Pinkas Hakehillot Polin: Rubel, Belarus

“Rubiel” - Encyclopedia of Jewish
Communities in Poland, Volume V
(Rubel, Belarus)
51°58' / 27°04'

Translation of “Rubiel” chapter from
Pinkas Hakehillot Polin

Published by Yad Vashem Published in Jerusalem

Our sincere appreciation to Yad Vashem
for permission to put this material on the JewishGen web site.

This is a translation from: Pinkas Hakehillot:
Encyclopedia of Jewish Communities, Poland, Volume V, page 315,
edited by Shmuel Spector, published by Yad Vashem, Jerusalem

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[Page 315]

Rubiel
(It is a settlement in the district of Luniniec,
approximately 15 kilometers southwest of Dawyd Horodok.)
Translated by Jerrold Landau

Population

Year General
Population Jews

1897 2,617 500

1921 2,858 349

The first information about the existence of Jews in Rubiel comes from the 1880s. At that time, there were approximately 100 Jewish families there, who earned their livelihood from agriculture, peddling in the nearby villages, small-scale commerce, and trades. There were two Beis Midrashes in the settlement. Rabbi Shimon Berman served as the rabbi and shochet [ritual slaughterer] at that time. A teacher [melamed] was brought there in 1880 to teach the Jewish children. A gradual emigration began in the 1890s, and the number of Jews in Rubiel declined. At the beginning of the 20^th century, there was Zionist activity there, and a memorial for Binyamin Zeev Herzl took place in the summer of 1904. At that time, a library was opened with approximately 700 books. Also, a modern cheder was founded in Rubiel. Rabbi Yechiel Michel Rabinowicz served in the rabbinate from 1898 until 1905. Following him, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Hechtman served until 1920. Rabbi Yosef Berkowicz served from 1920 to 1936.

At the end of the civil war, on Simchat Torah 5681 (October 1920), the Balachovchik gangs overtook Rubiel. They extorted ransom money from the Jews, pillaged, and tortured and murdered five Jews.

Approximately 60 Jewish families lived in Rubiel between the two world wars. The Jews worked in peddling, small-scale commerce and trades. They engaged in home-based farming to supplement their livelihoods. A chapter of Hechalutz existed there. 42 people voted for the 21^st Zionist Congress (1939). The Working Land of Israel list received 37 votes, the General Zionists -4, and the General Zionist Youth – 1.

On August 9, 1941, during the period of the Second World War, all the Jewish men were rounded up – 53 in number – taken out of the settlement and murdered. The murderers were youths from the town and the nearby villages. The women and children were deported from the town. Most reached Stolin, where they perished along with the locals in the liquidation aktion that took place on September 11, 1942

Sources

Yad Vashem Archives, 03/1788.
Atz'm S-5/1774.
Yizkor Book of Dawyd Horodok, Tel Aviv (1946).
Stolin, Yizkor Book of the Community of Stolin and the District, Tel Aviv, 5712 (1952)

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