Introduction by Ida Selavan-Schwarcz: Reminiscences, Purim, March 2, 1999

Today is Purim in our town (in Jerusalem, a walled city, it will be celebrated tomorrow). Today is my late mother's 109^th birthday. She was born in Stavisht on Purim in 1890 and was named Esther Malka (Queen Esther) for that reason. She lived through the events described in the second article and would sometimes talk about them. However, my father told us more, and I am so sorry my brother and I did not listen more carefully. So many of his stories are simply garbled memories. I am sure that there are many people like me who wish they had asked more questions and listened more closely.

I chose this particular article because it gives an overview of life before the pogroms and is very well written. I was told that the author later worked for the New York Times. I tried to track him down, but the personnel department of the Times was not forthcoming. Many of the names he mentions as among the intelligentzia of Stavisht are familiar to me.

Yosef Wilfand, for example, was one of the founders of Kibbutz Ein Hashofet and his widow, Bella , still lives there. Avraham Zeiger was one of the founders of Hashomer Hatzair in the United States. He is buried in Ein Hashofet. His parents, Barukh and Menya Zeiger (Singer in America), were close friends of my parents and we often visited when I was a child. My mother sometimes mentioned the Golub family. When I was a very little girl we took the subway and elevated and rode all the way to the Bronx to visit someone my mother introduced as her former teacher. It was a Mr. Golub.

Comment by Joyce Field: Ida sent me her reminiscences on Purim as she was putting the finishing touches on the two articles. I was so touched by her remembrances that I asked her if we could include them as an introduction. Ida kindly agreed. I hope the readers will concur that they add a personal touch to the words.

Introduction by Vivian M. Linderman: July, 2009

With tribute and special credit to the ever-changing world of technology, this 2009 donation of the full translation of the Stavisht Yizkor Book to JewishGen would not have been possible without email and the dedication and commitment of the following women. Their roles in preparing the translation for an online presence follow in the footsteps of the original Yizkor Book Committee to honor and memorialize the town of their ancestors and the residents who gave it life. May their memories be for a blessing and may their descendents for the generations know just a little of their life, their humor, their passions and their struggles.

VIVIAN M. LINDERMAN, granddaughter of Moshe Linderman of Zhashkov/Stavisht and Rifka Plotinsky of Stavisht; great-granddaughter of Fayvish Platinski and Ettl Margoloff (Markolowitz) of Stavisht and Josl Linderman and Toba Sklyarskij of Zhashkov/Stavisht.

KAREN I. SANDERS, granddaughter of Eisig Sanderovitch and Beile Levit; great-granddaughter of Kayla Shpitzanetzky Levit, all of Stavisht.

IDA SELAVAN SCHWARCZ, daughter of Esther Malka Spector Cohen (Kitaigorodsky); granddaughter of Nehama Tetievsky Spector and Levi Spector; great-granddaughter of Yehudit and Hirsh Tetievsky, all of Stavisht.

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