz broadened the work undercover, in the community of Mannheim, which at that time was a large congregation and well-financed.

One day, out of a sense of loyalty to a certain itinerant orator, Kaminker revealed the true purpose of his presence in Mannheim. The orator immediately notified the Parnes and Dayan of Frankfurt-am-Main, who happened to have just been invited to Mannheim, and who persuaded Kaminker to go to Frankfurt. Kaminker went to Frankfurt, where, in the house of Rabbi R' Yaakov HaKohen Frafer, the Parnes and Dayan looked through Kaminker's works and found idolatrous writings and a list of Sabbatean holidays.

Evidence was provided in the Rabbinical court on the days of July 20-21, 1725 (10-11 Tammuz) that solidified Kaminker as a Sabbatean. After an investigation, an embargo was announced against him and his Sabbatean comrades. This embargo was publicized in 1725, in Yiddish, with the title, ‘Khavaya d'Rabbanan’^[4]. The communities of Altona, Hamburg and Amsterdam were added to the reach of this embargo, and on September 16, 1725, rabbis in Prague made an embargo announcement. Even Rabbi Eibeschutz placed an embargo on the Sabbateans in order to dismiss any suspicion of his ties to Kaminker. It appears that after the heads of the Sabbateans left Zolkiew, a small number of their adherents went with them despite the fact they did not have official documents with them. Due to the work of the Frankists, there were not so many adherents in Zolkiew, and not much of a response to their call, which was lucky for those who remained behind.

The leaders of Zolkiew stood with Eibeschutz in his dispute with Emden. In 5511 (1751) a great embargo was announced ‘over the city and Mother in Israel in the Holy Congregation of Zolkiew at an assembly of the ruler and Gaonim of the generation, and the dignity of 24 officials, and leaders of Adat Jeshurun and our congregation and the honorable specialist Dayanim of the Lvov Valley of the signature by R' Naphtali Hertz ben R' Mordechai sg”l Segal Hurwitz.’ The following individuals also signed this embargo.

1. R' Joseph Bar Yitzhak Segal Landau son of R' Yitzhak Landau of Opatow.
2. R' Shaul ben R' Pinchas of Lublin.

3. R' Moshe Pinchas Ben R' Avraham Chaim's from Lublin, father-in-law of R' Israel Isserl of Zolkiew, and brother-in-law of R' Naphtali Hertz Rabbi and Bet-Din Senior of the Holy Congregation of Zolkiew. It was he who made the effort to announce the Embargo under the influence of his father and brother and Chaim, the Bet-Din Senior of Lublin who first announced the embargo as a favor to Eibeschutz.
4. R' Moshe ben R' Avraham, the son of the Rabbi in Zolkiew R' Avraham ben R' Leibusz.
5. R' Naphtali Hertz son of R' Moshe of Brody, son-in-law of the Parnes Israel Isserl and brother-in-law of Moshe Pinchas.
6. R' Yehuda Leib ben R' Yehuda Moshe.
7. R' Aharon ben R' Joseph.
8. R' Benjamin ben Yaakov Segal of Dubno.
9. R' Hillel ben R' Shlomo, community Head
10. R' Joseph ben R' Moshe
11. R' Yehuda Moshe ben R' Shmuel
12. R' Gedalia ben R' Benjamin Wolf Rabad
13. R' Israel Mordechai ben R' Baruch.

In the writings of the Frankists who changed their faiths after the discussions in Lvov (1759) during September-November 1759, among the 508 people present at these discussions, only two were from Zolkiew. On September 23, 1759, one person, Paulus Zhultanowski aged 39, and one woman, the widow Mariana Piotrovska, accepted the Christian faith on August 6, 1760.

The discussion passed, and among the Ruthenian Jews, including those in Zolkiew, a storm appeared amid the fear that the decisions were likely to incite pogroms and harassment aimed at the Jews. This was especially the case after the Sejm meeting in Ruthenia at the end of 1760, at which time Sudova Vyshnya became involved. In the minutes given to the Sejm in Warsaw, which dealt with the decisions of the dialogue in Lvov, the following was set down: 1) all of the their books, whether handwritten or printed in Hebrew and Yiddish, were to be gathered up and turned over to the priests, with the intention of burning them, 2) even among themselves, the Jews were not to make use of Hebrew either in speaking or writing, 3) Jewish printing houses were allowed to print only using Latin alphabet or Polish, or they would be shut down, 4) prayers in synagogues on holidays, the Sabbath or weekdays were to be recited in Latin or Polish, in the presence of two priests or two emissaries of the rulers of the town, 5)anyone who opposed the rules set down here would be sentenced to death.

Despite this, even this storm passed by, and the Sejm that ended in 1761 did not reach the implementation of these decisions.

Translator's footnotes

1. In Mandaeism, kshota or kšu_a (lit. ‘truth’) can have several meanings. Its original literal meaning is “truth” in the Mandaic language, and is thus typically used to refer to the Mandaean religious concept of truth. The same word is also used to refer to a sacred handclasp that is used during Mandaean rituals such as masbuta, masiqta, and priestly initiation ceremonies. Return
2. A Hebrew Acronym meaning Six Orders, these being the six major orders into which the contents of the Talmud is divided. Return
3. The third of the major Jewish Holidays, celebrating the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. Curiously, unlike Passover and Sukkot, this holiday has no Hol HaMoed period. Return
4. Experiences of the Rabbinate. Return

Zolkiew was the center for Hebrew printing in Poland up to the second half of the 17^th century.

Uri Fybusz HaLevi moved from Altona, Poland to Amsterdam in 1594. He was the first teacher in the new Hebrew school in Amsterdam. His son Aharon was a Hazzan, and his grandson, Uri Fybusz, established a Hebrew printing house in Amsterdam. He printed two copies of the Tanakh in the years 1554-1626. One copy was published in Hebrew. The second was a copy in Yiddish, the text of which was prepared by Yekuthiel Blitz of Wittmund. Uri hired two Christian partners, Wilhelm Blau, a townsman, and Zoroncow, a judge, to help him carry out this printing work. Uri obtained consent for the Valley to hire someone who could arrange a place to sell a Polish Tanakh in Poland. The partners tried to obtain a privilege from the King, Jan Sobieski III, to make it forbidden to print another Tanakh in Yiddish for the next 20 years.

On October 17, 1677, the King, Jan Sobieski III, granted such a privilege to these printers. The privilege stipulated that all printers, and booksellers in Poland and its territories were to refrain from printing the Tanakh for 20 years. In that same privilege, the King ordered Uri Fybusz to come to Poland and to set up a Hebrew printing house there.

Even before this, Uri Weinbush (Favus), was promised a similar privilege by the Va'ad Arba HaAratzot. The Va'ad declared on the 8^th of Nissan 5431 (1670), ‘By virtue of the massive amount of toil by those translating the writings of the distinguished Teacher and Rabbi Yekuthiel ben Yitzhak k”mz, from the sacred congregation of Amsterdam, the capital of the explanation of the Torah, Prophets, and Ketubim in an Ashkenazic language that people utilize, permission is granted to bring this mentioned work, based on the privilege granted by the King, to Mister Fybusz, who sat in the Va'ad Arba HaAratzot, and similarly to Our Teacher and Rabbi Aharon HaLevi, ,זצל”ה, to bring this book to a printing house. And we say to the printers that you should take care and write his sayings clearly in the vernacular with a steel pen, in a ‘Kulmus’ style and a ‘Megilta’ style, written on a slate and a book of the law. The power of our decree is based on the decree of נש”ש and [Aramaic Phrase] that the writing cannot be extracted or copied from any printer, no matter what, to print those referenced books until ten years from this day. Should someone, God forbid, violate this decree of נש”ש as previously mentioned, he must buy one of the books to assure that it is identical to the original printing, as it is most certain that this previously mentioned book being purchased, was printed by Uri.’

However this warning did not help. Before the printing of the Tanakh was completed, Joseph Etyash, a Portuguese printer in Amsterdam, began to print a second edition after the text was ordered by Yoss'l Weitzenharenson. Since Etyash was a wealthy man of means, he managed to obtain a universal privilege for all of Holland. Weitzenharenson was summoned to appear before the same rabbinical court that certified the privileges of Uri Fybusz HaLevi. But this was in vain. The Sephardic Rabbinical Court remained silent in its position and in contradiction to the agreement entered into by the Va'ad Arba HaAratzot, which was issued in 5431 (1671). And so the Va'ad Arba HaAratzot granted an agreement to Etyash on 24 Elul 5437, because of efforts by Shimon de Polonia, the Viceroy to the King of Poland in Holland. Shimon de Polonia lived in Amsterdam, and was appointed by the Va'ad Arba HaAratzot regarding issues relating to the liberation of captives. He was also remembered as a trustee of the Baron (?) This agreement given to Etyash was the exact same agreement with all of the same caveats as was granted in 1670 to Uri Fybusz HaLevi.

On the 5^th of Iyar 5451 (1691), the Va'ad validated its agreement for Joseph Etyash to print a Yiddish translation of the Tanakh. This placed a heavier burden on Uri Fybusz to compete with Etyash. And so responding to the invitation of Jan III Sobieski, Uri Fybusz relocated to Zolkiew after receiving permission through a privilege from the King in January, 1690, to set up a printing house and distribute his products throughout Poland. The King permitted him to establish a printing house in his palace until a fitting location could be procured.

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Fybusz brought all of his printing equipment and the letters used for printing, and he also brought the veteran printer and expert, Yitzhak Zelig ben Yehuda, from Budyn, and his son Chaim David, to order the pages properly. He began his work in 1691. He printed the book ‘Through the Sea of the Talmud’ in 1692 (5452), and after that, a Siddur (Prayer Book) that contained prayers for the days throughout the year. Moshe ben Daniel from Rohatyn made use of this particular Siddur.

Uri Fybusz supported the doctor, Simcha Menachem da Jonah and Bezalel, son of R' Nathan the tax collector, while he lived in Zolkiew. After strenuous effort, Uri Fybusz brought an end to his book printing. The printing houses in Cracow and Lublin remained active.

On 18 Heshvan 5457 (1697), the Va'ad Arba HaAratzot came to a number of decisions in a special vote. There were praiseworthy things said about Uri Fybusz, but also, it said that if Uri Fybusz will indeed come to Zolkiew, printing will be canceled, for ‘Great is the uproar and the scandal where among them they are printing this material, and that in their hands the Torah of Israel was almost forgotten, and because they do not possess the letters in a form the thinking, and light up the eyes of the beloved young pupils.’ When the printers saw that the work of Uri Fybusz was ‘beautiful and attractive’ they formed a group and arrived at a compromise with him that only made things worse. It was destructive and pitted one man against another. The outcome was that a prohibition was placed on everyone and there was nothing produced. The Va'ad made an effort to quell the dispute, and to organize a division of the work that, as it said, all the printing houses in Cracow, Lublin, and Zolkiew had permission to print only up to 700 volumes per year, aside from printing pamphlets dealing with minor issues. An inspector was assigned to each printing house. In Zolkiew, the inspector was Dr. Simcha Menachem Jonah.

Despite the Va'ad's decision, new disputes broke out between Uri Fybusz and the printers in Cracow and Lublin. In 5459 (1699), the Va'ad communicated its prohibition again. It carried out a complete evaluation of the ‘Wisdom in the printed or written works of the Holy Congregation of Zolkiew, which the aging Rabbi and Teacher R' Fybusz son of Our Teacher and Rabbi Aharon Segal was in the process of printing. The work associated with this printing was substantial but elicited praise for the former translation, and in the beauty of the form of its letters, created anew with both new letters and good paper,’ in contrast with the former printings that were blurred. There was ‘a total prohibition to any printer to bring in material or books in the Holy Writing that were printed outside the country. Therefore, those booksellers who were currently selling books, or if new book sellers should arise, it was forbidden to them by all the prohibitions of the Torah, to bring such work into our country. And the same was to hold true for books printed in a non-sacred language that were called ‘Deutchewarg up to ten pieces.’ And this was why all of the printers of Cracow and Lublin could not print either small or large books outside of Poland and bring them here into Poland. And, if any single person or a group of people violate this prohibition, permission was given to R' Fybusz to take such books out of their hands, with no one to provide any alternative.’

The printing house in Zolkiew expanded to the point that it employed eight printers. Because there was such a large number of materials to print, they also carried out this work in the printing house in Tartakow, which was close to Zolkiew. When a leader of the town, Michael Kazimiersz Radziwill, established a printing in Tartakow, the ordering of the pages of the books was turned over to him.

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Both boys were still young, and therefore their guardian, Shlomo Wehl, ran the printing house, and taught Gershon the work of ordering the pages. Aharon and Gershon ran the printing house in partnership during the years 1725-1745. They later divided the business between them, after which they worked independently of each other. There were other printing houses run in partnerships. The patriarch of a well-known family of printers up to the beginning of the twentieth century was a printer, the brother-in-law of the Lvov Rabbi, Zvi Hirsch Ruzanisz.

The second grandson from the second son of Chaim David, Gershon, the son of Ze'ev Wolf and Sarah Tczarnitz, took on the name Latriss at the beginning of Austrian rule. He was five years old when his father died. His mother ran the printing house, during which time she renewed the lettering, broadened the output of the printing house, and raised its level of work. R' Gershon was an Enlightened Scholar. He read and learned from the literature of the Jewish Sages and wise men of the secular world.

Their printing house provided work for a number of page organizers, bookbinders, and etchers. In 1763 their printing house in Zolkiew was allowed to employ eight page organizers, two bookbinders, and one etcher, by the name of Yitzhak Sztukhatur. There were also a number of other well known booksellers in the city itself, and also [itinerant] sellers who sold these books in other cities.

A third printing house was established in Zolkiew following the Austrian conquest. This printing house was founded by Aharon's daughter, the sister of Chaim David. Aharon's daughter, the printer, married David ben Menachem Mann, and after his death, she married the Rabbi of Lvov, R' Zvi Hirsch Ruzanisz, who had himself become a widower after the passing of his wife Rivka in 1765. Changes to the printing houses ceased in 1782 when the authorities in Vienna gave an order to inspect the deteriorating conditions of the Zolkiew printing houses, seeing that all three of the printing houses relied on privileges granted by the Polish King, Jan III Sobieski. The authorities investigated whether or not it was worthwhile to merge these printing houses into one, and to appoint a Hebrew language Professor to act as a censor in the Lvov University, which was how this trade operated in Austria. The Kaiser, Joseph II, took a personal interest in the issue of the printing houses, and on May 20,1782, he turned to the leaders of the Guberniya in Lvov with a number of questions regarding this matter.

On July 4,1783, the Guberniya leaders in Lvov sent all the statistical data to the royal courtyard office, and to the office of the ‘Haufkammer and Haufbank-Deputatzion’ in Vienna, who proposed, in accordance with their knowledge from April 1, 1784 on, to merge the printing house of Chaim Aharon the printer with that of his sister Yehudis, and Wolf Latriss, into one large printing house, and to move it to Lvov. This was proposed despite the fact that it was known that all three of them lived in continuous competition and were burdened with debt. In the end, the merger was not agreed to, but it was proposed to assign to them specific monopolies to limit the import of books from outside the country, to appoint a Hebrew language Professor to act as a censor in the Lvov University, and to give him support. If Christian printers were also to take on the responsibility to print Hebrew books, it was necessary to grant them the same privileges that Jewish printers enjoyed.

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In the meantime, an order was promulgated that in accordance with the King's wish, the printers in Zolkiew were required to move their businesses to Lvov. Latriss reacted immediately and moved to Lvov, this, in contrast to his brother Chaim David and sister Yehudis, who moved to Lvov only after the authorities closed their printing houses in Zolkiew. They faced strong competition In Lvov, from the existing printing house there, owned by Shlomo ben Naphtali Hertz Rapaport.

In the meantime, Wolf Latriss died. His widow, Charna Latriss, was granted permission to continue running the printing house in Zolkiew, on August 13, 1793. After she died, the printing house was managed by her son Gershon, the father of Dr. Meir Latriss. Yehudis, the widow of David Menachem Mann, ran the printing operation together with her second husband, Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Ruzanisz. After Yehudis died, the printing-house was run as an inheritance by Rabbi Naphtali Hertz Grossman.

In 1804, the permission held by Yehudis was transferred to the name of her son, B. R. Grossman. After he died, his widow ran the business. Two new printing houses were established in Lvov during this time.

On May 20, 1791, the Head of the congregation, Avraham ben Yehuda Leib Meyerhoffer, received a permit to establish a printing house in Zolkiew. Avraham was the brother-in-law of R' Pinchas Moshe, who had served in Svirzh as a Rabbi, and afterwards went to Zolkiew, where he became the last trustee of the Va'ad Arba HaAratzot. Avraham was wealthy. He owned two houses in the city and operated his printing house in those buildings. His partner was Mordechai Rubinstein. After the death of Avraham Yehuda Leib Meyerhoffer, the printing house changed over to the hands of his son Meir, and after him, in 1840, to his son Shaul Meyerhoffer, the brother-in-law of R' Yaakov Balaban.

After Mordechai Rubinstein ended his partnership with Meyerhoffer in 1796, he established a printing house of his own without permission from the authorities. In 1807 his son Uri presented an application together with a certificate that indicated he had studied the printing trade in Barzilai, but he really had not done so. Aharon the printer, and Hertz Grossman, became aware of this lie, and they reported to the government that Uri had never been in Barzilai and did not learn the printing trade. Despite this, Uri Rubinstein succeeded in obtaining a permit on February 7, 1808. His printing house developed and broadened in the hands of his heirs, Uri and Shlomo, known by the name: K.K. Privilegirte Rubinszteinsze Druckerei, e.g., a ‘privileged Rubinstein printing establishment.’ When the Austrian authorities compelled the Jews to vacate a number of streets in Lvov, during the time when Lvov was captured by the Poles, Uri moved to Zolkiew in May of 1809. In the meantime, Mordechai Rubinstein died and his widow, Chaya, received a permit to keep the printing house going only in Lvov.

In 1858, two printers from Lvov, Berisz Luria and Zalman Leib Flieker, started a second printing house, along with Shmuel Pinchas Sztiller. In 1862, a third printing house was established by Joseph Zvi Balaban.

From the outset, when the printing houses were established in Zolkiew until 1841, they printed, prayer books, makhzors, books involving tradition, 18 folios of Halakha for students to study, 11 folios containing Midrashic material and Kabbalah, 6 books of responsa, 16 books of historical, philosophical and medicinal content, and 24 books of grammar, all in beautiful bindings.

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