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Information on Wyszogrod from the early 10^th century can be found in general texts on Mazowieckie Province (Masovian Voivodeship) in various encyclopedias.

Sources about Jews in Wyszogrod begin in the 15^th century (decades before the expulsion from Spain) when the Polish princes János the First and Ziemowit the IV authorized us to settled there to revive the region after the Polish, Lithuania and Teutonic wars.

Court records from 1422 document the lease of a vineyard owned by Prince János the First to the Jewish man Mai for an annual fee of four Groschen. Another document details the privileges bestowed by Prince Ziemowit the IV: to work in trade and labor; to build synagogues, bath houses, slaughterhouses; and to open schools.

Wyszogrod tax books from 1423 include names of eight tax-paying Jewish families. By 1928 three additional families appear in the tax books out of approximately 100 Jewish residents. In the 10 years between 1479-1489 the court books recorded 14 families but because not everyone worked in jobs requiring court registration, it is estimated that by the end of the 15^th century roughly 200 Jews lived in Wyszogrod.

In 1483, Jews were temporarily deported form Warsaw. Ten years later however, around 1493, the two largest communities were deported, and no records are found of Jewish existence in the two cities until 1640. Approximately 150 years remain a blank page.

Court documents show that many of the Wyszogrod Jews made their living from business related to money – loans and banking. The largest banker in the region was the Jew Mai whose annual turnover reached 200,000 – 250,000 Groschen. His son-in-law Asman (or Yusman) along with his two sons Shlomo and Yosef were also well known although their turnover was smaller.

Naturally, money issues required court intervention which is a source of information from which we can learn about the judicial environment of the Wyszogrod Jews. The judicial system throughout the Mazovia region was not identical. Each place had rights that they succeeded in getting from their local prince. Deliberations with Christians were based either on the Kalish Privileges of 1382 – German laws granted to a group of cities including Wyszogrod. Other deliberations were based on 15^th century laws that the judges approved.

A documented case from 1479 involved an oath written on a chain wrapped on the synagogue gate. The court ruled that the oath was fulfilled “according to their laws and traditions”. In another case it was written that an oath was given with a hand on a bible as dictated by the conventions of the Jews of the Crown. In 1487 a court of Polish noblemen landowners ruled in the case of the Jew Mai from Wyszogrod and his wife Glakchen (or Gikchen) on the division of their possessions. Another court record involving Wyszogrod Jews from 1600 invovled a man, Yakov, who purchased stolen sacred vessels from the woman who took them from a house in the nearby town Zakroczym. The defender was the community leader Felix Berman from Plock, the verdict is unknown.

Another vague source teaches us about the use of Torah sanctions in community life. Such as the case of the rabbi (or doctor) who did or did not accept a pledge given by the moneylender Avraham who was tied to a splint.

In many cases involving accused who were Jewish, the court often relied on “our rules”, “Jewish law”, “Talmudic Law”, or “Jewish Privileges” despite the contradictions between the various laws and the time in which they were passed. A 1469 decree by Prince Konrad for the Jews of Warsaw provided legal options for Jews. It is documented that Rabbi Kimech (Kamchi) the Head Rabbi of the town of Leczyca was considered the highest Jewish legal authority in Masovia and that all the Jewish communities turned to him with their questions.

In 1753 the governor of Jaroslaw, L.S Gronowski, ordered the crown community leader Avraham Ben Haim to delegate local loyal honest rabbis who are expert on ancient Jewish law to arbitrate a case between Rabbi Shmuel Ben Israel from Plock and Rabbi Meir Ben Izik from Wyszogrod.

Rephael Mahler, on page 21 of the publication “Jews in Poland in the light of numbers” (approx. 1764) [originally in Yiddish: יידן אין אמאליקן פוילן אין ליכט פון ציפערן] describes the special clothing worn in Wyszogrod and Ciechanow followed by number tables: Table 41 – 156 heads of families among them 1 renter, 2 donors, 1 hat maker, 2 shmucklers, 1 jeweler, 1 doctor, 1 shamash, and 8 beggars. Table 64 – Living situations include 684 people in 54 houses (53 Jewish houses, 1 district governor), 52 families in 52 privately owned houses, 103 chamberlains.

A.N. Frank wrote in 1921: “In the year 1808 throughout the Plock Department some of the houses were sold by license, but 373 houses were sold without licenses, 12 of them in Wyszogrod.

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Document No. 1113 from the Royal Polish Museum describes a conference in Warsaw attended by representatives of all three states for the purpose of electing 10 Jewish delegates from Greater Poland, as well as Jewish delegates from Lesser Poland and Lithuania who will be introduced to the king and princes in the royal palace and who will receive gratitude and appreciation for all the Jews in these countries. Among the chosen from Masovia was the Rabbinic Governor Henich Cat”z [Cohen Tsedek] from Wyszogrod.

We write our words knowing full well that information sources do not exist. There are also large time gaps of 100-150 years in external reports. Our community records are lost along with the rest of the community assets and community Jews. Ledgers of our ancient and new graveyards would have told us more about the Jews of the town than foreign sources, but … we are orphaned of everything. There is conflicting information even about the magnificent great synagogue building that we saw in its grandeur. Some say it was built in 1767, and some think it was completed in 1798, but we have no source to confirm or refute one date or another.

In 1765 there were 980 Jews in the Wyszogrod community.

In 1856 there were 2956 Jews in the Wyszogrod community.

In 1864 there were 2997 Jews in the Wyszogrod community.

In 1894 there were 3034 Jews in the Wyszogrod community.

These numbers represent 75% of the general population of Wyszogrod. The growth of the Jewish population during those years was probably due to the financial bloom then. In much the same way, the population did not grow or flourish in our times due to difficult financial conditions.

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