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The Rabbis Journey to Kosher the Mill The Rabbi, R' Ary' Leibusz Rubin ז”ל, (Rabbi of Cieszanow), Rabbi Sholom Yekhezkiel Rubin, שליט”א, Abraham'li Rapoport, and the wagon driver, Leib'l

It is not my objective to give an historical overview about the development of the costume. I wish only to convey the custom of Jewish dress as it took form in the last hundred years, and how, for the most part, it was retained up to the Final Destruction.

The traditional Jewish dress consisted of the following garments:

A Jewish cap. A low, circularly-shaped black cap, which was covered by a stiff piece of cardboard, with a small visor in front. The material was made from a black linen, worn for the entire week, and the same shape was used for a cap on the Sabbath and Festivals, except the material was a black velvet.

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The velvet cap took the place of a shtrymel, which was worn in Galicia, except in our area, the velvet cap expressed, more emphatically, the strict Hasidic demeanor of the wearer. It also demanded more seriousness in self-control, because not all Jews who wore the shtrymel in Galicia, would have worn the velvet cap in our area on the Sabbath, because the velvet cap imposed more demands of Hasidism and fear of God. Higher class Jews would wear a silk hat during the middle of the week, or one that was entirely velvet.

The Jewish cap was worn by 90% of the Jews in the city, but the velvet cap by only 60% approximately.

A shtrymel was worn on the Sabbath only by the clergy, Rabbis, Rebbes, and Directors of the Faith. Also, there were a few individuals who wore a shtrymel in their homes, but did not appear in public or in the shtibl wearing it.

Only those seeking a special feeling wore a yarmulke underneath the cap.

Most of the Jewish populace did not dress in short garments. A child of 10 and up, was already dressed in long garments, which consisted of a cloth robe, among the poorer class, and made from alpaca or wool among the well-to-do, or a small jacket.

On the Sabbath, these same individuals wore a black little jacket, with a deep split, who some, because of the issue of fringes, made one edge round, and a small number wore silk or satin long jackets.

Trousers and vests were worn by the more modern, with a gold chain drawn through the entire width of the pocket to the second, on the little vest.

The more religious wore boots drawn over their trousers, or boots with rolled up trousers. The more modern wore fully laced shoes.

The religious wore a white shirt, without any adornment, and many had no buttons, using only a strip of cloth to tie up the collar of the shirt. The balebatim would wear a pressed collar woven with a band, or a bird, or a black underlay under the collar. Also, it was only the modern, who buttoned up their cuffs with cufflinks. A genuine Hasidic shirt was a simple shirt, on which the collar was not even starched.

In the winter, one wore a black outer coat, or a fur coat.

Naturally, everything was tailored, so it would be tied from right to left.

Workers at their jobs would wear short overcoats or jackets, that is short garments. And a ‘Maciejowka’ on their heads, and also a regionally-styled hat with a long visor, tailored from colored material. Modern people – a colored linen hat.

Since the establishment of Poland, the situation changed: Poland became a single country, including Galicia, and Tomaszow, as the first and closest neighbor, had an influence. The young people did not understand what a linen hat was, that in Tomaszow was thought to be forbidden, was being worn by observant Jews in Rawa Zolkiew. In general, young people threw off the special Jewish garb, by nevertheless, the Hasidim, with full commitment, strove mightily to hold onto the old style clothing. In the Husyatin shtibl, they once waited for hours, in protest, for ‘the hat wearers to leave the shtibl.’

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Up to The First World War, almost all of the Jews, young and old, wore a beard, especially the young men who studied at the shtibl. Even those who barbered their beards, cut it lightly, or just shaped it. By contrast, since Polish independence, the young people, even those who were religious, did not wear any beards. There were certain exceptions who did not touch their beards, but they were a small minority.

The women would shave their heads entirely, and cover them with headdresses, wigs or kerchiefs. The Shytl [designed wigs] became widespread, but a woman would not come to prayer services with a shytl visible. Rather she would wear a black scarf as a head cover. The modern [women] would also wear hats.

The custom of cutting off a woman's hair became generally weakened after the decree of the Czar. Because Tomaszow obtained Rabbi Sitkowsky, the Litvak as its Rabbi, whose wife did not observe this custom, this led to rift. Despite the fact that the community leaders cut the Rabbi's salary as a form of punishment, a rift persisted.

The women wore coarse stockings, and silk stockings of dark color, which were opaque. Since Polish independence, style has penetrated the households forcefully, even in the case of the very religious homes, where they were already wearing transparent silk stockings. Only the religious did not permit this, as well as any form of flesh-colored stockings.

It is interesting that the Rebbe of Cieszanow the Rabbi and Tzaddik, R' Leibusz Rubin, would visit Tomaszow at the invitation of his Hasidim. While he was still living in Cieszanow, he was greatly beloved by the Hasidim. On one occasion, he made many amendments in R' Yehoshua'leh's shtibl (which, at that time, was the largest in the city), namely, that women who continue to wear their own hair must leave the women's synagogue. There was one of the balebatim, who was prominent, whose wife was tripped up by this, and because of this, on a Sabbath, the worshipers did not permit the inception of the ‘Hodu’ prayer. Regrettably, the amendment could not be implemented, and as a result it was not observed.

In addition, he wrote an amendment into the Pinkas of the synagogue, that anyone who shaved with a razor is not permitted to take an aliyah during the reading of the Torah. This held on for a couple of months, and became impossible to implement, because from year to year, Yiddishkeit got weaker and weaker, and along with it, [sic: the unique] Jewish dress. However, it is possible to say that, in general, the dress, even among the liberal, was solid and conservative. By comparison with what we see today in America, it can be called a chaste, modest form of dress.

I know it would be better to describe the intensification of events before the Sabbath and Festivals. But this ‘preparation’ in anticipation of a mitzvah has a special meaning. It is a type of expression that does not allow itself to be expressed in words, because according to Hasidic lore, the act of preparing to perform a mitzvah, is a mitzvah in its own right, and from certain standpoints, even a greater mitzvah that the mitzvah itself. I am writing not only about the Sabbaths and Festivals alone, which have their own order and arrangements following set Torah laws. In contrast to them, the preparations

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were a formation that was derived from the emotions of the soul, for which each location had its own customs and traditions, and in that way, it serves as a reflection of the deeply religious position of the Jewish populace in that locale.

I wish to refresh my emotions and sacred trepidation for a mitzvah, fir which I stir my memory, and those holy faces swim before my eyes, from our shtetl that was so pitilessly exterminated. Our fathers and mothers pass us by, with their trembling and love for a mitzvah. Despite the distance in time and place, they remain yet so close to my heart. I see everything standing out, fresh and clear, as if it all happened just yesterday. Entirely apart, their customs and God-fearing appearance shine before me, at the time they did the preparations for Sabbath and the Festivals.

Each, in accordance with their economic capacity, made preparations involving better food and more attractive clothing for the Sabbath. And they prepared special dishes that were not eaten during the entire week. On Friday, before dawn, in preparation for the Sabbath, fresh Challahs were baked, and pastries. And even those who baked their own bread, they also baked [something special] in honor of the Sabbath, in the expectation that the blessing of the Sabbath should rest upon them. Fish was a special Sabbath delicacy. New underwear was put on only in honor of the Sabbath. All the tables were covered in white tablecloths, only in honor of the Sabbath and Festivals. One went to the baths and the mikva to bathe and be switched in honor of the Sabbath, even grabbing a nap in the afternoon, in honor of the Sabbath.

Now, the cholent with the various kugels, the special Sabbath delicacies.

Even the Jew, who for the entire week could not afford himself a bit of meat, for the entire week, he would save and scrimp in order that he could buy a piece of meat for the Sabbath. I am aware of an instance, where a poor Jewish man who ate humble bread and potatoes, on the Sabbath, he always managed to provide fish and meat, though he was not always able to provide both together. However, he always had one or the other. You can imagine the joy of the little children, who hungered for the entire week, one satisfying himself with a drumstick, another with a wing, and another with a neck, and if there was fish, then the joy knew no bounds.

Before Kiddush, the children would ask the father, what will we use to honor the Sabbath? He would answer, with meat or fish, or both together, in accordance with the money he had allocated for provisions.

One time, he had a particularly difficult winter. He had earned nothing. He scrimped and borrowed, to at least have a bit of meat in honor of the Sabbath. There occurred an incident, that the little chicken that he had bought in honor of the Sabbath became unfit for kosher consumption, and secondly, he had no place to even borrow money from. Sadly, he therefore had nothing for that Sabbath, only bread with watery bean soup. When he returned from synagogue, and proclaimed his lust ‘Gut-Shabbes!’ The little ones ran up to him: Father, father! With what will we honor the Sabbath today? To which he replied: With a very important thing, which up until this day, we have not yet had.

The children asked him out of curiosity: with what? He answered them: You will see already after Kiddush.

They sang Sholom Aleichem to a pretty tune. When they had already eaten the Challah, and they see nothing else being brought out, no fish, and no meat, they asked their father: Father, where is the new ‘honor.’

He answers: Today, we are going to honor the Holy Sabbath with the Holy Torah. Children, I bought a small

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chicken for the Sabbath, but the Torah made it unclean, and this is our ‘Oneg Shabbat,’ because on account of the Torah, we are not eating the little chicken, even though we are hungry, and desire it. And so, come children, let us come and take joy in the Holy Torah, and with the Holy Sabbath! And he stepped off into a little dance step with the children, whose holy song woke up all of the neighbors who had fallen asleep.

If it is true that the preparations of some other Festival began in the near days previous, or at most weeks before the holiday, Passover was the exceptional holiday [sic: in this regard], where preparations for Passover went on for the entire year.

Immediately after Shavuot, the wheat for Shmura Matzo was cut. Among the ardent Hasidim, this was a whole production, to travel and inspect the wheat, followed by the cutting and threshing, with genuine Hasidic excitement and song, ending in a toast of L'Chaim and a bit of a dance.

When winter had barely arrived, geese began to be raised. It was from them that fat was obtained for Passover. Usually, around the time of Hanukkah, the geese were slaughtered, and the fat was drained. For this, the kitchens and the fireplaces were especially heated to glowing heat. The gribbenes were fried up with latkes or pletzl bread with kasha.

Immediately after Hanukkah, the season of kashering the mill began. In our city, we always had to kasher two mills, with rollers and a water mill on a stone, because the Radzyn Hasidim did not use flour that came from a mechanized mill or that was ground through rollers, elevators (the things that lift and transport the grain and afterwards grind it automatically) which were sidelined for Passover flour. Among the more particular Jews, the only thing that was used was manual grinding, first combing through the wheat, to remove every possible suspicion of leavening.

If these prior preparations touched only part of the Hasidic Jews, or Rabbis or other community functionaries, the baking of matzos became a matter that involved the entire Jewish populace, because there was not even talk of machine-prepared matzos (because they had been prohibited by the Great Elder Sages of the Jewish people in bygone generations). Also, ready-made matzos, prepared by hand were not available to be bought. Rather, each individual engaged in the baking of matzos in accordance with their standing.

Immediately on one day after Purim, the season of matzo baking was opened. There were about 18 matzo bakeries in the city. Not all of these bakeries were permanent, rather, special matzo bakeries in which individuals transformed their private dwellings, and some, their place of work, into a matzo bakery. This impinged upon the matter of a franchise. Each baker had his families that had baked with him for generation upon generation, and the bakery itself, was handed down as an inheritance, from father to child. The bakeries operated under the direct supervision of the Rabbinate, who incidentally, took nothing in the way of a fee. The bakeries were very primitive and poor.

The first baking in the oven was thought to be the greatest honor. However, within this, there were three categories: 1) The very first baking when baking was first initiated, 2) Every Sunday morning, because there was a recess over the Sabbath, and 3) Each day in the morning. It was not possible to get first place at the oven, without a prior precedent, unless a new bakery opened. Usually, each Jewish person would first bake his Shmura matzo, and the ordinary kind. The dough rollers consisted of Jewish women and girls, as opposed to the people who punctured the rolled dough, the flakers, and sometimes the kneaders, who were men.

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Usually, it was the master of the house, or his lady who would come to do the baking, or both. Among the modern folk, they would not come personally. Each would leave tip money for the workers.

The matzos would be taken home, wrapped in a cloth and tied at four corners with a pole through the middle, and two young lads would carry it home and the package was hung in the middle of the house.

Then, the borscht was strained, and later, raisins were put up to make wine. Then, the regimen of cleaning began, sweeping, scraping and kashering; airing out books in the yard, turning out the pockets in garments, and kashering the utensils, where there were special barrels on the ground where the kashering was performed.

A special task entailed the baking of the matzo on the Eve of Passover, which began a day earlier, because on the prior night, one went for ‘Mayim Shelanu’ (water that was permitted to stand overnight, and it was with this that the matzo dough was kneaded).

It was especially festive at the home of the Rebbe of Cieszanow, where, along with the Hasidim, he would go to the pump near Moshe'leh Sofer. One held the bucket (specifically, a wooden one) the second an earthenware gathering pot, a fourth the cheesecloth. It was considered an honor as to who got to draw the water initially, and afterwards. When five pails were filled with water, they went home, or better said, danced their way home in song.

After Maariv, the search for leaven began, along with the sale of all leaven. Understand that most of the balebatim were up for the entire night, getting ready for the holiday, and with it all, they still were not ready.

At one in the afternoon, Sabbath finery was donned, the Rabbi in his shtrymel, and one went off to bake matzos. There, only Hasidim worked, from the man who poured the water, and flour measurer, to the roller and puncturer, kneaders and flakers, all were men.

The Rebbe himself kneaded the first of the dough, and recited the Hallel in song and with joy. And the entire gathering participated with him, and then all of the participants baked their own matzos, which was apportioned by the measures of dough. Every couple of minutes, the overseer of the dough portions would cry out: ‘The remnants are to be discarded!’ The work of doing this baking was special at the Hasidim from Trisk. In the Kielce shtibl they had their own bakery for the Eve of Passover.

Among the ordinary people, there were no special preparations, because this festival was not connected with any ceremonies. The children made strings of flowers and hung them in the windows. They also prepared vegetables to hang, or spread around the houses, they laid sorrel (green growth from the river bank) on the floors.

In the shtiblakh and the various houses of study, the Shamashim decorated the premises with tree sprigs, especially around the Bima and the Holy Ark

By and large, Hasidim would travel to their Rebbe for the holiday. Also, dairy was heavily favored, with the provisioning of dairy products for Shavuot. The women would prepare dairy noodles, and special dairy baked goods, such as cheese rolls, cheese rugelach, etc.

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The Eve of Rosh Hashana & Yom Kippur

Or, as part called them, the ‘Days of Awe,’ or the Holy Days. Here, the preparations were spiritual in nature. Among the very particular Jews, this season began as early as the fifteenth day of Av. [From that time], one remained in the shtibl to study at night. If one took leave of someone from another city, one already wished one another a Ktivah VaKhatima Tova. However, the real season began on the first day of Elul, with the blowing of the shofar, and the communal recitation of the Psalms every morning. Days of self-reckoning began, and taking stock, forgiveness ,and self-improvement, being brotherly, and engaging in acts of charity and good will. People were more guarded in what they said, and people spoke in a more subdued manner, carrying on conversation in a gentler fashion. And definitely conducting business affairs with more integrity. The principal moves began with the recitation of the first Selichot services, was done in the middle of the night, and by some, on Sunday before dawn. With a trembling stride, people would rush about in the darkened streets. All the adults, husband and wife, and small children, streamed to the houses of worship just as if they were seeking shelter before a difficult trial. The principal period of arousal took place on the Eve of Rosh Hashana, in which they did not content themselves with the Selichot prayers only, but they also recited the entire Book of Psalms before Selichot, and then again, after Selichot. One went through the act of cancelling all vows, went to the cemetery, gave charity, and fasted, some for a whole day, while others only a half day. Afterwards, with even greater emphasis and ecstasy, recited the ‘Thirteen Attributes.’ The culmination point was reached on exactly Yom Kippur Eve.

My pen is too poor an instrument to convey the mood, experiences and feeling of Erev Yom Kippur. This mood persisted up to the Holocaust, when a large portion of the young people had become secularized, and another part, regrettably, too far removed from religion. People streamed to the mikva beginning before dawn, because almost all of the Jews, especially members of the older generation, went to the mikva on Erev Yom Kippur. There was a part of them that went to the mikva three times during that day, before the morning prayer, before the afternoon prayer, and after the Final Meal, prior to beginning the fast. On that day, the women also partook in ablutions. One must remember, that in all of Tomaszow, there was only one mikva for the entire city. The mikva was crowded and steamy, but this did not deter anyone.

From the night before Erev Yom Kippur, a litany of ‘Kaporeh Shlogn’ began. A white rooster was preferred. The ritual slaughterers would go to the homes of the wealthy to slaughter their [rooster] offerings. Before dawn, they would stand at the slaughterhouse where one would have to wait for long hours, to reach the right place. Jews would distribute charitable contributions generously on that day. A couple of hours before candle lighting, the entire Jewish population was already dressed in its festive finery, the women, mostly in white, with white kerchiefs or scarves over their heads. Everyone went to their relatives and friends to exchange greetings and the hope that one would be able to receive the blessings of a good year to come, and a Gmar Khatima Tova, and as was also the case, some of the time, to ask for forgiveness for some misconduct during the year. From almost all of the Jewish houses, one could hear wailing and weeping. Children clung to their mothers, people walked with tear-stained eyes in the streets. The men donned a white kittl, with their prayer shawl prior to leaving home. With hot tears, they blessed their children with the well-being of the house. The spasms and weeping tore hearts. Even those who did not cry, had tears that choked their ability to speak. The mood was earnest, sacred and heavy with broken hearts, and full of fear before the Great Day of Judgement. An hour before the appointed time, Jews would hurry off to the houses of study and shtiblakh, to recite the prayers of purification and confession of Rabbeinu Nissim, until the Cantor began to intone Kol Nidre.

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The Eve of Sukkot & Simchat Torah

While Sukkot is a holiday that indeed is connected to a lot of ceremonies, and mitzvot, it was necessary to make all the preparations quickly because of the limited amount of time [sic: from Yom Kippur to Sukkot]. Most of the preparation centered about the procurement of the Lulav and Etrog, which were articles imported from outside the country. In Tomaszow, there were specialized Etrog merchants, Gershon Zegel, Yaakov Feinbaum (the Rav's), Mikhl Weinblatt, Sinai'leh Putter, Yehoshua Goldstein, and others. The purchase point was Lemberg. Most of the citrons were ‘Greek.’ Usually, each Bet HaMedrash would buy a couple of citrons for the use of the congregation, and each of the worshipers contributed to the purchase. There was a special citron for the women, and the Shamashim would circulate, going from house to house, to give the women an opportunity to recite the blessing on the Etrog. The better off Hasidim, would purchase an Etrog individually, or in partnership in order to carry out the ritual taking of the Festival Plants. Each year, the number of people buying an Etrog for their private use, grew.

The construction of the sukkah also took a great deal of work, especially a new sukkah, which was a special mitzvah for the children. The Rebbe of Cieszanow had a rather large, and beautifully decorated sukkah, which was a source of wonder to all. The young men of the shtibl, and the Rebbe's children, invested a great deal of work in order to make the sukkah beautiful.

A misfortune once occurred in the city, whereby Mikhl'i Borenstein ע”ה hung out his sukkah before nightfall on the eve of the holiday, because it had rained that entire day. The sukkah was very damp and the electric wire was not well enough insulated, and the entire sukkah became electrified. When he began to manipulate the sukkah, he got an electric shock, and fell point blank on his head, causing a cerebral injury, and he died immediately. This incident elicited great sorrow in the city.

For Simchat Torah, the children prepared paper flags with apples on the tip of the flag holder. For the children this was a major experience as a way of participating in Simchat Torah. Also, for Simchat Torah, the women would prepare a sweet kraut with broiled [meats].

These are festivals on which one works, and consequently the preparations are minimal, especially Hanukkah, which did not occupy to great a place among the general Jewish populace. Hanukkah candles were lit only by the head of the household (at very few observant families, all the menfolk lit and blessed their own). There was no need to do preparation in advance for this, because everyone had an inherited menorah for this purpose. For those young men of the shtibl who were to become grooms, and be married, Hanukkah meant a great deal, because it was the usual custom that a groom received a gift of a silver menorah from his prospective father-in-law. The community let itself go a bit, and indulged in playing cards. Among some of the people, latkes were eaten.

For Purim, the womenfolk were already occupied with providing Hamantashen, moist and nourishing , and meat kreplach, as well as a variety of baked gifts [mishloakh manot]. In our time, Purim, and even Shushan Purim was celebrated with great joy and performance. On Shushan Purim, the young people would circle the marketplace (which was deep in mud) seven times with a loaded sled. But from year to year, this custom waned. The one place where Purim was celebrated lustily and with life with its full import, was at the home of the Rebbe of Cieszanow, where his young people, and young men carried out lovely Purim numbers. The act of sending gifts drew in the children.

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It was in this fashion that traditions and customs were observed. And it was in this warm homey Jewish atmosphere of lovely customs and traditions, idealist generations grew up, that drew their life force from a bottomless well of Yiddishkeit and became tied by all the strands of their soul to the Jewish people and empathized with its suffering and its joy.

The Black Pillar at the Cemetery

All at once, it was heard that the Hevra Kadisha was preparing to cordon off a part of the cemetery near the field, and set in place a black pillar as a marker of obloquy for those who publicly violate the Sabbath. And in order for it to make the requisite impression, so that it have an effect, the pillar will be taken to the cemetery in a parade through the city.

And that is what happened.

On Tisha B'Av, after the recitation of Kinot, a large assembly of people gathered in the Great Bet HaMedrash, in the foyer house of the Bet HaMedrash lay the pillar, which had been smeared with black pitch, with specific spots skipped over and not blackened, in order that those who would carry it not get the pitch on their hands. The assembly came out of the Bet HaMedrash, heading towards the cemetery. However, nobody made a move to take the pillar. Finally, the religious Mordechai Joseph, and the goldsmith, R' Abraham Mordechai Perlmutter, took the pillar and carried it to the cemetery. On the way, others took over the load from them.

It is interesting that not one of those who carried the pillar was a member of the Hevra Kadisha. On the field, the pillar was set into the ground, at the designated place, so that it serve as a warning that here, near the fence, is where violators of the Sabbath will be interred.

In the middle of the night, when the town was very deep in sleep, a group of young people came together from a variety of political parties, such as the Bund, Poalei Tzion, etc. Gently, they extracted the substantial pillar from its anchor, out of the darkened cemetery ground, and carried it to the municipal bath house, and through a window, flung it into the mikva. In the morning, people ran in wonder to look at the pillar which rested with the larger half of it in the mikva, sticking out of the smashed window to the outside.

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The story of the pillar became an object of satire for many days in Cities and towns, and even found a report on the pages of the Jewish press in Poland.

In the city itself, wags thought up a ditty that they sung as follows:

Heydotz! Heydoz! M'feert a klotz Sholom, Sholom. Doh vet men lign graum Doh veln lign aleh drobehs. Di vos zanen mekhalel Shabbes…etc., etc.	Hey! Hey! A pillar is being carried Peace, peace. Here one will lie with room to spare Here all the slobs will lie Those who violate the Sabbath, etc., etc.
Author of the ditty – Avigdor Zucker

It was at the start of the decade of the thirties, on a Sabbath between Passover and Shavuot. At seven o'clock in the morning, the one-time President (community head) R' Lejzor Lederkremmer, came to the Rebbe of Cieszanow at home, an occurrence that had never before taken place, and it was at an hour when the Rebbe was occupied with lofty matters of service and prayer, for the purpose of discussing specific community matters with the Rebbe. But the fact that the head of the community, in his August personage, came in person to do this, made the members of the household appreciate that there was something extraordinary had happened. They came into the Rebbe, and told him that the head of the community has a pressing need to consult with him over an urgent matter. The Rebbe ordered the head of the community to be admitted to his private room, and he says to this important guest, before services, ‘What is new?’

R' Lejzor is quick to the point, since the Bund had organized a public theater presentation for three o'clock on that afternoon at Galecki's cinema (movie house), and in general, this was the first public Sabbath violation in the city. Because of this, it is his opinion that something should be sone about it. After further consultation, they come to the conclusion that notwithstanding the fact that there, sadly, is already a large number of young people that have been caught in their net, the Lord save us, where they step on everything that is sacred to us, but since, to date, they have not dared to make any public, open violation of the Sabbath, one must, at the very least make a protest. And secondly, the essential thing is to guard those who still have a bit of sensitivity, and see to it that they do not enter the theater (to picket). Accordingly, any child from a balebatish home would not have the nerve to go into the theater. This would spell a certain failure for them, and this would be ‘Rebbe Payment’ for them not to have any performances on the Sabbath. It will also be a warning for other ‘worldly’ youth organizations not to openly violate the Sabbath.

No sooner said than done. (After having obtained the concurrence of the Rabbi of Krylow), the Rebbe sent emissaries to gather all sixteen houses of worship under the order of the Bet Din, and the order of all community leaders, that all Jews are to come united as one at one o'clock in the afternoon, and gather in the

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municipal Bet HaMedrash. From there, the entire host with the Rabbis at their head, will march to Galecki's cinema, to protest the planned violation of the Sabbath.

That Sabbath, happened to be a rather nice, sunny day, and indeed, men, women and children came some who were earnest, and others out of curiosity. The Rabbi ascended the Bima and in a few short words, clarified the purpose of the march. The Rabbi said: We are not going to for our amusement. We are only going to take the part of defending the honor of the Holy Sabbath, and to guard against preventing those who have not yet fallen into their net from being subverted in this way. He said these words with great ecstasy and ardor, such that the assemblage of people was well warmed up, and the march began with everyone possessed of an aggressive spirit. True, the Rabbi demanded that the entire host should comport themselves in order, and quietly, and should not engage in any unruly behavior, on their account, but to follow the directions of his own young people, who were march coordinators.

‘And who could see these go out, and not go out themselves.’ The Rabbis, wearing their shtrymels, and the Jews of the shtiblakh, in their kapotes with velvet caps; and as it happened, the path of their march took them right through the Lwowska Street, the principal street where [sic: the homes of] all of the municipal and government officials were concentrated. This included the Magistrate, tax collector, the senior Sejm representative, the Postmaster. All of these officials immediately dropped what they were doing in order to be able to witness the spectacle. The march lasted for two hours.

At the outset, when the demonstration drew near the cinema, the Rabbis and the community elders took up the important positions that lead to the main entrance, and comported themselves quietly, to carry out the protest only by picketing the theater. However, the exhortations along with the march itself, added ardor to the crowd, and a little at a time, the crowd pushed closer to the doors, and became unruly and aggressive, and opened the doors.

The group of young people inside, began to flee, and they jumped through the windows, and the entire performance was disrupted. The Rebbe, personally, had the owner, Mr. Galecki, a Christian, called to him, and assured him that he would make good the financial damage. This entire performance was never ever put on, and they no longer dared to engage in an open violation of the Sabbath. The Rabbi, and certain ‘privileged few’ then had to agree to a payment of 150 zlotys to Mr. Galecki, and the city fell still.

It was on a certain night afterwards, that two stones came crashing through the windows of the Rebbe's Bet-Din house. There were notes attached to them indicating that this was ‘revenge’ for having disrupted the theater performance.

With this, the incident came to an end.

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This picture was sent to Mr. Yud'l & Chaya Zoberman, as a memento for their support of the Talmud Torah. On the reverse side of the picture there is the round stamp with the signatures of R' Y. Garzytzensky – President, and Yitzhak Karper – Secretary.

It was not easy to celebrate the Sabbath in many Jewish homes. I had the privilege of being active in certain municipal institutions, such as Bet-Lekhem, and Talmud Torah, and in the archives of the Tomaszow Association in New York, it is certain that letters will be found, that portray the reasons why Bet-Lekhem had to be created, and I cite from memory, a letter that I had written a that time:

‘A head of household who was taken to be a [good] breadwinner in the town, was allocated a guest for the Sabbath. When the guest entered the home of this Jewish man, he trusted a secret to his guest with tears in his eyes, indicating that all he had provided for the Sabbath were two small bread rolls. He then begged the guest to partake with him, in his meager repast, and in his awesome secret. The hungry guest could not, however, contain the secret within him, and the necessity to create a Bet-Lekhem that will secretly distribute Challahs to hundreds of Jewish homes became the cause of the hour.’

Also, these so-called breadwinners had to work very hard in order to be able to afford to celebrate the Sabbath at home. The ‘AYAN’ politics of the ‘Owszem’ economic boycott, was best characterized by the renowned somber, Jew-pursuing Tomaszow police officer, ‘Max’:

‘We will let the water out, and the fish will then stop of their own accord.’

Yes, it was difficult to provision one's self for the Sabbath, but when the Holy Sabbath came, it radiated majestically from each and every Jew, and that Jew was, once again, recognized as a prince.

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More than two decades have gone by, since I threw my last, longing, glance with a heavy heart, at that beloved town where I was born, and where we spent our youth; where our families had been deeply rooted for centuries. [I was] fleeing in fright the pursuing Nazi Beast, which to our fortune, drove and scattered many of us, like alphabet letters all over the earth's globe. At the very least, we had the fortune of having the possibility to flee the net that was spread for us, in a timely fashion. This was a good fortune that very, very few Jewish towns had. It is thanks to this, that Tomaszow has a larger number of survivors. In retrospect about the more than two decades that consisted of stormy years of blood and tears, aimless wandering, of new hope, and the building of new homes on the top of ruins, may pictures remain obscured. You will forgive me when I attempt to relive the events and the people in my mind, the side streets and little houses, the leaders and the masses, that many details are omitted, or some of the times, not accurately related, despite the best of intentions, and the most strenuous effort. But if the picture is incomplete, our stroll through the Sabbath/Festival shtetl will enable us to relive many very special moments. It will fill us with longing for that shtetl that once was; for that lofty faithful joy, for those modest activists, committed themselves with all their heart and soul to work for the benefit of their poor and suffering townsfolk, and filled hearts darkened with despair, with hope. Regrettably, we will have to confine ourselves to a few, numbered, places, who yet stand alive before my eyes, and this will serve as a playback as well, of other places that we will have to gloss over because of a lack of material and space.

Do you recall the Erev Shabbat in the shtetl? For sure, Friday was a stressful day, especially for the women, and especially on those short Fridays, where for some of the women, they were short at least a half hour to finish off their preparations. Those women, who were good managers, by contrast, had everything prepared several hours earlier, having time to braid the locks of the children, and dress them in their Sabbath finery. Jewish men, sweaty and hot, would be returning from the mikva, where one also reinvigorated one's self with taking a hot bath. There were Jews of a ‘higher station,’ who went for the full treatment, and had themselves switched as well, while crying out, ‘Oh, fire!’ and getting themselves refreshed by the bath house switches. But also those, who had to make do with a lesser treatment, also felt the ‘joy’ in their bones, that came from simultaneously ridding themselves not only of the dirt and grime, but of the worries of the hard week, and replacing it with the happiness of greeting the beloved Sabbath. The bath was an outstanding place to take up all the political problems of the shtetl, and not only one flaming fiery argument broke out and was boiled over on those bath house benches. There, one became familiar with all of the latest news of the world in general, and with all the local news of our community, in particular.

When the Shames banged three times on the door of each house in the shtetl, the sound of the closing of the doors to businesses resounded about. Tardy customers were shooed out the door, and from all windows, the festive light of Sabbath candles would begin to wink and flicker. Jews, each rushed off to their chosen location of prayer, and the Tomaszow Jews had a choice. I will exert myself, and attempt to enumerate all those that I can remember: The Synagogue, The Second Synagogue, The Bet HaMedrash, the Hasidic Bet HaMedrash, R' Yehoshua'leh's shtibl, The Belz shtibl, The Kielce shtibl, The Chelm shtibl, R' Nachman's shtibl, The Sanz shtibl, The Ger shtibl, The Radzyn shtibl, The Husyatin shtibl, Mizrahi.

Upon arriving in the synagogue, or shtibl, the first thing was to find the place where the various insignias of all the organizations were found. It was there that all the party and organizational activity took place. Posters could be found there, announcing speeches, or fund-raising assemblies, news about the Siyyum celebration

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for the conclusion of studying a tractate of the Talmud, or a eulogy for a well-known personality. Apart from this, when it was the time of local or general elections, the walls were totally plastered with loud posters, which [were calculated] to arouse the emotions of the readers, who were far from being passive onlookers. Jews took a lively and active part in all the events of public life, whether it was of a local or of a more general character, and everyone was deeply interested in their development.

Immediately as the Cantor, or the person chosen to lead the prayers began to pray, everything appeared as if all the other matters were quickly forgotten, and sang along, and prayed along in greeting the Sabbath Bride. After the Friday night meal, the streets became full of strollers. For some, the stroll was a purpose in itself. For others, they streamed to the Rebbe's Tisch, or in the shtiblakh, to study lessons, or to organizations, where a formal presentation had been prepared on some actual theme.

At this point, I wish to pause by the institution of the ‘Tisch’ that was prepared at the home of the ‘Rebbe of Cieszanow,’ The Rabbi and Tzaddik, R 'Leibusz Rubin זצ”ל and here is the scene: outside, a snowstorm is raging, a biting, frosty wind whips the face, but with how much joy, and inner loftiness, are we streaming from every nook and cranny of the shtetl, to one center. To the house of the Rebbe of Cieszanow, The Rabbi, Rubin ז”ל. No matter how cold and frosty it might be outside, one is immediately warmed by stepping over the threshold of this house. And this was not because the house was well heated, but rather, it warms the heart and soul, from the loving look with which you are greeted by wise eyes, and the tall, majestic persona of the Rabbi. And every corner of the house becomes filled with the dulcet tones of a heartfelt ‘Sholom Aleichem,’ whose refrain is immediately, and enthusiastically picked up by the variegated assembly of people, consisting of elderly Hasidim, middle-aged balebatim, and young little boys, with glowing eyes, and inflamed cheeks from the frosty outside. All join together as one, in Hasidic enthusiasm. All eyes are concentrated on the patriarchal, magnificent persona of the Rabbi. Each of his words is snapped up with great reverence and respect, each melody becomes transformed in a frenzy to and outbreak of new well springs of joy and the pouring out of one's heart, of heavenly elevation, of such a spiritual pleasure that only the Hasidic melody, whose roots reach back to the melodies of the Temple, beside the Temple of Repentance, can bring. And in a chain, from hand to hand, shoulder to shoulder, the hours are consumed in a long dance.

It is difficult to portray the state of spiritual joy that possessed each and every person, going home late on a Friday night, sunken in thought about the spiritual elevation they had just lived through, which imbued them with a reserve of life force and strength, for the entire, coming week. And in the morning, to make one's way along a new path, through freshly fallen snow, coming into the Sanz shtibl, to a lesson in Rambam, or the Pentateuch, along with Or HaChayim, and anew, one meets at the Rabbi's Tisch in the afternoon, and at the Third Feast, when it is pitch-black dark in the house. The house ,where the Rabbi presides over the Tisch, is filled from end to end, and immediately the premises becomes filled with heartfelt movements, with longing melodies, and also with lively marches. Young people and boys who were blessed with good voices, are given the honor of leading a variety of songs. Very soon, R' Meir Rubin ז”ל, the Rebbe's eldest son, will lead the singing ‘Baruch El Elyon.’ and you cock your ears because very shortly you will hear a wondrous new tune or ‘opera’ sung in a manner that only he can summon. The Akst Brothers, and, to separate for long life, Yitzhak Koch, Yekhezkiel Heller, Shimshon Malarsh, were given the honor to sing almost at every Third Feast, and the moment of ‘Reva-Drevin^[1]’ becomes deeply etched in the hearts of the numerous participants.

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Rosh Hashana to Tashlikh

And here, you have yet a new image: The Rabbi with the assembly of Hasidim are going to Tashlikh.

The way passes through a number of the principal streets, and the march becomes transformed into a procession rich with impressions. The streets are filled with Hasidic song, and if here or there, a gentile attempts to throw a stone, he is ignored, and it is charged off to the ‘old year…’ The march is launched, and one sings with more fire and a sense of security, showing that we are not afraid of anyone, but only of You Alone, as we were wont to sing in a Yiddish verse from ‘Al Tira Avdi Yaakov’ on every Saturday night, at which time, again, we regrouped at a shtibl for a Melaveh Malka, to escort the Sabbath out, with longing and fresh concern, for the coming week. And it is precisely this concern that was expressed best of all in the parody of the Geshem-Niggun^[2], late in the evening of Simchat Torah, ( after having entirely forgotten the whole two days of gladdening one's self with the Torah, after having drained the last keg of beer, to the bottom, and having enumerated all of the Jewish virtues in ‘Um Ani Khoma,’ and to feel how good it was to be a Jew) when the darkness of night fell on the outside – and together with it, a darkness in the heart. The contrast of joy and dance, up to when the self-induced amnesia was replaced by the awakened awareness that here, again, comes a long, hard, cold winter, with all of its problems, And the joyful R' David Ofen הי”ד or R' Shimon the Elementary School Teacher, stood up on a bench in R' Nachman's shtibl and using the Geshem-Niggun, would sing: ‘For sure – the summer is gone, and winter approaches. The roof is broken, the overcoat is threadbare, and still there is no money, for tuition that is still owed from last year (and who would know better than R' Shimon Melamed הי”ד himself?), and so forth, in the same vein.’

At the Third Great Conclave in Marienbad, 5697 [1937] Strolling from the right: Rabbi Meir Rubin ז”ל, The Rabbi Moshe Chaim Blum ז”ל (The Rabbi of Zamość) and Rabbi Schuster הי”ד (The Rabbi of Sokolka)

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were cut down by the Gruesome Murderer?

As was usually the case, Rabbi Meir Rubin ז”ל distinguished himself with solo performances, who apart from being a gifted musician, was also a man of unusual virtue. As a good and talented organizer, he was the president of Tze'irei Agudat Yisrael, and took part in many conferences, among which also the large Agudat-Yisrael conclave in Marienbad. He was a member of the central organs of the Agudah in Poland. A great future was predicted for him, but his live was cut short in his prime, from hunger and disease, in Siberian exile.

Having brought to mind the Tze'irei Agudot-Yisrael in Tomaszow, let us pause for a while , and take stock of the activities and the leadership of this group, and also how the Pirkhei Agudat Yisrael and B'not Agudot Yisrael in Tomaszow, whose activity introduced much festive feeling into the gray weekly life of the city, and underscored a chapter rich in substance, in the history of Tomaszow, up to the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.

In another part of this book, R' Yitzhak Meir Gartler has already described in detail the founding and the activity of the Agudah movement in Tomaszow. Therefore, I wish to pause here only briefly about the activity of the youth groups, of this very movement, in which I had a privilege to take an active role for a period of time.

The leaders of the Tze'irei Agudat Yisrael have to be credited with many moments which cannot be otherwise described except as ‘Festival Holidays during the regular week.’ On an ordinary Wednesday evening, you could see hundreds of Jews dressed in their holiday best, streaming to the Bet HaMedrash, to a Siyyum of a Talmud tractate by the Daf Yomi study group. At this type of opportunity, the young people would invite a known leader, and speaker, who would use their oratorical skill to transport their audience into a newer and loftier world, of spiritual pleasure. They would arouse the audience, and give them an opportunity to take account of themselves, and also an awareness that all of the day-to-day difficulties, and all of the dark clouds that had already begun to gather in the Jewish skies, in the suffocating atmosphere of the Hitler epoch, were nothing more than transient moments in the millennial journey of Jewish continuity, whose existence will remain to the End of Days. And in order to achieve the highest goal, tribulation and martyrdom must come, whose purpose, indeed, was to hasten the arrival of the Messianic Era. Well, it provided some bolstering, and also a prideful awareness, having been won over to the view that the trials and tribulations have a purpose, if not for one's self, then at least for future generations.

Among the young people and the Perakhim, there were a few good speakers. Rabbi Meir Rubin ז”ל, the President of the Tze'irei Yisrael, and also, separated for long life, his brother, the Rabbi of Tomaszow, the Rabbi R' Sholom Yekhezkiel Rubin, illuminated the tribunal and engaged the enthusiastic assembly. Also, Yud'l Szur הי”ד, was a good speaker. [He was] a dynamic and ambitious young man, who was wounded immediately after the outbreak of the war from the bombardment, from which he was crippled, and later suffered the same fate as all the martyrs.

Such festivities, along with their accompanying celebrations, occurred frequently. One time it might be a Tu B'Shvat or Tu B'Av celebration, or a Lag B'Omer celebration. At Purim time, the Pirkhei Agudat Yisrael would put on plays, such as the death of Moses, and others.

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Usually, on the night of Purim, R' Yisroel'keh Pfeiffer הי”ד along with other young men, would make such merriment at the Rebbe's Tisch, with there various antics and presentations, that people would look forward to it for the entire year. And it happened one time, that R' Yisroel'keh became angry for some reason, and did not come to the Tisch. Lat on the night of Purim, they came and knocked on his door, and told him that they needed benzine (which he sold). When he came out, the group ‘kidnaped’ him and brought him to the Rabbi, re-dressed him in rabbinical clothing, with a silver cane in hand, and marched him to the home of his father-in-law, R' Ary' Heller. One of the people knocked on the door, and represented that a certain Rabbi, R' David Lancuter had arrived. The household quickly dressed, and the ‘Rabbi’ was admitted. The father-in-law did not recognize his son-in-law… and it was in this manner that they marched joyously and in a carefree way waking up one Hasid after another. However, R' Sholom Akst sabotaged the scheme when the electricity was turned on to receive the ‘Rabbi.’ And it was precisely at that point that the ‘Rabbi,’ Yisroel'keh Pfeiffer had spotted a half-eaten schmaltz herring in the dark, and had grabbed it and put it in his mouth, and in this situation, the ‘Rabbi’ was unmasked at the moment the electric lights were turned on… however, the young people were merry, deliberately causing consternation to their enemies, who assumed an ever increasingly threatening posture, influences by Hitler's poisonous propaganda.

One time, the festivities in the middle of the week took place as a farewell event for those making aliyah to Israel, for that very limited number, who had the privilege of obtaining certificates [sic: exit visas]. They were accompanied along with the best of wishes, as well as hidden emotions of envy by many of those who could only dream of doing this (as one who, during the time when most of the olim from Tomaszow received their certificates, had the oversight of the Va'ad LeMa'an Ertez Yisrael and the Morasha of Keren HaYishuv at the Tze'irei Tzion, I had all of the information and was well acquainted with the mood that pervaded our ranks).

And here is yet another festive sentiment: the young women of Agudat Yisrael, the B'not Agudat Yisrael, at whose head stood the teacher Toba Lewkowicz, the sister of Chaya and Mal'ya Heller, Rachel Shafran, etc., invited the renown Sarah Shenirer with the purpose of broadening and strengthening the Bet Yaakov school, which was established after a considerable expenditure of effort, by a few tens of activists, at the head of which stood my father, R' Abraham Yekhezkiel Biederman ז”ל, who literally committed his entire soul and dedicated his prime time and energy for the school. The visit of Mrs. Shenirer literally shook up the religious [residents] of Tomaszow. The respect for her was enormous, both by the students, teachers and parents. Mrs. Shenirer stayed in our house during her visit, and I remember how the teacher [Mrs.] Lewkowicz stood in awe and respect for her, despite the fact that Mrs. Shenirer was a very lovely and simple person, as is appropriate for a matriarch of the many thousands of Bet Yaakov children whom she reviewed as if they were her own (being childless herself).

The ‘B'not’ was a focal point for the girls of the religious families, and especially those who completed the Bet Yaakov school, which had earned a reputation in the whole vicinity as the model education that the girls got there.

Along with the Va'ad of the Agudat Yisrael, the leadership of Tze'irei Yisrael was also engaged in assuring the existence of a ‘Heder Yesodei HaTorah,’ or as it was called: ‘The Agudah Heder.’ It is possible to aver with great confidence, that the largest part of religious youth received their education in this Heder, which had outstanding principals and educators. R' Yitzhak Meir Gartler, a very talented organizer, orator and writer,

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who today is located in Israel, and himself writes a chapter regarding the life of the Agudah in Tomaszow for this Yizkor Book, was the principal and living spirit of this institution for years, which educated hundreds of Jewish boys in the genuine traditional spirit. It was these students who became the avant-garde for the ‘Perakhim,’ and later on, the ‘Tze'irim.’

One of the most beloved of the educators was R' Aharon Untzig, who today lives in Israel. A neatly dressed short individual, with gold-rimmed glasses, the children in the highest grade would sit, as if chained to their places, to hear his lesson in Gemara, and commentaries with great interest. Either that, or a beautiful sharp Hasidic word about the portion of the week, which remained deeply etched in the memory of his students (I had the pleasure of being one of them). The principal, R' Yitzhak Meir Gartler, was someone who conducted a beautiful lesson himself. One of the principals was also R' Chaim Untzig from Krasnobrod. Among the other educators, I will here recall R' Meir Klarman, R' Pinchas Korngold, R' Simcha Herzog, R' Benjamin Tepler (who left his teaching position in the Mizrahi Heder).

A very substantially rich chapter in the history of the religious youth in Tomaszow was written by the youth group where the younger boys came together, who were between bar mitzvah age and 18 years old. This was the ‘Pirkhei Agudat Yisrael,’ at whose head for many years, stood my very important partner and friend, Rabbi Benzion Schneider, who today is located in Haifa.

Two photographs of this very youth group lay before me now. Many of them are spread out to all four corners of the world. Many of them shared the fate of the six million. Looking now at their eyes, in the picture, and becoming as one with their souls, it is difficult to hold back a tear. They all look so full of life, they spread around themselves such a roiling fire of youth, and such stormy energy. How, and under what circumstances, did your young lives come to an end?

For many years, you had allocated to me the position of being the Recording Secretary of Pirkhei Agudah and Tze'irei Agudah. I could never imagine that the ‘Yizkor Book Committee’ would allocate to me the responsibility to memorialize your precious and sacred souls.

At this point, I wish to enumerate those members that are found in the photos, whose lives were cut down while in the flower of youth:

First and foremost, from Tze'irei Yisrael: Rabbi Meir Rubin, Yitzhak Meir Pflug, Mordechai Ganzer, R' Eliezer Gershon Teicher.

Now the leaders of Pirkhei Agudat Yisrael: Shlomo Gartler, Mendl Heller, Yaakov Panzer, Yud'l Szur, Sinai Shapiro, Yud'l Brand, Mott'l Schwindler, Shmuel Kaufman, Nathan Akst, Moshe Heller, David Heller, Yitzhak Youngman (who was killed by the first bombs that fell on Tomaszow), Peretz Singer and Shlomo Kupiec (whose death as a martyr is described so movingly, and in such a heart-rending manner, in this same book, by my dear comrade and friend Abraham Singer), Meir Wolf Ofen, Yaakov Eliezer Gartler, Shmuel Hirsch Liszczanewski (son of the Shokhet of Turobin), and Moshe Maltz.

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The Activists Among the Youth

At this opportunity, let us enumerate a number of the activists among the youth (apart from those previously mentioned that appeared in the photos of the Perakhim), namely: R' Sinai Stender, The Secretary for many years, Elimelekh Heller, who took over the secretariat after Sinai's marriage, and was killed while fleeing from Lodz during the 1939 bombing, R' Leib'l Mermelstein, the longtime president and beloved role model for the young people, Gershon Brand, a disciple of the Rabbi of Tarnopol, and [himself] a formidable scholar, R' Yeshay' Heller, R' Yaakov Herman, R' Yaakov Mordechai Guthartz, R' Jonah Singer, Yeshay' Hirsch Heller, Baruch Akst ( who especially dedicated himself to the spread of Torah study and Hasidism).

Even though the Rabbi and Tzaddik R' Leibusz Rubin זצ”ל was not an official member of the Agudah, the entire membership of the Agudah youth stood under his influence, and the entire shtibl was de facto the center of all the Agudahshtibl, we should, in passing, also recall a couple of the important balebatim: R' Ary' Heller, R' Neta Heller, R' Yisroel'ki Pfeiffer, R' Moshe Knobloch, R' Shlomo Akst with his sons. R' Hirsch Ganzer, and a formidable host, R' Sholom Singer (R' Sholom Rachaner, whose son, Abraham, describes his martyrdom).

An important educational institution for the poorer class of children, who were unable to pay any tuition, was the Talmud Torah, at the head of which stood (for the time that I was the Secretary for this institution) R' Yaakov Lederkremmer, R' Ephraim Rov, R' Yaakov Szerer (or as he was called Yaakov Lehrer) and additional important balebatim.

Thanks to the generous support of the Tomaszow landsleit in New York, R' Nachman's shtibl on the Krasnobrod Gasse (or as it was called towards the end, Pierackogo), was converted and rebuilt as a Talmud Torah building, and I was deeply moved, on many an occasion, when I would attend the distribution of a glass of hot milk with a small roll for each child, seeing the eagerness with which the starving children awaited their breakfast, while standing in line (many of these sons of the poor, earned prizes for excelling in their studies and conduct). And the thankfulness in the eyes of these children was the greatest satisfaction for those who were active, and who witnessed it. Indeed, the Tomaszow landsleit in America may justifiably take pride for enabling this. Apart from this, when Tu B'Shvat arrived, and they would receive gift packages of fruit, from the Land of Israel, there was no bounds to the children's joy.

The house next to the Talmud Torah was the ‘Yavneh’ School, or as it was called, the Mizrahi-Heder (which is described in detail in other places in this book). It was from there that the sound of Hebrew singing resounded far and wide over the Krasnobrod Gasse, and brought a little liveliness among the lumber merchants who were located nearby, who would stand for hours, looking for a customer to appear and take away several boards of lumber for a price, so that at least one might see some ‘real money’ before one's eyes.

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The Shtibl of R' Nachman Neuhaus ז”ל

Left to right: Shprinza Ofen, R' David Ofen (Teacher)

Rabbi Nachman Neuhaus זצ”ל was the Teacher of Righteousness in the city, himself a disciple of the B”KH and other great sages. I remember him in his last years as being sick, oppressed by travail, God protect us, when he was bedridden.

I was an exile with his son, Rabbi Leibusz Neuhaus ז”ל, with whom together, I was sent to the colonial village of Matveyevskaya in the wilds about Archangel, and after finally being released, traveling on a train to middle Asia, under inhuman conditions, with up to 40 people or more packed into a cattle car, with the meager baggage, full of filth and vermin. Many fell ill on the trip that lasted eight weeks, and R' Leibusz Neuhaus and his wife both died on the way. Their bodies were laid out at the front of the train cars, where the daily procedure was that the N.K.V.D. would come and collect the dead, and bury them somewhere. It was in this fashion that, deep inside Russia, they took part in the same fate, as millions of many others of those martyred by Hitler, who did leave behind a place where one could come and mourn over a grave. In contrast to those small colonial villages where the death rate was higher, those who died created, with their death, the only Jewish institution in those God-forsaken places: A Jewish cemetery.

A scant two weeks after arriving at their designated ‘locations,’ my father, R' Abraham Yekhezkiel along with many others, succumbed to a massive typhus epidemic which killed them in their starved and exhausted state.

The following incident should also be recollected here: We had no sooner arrived at the location, when, along with two Jewish families from the kolkhoz [sic: collective farm] ‘Kizil Bulak,’ in the Osh Oblast in Kirghizstan, 9not far from the Chinese border), we were allocated a small cottage with windows that had no panes, and an oven without a chimney, which gave off smoke inside, assuming that there was something to burn for heat (in the heat of middle Asia, more often we froze for lack of fuel for heating, that was the case in the cold of Archangel), The nights were especially cold. My mother, Chaya Sarah ע”ה and I, immediately fell sick with typhus, and my father ע”ה, escorted us to the hospital in a nearby town, where many people were billeted in a single room, on the bare floor because of the shortage of beds. When a few days passed, and my father ז”ל and brother Yisrael, separated for long life, did not come to visit us, I began to ask a variety of people in the hospital as to whether anyone had inquired about us, at which time a Polish nurse told me that my father ע”ה was no longer alive. I did not want to believe her, because –after all – did she even know who my father was? On that same day, Yisrael Greenbaum ע”ה, the leader and commander of Betar in Tomaszow came to visit us, whose sister and brother-in-law were lying on the same floor, as we who were suffering from typhus. I asked whether he had heard anything about my father, but he avoided giving me an answer. This was

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on Thursday, and on the following Sunday, I became aware that this same Yisrael Greenbaum who visited us on Thursday in good health, was no longer alive. He died a sudden death from the typhus epidemic, and other maladies together with thousands of other refugees, among which was my father ז”ל. My brother was the only one to sit up with him in vigil after he died, for two nights, and had to bury him with his own hands on a separate plot of land which had been allocated to him, because the Islamic population did not want anyone of a different faith interred in their cemetery. Afterwards, my brother himself became sick with typhus, and lay alone in the hut, at the time we were in the hospital. It was only thanks to the family of Liebeh Stahl, and her brother Shlomo Gelernter, the only Jewish family in the kolkhoz, who noticed that no one had seen my brother for a couple of days, who then entered the hut, and found him without any strength left, on the bed, without a drop of water, even if there were someone to bring it to him. They transported him to their residence where, with God's help, he quickly returned to good health.

The Scharfman Family From the right: Sarah Pearl, Nunya Pearl, Chaim Yehoshua Biederman, Chava Scharfman, Yisroel'ki Pearl, R' Joel Scharfman, Yisrael Moshe Biederman, and Zvi Lakher

From the right: Yisrael Moshe Biederman, Sarah Pearl, Stempel, Chaim Yehoshua Biederman, Yuta Lehrer, Leah Pearl, Zvi Lakher, Menucha Pearl (Lakher), Dvora Scharfman, Yisroel'ki Pearl, his wife, Reizl, Menucha Millstein, Koppel Kalinberg, Sarah Biederman, Aharon and Menachem Pearl

For the entire week, that which on the Sabbath called itself the Ger shtibl was – once a division of the Heder Yesodei HaTorah, and once – on the contrary, guess! – a saloon, where a couple of thirsty peasants and their wives would quench their thirst (the owner of the premises did need a way to make a living, and the way ‘making a living’ looked in the Poland of that time of the ‘Directed Boycott,’ perhaps you do recall, that it was difficult to hold a Jew culpable, if during the week he covered the ‘Holy Ark’ and attempted to bring a little bit of merriment among the gentiles, and a bit more income into the household – because R' Mordechai'leh's impoverished place of business by itself did not bring in enough of a living on its own.

I would like to recollect a couple of name here, and present a couple of personalities.

R' Mikhl Yehuda Lehrer, ז”ל was the Gabbai of the Ger shtibl for many, long years. A Jewish man with a broad and loving smile on his face (depending on how he might be feeling) was beloved and respected by all that came in contact with him. He was a soulful leader of prayer, and would lead the Kol Nidre prayer (he was born at exactly the hour of the recitation of Kol Nidre). He was skilled in reading the Torah, and was the head and leader of all activities that involved sacred ritual.

His brother, R' Yekhezkiel Lehrer ז”ל, was the President of the ‘Agudah,’ and was a very gifted individual. He was merchant of forest products, and could evaluate a forest very accurately, rarely making an error. He was a Mohel, a gardener (his flower garden was something to see), and could inscribe a complete sentence on the

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side of a grain of wheat. He once made a basket and a handle out of the pit of a cherry, and on the half side of the basket etched a complete map of Austria. An Austrian officer, during the years of The First World War, took it with him for the Vienna Museum. He was fond of immersing himself in learned discourse, explaining a difficult point in grammar, or Ibn Ezra, with his neighbor, and sister's son, R' Mikhl Yehuda Pflug, a Jewish man who was a scholar, a candle manufacturer, and rigorous at the level of the Kotzk, as befits a Hasid. He was a man of means, and active in the Agudah (his son, Yitzhak Meir ז”ל, was active in the Tze'irei Yisrael, his second son, to be set apart for long life, Mendl, was one of the first of the Agudah to make aliyah, and is today a candle manufacturer on Israel).

My grandfather, R' Yaakov Joel Scharfman ז”ל would get up every day between 3-4 AM to study and recite Psalms, with a heartrending melody. Afterwards, while still before dawn, he would go to pray with the first minyan, and later, together with his son, R' Mikhl Scharfman ז”ל (a scholar and activist) would engage in their forest product business, and was respected by everyone who knew him. His son-in-law, R' David Pearl ז”ל , who in a short time became well-known and beloved in Tomaszow with is whole-hearted commitment to public works, his fiery and ardent praying, and singing, during the High Holy Days, left as a young man, for Lublin, being underweight.

R' Mendele Tepler ז”ל was a genuine and beloved person of that period. He was dedicated to Torah study, prayer, and charity, day and night. His sons, R' Gedali' and R' Sholom, also worshiped in the shtibl, with their children, and also his son, R' Yisroel'keh, who was the ‘Secretary’ of the Ger shtibl, because he had committed many melodies to memory, and always had the appropriate melody ready, and refreshed everyone who was leading services, on demand (it is no wonder that his son, Ephraim, sings so well…).

R' Shmuel Shier was also the Gabbai for a long period of time, who was killed by bandits, along with his son Netanel in Lemberg, in 1941.

R' Moshe Lieberman ז”ל has remained in the memory of all the worshipers, for his heartfelt and sweet High Holy Day renditions.

Among the other worshipers, it is also necessary to recall those dear and heartfelt Jewish men such as R' Shmuel Lubert ז”ל, who would dance for hours on end, with the boys from the Heder on Simchat Torah, with a small flask of ninety proof whiskey in the back pocket of his silk kapote. [We also recall] R' Mikhl Yehuda Scheinman, R' Zalman Brandwein, R' Yehoshua Goldstein, R' Itcheh'leh Goldstein, and their children, R' Itcheh Szparer, in whose house the Torah was read on Simchat Torah, as an auxiliary synagogue, R' Gershon Zegil, the Etrog merchant.

And such was the life of the Jews of Tomaszow, in their happiness and sorrow, during their festivals and ordinary weekdays, until – until the coming of Elul 5699 [September 1939]. Elul is always a time when serious days draw near, the Days of Awe. The breezes of Elul, like the blowing of the shofar, introduce an unrest, accelerating fear and a trembling in the heart. However, in Elul of 5699, instead of the normal Elul breezes, a wild storm that brought destruction blew in, accompanied by the frightening thunder of Blitzkrieg which killed many thousands, uprooted and flung off to faraway places those who were survivors, and completely wiped out and exterminated the centuries old Jewish settlement in Tomaszow-Lubelski (which even demonstrated the capacity to survive the terrifying Chmielnicki Pogrom in 1648-9), along with its deeply entrenched homes and institutions, synagogues, houses of study, and not even overlooking its cemeteries – and the Sabbath and Holiday was disrupted, and those Jews who observed that Sabbath and those Holidays were killed – May God avenge the vengeance of the spilled blood of Your servants!

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