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In 1929, the Autonomous Israelite Community of Bilke, a small town in the Carpathian Mountains of the former Austro–Hungarian Empire, elected its Chief Rabbi. He was Naftali Tzvi Weisz, the scion of the famed Spinker Rabbi, Eisik Weisz, who had his court and yeshiva in Munkacz.

In the autumn of 1929, the young rabbi assumed his post with great ceremonial honors. A special chartered bus was to bring the rabbi and his entourage, including his venerable father and a host of yeshiva bachurim (students).

My parents and grandparents told me stories of the wonders performed by the Grand Rabbi of Spinka, one who commanded respect and admiration from his followers. His presence alone gave those who saw him a feeling of awe.

The Spinka rabbinic dynasty has a Hassidic following numbering in the hundreds of thousands throughout Central Europe. Many Hassidim frequented the Grand Rabbi's court in order to participate in prayers and meals during the holidays and special Sabbaths.

The entire Jewish population in our town and the surrounding villages anticipated that day of the rabbi's arrival with excitement and reverence. It was a great day in the history of our area. All students of the cheder (Hebrew School) prepared to walk two kilometers to the outskirts of the

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town to greet the honored guests upon their arrival. I was among a class of nine year old boys to trod the crushed stone main road to meet the rabbi who journeyed from his hometown to assume his new post.

The students walked to the end of town with ribbons in hand which they carried like banners. The one exception was a simple flag that my father had prepared for me with large Hebrew letters spelling “YECHI”, meaning “LIVE”.

The long procession of students was followed by some elders of our community riding in two horse–drawn carriages. We were told that in these carriages our new rabbi with his family would ride to the main synagogue. We were curious children, wanting to find out how the rabbi looked and to shake hands and say “Shalom Aleichem” to him. Our teacher had instructed us that it was customary to kiss the rabbi's hand when we greeted him.

As we climbed the road to the top of the hill at the edge of town, we saw an approaching bus on the horizon. We rested at the sides of the road, waiting for the bus to halt in our midst. Soon we heard sounds of singing coming from the people in the bus, and we had our first glimpse of the bearded faces at the windows. The Hebrew son of Psalms echoed, “In joy they go forth and in peace they arrive”. When the bus stopped, the door opened and the first to step out was the elder Grand Rabbi of Spinka, wearing a shiny silk caftan and a spodik (sable fur hat) reserved for Hassidic dignitaries.

We all stood in awe and attention to see the face of the venerable spiritual giant. The elders of our community surged toward the Spinker Rabbi for a “Shalom Aleichem” handshake and an opportunity to kiss the rabbi's hand– in homage to a Hassidic dynasty. Our new rabbi respectfully followed his father, patriarch of Spinka. They were accompanied by yeshiva disciples who broke into song and shouts of joy.

One yeshiva student chanted in Hebrew, “Long live our

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master “teacher–rabbi”, and all replied “Yechi”, Hebrew for “live”. These ecstatic chants were repeated continuously and the young cheder students quickly learned to respond, “Yechi! Yechi! Yechi!”

Hearing these chants of “Yechi”, I realized that this same word was written on my flag, in large red Hebrew letters. Instantly, I lifted my flag high, showing off my visual reinforcement of the word “Yechi!” I became a celebrity in the eyes of my cheder classmates who were excited to have in their group the only flag carrying a message for the event.

I rose to the occasion and used the flag in the same manner an orchestra conductor lifts a baton, each time the chants of “Yechi!” were repeated. I beamed with pride when my father watched me waving the flag he had made for me. It was a marvelous experience to be a part of that welcoming scene which made lasting impressions on all who participated. Throughout my life, even during the Holocaust years. I often had vivid flashbacks of the memory of that special day. The meaning of the word “Yechi!” became a slogan, a prayer, and a hope for life.

The arrival of the new rabbi marked a turning point in the history of our small town. The town of Bilke became known as the seat of the new Bilker rabbi, who had established his reputation as a yeshiva leader in his father's court. During the yeshiva's first year, dozens of students from many outlying villages in Carpathia and beyond flocked to join the Bilker Rabbi's yeshiva.

The Jewish inhabitants of Bilke welcomed the prospects of a new yeshiva in their midst. Every household was canvassed personally by yeshiva students who wished to secure their daily meals. Many hard working families considered it a Mitzvah, duty, and privilege to share their meals with the worthy yeshiva students; thus, every student was provided with free meals.

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This program was called “teg” (Yiddish for days). Many families gave willingly and often prepared better meals on the days the yeshiva bachur had meals in their homes. In our own home, we offered meals for two yeshiva students one day each week.

I was young at the time but I had already noticed that we ate better on a “yeshiva day”. I looked forward to the time after my bar mitzvah when I would journey to a distant yeshiva. Not only was I imbued with a desire to study and experience yeshiva life, I also hoped that I would be treated to better meals.

In accordance with the accepted norm of every yeshiva in Eastern Europe, the rabbi would lecture and teach the entire study body, free of charge. Small study groups learned their Talmud assignments daily from 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m..

Many students received “Smicha” (ordination) and eventually served as spiritual leaders in various communities. The yeshiva gained fame for its scholarship and it soon began attracting students from the neighboring countries of Romania, Hungary, and Poland. Their presence in our town created a positive influence on the younger generations, many of whom later joined the yeshiva youths who were seeking the fulfillment of Torah.

The events of the rabbi's arrival were awe inspiring to me. When I grew up to be a yeshiva student, I chose all Spinka affiliated Yeshivot. First, the Yeshiva of Bilker Rav, then “Yeshivat Meharam” in Humenne, Slovakia. Lastly, the “Spinka Yeshiva” in Sellish, of the venerable Grand Rabbi of Spinka, O.B.M..

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In our town of Bilke, deep in the Carpathian Mountains, preparations for Passover began during the height of the winter. The women had the first task. On market day, which took place on a Tuesday, the women searched out the very best quality ducks and geese. They were brought home, and for the next few weeks, these birds were relentlessly fattened. They were actually forced to eat grains far beyond what they would have eaten naturally.

This was not, in truth, a practice in keeping with the Jewish law, which forbids causing any living creature to suffer. In Jewish law it is called “Tz'ar Ba'alai Chayim”. This stuffing called “shtopen” in Yiddish and was never practiced by mother. She was a very kind person and very observant. However, the majority of families in Bilke did it.

When the birds were good and fat, the women took them down to one of the six streams that crossed our town. There they broke through the ice of the frozen stream and washed the feathers of the birds so that they would be good and clean. Then they took the birds to Rabbi yeshoshua, the “Shochet” or the ritual slaughterer. He slaughtered the ducks and geese according to Jewish law. Taking the esophagus of the birds, he would blow it up like a balloon. If there was any scar, or any other evidence of sickness on the tissue the bird would have to be disregarded because it was “Treifa”. If the duck or goose was “Kosher”, Rabbi Yeshoshua would cut off one leg and keep it separately. This custom was practiced only during the months

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of “Tevet” and “Shevat” corresponding to December and January in the general calendar, depending on the Jewish calendar. This custom was passed down from generation to generation, that one leg belonged to the “Shochet” during those months.

When Rabbi Yehoshua accumulated a number of these legs, he would distribute them to the poor people of Bilke. This gift kept many of them alive. An especially delicious and nourishing dish they would make is called “Pe–cheh”. This was a kind of gelatin made from the feet in which the meat was bathed and also preserved.

The ample fat from these birds was most important. It was rendered off and sealed into glass jars, not to be used until Passover. As the winters in the Carpathian Mountains were very cold, there was no problem of spoilage. As for the feathers, these were used for pillows and quilts. The meat itself, of course, was eaten right away.

About the same time the first steps were also taken to prepare the wheat for grinding into flour for the “Matzot”. On a winter's night, neighbors would gather in one home or another around a long absolutely clean table covered with a tablecloth. There could be no question or even a single particle of “chametz” or leavened bread being hidden on its surface. Wheat would be spilled over the table. With care the neighbors would pick through the kernels of the wheat, removing the impurities, chaff, stones, something or a bug. Even a split kernel was cast aside. In this way they ended up with the very best wheat available. There were some families in Bilke who bought regular wheat for Passover. But the more observant like our family bought only special wheat which had been literally watched over from the moment it was cut in the field until the time it came out of the oven. Above all, this wheat had to stay dry so that it would not accidentally start to rise or leaven. The “Matzah” baked from this special wheat is known as “Matzah Shmurah” which means “Guarded Matzah”. Among those who bought only this kind of wheat where my family and of course the family of Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Weiss and a

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few others.

Before the “Matzot” cold be made for the Jewish community of Bilke, it had to be decided who will get the concession to produce the “Matzot”. This was a decision which was put to a vote by the elders of the community. They gathered for that purpose at least two months before Passover in the side chapel of the Great Synagogue. The advantage of this chapel was that it was heated, unlike the synagogue itself, by a wood–burning stove. This chapel served in winter time for worship, study and also for community meetings and affairs.

In Bilke we had about six different families who competed for the concession to bake the “Matzot” for the community. In Hebrew they are called “Ba–a'ley Bat–eem” – or members. They were Reb Meshulam Friedman, Reb David Aharon Reissman, Reb Noach Mechlovitch and others. These men would submit by sealed bid the price per kilo at which they would deliver the “Matzot” to the community. A low price was essential because so many of the people were poor. Yet the eating of Matzah, which symbolized the bread of affliction and the journey from Egypt, was a “Mitzvah”, a good deed, which had to be made affordable to the poorest of the poor.

The sealed envelopes were opened by the “Rosh Ha–ka–hal”, the president of the community Chaim Isaac Rosenbaum. All the bids were read aloud. That year the lowest bid had been submitted by Reb Meshulam Friedman. In addition to the low price, this was a man who had other good qualities and points in his favor. He was a “melamed”, a teacher in one of the better “Chadarim” – the Hebrew schools. He also was a religious man, a “Yareh Sha–ma–yim” one who “feared heaven”.

With six streams flowing down from the mountains and through Bilke, there was no lack of water–powered mills. Each year, the Jews of our town negotiated the rent of these mills, a month or two before Passover, so that the holiday wheat could be ground into flour. Since most of these mills

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belonged to gentiles, the negotiating could be delicate. Some of the owners did not want to give up their mills for such a short period of time as was required to grind the flour. Others, although they never explicitly said it, didn't want to rent to Jews.

That year, the community did rent a mill. It was in the outlying suburb of Kolbasovo. Early one morning, a small group of Bilker Jews set out in a wagon to go to “kasher” make the mill fit for Passover use. There was Reb David Aharon Reissman, the “shamash” – sexton, Reb Meshulum Friedman, the “melamed” – teacher, who had the concession to bake the “matzot”and the sons of the “Shochet” – Chaim Leib and Shlomo Yeshayah and also after crying and begging, the youngest son Mosheleh was finally allowed to join. For him it was an occasion which he never forgot.

All the machinery of the mill and especially the grinding stone wheel itself were thoroughly scrubbed so as to be utterly free of any taint of “Chametz” – leavened bread. This meant not only sweeping and scrubbing every surface but also burning the surface of the grinding stones with hot coal. That is how thoroughly it had to be done.

When the process of “Kashering” was complete, the Rabbi of our community, Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Weiss, was called to inspect the premises if everything is according to “Halacha” – Jewish Code of Law. Once he gave his okay the grinding of the Passover flour commenced. The first wheat to be ground was the wheat for “Matzah Shmurah”. The reason for it was because if the regular wheat had been ground first it would obviously bring down the “Matzah Shmurah” to the level of the regular “Matzah” through contact and contamination. So the purest was the first ground.

This process of preparing the mill took all day and into the night. It was very late when our wagon finally returned home. Little Moshele was bragging to the other boys of Bilke, how he alone had been allowed to

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take part in the important “Mitzvah” of that day.

One of the nice things about Reb Meshulum Friedman's winning the concession to bake the “Matzot” was that he had to dismiss his school a few days earlier than usual so that he could commence the preparations for the baking of the “Matzot”. We students were full of joy that the “Cheder” school was ending earlier. Moshele was in the habit of wandering around the building where the community oven was located. In the community building three activities were going on. The “Bait Hashchita” – the slaughterhouse, the community oven, and a “Cheder” – Hebrew school. Moshele like to observe how the “Matzot” were baked and so on. Sometimes he was even given a little piece of “Matzah” to nibble. He was also allowed, from time to time, to pierce the holes in the rolled out dough which kept the “Matzah” from rising.

The oven, which served all year round, for cooking the “Chulent”, by the way was “koshered” as thoroughly as the mill had been. Besides being swept clean all over and around the rooms, the oven was fired up a full twenty–four hours to make sure all the “Chametz” – leavened bread was burnt out.

After a while, Moshele got up his courage and went up to Reb Meshulum his teacher, who had the concession to bake the “Matzot”, and said, “Rabbi, I have a request, maybe you could hire me to make holes in the “Matzot”; here you can see I did it a few times already.” To Moshele's surprise he said yes.

The process of producing the “Matzot” started immediately after Purim. Only pious women were chosen to roll out the dough. Any young woman who was not, from a moral point of view impeccable, was passed over. This was a decision which Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Weiss himself made on each woman who applied for work. The kneading of the dough was hard work and it was done by the men. No juice, no slat or any other

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material was added to the flour. This was to fulfill the commandment in the Bible “seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction: for thou camest out of the land of Egypt in haste (Deut. 16:3).

The water for making the “Matza” dough had to be drawn from spring water the night before because of the possibility for the water to become “Chametz”. It says in the Talmud tractate “Pesachim 94” in daytime wells are cold and warm at night”. This water which is drawn before evening is called “Mayim Shelanu” – water which has stayed the night in a cistern. As a double precaution, when this water was poured into the barrel, it was strained to be sure that no “Chametz” got into the water.

There was a “Mashgiach” – a supervisor who watched over the women as they rolled out the dough. He hurried them up because after eighteen minutes from the moment the dough was ready to roll and to put into the oven, the dough becomes “Chametz”. It happens very fast. Once the dough was brought to the table where it was pierced, it was folded over a very long stick and brought to the oven.

The man actually in charge of the oven was Reb David Aharon Reissman. It was the job of a young lad to bring to Reb David Aharon the unbaked “Matzah” on a paddle at the end of a very long narrow rolling pin. The “Matzot” would be laid across the paddle side by side. Reb David Aharon would then thrust this paddle deep into the hot oven wiggling and rolling it so that the individual “Matzot” would come off and lie in an orderly row. This took quite some skill. But he had done it before for years and he knew what he was doing.

The baking lasted no more than two minutes; maybe even less. The oven was very hot and the “Matzot” very thin so that was all the time it took. Then Reb David Aharon used a wooden spatula, also with a long handle, to slide out the “Matzot”. Each family brought its own flour, which they ground in the “Kashered” mill, to the community oven and

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paid Reb Meshulum Friedman for the baking. The family to whom a certain batch belonged would hold out a large basket and in it the hot baked “Matzot” would go and then took them home. This was a procedure by which the Jews of Bilke prepared the “Matzot” for Passover.

In the house of the Shochet's family there was a big commotion before Passover. The entire house was painted. From each room, all the furniture was removed and the house was cleaned thoroughly, and the entire house was in every way renewed. From the 13th day of Nissan, one day before Passover began, nobody would go into the house without first removing their shoes. That's how strictly things were done. It was Miriam, one of the five daughters of the “Shochet” who was in charge of preparing the house for “Pesach”. She devoted herself to this task, not only putting the house in order before the Passover but also before each Shabbat and other holidays. She did it not only with attention to tiny details, but also with enthusiasm.

Two days before “Pesach” we took down from the attic the special “Pesachdikeh” dishes. These were well covered and locked in a trunk so that G–d forbid no “Chametz” should sneak in. From the oldest to the youngest, the whole family stood in a line beneath the ladder leading to the attic door, as item by item, the Passover plates, pots and other utensils were passed down. Each member of the family had some dish or other that was personally favored. In the case of Moshele, it was the salt water dish, made from crystal. Each year when this bowl was handed down from the attic, he was so happy with it. It was as if he had found a treasure all over again.

The Passover dishes were washed and dried and put on the table as if on exhibition, so that everyone cold see these beautiful dishes.

In the house of the “Shochet” there were two ovens – one for cooking meat and one for dairy. Mrs. Pearl Doft, the wife of the “Shochet” allowed no crossovers, G–d forbid that a dairy dish should be put on the meat

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oven, or vice versa. Before “Pesach” Mrs. Pearl Doft kept the ovens going for twenty four hours, just as the “Matzah” oven in the communal building, in order to make it absolutely “Kosher” for “Passover”. Such kinds of cleaning, nobody saw in any house in Bilke. If even one granule of “Chametz” had been left after cleaning of the ovens, it was surely burned away by this long period of firing.

Also the tables were washed and scrubbed. Then, to protect them, a thin, tin cover was put over them which was stored in the attic from year to year. Although the home of the “Shochet” was always very clean year round, at “Pesach” time there was a special brightness, a special whiteness.

On Passover Eve, Reb Yehoshua came home from “Shul” and performed “Bedikat Chametz” – the search for the leavened bread. This meant that he went around the house checking to see if any “Chametz” had accidentally been left. In order that one does not pronounce a blessing in vain, someone in the family placed small crumbs here and there. With a candle, a feather and a wooden spoon, he recited the blessing “Al Biur Chametz” – meaning that we were commanded to clear out the “Chametz” from the house.

All the “Chametz” that had been collected was wrapped in a cloth and put away until morning. Then before ten a.m. (this was a very strict limit of time), Reb Yehoshua and his sons went out in the yard and made a fire. Into the flames they tossed the wooden spoon, the feather and the cloth with the crumbs. As it burned, they recited the formula of “Kol Chamira”. It is a vow that any “Chametz” still in the house that had somehow had escaped notice, should now be declared not to exist. It is a kind of legal declaration similar to selling the “Chametz” to a non–Jew.

In the afternoon on “Erev Pesach” – Passover Eve, a group of men, the elite of the community, gathered at the communal oven. They included the Rabbi of Bilke, Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Weiss, Reb Yehoshua and his six

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sons, Reb Laybush the Dayan and his sons, Reb Yaacov Weingarten, who was also a “shochet” but was not practicing, with his sons, Reb David Aharon Reissman and his sons, Reb Meshulum Friedman and his sons, Reb Naftali Schwimmer and his sons, and other important members of the community. There were there to bake the “Matzot Mitzvah”. At this time, only men did the entire work, the rolling of the dough, the perforation of it, so that it would not rise, and the cutting. As they worked they were singing “Hallel” – the songs of praise to G–d from the Passover service. In this way the men themselves have had the experience of baking the Passover “Matzah” which is a great “mitzvah”. Of course, Reb Yehoshua and his six sons, who had lovely voices, were singing most of the time, and the whole atmosphere was very beautiful and very uplifting. When the baking was done each family rushed home with the “Mitzvah Matzot” that he had baked.

Reb Yeshoshua Doft did not forget to send some of these “Mitzvah Matzoth” to some “Baalei Batim”, the important members in the community. Moshele and his older brother Yoseleh, who was two and a half years older, would bring packages of “Mitzvah Matzoth” to these “Baalei Batim”. Moshele especially like to make these deliveries because he would get a tip from the recipients of these packages.

In the meantime, the women of the Doft family were at home preparing the Passover Table. All the fine dishes were there and polished candlesticks with special large candles – so they would last throughout the “Seder”, the red sweet wine for the “Arba Kosoth” – four cups, the “Ka–rah” the Seder plate, and “Kos Eliyahu” – the cup of Elijah the Prophet. There was also a cup for each member of the family, as well as salt water and “Mitzvah Matzoth”. At the head of the table a couch was placed with pillows. This was to enact on the part of the leader of the “Seder”, the “Mitzvah” of “ha–sa–vah” reclining. It is to symbolize that we are free people.

When the sun set into the trees, Mrs. Pearl Doft lit the candles. She wore a beautiful white dress with a kerchief on her head that always

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matched her dress. She looked like a real Queen. She did not cover her eyes with her hands before she made the blessings – for on a holiday you are not required to cover your eyes, only on Friday night. Her lips moved in a silent prayer. When she completed reciting “Lehadlik Ner Shel Yom Tom” and “Shechecheyanu”, she said “Good Yom Tov” – a happy holiday.

Reb Yehoshua put on his silk garment always made new for “Pesach” by Naftali Schwimmer the tailor. He put on his “Shtraimel” – his fur hat also special for the holiday. His six sons were also specially dressed, though only some had new clothes. Then the men went to the great synagogue which was rapidly beginning to fill up. The children of Bilke, meanwhile were roaming around comparing their new holiday clothes. Moshele was proud of his new shoes for “Pesach”.

At the moment of sunset, the congregation prayed “Micha” – the afternoon prayer. Then Reb Yehoshua, who was the Cantor as well as the “Shochet” of the community, approached the pulpit with his six sons. There in his loud sweet voice he sang firth the “Barchu” using a special ornate melody that is designated for the three festivals in the Jewish calendar. Reb Yehoshua and his six sons were a choir known not only in Bilke but in the surrounding towns. Since this was “Lail Shimurim” – a night when the guardians of Israel watch over the Jewish people, as well as a night when a Seder had yet to take place, lasting into the wee hours of the night, Reb Yehoshua actually finished the service with a bit of extra speed. As soon as the “Mar–ariv” evening service was over, the synagogue quickly emptied out as each one rushed off to his home to start the Seder. Burning candles were seen from all the Jewish homes, which created a spiritual atmosphere.

As the men entered the house, they sand “Chag Sameach” a joyous holiday; the women answered with the same greeting. Reb Yehoshua put on a white robe that symbolized freedom and sat down on the couch at the head of the table. Mrs. Pearl sat on his right, dressed in white; they looked like a king and queen. In fact, on Passover night they are called

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“Melech” and “Malkah”. Their faces were shining as they looked with joy at their clean house, their beautiful table and their special family.

Reb Yehoshua now turned to those seated around the table. “Pesach” is a holiday he said “that unites our people, wherever they may be, now and throughout the generations. The cup of Elijah symbolizes the announcer of redemption and the hope of our people. The melodies we sing have likewise been passed on to us from previous generations. The symbols of the Passover table and the stories told in the “Haggadah” emphasize this continuity of our people. The suffering we have undergone throughout the generations has strengthened our resolve so that even as enemies rise up against us anew, G–d saves us from them.” Then Reb Yehoshua said Moshes, since you are the youngest in the family, now you begin with “Kadesh”. This is a listing of the ten parts of the “Seder”, a sort of index of the “Seder” ritual. Moshele sang “Kadesh”, then he explained that it means that one fills the first cup of wine and a blessing is recited over it. Chaim Leib, the oldest son in the family then filled up all the cups. Reb Yehoshua stood up and all in the family also rose. He sang the “Kiddush” over the wine according to the Passover melody. “G–d chose us over all other peoples”. He said, “to celebrate this holiday with joy – a holiday of the “Matzoth”, a holiday of freedom.” After Reb Yehoshua had recited the “Kiddush”, each son also recited the “Kiddush” one after the other.

Then Moshele announced the next part of the Seder “Urchatz” – washing of the hands. All the men went to a bowl and washed their hands. Moshele went on saying the order of the “Seder”. “Yachatz”, Reb Yehoshua took the middle “Matzah”, symbolizing the tribe of “Levy” and broke it in half. The larger half, he put into a cloth and hid it away for the “Afikoman” (until it is found at the end of the “seder” the service cannot be concluded. It is the children who search for the “Afikoman” – the hidden “Matzah”, and a prize is awarded to the one who finds it. From this “Afikoman Matzah” a piece is given out to each person at the table).

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Then they all recited together the “Motzi” and also the blessing “Al Achilat Matzah” – meaning that we were commanded to eat the “Matzah”. “Magid Reb Yehoshua” lifted up the “Matzot” and he said, “This is the poor bread of affliction…” and he continued on reading in the “Haggadah” as the entire family broke out in singing a sad melody. It was a melody that hovered all over Bilke in the night air from all the Jewish homes as the gentiles of the town slept their peaceful sleep.

Reb Yehoshua now turned to his youngest son Moshele with great love and said to him, “My son, ask the four questions”. With a sweet voice and a twisting melody, he did so in the Yiddish language. “My dear father”, he began, I want to ask you four questions. The first one is why is it that on all other nights we eat either “Chametz” or “Matzah” but tonight we eat only “Matzah?” Then he asked the second questions, and so on down through the four questions. Then he said, “I have asked the questions. Please, father, give us the answers.”

Reb Yehoshua answered “Avadim Hayinu Lefaroh B'Mitzrayim” – “We were slave to Pharaoh in Egypt…” and he continued to read that paragraph which explains why we were celebrating Passover. Each one at the “Seder” table read to themselves silently. From time to time, Reb Yehoshua explained interesting passages that sweetened the entire evening. He also mixed in stories and sayings that tell of wonderful things that happened to the Jewish people. The important points he emphasized by standing up which added special feelings. The melodies and stories that were heard at the Passover Sedarim had all be passed down from one generation to the next. That's how Reb Yehoshua learned from his father and how his father learned it from his father. Who knows? Perhaps these melodies go back to the “Beit Hamikdash” – the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

Each one of the men at the table sang certain sections as a solo. They embroidered the melody especially when they wanted to emphasize a particular passage. “Chaim Leib”, the oldest son of the family, liked very

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much to emphasize this passage, “If G–d would not have given us the Torah, and if he had not brought us into the land of Israel “Dayenu” – it would have been enough”.

And Shmuel Ztvi, the second son in line, called out “And in each generation, each person has to see himself as if he was the one who came out from Egypt.”

“Marror” Moshele announced, and they passed around two different types of “Marror” or bitter herbs. One type was larger pieces and the other was ground. The women and youngsters only ate that which was ground a little bit milder. The men ate both. After quite a long time, Moshele finally announced “Shulchan Orech” meaning set the table for the meal!

When the women heard the signal, they began to serve all the courses. At this moment a very relaxed atmosphere existed in the house. With great satisfaction the women listened to the praises and compliments they received from the men with each new dish that they presented. When the meal was at last finished, Moshele announced “Tzafun” meaning that the “Afikoman” the hidden “Matzah” should be presented and each person should eat a piece from it, a “Hzayit” at least the size of an olive. Then Reb Yehoshua turned around to look for the “Afikoman”, which he hid. He suspected that Moshele, who was sitting on his left probably took it. Reb Yehoshua turned to Moshele and said to him, “Okay, what should I give you to get back the “Afikoman?” Moshele thought about this for a moment and then said, “For Passover you bought me new shoes. For Shavuot which is coming in seven weeks I want you to buy me a new suit.” “Let it be so”, said Reb Yehoshua. Moshele brought forth the “Afikoman” from the place where he hid it. Only then was the family able to continue with the “Seder” ritual as it is supposed to be.

When the Doft family reached the paragraph “Shfoch Cha–mat–cha” meaning “Pour out thy wrath at those who have been persecuting the Jewish people”, Yosele was asked to go to the front door and open it for

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“Eliyah Hanavi” – Elijah the Prophet. It is believed by the Jewish people that at this moment at the “Seder” Elijah comes into Jewish hoes and he takes a sip of wine from the cup designated for him. The entire family rose to their feet, and with great feeling recited this passage in the “Haggadah” which tells of the tremendous injustices that have been brought upon the Jewish people throughout the generations. The children looked to see, during the recitation, if Elijah had really been drinking from the cup. The door was closed and the Doft family continued to recite and sing the rest of the “Haggadah”. When it came to the sentence “Leshanah Habaah Beyrushalayim “Next year in Jerusalem” the entire family joined in the singing with a special feeling. From all the Jewish houses in Bilke, such passages could be heard as, “G–d build soon your house!”. The mighty one will soon build his house!” Soon, you will lead the afflicted ones to Zion in Joy and in song!” It was much after midnight when Reb Yehoshua and his family completed the “Seder” in high spirits.

During Passover, the elders of the community in Bilke recounted events that had happened in Bilke many years before, events that left a tremendous impression. Here is such a story. It happened on Passover holiday some years back when the Christian Easter holiday coincided with “Pesach”. This always caused tension in the Jewish community. The Jews tried, during this period, not to show themselves too much in the eyes of the gentile population, in order not to arouse them. All the Jewish celebrations were a little restrained, so that there should be no pretext for trouble. This was something that in Jewish history happened more than once.

The Christians in Bilke had a legend that during Easter week, the bells of their big church flew away to Rome. Obviously during the entire Easter period no bells rang in Bilke. Now there was a certain Jewish family in Bilke that had been there for many generations and had grown prosperous. One branch of the family owned a store, another a bank, still another handled big real estate transactions involving fields and vineyards.

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In short, they were well to do. The name of the family was Friedman.

They lived not far from the great synagogue. One of the sons of the family was “Yitzchak”. One would say that he was not “all there”. He had to be kept on a chain in order not to run away and perhaps hurt people. By nature, he was so violent that not even his closest family members could control him.

Only Reb Shmuel Mayer Klein who had been a teacher of small children could handle him at all. Being very old he had retired. But he found a way of handling this young man “Yitzchak”. This “Yitzchak” actually like the old man.

Reb Shmuel Mayer would help him get dressed, feed him, and in general attend to his needs and handle him very gently. Although Reb Shmuel Mayer was not a doctor or a psychologist, he knew how to deal with the disturbed young man. He was a man simply born with a knack for it. He was easy going and a jokester. If you asked him how old he was, he would tell you in terms of “Bar Mitzvahs”. “I was already six times Bar Mitzvah”.

On the first day of Pesach of that year that was also the first day of Easter week, Reb Shmuel Mayer came, as usual, to Yitzchak the insane one. When he came into the room, he saw at once, or rather sensed that there was some change that had come over “Yitchak”. What this change was, however, he was not able to say. “Take off the chain from my leg”, the insane “Yitchak” said suddenly, “only for a few minutes”. Reb Shmuel Mayer was afraid to oblige him, fearing that he would run away. But “Yitchak” suddenly hit the old man on the head and then grabbed one of his “Payot” – side curls, and tore it out. “If you don't unchain me, I'll rip out your other “Payah” – side curl” the insane man said.

The old man saw that he had no choice. He unlocked the chain that bound “Yitzchak”. The insane man began running like a wild animal. By the time Reb Shmuel Mayer had fetched the other members of the family

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to search the grounds, it was as if the ground had swallowed him up.

On this first day of Pesach of that year, the Jews of Bilke gathered in the great synagogue to give thanks the Almighty for their freedom. It was spring, of course, and the weather was already beautiful. The leader of “Pesukai Dezimrah” of the preliminary service had just finished when Reb Yehoshua began the “Shacharit” service according to the special festival melodies. The entire congregation had been waiting for this, and each word, each melody, elicited in them great joy.

Reb Yehoshua was also a composer of melodies. For each holiday he would try out new tunes. The members of the community listened carefully, and afterwards each one gave his opinion. Reb Mayer Berger, who was also a bit musical said, “L'eyla U'leyla” meaning “superb, superb”. During the “Shacharit” – morning service, Reb Yehoshua especially showed his strength in the prayers called “Yotzrot” and in the “Piyit” – poem called “Brach Dodi”. When he reached the “Hallel” he poured out his heart to G–d. Each line had a special rhythm, a certain musical meter. When he reached the passage “Yisrael, Yisrael B'tach Ba–shem” – “Israel trust in G–d” he would twist it and ornament it with the trill of his voice with various innuendoes and shadings. In certain of these passages, Reb Yehoshua and his sons sang in harmony. Chaim Leib and Shmuel Tsvi sang the bass, Nachum Uri and Shlomo Yeshayah were the baritones, and the two youngest, Yoseleh and Moshele, were on the high notes. Above the, however, was their father Reb Yehoshua.

After the Torah reading, Reb Yehoshua sang a special melody for the paragraph called “Ya–eyli”, “You are my G–d”. It was in the form of a march, as if we are marching toward G–d. Before the “Musaf” – additional service, Reb Yehoshua put on a white gown for the singing of “tefilat Tal” – the prayer for dew. He introduced this prayer by saying, “I am trying to express the secret existence of our people.” And by this he actually prayed for dew for the land of Israel rather than there in the Carpathian Mountains which did not count on this source of water for

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crops. In Israel, this was the date that the dry season usually began.

Reb Yehoshua continued with the passage that asks that this should be a year of blessing and not curse, of life and not death, of bounty and not hunger. His voice echoed through the synagogue and it was heard all over. Twice a year Reb Yehoshua would sing this special melody on Pesach, the prayer of “Tal” – for dew, and on “Shmini Atzeret” for “Geshem” – for rain. At the end of the service, each person came up to Reb Yehoshua to shake his hand and tell him their delight in his singing of the prayers.

It was noon. The Jews were just leaving the synagogue. The gentiles were going about their holiday business. Suddenly, the bells of the church began to ring. The town was filled with the echo of the bells. Everyone was stunned. People looked up to the church tower and asked, “What was happening!” Because everyone, Jew as well as gentile knew that according to the legend the bells were supposed to be in Rome. Not for three more days, at the end of he Easter week, were they supposed to return to Bilke.

The people of the town ran towards the church where the bells continued to ring wildly. This was no melodious, gentle ringing as usual, but rather a wild urgent cacophony as if the devil himself was in the bell tower. The young, the elderly, everyone crowded around the front of the church. There was a sense of fright and also anger among the gentiles.

Abruptly the ringing stopped. The sextant of the church, accompanied by several of the gentiles, climbed up into the tower. There they found Yitchak Friedman, the insane. Roughly, they brought him down. As the crowd saw who it was, hate welled up in them. They were ready on the spot to lynch the offender. The “Goyim” – the gentiles were expressing hatred of generations that had accumulated in their hearts. They began to beat Yitzchak the insane.

Suddenly shouts of the police were heard. “Keep away! Keep away” They broke through the mob and rescued Yitzchak the insane, who by

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now was beaten nearly to death. But he still had the strength to shout in a clear voice, “I am a Jew! You see the bells of the church did not fly to Rome!” Having shouted this with his last effort, he fell to the ground.

This incident shook up all the inhabitants of Bilke. The gentiles were totally confused. The Jews feared that this incident would cause even more hate for them than had been felt before. Who knew what the next day would bring upon them?

The holidays ended without further incident. All continued about their usual business as if the whole bizarre thing had never happened. But the Jews of Bilke saw in Yitzchak the insane – or “Meshugener” something of a wonder. Who can evaluate a Jewish soul! Some asked and wondered. Those who pondered on the happening a little deeper also asked, who knows? Perhaps this Yitzchak is the reincarnation of a soul from a previous life who had sinned and who had to do this act of “Kiddush Hashem” – the sanctification of the name of G–d in order to redeem himself. This story was told to the young, year after year, during the holiday of Passover.

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It was said that Bilke was, territorially speaking, as large as the city of Budapest. That of course was an exaggeration I am sure. Nevertheless, the town of Bilke with a population of ten thousand covered a large territory. In Bilke there were a number of suburbs consisting of sub–communities, some closer and some further away from the center of town.

“Kolbasovo” was one such suburb – about a half hour walk from the center of Bilke. The Jewish community in “Kolbasovo” consisted of about thirty Jewish families at the time of the expulsion of the Jews by the local collaborators with the Hungarian Nazis – the “Nylos Party” may their name be eradicated.

About one third of the Jews of “Kolbasovo” together with a number of Jewish families of Bilke proper were expelled from their homes in August 1941 and driven to Kaminetz, Podolsk in the Ukraine where all were executed by the Germans, the Hungarians, the Ukrainians and other collaborators.

I was still at home when in 1941 a demand was made by the Hungarians that all Jews of the Carpathians must present proof of their citizenship as far as 1850. There was a scramble to obtain documents. For that purpose I and many others traveled to Budapest to obtain the proper documents from the census records in the Budapest archives to prove that they lived in Bilke in those years during the Austro–Hungarian rule.

I was one of those who traveled to Budapest to try to get documentation

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for our family and I was successful. I remember standing in front of those offices for days together with hundreds of other Jews before my turn came to enter. The Hungarians charged hefty fees for those documents.

All this citizenship business was only a pretext, a cunning deception to mislead us into believing that there was still a future for the Jews of Hungary. To the sorrow of many Carpathian Jews, those who couldn't come up with those documents were brutally expelled and annihilated.

Also in 1941 the Hungarians mobilized all able–bodied men ages 18–50 into “Munko Tabor” – “Forced Labor Camps”. I was taken to many and varied places where I was shoved and pushed and marched and worked to the bone. I was liberated on the 9^th of May 1945 in Theresienstadt.

I was and am the only survivor of my immediate family of seven children, four brothers and three sisters, six nieces and nephews. We had a Synagogue in “Kolbasovo”, a nice and relatively modern building with a tin roof that in addition to the “shul” also housed the community “Cheder” Hebrew school. That where I attended “Cheder” for many years.

It is interesting to relate how the synagogue was built. My great grandfather Reb Yosef Chayim Josovic, who was a relatively well to do man (he owned a brewery making “shlivovitz” from locally grown plums) built the first synagogue in “Kolbasovo” – small wooden structure. Reb Yosef Chayim Josovic died in the year 1901.

At the turn of the twentieth century, two sons of Reb Zelig Josovic, the grandchildren of Reb Yosef Chayim, emigrated to the U.S.A. In the year 1913, these two grandsons came home to Bilke for a visit. One Shabbat they came to the “Kolbasovo” to visit their uncle, my grandfather Reb Moshe. While attending services that Shabbat morning in the old “Bet Hamidrash” they were given “Aliyot” to the Torah as honored guests. They pledged to build a new synagogue during their “Mee Shabayrach” as a donation for the honor bestowed on them. That was the synagogue that

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served the community of the “Kolbasovo” so well till the “Churban” the destruction of our people.

For a livelihood, the people engaged in various activities. Some were farmers, a mill owner, two shoemakers, a tailor, two grocery storekeepers, one dry goods store owner, a couple of “Baaley Agolot” – coachmen, and two cattle dealers. Most of the people were poor to the point that there were days during the week when there was no bread in the house. There is not one Jew left there anymore. The majority was murdered at Auschwitz and other concentration camps, in the forced labor camps and other places. The handful of survivors are scattered around the world.

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