« Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page »

[Page 183]

There are Ba'alei Tefillah [Prayer Master] who are respected only in their town, and there are those whose name precedes them in any location, even far away places. Such a Ba'al Tefillah was Vava from Kozova.

His family was among Brzezany residents for generations, and he grew up in the town and studied in the Yeshiva, where he received his rabbinical ordination from the Maharsha”m. When he got married, he moved to Kozova, a town near our Brzezany.

The gabbaim of Rabbi Yudel's Beit HaMidrash would invite him to serve as the “Shli'akh Tzibur” [leader of the congregation in prayers] because of his agreeable, clean, and tonal voice. The gabbaim would bring him from any location where he served as the head of a Yeshiva (Kozova, Buchach, and in 1918/19, they brought him from as far as Stanislawów).

Not every synagogue could afford the service of a distinguished Ba'al Tefillah like him. Only the homeowners of Rabbi Yudel's Beit HaMidrash could pay his price. They basically “owned” him.

I recall him serving as a Shali'akh Tzibur at Rabbi Yudel's synagogue before WW I. The synagogue was crowded since people came from other synagogues to enjoy his praying and majestic appearance. His prayers penetrated the hearts of his listeners, as people felt them coming from a deep and sincere religious feeling.

Not only Jews came to listen to the amazing Ba'al Tefillah on Yom Kippur. The Gentiles, too, came to enjoy his heavenly voice. They marveled at the prayers, although they did not understand their content.

He died in Vienna on 23 Nisan 5,690, 1930.

[Page 184]

Dr. Bernard Felk

After the required preparations, we went to work, and at 8 am, we completed the surgery. Dr. Felk, a man of 82, breathed deeply, took off the robe, sat down with his eyes half shut, and sighed. “Tired?” I asked. “Not quite” he responded. “Do you feel weak after the surgery that lasted more than an hour?” “Not even that!” he answered.

After a break of a few long seconds, he breathed air into his chest through his open mouth and said: “Strange, I turned eighty-two today.” “To a hundred of twenty!” I said, and he continued: “And I feel myself like a man of forty, full of vigor with a strong will to live. My ability at work is as good as it was at any time. Today, my youthful dreams and ambitions of many years are fulfilled. I was stubborn!”

In the meantime, the nurse prepared tea from the leaves of a plant without sugar (we did not have that), served us, and returned to the patient to watch over him until he recovered and woke up from the anesthesia. Sighs of the sick could be heard from the adjacent room. It was suffocating in the room and warm, and we were tired, facing another long day of work.

After taking a few sips, Dr. Felk stood the cup, looked at me, lowered his stare, and continued: “Yes… I was stubborn… and this is my life story.”

“I have a few memories from my childhood. One of them was the yelling argument between my parents about the older son (this is me). I do not remember the reason for the argument. But I do recall that my father z”l said: ‘But he is stubborn. Where would that lead him in life?’ I did not know then what the meaning of the word stubborn was, but I felt its implication throughout my life.

“My father was a tailor. He worked hard to make a living for his family. My mother helped him with the sewing and also managed the household. I decided to study. To fulfill my decision, I earned money by giving private lessons in high school and during my studies at the university. I graduated with honors. I had big ambitions. I believed in my abilities and dreamt of being a surgeon in a large Jewish hospital. That was why I accepted a job at a hospital.

“It was not easy for me. I had my own plans and did not want to give up. Not everything I dreamt about was possible. Today, I look at everything with different eyes. I did not understand then and fought with colleagues at work.”

Then he stopped. “I did not achieve what I was looking for.” He threw those words in the air as if he was talking to himself. “After a few years of work, I was forced to leave the hospital. It hurt me a lot.

“I married. Luckily, my wife helped me. We had two daughters. I began working in a private practice and earned nicely. I worked hard, but I was not satisfied. I did not feel gratified at that work.

[Page 185]

“I had the ambition to achieve more. Man shall not live on bread alone. Was I an honor chaser? I do not think so. I was restless. There was a demand and desire for action.

“Public work was the second endeavor where I tried my skills. I thought of taking the management of the community into my own hands – there was a wide field of action there. I approached the work with vigor and will. I did not spare my precious time or money. However, I did not consider that I was not alone in the community, and not everything I thought was good was also good in the eyes of others. Not many days passed before a conflict erupted between me and the rest of the elected people. I was stubborn and did not give up, but they ganged against me, I was alone and was forced out.

“Years passed, and the First World War was over. I saw our youth, how they progressed, and new horizons opened for them. I said to myself – the time has come to build a house for them. That time, I also decided to stick to my opinion until the end.

“I got money from my relatives in America. I bought a plot on my own initiative, organized the plans, and began building. I knew if I had to consult with others, the house would not be constructed. They resisted me there, too. All of a sudden, everyone became a construction expert. Everyone knew how, where, and what to build. They did not like the location, and all so more the plan! I did not give up that time. It cost me energy, health, and money, but I completed what I had started.

“The house – the ‘People's House’ exists and stands. But they took revenge on me. They called for a general assembly and elected a committee to manage the house without me, Dr. Felk. They took something dear to me, my ‘dandled’ child, and rudely drove me away. They told me – you completed the work; now you can leave. I left with a pain in my heart.

“I am at the end of my life now, and everything changed in my eighty-second year. They turned to me today, gave me my honor back, and the possibility to act, do, and help. I am a member of the ‘The Committee of the Jews.’ I got back to the People's House. It is all mine now. I am responsible for the health of the Jews in our city, and I manage the Jewish hospital.

“The conditions in which we live today are harsh and require effort, wisdom, and goodwill. I am ready to accept any task. If that is the reward for my ambitions of all those years, I am available to commit. I am not tired. This time, I would stay until the end.”

“Well done!” I said, adding I am available to help you.

I got up, and I moved to help him wear his robe. He refused. “I am still young,” he said. I looked at him from the side, the 82-year-old youngster. He was always dressed well. He was meticulous, a bit plump, with broad shoulders, average height, round face, wise burning eyes, short nose above thick lips, full of vigor.

One small bullet from the Gestapo put an end to his ambitions and plans. Dr. Felk fell on his way to the hospital. I was near him when he was hit, I admitted medical help, and he said to me – “continue in my way!”

“Yes, I will do that,” I said, and at that moment, I thought – “he was stubborn all his life until his end. He died stubbornly.”

His grave is in Litiatin Forests. May his memory be blessed.

[Page 186]

Dr. Khaim Vilner

After the First World War, Dr. Vilner began his Zionist activity as a member of the “General Zionists” movement. He was a member of the local “Zionist Committee” and a brilliant orator, giving speeches to Zionist gatherings. He served as the chairman of the “Ezra” [“Assistance”] charity organization. He had an open hand and a generous heart to help others. He preserved the pioneering character of the “Ezra” organization. When a pioneer was about to make Aliyah and needed financial assistance while the fund was insufficient to cover the costs, he handed him his own money so as not to delay the departure of the pioneer and thus lose his turn for an Aliyah certificate. Because of his steadfast masculine appearance and roaring voice, everybody liked him, old and young. He remained popular and did not look down on people because of his status and wealth. He was an enthusiastic fan of the Jewish theater and did not miss any Yiddish plays. He used to travel to Lviv to watch the shows by the “Vilna Band” or the “Vict” theater [“Warsaw Jewish Artistic Theater”].

Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, he escaped to Romania, from where he was deported to Russia, where he suffered from oppression by the authorities in faraway Siberia and from harsh financial hardship. At the end of the war, he returned to liberated Poland but did not find his family, his wife, and his daughter, who perished in the Holocaust.

He made Aliyah in 1950. In the beginning, his absorption in Israel was tough. He worked hard to make a living. However, he overcame and returned to his profession as a lawyer, dealing with German reparations. He died alone in Tel Aviv in 1958.

He left part of his estate to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

May his memory be blessed.

I always tried to fulfill the sages' proverb “buy you a friend” through the years – on the school's bench, work, and daily life. I had many friends and some real buddies, among them, I connected with my body and soul. Dr. Aryeh Feld Z” L was my friend, buddy, and brother. We connected as friends, loving each other like David and Jonathan. Our love for each other was not affected by external or material factors.

From the day we met until the moment we parted ways (knowing that it was our last conversation) we went on our ways in the same direction, course, and objective with unified forces. He was always ready and willing to help. It was like that on the study bench, throughout our entire life, until those critical moments during the Holocaust, when fate intervened and separated us.

[Page 187]

Dr. Aryeh Feld

The second brother, Yehuda, did not complete his studies. A malignant disease put an end to his young life. I worked with my younger brother; he helped me tremendously with responsible and arduous work during the Soviet regime.

The parents were educated people and worked hard. They aspired to provide a solid basis for their children. I often visited that home. I loved to listen to the father's stories spiced up by jokes and phrases. Despite always being busy with his work, he found free moments to talk to me.

My friend, Aryeh Feld, was a man with many skills, educated, a solid and stable character, reserved, quiet, self-assured, and friendly with people. He was dedicated and responsible, loved people and was loved by them, and gave respect and was respected. He went through several crises in his life, but nobody knew about them. He never told anybody when he faced a problem. He thought about it and often fought with himself until he arrived at a decision, and he always realized his decisions.

He was one of the members of “HaShomer HaTzair” [“Young Guard” – leftist youth movement], one of the founders and central pillar of that movement in our city. His wish in life, the dream of his youth, was to make Aliyah, and he aspired to achieve that goal until his last moment. He was a worker – active in anything related to Judaism, particularly the land of Israel. He established a family in our city and lived an exemplary family life. His fate had another opinion and ruined all his values with one sweep.

The Germans first caught Aryeh on the second Yom Kippur during an Aktsia. He sat with many others at the collection square and was the only one that [the Gestapo's] Miller [may his name and memory be blotted out] freed. He left the square with hesitant steps. Was he allowed to leave conscious-wise? He was walking and thinking and debating. Would he do good by his acquaintances in the square slated for the crematorium, getting out of there alone, back to life? It was not an easy decision for him to make! He experienced agonizing days and hours in self-deliberation – did he act appropriately? But then he realized that he had another role in life - his family was waiting for him at home. He must continue to live to protect them.

It was different from the last time when he was led with his family and many others on their final way. I heard his confession from him two days earlier, in our last meeting, after which we parted ways with a handshake. A quiet and painful scream burst out from the depths of his heart: “I blame the entire world for our situation. Who would tell what we have experienced?” That scream penetrated my heart and shook me … I could no longer hold back and burst into tears … I gave vent to my tears, not to the words. I only shook his hand, and we parted ways. I still see him in my mind, marching toward the cemetery, holding the hands of his daughter, his wife by his side, supported by his other arm, and holding the son in her hand, covering his head with her dress. They are marching, step by step, to the cemetery toward the mass grave.

[Page 188]

The thoughts that bothered him so much during these days must have accompanied him on that long and tiresome road: who would tell the world, and who would believe what happened? They arrived at the mass grave. At first, they shot the children who fell into the pit. After them, the mother. His turn came. He approached – and stepped forward with his face to the pit. He threw a last look at his dear ones in the dark pit and waited for the bullet. But the bullet was late in coming; the seconds were long, but the bullet did not come!

Suddenly. the Gestapo order broke his heart like thunder: “Leave this place, leave the cemetery, and go back to the city! We still need your work. Go now, Jew! Your turn will come! Fast; do not just stand there! Bless your luck, Jew, and continue to carry your poisoned life until your turn comes … Go! Don't you hear the order? Ha, Ha, ha.”

But he did not hear the order. Only the yelling and hellish lough of the Gestapo work.

“Do not judge your friend until you get to his place,” said our sages z”l.

Shock-stricken, Feld obeyed the order, and with slow and stumbling steps, he lived in the cemetery. He was walking, but did he see the road? Did he understand and know where he was going? His being led him away from the cemetery. But at the same time, they freed him from the order. He became more aware of his surroundings. He recovered and began to think. He began to comprehend what happened. The farther away from the cemetery, the weaker the screams emanating from there, but they became more painful, and they gave him back the ability to judge. His heart was beating hard. His legs still carried him away, proceeding by the force of habit, but the pace was slow.

He stopped and thought: “Whom and what am I running away from? Where am I going? Who am I doing that for? Who did I leave my family with? Do I still have a purpose and a goal for my life? No.”

He decided that it was not his way to leave. He returned to the cemetery. He ran; he was in a hurry to return in time for the mass grave to be still open everyone knew and felt that he was still with them? He did not abandon them, G-d forbids! He must show the murderers that no order would separate him from his family! There is one fate for everybody. He ran and finally achieved his goal! He was inside the mass grave together with his family and his brothers, the Jews.

I had a friend. I got him as a gift from the heavens, and there where he was taken to. May he rest in peace!

[Page 189]

Dr. Moshe Schumer

He was born in Brzezany on 1/27/1890 to his parents, Ester and Aba Schumer. Upon the outbreak of the First World War, he went with his parents to Vienna, where he was accepted to “Vindobona” University [The old name of Vienna University was “Alma Mater Rudolphina Vindobonensis”] where he was active in all areas of the student life. He graduated medical school in 1921 and returned to Brzezany as a general practitioner. There, he became involved in all areas of public affairs. He served for many years as the chairman of Keren Kayemet [JNF-KKL], and, through that position, maintained a tight relationship with all the Zionist Youth movements in town. He was also active for many years at the Jewish orphanage. Although officially he was a member of the “General Zionists” [centrist Zionist movement], he did see it as a conflict of interest serving the representative of “HaShomer HaTzair” [“Young Guard” - leftist youth movement] and “HeKhalutz” [“The Pioneer” pioneering labor youth movement] toward the authorities.

He visited the summer camps of the “HeKhalutz.” He also actively assisted the pioneers of the Hakhshara [Agricultural training] company in the movement in the city. He was the driving force in all national funds and contributed generously to anybody who turned to him for help.

He was registered at the Golden Book of the JNF-KKL when he reached 50. By all the Zionist movements in the city as a token of appreciation for his fruitful activity.

He treated anybody who turned to him and did not demand payment from the poor; on the contrary, he often helped to get the medicines for them.

The Second World War took him to Russia. He was recruited by the Soviets as a physician for the Soviet army, and he passed the entire war on the front as a medical officer with the rank of Major.

He experienced a harsh mental crisis while serving in the Red Army. Somehow, the Russians discovered his Zionist past and began harassing him and restricting him. He was placed under continuous surveillance by the NKVD [The Soviet secret police], who made his life unbearable. Under that situation, he reached an atrocious state of mind. Only thanks to the encouragement from another Jewish physician who worked with him, did he pull himself out of that crisis.

At the end of the Second World War, he returned to Brzezany. However, since he did not find anybody from his family, he continued to Germany, aiming to go to Israel. He stayed a long time in the refugee camps of UNRRA and practiced medicine there. That was when he met Regina Ast and finally established a family in the twilight of his life.

In 1948, he fulfilled his life dream – and finally made Aliyah. He settled in Hadera, where he worked as a physician for a short period for Israel's labor HMO and the Jewish Agency. He lived to enjoy the sun's brilliance in Israel.

He died on 5/10/1955

[Page 190]

Dr. Shlomo Glazer

His initial work began in high school. He, several other students, and his elder brother organized themselves in a Zionist club. They studied Hebrew, Jewish, and Zionist history and utilized the knowledge they had acquired to teach others in Zionist circles by giving lectures and lessons and organizing “Oneg Shabbat” parties. That work continued until the outbreak of the First World War.

In 1915, he and his brothers were taken by the Russians as hostages to Russia. They returned home only in 1918, after the Bolshevik revolution.

Dr. Shlomo completed his law studies and continued his Zionist work, which he had temporarily ceased during those years. I came to know that modest and shy man while working for the Zionist cause. He always had a smile, liked gentle humor, respected old and young, was loved by people, and was friendly. He was always very busy. At home – he was establishing his family in the harsh conditions of the years after the First World War; in his professional work – he had a lot of work despite being a young lawyer. In all of those situations, he always found time for public work. He left the speeches and honors to others while doing the actual work. In his Zionist work, he was unaffiliated. We saw him at all Zionist youth movements. We met with him at gatherings and went together to collect money for the JNF-KKL and “Keren HaYesod” [“United Israel Appeal”] or at the support activity for youth who were making Aliyah. He did his work perfectly, willing and alert.

A relative wrote about him: “Many of our city natives, spread throughout the country, surely have many memories related to the branch of “HaShomer HaTzair,” which together with the “HeKhalutz” movement concentrated the best of the Jewish Zionist youth in the city. For many of us, it served as our second home. Within its walls, we were free from the troubles at home and from the pressure of the school's antisemitism.

We found innocence and friendship at the branch, like in a bird's nest. We grew up there without a feeling of inferiority, and we had woven a youth life, full of content. That was where we dreamt about making Aliyah the Land of Israel.

[Page 191]

Everyone who raises the scene in front of their eyes of the “HaShomer HaTzair's” branch from its beginning until the days of its flourishing could not pass over to prominent figures: Dr. Schumer z”l, who died in Hadera, and lawyer Dr. Shlomo Glazer, who perished with most of his family in the Holocaust.

The members of the branch did not know these figures. They operated modestly behind the scenes. They were the “OPIEKA” (“patronage'), the committee responsible for the authority for the legal existence of the movement and the fulfillment of the by-laws. That was a heavy burden and tremendous responsibility. Not many people among the distinguished people of the intelligentsia were willing to be a guarantor for the passionate and rebellious youth. In particular, the atrocious period of the “Red Assimilation” must be noted. Many movement members left for ideological reasons and joined a rival camp, which was oppressed by the authorities. The threat of the closure of the branch was not late. Only because of the intervention and stability of these two figures did the authorities approve the continuous and stable existence of the branch. Thanks to them, we received permits for the summer camps (“colonies”), where we could maintain the life of a Shomeric Colony in the "bosom of nature” encompassing tens of branches from throughout the Ternopil district.

I did not know Dr. Schumer well. However, I frequently visited my relative, Dr. Melu ?] [Shlomo] Glazer's home. Despite the age difference, I was invited to his home as a friend. I particularly loved to come to his home because of the warm and friendly atmosphere he knew to induce in his family and guests. I felt equal among equals at his home. It was where I drew strength and belief in humans and the goodness of people.

He was an educated man with high virtues and reserved. He listened more than he talked and hid more than he revealed. He never preached morality to others because he believed that tests that people experience in life determine man's way. He did not like to stand out. He shied away from publicity and chose to be away from the limelight. From a distance of many years and periods, he remained in my memory as a simple, warm-hearted man, unformal, graceful, and fatherly. He understood the soul of the youth, as was expressed in his relations with his children and relatives. The house was full of fatherly love for his family.

He loved to stroll around with young people in an atmosphere of friendship and open heart. He behaved toward us joyfully and engaged in pleasant conversation. That joyful atmosphere could have become deep and thoughtful seriousness in a moment while maintaining the feeling of being equal in his company.

That was the man, and that is how I will always remember him. May his memory be blessed.

[Page 200]

The only Yiddish bookstore that sold both Hebrew and Yiddish books in our town was operated by the “bookseller”, Yoshe Ast. He was not just any old bookseller who sold books to others without himself reading any of them, but to the contrary he read them before he sold them. At one time Yoshe Ast had been a grain merchant, and later he began to deal with books. He was a devout Jew, well grounded in [Torah] learning, and, yet, was also enlightened, loved a Hebrew scholarly text as well as a modern Hebrew novel and good Yiddish literature. He read every book and knew all his customers and knew what to offer them. He also had Holy Books [religious literature], tales of the Sages, and occasionally a rare manuscript. He knew a great deal and was familiar with the families of many previous generations who lived in the city, their pedigree, their rise and fall, and the complicated branches of the families, as well as a bit of local gossip. One could say that he was a living encyclopedia of the town. He was a friendly and upright person. The young people would happily patronize his bookshop and would listen to his talks about authors and their works, Rabbis and good Jews from the past and the present, a deep well-spring with much knowledge. His shop was in Yerucham Leber's house and he lived on the Bernardine Street near Shloimele Prisant's house. He had two children, a son Yehoshua (Shike) and a daughter Dvorke, both well educated as teachers. Both, while living in Brzezan, were members of Zionist youth organizations in which they were actively engaged. In later years they lived elsewhere having taken educational posts in Congress Poland.

Yoshe Ast who gave good advice to many Jews was not able to find a solution when he himself really needed one. His honest and high moral stature presented him with a dilemma he couldn't overcome. When his son-in-law became enmeshed in business difficulties and involved his father-in-law as a witness – and since Yoshe felt he would have to testify under oath in court – which was against his principles, he was unable to bear the burden, he took it to heart and several days before the trial he died of a heart-attack. The Jewish population was orphaned without a Yiddish bookseller who for more than a generation provided them with their needs of Yiddish and Hebrew books.

  Berezhany, Ukraine     Yizkor Book Project     JewishGen Home Page

Copyright © 1999-2024 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 25 Jul 2024 by JH