[Pages 28-30]

During the period of the blossoming of the artistic building renaissance among the religious Jewry in Poland, in the second half of the 16^th century, a new type of synagogue began to appear in certain regions of south Poland that were different from the predecessors. Renaissance synagogues that were interesting with several architectural aspects.

The renaissance synagogue type in Poland was different from the known double columns type built between the 14^th and 15^th century. They were proportionally to the West European synagogues in the communities of Worms, Regensburg and Prap. Whether in the style (transition from rectangular to square shape) or an interior outlay, (transition from a bimah (platform) between two supporting columns, to an open bimah resembling a garden pavilion unattached to the basic structures). However, in both types of synagogues, it was hard to detect the original independent architectural lines that would show that the builder searched for building styles in accordance to public and religious requirements of the Jewish community in Poland.

An important step toward crystalizing the synagogue type of original lines can be detected when a new architectural element is introduced into the interior planning of a renaissance prayer house. It was unknown in the history of Jewish religious buildings in central and eastern Europe in those days. Referring to the four-column element that supported the dome of the house or the ceiling.

European Jewry, especially the Ashkenazic tribe, took pain during the entire period in the Middle Ages, to search for a building style that would suit the traditional spirit of her prayer houses. Hence, in the new type of the Polish synagogue, it found an interesting architectural solution to several religious and secular problems connected with God's house.

In these synagogues, the bimah had very little meaning and was only symbolic. Despite the fact that, although the eyes and hearts of the worshipers were always directed toward the holy ark, where the Torah scrolls were stores, which also symbolized the destroyed holy Temple. Among the Ashkenazic Jewry, the importance of the bimah hailed more important than the holy ark. The central physical position in the centre of the synagogue and its function was very meaningful.^[1].

Like the Rambam in his time and the Rema later, that were the greatest and most reliable Torah scholars among the Polish Jewry, pointed out the main function of the bimah as the place where the Torah reading took place. Quoting the Rema: “And they built the bimah in the centre of the synagogue where the Torah reader would stay and read the Torah so everyone could hear”. (Rema, in his commentary “Darkey Moshe” on the book “Tor orach Chaim” synagogue rules, 103:3.

The discussion on the location of the bimah in the synagogue continued for many generations, among the Polish Jewry and the nearby Ashkenazic communities which were under their influence. The dispute was about the location of bimah. Participant in that dispute were the famous scholars such as the gifted Rabbi Eliyahu from Wilno, the Chasam Soyfer and later, the Netziv of Wolozhin.

The architectural novelty of four supporting columns in the renaissance type synagogue apparently was only a nuance of a later style and somewhat of a static perfection of the interior of God's house. It did not necessarily confirm the results of the above-mentioned theological dispute, but it was the original idea of the synagogue builders in Poland. It came to express the most perceptible form that increased the greatness of the importance of the bimah in the religious tradition as well as for the secular part of the Polish Jewry.

The Polish Jewry, which was during the last hundreds of years until the tragic destruction and disappearance from the map of European Jewish communities, the most important and effervescent living centre of the world Jewry. They synagogue was not only a prayer or a study house, it was also an assembly place for the folk masses, a first-class Jewish public institution which could have been compared to a community centre, or even to a municipal town hall, fulfilling many secular public functions.

Indeed, the variegated architectural complex of the prayer houses in Poland, a bimah placed in the centre of the auditorium was the most important place in the entire sanctuary, fulfilling public functions, religious as well as secular.

The four columns' synagogues that resembled the renaissance synagogues, were built mostly in a squaring form and fewer in rectangular form. The advantage of that type of synagogues, declared Dr. Shimon Zayczyk, of blessed memory, one of the outstanding Jewish researchers of synagogue art in Poland, has created a most empathic monumental interior without using a dome or cross colonnades, a technique that would have added to the height of the structure which was unlawful according to the state and Christian church law. A dome of that sort was supported by collectively the walls of the structure and by four central pillars.

Baroque architecture in synagogues revealed to us the evolution of beautiful effects, presenting the differentiation of light and shadow, and the architectural influence of the Polish municipal buildings, which evidently showed that builders of synagogues of that period preferred to copy models of secular buildings. And this happened when builders of renaissance synagogues were not allowed to decorate the front of the structure. Therefore, in order to give the building a representative character, they used, for the first time, the baroque synagogues modelled after buildings with more diversified and richer decorative values.

The best of a baroque prayer house was the old synagogue in Lancut (Galicia). It is presumed that the Lancut synagogue was built at the beginning of the 17^th century, and following Polish sources, a permit for the building was given by the count, Marshal Stanislaw Lubomirski in 1761. (There is also a possibility that the source refers to another synagogue which was built from wood on the foundation of the old synagogue).

The structure plan was rectangular (18x15m) which included a square sanctuary, a “Pulish” (shelter for indigent), a communal room attached to the western wall. The women's gallery was on the second floor above the annex.

The building did not excel with its outer looks but under the cover of modesty, a nice face was hidden from the perspective of planning and decorative architecture and from the fancy furnishing and ritual objects. The interior planning was based of the utilization of a central square which was nine parts of the overall space of the sanctuary. The rest of the space was left for the placement of columns and the bimah between the columns in the centre.

Indeed, the bimah in the Lancut synagogue was the most interesting place in the interior. It stood out by being in the centre of the sanctuary among the four central columns. The four columns joined each other under the dome that merged and looked like one supporting column by lowering the height of the centre square hiding the empty space that was created. This construction created a domed geometrical cubical figure that spread toward the four walls of the synagogue. The other empty geometrical cubical from inside the centre were supported by the bimah columns with Corinthian circles. It is interesting to point out that the upper parts of the columns were encircled with floral decorations (an unknown thing in synagogue bimah decorations). The bimah was also adorned with Jewish heraldic motives such as pairs of deers and lions. There was a two-seat “Elijah's chair” on the bimah.

The mighty frame of the bimah that resembled a wedding canopy, supported by four poles, added splendour and charm to the sanctuary. The proportion between the space occupied by the bimah compared to the general area of the sanctuary, determined the aesthetic form of the interior. If the area of the bimah would have been smaller and the columns closer to each other, they would have looked like one giant column, and the sanctuary would have seen to be a lintel and too spacious. The opposite of the above would have happened if the bimah would have been larger than the one/ninth of the total space. However, in the Lancut synagogue, the bimah was remarkably constricted (a little less than 1/9^th part of the total space), which broadened the sanctuary area and looked much larger.

Another architectural motive characteristic for the interior of the baroque type synagogues in Poland, (especially the fortress type synagogue) which appears in the Lancut synagogue, is the opaque arcade that decorates the walls beneath the high windows. The arcade creates a nice decorative element in the interior because it enlivens the smooth, tall walls which their main decoration consisted of tables with prayer excerpts.

The arcades of the east, north and south walls were made in the form of open arches resting on pilasters. There is no arcade on the western wall, (possibly because of the entrance door in the centre of the wall and the framework was broken off) that is why the interior decorators gave up adding an arcade on that wall.

The Lancut synagogue interior, which appears in a picture from Zygmund Fogel (a Polish artist who lived in the second half of the 18^th century, who became famous especially by painting historical buildings in Poland) exposed interesting details to us of ritual objects and wall decorations that once adorned this synagogue.

The modest holy ark that was built in the depressed eastern wall was encircled on the upper part with two tables of the Decalogue. The wall itself, from both sides, was decorated with reflectors that served as lights and decoration. The front of the ark was also adorned with an upright tall Hanukkah menorah as it was tradition in many Polish synagogues. The Polish origin was evident by the symbolic eagle, the emblem of Poland placed in the centre on the top of the menorah.

The beautiful candelabrums can be seen in Fogel's picture that hung from the barrel like eastern cupola, and the eternal light which hung from the western part of the synagogue, between the bimah and the entrance door. There were also openings in the women's gallery which was above the western wall through which women could listen to the prayers. Finally, let us mention the row of protruding ornaments that decorated the sanctuary walls and the arching domes.

The Interior of the Synagogue

The Lancut synagogue is one of the few Jewish monuments that remained intact after the liquidation of the Polish Jewry and the destruction of its many artistic and cultural treasures. The German conqueror turned the synagogue into a grain storage facility and that is how the building was saved. However, being saved by a miracle during the Holocaust period, the synagogue luckily had to be saved a second time from local destroyers who tried to demolish the synagogue after the war ended.

In a report entitled: “Lancut attitude” published in the weekly “Nowa Cultura” dated 6-13, April, 1958, the Polish writer, Maryan Brendis, tells how the Lancut synagogue was saved after the city became empty of Jews. The synagogue was saved thanks to the initiative of a Polish doctor, a Lancut resident, Dr. Wladislaw Balicki, a connoisseur of antiquity, in spite of the fact that the city council had decided to demolish it. Maryan Brendis wrote in the above-mentioned publications as follows: “There is an artful synagogue in Lancut from the 18^th century, built by the nobility of the Lubomirski house, and after the annihilation of the Lancut Hews, the Hitlerite turned the synagogue into a grain storage facility. The building was saved until the last year. What occurred was, that some time ago, the national city council decided to demolish the artistic building and use the rubble as building material. Then, a so-called “peasant doctor” came to the rescue. It was a short but sharp dispute. Dr. Balicki gave the city council an ultimatum: ‘either you leave the synagogue intact or the 600 anniversary celebrations of the existence of the city will be cancelled.’ The city council surrendered. The old synagogue was saved and the doctor arranged, in the synagogue, an exhibition entitled: “Six hundred years of Lancut's existence”.

I visited the synagogue and thanks to the doctor's agility, part of the synagogues' previous splendour was returned. The adorned baroque domes were restored and also the sculptured columns, which were covered with frescos. Inside the holy ark, remnants of burnt Torah scrolls by the Nazi have remained with big black letters from Bible verses. In the centre, there are two palms with wide-spread fingers as they used to be during recitations of traditional blessings. Terror emanates from those hands about the last tragic judgement.

This peasant doctor has broad plans for the synagogue, suitable for its destiny. He plans to organize inside the synagogue, a museum of “Judaica” and “Talmudica” connected with Poland. Important factors in Warsaw are interested in this project. He also established contact with “the Organization of Lancut natives” in Israel, among which there are some of his old friends from their school years.^[2]

Original footnotes:

1. About the placing of the bimah in the centre of the synagogue, there were different opinions: The Rambam suggested to place the bimah in the centre (“and they locate the bimah in the middle of the prayer house” “And they put for the bimah in the centre so the Torah reader or whoever wants to preach will be heard”. See Rambam, Jad Chazakah, rules of prayer, chapter 11, rule 3) However, Joseph Caru, who favoured the “ark”, testified about the existence of the synagogues where the bimah was located close to the western wall, at the entrance wall; “Don't turn me away from my suggestion because in many places refer me off from the fact that these days they put the bimah in the end of the synagogue and not in the centre because lately, the bimah is not placed in the centre because there is no requirement to do so. It all depends on the location and the time”. R. Joseph Caru in his commentary, “Kesef Mishneh” on Rambam's “Mishneh Torah” which was mentioned above on the rules of prayer). Return
2. See the book of David Davidowich: Synagogues in Poland and their destruction, published by “Yad Vashem” and Rabbi Kook Institute in Jerusalem, 1960, p.49.
   Also, Eugene Sharmentowski has informed, in his report, about the Lancut synagogue and about a doctor and the cooperation of the “Natives of Lancut in Israel” (published in the Polish weekly, “Seven Days” dated 4^th September, 1960). “The interior of the synagogue was well kept after the destruction. The walls are still covered with polychrome, rich with motives, flora and arabesques. Here and there you can see the arabesques and the surviving paintings of the Zodiac Signs, Bible animals, symbols and also tablets with certain prayer chapters”. The writer of the report tells that when the synagogue served as a grain storage facility, the paintings of the walls were damaged but thanks to Dr. Balicki, the collector who saved the synagogue from destruction with the help of his old friends, the natives of Lancut in Israel, has turned the synagogue into a Jewish Museum. “At present, one can find in the Lancut synagogue, antique Jewish menorahs, prayer books and also ritual objects that were miraculously saved”. Return

[Pages 31-33]

Reality and legend hover over the splendorous antique building, the Lancut synagogue, several hundreds of years old, which survived the great destruction of the house of Israel in Poland. The synagogue which was built in baroque style, not only is it representing the history of the Lancut Jewry, but it is also a mute witness to the uprooting of the Polish Jewry from its strong foundations which was forged during hundreds of years, and to the lonesomeness and orphanage that now surrounds the Polish land, in places where the Jews lived and created. It was said about the holy synagogue that it was immune from destruction and ruin, that anything that took place inside the walls, would always exist until the unfortunate and disastrous World War II which destroyed and broke down not only the security and faith of the Lancut Jews, but it was uprooted completely.

At present, the beautiful structure of the synagogue looks at us from pictures that were published in Jewish and non-Jewish periodicals, because it represents one of the historical buildings left after the destruction, and it is about to become a museum of ritual, cultural and art objects of the Polish Jewry in general, and the Lancut area in particular. In the discussions held in Lancut in 1956, before the approaching of the 600^th anniversary of the city's existence, the city council, whilst discussing the renovation and rehabilitation of the city, had unanimously decided to demolish the historical structure, but Dr. Wladislaw Balicki strongly opposed this plot. He suggested turning this building into a museum of Jewish antiquities and even managed to convince the council members that the synagogue was the proper place where the 600 years of Lancut's existence exhibition should be displayed. That is how the building was saved.

The synagogue structure that was built, apparently in the 17^th century in style of that period, was saved from destruction more than once. When the Nazi entered Lancut in 1939, they started a fire in the synagogue by putting on a pile of all the wooden benches to burn them. However, the building itself was saved. The story was later told that there even two Nazi officers who helped to extinguish the fire by the initiative of count Potocki.

Among the old stories about the eternity of the synagogue, there is a story that during the big fire in Lancut in 1820, which broke out in the Shtremarowki military base and later engulfed the entire city, which had left all the residents without a roof over their heads. However, the synagogue remained intact and without damage.

Heartfelt, beautiful memories are connected with the synagogue. On one side it is about days of traditional, national and joy filled holidays, which were expressed by radiant and joyous people during festive ceremonies. On the other hand, there were days of bad tidings which are also enshrined in my memory. All the above things took place inside the synagogue with the high dome ceiling. However, even nicer than my memories are the folkloric tales about the synagogue that mirrored the feelings of the Jewish hearts in that city. Indeed, our hearts are now filled with memories and sentiments that we cuddle in longing for the empty old house in Lancut that was orphaned forever.

The synagogue was built in a square shape. Its walls were solid and wide. The general view of the building reminds us of the church in Lancut, lehavdil, (before its restoration in 1896), and the city-hall building which was demolished in 1913. There exists a possibility that all three buildings were built by the same builder. The length of the building is 18m and the width 15m, approximately. (According to these measurements, it should be said that it was rectangular). (Translator). The outer walls are simple without special ornaments except the protruding pilasters in the four corners of the building. The entrance on the east side gives the building a majestic appearance. Thanks to those protrudes. (No such structure can be found among most Polish synagogues).

There are two partially rounded entrances on the upper part through which there is a descent of four steps to enter the “pulish”. And then outside, there is a set of steps through which to ascend to the upper floor of the building, and a balcony surrounded by a decorative balustrade and there is the entrance to the women's gallery. In the wall to which the steps are attached leading to the gallery, there is a round window and under the steps, there is a small chamber. In the “Pulish”, there was an antique copper washbasin (for washing hands) and a so-called, “Kuna”, a post of shame with two metal rings and chains for tying up the neck and hands of a sinner. In the south wall there is an entrance that led to the small synagogue of Rabbi Itzikel from Lancut, the “Seer from Lublin”. The northern wall has a window.

A double heavy door leads into the main sanctuary. Entering the sanctuary, there are four steps to descend, according to the existing tradition that anyone entering the synagogue should not enter with his head upright, adhering to the Psalm verse, “From the depth I called thee”. The hall consisted of nine evenly divided parts. The dome cupola in the centre of the hall with four columns between which the bimah was located. The second ascend to the bimah was from the north and from the south side, on seven steps. The bimah was used for reading the Torah scroll and for circling around with the Torah scrolls during Simchat Torah celebrations. There were steps in the centre of the eastern wall, leading to the holy ark which was built into a depression in the wall. Nearby, was the pulpit for the man conducting the services. In a depression in the western wall, there was the eternal light burning steadily according to the legend since the days of the “Seer from Lublin”.

There are many stories about the life of Jews and Hassidism in Poland, which were famous in the 18^th, 19^th and 20^th centuries, connected with the Lancut synagogue and its people, which is one of the oldest and most interesting among Polish synagogues from the architectural aspect.

Martin Buber has told a story about a Jewish man in Lancut who was poor and became rich, and later, his luck ran out again and he became a pauper. The story is connected with Rabbi Yaacov Yitzhak Hurwitz. The “Seer from Lublin”, from the days he resided in our town:

“There was a poor man who became rich, who cherished his seat at the western wall in the synagogue more than anything else because it was close to the Rabbi's seat. In time, he lost everything and was forced to sell all his properties. People suggested that he should sell his seat in the synagogue but he refused saying that his seat was more valuable to him than all the richness in this world that he had lost. This man became so poor that he was forced to go from door-to-door, collecting alms, but he did not dream of selling his seat in the synagogue. He fiercely and passionately held on to his seat. Later on, out of despair, he went downward morally and became a drunk. As a result, people were ashamed to sit next to him. It went so far that someone from the community bought off all his debts, and through a Rabbinic court, forced him to sell his seat in the synagogue. However, the man refused to leave his seat, even after he lost it”.

One time, during the “Kol Nidrei Night” when everyone was pushing forward to kiss the Torah, the man who forced him to sell the seat took possession of the seat during his absence, he simply sat down in the seat. When the poor man returned to his place and saw that his seat was taken, he began shouting out loud and bitterly which caused an uproar and skirmish in the synagogue and candles were blown out. Soon the quarrel subsided and the worshipers went on praying. However, the Rabbi raised his voice and said: “You are being judged in heaven now for your deeds”. The Rabbi's words caused emotional excitement between the public and they began praying intensively with much wailing and repentance, never heard before in that synagogue. After the conclusion of the services, the Rabbi told the worshippers: “You have all repented and you are assured with good life for the coming New Year”.

As a result of that story, people in Lancut have said that one died that year because the entire city was present at that time in the synagogue during the incident. As a result of that story, a legend had spread later that the synagogue was also judged for eternity and no will could wipe it out.

I remember the events that have occurred in the synagogue of Lancut that affected the forming of characters of the national youth in town, mainly the nationally tragic events that went beyond the routine of just praying and supplicating. My intention to reminisce the events which concern the world and our national destiny, in which the synagogue served as a place where the Jewish community of the city expressed its heartfelt feelings.

In 1918, Poland resurrected after the Austro-Hungarian Empire had fallen apart. The Polish celebrations of liberation were accompanied by pogroms against the Jews. At dusk, the Jews assembled in the synagogue to the Zionist speaker, Reb Nathan Milaikowski. His face engulfed with a long beard as he stood near the holy ark and with his inspirational speech, he compared the redemption of Poland to the time that would soon occur, namely the redemption of our People. Suddenly, a hail of stones came flying into the synagogue. This was the way in which the Poles “celebrated” their freedom by arranging a pogrom against the Jews.

A part of the Western Frontage of the synagogue

“Mottel is still walking on his crutches”. (A hint about the Jewish invalids who heroically fought in World War I). Afterward, the speaker continued his lecture describing the tragedy of the Jewish People, saying that all the Jewish heroism and sacrifice for other nations are not appreciated nor respected by them. The Jewish People will never be helped by gentiles and will always be considered as the scapegoats. And here I visualize another picture:

Ten years after Poland's liberation, 1928, the writer Daniel Perski visited Lancut. It was “Tishah Beav” and we gathered in the synagogue which was steeped in mourning. The benches were turned upside down followed by tradition. Reb Getzel Druker sat on the steps leading to the Holy Ark and recited the Lamentations. It was a prolonged reading about the destruction of the Holy Temple. The worshipers, without their shoes on, sitting around and the children also, according to tradition, kept throwing wild thorns picked from bushes and being stuck in the people's beards. The visitor who came with me had tears in his eyes. Was he crying about the destruction of the Temples or about the Jewish lot in the Diaspora which he saw and all the sadness and tragedy that he witnessed?

In the synagogue on “Kol Nidrei Night”, huge candles are spreading their lights in the entire house. The beauty and splendour of the architectonic plans of the building are standing out with their whole might. The synagogue is filled with worshippers wearing white gowns, prayer shawls adorned with silver and gold adornments. Children of different ages mix with the people are filling out the vacuum.

It is entirely different on “Simchat Torah”. The sound of songs and joy is echoing from every corner. The “Hakafot” with the Torah scrolls, the flags in the older children's hands, the shining faces of the adults, the joyous shouts and gaiety merged the festivity of the worshipers with the interior of the building.

The synagogue during general national events, like the assembly to celebrate the opening of the Jerusalem University, or celebrating Poland's national holidays which also took place on the bimah from which esteemed words were heard in the presence of a big crow. The “Zamir” orchestra also used to entertain at each of the above important events.

Years have passed, generation went and generation came, but the old synagogue was still in its place. The Lancut Jewry went the way the entire Polish Jewry went, but only a few of the survivors have reached the safety shores. One day, during my visit to the “Btzallel Museum”, in Jerusalem, I was shown an oil painting of the Lancut synagogue, the work of the painter Zygmund Fogel. In a split moment, there appeared before my eyes the dramatic vision which I saw in that synagogue, with all its greatness and splendour, but the presence stands in sorrow and distress.

The northeast frontage of the synagogue

The author points out that there were not too many Jews who lived in Lancut at that time. He also tells, in his book, that the prince Lubomirski helped to restore and fix the Jewish synagogue. Of course, from the author's story, it cannot be determined the date when the synagogue was built because he contradicts himself by talking about two synagogues. One can also wonder if a small number of Jews had the need for two big synagogues?

It seems rational that the synagogue was built in 1626 because, in the same period, the Rzeszow and Przeworsk synagogues were built which served as a chain of defence to the Lubomirski palace.

During 1909-1910n the honorary officer, Reb Mendel Shternheim renovated the building. The wooden floor was replaced with a concrete floor. He invited painters from Przemysl and Rzeszow to redecorate the walls and the dome. Yaacov Langsam from Lancut, and Kunstreich from Rzeszow, were among the painter-artists. They adorned the synagogue with the Zodiac signs, with the Tables of the Decalogue, musical instruments mentioned in Psalms which the Levites used in the Holy Temple, and verse from prayers.

There were ritual objects in the synagogue of historical value, especially the silver crowns that adorned the Torah Scrolls, antique “pointers”, holy ark curtains that were richly embroidered, silver plates which hung on the Torah Scrolls, a hand-washing water barrel from the 18^th century, artistic spider menorahs created by unknown artists and lastly, the Elijah chair from the time when Rabbi Arjeh Leibush was Rabbi in Lancut, which meant at the beginning of the 18^th century.

Honorary officers from the time are still in my memory. They were: Menachem Mendel Shternheim, Chaim Israel Mond, Joseph Meir Rozmarin, Israel Kishiner (Kaseshtecher), Yitzhak Sauerhaft, Naphtali Goldshtein, Shlomo Magenheim and Moredechai and Joshua Falshan.

Again and again, visions keep appearing before my eyes, looking with longing into the empty space of the old synagogue in Lancut which, in my eyes, was a spiritual creator of Jewish generations. There is the high dome ceiling to which our ancestors lifted their heads and cried out to God; the bow-shaped ceiling supported by rows of columns. They look as if they, themselves, emanate from their hearts, the ancient lamentation: “Eycha Joshvah Badad…Rabati Bagoyim…” What happened to the synagogue with which we were always so proud, which accompanied the Lancut Jews like a fire pillar, day and night, and put their fate in it? From the synagogue, they drew energy and strength. Maybe the walls of the building themselves are also crying out the sounds that they absorbed during so many years that break out and ascend again like they once did, heavenward in awful muteness?

[Pages 34-35]

The Big Bait Hamidrash in Lancut was a tall, one-story building. At the southern wall, it looked as if it were a two-story building because in the upper part the women's gallery was attached to it. The gallery had an iron grill with a balustrade and underneath, it was the prayer house used by the Hasidim of Belz.

Electrical candelabrums and copper candelabrums for candles hung from the ceiling on triple chains.

The copper candelabrums for candles were lit on Friday evenings and holidays and the sexton, Reb Shmeril attached extra importance to his holy work of lighting those candles. These candles stimulated a joyous feeling and a spiritual elevation about the holiness of the Sabbath and Holidays.

It also happened that candles were lit on a weekday by relatives for a mortally sick person, believing that thanks to the candle lighting in the holy place, the creator would bless the ill with complete recovery.

There were no combined pews and benches in our Bait Hamidrash, only long tables along the walls. They were simple tables with all kinds of carvings made by the Lancut children, and the benches were the same length as the tables.

Above the benches, there were shelves with a thousand of different books beginning with old Talmudic tractates, collections that were already torn from usage and were constantly repaired by the “repair book society”, that consisted of membership from young men that steadily studied the Torah in the Bait Hamidrash. There were also a variety of Holly Scriptures, Hasidic literature and different moralistic books from which people studied day and night.

The Holy Ark and the table from which the Torah Scrolls was red, was a symbol of simplicity, but nevertheless, in our eyes, it did not decrease its holiness.

In a corner of the sanctuary, there was a big oven built with bricks and white-washed. Leaning close to the ovens with their hands in their backs touching the oven, old-timers warmed their backs. People, who attended the prayer services in the Bait Hamidrash, had permanent seats which were considered private property, registered in special registration books which were guarded by the local Rabbi. The seats went from generation to generation.

From left, the sexton of the synagogue, Reb Shlomo From right, the sexton of the Bait Hamidrash, Reb Shemerl Friling

Important members of the community worshipped in Bait Hamidrash such as the chief Rabbi Elazar Shpiro, of blessed memory, Talmudic scholars, Jews well-versed in scriptures and also simple folks.

Even though the Bait Hamidrash was generally Hasidic, however, traditions were observed according to the traditions of Rabbi Tzvi Elimelech, the found of the Dynow Dynast, the author of “Bnai Yisoschor” because his grandson, Elazar was the local Rabbi. Still, the Bait Hamidrash was considered diversified because there were many worshipers of other Hasidic groups who were admirers of many great Rabbis like Belz, Sieniawa, Dzikow, Tchortkow, Tyczyn, Blazow, Koloszice, etc.

The Bait Hamidrash was the gathering place of wandering Jewish indigents that stayed there until they left town. Often-times, it served as a market for selling prayer books and other ritual objects. The sellers from out of town used to display their “ware” on the long tables and waited for customers who, while attending services, would leave through the books interested in buying or check the quality of the prayer shawls and phylacteries on sale.

The Bait Hamidrash was always open and the locks on the doors were rusty, never being used, not by day or night, not on summer nor in wintertime. It was open not only for the local people who came to pray and study, but it also served the marked peddlers to escape the summer heat and the winter cold, or just to change paces.

Prayers in the Bait Hamidrash were on-going from early morning hours until midday, with a quorum or individually. From the early morning hours, people of all ages came in to study Torah and the sounds of prayers merged with the sounds of the Torah students, without disturbing one another. Sometimes, a group of Torah students, being immersed in a Talmudic discourse, would interrupt their discussion and join in with the worshipers responding amen or joining in the “Kedusha”. Many times, the torah scholars were so immersed in studying that they didn't hear the prayers.

There was a third group of people who were not praying and were not studying but simply came in and discussed among themselves politics, business and community problems.

For some people, the Bait Hamidrash also served as a source of their livelihood. The fruit peddler would bring a basket of apples that began to spoil, selling them to young students at half price. Some people would bring a steaming pot of tea with sugar to sell a glass of tea. Reb Oyzer, the baker, a simple God-fearing man, adopted a holy task for himself by supplying a hot tea with sugar for those early birds who came to study the Torah after their immersion in the mikvah.

The first to come to the Bait Midrash, whether because of age or piousness was Reb Shalom Langsam, of blessed memory. He was a modest, good-hearted man, a hardware merchant and adding to deeds, he was also a “Mohel”. He used to get up at two or three in the morning, and with a lit lantern in his hand, he walked slowly until he reached the Bait Hamidrash. He was the first to breathe the renewed daily air before sunrise, when the Lancut Jews were still deep in sleep. He lit

The front of the Synagogue and the nearby Bait Hamidrash

In the Bait Hamidrash, there were several active groups in different fields. One of them was the Talmudic group who, annually and on a fixed date, completed the study of all Talmudic tractates. Many individuals or groups took upon themselves to complete a tractate. On this occasion there was always celebration and participants took upon themselves again to complete a tractate next year.

Many of the Lancut Jews lived a life of Torah and piousness, inside the Bait Hamidrash walls where their personality was forged. With great sadness I tore myself away from this beautiful and rich world, from my Bait Hamidrash, from the house that forged the national soul of the Lancut community in general.

[Page 36]

It the Talmudic Tractate “Megillah”, chapter 15, page 1. Rabbi Elazar, and Rabbi Haninah have said, “people who tell the source of their story would bring a speedy redemption for the world”. In the book “Magdil Yeshuat Malko” page 16, there is a story told by the famous author, Rabbi Abraham Simcha Horowitz, of blessed memory, the head of the Rabbinic court of Baranow, Galicia, which I copied verbatim.

“The prince Potocki who was the Duke of Lancut and the surrounding villages, had a lovely and smart son. In his youth, when he was taught religion by priests, they also taught him the Five Books of Moses beginning from Genesis. A thought had gnawed the young mans' mind about doubts that he stumbled during the teachings of the Roman Catholic Religion by the priests. At times he spoke up and asked, deep and thoughtful questions that stunned his teachers the priests, that perplexed them, and on many occasions had no answers. The priests had realized that the young Potocki understood the roots of the Jewish religion and knew the difference between right and left, between darkness and light. Therefore, after a consultation among themselves, they decided not to teach him Leviticus because in that book the basic commandments and sacred matters of basic Judaism were written and it might implant in the youth's heart, believable roots of the Jewish religion. Nevertheless, the trick did not work because the wise young man noticed that the priests named the Five Books of Moses, “Chumash” which means “five”, meaning the Five Books of Moses, and he wondered why one book was omitted.

In one of the boy's father's villages, there was a Jewish man who leased the tavern from his father. The boy went to the Jewish man and asked him to name all of the five books of Moses. When the man mentioned Leviticus, he asked the man to teach him the entire book, from beginning to end. The Jewish man fulfilled the boys' request and when they reached the part about pure and impurity, about immersion in the mikvah, the boy was very surprised, wondering how water could purify somebody and bring him out from impurity to being pure. He decided to experience on his own soul and body, to immerse in the mikvah water. Because the boys' intentions were pure and heavenly accepted. As it is written, “One who wants to be purified is helped by heaven”, therefore, as soon as he came out from the immersion, he felt an entirely different person. He was engulfed with great awe and holiness, and his heart was burning with the desire to become a Jew. He revealed his secret to the Jewish man, his teacher, and that was the reason why he decided to travel to a far-away city and there, he was brought into the covenant of Abraham and Israel (circumcised) and became a proselyte of Judaism.

He stayed in that strange place for a long time, studying the Torah and its precepts with devotion and wholeheartedness. One the young Potocki noticed that a young man, while wearing his tefillin, instead praying was involved in a simple conversation with a colleague. He angrily reprimanded the young man. The young man felt insulted and decided to avenge by reporting him to the authorities and asked them to inquire who this young man was and from where he came from. The officials came and arrested the young Potocki. They hand cuffed him and he was put in jail. They informed his parents about their son and that he had converted to Judaism. The news seriously hurt hm and they tried to persuade him to repent. Priests came and attempted the same, day after day. They talked to him softly and asked him to reverse his decision, not cause the noble Potocki family and their respected political friends' shame, pain and grief, not to lower himself in his prime youth into the abyss. However, all their persuasions were like hitting a hard rock. He insisted that Judaism was his true belief for which he was ready to sacrifice his life.

Once the priests came to him and told him:

“See with your own eyes how strange your deeds are in the eyes of God: If God had wanted you to be Jewish, your ancestors would have been born Jewish but, since your parents and your country men are Catholic, isn't this a sign that you should also be Catholic like your noble ancestors?”

And the young man with his sweet-talking tongue and skilled rhetoric, responded:

“It is a well-known fact that when God proposed to other nations to accept the Torah, they refused. However, it is also inconceivable that God went from door-to-door begging to accept the Torah. What he actually did, He turned to the heads of communities, in every city, I am sure that there were people in these communities who were willing to accept the Torah, but were forced to obey the dictates of the heads of their communities. Since the Holy, blessed be, He doesn't deprive anyone from doing his will therefore. His omnipotent wisdom directed that the souls of those people who were willing to accept the Torah not be rejected and segregated from the children of Israel. Therefore, God inserted the souls of the willing people or the souls of their descendants in the wings of the Divinity. The same happens among the Jews, who unanimously responded: “We will hear and obey” but did not really mean it because there were wicked people also among the Israelites who did not want to accept the Torah but could not do so among their brethren. However, since during giving the Torah on Mount Sinai, their mouth and heart lacked unity, therefore their descendants from every tribe, in every generation, converted themselves to other religions”.

When the parents and the priests realized that they had failed and all their persuasive power was fruitless, they sentenced him to die by burning fire and the proselyte happily accepted his fate. He was burned on the Auto-da-Fe, on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, and his name is remembered eternally with love and blessing.

The Holy Rabbi, Elimelech from Lezaisk, of blessed memory, always blew the shofar after midday saying that there is no one in heaven to respond Amen during the shofar blowing because all the angels went to the burning place of the proselyte to welcome his purified soul.

[Pages 37-39]

“Hakol”, first year edition n°4 Michael Levi
Radkinsohn, Kenigsberg Sukkoth Eve, 5637,
(1876) October 2 (page 28).

Lancut, Revered Monsieur Publisher!

I have received today the pages of your periodical “Hakol” and I will enjoy seeing an experimental page where you declared that you will always take up the dispute of faultless with those who boast in the name of the Haskalah but have nothing to do with wisdom. Indeed, the man who took upon himself to be the judge between the two groups who differ in their opinions, when the case is brought before him for judgement, had to forget for a while which group he admires and be truthful in his judgement, without consideration which group will be judged guilty or innocent. I hope that an honourable publisher will see that the truth, therefore, I will take the permission from the readers of your periodical to talk about an incident that

Joseph Meir Rosmarin

Therefore, until now, no one ever heard about any arguments or quarrels between the Hasidim and Maskilim, as it has happened in other cities. However, a short time ago, it did happen. Mr. Weisman, a dear person who always minded his own business, loved his People and its history and knowledgeable in wisdom and science, bought the ninth volume of Jewish History by Mr. Ch. Gratz and gave it to the local bookbinder to bind it. The bookbinder went and told a group of local Hasidim that Mr. Weisman bought a faulty, defiled book, which was forbidden for every Jew to bring such a book under the roof. According to the bookbinder, it was a book overfilled with abuse and revilement of Judaism in general, and especially about Hassidism in particular. The Hasidim anxiously bought the story from the bookbinder and told their Rabbi the story of what they had hear, adding a little exaggeration of their own. To the sorrow and regret of every honest thinking soul, the Rabbi did not mince critical words and excommunicated Mr. Weisman from the community.

There were also a few individuals in that group who, without signing their names, reported Mr. Weisman to the authorities and as a result, he was summoned to appear in court on September 19 to face the judges. Mr. Weisman's effort to postpone his appearance in course, because of the conflicting dates with the highest holiday of, the most Holy Day of the year, without success. He was forced to interrupt the prayers and appear in court. Nevertheless, the effort of the group was in van. Mr. Weisman was found innocent and those who excommunicated him were summoned to the court to explain their action. Was there a bigger blasphemy than their action? Was it Mr. Weisman's fault that the Rabbi was fined a heavy fine? In all fairness, I must point out that the punishment that Mr. Weisman received, was much worse because in a small place like Lancut, it meant that people suddenly had distanced themselves from him and stopped buying from him or selling him anything, which caused him heavy financial losses. No one knew how the story would end. Amazingly, not a year had passed when the Rabbi of Sanok excommunicated one of his own people and spent two months in jail. I heard that it was very painful for the Rabbi's father, but the Lancut Hasidim did not learn a lesson, to be more lenient, which is a commandment that our Sages advised our judges and to avoid harshness whenever they judged someone. May God grant us peace, which is always a blessing for the People of Israel, and may the different groups among us stop hating each other because hatred ruins our society and is hurtful to Jews and Judaism.

Horrible hearsay has reached us, which serious terrified our hearts, because the awful anti-Semitic hatred has infiltrated our borders. In the city of Lezajsk (about two hours from our city), there appeared flyers and warnings all over the town saying: “Jews”! “You are strangers in the city! Leave the city with your entire families so that bad things should not happen and cause you to die. If you will not heed our warning, you should realize that you are facing bad things. You will be chased out from here. Do not delude yourselves by thinking that some sick mind wrote these flyers, not at all. Six thousand people endorsed the text of the flyers. Those that would heed the warning will be fine but those who will not, will only have to blame yourselves. The flyers have signatures of six thousand people. As for the time being, the local police are on alert and is watching for any disturbance, but nobody knows what the time will bring”?^[a]

Yitzhak Weisman

“Hashachar”, Vienna, 1877, year eight,
Lancut, Cheshvan 1877.

“The hills and the mountains of the world trembled and exploded, and a mouse was born”.

I will use this fable by telling you about the incident that happened to me not too long ago in my city. It rumbled with such loud shouts, as if something serious had occurred, and I feel that time has given me a chance to tell the story, not withstanding the fact we still keep hearing about the affair largely exaggerated, and it was hard to retrieve the truth from the other mouths. Even in the periodical “Hakol”, n°4, there were inaccurate reports that weren't the truth. Namely, that I was persecuted by the local Rabbi and morally beaten by him and, therefore, people have distanced from me and my business went to the doldrums and many more horrible rumours. However, all those things were not true. I am still revered by the community, by all who know me and I come and go as usual. The arrows of the Rabbi and his Hasidim aimed at me have not hurt me. They passed me by. What really happened to me, and about the sins attributed on my account, I will further tell to the revered readers.

I am a resident of the city of Lancut which is a pitiful city. It is also the residence of the government minister, Count Potocki who represents our country. The name Lancut is rarely mentioned in the press. It is only mentioned when the above-mentioned minister leaves the city or returns. Jewish people live in the city in peace, without shriek and everyone is guarding his store or their stall in the marketplace. The people have nothing in common with outsiders, even though the railroad is passing the town; it doesn't bring tourists to tour the city and shed some light upon them or bring knowledge.

Therefore, people live and die as they did a hundred years ago and it is understandable that these people, even though they are at peace with God and his Torah, and most of them are straight forward and honest, they don't share the European culture and have no part in contemporary education, but dwell in mist and darkness. There is no congregation that doesn't name as its leaders, the Rabbi, the ritual slaughterer, the cantor and the sexton. Lancut has also named the above-mentioned personalities as the masters over their heads. For generations, the stork found its nest in our land and have multiplied like frogs in every city. They also came to the city of Lancut and elected a Rabbi, a saint, who became their shepherd who leads them and rules with a rod in his hand. The Hasidim bow their heads with holy reverence, and the Rabbi offers remedies to the sick, fertility to barren women, who are crowding his doors. Weak-minded men and women believers come from afar to receive blessing from his mouth and be awarded from his goodness.

When a few years ago the Rabbi passed away, his son, Rabbi Simcha, rose to replace him. He is also holding on to his position with both hands, even though the majority of the congregation did not elect him because he was not suitable to wear the mantle of his father, of blessed memory, and does not have the same favourite attributes. The group of Hasidim got together and united in one corpse and the Rabbi became the head of the corpse. On every holiday, the gluttons gather around his table, eat and drink until they get intoxicated. They grab the Rabbis' food leftovers, which are called “Shirayim” in Hebrew, cleaning up the crumbs from his table, like crazy. They curse and use expletive names for those who don't belong to their gang; the brazen spreading all over town with their shenanigans.

Since I settled in Lancut and have not assimilated with them and do not keep company with them for a simple reason that I don't have anything in common with the group. I let them follow their idol and concentrate on collecting books of knowledge and resourcefulness. I read periodical in my leisure time when I am away from my business. Lately, many young men came to my house to read my books. I also generously began to lend out books to take home. My activities became thorns in the eyes of the opponents of light because they are used to walking in the dark, wanting nothing to do with knowledge or intelligence. Strenuously, they made an effort to find a crime or sin in my behaviour; to find an excuse of assaulting me. When I gave the ninth volume of the Jewish history authored by Dr. Gratz to the bookbinder for binding, the hypocritical bookbinder went and told the Hasidic group that I had given him an impure, forbidden book for binding. He also, without my permission, gave them the book which was never returned to me to this day.

The Rabbi and the Hasidim, even though they did not read inside that book not even one letter, but by the remarks of the author and the language the book was written, they decided that this book was filled with negativism again Judaism in general and Hassidism in particular. My dear reader! Hear and be stunned about the wisdom of our local Rabbi! When he was asked what heretical material he had found in that book? His response was that Dr. Gratz clearly wrote in the book that the famous dispute about knife sharpening cannot be found anywhere, not in the Talmud nor in the later ritual literature. And he was puzzled and could not understand why the known dispute between the Genius of Wilno and another Rabbi about this matter, occurred in the first place. The Hasidim led by their Rabbi, rapidly gathered in their Bait Hamidrash, and after the consumption of a sizeable quantity of vodka, as it is their custom, they confiscated the book and I, as the leader of the Haskalah people in the city, was cursed, reviled and forbidden to allow any Jew to enter my home or absorb any words coming out of my mouth. It all happened in the morning after the prayers. When they were scorned and became the laughing stock in the eyes of honest and straight-hearted people, they assembled again in the Bait Hamidrash during the “Mincha” services, opened the Holy Ark with fearsome wailing and hollering, they cursed and scorned in general every person who dare to

The Post Office		The Railroad Station
The Courthouse		The Hospital

Original footnote:

1. ”Haivri”, Brody, March 3, 1882, sheet 23. Return

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