[Page 9]

Neither the stonecutter Nor the gravestone carver Places a memorial for the deceased. Not the grinder, the dyer, or polisher, Not the community head, or leaders, Not the book writer, and not the grandee or the philanthropist, Also not the great inventor. Only the children place a gravestone. Our city has been destroyed, Along with many other cities, Destroyed, the gravestones Of fathers and mothers. There is no longer a Jewish life there: The city where our cradle stood, Is no longer there: Murder spread itself Even more quickly than a plague And did not leave behind A memorial marker on that sacred place. Children of the destroyed city! Let us erect a memorial [To] Father and Mother. Let us eternalize the memory of our city, Which is no longer here. In a Yizkor Book, in a Book of Remembrances. Let a monument to our city be erected! To remind, and not to forget and not to permit Any such murders to take place in the world.

[Page 10]

Introduction

Jewish regional literature, meaning the history of various settlements, already has quite an extensive history [in its own]. More than a hundred years ago, Jewish researchers, Maskilim, and Rabbis, began, each in their own capacity, to create permanent records about their communities. Mostly, this pertained to the larger communities, real cities that were ‘Mother Cities’ in Jewry. Here is a list of ten communities (in alphabetical order) about which historical monographs have been published:^[1]

1. Ostro – ‘A Memorial to the Great Men of Ostro’
2. Brisk-D'Lita – ‘The City of Glory’
3. Grodno – ‘The City of Heroes’
4. Dubno – ‘Greater Dubno’ and ‘The City of Dubno and its Sages’
5. Vilna – ‘The Loyal City’
6. Zolkiew – ‘The Grand City’ (A History of the Zolkiew Greats)
7. Lemberg – ‘People of Note’ and ‘The Sacred Monument’
8. Minsk – ‘The Rabbis of Minsk and its Sages’
9. Cracow – ‘The Righteous City’ (A History of the Sages of Cracow), ‘The Tablet of Remembrance’ and ‘A Thing of Beauty. ’
10. Ruzhany – ‘The Lore of the Holy Ones’

Here and there, details about general Jewish life also got woven in, about a variety of societies, institutions, but this was not the main theme.

In thinking about these books, one can see that the sources, the well springs from which the compilers took their ideas were of such a nature, that indeed did present the facts, which had to do with the prominent people of the community, and mostly these were the gravestones from the cemeteries. It is clear that the people with high social standing were documents, [namely] the historically significant gravestones. It happens that they were better cared for. [Information was] taken from those folios that were conserved (first and foremost from the Hevra Kadisha); [information] was harvested from the ‘Haskamot’^[2] found in books, published by the local Rabbis.

[Page 11]

It is necessary to add here, that the objective here was not to create a permanent record about the way of life of the community – the community was in existence, and it was inappropriate to create a memorial for an entity that was still alive…

For the same reason, those compilers, with very few exceptions, did not attempt to utilize no-Jewish sources. It was rare that they even knew of such sources, that the first records of Jews in a given settlement could be found in the archives of nobility, municipality, or government; [information] about privileges for Jews from these communities; about legal actions, which can be accessed, along with like materials.

Histories of annihilated communities, that are being written today, are of a completely different kind. They are of the type of a collective, symbolic Holy Memorial, and Tablets of Remembrance, not for individuals, not for specially elected groups, but for entire cities and towns. Consequently, the goal is a much larger one, a broader one, and therefore more difficult without bounds.

The former compilers had at their disposal a ‘living’ cemetery; they could still thumb through the yellowed pages of all manner of folios; they were still able to listen to the tales related by elders, who in turn had been told tales by their grandparents. Today, the entire community, along with its documents, have fallen under the sword of the executioner.

Today, it is also difficult to access the non-Jewish sources. Part of them no longer exist because of the whirlwind of war – and destruction – and that which is available, is incarcerated under seven locks ‘on the other side’ where it is difficult to access.

However, it has been possible for me to assemble a series of documents, materials and facts, regarding the history of the Jews in Tomaszow-Lubelski. Various opportunities led to investigations, which linked to salvaged archives and from there, further news was harvested about Jews in Tomaszow-Lubelski. Indeed, it is from these first times, since Tomaszow became a city, and Jews began to settle there, that we will proceed in an orderly fashion, with its history:

Up to the year 1462, the entire vicinity was a Duchy. Later, during the time of the Old Polish Kingdom, the voievodeship of Belz was created, containing five vicinities (Powiat): Belz, Grabowiec, Horodlo, Lubaczow and Busk^[3]

Tomaszow, came along later, about the year 1590. This was on the territory of the village of Rogozno, by the Hetman and Polish royal chancellor Jan Zamoyski, the new settlement being created and given the name Jelitowo. Four years later, exactly on April 10, 1594, when a son was born to Jan Zamoyski by his fourth wife Barbara Tarnowska, and when the son was given the name Tomasz, in honor of this event, the shtetl of

[Page 12]

Jelitowo was changed to Tomaszow, And here is the history of Tomaszow.^{[4] [5]}

It is necessary to note here, that the name of the village of Rogozno was already recorded here in the year 1422.

In the year 1772, this entire area went over into the hands of the Habsburgs, in the First Partition of Poland, and found itself under the rule of the Austrians. After the Congress of Vienna that took place in 1811, involving the three Great Powers, who divided up Poland amongst themselves (Russia, Germany and Austria), a part of the Belz Voievodship, and the Tomaszow Ordinazia went over to the Russians. They belonged to the Lublin Guberniya.

In the Belz Voievodship, at that time, when the Tomaszow Jewish settlement began to take form, the various cities belonged to the nobility – to the Crown (the so-called crown-cities), or to a variety of individual people of high standing: nobles. Of the 31 cities, that were in the Belz voievodeship in the year 1629, 15 belonged to the King, and 16 to a variety of individuals. Tomaszow was in the property of the Zamoyskis. Within the Belz voievodeship, the Zamoyskis hold only Tomaszow in their circle.

In the year 1621 (May 25), the ruler of the day, Tomasz Zamoyski, set down the privilege, which was later made into law by the Polish King Zygmunt III. It is appropriate, in connection with this privilege, where the genesis of the city and its administration is outlined, to present a couple of excerpts. It says there:

‘…: When I (Jan Zamoyski) took measure to establish the city of Tomaszow, and seeing in a short period of time that it is growing well, I decided, on the good and utility of generally promulgating this very privilege, that should remain the same for coming generations. With the establishment of the city in the more distant boundaries…. all residents are freed from paying all manner of duties for 15 years. After this period of time, it will be required to pay into my treasury 5 groschen for every house on the marketplace houses on the other streets are required to pay 4 groschen….(a variety of taxes and levies are then enumerated).

… We permit the construction of a rotunda with wooden stores around, for the sale of butter, kasha, oil and other food products… we commit to obtain from the King permission to hold annual fairs on the days of: St. Stanislaw, St. Bartholomew, ‘Trzech Kroli’^[6], and weekly market days every Monday…

Citizens will be regulated by the Magdeburg Code, and the magistracy shall be composed of Catholics and Uniates^[7]. I obligate the citizens to construct a Catholic Church in the course of 3 years at their own expense. Should this not come to pass, they will be punished by the loss of the rights and freedom or a financial penalty for the benefit of my treasury….^[8]’

As we see, in this vert first privilege at the founding of the city, Jews are not mentioned.

In later chapters, we will pause and deal if this question.

[Page 13]

It is known from Jewish sources, that there were Jews in Tomaszow from the middle of the 17^th century. Here, I will recall only three details, which will be elaborated on further in coming sections of this memoir.

1. During the ta”kh decrees, there was already a sizeable Jewish populace in Tomaszow, (Yevayn Metzullah, in Tza'ar Bat Rabim, and Tzuk Ha'Ittim)^[1]
2. At a sitting of the Va'ad Arba Aratzot^[2] in Lublin in the year 5427 (1667), among the other signatories to an amendment, is Yaakov HaLevi Safra of Tomaszow.^[3]
3. Around the year 1676 there was a false accusation brought against a certain R' Pinchas son of R' Meir, who was murdered as a martyr. Threnodies were even composed to his memory.^[4]

From Polish archival materials we have credible data that it was the year 1621. In this data, [we find that] the Jews of Tomaszow received a privilege from the master of the city, Tomasz Zamoyski (after whom the city had been named 27 years earlier). This means, therefore, that Jews were already living there, and a significant number of them were there before that date.

Before we approach this privilege, which is the most important and unquestionably the first document about the Tomaszow Jews, we must add that until the Tomaszow Jews received this privilege in 1621, there were

[Page 14]

already communities in this vicinity, in the Belz Voievodeship, in which privileges for Jews had already been granted previously. Here is a list of those cities, given in the chronological order in which they were granted the privileges:

1. Belz – In the year 1517
2. Dembno (Also called Dubno, and for this reason, the Dubno in Wolhynia was called Dubno-Rabati, or Great-Dubno) – In the years 1538-1593.
3. Mosty' Wielkie (Also called Augustow) – In the years 1549-1576
4. Sokol – In the years 1565-1578
5. Tyszowce – In the years 1566-1576
6. Oleszyce – In the Year 1576
7. Nemerow – (Not to be confused with the Ukrainian Nemyriv) – In the year 1599
8. Korytnica – In the year 1617
9. Tomaszow – In the year 1621

In speaking of the privileges for Jews in the Belz Voievodeship, it is necessary to add that of the 9 cities referenced, only three: Oleszyce, Niemirow, and Tomaszow were under control of nobility, and they obtained these privileges from their masters – Oleszyce from the Starosta Szienkowski, Niemirow from the Nobleman Stadnicki, and Tomaszow from Graf Zamoyski. The others were Crown Cities, and their privileges were granted by the King. There were, however, also three cities in which the granted privileges explicitly stated that Jews were prohibited from living there. These were:

Magierow, which belonged to the Belz area, received a privilege from its owner, Jan Magyar, on January 20, where among other things, the following is stated:

‘… Jews as an accursed peoples, who are cunning, and because their beliefs are not friendly to Christendom… I exclude from being tolerant of their presence in the city; no houses shall be rented or sold [to them], and also my heirs shall, under no circumstances permit them entry into the city.’^[5]

In the year 1629, which we will discuss later, when a census of Jewish houses was taken in the Belz voievodeship, the residents of Magierow had to take an oath, that excepting the estate manager of the Jakub castle, there was not a single Jew [living] among them.

Plozy. This was a Crown City, and here, Zygmunt III issued a privilege in the year 1614, which, among other things, said:

‘… Jews are forbidden to live in the city, to build houses or engage in commerce. Jews may be permitted to travel through the city, in connection with their commerce, only with the permission of the Magistrate,’^[6]

[Page 15]

Warenz – This city had previously been the property of the Niedzwiecki family, who sold it to the convent of the ‘Holy Sisters of Lemberg,’ who did not want any Jews there. Before this, in the year 1578, there were 4 Jewish balebatim, and 2 assistants.

In summary, around Tomaszow, there were settlements of Jews. It is clear, that the settlement was established there in the year 1594, and Jews began to be drawn to it from the surrounding area. We will indeed see this later in the family names and the characteristics of the Tomaszow Jews.

The Zamoyskis had already established a substantive relationship with Jews. They had already issued a privilege in Zamość in the year 1588 for the Jews that were living there. Jews were already living in a whole collection of other cities in their Ordynacja. Because of this, one should understand that the privilege granted to the Tomaszow Jews [by the Zamoyskis] was analogous to those they granted to others issued by the Zamoyskis. Because of the historical importance of this document, we provide it here in Yiddish translation. The privilege was written in Latin. It was translated into Polish, and was published for the first time at the 300th Jubilee of Jewish residence (which was not celebrated!) In the year 1921.^[7]

The privilege states:

‘…In the name of God, Amen. For eternal remembrance. Tomasz of Zamość, the Voievode of the Kiev Lands. Starosta of Knyszyn, Goniadz , etc., is giving notice with this writing, to everyone in general, and to each individual in particular, to whom this pertains. When several years ago, I took the decision to establish this city, which is called Tomaszow, and when I saw that this settlement was growing and from day-to-day assumes a broader context, I have, in order to direct a broadened and successful commerce, taken up the Jews as an example from the other cities of my realm, as residents and citizens of those cities, and given them permission to establish their houses and families therein. These Jews will have to assume the same obligations, financial duties and taxes that have been placed on the Christian residents of the city. I permit them to enjoy all the rights and freedoms that all other citizens enjoy in the cities over which I reign, in carrying out their commercial dealings, in the creation of products, as in general, in the conduct of all other honest business endeavors in order to make a living. I am also in agreement that they are to have the same rights in the purchase and sale of all manner of goods. [This shall apply] At all times – both at weekly and annual market events, In connection with this privilege, the Jews referred to, whether they live in the city, or desire to do so, are obligated, after a period of 15 years, to pay me and my heirs, a duty, from each Jew, who is a house owner of a two-story house with neighbors [sic: tenants], to a 1 floor [house,] independent of any other taxes that they are required to pay, which they are required to pay just like all the other Christian citizenry, to me and my heirs. Apart from this, the Jews will be able to engage in the healing arts, along with Christian healing professionals, and exactly like the Christian healing professionals, they will be obligated to pay me and my heirs up to 15 Florins a year, and at the anniversary of St. Martin pure fat or rendered in12 molten ingots.

Should conflict and disputes arise between Christians and Jews, they first must be adjudicated by the Jewish [community] Elder; if the Christian feels wronged by the outcome, he has the right to approach my delegate and later, myself, for my judgement. Apart from this, Christians may be called to judgement on all matters by Jews, but only in the municipal civil court.

[Page 16]

Apart from this, I give the above mentioned Jews the right, at a distance from the Catholic Church, to purchase specific plots on a street, for the purpose of building a synagogue, a residence for a Rabbi, Cantor and Teacher, as well as a place for an transient's residence (Hekdesh) to take in the poor and unfortunate.

When these buildings are erected, they will be free of all taxes and assessments, which Jews [would normally be required to] pay for their own houses.

The Jews also have the right to purchase a parcel at the outskirts of the city, in order to create a cemetery, to bury their dead.

Notwithstanding this, I order that these Jews are not permitted to purchase from Christians, or build by themselves more than 12 houses on the market square. The houses that the Jews already have there are included in this reckoning. If it appears that someone has exceeded this number, without my permission, he will be punished by an appropriate fine to be paid into my treasury.

The Jews are free to buy or build as many houses, as pleases them, on all other streets.

Apart from this, I release the referenced Jews from bearing the burden to repair the battlements, which have been constructed at the outskirts of the subject city, which were constructed to secure the lakes, an obligation to which all the other Christian citizenry is obligated.

Jewish homeowners are responsible, in all instances, when it becomes apparent that it is necessary to pay a 3 groschen allocation for the needs of the administration of the city, and the convenience of the city.

In order to implement this, I have ordered this document which I have authentically signed, to be affixed with a seal.

Given this day the 6^th of May 1621 in Zamość in the presence of the distinguished dignitaries:

Wawrzyniec Staryngel – Deacon of the Collegiata in Zamość
Mateusz Leszniewski – Podkomorny of Belz
Jan Komorowski – Starosta of Raciborz and
Stanislaw Wieleski, Alexander Dameracki, Franciszek Krzyzanowski, Mateusz Malkowski, Jan Dzik, Pawel Slotowksi, Wojciech Napierkowski, Stanislaw Morkowski, my employees and people whom I rely upon, to assure that this is preserved in the annals of rights of my realm, as well as those of my heirs, Zamoyski Jan Iwoszkowicz,

I authorize the above declaration brought before me – [The Festival of St.] Martin in Zamość. Zamoyski.’

When one compares this privilege to those of other cities, not in the Zamoyski Ordynacja, it is seen that here, the Jews obtained much broader rights that in other cities. Not only did the Jews have right equal to those of the Christians of Tomaszow, they were even released from specific obligations. There is a point to be made with regard to a certain limitation (to build more than 12 houses on the marketplace square), but practically, this was never enforced. Jews, in fact, did not build, but they did live, as tenants in Christian property, on the marketplace square.

[Page 17]

It was, indeed, because of this, that a specific complaint was brought before the Jews by the city. As it was usual, Christians paid their taxes on the houses and property. However, as soon as the Jews rented the space as tenants, the Christians stopped paying the tax for the Catholic Church. An agreement was reached between the Tomaszow community and the Catholic parish (which, incidentally was formally designated in Rome by the Pope on the August 27, 1761), that the Jews are required to pay the tax, that Christians had heretofore paid to the Catholic Church. The Christians would pay 2 ingots of fat but the Jews already were paying double, 4 ingots, or 20 Gulden.

Several decades later, with the further growth of the Jewish population, this tax was increased. On January 3, 1824, a new agreement was concluded between the Tomaszow municipality and local priest, that the annual levy will be not 20 Gulden, but 40 Gulden.

We will pause here, for a few moments, regarding the Privilege. In it, the number of Jewish houses on the marketplace square are discussed (only 12) and in general, the right to build houses. Here we actually have a statistic about the Jewish houses in the entire Belz area. By chance, this statistic was conserved in an archive, that is located ‘on the other side [sic: behind the Iron Curtain].’

Up to the year 1628, Jews paid one general tax – poglowna – per capita. This head tax was paid through the Va'ad entities in the year, in concert with the Polish-Swedish War which in that year obligated the Jews to pay an added tax over and above the head tax, on their houses and grounds, just as the Christians paid, and this tax applied whether on their own houses, as well as rented dwellings from Christians.

In connection with this, a very accurate statistic was developed in order to prepare the tax rolls for the Jewish houses. As a result, these lists were guarded carefully. A count was taken every few years, and here we have a comparison of 19 cities in the Belz area, where there were houses where Jews lived in the year 1629 and 1643^[8]:

City	Number of Houses
	1629	1643	Increase
1. Belz	34	40	6
2. Busk	17	56	39
3. Cieszanow	3	11	8
4. Dembno	15	64	49
5. Florianów	40	60	20
6. Horodlo	11	15	4
7. Korytnica	36	47	11
8. Lipsko	30	37	7
9. Laszczowka		13	13
10. Mosty'	7	10	3
11. Nemerow	16	21	5
12. Topilec	12	15	3
13. Rawa-Ruska	24	25	1
14. Sokol	16	18	2
15. Szczemyliec	10	12	2
16. Starawiec	10	15	5
17. Tomaszow-Lubelski	30	60	30
18. Tyszowce	18	18
19. Uhniv	30	30

[Page 18]

We see here a general picture of the increase of the Jewish population in the area, and how this came about in the various cities. We find Tomaszow among the few cities thus counted, where the growth was strong, in the matter of houses. We will discuss the growth of numbers later on.^[9]

Since we are speaking of taxes, it is suitable to incorporate here a list of Jewish taxpayers from Tomaszow-Lubelski in the year 1702.^[10]

In the tax rolls of the city of the year 1702, there are a total of 212 taxpayers listed. For each taxpayer, the individual's faith or nationality is recorded. Among these 212 are 119 Poles, 68 Russians, and 17 Jews. Were it not for this designation at a portion of these Jews, we would not be able to know that they were Jewish by depending only on their names. In many instances, these are names of the settlements from which they came. Beside a number of them, there is the mark zyd…. from …… We produce this list as it appeared in the general register. the number in the columns mean the register number of the tax register of the year 1702.

Column No.	First Name	Last Name	Comment	Tax Denom
4		Florianowicz	Meaning from Florianów	15 Groschen
5	Berko	Israelewicz		2 Gulden
6	Icka	Laszczowiecki		1 Gulden
8		Litmanowicz		3 Gulden
10		Narolski		3 Gulden
13	Chaim			3 Gulden
17		Pukoszewski		2 Gulden
18	Aharon	Cirulnik	A Barber-Surgeon	3 Gulden
19	Zendl	Szapaz		2 Gulden
34	Noah		From Leyben 1	Gulden 20 Groschen
35	Baruch			16 Groschen
51	Motya	Becker	Probably a Baker	15 Groschen
60		Litszmanka		1 Gulden
69, 78		Khodivaniecki		1 Gulden 15 Groschen
165		Jaworowski	Son-in-Law	20 Groschen
102	Lubka			1 Gulden 6 Groschen
205		Benkszpulek		1 Gulden 6 Groschen

[Page 19]

These were mainly property taxes, houses, in accordance with previously described Privileges and amendments.

It is worth pausing at a number of these names, It is clear, that at this year, Jews did not yet have their family names, and because of this, we encounter names such as Chaim, Baruch, Lubka (Possibly Leib'keh?) Names such as Florianowicz, Laszczowiecki, Narolski, Pukoszewski, Khodivaniecki, Jaworowski are places of origin of the Jews, which are all village locations in the area.

We will come to talk about Aharon Cirulnik in a later chapter.

Here, we will especially deal with Zendl Szapaz, number 9 in the list, Column 19. This name came onto the table to us from another document, We have before us, a listing of all the municipal leadership in Tomaszow Lubelski from the year 1684 to the year 1810. In line with the General Privilege of the city, which we have previously cited, it is stated that in the City Council, only Catholics and Uniates may serve. However, in the compiled listing of the City Council membership of the year 1688, we find the ‘Pomocnik zydowski Szmukla Kromoz’ among the municipal leadership. This same storekeeper, Shmuel was also in the municipal leadership a year later, in 1689. Thirteen years pass, where there are no Jews in the municipal leadership, and in the year 1702, we encounter ‘Zapas zydowski Zendl Davidowicz.’ He is also in the municipal leadership in the year 1704. Afterwards, no Jews are to be found.

This is the same Zendl that appears on our tax rolls for the year 1702.

If we are discussing lists of Jews in Tomaszow from hundreds of years ago, it is necessary to introduce a very interesting list. It is interesting thereby, that if on the 1702 list it will generally not be possible for contemporary scions of Tomaszow to find any familiar names, they might possibly be able to decipher something from the following list, which is a bit more contemporary, from the year 1835. It is not more than 130 years ago, and as it happens, here we already have family names, and we encounter many of them in later documents and materials, and part of today's Tomaszow scions will most certainly find their great-great grandparents. This list contains the following:

The following Jewish stores are enumerated in the Municipal Hypothecation Book of the referenced year, which existed at that time in Tomaszow; (The numbers are those designated in the Hypothecation List.^[11]

Name	Number
1. Yudka Rosenfeld	41
2. Shimon Bergerson	44
3. Chana Rothenstein, widow of Moshe	2
4. Pinchas Lindenwald	195
5. Jonah Luden	152
6. Aharon Bindler	245
7. Itta – born Berger, previously Wertman, now the wife of Wolf Schnei	197
8. Menashe Zinger	22
9. Lejzor-Ber Lederkremmer	472
10. Chaim Farshtendiker	40
11. Aharon Kossfisher	8
12. Lima Langer	157
13. Bluma Rothenberg, widow of Moshe	33
14. Peretz Reichenberg	4
15. Abraham Konsfisher	8[12]
16. David Cohan	14
17. Nathan Kinder	245
18. Moshe Dytel	35

[Page 20]

In the year 1834, it appeared that the number of stores was too small, and the city issued permits to build a square of stores [called Rad-krommen] (in the source Kramnieca) from brick. The concession to build these stores was obtained by: Hirsch'keh Beilin; Mikhl Korngold and Moshka (Moshe) Cohan. The stores were built on the marketplace square.

A very characteristic point of the Tomaszow Privilege is the statute that Jewish barber-surgeons will be able to carry out their work in an unimpeded fashion. It is very rare to find such a point in the various other hundreds of Privileges that were distributed to Jews in Old Poland. A further exception is, indeed, a second Privilege from the Zamoyskis, for Zamość from the year 1588 – also there, Jewish barber-surgeons are mentioned.^[13]

It appears that Tomaszow was blessed with a rather large number of Jewish barber-surgeons, whom we will call physicians from this point forward. In a series of archive documents, and before everything else, in court acts, we find continuous reference to the physicians. Their names; their complaints during judicial proceedings, that their Christian clients do not pay them the agreed to fee sums, and things of this sort.

Here is a chronological order of a list (certainly not full) of the Jewish physicians of Tomaszow:

We find in a court proceeding in the year 1684 a case of the physician Aharon Jakubowicz who filed a complaint that the Christian, Ewa Midlonka stating that she engages in unfair competition and takes away his clients.

In the year 1684, the physicians Aharon and Abraham Itzkowitz are figured into the list of physicians in Tomaszow.

[Page 21]

From the years 1685-1694 we find the physician Aharon Szapszowicz. From the year 1687 -1700 the physician Aharon Itzkowitz is here. In the year 1699 a case is recorded on the judicial proceedings between the barber-surgeon Aharon Jakubowicz and the citizen, Prokop Szczesniak, whose eye he cured. He had set a fee of 5 Gulden and he was only paid 3 Gulden.

A certain physician Moshe Itzkowitz had a rather substantial practice. In the year 1689 he lived in his own house, a legacy from his father, Yitzhak the Old Barber-Surgeon. In the court documents, he appears as Moshka Ickowicz Chirurg Tomaszowski and also as Moshka Medikum. He was still active in 1718.

At the same time, Hirsch was a physician.

From the 17^th to the beginning of the 18^th century, the physician Baruch Aronowicz was very active, and in the proceedings he appears as Baruch Medik. In the year 1705, the city concluded an agreement with him to heal the sick.

Let us recall that in the previously recorded tax rolls of 1702, there is an Aharon Cirulik and a certain Baruch, and that could quite possibly be the very same Baruch Medik.

In the year 1689 we encounter a woman physician. We learn this from a terrible story of a certain Christian man, who attacked a Jewish woman, and she was healed by the ‘Yiddisheh Tzirulnichkeh’ – no name is given.

In 1738, the barber-surgeon Icka Markowicz obtained a permit to build a house on the street that leads to the Szczebrzeszyn Gate.

Of even greater interest is a story concerning a Christian Feldscher who fled Tomaszow and abandoned his wife and children to fend for themselves. In that year, the commandant of the Zamoyski holdings, the Colonel, Tomasz-Antony send out a letter of the following sort:

‘…I am notifying those that need to know, especially the important appointed leaders of the city of Tomaszow, and the Jews of the local synagogue, in connection with the plea brought before me by Ana Krzezanowska, the wife of a barber-surgeon, whose husband, for vicarious reasons, left the city of Tomaszow, and abandoned his wife and children in a most foul manner. In order that this lady have a means of sustenance, I am permitting her Chelodnik, a Catholic, to engage in the craft of barber-surgeon. [I request] that this assumption of role will not encounter subversion by the barber-surgeons, and the Jews….’^[14]

The physicians, Abraham Israelovich and the brothers Levik and Hirsch'keh were active in the year 1753. Hirsch'keh previously practiced in Warenz and had the added name of Warenski. He already called himself ‘Doctor,’

In 1788, there is a decree from Zamość to the citizens of Tomaszow, that Icka Goldstein (the son of the previously mentioned Hirsch'keh Warenski) received a Medical Science diploma in 1785. He died in the year 1800.

[Page 22]

The doctor, Leon Funkenstein was active in Tomaszow in the year 1823.

Among the physicians of Tomaszow, Israel Binder is familiar, the patriarch of a whole family of Feldschers in Laszczow until 1939.

During the ‘powstanie’ { the 1831 rebellion) the physicians, Zalman Groder and his son Mordechai Groder were active, as also Leib'eh Feiner and Yankl Asseo.

In the year 1851, we find documents of a wedding of the Feldscher Mordechai Goldus with Reizl Kormandel.

Later on (as the documents reveal), there was a Feldscher, Yitzhak Asseo and his son, Yankl Asseo The latter died in the year 1935. It would appear that these are descendants of Yankl Asseo, the Feldscher from the era of the ‘powstanie.’ Incidentally, the name Asseo, is taken from the Aramaic, [and] in the Talmud, ‘Asseo’ indeed means a Feldscher.

As we see, the profession of Feldscher was quite prominent among the Jews of Tomaszow, and therefore, in the very first privilege for the city, in 1621, there already was a stipulation about the right of the Jews to engage in this profession.

In ending this chapter, it is necessary to remark that these facts about the Jewish physicians in Tomaszow were not known to researchers, who engaged in these matters. Thus, in the work of Dr. Emanuel Ringelbloom (s”hv), ‘Jewish Feldschers in One-Time Poland,’ (Published in Social Medicine, 1932), where he counts up to 320 Feldschers, there is no mention at all about those from Tomaszow.

Previously, we paused at the profession of Feldscher in Tomaszow, but what was the outlook with regard to other occupations?

We have a series of documents before us, with privileges, that the Zamoyskis, in the course of time, issued to the various guilds of manual laborers in Tomaszow.

Here are the privileges for the guild of carpenters, coopers, wheelwright, wheel makers, and lathe operators. Issued in 1618. this Privilege has 21 points, and it begins with point 1, in which it says the following:

‘… In accordance with the decision of the municipal authorities, manual laborers from this guild may be drawn only from those of the Roman Catholic faith…’

A later Privilege is from January 18, 1641, issued for the weaver's guild in Tomaszow. The Privilege contains 31 points. There, it begins with point number 1 which says:

‘Whoever wishes to join the weaver's guild, must be of the Catholic faith…’

On January 27, 1642, the locksmiths, blacksmiths, metalworkers and sword makers in Tomaszow receive their Privilege. Among the points there is also a clause that requires members of the guild to participate in Catholic religious processes. What this implies, is that there was no place there for Jews.

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We find the same in the Privilege granted to the Tomaszow oven makers, and also here, the only ones who can belong are Roman Catholic workers.

Indeed, the Jews could not belong to these guilds, and they were not given permission to establish their own guilds, but they would, nevertheless, carry out certain of this work, primarily those who were either directly, or indirectly, involved with the Jewish life. In a series of acts, we discover that Jews in Tomaszow, apart from trade and intermediation, were engaged on a variety of work, such as butchers, carvers, carpenters, pharmacists, shoemakers, hat makers, tailors.^[15]

In 1705, complaints were brought to court by the Christian shoemakers guild against the Jews, Shlomo Kalmanowicz and Haskell Hirschowicz, that they illegally tore off the label of the guild.

Such a complaint was brought by the hat makers guild against the Jew, Abraham Rudy, that he was conducting illegal business.

As a general rule, the attitude towards the Jews in the Belz voievodeship was neutral-tolerant. On the part of the rulers of the city (the royalty and the nobility) was positive so far as the Jews were those who brought in very hefty sums through the taxes that they paid, into the municipal and royal treasuries. The Jews, as was able to be seen from a whole row of pronouncements in the Privileges, were making a very substantial contribution to the growth and development of the economic evolution of the cities.

From another side, the Jews withstood ceaseless assault from the citizens of the city. Storekeepers and tradespeople who saw the Jews as a very serious form of competition and more importantly, a more skilled competition. As we will shortly see from a very much characteristic document.

The Catholic Church came to the assistance of these Christian storekeepers and guilds, which poured oil on the fire – amalgamating a bit of ‘heavenly fear’ with this earthly uncleanliness…

We have an unending series of statutes arising from court procedures, that arose from complaints against Jews. From provoked physical beating through real and perceived drunkenness. In their complaints, they put forward that they were suffering from the ‘impenetrable unity of the Jewish community,’ which – what a pity – exploits the suffering and impoverished Christian people.

But here is what a document from 1689 tells us, that the Jewish community was compelled to borrow money at an exorbitant rate of interest from the church leaders, and a Christian cleric. This document is so characteristic, that it is worth reproducing specific excerpts here:

‘… The following persons came to present themselves at the forum of the Tomaszow municipal elected officials: Icka Szykowicz, Aharon Meirowicz, Haskell Leibowitz, Shlomo Markowicz, Marko Gershonowicz, Litman Lewkowicz, Lewko Rodzhensky, Mikhl Getzownicz, Icka Moszkowicz, Moshko Jozepowicz, Szabtai Lewkowicz, the elders and leaders of the Jewish community (in Tomaszow) and declared and requested that it be documented in the municipal record the following: we confirm by our signatures, and without hands, we took a loan which is guaranteed by us and the entire community, from the Appointed of God….[the] Priest Casimir Leszczynski, Doctor of the Holy Theology and leader of the Sacred Dominican Convent in Krasnobrod, [in the amount of] 2000 Polish Gulden, which is fungible in the entire kingdom….for which we will pay interest each year, in two instalments up to 80 Gulden a year.’^[16]

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Loans of this type at rather high interest rates were taken by the Tomaszow [Jewish] community not only from Christian clerics.

In 1699, the Tomaszow community borrows 1,100 Gulden from the noblewoman Anna Czykewicz.

In the year 1701, the same community took a loan from the nobleman Stanislaw Liniewski; in the same year, also from the treasury of the Zamość Ordynacja in the amount of 300 Tympfen (a sort of coin of the realm)^[17]

Repaying these loans, along with their high rates of interest took place with the greatest of difficulty – the Jews were severely impoverished.

This situation was exploited by the Catholic spiritual leadership, who incited the public at large. An episcopal letter is published by the Bishop of Chelm, Szembel Oystobi full of false accusations against the Jews; in the Zamość press a special anti-Semitic pamphlet is produced against the Talmud, which becomes the most important document in the disputes between Jews and Franciscans in the year 1759 in Lemberg.^[18]

Decrees begin to fall on the Jews. A row of limitations, orders and threats. It came to the point that, in a number of places, Jews were threatened with expulsion. Of very significant historical significance, is a memorandum sent by the Starosta of Tomaszow to the Provincial government, dated October 31, 1783. Among other things, we read the following there:

‘ … the ignorance of the first inhabitants of Tomaszow of their permission to allow everyone of origin as a citizen, to make a living. More correctly said, simply their own laziness has brought these {Christian} citizens to this state, which because of an alleged living, gave up the best locations in the city, along with their property improvements, to the Jews, who were more skilled that they, and began to extract resources from the general public. They, the Christians, remained at the margins of the city… Therein lies the reason why Tomaszow, instead of growing into a city with a vibrant citizenry, has been transformed into a mean Jewish settlement. It is because of this that there is no Rathaus, that the citizenry were required to construct.’^[19]

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Enumerating yet another set of shortcomings of which he finds the Jews guilty, he comes to the conclusion:

‘…all of this has led to the fact that Tomaszow, which according to the agreement of its builders, should have been a model city, has been transformed into a Jewish nest, encircled by peasants….’

That there was no great wealth in Tomaszow is demonstrated to us by a description of the residences of the Jews and Christians in Tomaszow. A detailed description of this sort is available from the year 1787. The Jewish house is portrayed as having windows that were knocked out; without a floor; poor, broken furniture; doors without means to close, barely hanging on to existence; the ovens are full of limestone, old, broken and smeared in clay. Also the dress of the Jews – men and women – are rags, worn out garments…

Incidentally, the Christian home was not described as being any better.

The chroniclers know to tell that this poverty came about because the city suffered continuously from fires; from assaults; from the war that made a pile of trash out of the assets. Those who wanted to pick on the Jews always added that it was the Jews who were entirely responsible for this….

And this very Starosta has a recommendation:

‘… It is necessary to take into consideration if we should not need to expel the Jews forcibly from this area…’

It did not come to this, but the plight of the Jews, or mor appropriately, the relationship to them was clearly hostile. This became even more pronounced, when the area came under the control of Russia, and there began to appear Czarist decrees exceptionally directed at Jews.

In the ‘Polski Slownik Geograficzny’ Volume 12 (1893) we find the following facts about Jews:

In the city, there is a Russian Orthodox Church (built in 1889), a Roman Catholic Cloister, a Synagogue… in the city are the streets [named]: Rynek {Der Mark in Yiddish}; Swietojurska – with the Russian Orthodox Church; Sokolska; Koscielna; Lwowska; Wrobla Cielna; Hotelova; Solna; Swietej Tekli; Praga^[20]; Piekarska; Mydlarska; Jakowa; Krasnobrodska; Pariniasko; Walowa^[21]; Bednarzsko; Wodna; Furmanska; Rymarska; Zamojska; Rachanska; Blotna. And there are three neighborhoods on the outskirts: Ronzhuno, Lesziniecko. Kozie, and Sokolskie.

There are two public streams in the city, and 29 private ones. The streets are not paved, with wooden sidewalks along the side. The majority of houses are made of wood; in the marketplace there are drains; at the round of the city, the houses are ringed with gardens.

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The larger structures here are: the barracks of the border guard troops (for 400 men) and the Cossack stables (For 300 horses).

Only ruins remain from the former cloister. The general total of the population in 1882 was 7,277 beings. Among the: 2,053 Catholics; 986 Russian Orthodox; and 4,238 Jews. The entirety of commerce, (more than 60 stores) was in Jewish hands. There were no manufacturing facilities. One bakery was in Christian hands, a sweet shop and a restaurant.

…in the year 1819 Tomaszow has 2,568 residents,

In the year 1827 – 2824 residents; in the year 1860 – 3587 residents, of which 915 were Catholics, 503 were Russian Orthodox, and 2,117 were Jews.

In the Russian ‘Yevreyitska Entsiklopediya’ (Volume 14, Petersburg) among other things, we have the following figures about the number of Jews in Tomaszow-Lubelski:

In the year 1856, there were 3,223 residents, among which were 1,863 Jews; in the census of 1897, there were 100,000 people living in the province, of which 11,000 were Jews. Of these, 6,000 of the residents were in Tomaszow, and among them, 3,646 Jews. In the cities of the province, in which there were no less than 500 Jews, the Jews comprised the largest percentage of the population, as shown in the following data:

Komarow	2,610	residents, among them	1,568 Jews
Laszczow	1,806	residents, among them	1,626 Jews
Telatyn	743	residents, among them	35 Jews
Tyszowce	2,201	residents, among them	1,898 Jews
Jarczow	487	residents, among them	348 Jews

Year	General Population	Jews
1819	2,568	?
1827	2,824	?
1856	3,223	1863
1860	3,578	2117
1882	7,277	4238
1897	6,000	3646

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This tale is taken from the book ‘Shturmvint’ by M. Weinreich, Vilna, 1929, pp. 176-180, who took it from an anonymous pamphlet without attribution regarding time or place of publication (see Badileina Catalog No. 4030-1692) In memory of the unique Sanctification of the Name of R' Mattathias and R' Pinchas that took place in the country of Poland.

For further details about sources, and a biography of the martyr, Rabbi Pinchas ז”ל, examine the treatment of Sh. Lavi in the monograph of the Tomaszow Rabbis.

R' Pinchas the Righteous resided in Tomaszow. He was so extreme, that he didn't hold by drinking and eating; rather, he only engaged in fasting, mortification and studied Torah. He was never seen in the street, he sat only in sequestered rooms, and, literally, for his entire life was never seen at liberty. There simply was not a good character trait that he did not possess.

A blood libel was raised against R' Pinchas. He was taken to jail, and began to torture him even before the executioner took to him. One day, he was given water in a small piece of coarse bread. He was sitting in darkness, without any light, in a manner that he was unable to see anything. No Jew was allowed to come to him, and neither pleading nor bribery was of any help. Roaches and vermin were crawling all over the room, which caused him great anxiety and fear, so many times the roaches interrupted his sleep, causing him to throw off the blanket, and hat from his head, such that he would leap up half out of his mind. Before he died, he said that the jail was worse than all the other tortures that were inflicted on him. It must be that this was some sort of ‘Lower Jail’ for those that R' Abraham feared.

Those who worked on his behalf tried many means of getting this pious man free. However, he did not knuckle under, because the matter had gone to a higher level: an order came from the tribunal that the entire matter was to be transferred to their jurisdiction; a maid had been found who had informed against him.

It happened this way: she was persuaded that she should stand by her accusation, in return for which she will be released and made wealthy; recognizably, this was an adopted tactic in the assault on Jews. Therefore, she held by the everything that she was instructed to do, even under duress: that R' Pinchas was guilty of stealing the sacred host, and that she was also involved, and all of this was recorded by the Municipal Recorder. In addition, it was ruled that while she herself had confessed to her crime, that she should be put to death. This was written down and sent to the tribunal, which certified the sentence against the servant girl she was indeed turned over to the executioner and appropriated the matter regarding the Jew to itself. He was immediately put in irons, and sent off to Lublin.

When R' Pinchas said at the first hearing, that he knew of nothing to say, the judges thought: when you are subject to torture, you will speak otherwise. His limbs were stretched out, and applied an iron rod used to make wheel rods, one of the implements of torture in the torture chamber, broke his ankles and wrists, and with a heated, blowing iron rod, burned his flesh; this was the most extreme torture. After this torture, they tossed him naked into manure, and he remained lying there without an ounce of strength left in him.

When he came to a bit, he was brought before the court anew. He continued to hold his position; that the accusation was a lie. So they asked, how is it that you have such a metallic head to say that this is a lie, at the time that the servant had personally admitted to it, that the two of you committed the crime together, and

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everything is documented? He answered: if the maid had known that, because of her words, she would be taken from this world, she would have spoken differently, but she was misled into a lie, and she stood by that lie; she had been promised a lot of money, and in the end, she lost this world, and the world to come.

When they saw that the Jew does not depart from his path, they took him back to torture. A new judgement came out; he should again be burned with an iron rod; all his hair is to be cut off, and he is to be given it to drink, and he must swallow it all, afterwards, he is to be turned over to the executioner.

The executioner took him, bound him to a block, with all of his four extremities tied off, meaning that he was wrapped around the block like a bow, ‘so that his pure bones began to crack.’ After this, he began to burn him with candles under his hands, and on his feet, literally burning holes into him. At the same time, the executioner shouted at him in a frightening manner – so it was related, in order to heighten his fear – and showed him glowing hot irons at a distance, in order to instill further fear in him. When the martyr, nevertheless, kept silent, he was additionally burned with those irons, such that pieces of flesh fell from his bones.

After this, they thought up something new: they brought iron boots with screws and heated them up, and they took the martyr's bare foot and stuck it into the boot, and began to screw the screws into the foot. they did this with the other foot as well. The martyr cried out an alarm; his feet became as if they had been baked, and the bones knocked against the screws.

On the following morning, a wagon was obtained, loaded with barrels of pitch, sat R' Pinchas on it, and took him off to be executed. A large heap of wood was assembled, and the boards were covered in [gun] powder, in order that they burn better, and in the middle of the bonfire, they drove in a stout stake. The Righteous One was bound to the stake, and the fire was ignited, and the martyr thrashed about like a fish water, to the extent that the stake shook; afterwards, he became still, and he expired. But for the malefactors, this was insufficient; they gathered up the ash, and threw it into the river.

At the time that the martyr was being taken to judgement, the Selikhot prayers were being recited in all of the synagogues. And a great miracle took place at that time, according to the writer: Jews, who observed the execution clandestinely, and also gentiles saw, that at the time that the martyr was being carried to the bonfire, two snow white doves flew over him. The entire time that the martyr was being burned, they were in the fire with him, and despite this, not a single feather of theirs was even slightly singed. There certainly must have been angels from the Heavenly Host, who were making an effort on behalf of the martyr. The gentiles who saw this were drenched in tears when telling of this, and they said: we, ourselves, understand, that a great wrong was committed here….

One of the legendary locations in Tomaszow, was a gravestone of a girl at the edge of the cemetery (when the cemetery was enlarged, the grave came out in the middle). The people called her ‘Di Kedeysheh,’ but properly said, ‘Di Kedoysheh,’ because on her gravestone, she was titled with the name ‘HaKedosha’ a mode of expression which is used only for those martyrs who died in Sanctification of the Name. The gravestone was already about 200 years old.

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As it was related from generation to generation, here lay a Jewish girl who was a world-class beauty, and a Russian officer wanted to rape her, and when she resisted him, he shot her, and she was buried on the same place where she fell. The grave was treated as a sacred site, and many women, at those times that they visited the cemetery, would come to pray at her grave. ‘Di Kedoysheh,’ was one of the historic places in or city.

The Synagogue, taken from the southwest side; the lower building which rings the synagogue is the Ezrat Nashim [Women's Section]. At the left, over the steps, one can see the Annex.

Leaning on the Prayer Stand – Chaim Strasberg (The Lime Maker)

The Prayer Stand and Holy Ark in the big Bet HaMedrash

The synagogue was one of the oldest synagogues in Poland, its style being wondrous in structure and style, majestic and peasant in appearance, one of the most important Jewish historical buildings in Poland. (For a variety of reasons, for which this is not the place to analyze, the synagogue of Tomaszow was generally denied publicity, and interestingly how false information [appeared] in the Jewish world about the Tomaszow synagogue, in the well-known work, ‘The Synagogues of Poland and their Destruction,’ by David Davidowicz, Jerusalem 5720, in which the Tomaszow synagogue is not even mentioned, except for the fifth chapter on page 15, where he provides a general list of the synagogues that were built out of wood, Tomaszow-Lubelski is also mentioned, [saying] that the city also had a synagogue constructed of wood. And, [yet] we scions of Tomaszow all know and remember that Tomaszow had a synagogue built of stone, and we did not have two synagogues.)

It is very interesting to hear the legends that are tied up with the synagogue. On a summer's evening, by the portico, where little groups of people stood around, an elder would once again repeat that which he had heard in his youth, or on Tisha B'Av in the afternoon, when the young men from the shtibl came to pray the afternoon service in the synagogue, and the elderly Jews would refresh their memories about Tomaszow, and needless to say, if an important guest would arrive from an unfamiliar place, then the elders would make an extra effort to convey their tales with the most precise detail, of stories about Tomaszow in general, and about the synagogue in particular.

And we, the youngsters, became stuck, like bees to honey, and ingested every word and story – and it is for this reason it is so deeply etched into my heart.

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In order to be correct, I must state firmly that a great deal of their stories were not more than legends, created by the imagination over the course of generations, embellished with feelings of local pride, as for example, a tale passed among the Jews of the synagogue that the RA”SH attended the synagogue.

Many old people related, that which they heard in their youth, that on the western wall of the synagogue, was written ,שנת קש”ט סל”ה that the rubric סל”ה which has a numerical value of 95, means that the synagogue was built in the 95th year of the sixth millennium [sic: 5095, which is 1336 B.C.E., however this is hard to believe. At that time there was most certainly no settlement at all, much less a Jewish one. And possibly, the emphasis should have been on the rubric, קש”ט, whose numerical value equates to the year ת”ט [ sic:1649], even though the synagogue was built before this, but because of the pogroms of ת”ח [1648] the synagogue was vandalized and destroyed, and it was restored and rebuilt in ת”ט, and for this reason, the rubric קש”ט was written. However, this is simply impossible, because the slaughtering and devastation stretched from 1648 to 1649 and 1650, as Chmielnicki's hordes simply annihilated the Jewish city. and it is difficult to accept that in the very height of the ferocity of destruction, that the Jews rebuilt their synagogue.

In any event, it is impossible to establish with certainty when the synagogue was built, but the rubric קש”ט סל”ה have yet another meaning, namely, as it was accepted in Tomaszow, as well as in Szczebrzeszyn (a neighboring shtetl) as an accurate transmission of a tradition, that 3 synagogues were built in Poland by one master [architect] in the same architectural style: a structure without pillars, in the following cities: Cracow, Szczebrzeszyn, Tomaszow, and it is possible that with this in mind, he placed the rubric קש”ט סל”ה whose first part is an acronym for these referenced three cities, Cracow, Szczebrzeszyn and Tomaszow. In any event, the synagogue was one of the oldest synagogues in Poland, and one of the numbered few with its construction and architecture, very large, a high synagogue whose ceiling was supported without pillars. After the fire of the year 5678 [1919] when the synagogue was entirely burned down, and stood for an extended period of time bare and without a roof, so that the rain and snow soaked through the ceiling for an entire year, and when it was restored, the Magistrate feared that perhaps the structure was too weak, and that it should not bring on a catastrophe, they sent up workers with heavy iron rods, and hammered on the structure, to test if the structure was vulnerable, and it held. Only then, did they then permit the new roof to be put on.

As related by Eli' Lehrer, during the war years of [19]42-43, the Germans took away the synagogue, and each part needed to be destroyed separately using dynamite, which is how strongly the synagogue was built.–

The synagogue was built of stone, in the form of a quadrilateral, approximately 26 meters square, with a height of 7 stories. with three large windows on each side, excepting the eastern side, which had 2 windows. Inside the synagogue, the synagogue was below street level by 1.5 meters. The entrance was on the north side, towards the west, that is to the northwest. In front of the entrance, there was a small roofed portico, that had a roof with two pillars, then one descended six steps deep, and there, was an antechamber which was called the ‘Polish.’

A door opened from the Polish into the synagogue on two sides, west and south, but on the lower level, without stories, there were wide, low windows, that connected the Women's synagogue with the Men's synagogue. The windows were bordered with iron rods, and hung with small white curtains. The depth of the windows was about 2 meters. To the northwest, a small tall structure had been built on, where the stairs to the attic of the synagogue could be found, and nearby, could be found the so-called ‘Second House,’ which was built over the Polish, where there was a regularly scheduled minyan for only the Sabbath and Festivals. Mostly, it was the simple Jewish folk who prayed there, and during the week, R' Meir Zlata's ע”ה would

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conduct his lessons there. One entered the ‘Second House,’ or as it was sometimes called, ‘The Khevra Tehillim,’ using external stairs.

The exterior of the synagogue was brushed white with lime. Over the synagogue, there was a mansard, or better described as a staggered roof, which looked like there was one roof on top of the other. The children nicknamed it ‘Hor-HaHar.’^[1]

The synagogue was painted both inside and out. On the eastern walls, the ‘HaMelech’ prayers were written out, which were recited on the High Holy Days. As I heard from responsible, important people, and elders such as R' Yisroel'i the Rabbi's ע”ה, R' Abraham Heschel'eh's ע”ה, and R' Shmuel Kessel ע”ה, at one time, the names of all the martyrs who gave their lives in Sanctification of the Name, during the years 1648-9, were inscribed on this wall, הי”ד. The synagogue was beautifully decorated with pictures showing themes taken from the Tanakh, such as the Binding of Isaac, the Flood, the Burning of Sodom, the Western Wall, By the Rivers of Babylon, etc. All of this was about 5-6 meters in height, and on the pictures that characterized the Mishna sayings, ‘Be powerful as a leopard, light as an eagle, fast as the deer and strong as a lion,’ you saw a leopard, with an eagle, a der and a lion. Only the Binding of Isaac had few figures in it. In the 34^th year, when the Rabbi of Cieszanow ז”ל, married off his daughter, many Rabbis came from faraway places, and prayed in the synagogue on the Sabbath. On Sunday, before dawn, his brother-in-law, the Cieszanow Rabbi, R' Yekhezkiel'i הי”ד took a ladder, and personally ascended to scratch out the face of Abraham. He said that it was forbidden for there to be the face of a human being in a synagogue, and that is the way it remained, unrepaired.

On the south and north walls, there were also pictures of the musical instruments enumerated in Psalms 103.

In the middle of the synagogue, on the higher half, stood the Bima with stairs to ascend to it. It was bounded by iron railings, which were woven about the Bima like a crown.

A bit higher, closer to the east, 2 ‘Altars’ stood to the north and south, whose interior was covered in sand, and covered with a wooden cover. It was here that the Mohels would put in the circumcised foreskins, after bringing the young male infants into the Covenant of Abraham. Many jokes circulated about the city, and an entire folklore was created about these bits [of flesh] that lay in the synagogue. The synagogue was lit by hanging candelabras, which were used for special occasions and at the time of the outbreak of the First World War, were requisitioned by the Russian authorities. The candelabras were bordered by a box, which the children called the ‘happy box.’ the candelabras were drawn up by rope, until they formed 13 rows of candles, one higher than the next. The candelabras were diligently taken care of, to assure that they would retain their brassy shine, which sparkled like gold, especially when the candles provided their fire and luminescence. In the twenties, when electricity was installed in the synagogue, many worshipers wanted to prevent this, and they even did not want a clock to be hung in the synagogue. They did not want to permit any manner of innovation .

However, both of these very ‘reforms’ were implemented, but all other custom were rigorously observed to the last day of its existence.

Prayer was conducted in the Ashkenazic tradition, which was rigorously observed, despite the fact that 95%

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of the Jews in the city were Hasidim, who followed Nusakh Sephard. In the synagogue, the common people prayed, along with the small number of professionals and white collar people. The synagogue already had its foresworn supporters who would come to pray even in the most intense cold, coming to pray, morning and night, (the synagogue was not heated). Also known, was the group who called itself ‘The Decile,’ such as Moshe Fishl'eh's Yaak'li Rofeh, etc. The synagogue had a Cantor and two Shamashim, R' Moshe Lehrer's and Abraham Shamash.

Important Rabbis and Rebbes visited Tomaszow and if they wanted to pray in the synagogue, they had to conform to the Nusakh of the synagogue. For inserting ‘V'Yatzmakh Purkonay’ [sic: into the Kaddish] you could be on the receiving end of a sharp slap in the face….

The ‘Hevra Kadisha’ had a franchise in the synagogue of directing the Hakafot on the eve of Simchat Torah.

They came together at the [house of the] head of the Hevra, and took a bit of drink. From there, they proceeded in a lust and lively manner to the Rabbi of the city. and took him to the synagogue with song. In times that were long past, he was escorted under a wedding canopy, and then directed the Hakafot there. In 5691 [1932] the balebatim of the synagogue revolted against the Hevra Kadisha to the point that it came to fisticuffs. After the holidays, the Rabbi of Bilgoraj was brought in. Rabbi, the Righteous, R' Mordechai Rokeach, k”mz, where the Hevra Kadisha conducted a Rabbinical Court [Din Torah] with the balebatim of the synagogue. The ruling was that they will continue to hold onto their franchise… All official government celebrations were marked by prayers offered by the Rabbis in the main Synagogue. God forbid, in times of tribulation, when it was necessary to arouse compassion, the city gathered in the synagogue to recite Psalms.

To the left of the synagogue stood the large municipal Bet HaMedrash, or as a part of the people called it, the ‘Ordinary’ Bet HaMedrash, to differentiate it and not to confuse it with the Hasidic Bet HaMedrash. The Synagogue and the Bet HaMedrash shared a common yard, which was bordered by a wooden fence. Around the synagogue and the Bet HaMedrash, could be found the graves of martyrs from the years 1648-9, which were tended every year by the Hevra Kadisha, and on the days of the Three Days of Hagbalah.^[2]

The street on which the synagogue stood, was called ‘Die Schul Gasse,’ and in Polish, was called Boznica, as well.

Wedding ceremonies used to take place on the Schulhof. the synagogue was the tallest and most visible building in the city, for sure, taller than any other Jewish-owned buildings. It could be seen from all corners of the city. Even at a considerable distance from the city, the top of the synagogue could be seen, and shone forth, and in this way, the sacred synagogue held sway, with its historical age, and majestic, dignified appearance, with its glorious two white roofs, enduring sorrows as well as good times, the suffering and happiness of the Jews. Up to that historic and bloody Thursday, 23 Elul 5639 [ September 7, 1939] when the German robbers from the air, attacked our tranquil city, with their steel machinery of destruction. They

[Page 33]

bombed Tomaszow, and with special intent, only the innocent Jewish quarters. Among the first victims, indeed was the sacred and beloved synagogue. The tongues of fire reached to the heart of the heavens, consuming the entire synagogue, inside and out. However, the walls, with its royal, indomitable ceiling remained whole and did not succumb to the German forces. [It was not] until the Germans killed out all of the Jews, and Tomaszow remained Judenrein, that they blew up the synagogue with dynamite. For weeks afterwards, Jews from other places, under the terror of German guns, worked until they smoothed out the earth, so that the destruction of the synagogue should come about at the same time as the ruin of its Jewish worshipers, burnt parchment and flying letters, and waiting for their restitution to exact revenge from the nations, until we will live to see the fulfilment of the prophecy: ‘And the saved will ascend Mount Zion to judge the Mountain of Esau, and the Kingdom will be the Lord's, and with the return of sons to their borders, we also hope to see the fulfilment of the promise of our Ancient Sages, that in the future, the Houses of Worship and Houses of Study, that are outside the Land, will be established in the Land of Israel, where our historic synagogue will once again occupy its honored place.’

Translator's and Author's Footnotes

1. A biblical reference they undoubtedly took from their studies, this being the mountain where Moses' brother Aaron, the first High Priest, was laid to rest. See Numbers 20: 22-29. Return
2. The three days before Shavuot are called sheloshet yemai hagbalah, in reference to “and you shall set bounds [“vehigbalta”] unto the people round about” [Exodus 19:12], referring to the three days of preparation enjoined on the children of Israel before they received the Torah at Mount Sinai. As an appropriate preparation for the festival of Shavuot, a custom also originated of studying the Talmudic tractate called Pirkei Avot, Ethics of the Fathers, every Sabbath afternoon beginning with Passover. This tractate is replete with moral and ethical maxims. Return

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