[Page 271]

Lancut was located on the border between Austrian Galicia and Eastern Ukraine and consisted of a colourful Jewish life from both cultures. On the one side, there was the reigning of a religious-Hasidic atmosphere, and on the other side, there came into existence an Intellectual-Zionist movement. A beautiful young generation had grown up with pioneering ideas and cultural organizations which had developed widespread activity.

This shtetl was beautifully built, immaculate and the homes and streets were aesthetic. The central point in the shtetl was the marketplace. It was in a quadratic shape, surrounded with one-story Jewish homes and stores. The marketplace was the living pulse of the shtetl. Adding to the importance of the marketplace was, that only a few metres from it, was the imposing entrance to the castle of Count Potocki. This added to the shtetl a special charm because the Count Potocki's castle in Lancut was famous in the entire country of Poland.

Kings and Princes came to visit the young Count, Alfred Potocki. The traditional hunting which the Count organized, was considered a national entertainment and is enshrined in the Polish literature. The Count always appeared in a royal fanfare. He travelled in his luxury carriage, hitched to pedigree horses and next to the carriage a horseman with a trumpet rode, announcing the Count's arrival. Rich literature has been written about Count Potocki. The residents of Lancut, Jews and non-Jews, were proud of the nearness of the Count's palace and his estates.

Because of Count Potocki, the shtetl was famous in Poland and abroad. There was a notion that the neighbouring shtetlach had envied Lancut and that is why the Lancut Jews were nicknamed: “The Aristocrats”. However, the aristocracy was not based on the Count's residency. The shtetl merited to be the residence of Tzadikim and famous men. Lancut was proud with the fact that one of the pillars of Hassidism and righteousness, the Seer from Lublin, was a resident of Lancut for a long time. His tiny prayer room became a place of pilgrimage. It was visited by Hassidim and researchers of Hassidism which continued until the Holocaust.

Reb. Wolf Kneller, G-d Avenge his blood

Note from the translator: The context of the following memoirs is, in a certain way, a repetition of stories from the Hebrew section, but nevertheless, I decided to continue to translate the Yiddish text also because they contain certain facts about the Lancut Jewry that were omitted in the Hebrew section, in order that this book be a complete translated work. Harry Langsam z”l

The Rabbi from Ropczyce, accompanied by his entourage, came to Lancut for a visit in 1827. Many Hassidim and admirers went to meet and welcome the Rabbi. When the Rabbi was close to the city, he passed the old cemetery and requested to stop the carriage for a while. He then said: “I can smell here the fragrance of paradise”. As soon as he pronounced his sentence, he fell ill and died in Lancut. He died on the 11th day of the month of Iyar 1827, and was buried in the old cemetery where the “Ohel” was built. Since then, thousands of visitors came annually to visit his grave and celebrate the anniversary of his departure. On that day, Lancut was always overcrowded with Rabbis and Hassidim, which became the envy of the people from nearby shtetlach.

It can boldly be declared that Jewish life in Lancut was nurtured by Torah and Hassidism, even though there were in the city, well-organized Zionist groups, but the majority, whether from the older generation or youth, the majority were involved in deeply religious Jewish extremism. There were no “Mitnagdim” (opponents of Hassidism) in Lancut. People were admirers of various Rabbinic Dynasties, but at the same time, they were a close-knit force that occasionally ignored even the local Rabbinic authority. The strongest group were the Hassidim of Belz with their fiery members, heads of Yeshivahs and scholars. In later years, they were organized in the “Machzikey Hadat” Society of which the leaders were famous God-fearing Torah scholars that never permitted the smallest deviation from religious rituals and strictures. One among the outstanding religious leaders was Reb Benjamin Brand. A man of a short physical statue but with a great Hasidic spirit. He was the son-in-law of Reb Joel Lindenblit. From the younger leaders, there was Reb Ephraim Cwibel, who at present lives in Belgium. However, the spiritual pillar was considered to be Reb Wolf Kneller, (the brother of the writer of these articles), who was killed by the Germans several months before the liberation when his hiding place in a bunker was discovered. Reb Wolf was the chairman of the “Machzikey Hadat”. With his erudition and education, he had a great influence in the Hasidic life in the city.

For many generations, the Lancut Rabbinic chair was passed as an inheritance from son-to-son, to the children of the great Rabbi and Tzadik from Dynow, the author of the book: “Bnai Yisoschor”. The first inheritor of the rabbinic chair in Lancut was a son of the genius and Tzadik, Rabbi Elazar, of blessed memory. He was followed by his son, the Tzadik Reb Simchal'e, of blessed memory, and the last Rabbi in Lancut was Rabbi Elazar who occupied the rabbinic chair until 1938.

The memory of his image is still fresh in my mind. The beautiful likeness of Rabbi Elazar, who was the last Rabbi of Lancut from the “Bnai Yisoschor” Dynasty. He was a patriarchal figure with aristocratic manners, a great and clever scholar, full of wisdom and folksiness. His warm relationship with simple folks, his love for the simple people made him out to be beloved by everyone. He was known for his wonderful folksy stories which attracted many admirers. People listened devoutly to his rabbinic Torah discourses. His home was a home where the wise congregated and he bonded them together with Torah and piousness. His doors were open for everyone, and everyone was able to find support.

His son, Reb Leibush (in the United States), Reb Joseph (in Israel), Reb Chaim and Reb Welvel, had not aspired for a Rabbinic chair. They all became simple average people and were not ambitious to seek prestige. They did not want to get involved in a dispute with the opposition from the city's assistant, Rabbi Chaim Reuven, of blessed memory, who was a descendant of Sandz-Dynasty, and later, with his son Reb Alter Chaim Wagshal (at present in the United States. Even though the sons of the last Rabbi in Lancut, the descendants of the “Bnai Yisoschor” were not anxious to occupy the Rabbinic chair in Lancut, destiny had decided that the daughters would inherit the rabbinic chair. The oldest daughter of Rabbi Elazar, Sheva, married the son of the Rabbi from Krosno, Reb David Fihrer, of blessed memory (a son of a great Torah authority and author of the book: “Har Shefer”). Reb David Fihrer took over the rabbinic chair in Lancut and was very respected. His home was a place of Torah and greatness. The younger daughter of Rabbi Elazar, Tzipora, married Rabbi Ury Klighoipt from Tarnopol, who later became the Rabbi of Lubraniec (near Wloclawek). He was a great and Godfearing scholar (the writer of these lines was his pupil in Lubraniec). He was tragically killed together with the Jews of the shtetl during the Holocaust, and with this tragedy, one of the glorious Rabbinic Dynasties was completely cut off forever.

Beside the big marketplaces in Lancut, there was another much smaller marketplace on the other side of the city which was populated exclusively by Jews. In that location, in the same little streets and alleys that led to the palace, it was the place where the city's prayer houses were concentrated: The Synagogue, the big Beit Hamidrash, the Kloiz of Hassidim of Belz and the smaller Beit Hamidrash shared one big building. A little further was the building of the former Dzikow Kloiz which later became the Mizrachi Kloiz. They were located in the elective community building.

The big synagogue was built in the 18^th century and refurbished about fifty years ago by the elective community that was then headed by Reb Menachem Mandel Shternheim, of blessed memory. The synagogue was built with a unique architecture of that time – big and tall and the interior was decorated with artistic paintings. On the ceiling and walls were paintings of zodiac signs. In the middle of the eastern wall, there were a few steps leading to the holy ark. Ascending the few steps, there was little platform from where the Lancut Rabbi preached for generations, and national leaders spoke during different celebrations.

Rabbi Fishman (Maimon) visited Lancut in 1932. He was on his cycle of speeches throughout the cities in Poland. With the pathos of a prophet, Rabbi Fishman called the people of Israel to hold on to the Torah of Israel and to Eretz Israel. This was a speech that he spoke from that platform near the holy ark. During the speech, the audience gaped at him and swallowed very word of the great religious leader, when suddenly, a noise was heard as though a bomb had exploded. A heavy rock came flying in through the window into the interior of the synagogue. The window panes broke and the glass shards spread all over the place. The rock was thrown by the fanatic Hassidim of Belz. Only by a miracle, that rock fell a centimetre from Rabbi Maimon's head. Rabbi Maimon calmly bent down and picked up the rock which he later saved among his archival rocks that had been thrown at him for his fight for the sake of Eretz Israel. Today, we regretfully can see how little we understood him then and did not follow his path leading to Eretz Israel.

As previously mentioned, there was a small room called “The little synagogue of Lublin”. It was the Beit Hamidrash of the Seer from Lublin. This little synagogue, which characteristically was considered as a sacred place, became the place where the craftsmen and simple people of Lancut prayed. However, these simple people of Lancut possessed so much holiness and felt comfortable in the room where the Seer from Lublin had prayed.

As it is well known. The Germans destroyed every synagogue in Poland. One must wonder why were the hangmen's arms too short to reach the synagogue in Lancut and burn it? However, the synagogue remained intact. Maybe it was the merit of the little synagogue of Lublin.

The wrought iron fence of the synagogue also encircled the big Beit Hamidrash which was the most active and lively religious centre in the city. The Beit Hamidrash, which was under the leadership of the city Rabbi, Elazar Spiro, of blessed memory, was the nicest place of Torah and prayer. A strict Orthodox spirit reigned there. Entering the Beit Hamidrash, one encountered Yeshiva students who sat there day and night studying the Torah. They practically realized the command: “And you will study the Torah, day and night”. Most of the young men were Hassidim of Belz that came at three o'clock in the morning, no matter how cold and frosty the weather was. They came running to study in the Beit Hamidrash. Their studying of the Torah was not just a past time but it was a studying with devotion and Hasidic fiery. Sweet melodic tunes were heard from the interior of the Beit Hamidrash until late after midnight. The studying took place in a very organized system. The students were divided in groups. The more mature young men, who were already considered to be Talmudic scholars, taught the younger students lessons that were involved with sophistry. The younger students also studied with devotion for the sake of the heavenly command. One of the older students was Shlomo Feldstein, a student from Ospitzin (Auschwitz). A sharp erudite, (he is now in the United States). Reb Pesach Langsam taught at a table filled with students and around other tables, there was Ephraim Cvibel (now in Belgium), Reb Yitzhak Wiener and Aaron Kalisher. From the younger generation there was: Reb David Knoblich and David Reif, and the most outstanding of them all was the most known in the city and vicinity, the well versed and knowledgeable Reb Wolf Kneller, the best pupil of the Tarnopol Rabbi, author of the book: “Chawacelet Hasharon”. He was the teacher and the guide to several teachers in the Beit Hamidrash.

Beside the steady students in the Beit Hamidrash, the senior Hassidim spent time in the Beit Hamidrash studying and praying. I still remember the image of Reb Shalom Estlein who had the tenure to open the Beit Hamidrash at three o'clock in the morning and immediately begin reciting Psalms.

The cemetery in Lancut in 1945

That is the picture of the Beit Hamidrash in the Jewish Lancut. Entering the Beit Hamidrash, you encountered a full sanctuary with good Jews. Good manners, good thoughts reigned everywhere. One generation had implanted into the other generation resourceful Jewishness.

At present, there is only emptiness. The Beit Hamidrash is mute. No Jewish melody is heard anymore. No Jewish child in the streets can be seen. Only the tall willow trees outside the city are standing with dropped branches. They seem to be the only ones mourning the destruction of Lancut.

[Pages 275-279]

Tzvi S. Leder the author of the book “Jews of Rzeszow”

[Pages 280-283]

On the way home from the synagogue Reb Melech Milrad and his grandson Dr. Natan Kudish

[Pages 283-284]

[Pages 284-285]

One among the social institutions which existed in Lancut was the Society for Purchasing new books and repairing old books. The task of the society was to buy newly published books and to restore old and torn books that were used in the prayer houses and the Yeshivahs in the city.

The people of Lancut that came to study in the big Beit Hamidrash, and even those who came only to pray, were very proud to see the big book cases filled with a new set of Talmudic tractates published in Wilno, and thousands of other Holy Scriptures. The books did not remain on the shelves for decorative purposes but were used to study day and night. The more the books were used, the more they were need for repairs from tear and wear, and that was the goal of the “Tikun Sefarim” (the shortened name), of the society.

I am proud of the fact that I merited to be one of the officers of that society. I was the bookkeeper and, therefore, am able to report in this article about many details of the society.

The “Tikun Sefarim” Society was founded approximately 150 years ago, before the last war. The founder of the society was one of the great Tzadikim of that period, Rabbi Elimelech from Lizhensk, of blessed memory. Since then, contributions were collected for purchasing new books and repairing the torn ones. Rich and poor contributed to that fund whether they studied in the Beit Hamidrash or not. No one ever refused to donate to the fund. All the Lancut Jews had shown the love for the holy books. Our organization was legally recognized by the authorities, and we were permitted to collect donations at family celebrations and other public events. There was also the custom of making a donation when someone was called to the Torah for an “Aliyah”. I remember when I took over the books, there was a thousand zlotys in cash. The annual income was about 600 zlotys. At that time, the zloty was a valued currency and as for a society of a small shtetl such as Lancut, this was a sizeable sum of money. If to judge only by the amount of money, it is evidence enough that the Lancut Jews loved the books.

Among the inventories of the holy books and Scriptures in the Lancut Beit Hamidrash, there were rare and very old book editions, and because of one such antique edition, a disagreement broke out with the administration of Count Potocki, which could have had serious consequences in our relationship with the Count.

In the Lancut Beit Hamidrash, there was a “Shulchan Aroch” edition with an inscription on the title page: “Karo Chai” (Reb Joseph Karo was the author of the book). The inscription meant that the book was printed in 1565. The administrator of Count Potocki's library, a lover and collector of antique books, found out about this particular book and asked the society to sell him the book. He was ready to pay any price. In spite of the respect that we cherished for the Count, and knowing, that once in a while, we needed his favours, we still decided to refuse the request. To us, it seemed natural because this demonstrated how dear our relationship to books was.

Adhering to my proposition after I took the job, it was decided not to keep extra cash, but to use it immediately to purchase additional new books. As time passed, many new books were added. In order to find a particular book on the shelves, one had to be acquainted with all the book shelves. Reb Pinchos Rosmarin from Ropczyce, just happened to visit his uncle, Reb Yaacov Chaim Rosmarin in Lancut, and when he came to the Beit Hamidrash, he was very impressed with the big book treasure. However, when trying to find a certain book, he had to look for it for a long time. As a result, Reb Pinchos Rosmarin worked out, within a short time, an exemplary catalogue of all the books. The books were divided into categories (Talmud, ritual strictures, moralistic and Hassidic books), with the names of the books put on to a big chart and attached to the northern wall, near the book cases. Reb Pinchos also introduced a system on how to keep the inventory of the books, registering every new purchase, and how often to take inventory, checking books that needed repair.

The books did not stand dormant in the shelves but were constantly used by the Torah students, Yeshiva students and the city's older people. More than a hundred Yeshiva young men and fifty just married men have studied daily in the Beit Hamidrash. They began their studying in the early morning hours. The more mature young men taught the younger students. The older people belonged to another group and were taught daily, early in the morning, by Reb Yantche, the son of Joel Petersil. He was an outstanding, Godfearing scholar and possessed an extraordinary, explanatory talent. Merchants also tore themselves away from their businesses and came to his Torah teachings. Between the Mincha and Maariv services, Reb Yantche taught the “Mishna” without some two hundred people. Dozens of young men studied Torah in the Kloiz of the Hassidim of Belz. Beside all the above attendees in the Beit Hamidrash, some individuals also used to drop in for an hour or two to look into a holy book. In Lancut, nobody could complain that the book cases with books were abandoned. As long as Lancut existed, the people were connected with the books.

Since no one ever complained that there was a shortage of books, no one could ever complain about the lack of people studying Torah from the books. Two shelves with books were attached to the northern wall which was about five metres long. On the top shelves, there were the Talmudic tractates and the stricture and ritual volumes and on the lower shelves, the books of prophets, moralistic books and Hassidic literature. The centre of the easter wall was occupied by the Holy Ark filled with Torah scrolls. To the Simchat Torah “Hakafot”, Rabbi Elazar Spira, of blessed memory, used to bring his own Torah scroll which was especially sacred to him because if was an heirloom from the “Bnai Yisoschor”, the Rabbi Elimelech from Dynov. Although the centre of the easter wall was occupied by the Holy Ark, two book shelves were installed on both sides of the ark which contained two older Talmudic tractates. One set was printed in Slawuta in 1867, and the other set was printed in Warsaw in 1884. Beside the big Talmudic tractates, there were smaller Talmudic tractates from which the younger people loved to study. On the southern wall, between the windows, there were also a few shelves where the big “Rambam” set was located, printed in Vienna in 1931, and a few hundred volumes were packed in. The southern wall, where the average people in town had their seats, were not spared either. Over their heads there was a polished cabinet holding the big luxury set of Talmudic Tractates printed in Wilno. And, unfortunately with sadness, I want to point out that during the Holocaust, when the town was brutally slaughtered by the German beasts, the people, the holy books from the big Beit Hamidrash on which generations had grown up and prospered, acquired knowledge sacred to the holy Lancut community, was also destroyed.

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