On the banks of the river, the roofers made the wooden shingles in dilapidated shacks on their roofs covered with shavings. They worked in joy and loud singing so that the girls who were walking on the road on their way to the river - would hear the romantic singing. See with your own eyes their jealousy of the joy of life of the roofers. The roofers of Zhvanets, about twenty in number, were like one family; these were fathers with sons, uncles, cousins, etc. They worked a lot, earned a little - but joy did not escape them. For three rubles, they worked a whole week. After much thought, they decided to do something to improve their financial situation.

They called for a big meeting, and Motek Starker was the main speaker, a wise, educated guy, a good orator - he explained: “If you want to achieve something - you have to fight. Organize in a professional association.” The roofers did as he said. Each worker paid one ruble, they elected a committee, and they prepared the legal demands against the contractors: twenty kopecks more per 1000 wooden shingles and recognition of the trade union.

It was also decided: if the contractors do not agree to the demands - a strike will be announced.

On one bright Sunday in 1907, the roofers' strike was announced. The contractors did not accede to the demands.

The owners of the warehouses - Israel Cooper, Shimon Berman, Shalom Weingarten, and others were very angry: “Is it possible that brothers and sons will strike against their fathers?” They argued. “My mother kicked me out of the house because I struck against my father.”

But all the shouting did not scare us. The workers were full of hope and believed in victory. They set up guards lest strikebreakers come. The workshops were empty. The start of the strike was crowned with success.

But the “proprietors” also organized. Itzik Ben Ha-“Leibeches” and Bobek Starker were their leaders. Bobek was the brother of Motek Starker, the leader of the strike. Bobek was a short guy with a small mustache who always had a sarcastic, naked smile on his face. He and Itzik “Leibeches” managed the negotiations with the workers.

The strike lasted 4 weeks. Seemingly - everything is reasonable: guards, meetings, reports. But nothing moved. Frozen. The proprietors laughed. The strikers began to be indignant, whispers, suspicions. It was then decided to turn to Pini Altman, the son of Shalom Altman, a young man, energetic, a great orator - to take over the management of the strike. Pini agreed. But the fire of the strike died out. The roofers lost faith

[Page 179]

in their leaders. They were suspicious of each other. And when Pini suspected that Motek Starker was passing news to his brother Bobek, the leader of the proprietors - the quarrels between the strikers increased. It is clear that, under these conditions, there was no room to even dream of victory. It was decided to return to work and wait for better times.

This is how the unfortunate strike of the roofers of Zhvanets ended.

“Po'alei Tsiyon” in 1908

A group of Bundists

The summer of 1934. This is no longer the town through which all those who traveled to Bessarabia and Galicia passed. As a result of the First World War, Zhvanets was cut off from Russia and Galicia was annexed to Poland. Romania and Poland did not have friendly relations with Russia. The Dniester was a barrier between two different worlds.

The entire length of the Dniester from Sakowitz to Odesa had only two points where it was possible to cross the river legally. Zhvanets was not included in these two points. The border was strictly guarded and crossing it was particularly difficult. It had one exit for Zhvanets and it was - next to Kamyanets. This road was not completely free either, only the residents of Zhvanets were allowed to enter and exit. Others were dependent on a special movement license from the military police. The only means of connection was the forbidden two-horse chariot of Netta, the water-carrier. Sometimes there would also be builders with a cart carrying passengers. Sometimes there was also a freight car, which went all the way to the Kamyanets train station.

From views of the city in 1905

[Page 181]

The composition of the majority of the Jewish population were old men and children. The youth migrated to Kyiv, Kharkiv, and other cities. There was a kindergarten in the town where the children received their food because the parents were busy with their work at the collective farm.

During the summer months, the Jewish school was closed. In some houses, you could find textbooks in Yiddish and children aged 12-14 could join you in a debate about political economy and the state of the worker in America.

The affairs of the town were managed by the local Jewish “Soviet,” headed by a Jew from Dunayivtsi. In terms of religion, the town was completely dead. The great synagogue was destroyed. Only in the Sadigura “enclave” would Jews gather to pray. On the collective farm they also worked on Shabbat.

Sometimes a film would come to the town and the “Soviet” served as a central meeting place for the town's residents. In the summer, the boys and girls would return to their town from the big cities to vacation and enjoy the fresh air and sun. There were almost no differences in the contents of the house. The same poor furniture, the same dishes. Gas lamps gave their light. Only the government buildings had electricity. Soldiers lived in many of the houses and the relations between the citizens and between them were fair.

From the outside, the houses looked as if they had become hunchbacked over many years. Their joy and pride disappeared, as if they were lamenting the young sons and daughters who had left them. In the streets, you could see pigs raised by Jews for sale. The peace of the night was disturbed only by the voices of the crows and the frogs. The air was dry and cold. The stars shone and as if they asked not to disturb Zhvanets's rest.

“Talmud Torah” for girls in 1906

[Page 182]

A student's report card from the “Tushiya” School in Zhvanets

He was born on December 16, 1864 in the village of Rukshyn in Bessarabia. His father was a devout, God-fearing Jew and an ardent follower of the Admor of Sadigura. The child, Shalom, received a traditional education and studied Torah from prominent teachers in the nearby city of Khotyn, 5 parasangs from the village. The father's wish was, of course, for him to follow in his path, but he entered the “garden” of education, “took a look and was hurt”… At a young age, he married a woman in the nearby town of Zhvanets, sat for two years, as was the custom of those days, at his father-in-law's table, studying and reading a lot. After that, he opened a manufacturing shop in the same town, where his wife, as an expert in the matter from her youth, was the merchant, and he continued to look through books of knowledge…

First of all, he tackled establishing a school in the town. The Hasidim in the place did not rest and were not quiet, they convened meetings, and consulted to interrupt his idea, they rained curses and boycotts on him, they sent special messengers to Admors in Galicia “to overturn the evil of the decree.” But Shalom Altman, both energetic and stubborn, was not deterred by anything and not least by the actions of the Hasidim. In the year 1887, he founded the school that he named “Talmud Torah” and he alone was the educator, the manager, and took care of its existence and success all the time. The institution developed day by day and it gained a reputation in the entire region. Many parents from other towns also sent their children to study and be educated at the school in Zhvanets. This school was used throughout the area as a kind of Zionist “workshop.” And indeed, many Zionists and politicos came out of it, who later distinguished themselves in the areas of Zionism and universality all over Russia and abroad.

At the beginning of the First World War, all Jewish residents were expelled from the border towns and among them

[Page 184]

also the Jews of Zhvanets, which was one of the richest towns and which was depleted and completely destroyed. On his return from exile, Shalom Altman settled in Kamyanets Podilskyy, a distance of 17 parasangs from Zhvanets. He returned from his exile shattered and broken by the disaster that happened to him there when his only and beloved son, Pinchas Altman z”l, a passionate Zionist and possessed of enormous talents, died. This son studied at the American College in Beirut and, because of his father's exile, was forced to stop his studies and get a job as the secretary of the “Herzliya” Hebrew Gymnasium in Tel Aviv. During the war, he was expelled from the country as a Russian citizen, caught a cold, contracted tuberculosis, and died of it in Astrakhan in 1917 at the age of 29, may his soul be bound up in the bond of everlasting life.

But the great Zionist work during the days of the revolution in Russia in general, and in Kamyanets in particular, awakened in him the “veteran Zionist,” dedicated and loyal, and he overcame his pain and sorrow and entered the work with his enthusiasm as then and always. He was the authorized person and the treasurer on behalf of the Joint for those affected by riots in Ukraine, he was a member of the city council, and a member and treasurer of the democratic community in the city, and a delegate in the council of the communities in Ukraine that took place in Kyiv, and twice a week he would visit his town of Zhvanets and help the politicos there with their work.

In 1920, he immigrated to Israel and settled in Jerusalem. He was the secretary of the “Talpiot” neighborhood and later the director of the school for the blind. For a short time, he also worked in Tel Aviv as a clerk in an ice factory, but he was overcome by homesickness for Jerusalem and he returned there. Every Friday evening, it was customary for him to welcome the Shabbat Queen by the Western Wall.

The founders of Kiryat Anavim - people of Zhvanets and Kamyanets - his students at school and his helpers in Zionism before - remembered the kindness of his youth, built him a special house in Kiryat Anavim and, after a few years, he moved there with all his worries about them. After a while, his second wife, Dr. Wortsman's sister, died and he remained sullen and bitter, despite the fact that all the members of the group and their families treated him with respect and love and treated him as devoted and loyal sons to a dear and loving father.

Even here, in Kiryat Anavim, he did not sit idle. He worked for several hours every day by the trees and flowers around his beautiful house with vigor and exemplary dedication. He also served as a librarian in the group's library named after him, which includes several thousand volumes: “Sifriyat Shalom” in recognition of his actions in the past.

S. Altman made sure that, in the first Zionist Congress, Dr. Yehezkel Wortsman, who was then a student in Bern and later came to the town to deliver a report on the Congress, would participate as a delegate born in the town. Immediately, two Zionist organizations were founded in Zhvanets - “Bnei Tsiyon” and “Bnot Tsiyon” - and another second school for girls, and he conducted them.

He was not satisfied with these results, and always demanded and required from himself and from others more and more actions. He was considered a “perpetual critic” and in this also he influenced others until the Zhvanets Zionists were famous all over the area as “staunch critics” of Zionist affairs.

He was a member of the regional Zionist Committee from the day it was founded in Podolia in 1907 and, in 1911, sat with all the members of the committee on the bench of the defendants in the district court in Kamyanets for the committee's actions as an illegal organization. And the members of that committee, his partners in “crime,” will be remembered here, and they are: the lawyer David Schleifer, Shlomo Blank, Menashe Altman, Israel Drachler, Zvi Iserson, and the writer of these columns.

[Page 185]

In 1909, S. Altman and the writer of these columns were chosen as delegates to the Ninth Zionist Congress in Hamburg. He is from Zhvanets and I am from Kamyanets. We traveled together and I remember a typical episode. On the day of the trip, early in the morning, I came to him, as it is said, to travel to the train on time. But Shalom Altman is not in a hurry. He has to make every event a “Zionist commodity,” and in particular a Zionist event such as the trip of delegates to a Zionist congress. Therefore, he gathered all the students in the courtyard of the school and, in the presence of many parents, he said goodbye to them with an enthusiastic speech. The children answered with “Ha-Tikvah” and accompanied him with applause.

All the residents of the town, big and small, respected and loved him, including the Hasidim in the town who, over time, accepted his actions and admired him very much. But a small group of the “border smugglers,” the people of the underworld, despised him because of this “that his hand is in everything and he is alert to everything.” Therefore, they reported him to the authority and, as a result of this, he was exiled in 1913 to the Narym District for five years. Even there, in his place of exile, he did not sit idly by and gained the love of all the residents with his good deeds and, in the year 1917, he was elected to the Zionist Conference in Petrograd as a delegate from the city of Astrakhan.

Many years have passed since I was fated to be under the supervision of this dear and great man, to live in his area, to live and to work near him. He was full of goodwill and tolerance for the knowledge and views of those around him, grace and kindness for his acquaintances, his relatives, and his students.

After the First World War and the destruction of the town, I worked with him for a short period of time teaching at the “Talmud Torah” school in Zhvanets. The town's residents began to return to the place and rebuild its ruins, and the few students who returned crowded into the renovated and repaired building.

Rabbi Alter was an ultra-Orthodox Jew and taught Tanakh and Talmud at the school, exposing generations of students to Torah and wisdom. And he knew how to be long-suffering and patient with his colleagues at work, who were mostly “liberal” and even opposed to his religious views.

His students adored and respected him and treated him with love and respect. He was known for a special affection and an attitude of respect and courtesy from his colleagues at work.

[Page 186]

Among the facilitators of the founding of the Kiryat Anavim collective farm and the shapers of its image and the fighters and zealots for its values. The stages of his life pass before my mind's eye. As a child - the one of his brothers who remained alive and therefore constant anxiety on the part of his parents for his health. The material situation is good. He grew up - alert, sociable, intelligent, lively. The Zionist idea was quickly absorbed in his hometown of Zhvanets and he stuck to it. Decides that he should acquire an education at the first Hebrew gymnasium, “Herzliya,” in Tel Aviv and the parents make this sacrifice for their only son. World War I comes. He is expelled from the country with others and returns to his parents' home in the diaspora, burning with the zeal of Zionism. The idea of “serving the nation for at least two years” was born in his heart before M. Ussishkin. He participates in the “Tse'irei Tsiyon” conference in Moscow. The time has come, the tools should be prepared, the youth should be organized to join hands with other parties with ability and cleverness; to give a speech, to inspire, to expand its activities in Kamyanets Podilskyy and its surroundings, to acquire the language and prepare to emigrate.

At home, they are not satisfied with his way of life, but he does not pay attention. Returns home late at night, becomes a “pioneer,” goes down with a youth group from Kamyanets and Zhvanets to the Crimea. There they work, plan, and go right up to the rocky ground of the Judean Mountains; doing clearing work, building stairs, living in shacks, and lo - and behold: water sparingly and roses climbing on the shacks and there is also shade. Going out to afforestation on behalf of Keren Kayemet and he travels and plants, running every time to see if the seedlings have taken hold - and there is no limit to joy.

The reality - work and minimalism in living conditions to extremes. The clothing is patched, no exaggeration of the extras, and one can be satisfied with a large spoon and without knives and teaspoons. He is zealous for minimalism, identifies in his heart with the building of the country, and accepts everything without grumbling. Writes articles to substantiate the idea. The mood is uplifted and alertness is maximized. Sees himself at the center of life - and creates. The dirtiest and hardest work - is the most engaging and persuasive. The past - gone and forgotten. You have to follow the groove, to be among those who fulfill their dreams in heart and soul. After work - a Hebrew lesson for a new friend and then to the library, to which he devotes a lot of time and guards it as the apple of his eye, sits in meetings until dawn, and does not know exhaustion. And so - until it was concluded.

He died on March 21, 1962 at the age of 68.

[Page 187]

In the summer of 1907, a large fire broke out in Zhvanets, in which most of the town's houses caught fire and hundreds of families were left homeless.

On behalf of the Zionist Federation in Kamyanets Podilskyy, we were then sent to the scene of the disaster to organize first aid for the victims of the fire.

When I asked them to put at my disposal and my aid someone among the youth in the town, they introduced me to a young girl about 15-16 years old who participated alertly in our conversations and with great understanding. This young lady, with a slender body, a delicate face, and deep, alert eyes, was the eldest daughter of Yechiel Lerner, Hadassah, or as they called her in the town - Etya.

When we started work, I could closely observe the character and mental qualities of this daughter of Zhvanets. The main virtues, which stood out in her character, were patience and tolerance and the ability to listen to the words of those who turn to her. These latter were people who were desperate and at a loss for advice as a result of the disaster that had affected them and who needed not only material help, but also spiritual advice and relief. And here, despite her young age, Hadassah knew how to encourage these unfortunates and to give them hope in their hearts, that things would be sorted out in their favor. The people related to her with respect and admiration.

Hadassah Lerner was born in Zhvanets and was raised there in the home of her educated and passionate Zionist father who excelled in his honesty and strong character. She grew up, therefore, in an atmosphere of Zionism and love of the work. The spirit of Hebrew culture that prevailed in the town and the guidance of a family friend, R. Shalom Altman, also had a considerable influence on the shaping of her personality and character.

In addition to her general and Hebrew education, Hadassah also excelled in her mental intelligence, which was inherent in her from birth and which was very noticeable in her interactions with mankind. She was gifted with cleverness, a sharp analytical mind, and a subtle sense of humor. She knew how to consider other people's words, but she always knew, too, how to express herself. Her argument on community or party matters was fair and matter-of-fact, which earned her respect from friends and opponents alike. Even on her own opinion she knew how to stand firm, but blessed with expressions sometimes seasoned with humor.

Zhvanets stood on the Russian-Austrian border and was known as a place of smuggling and border theft.

[Page 188]

People who wanted to leave Russia because of the Tsarist regime or for other reasons and to immigrate to distant countries passed through this town..

Some of its Jewish residents engaged in the “work” of smuggling in cooperation with the “goyim” from the nearby villages. In general, these smugglers did not hesitate to rob the immigrants of their money and even their belongings. The heads of the town, Shalom Altman and Yechiel Lerner, began to fight against these “black” elements in order to stop their harmful activity. But even these did not sit idly by and they reported to the authorities about the two aforementioned politicos that they are revolutionaries, running Zionist propaganda, and collecting money for illegal funds. S. Altman and Y. Lerner were arrested administratively and exiled to Ural in Siberia. This expulsion depressed the town and especially Hadassah Lerner.

Despite her tender age and weak body, she took upon herself the difficult task of freeing the two exiles. For a long time, she knocked on the doors of Zionist politicos and the government offices in Kamyanets and Kyiv and even reached the ministries in St. Petersburg at the Rabbi's urging, and her limitless firmness, which she invested in this action, surprised many.

Indeed, when she reached a dead end, she did not give up and asked for the help of the chief rabbi in Moscow, Jacob Mazeh. Thanks to the rabbi's connections with the people of the central government, the exiles were returned to their town after being in exile for about three years.

Hadassah Lerner's noble qualities qualified her for the role of an educator and. until the expulsion of the Jewish population from the town in 1915 by the military authorities, she was employed as a practical kindergarten teacher at the local kindergarten. After the deportation, she organized, together with her friend, Bat-Sheva Chen, the first Hebrew Kindergarten in Kamyanets Podilskyy.

During the First World War and the Russian Revolution, she was active in the “Tse'irei Tsiyon” Party as a member of the city committee. On her way to Israel in the fall of 1920, she was delayed in Vienna and finished her studies there under the supervision of Prof. Z. P. Hayut, and in 1922, she immigrated to Israel. Because of a serious illness, she was forced to return to Vienna about 5 years later to ask the advice of her doctors, where she also died during surgery.

[Page 189]

I. Drachler was known as a community politico in the field of culture and an important member of the Zionist labor movement. He was a teacher and writer, as his literary works attest: stories, poems, plays, and opinion articles, which were published in various newspapers and collections.

Drachler was also blessed with a talent for cultural and community work. During the days of his activity, he occupied a prominent place in Jewish communal life in Europe and America.

He started teaching when he was 16 years old. At the same time, he visited the towns of Podolia and helped to found modern Hebrew and Yiddish schools there, and at first he also taught there. A considerable number of his students are now teachers or cultural politicos in America, Canada, and Israel.

In 1924 Drachler came to America with his family and was accepted as a teacher in the Jewish schools in New York. In 1928, he worked as a teacher at the Shalom Aleichem schools in Detroit. After a few years, he became seriously ill and had to stop his teaching job, which he loved so much. Despite his poor health, he was active in Jewish communal life in America and also participated in the work of the Jewish secretariat of the “Community Council” from its inception. He was also the first to help found the Zionist Youth Federation, “Ha-Bonim,” in Detroit and, thanks to his advice and dedicated help, he brought the idea of the Ha-Bonim camp, “Kinneret,” to fruition.

[Page 190]