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[pp. 9-10]
by Uri Zvi Grinberg
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… Oh our blood in rivers and blood in the vessels of Gentiles! Demanding blood from whom? The world is a pure crucifix: Gentiles are cheerful, Jews the mourners. Stand before the Western Wall and tell him!
The skies are blue, or clouds go by,
What in the world can make my bitter heart cheerful?
To bear their burden – this was given to me,
May Jews live long – I among them, too.
Magnified and sanctified … praised be the Jews' name! (From the poem: “At the Gates of Tears Stands a Jew Remembering”) |
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Translated by Mira Eckhaus Edited by Rivka Schiller We will remember with pain and sorrow the souls of our holy and pure brothers and sisters who fell into the hands of impure murderers without the image of God. We will remember the simple Jews and the chosen ones of culture, the glory of man, from old man to child, the honest and dear, those who are charitable and benevolent, the love of humanity and devotion. We will remember the dreams, the hopes and the desires, the lofty ambitions, the love of the people and the love of our country, the faith and heroism, the hatred and contempt for their murderers. We will remember the synagogues and Beit Midrash schools, the charity and benevolence institutions, the schools and the libraries, every Zionist and cultural organization that was sacred to the work of the people. We will remember all of them, who were eradicated and cut short and destroyed and ruined by crazy evils with impure soul, we will remember – not forget!
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Let us show respect with a lowered head for the memory of our dear friend, Dr. Mottel son of David Klirsfeld Haber, O”BM, who went to his eternal rest in his untimely passing from Israel. In his youth he left Bursztyn to acquire Torah; in our town there was no opportunity to find expression for his fermenting soul that thirsted for Torah and Avodah [literally, study and prayer]; this is a Hebrew phrase that appears frequently within the religious realm. He possessed a genteel/refined soul that was simple and full of activity [or achievements]. He would bring people closer through love and appreciation.
With the passing of Dr. Haber, we lost a rare type in Jewish life, from the few who go their way [who conduct their actions, activities]
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with modesty and devotion. He was an active and initiating youth, educated at a university in Germany. In spite of the economic difficulties, he devoted himself with all his desire toward achieving his goal, to work, to study, to help his family, and to attain an education that was suited to his spirit. A spirit of volunteering beat/pulsated within him and excited/ignited others. At our commemorative gatherings, he would speak in Yiddish: “Who from among you won't remember Bursztyn “the beautiful Jewish and beloved little town” [last quote appears in Yiddish in original text], and if you remember, do not forget it, for the honor of our martyrs demands this from us. Days and nights he wrote his essay, which included hundreds of pages, for the book, “The [Jewish] Community of Bursztyn,” and once he had completed his work, he printed it and sent a copy to our brothers in America and requested of them: “Read these pages of the Shoah [Holocaust] and help us to publish the memorial book for good. There is no waiting any longer; the time is short and the work is great [the former expression is derived from the Jewish ethical work, “Ethics of the Fathers”]. Even at happy/celebratory occasions he did not forget his holy task; I will recall the wedding celebration of Moshe Matsis. I sat in my family circle, and my friend was beside the table, and here Dr. Haber approached me and asked to have a short meeting regarding the publication of the book. That was his petition at every gathering, and it is understood that he was always at the head of those volunteering for this activity. With the passing of Mottel, we lost one of Bursztyn's best sons; with his death, we lost a brother, a good friend to all of us. And he passed away before seeing the book [with his own eyes]. We, the sons/children of Bursztyn [i.e., the Jewish former residents of Bursztyn], are realizing his aspirations, with all the efforts; we will publish the book, “The [Jewish] Community of Bursztyn,” in which we shall publicize the work that he composed during the final years of his life. And on the day that the labor of the memorial book is complete, we will remember/commemorate the figure of Dr. Mottel Haber Z”L. Bitter is the loss for those who hail from Bursztyn; may the members of his family be duly comforted, together with the sons/children of Bursztyn, as one.
And may we also remember Berish son of Zev, the ritual slaughterer Miller, who died in the foreign country/diaspora of the United States. Although he left our town before the First World War and settled in America, there still beat within him the Zionist spirit and love for the homeland; may his memory be blessed.
And let us also remember David Frankl, Tzvi Schumer, [and] Olek Hauselberg, who died in Israel. In the chain of generous/openhearted souls, may their souls be bound.
[pp. 23-24]
From Mordechai Nachwalger's words: Regarding their only crime of being Jews from birth, their honor was desecrated, and because of this simple sin, the Jews of Bursztyn were pursued, slaughtered, and burned. In the merit of the last ones who hovered between life and death within the Nazi inferno, and those who survived it, we know to [i.e., have what to] relate about them for generations.
The Jews of Bursztyn loved to live as Jews – their final cry en route to the death camps and the gas chambers resounds in our ears – do not cry about our going [to our deaths] – do not eulogize us – for there are yet millions of remaining Jews about whom one must be concerned!
And in this manner, we mourn our dear ones upon the graves of ash, and eternalize their memory by issuing the book, “The [Jewish] Community of Bursztyn.” We are certain that the historians of the future will appropriately value the act of eternalizing the memory of our community, and the book will forever remain as a testament to the shame and scorn of Germany. May every single hour of our lives be imbued with the notion of remembering/memorializing; this notion will strengthen and encourage us to face tomorrow.”
The gathering selected the following panel at the book council:
Among them [were]: Ben-Menachem (Breiter), Dr. Mottel Haber, Munio [Munye] Cohen; Mordechai Nachwalger; Yisrael Fenster; [and] Sarah Kessler.
It was decided to appoint members Haber, Matsis, [and] Fenster to approach former Bursztyners in the United States regarding their participation in the publication of the book and insofar as their finding funds to edit it.
At this festive occasion all the former residents of Bursztyn were invited to find manuscripts, documents, and photographs pertaining to the city of Bursztyn during the Shoah period, as well as from before and afterward, for the book council. May they fulfill their holy duty to eternalize the memory of our dear ones. May they rest in Paradise.
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