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I came into our sinful world in the 20th century, in Verkhivka, where I was born, and from which I left for America in 1922. Verkhivka, Ukraine, left an enduring impression on me, and I will try to write about the types of people that lived in our town, in the correct light.

Fishel [Philip] Felberg was supposed to be my partner in this important work, but to our great sorrow he is no longer with us [as he died in 1965]. So, I take upon myself the full responsibility for that task we have so long dreamed about, that is, an important work about the destruction [of our families and townspeople] by the Hitler murderers, may their names and memories be erased forever for the six million martyrs and for Verkhivka itself There can be no better memorial for these martyrs than to write these memories, and at the same time, may this book serve as a Yizkor book in a small format.

I will try as much as possible to describe the people as they were and as they lived at that time. I hope I will be successful as much as my writing talent and memory will permit.

I will also try to write something briefly about the cultural life in Verkhivka where I lived until the year 1922.

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Shlomo Hoksman lived in a small house across from the church. He had a beautiful garden behind the house. He was average in size, round in build, with clear cheeks. He wore nice, modern clothing and was an employee at the limekiln [Vapniarka] that was made from limestone. If I am not mistaken, he was also employed in a forest or sugar factory in Yaltushkiv. People considered him to be somewhat of a wealthy man.

Shlomo would come home [from Yaltushkiv] for Shabbat. He had a seat at the eastern wall of the synagogue, and rarely got involved in the arguments going on among those who came to pray in the Verkhivka shul.

His wife Broshke was beautiful, tall, and intelligent. She presented herself like an aristocrat. Her mannerisms were just like a princess, which evoked great reverence from those who met with her. They had two children, Munye and Khaim, when they moved to Bar.

Munye Hoksman lives in Israel. For many years he was a manager in a hospital in Petach Tikvah. He was a very respected person. His wife was a tall, cultured personality, but, sadly, she is no longer with us. Munye has respectable children in Israel who take an active participation in the life of the country. We hardly hear anything about Khaim. As far as we know, he lives in Paris and is not in touch.

Until here is the family Shlomo Hoksman.

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Khaim Kugel Batch [Batsch in the original text] lived on the hill opposite the Ukrainian school. The teacher was an anti-Semite by the name of Marchok, may his name and memory be erased.

There the Batches worked for themselves. They baked their own matzos for Passover and for almost the entire town. They also sold sour apples, marinated greens, and sauerkraut. Reb Khaim sat in the shul in the anteroom, by the furnace. He had no idea about the arguments in the shul. In general, he said nothing and did not mix into anything.

On Yom Kippur, he did not even move his hand, standing the entire time, and did not speak to anyone. It seems that was the behavior he pledged to take. He took the time in shul to stuff tobacco into his nose and mouth craftily [snuff], from which he had great pleasure.

Why they called him “Khaim Kugel,” I do not know. That is something the historians will have to figure out.

He had a wife, whom I hardly remember. I only know that she bore him two sons [Pinye and Hershel] and a daughter, Royza, who was talented, beautiful, and smart. All three children emigrated to America

Until here, Khaim Kugel [Batch].

The Pinye, son of Khaim Kugel Batch, changed his name in America to Shteinberg. I already met him here. He was a “type,” I would say, different from the crowd. He was an ascetic. He was not friendly to his brother Hershel nor his sister Royza. Why? He himself must know [but no one else does]. Years ago, I heard that he lives in

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Brooklyn [and I used to meet him often in Brownsville [a section of Brooklyn].]

What does he do? How does he make a living? A perpetual secret. When I asked him why he had changed his name, he gave me no answer. Maybe America is guilty in that. The world is filled with secrets, and he himself is too.

Until here Pinye [son of] Khaim Kugel Batch] Shteinberg.

As far as I remember him, he was a veritable pauper, but this Jew was also a strong man with red cheeks, a nice beard, small build, and a lot of muscle. One day, there was a rumor that Hershel Batch was going to America to find his future. The town was on wheels [i.e., excited]. And the day came. But then Hershel was soon back in Verkhivka! He was a little more formal, sporting a black frock and a hard hat, and everyone looked up to him. But the secret of why he left America and came back to Verkhivka did not leave him. Also, the secret of why he held himself in America like water in a sieve also did not leave him. No one knows to this day.

Yet Hershel could no longer keep himself in Verkhivka and once more left for America. I saw him [in New York] in 1924 with a pushcart selling fish for Shabbat. He had a wife Batya Leya, who died in Verkhivka during the time of the Revolution. He took his two sons to America, Matya and Shloyme, and his only daughter Tsivya. Matya and Tsivya are no longer with us, as their parents as well.

Until here, Hershel Kugel [Batch].

Editors' note:Seventeen-year-old Elke Batch and her 13-year old brother Shloyme arrived in New York on the SS Mongolia of December 21, 1921 to live with their father, “Harry” Batch. We assume that Harry and Hershel are the same person. But the daughter's name, Elke, differs from Tsivya, so we are unclear of this; it is possible that Elke and Tsivia are the same person, or that Elke was actually a cousin posing as Shlomo's sister. In addition, a Gussie Batch (d. 1988) and a Samuel Batch (d. 1974) are buried on the Verchivker Benevolent Society plot. It is like that Samuel is in fact Shlomo as his father's name appears in his headstone as Tzvi Zav, “Deer-Wolf.” Tzvi is the Hebrew form of Hershel.

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He was a Jew, a burdened man, a father of eight children. He was a widower in his old age. Leyb Itzes sold beer wholesale and to individuals, and the Christians would drink his beer until they got drunk. This was his special livelihood, but in addition to that, he had a business on the side. What was that? He would bring in, that is, import for Passover [from] Snitkov male goats, as an honor that was given as gifts to the Verkhivka paupers.

It happened once that his goat tore itself off of the chain and knocked over an ailing lector [i.e., a church official]. A pogrom almost broke out because of this. To this day, no one knows how much the bribes with the authorities cost to prevent violence. Fortunately, the lector survived.

In shul, Reb Kornfeld sat at the eastern wall [honorable location], in merit of his father Velvele, who was called the “Old God.” Leyb Itzes was very good with the arguments in shul, and active. Once he got slaps simply because he was one of those Jews who could not tolerate wrongdoings.

He was a frequent visitor to our house. My father would often welcome him with, “Come in, have a seat!” And he would sit there until he fell asleep, often for hours.

Once he rushed in with a storm [and called to my father], “Reb Froyka, quick! Go out and see how your son is riding on a goat!” Well, don't ask what happened. Froyke's young son, who is learning Gemara and Tosafos with Mendel the Teacher from Snitkov, is riding on a goat? My father nearly beat me to death. My mother did not speak to [Reb Kornfeld] for a few years, in the proper way of conduct. I still have a mark on my right hand to this very day.

[Several years after the death of his wife Feyga Keltner] he married Enye Dukhovne [Dukoff] during the time of the Revolution. After that, if I am not mistaken, he became sick with typhus and in [Symon] Petliura's time, may his name be erased, he died.

Until here, Leyb Itzes Kornfeld.

Editors' note: Symon Vasylyovych Petliura was the supreme commander of the Ukrainian People's Army, which, during the Revolution and ensuing civil conflicts, was responsible for the murder of between 50,000 and 200,000 Jew in Programs throughout the former Russian provinces. Leyb Itzes died in the mid-1920s, exhausted and in extreme poverty after the Ukrainians and Soviets commandeered his tavern. Nearly all of his children emigrated; only his daughter Dovrish remained in Verkhivka, although his son, Fishel was refused entry to the United States because of tuberculosis and returned to Verkhivka where he died shortly after. There are many descendants of Leyb Itzes Kornfeld throughout the United States including great-great-great-grandchildren. The children who emigrated are Eva (Khava), Morris (Muttis), Samuel (Shloyme), Sarah (Sura), Esther, and Anna (Khana). All are deceased.

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There were five brothers and a sister. The oldest of the [Bronshteyn brothers] was Avraham [Avrum], who had a daughter Esther and a son Essy [with his wife, Rivka Stolir?]. The children studied at the Gymnasium at Bar. The youngest of the brothers, Sruli, remained in the house in Verkhivka. He had a wife and three children. He died of typhus in the year 1921, a year before I left for America. The house where they lived was almost the most beautiful in town, with many rooms and an entranceway. Behind the house was a large garden, and in front, a beautiful, large balcony. [Sruli] had a large business manufacturing windows and shutters; also, dried fruit. They had everything in abundance, particularly for the fairs. On Shabbat, the entire family would sit on the balcony, and they would discuss the paupers in Verkhivka who lived on Parodno Street. They conducted themselves very aristocratically, in every sense of the word. They ate at a long table, their meals served by a maid. They were truly aristocratic.

The shining one of the brothers was Zisye. He used to study in the city of Bar, wearing pants with a string. He would come home for the religious holidays and walk down the promenades, and everyone in town would watch him. They were separated from the crowd, and stood back from mingling with the ordinary people.

At their weddings, they wrote on the invitations “without fish,” as they did not want to enjoy [the company of] the paupers. They sent them invitations, however, just as a favor.

The oldest son, Avraham, would sit at the eastern wall in shul, never mixed into arguments, it seemed to be beneath his dignity to argue with the people he considered to be paupers. He wore a fine, expensive coat, with a lambskin collar, and a lambskin fur cap, and wore spats and deep half-boots. This is all that I remember of the brothers Bronshteyn.

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Shloyme [Kornfeld] was the son of Velvil [Kornfeld], the “Old God” [with his first wife, Ester Beyla Tobachnik]. Shloyme had a small build, thin, and sported a silvery beard. During Shabbat, he would look into a Sefer, but he was not a great scholar. His wife [was Taube, the sister of Brushke, wife of Shlomo Hoksman] gave him six children [editor's note: according to family stories, they had only four children].

The oldest daughter was Rukhil, who was the shine of the family. She was a beauty, with a lovely face and beautiful presence. She performed with me and my friends in the Yiddish theater. She was a fine dancer, entirely self-taught, and wanted to be seen as aristocratic just as her aunt, Brushke Hoksman. And she really did learn to follow the ways of the aristocracy! She was friendly with the lady friend of the Orthodox priest, a young woman named Yelena, who was also beautiful and who had been educated at the Gymnasium at Bar.

During the time of the Revolution, she was seen strolling with army officers. Rukhil even had her own room at home and did not permit any of her family to enter her room, which she decorated according to those times. [The editors know they had a son Benjamin and two other daughters, Leya and Ester]

The house itself was simple but had many rooms. Shloyme and Taube Kornfeld kept two horses and they had a tractor. They sold beer and whisky. Sometimes Shloyme would have a calf or a lamb slaughtered and sell the meat.

As far as I remember him, he used to go to shul, and then sit at the wall of honor in the merit of his father Velvele, the “Old God.” But sometimes, he would be ostracized, forbidden from entering the shul for a good few months. Why was that? Maybe for participating too much in the arguments? I am not certain if that was the right reason.

Shloyme and Taube Kornfeld were our next-door neighbors. [Tauba] was always missing something, for example, a pastry board, an earthen bowl, a washboard, a grater, a rinsing bowl, a pan for frying fish.

One time she borrowed a pan, something special, which [my mother] bought from the Zinkov Antsheres [a person? the manufacturer?]. The pan was of a good name, such that if you bent your thumb and banged the pot, then the first-class tenor of the symphony orchestra would be drowned out. Well, a tragedy happened, and Taube pretended not to notice anything for

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when she returned it, my mother bent her finger and banged the side of the pan. And there was nothing! It was dead, like all who are dead. “What does this mean?,” my mother exclaimed. “Tauba, this pot cost me a complete ten [rubles]! Where is the justice?” Tauba listened to the complaint with all her attention. “Listen here, Leyka, I am guilty, you are guilty, with the pains of last year's Purim.”

Until here, Shloyme, Taube, the Kornfeld family.

Editors' note: We don't know when Sholyme and Taube died. There is some archival evidence that they moved to Bar. We believe their four children were murdered in the Holocaust although recent DNA evidence suggests one child has living descendants now in Australia.

Froyke Vaynshtayn, that is what he was called in Verkhivka, was a strong Jew. He had a nice beard, and was blond and blue-eyed: you could have said he was a Jew with a beautiful face. Our mother [Leyka] was a beautiful brunette, a tall, pleasant woman, with enough intelligence to have been a great statesman. She was very knowledgeable in everything. Our father was also not an unintelligent Jew. One would have to say he was “smart.” He did not speak much. He would always be studying from a Sefer. Although not a such a good singer, he had a resonating voice and a fine tone.

In our town, there would often be many lawsuits, and he would be taken as an arbitrator. We had a guest house, and we would often have those from paupers to generals, and great Jewish merchants, who would come there to sleep, eat, and drink, particularly during the time of the fairs. There would be many people. There were also those who would ask my father for a tallis [prayer shawl] and tefillin and then would leave without even saying “be well.” There was one woman, they called her Gorgelekhe [“The “throaty one”], who was a “really fine Jewish woman” with the voice of a grater. She was from Snitkov. She would buy and sell chickens, although most of those chickens where the ones she snatched from others. During the winter, she would run in [to our tea house] with great energy and drag out the hot coals and

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leave behind the pot in which they brewed tea we would sell, running out quickly. My father used to shout at her, “What are you doing? You are taking the soul out of the stove!” [She would respond], “Reb Froyke, don't be a bad Jew!” One didn't earn anything from her!

We also had a tea house, and we made our own kvass which we sold. We lived on the post office street. We had two goats who gave no milk. They were big red troublemakers.

Our father's exercises consisted of carrying in water and chopping wood for the house. He also would take care of the big garden behind the house. What was my mother's job? Don't ask. Often, at night, there would be merchants who would pass through and wake us up to cook dumplings and potatoes for tens of people. She planted in the garden, worked in the house as a seamstress, plucked feathers, cooked and baked for selling. These were the main jobs of my father and mother. But they were always happy that they had enough to make a living for their children.

We were four children. Now only two remain: me and Khayke [Clara]. One brother, Sholom, during World War I, remained in the city of Batum, where he died and is buried there. I did not yet give up my dream of being in the Soviet Union and visiting my brother's grave. My other brother, Yisroyl, died in America in Philadelphia. I visit his gravesite from time to time. [Another brother, Dovid, died before I was born—see below].

My father used to go to shul all the time, he sat in the anteroom, never mixing into the arguments that went on in the shul. Often, he would work around the shul, always supporting the cantor Yisroyl Shokhet [Dukhovne?] with his tenor voice.

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We also had a town council for general and special war politics. Beilis' trial was also debated there; they read Russian and Yiddish newspapers, debating the main Russian hopes in an empty defeat. [Editor's note: Menahem Mendel Beilis, accused of murdering a 13-year-old Ukrainian boy in Kyiv, was acquitted in 1913. The story garnered world-wide attention to official Russian Imperial anti-Semitism].

At the end of the year 1925, my father and mother came to America. Later, my sister Khayke came as well.

Our father was sent to Siberia for many years because of anti-Semitic laws, even before we were born. Our brother Dovid, a “child of pleasure,” six years old, drowned in Verkhivka before we were born.

Our parents, for a long time, are in their eternal place.

Until here, Reb Efraim, Mordechai Vaynshtayn, may he rest in peace.

One day there was big news in town. What is it? Pinchas Stolir is going to America! He was no fool. He was a neighbor of ours and had a beautiful, black beard. After five years in America, he came back to Verkhivka, and the town went into action! Pinchas was coming back, and really did come back: and without a beard! A modern person!

But his wife Risa was ill. They had five children. Two came back after his return. Don't ask what was going on in Verkhivka! His clothing! He brought several pairs of shoes for his household. Verkhivka never saw such a thing. Only wealthy princes had such glamorous clothing. He also brought money, a fine sum, they said. He related stories of miracles of miracles in America, without end.

But to my great sadness, he died of typhus. Prior to me leaving for America, he lived in the red brickhouse, an apartment building of sorts.

Until here, Pinchas Stolir.

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Enya Dukhovne [Dukoff] [daughter of Dovid] lived there before she married Leyb Itzes Kornfeld [her second or third marriage]. She had a son Fishel [Phillip] [with her first husband Iosif Dukhovne], who is in America, in New York City. She had a daughter Feyga [Fanny Dukoff Cutler], who sadly, is not here with us for already a long time.

Khayke Benyamin's had a few children. Of them, I can recall only Fishel; the others I have forgotten. I do, however, remember the great shock when her husband was murdered in a forest. All Verkhivka mourned for a long time. I do not know what happened to her after that. If I am not mistaken, she remarried in Kopaigorod.

Miriam Fishel's, Enya's sister, also lived in the red brick house. Her husband Fishel died and left behind several children. She remarried in Yaltushkiv.

There was also the son-in-law of our neighbor, the tailor Avraham Beider's son-in-law, lived there. Avraham was my personal tailor in Verkhivka. His son Hershel survived the War and lives in the Soviet Union.

I left out one resident of the red brick house: Etti, the blind one. Etti would always work making and repairing stockings and plucking feathers, from which she earned her livelihood. She always lived with different neighbors; she was a wandering soul. She came to Verkhivka at 80 years old, just about. She was a valorous woman.

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He was called Shmul Gisse's, a son of the beloved sofer [scribe]. He was elegant, with a short, blond beard. A tall Jew, he wore beautiful clothing, always with polished boots that shone and glistened like the sun in the month of Tammuz [July/August]. He also wore freshly ironed white shirts sent from Kyiv by his brother who had that type of business.

Shmul was also the frequent gabbai [beadle] in the Verkhivka shul and was very involved in the work. He kept the shul clean and orderly, taking care of it as it was the apple of his eye. He had many followers. More than once they would try to remove him, but no, he was very lucky.

His wife was Gisse [Dukhovne] who used to keep pieces [of fish], and he would often go to Kyiv, where his brother was, and sell the fish there. Shmul earned good money. He loved to listen to talented cantors. He himself was somewhat of a singer. From time to time, he would host important cantors such as Leyb Kaliser, and others who entertained the crowds beautifully. Our cantor, Yisroyl Shokhet [Dukhovne, a cousin or nephew of Shmul Felberg's wife Gisse], did not like these goings on as he was our official cantor in town, but if the gabbai asked for something, it stood.

Gisse was a true woman of valor and was a prominent woman in Verkhivka. She would take the stick in hand [i.e., take charge] and go to Mar'ynaivka, Snitkov, Bar, and Kopaihorod, then take the best fish to the rabbi; she would add a few rubles to help the rabbi and she was then blessed according to what she needed, her livelihood, marriage prospects for her children, and a long life. She earned money from selling the fish and also whisky. Gisse was the real “woman of the household.” She ran the business with a skilled hand, had a good heart. She had two sons, who are no longer here.

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Shmul and Gisse also had four daughters [Edis, Dinsya, Khana/Anna, and Freyde]. Only Freyde remains, who lives in Chernivitsi. During the time of the Revolution, the esteemed Shmul died in Verkhivka. Gisse left for America in 1926, and is already gone for many years [1933].

It requires a great writer with serious talent to describe the character of this interesting type of Jewish woman, Gisse, and how she was and how she lived.

You were able to listen to records of cantors singing on Shmul Gisse's gramophone, which he brought from Kiev, Bar, and from other places such as Sirota [in Bessarabia/Romania/Moldova] and Kvartin [?], and others. He was a great lover of the art of liturgical music and song, and particularly of cantorial song!

Until here, Shmul and Gisse Felberg.

Editors' note: Shmul and Gisse's son Fishel, known in the United States as Philip, was Boruch's intended co-author for this book; the other son was Leyb, who lived in Kyiv and we presume worked for his father's brother. Boruch does not mention that Gisse was also the predominant matchmaker of Verkhivka. As a Dukhovne, she was a member of one of Verkhivka's most prominent families, as were the Felbergs, and she married her daughters into other distantly-related families. Her daughter Dinsya married Leyvia Goykman, brother-in-law of Shmul Kornfeld, and died young in Luchynets, a shtetl about 30 miles from Verkhivka.

Shmulke Dukovits came [back to Verkhivka] from Odessa, full of wonders and miracles, telling of the amazing city of Odessa. He also told of the wonders of the famous cantor [Solomon] Rozumni, and tried to copy him. He was a frequent guest in our home, and a friend of my brother Sholom.

In 1923, I found him with a family in New York, and became a friend of his in all aspects, even though I was a young boy next to him. We would go together and hear major cantors. We also both experienced parodies of satire of Selikhos. He was a plumber for all his years.

I was a constant visitor in his house. His wife [Kreyne, aka Katie Slotnik, d. 1972] was a warm-hearted woman, and they had special children. They both died, and they are sorely missed.

Until here, Shmul Dukovits.

Editors' note: It is possible that Dukovits, Dukowitz in America, was a variant of Dukhovne, as Philip Felberg referred to him as “Uncle Dukie. Whether or not he was an uncle or an older cousin remains unknown.”

Layba was a woman of about 90 pounds; actually, she was like “the walking dead.” How did she manage to work at everything? She was taking care of children, washing, and bathing them, taking care of the new mothers, cooking and baking for their households. How she managed all this remains a secret. In addition to this, she was a server at weddings. And she baked pies, nut-layered cakes and almond baked goods, farfel, strudel, almond cookies, challah, and finely baked goods. She prepared chickens and ducks, she roasted geese, and she had a partner [customer] for everything she made.

And on top of that, she was a bit of a medic. She did cupping and also did leeching. She had a son-in-law from Kopaihorod by the name of Yidel, a skinny, dried out man. He was hardly able to hold himself up. In her house, he had a cupboard where he had a small “factory” of painting princes. One of his legs was shorter than the other. Every year, there is someone born with one leg shorter than the other. I hardly remember his wife. As they said about her, she was slightly out of her mind.

I do not know whatever became of her or her children. This is the summary of life, along with her work. At that time, she was a type to be described with a talented pen, by a talented writer.

Until here, Layba the Midwife and Server.

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As far as I can remember the esteemed Eli Sokoliansky had a fine beard. He worked in the Marianov [Mar'ynaivka] mill although I don't know what his work actually was. [His wife was Beyle]. Peyse was the only child of these parents, the apple of their eyes.

The family lived in the front of the house.

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In the back of the house they kept a small shop. His first wife [Beyle] died and he was left with the son.

Sometime later, he remarried a woman named Taube, who came from a nearby town. They celebrated a bris every year, and it became a large family. Eli would dress nicely, and particularly during the days of the holidays he would wear his wedding clothes. He loved to flick other people's noses, often in shul, so that they would see their grandmother in their dreams!

He was one of the younger businessmen, and always befriended those who were unmarried. He would do a lot of tricks and jokes, everything, even in the shul. There was always room for more, especially for arguments, which never ended.

Until here, Eli and Peyse Beile's.

Editors' note: It is possible that Peske is the Peysak murdered at Verkhivka with several other family members. See the List of Martyrs at the end of the book.

Yisroyl Zelig's “the Kohain” Polak was a strong Jew but not an ignorant one. He knew the all fine dots! They considered him a smart man, he was constantly telling stories, with flavor and wisdom. As they used to say about him, he serviced the Russians. He had a meat market, first in partnership with his brother Yekhiel the redhead. He earned lots of money, but still was not a wealthy man.

He had plenty of meat and clothing to wear. His wife Batya was from Voltoskiv. She was a fine, righteous woman. They had two sons, Mordechai and Zelig. They also had a daughter Hinde, who sadly died in Verkhivka during the time of the Revolution. She was a friend of [my sister] Khayke and was often in our house. She was pretty, dressed nicely and perfectly.

Mordechai immigrated to Israel, and Yisroyl and Batya and their son Zelig came to America. The parents are no longer alive. Mordechai and Zelig and their families now live in New York.

Editors' note: Boruch gives his name as Yisroyl “Zelig's, the Kohain” Polak, but states that one of his son's was named Zelig. Naming a son after the father was not an Ashkenazi convention, so one can presume that his father was Zelig and that he named his son after his deceased father.

Until here, Yisroyl Zelig's Polak family.

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This was a strong person, a tall redhead with a long beard. One could say about him “in his mouth the fire was put out,” but if something happened in the street, or in shul, or in the marketplace, the fire ignited. He was not a scholar but he always went to shul. He had a fixed position of leading the prayers at the end of Yom Kippur, since that was when he had yortsayt. Reciting the priestly prayer [birchat kohanim] along with his brother Yisrael Zelig's, was a given. He was very involved with any arguments in shul, and his insights did not work badly for him.

He had a market for himself, and a had a nice home with many rooms. At the side of the house was a small orchard with all kinds of fruit, and a large garden and many trees.

They called his wife Sora Yekhiel's. She was a calm person, because she was confident that she could absolutely rely on her husband even though he was often unsettled and rarely calm.

As I recall, they had five children, I believe, three sons and two daughters, none of whom are still among the living. The two sons, they say, lived in England but I am not certain about that. At some time, Yekhiel served as a soldier with the Russians.

Until here, Yekhiel the redhead Polak.

Editors' note: Yekhiel Mikhel Polak appears on the list of those murdered at Verkhivka in in 1941 or 1942. His year of birth is given as 1860 indicating he was 80 or 82 years old at the time he was shot.

Yesheye Levin was a short man with a short beard and rosy cheeks. But he behaved with great energy. In a word, he was a lively Jew with the intelligence to marry a girl from Verkhivka. He was a widower with two children, a son Hershel and a daughter Khayke, before the wedding in Yaltushkiv to Zelda. The second wife, Zelda Polak, other than the fact that she was pretty and blond, was also smart [because] they remained in Verkhivka.

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He maintained the Kosarevat mill and the river. Yesheye was also very active in the business. He was not lazy. A sign of that was that Zelda was always having babies.

He had a fine livelihood until the Revolution. After that, he and his family left for America, in the right way. He was somewhat of a singer and the one to blow the shofar at shul. He also studied ritual slaughter. He settled in Philadelphia, and had a business for animal slaughtering, where he was the shokhet. He had eight children.

He died in Philadelphia, and years later, his wife Zelda died. His son Hershel lives in Miami, Florida, his sister Khayka, remained living in Philadelphia. And all the rest of the children also remained there.

Until here, Yesheye Levin, Yekhiel's son-in-law, from Verkhivka.

Leyb Dukhovne was a shokhet from the dynasty of shokhktim. After a lawsuit with his brother Yisroyl Shokhet [Dukhovne], it was decided that they should alternate every week, one week each in Verkhivka, and the second week in the province of the Kosarevat mill and river, which was managed by Simkha and his wife Miryam. The great pleasures which Simkha and Miriam held were openly welcoming guests, from distant Pidlisne, Mar'ynaivka, Barak, Berlinerlibetz, and Promozaniec. [Leyb Dukhovne's other brother was Froyke Dukhovne, who was also a shokhet, and who might have been a half-brother.]

Leyb had a nice beard, completely blond, a beautiful creation of a person. He was a good person, did not argue with anyone, not even in shul. He did not lead the prayers very often but he was a bit of a singer.

His wife was Sarke [Sura Kornfeld, daughter of Velvele, the “Old God”]. She was occupied with a small grocery store. She was a good housekeeper, and the house had many rooms and a large garden in the back. She had everything good. She worked the garden by herself, and she was also the reader in the women's section [of the shul], and read the Tz'enah Ur'enah [“women's bible”]. She was a real leader for the family.

They had four sons and three daughters. [Editors' note: we know of only two sons: Beryl and Avrum. The daughters were Malka, Miryam, and Royze (Rose)]. Three of the sons are no longer here.

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[Beryl], the youngest, was killed by bandits in Verkhivka, and after this very event I fled from there. Of the three daughters, two are still alive, may they have long life [in the United States].

They did not have great nakhas [proud moments] from their children. One son, Avrum, remained in the Soviet Union. We hope to see him as a tourist here, when he comes to visit. [NB. He did visit in 1972 but his wife was not granted an exit visa by the Soviet Union so he had to return to Baku, Azerbejian]. One daughter, Miriam, lives in California, the second, Rose, in Florida.

Their house was opposite the shul, which was not a small one, with a small women's section, whose floor shook when it was walked on. You held your soul in your hand. The shul had small windows on top. When the shul suffered scenes of war, these shaking windows caused trembling of fear on our skin, hoping that this would not continue to the town itself. The shul had a gentile neighbor by the name of Tadarke Kobeletzki; not a huge anti-Semite, but not a small one, may his name and memory be erased.

This, my friends, is a brief summary of Reb Leyb Shokhet and his family.

Until here, Leyb Shokhet Dukhovne.

Elye Hersh was a Jew indeed from Dukhovne stock [Editors' note: We assume this is what Boruch meant when he said “Dukhovne Zvanye Goroda” although, alternatively, it could mean the Dukhovnes from Zvanye Gorodno]. His two brothers, Yisrael and Leyb, were shokhtim [ritual slaughterers], and it seems that he did not merit to be one of these, so he patched sacks in the Marianov [Mar'ynaivka] mill. A good thing, yes?

He would come home on Friday, before Sabbath. How did they know in town that he was a sack patcher? Very simple. When Nakhman Yossi would argue with him in shul, he would call out to him, “You! The patcher! The devil take your father's father!”

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Then he would say right back: “You barber!”

Why did Nakhman Yossi carry such hatred towards him? Because his brother Yisroel Shokhet [Dukhovne], was the baal koreh [the one who reads from the Torah], and he would call him up to the Torah every Sabbath evening, saying: “Calling up ha'Rav Eliyahu Tzvi, son of my dear father, my teacher!” He wanted to compensate him for his being a “letutnik [laborer?], but the brothers-in-law Nakhman Yossi and Yankil Barak were very upset that he was getting too much Torah [recognition]. So, don't ask what went on in shul. It was exciting to the limits!

Elye Hersh Dukhovne had a wife Dovrish, a few children, and was a pauper in seven situations. On top of that, he'd had a huge fire in his house, and hardly made it out with his life. They had a few goats but they did not give any milk …

I mention here Elye Hersh's side job. On the eve of Passover, they baked matzos by him, and mainly shmura matzo [hand baked, well-guarded according to all laws of Passover], in merit of the fact that he came from Dukhovne stock, even though he patched sacks [his other job] in the Marianov [Mar'ynaivka] mill. Rav Tsalik participated in the baking of the shmura matzo, and they recited Hallel [prayer of praise] out loud! And the women nodded their heads. This was a great honor for him, a great honor and a great merit.

Until here, Elye Hersh Dukhovne.

Aron Dukhovne was a small Jew, thin, with a small black beard and a lot of hot blood. It was as if he was the perfect size for the arguments in shul. He wanted to be the beadle in the shul, and I believe he struggled with the position a year. It was not easy for him. The majority wanted Shmul [Felberg] Gisse's as beadle.

Yisroyl Shokhet [Dukhovne] was a relative of his and always argued with him. Why? I have no idea. He also argued with Moshe Hersh Khekhe's, I think because of their means of livelihoods. Both of them had a manufacturing shop but at least they lived a bit of a distance from one another. They also sold groceries and leather. One could say they had everything, and they had a good livelihood as well.

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Aron had a wife Elke [Hoksman], and a daughter Khava Nesse, who was a beauty. I don't remember any more. Elke was a sister of Shlomo Hoksman. One thing I do remember very well: with respect to his arguments in shul, he swam like fish in water. The family left Verkhivka and went to Bar before the Revolution.

Until here, Aron Elke's Dukhovne.

Editors' note: He is referred to as a relative of Yisroyl's, not as his brother, perhaps a first cousin. As such, he was equally related to Leyb and Elye Hersh Dukhovne.

Moshe Nelyoker was a Jew with a long, tufty beard. He was small in size and possessed great skill as a cabinet maker. He created all kinds of designs for the Holy Ark and the pulpit. He was truly a master artist, and used to work for the princes in their palaces.

His son Shimshon helped him with his work. He was a second Bezalel [the main artisan who built the original tabernacle, according to the Book of Exodus]. However, not wanting to work for the Russians, he chopped off his thumb from his right hand! [Editor's note, it is unclear if it was the father or the son who mutilated himself].

In shul, Shimshon[?] Nelyoker hid himself behind the curtain to avoid getting involved in the arguments for he was unassuming to the extreme. He had a wife, and also a son Mordechai, who died in World War I.

You can say, that as a great artist he should have been the pride of Verkhivka. Whether or not that was the case remains a question. This is in short about the artist Moshe Nelyoker, who lived and worked in Verkhivka.

Until here, Moshe Nelyoker.

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Yankil Barak was a Jew who was completely raised by nature. He was a needy Jew in every sense of the word. At the same time, he was a community person in all aspects, filled with wisdom, just like a pomegranate. He was tall, with a nice, graying beard, and was as straight as a pine tree. He worked the soil. He knew more about it than the farmers. He plowed, sowed, reaped, and mowed. And what else? He was loved by young and old.

He was a type of Hershele Ostropoler [a famous prankster from Ostropol who died during the second half of the 18th century]. Yankil Barak was an honest person. We used to call him Boroshok. He had a few sons, strong and all over the place, and also had two daughters: Molly [Malka] and Asaba. I remember very well how I used to spend time with Asaba very often. She was a good and kind person, a real hostess.

They had a house on the main road, and an orchard, and all around the house there was the natural fragrance of the flowers that grew behind the house by the orchard. They had a large garden actually reaching until the school. The road was the main road from Verkhivka, a large carpet of green grass, where arranged dates and couples would stroll.

How did Yankil behave in shul? No complaints. He had a great talent for the arguments in shul, along with his brother-in-law Nakhman Yossi. He sat in a way that everyone should notice him as on display, so that he would be able to see each person in shul and at the same time everyone in shul should be able to see him. He had a regular habit that when the cantor would approach the podium to lead the prayers he thundered loudly “Hodu lashem ki'ru bishmo, hodiu be'amim alilosov…” [“Give thanks to God, declare His name, make known among the people His actions…”; from the daily morning prayers], so everyone knew that the prayers would begin, no one could still run around. Or, for example, during the Yom Kippur prayers, there is the text “maata, kinah…”; [?] a golden type of folk humor, that was Yankil Barak, and these types are sadly no longer with us.

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Reb Tsalik was a learned man of his generation. He was very religious. He would pray every day until four or five o'clock in the afternoon. A person of rare honesty, he would never be part of a Din Torah [religious legal court] because he knew he would have to judge in favor of the wealthier person. He ate at the edge of his fork [i.e., very little food]. He had to be forced to drink even a glass of milk.

He had two daughters, Tsippe and Hinde, and two sons, Moshe Aryeh, who became a rabbi, and the other who died suddenly. Moshe Aryeh remained as a rabbi in Verkhivka. He also learned bookkeeping.

Rav Tsalik was grabbed up to be the rabbi in Popowicz. [Popovychi]. He was very knowledgeable, and he would study the stars. In those days, once a comet appeared, it remained [talked about?] for several months. It foreshadowed wars. He was also a heartfelt singer, and led the prayers with great energy on the High Holidays. He was paid hardly with 50 rubles.

Once, it happened when he was a rabbi in Popovychi, a group of theater performers from Verkhivka came to perform there. [I was among them]. We went to see the Rav and his family. He called me into his private room and asked me this question: “Did you come to tell me bad things about the Popovychi people?” They probably told the rabbi that Froyke Vaynshtayn's son was an actor and a profiteer.

Popovychi at that time became crowded, and everyone lived on top of one another, until the edges [of the town]. In Verkhivka, he lived in the inn in the middle of the marketplace. On the night of Simchas Torah, they would go to the Rav, and dance until daylight along with the Rav. The rebbitsn treated everyone to delicious food. She was a fine, modest woman, she also sold ovens to the entire town, and this was the whole story of the wealthy, dear, honest Rav Tsalik Reykh and his family. These types of rabbis appear only once in a blue moon. We heard that they died at the hands of the Nazis, may their names be erased.

Until here, Tsalik Reykh, Rav of Verkhivka.

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Yisroylik Horowitz lived in the inn in the center of the town, had several rooms with beds of wooden boards. He lived comfortably. That means, he had a good livelihood, and if I am not mistaken, Yisroyl Manye's, that is what he was called, was a worker with stone or lime. He lived in Yaltushkiv with his wife [Manye?], as quiet doves. He was tall, and had a small, blond beard. Neither he nor his wife were ignorant. He was not often seen in shul, likely because he did not come home often for Sabbath.

They had five children: three sons and two daughters. He, his wife, and his daughter Etil died of typhus. Etil was a beautiful, fine girl. There remained Feyga, very bright and very learned. She married Motel Nester from Snitkov. [Their son] Avraham lives in Miami, Feyga and her brothers Itsik and Mishe are no longer here. I corresponded for a short time with Feyga in Bar Volgograd. Recently, she married Leyb Gisse's [Leyb, son of Shmul Felberg and Gisse Dekhovne Felberg?]. He, too, is no longer here.

Until here Yisrael Manne's Horowitz Family.

He was a Jewish type of “Samson the Great” who, with his shouts, could have killed a man. He was tall, broad, with a bushy beard. How did he live? From time to time, he would slaughter calves and lambs, and then sell the meat. And he would also sometimes sell a bit of whisky to the Christians. He had to survive on all this. But how? At least he had his own house, and a wife Khana, who was also large, and she had some fine ancestry. But what is the problem?

Mutis, a brother Hershel, who was a shokhet, would sometimes come to visit. Khana had a sister in Maliev, and she too would come to visit. Her name was Anyuta, and she was beautiful, a little flashy, intelligent, and studied in the gymnasium in Maliev.

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It happened once that Hersh did something wrong in the Aratnik [?], he was arrested and beaten almost to death, but it made hardly a difference to him. In the end, they became tired of beating him and they let him go. He did not appear in shul.

With Khana, he had three daughters and two sons, Dudi and Velvil [Shpil]. Velvil was murdered alongside the Berezovski [i.e., the brothers Itsik and Yisroyl Berezovski and Beryl Leyb's [Dukhovne], the shokhet's [son].

Hersh and Khana's daughter Feyga was the oldest. She took after her father. She was not ugly, wanted to be intelligent and a little aristocratic, copying her aunt Anyuta in Maliev.

There was a love nest by Feyga, with a special room. The guard, Zavarotnye, was a handsome blond man with a large Polish mustache that was curled up, had a beloved Ida, also a very pretty, good woman. He spent time there, and also sometimes spent the night. I too was a frequent guest there, in that lover's room. I somehow took a liking to Feyga, why, I don't know, and not to her sisters Kheyke and Broshke. I would often dance with her at weddings in Verkhivka, but she was a head taller than me, a woman, a personality in eighteen situations, and a little older than I was. I took her and [her aunt] Anyuta to Popovychi where we attended the theater as guests. She kept her room in modern shape, for which it seemed that she had an intelligent, artistic inclination. She was a very romantic type, which got lost in Verkhivka.

Her two sisters used to go to Bar[?] to work, and we were very envious of them. But they did not allow us to go with them.

Lately, Hersh would lay sickly on the oven. The military guard lived with them at that time. Feyga out of need, would go for walks with him on the boardwalk. Because of his rashness, the guard arrested me.

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I remember her even in my sleep. She [Feyga] was tall, chatty, and had a loud voice. She had many children. She used to come to visit us once or twice a week when my father would go to Bar to pick up our mail.

She already had a husband and children in America [Benjamin and Esther Kornfeld]. I knew her daughter well here in New York. I was very friendly with her.

She loved my speeches from time to time, that I gave at the landsmannschaft]. She also loved my singing. Sadly, she is no longer with us. She was a strong member of the landsmannschaft. She was a large donor. She had a son and a daughter here, from her deceased husband Iosil Kornfeld.

Until here, Feyga Kornfeld!

Editors' Note: Feyga's second husband was Iosil Kornfeld, a son of the “Old God.” They were the only Kornfelds of that generation to emigrate to the United States, where they became known as Joseph and Fanny.  The “son and a daughter here” refers to Benjamin and Esther Kornfeld. Joseph and Fanny eventually divorced. Note that Boruch is implying she had children from a previous marriage; my great-grandfather was against his son marrying her, perhaps for this reason. We do not know the names of these children nor do we know if they remained in Verkhivka or emigrated. Further, it is unknown why Boruch refers to her as the Kalmen Dritchke. This could mean the chatty widow or another type of endearment but the shade of meaning is seemingly lost to us.

He was a very successful Jew, and not a lazy person. He had a lot of skill added to that, back home as well as here in America. He lived in a newly built house with many rooms. He had a grocery store. He had plenty of everything, a good livelihood, he also had a good idea who should be the beadle in the Bais Midrash [Study Hall], and donated money to the shul. He had a wife Edil [Ida], whose name [means “modest” and] was very appropriate to her. She was a modest soul, with a deep feeling for the poor, as well as for strangers. She was a simple housewife, simply because of her household of five sons and with constant guests and strangers. She knew she had someone [her husband] whom she could rely on for livelihood. Her husband Simkha took care of her financial needs.

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Edil came from Snitkov. After the Revolution, her husband decided to leave Verkhivka with his sons and soon after thought to bring his wife as well, with the help of his two brothers Asher and Khune, especially Khune, who was very successful here in America, with his children, to this day. He also had four sisters.

Simkha, is no longer here. Edil and her remaining children today are living in Miami, Florida, with some children in New York. This is, in brief, an overview of their lives.

Until here, Simkha Kolomainskye Cohen.

Editors' note: Leie Kolomainsky from Verkhivka arrived in New York on the SS Patricia on August 29, 1913. She was 20 years old and was going to stay with her brother, Khune. She was thus a niece to Simkha.

Froyke Dukhovne lived alone in an inheritance estate. He had a brother Yisroyl, a brother Leyb, a brother Elye Hersh, and sister Batya Leah, and many other relatives. [He had other half- or step siblings including] sister Kresse, who was very pretty, and [a brother] Matya Hersh, who was not a normal person. I do not remember his parents.

Froyke's brother and sister Batya Leah were from one father, the old shokhet whom I hardly remember. Froyke knew Talmud very well. He also studied bookkeeping together with Moshe Arye Tsalik's [Reykh], the rabbi's son, and he was a teacher of young children.

A relative or friend would come to visit him, Yankil Britman, Edil [Kolomainskye's] relative. When he would come, Froyke would test his students in the presence of Yankil Britman, in Gemara and Tanach. I don't know if he was knowledgeable in this. I do know that he was an engineer by trade.

Froyke would give [the boys] strong slaps. Maybe the person deserved it?

I remember like today how his sister Batya Leah would comfort him: “Even if you have a small barn, it's still all right. But you have a house, so you are a magnate!”

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He married Yaske [Gisse's] and had two children. Froyke was a smart man, but with little good fortune. He was also a weak person, often very sick. The end was that he died from typhus. This is how their lives ended. His wife and children died in the days of Hitler, may his name be erased forever.

Until here, Froyke the Shokhet, Dukhovne.

Yisroyl Shokhet [Dukhovne] was a tall man with a long, brown beard, large mustache. He had a loud voice and was the cantor in the shul.

Shmul [Felberg], the beadle, used to call him “rozhumne” [clever]. He was not a great singer, but he knew the right nusach [traditional singing style for prayers]. He never became hoarse, and he was also the one to read from the Torah scrolls and the one who blew the shofar. He was part of the Din Torahs during the weeks, and went with his brother Leyb “Shokhet,” to town to slaughter. When he would come to slaughter on the [trechene?] to Simkha and Miryam who ran the mill and the lake, don't ask. [They had a feast]. There were dairy knishes, verenikes, dumplings, and everything else. They were amazing hosts. Tea with half a dozen small pieces of sugar, all in one glass. You could be full for the entire week.

But what was the reason he was always hungry? His wife, Sheyva, always had meat, tongue, sweetbread, kishke, and liver from slaughtering large animals. The head would always belong to him, with the spleen separate, and a large piece of the liver cut off, and the butchers, as they would watch how he cut the liver mercilessly, wanted him to be there [i.e., be the one to be cut]. But they had to keep quiet with their lips shut. It was good! They also had many cats as permanent residents.

Sheyva would salt the meat, leave, and remember a little later,

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“oy vey, the cats will eat all the meat!” Then a fight would begin between Sheyva and the cats. She pulled everything towards herself, and the cats pulled everything towards themselves, too. She was not a strong person. Who do you think won this contest? Yes, the cats.

Yisroyl was also a teacher, and sparks flew from his slaps. He also had one positive feature–whoever did not see him eat kugel on Shabbat, or cake and whisky, never saw anything beautiful in his whole life. Thanks to the fact that he was always hungry, he was not a big drinker, just an eater.

He was very smart. He was able to recount stories. His clothes were not holiday style, and not particularly clean. But he knew how to do all kinds of work. Really well. His house had broken windows, many small rooms, and as mentioned, he had a wife Sheyva, and three sons and two daughters.

One son, Lipa, was killed by the petcherovtzes [petroviches?], may their names be erased forever. They chopped off three of his fingers. Imagine the father's pain. That's how it was, and that's how he lived, with great, great pain, and no happiness. His other son [Saull?] also became a shokhet. He was killed along with the entire family in Verkhivka by the murderous Nazis, may their names be cursed.

An honor to their shining memory.

Until here, Yisroel Shokhet Dukhovne.

Mendel Schichman was a Jew with a long beard as white as snow. He was not a loud person, rather quiet. He had a nice house with many rooms. He had an inn for some time.

My father and Shmul Gisse's [Felberg], the beadle, and some other Jews, did not really like him. I would hear gossip about him. Why? I do not know. They called him the vetzidkoscha [“the righteous one,” said ironically to someone who thinks he is always right]. Seems like he was a sort of “Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev” [Hasidic master and leader of the early 1880s]. He rarely mixed into shul issues.

[Page 29]

He used to study seferim [religious books]. He and his wife Etti Khaya never had children. She was a woman with a white face and a satin headscarf tucked behind her ears. She looked like the matriarchs Sarah, Rivka, Rachel, and Leah. She had a very soft face, filled with goodness. On Hoshana Rabbah [part of the Sukkos holiday, the day to ask God for forgiveness], we children would ask her for cake, and we would bless her, saying that by next year she should be blessed with a baby boy. For that, she gave us another piece of cake.

Do you know how old she was at that time? Seventy, if not more!

Until here, Mendel Etti Khaya's Schichman.

Editors' note: Nineteen-year-old Velvil Schichman arrived in New York on the SS Olympic on January 17, 1923 and was going to stay with his cousins Morris Kosnitsky and his wife Rachel née Laderman, also of Verkhivka. He was traveling with his cousins Toibie and Esther “Kushnitsky,” son daughter-in-law of Jankel Kushnitsky of Verkhivka, Podolia. This family is not mentioned by Boruch.

Moshe Sobol was a strong Jew, with a nice, princely brown beard. He was well-dressed, active, and strongly built. He had a manufacturing store, where he also sold dried fruit and leather. He was a smart man but neither a scholar nor a very religious person.

He was a little well off but very stingy, in no way allowing himself to spend money. People even wanted to kill or get rid of him, but it did not help. He was all for himself [what's mine is mine, and what's yours is yours]. There was nothing to do about this.

Moshe Sobel had a beautiful house with a garden, and at the time of the Verkhivka fairs, he would spread out his leather goods by our house, along with all the others who were selling merchandise. And he earned some money.

He used to write on his wedding invitations that he promised, without exaggeration, a dowry. Those who were going to America were jealous.

His wife was Tauba. They had two sons and a daughter. Moshe Sobel was a frequent visitor in our house. On Shabbat, they would give him only Revi'i [the fourth section of the Torah reading] because of his stinginess, and this bothered him.

Until here, Moshe Hershtike's Sobol.

Editors' note: Tauba is most likely the Toba Sobol killed at Verkhivka.

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Moshe “the redhead” Itzkovitch had a beard of a coppery bronze color, the same color as his face. He spoke with running words, with a ta-ra-ram, and with confusion, storm, and speed. He was a glazier and a cabinetmaker, a real professional, and also sold leather at the markets. Sometimes he would come to our house and put a pane into the window, and he would talk without end.

Despite all these jobs, he still had no livelihood. I think he was a stepbrother to Yekhiel and Yisroyl Polak. He had his own house, plain, not one “for the holidays” [not too fancy]. I do not remember his wife but he had two sons and a daughter.

From one of the sons, Essy, he had no nachas. I remember him like it was yesterday. If I would talk about him, then I could write an entire book about him. In the shul, he was noticed only because I always heard him as soloist, saying “Ki le'olam chasdo” [part of prayer “His loving kindness is endless”]. In fact, his entire existence was only because of God's kindness towards him. But it could have been worse.

Until here, Moshe the Redhead.

Mordekhay Yosse was a calm person with a well thought-out head, and focused. He did not speak a lot; he was quiet. He had a brown beard and was well-dressed. He had a thin figure, like an actor. He was a brother-in-law to Moshe Hershtike's Sobel. There was no great love between the brothers-in-law because they sold the same merchandise, except for the leather.

Mordekhay Yosse was a wealthy man according to those times, had a beautiful home, with a manufacturing business. From that he earned a lot of money, especially in the fairs where his materials were methodically and colorfully laid out,

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as if at a show, and I say this with certainty, he influenced me greatly so that I thought of setting up this type of manufacturing shop here in America, which is what I actually did. And to this day, the beautiful rich colors follow me.

He had a bit of influence in the shul, even though he was not such a generous donor of charity. He had a wife Hinde. She had a smart head, and she capably managed the work, both at home and in the shop. They had an only son, Hershel, who had a milky white face. He never wanted to eat, and actually rarely ate. He was stuffed with Torah from all sides, and it absolutely did not stick to him. But he did not remain an ignoramus, something stuck with him. After the Revolution, they moved to Bar.

Until here, Mordekhay Yosse.

Nakhman Yossi Shames was always good humored, almost always laughing. He was tall, with a curly beard. He was in service to Russia, in the Czar's national guard where he was a cavalry man.

He had four sons and a daughter, Fruma, and a very fine, quiet wife, the sister of Yankil Barak. They lived among Christians on the moor. They had a cow that gave a lot of milk; a garden behind the house, vegetable and fruit trees.

Nakhman Yossi was a barber, he cut the hair and shaved the beards of the Christians, and in truth, the Jews also merited from his work. He had a field of

[Page 32]

strawberries, corn, wheat, oats, and so on, which the children worked on. He was not a wealthy man with all this. He was very much noticed in the shul since he regularly was the one to pray at the podium. On the evening of Shabbat he would be the one to lead the minkha evening prayers. He was very easygoing with the arguments in shul. You could not become embarrassed because of him.

Until here, Nakhman Yossi Shames.

Editors' note: The last name is Shames or Shamis Twenty-eight-year-old Pollia “Shamis” and her seven-year-old daughter Sonia arrived in New York, on the SS Rijndman on May 13, 1922, to meet her husband in Cleveland, Ohio. She lists her contact in her home town of Verkhivka as “Nachmejasky” and her husband as David Shamis.

Nakhum Shakhers had a tufty wild beard that was a mess. He was tall and thin. And he was far from being a scholar. He lived on a cliff near the river in the small valley. His small house stood on chicken legs. When it rained heavily, it sank in, and he had to go onto the roof to save himself and his family. He was of the poorest of the poor, and had a wife and four sons. They worked with the strawberries in Barak Silen [?] in agriculture in the season time. This was their income. One son, Moshe, if he would have been in America, he would have been wealthier than Rockefeller, according to his skills in business.

But scream as much as you want in Verkhivka, and in shul, Nakhum was a fervent man of prayer. I don't remember him on Shabbat, for we rarely saw him there on Shabbat. For le'eil orach din [“to the God who prepares judgement”; recited on the High Holidays], he was the last one to cry out all his pain for the judgement. His fortune? Sad. This is a judgement? And justice? To be punished with difficulties and pain, without a shred of hope for something better?

In short, this was his life and the life of his family.

Until here, Nakhum Shakhers from the cliff.

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He was a short Jew, with a small beard in a distinct color. He lived on the cliff, where the bathhouse from town was also located.

On the holidays, he worked very hard to make the baths hot for the entire town, particularly the women's baths. But everyone would always complain to him. The water is not hot enough; we are not sweating enough; the brooms are worn out; the mechanics were weak; and so on.

His main livelihood came from being a shoemaker. He never made both boots or shoes even. One was always bigger or smaller than the other. They could be so tight that you saw your grandmother in your dreams! He specialized in patching up shoes. His wife had a side job as a server at weddings.

They had three children, two daughters and a son, Yankil. One daughter, Shifra, was beautiful. If she was in America, she would be selected as a first-class beauty. She was, it seems, a delightful child, worked very little, even though there was a lot to do there. She would go strolling along the road with young boys.

My cousin Dovid was her main ear [listener], also a handsome man. It almost became a shidduch.

They had a son-in-law, Dovid the musician, from the town of Lytnewiec.

Until here, Avraham the bather and shoemaker.

[Page 34]

As far as I can remember, Reb Velvele was small. He was frail, with a thin, gray beard. His face was white with visible veins. And his eyes? It would have been very appropriate for him to be Elijah the Prophet. He was a learned scholar but I do not know what he studied. If I am not mistaken, the six children he had supported him financially.

I remember that on Shabbat all his children would go down the cliff to see him [in Prymoshchanytsya] and there would also be some grandchildren there [Kornfelds and Dukhovnes], and he had to test all the grandchildren on the Torah readings of the week.

After a heavy rain, he would almost drown and have to climb onto the roof to save himself.

The children and grandchildren, and particularly his only daughter Sarke [Sura Kornfeld Dukhovne], would show him much respect. With his second wife [Nessye], with whom he had no children, he was called the “Old God.” But this is an issue for the historians.

I think he lived to be over 80, and maybe more. This is briefly what was his life in those times in Verkhivka.

Until here, Reb Velvele Kornfeld, may he rest in peace.

Editors' note: Velvil Kornfeld's first wife was Ester Beyla Tobachnik, who died in 1898 or 1899. Their children were Sura, known as Sarka, who was married to Leyb Dukhovne and who was the mother or Beryl, who at age 18 was murdered “by bandits”, Shmul (married firstly to Sura Goykhman then to niece Malka, who was the daughter of Sarka and Leyb Dukhovne), Shloyme (married to Taube and lived next door to the author), Leyb Izes, Iosil (the only one to emigrate to the United States, where he became Joseph), and Avrum Tsadik, who was the youngest child and is not mentioned by Boruch because he had moved much earlier with his wife and two daughters to Bessarabia. Avrum was attacked by Ukrainians and survived with a damaged skull, dying c. 1919. His wife Sura died in the Holocaust as did his daughter Kheyka. His other daughter, Sheyva, survived.

I remember him as a small size, thin, with red veins in the eyes. He was very strong, resembling his father Reb Velvil. He had a thin graying beard that was messy under his throat. You could say that he considered himself more or less as modern.

He was a teacher, knowledgeable, and had four children [with his wife, Sura Goykman]:

[Page 35]

Ester, Feyga, I don't know the third [Rivka], and a son Yitzkhak [Itsik]. Three children now live in New York.

Purim and Simchas Torah were very lively for him. He married a second time to Malke Surke's [Leyb and Sura Dukhovne's daughter] who was his niece. She had divorced her first husband Dovid Hersh Polotnik from Martynivka. Her son Moyshele was raised by the grandfather and grandmother [after Malke died of epilepsy]. After their passing, he came to America with his aunt Miriam. He and his family live in Florida today [Murray Pallen].

Shmul was in Ryzkanie [Ryshkany, Rişcani], Bessarabia, in his last days, until his demise at the hands of the Nazis.

Until here, Shmul Bobke's Kornfeld.

Editors' note: We don't know why he referred to Shmul Kornfeld as “Shmul Bobke's”. It may refer to him being like an “Abacus,” that is, highly intelligent, as he was a respected teacher. Shmul's youngest daughter indicated that her father was referred to as “Reb Shmul” and “Shmul Melamed,” Shmul the kheyder teacher. Shmul Kornfeld and his family actually left Verkhivka for Bessarabia, settling in Ryshkany in 1909, when the author was about 7 years old. He was killed in the Holocaust at about age 81. His eldest daughter Rivka, her husband Velvil Royznberg, and five of their six children were murdered as well. The oldest son, Shulem, was killed in battle.

They all lived in Prymoshchanytsya [?], except for Pinchas, and Fishel Isser, who had a house full of children. His wife [Khaya Sura] was all skin and bones, but this did not deter her from having a child each year. Isser used to say about her that no one should say that she is so thin, since she had enough fat inside of her. How did he survive? From strawberries, whisky, and so on.

Until here, Isser Khaya Sora's Carpenter.

Until here, Lieber.

Leyb had a beautiful wife, Khaya Sora, a great hostess. We were once there, in their home. She was from Zamikhiv[?]. They had many children and particularly beautiful daughters with burning black eyes, which attracted those in Verkhivka, and that is why I was there a few times and had great pleasure. Their livelihood was also strawberries and whisky. [p. 36] One time, a drunk Christian was there and he bit off half of Leyb's nose. Yisroel Shokhet [Dukhovne] said the prayer of thanks for at least having half his nose remain intact.

Until here, Leyb the carpenter.

Editors' note: We assume Boruch has grouped Fishel Isser, Lieber, and Leyb together because they were brothers, but we do not have corroborating evidence.

[The Polotniks] were three brothers: Shlomo [Shloyme], Meyer, and Gedaliah. They lived in Martynivka. [Boruch also states they lives Prziemesznice, which most likely is Prymoshchanytsya, about 7 miles away].

Gedaliah Polotnik was a strong man. He ran the mill and the river in Martynivka. He had a son, Dovid Hersh was tall and a personality. He came to Verkhivka to marry Malke, daughter of Leyb Shokhet and Sarke [née Kornfeld] Dukhovne. Together they had a son Moshe, who now lives in Florida with his family [and took the name Murray Pallen].

Hi brother Shloyme Polotnik also had children but I don't remember how many nor do I remember his wife. What was his livelihood? I think it came from strawberries and whisky. He had a large beard, and he was black as the sea. He did not get involved at shul, except for the special priestly blessings [birchat kohanim] on the holidays. All three brothers recited these prayers in our shul in Verkhivka.

The last brother was Meyer Polotnik. He was a “character” in the full sense of the word. He had a long, gray beard that was larger than him. I cannot recall if he had a wife and children. I also do not know what was his livelihood. You could have called him “Meyer the Small One.” He was a very proper person, also black as the sea. Because of that, they had the name tsharne, which means “black.” On the yortsayt days, he used to lead the prayers in shul. Once, he forgot what he was doing and began with the words of Shemona Esrei “God, please open my lips…” and then he recited the words carefully, as pearls. Don't ask what happened in shul that time, with laughter. I would ape him exactly, and the older boys would ask me to mimic him for them as well.

Until here, the Tsharna-Martzes.

Editors' note: “Martzes” seems to be just a rhyme word to go with “Tsharna.”

[Page 37]

Calling up our beloved brother Sholom Vaynshtayn who died in the First World War in Botum, in the year 1916 or 1917. He was tall and thin, with nice blond hair, and was able to write well. He lived with his wife Sura, and their young daughter Enya in Verkhivka, as a neighbor to Hersh Balbe's Shpil.

His house had beautiful rooms for those times. He had a fine grocery shop from which he made a nice living. But the war destroyed everything. With great pain and loss, Sholom left Verkhivka during the war for Batum, where he died. I hope to fulfill my dream of visiting his gravesite there. Enye, her children and his grandchildren, live in New York, and his wife Sura lives in Minneapolis.

Until here, our beloved brother Sholom, may he rest in peace.

[Sholom Rosen, husband of Kkaya Rivka,] I know very little about him. I think I met him in New York in the year 1924. I remember Khaya Rivka only a little more, from our Verkhivka, but I knew her very well in America. I saw her for years and years. She was a very good person, a fine wife, and a sister to Yisroyl Zelig [Polak].

They had five sons and a daughter, Kaydie [Katie]. This daughter, born in their old age, was born in America not Verkhivka. She was very beautiful. I know her very well. Khaya Rivka died a long time ago. Only three sons are left, and the daughter Katie, may they all live for many years.

[Page 38]

Yisrolik was not unlearned and he took good care of his health, from all aspects. He had a nicely combed beard. The Christians called him “tanke zhid” [“refueling Jew”]. He managed the mill and the river in partnership with Benchik Smotrich. He also had a small grocery store. He made a good living.

As far as I remember, he distanced himself in shul from arguments simply because he wanted to prevent himself from getting angry. He always had a yortseyt [date marking death of family member] on Simchas Torah [last day of Sukkos holiday] at night. He always led the prayers with great concentration and depth, as he recited the Hebrew like pearls of the phrase: “You know God, and know that God is the only God, there is no other…” His words were intoned as if recited on Mount Sinai, if not higher.

Yisrolik had a wife and two children. When she died, he remarried a young, beautiful woman, who was also a widow. I do not remember what happened to his three sons and one daughter during the time of the Revolution around 1920, or even a little later. He died of typhus. I remember him very well.

Until here, Yisroylik, the Little Podkomen.

Editors' note: We have been unable to determine what Boruch meant by “Podkomen.” Perhaps it refer to him living at the foot of cliff; in the profile of Benchik Smotrich, it seems to mean “the little rock.”

I still remember Nakhum Leyb from Verkhivka from before he left for America for financial reasons. He was a relative of ours and was at our home almost every day. He was tall, with a black beard. He served the Russians, but soon after that he departed for America. His wife Leyke [Sobolman, originally from Letychiv] stayed behind in Verkhivka with three sons and their daughter Khana who, sadly, is no longer with us.

[Page 39]

Leyke suffered greatly after Nakhum Leyb left. Her brother-in-law, Benchik, helped her with whatever he could do. At the time of the Revolution there was a typhus epidemic. All the children became sick. I remember like today how my father would finish eating his supper, take his cane in his hand, and go to sleep over at Layke's house to protect her and her children. He did this until the children were well. After all the children recovered, the family received visas from Nakhum Leyb for them all to emigrate to America. After they emigrated, they had another son named Frank, a child in their older age, a very talented individual.

Their new life already was very different from what they had left behind. They were far from rich, but they were together. The children started working, and they bought a large grocery shop from their relative Kive Monseyn. Then they made a good living, able to support themselves without worries. We lived in the same area, and our friendship remained constant.

Sometime later, Nakhum Leyb died. But he had seen many good things for his children and their livelihood in the future. Once again, Leyke remained with the children, and they took care of her with great respect and pleasure. Her sons Hershel, Archie, and Yankil were in Florida. She was a matriarch of which there are very few in America. Even of the older, golden generation, it is a real question if you will find in America such beautiful generations. She was goodness itself.

Until here, Nakhum Leyb, and Leyke Smotrich, in honor of their shining memory.

[Page 40]

Perish [a diminutive of her actual name, Perel] Berezovksi had a very tragic role in Verkhivka [although she was originally from Bar] where she lived with a few of her children. [One son] Voylke, lived in Verkhivka and was married to Edis Gisse's. [i.e., Edis Felberg, daughter of Shmul and Gisse Dukhovne Felberg]. His brothers [two of Perish's other sons] Isik, and the younger one Yisroyl, also lived in Verkhivka and were managing the [Kosarevat?] mill and river. One day, bandits came, and the two brothers along with Velvil Shpil [son of Hersh] and Beryl Sarke's [Beryl Dukhovne, son of Leyb “Shokhet” Dukhovne and Sura/Sarka Kornfeld], were all murdered. After this great tragedy, she and three of her remaining seven children Voylke, Simkha, and Batya, along with Voylke's wife Edis, departed for America to live with her other son Nakhum and daughter-in-law Etya, who were already in Philadelphia. She and most of the others eventually settled in New York, where Simkha and Batya still live with their families. Nakhum is in California with a second wife as Etya is no longer among the living.

Perish also left behind another son and daughter who lived in Bar. Her life, until the end, was sad and tragic. She is already dead for many years. [Editors' note: much of the family changed the name Berezovski to Berez; Voylke became William, his wife Edis became Edith. We do not know if her children who went to Bar survived the Holocaust.]

Until here, Perel Berezovski.

Benchik Smotrich was our relative [and the brother of Nakhum Leyb Smotrich]. He would come to us very often. He was a baal habayis [businessman, man of the household]. You could say, according to those times, that he was a wealthy man. He took care of the mill and the river in partnership with Yisrolik the little rock. He had a large house on the mountainside, with several rooms, with a manufacturing store and grocery shop. He also had a cow that provided a lot of milk. Their home was one of welcoming guests, they had a very nice income.

Reb Benchik wore a sheepskin coat, and a lambskin fur hat. He wore galoshes, and when there was deep mud he wore boots.

[Page 39]

In general, he always wore beautiful, clean clothes. He married his niece Henke. She was a good woman, compassionate. She helped strangers almost as if they were her relatives.

Benchik had two sisters, Khana Sura and Sheyva, who were at our house every day, and always ask when, oh when would we come visit at their house?

In shul, he would always sit on the eastern wall side, and had a reputation as the greatest charity donor in the shul. He was not interested in any disagreements but he had an opinion about who should be the gabbai.

They had three sons [Yankil, Yisroyl, and Avraham], and in the end, they all moved to Bar.

Benchik and Henke have not been alive for many years. Yankil, who was a greatly respected son, moved with his family to Israel. The two other sons remained in Russia. Yisroyl is no longer here, and no one knows about Avraham.

Until here, Bentchik Smotritch.

One fine day, it seems that a guest was sent from heaven to Verkhivka. No one knew where he came from, nor who he was. He made his place in the shul, behind the [building?]. That was both in the summer and winter. What did he do? Nothing. What did he eat? Almost nothing. Peels and a little boiling water.

No one took him as a guest, and he also did not want to go to anyone. He was of small build, thin, with a tangled beard. His clothing were rags, with cobwebs. His shoes the same. In shul they took care of him as an eye in the head [i.e., very carefully].

Shmul Gisse's [Felberg], the beadle, looked out for him, and tried to give him things. He would always ask him to eat something but without success.

Just as he came without begging, in the same way he disappeared without a goodbye. Where to? Maybe he really was Elijah the Prophet? Who knows! Or maybe a “lamedvovnik” [one of the hidden 36 especially great, hidden tzaddikim of each generation]?

Until here, Shimele or Shimshele the hidden nazir [ascetic].

[Page 42]

1. He was called Peyse. He was a huge man, as tall as an offspring of Gog and Magog. He was not shy of slapping. He was a teacher from Dordyk [Czechoslovakia?], from the “land” of Dordyk.

2. There was another teacher of Chumash and Rashi commentaries. He was also strong, and sparks flew from his slaps!
3. Mendel melamed [the teacher] taught the children Gemara and Tosefos [commentaries] with the children. He came from Snitkov. He was thin, with a yellow face, that looked as if wax had been poured on it, but he slapped without end, a Jew who was vengeful and who bore a grudge.
4. Froyke the shokhet [Dukhovne] also taught Gemara and Tanach [Prophets], and more. From his slaps you could also be put to sleep for a few weeks.
5. There were Russian schools: One was Ukrainian and the other was Russian.
6. A select group of youths were devoted in performing in the theater in Yiddish and Ukrainian. They often rode out of the province into the towns: Popovychi, Snitkov, Kukhilowyc [?], and often went out in the nearby places to look for new pieces, including the large city of Kiev.

In brief, this was our “culture” life in Verkhivka, “on the edge of the knife,” until the year 1922, when I left to America. I want to add that those from Verkhivka who settled here in America founded a landsmannschaft [association for compatriots, offering social and philanthropic aid], which is something to be proud of. They generously support Israel with tens of thousands of dollars. There is also a standing fund to help the needy landsleit here in America. The main foreign country where we send packages is to the Soviet Union where we have been

[Page 43]

sending for the entire existence of the Verkhivka landsmannschaft. And so on…

It is a great honor for all those founders of this institution, and a memorial to those who, with great sorrow and pain, are no longer with us.

Honor to their enlightened memorial!

A few remarks in summary of my memoirs:

I tried to describe the personality types of our town as best as my memory allowed. Did I present it well? My landsleytn will share that with me. The main thing is that my intentions were good and earnest. I tried not to overstep. I wrote as I remembered them and as I understood them. Not being a professional writer, hopefully I will be forgiven for possible errors, considering that these are events of about 50 years ago that I am writing about today.

May these memories serve as a Yizkor Book for those who are no longer here, and in majority, for those who were killed by Hitler's murderers, may their names be erased forever.

Our deceased ones! With all their merits and faults, may we never forget them!

“Hane'ehovim vehane'imim bechayeihem u'vemosom” [“The lovely and the pleasant in their lives, even in their death…”] will always be remembered with love and with significance.

Yisgadel veyiskadash, may their memories be blessed.

As an eternal memory, and honor to their light.

Boruch Vaynshteyn [Bernard Weinstein]
Brooklyn, NY, USA

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