Sokal, Ukraine

The Sokal Memorial Book
Tartakov, Varenzh, Stoyanov & Vicinity

Sokal, Ukraine
50°29' / 24°17' Tartakiv, Ukraine
50°28' / 24°24' Varyazh, Ukraine
50°31' / 24°06' Stoyaniv, Ukraine
50°22' / 24°39'

Translation of
Sefer Sokal, Tartakow Ve-ha-Seviva

Edited by: A. Khomet

Published in Tel Aviv, Israel, 1968

English Translation Prepared and Published by

Jacob Solomon Berger

Mahwah, New Jersey, USA 2023

Acknowledgments

Our sincere appreciation to Jacob Solomon Berger who has kindly donated
his original book to JewishGen for online presentation

Translation Editors: Dr. Rafael Manory & Erica S. Goldman-Brodie

This is a translation from: Sefer Sokal, Tartakow, Ve-ha-Seviva
ed. A. Khomet, Memorial Book of Sokal Tartakow and Surroundings, Tel Aviv, Israel, 1968

Notes:

The complete translation of this book is also available here: The Sokal Memorial Book

The original book can be seen online at the NY Public Library site: Sokal

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fulfilling our mission of disseminating information about the Holocaust and destroyed Jewish communities.
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Translator's Foreword		xiv
Editorial Committee Foreword		xiv
Map of the Area		xv

The History of the Jews in Sokal		1
The Sokal Community		2
Our Teacher, David HaLevi, Author of ‘Tur Zahav,’ Resident of Sokal		2
The Gaon-Teacher Aryeh Yehuda Leib, Rabbi and Bet-Din Senior of Sokal		3
The Gaon-teacher R' Aryeh Leib, son of the Gaon ‘Pnei Yehoshua,’ Rabbi and ABD”K of Sokal		4
The Bet-Din of Sokal in the Years of The Gaon-Teacher Aryeh Leib's Rabbinate		5
Rebbe Baruch son of Zvi Hirsch Heilperin of Sokal, Author of the Book ‘Mitzvot HaShem.’		5
Hasidism in Sokal		6
The Gaon-Teacher Issachar Ber, the ABD”K, and the Gaon-Teacher R' Shlomo, the Maggid of that Location		6
Sokal Up To The Second World War		7
How to Write and Pronounce the Name of the City of Sokal		9
The Jewish Community in Sokal – A Center of Torah & Yiddishkeit		10
Sokal My Birthplace		11
A Bit of Residue and Facts about the Oldest History of Sokal		11
The Oldest Headstones in the Sokal Cemetery		12
The Sokal Settlement Depended on the Jewish Community in Belz		14
The Social-Community Importance of the Sokal Jewish Settlement		14
The Lineage of Sokal Jewry		15
The Sokal Community Obtains Its Independence from Belz		15
Sokal - A Center of Prominent Torah Scholars		15
The Thousand Nights of the Young Gaon – Sholom Rokeach זצ”ל		16
The Sokal Settlement and the Belz Dynasty		17
The Great Torah Scholars in Sokal		20
Sages & Hasidic Persona in Sokal		21
Synagogues and Study Houses in Sokal		26
The Cruel Expulsion from Hrubieszow-Chelm & the Sokal Jews		27
The Jews in Sokal from Ancient Times to the Holocaust	Dr. Abraham Khomet	30
The First Evidence of Jews in Sokal		33
Under Austrian Rule		40
In Independent Poland		61
Historical Graves in the Old Cemetery in Sokal	A. Birnbaum	71
The Jewish Members of the Sokal Municipal Council	Dr. Zigmunt Gruber	73

Hasidism in Sokal		75
The Czortkow-Husiatyn Kloyz–The Great Sacred Place in Sokal		76

The Zionist Movement in Sokal		82
The Zionist Organization in Sokal	Dr. David Kindler	83
From the History of the ‘Mizrahi’ in Sokal	Yitzhak Birnbaum	97
From the Revisionist Movement in Sokal	Israel Shapiro	99
Poalei Tzion and Hitakhdut in Sokal	A. Kh.	101
A Story from a Youth Organization	Moshe Kubler, Lawyer	106
The ‘HaShomer Ha'Tzair’ Movement in Sokal	Dr. Y. Efrat (Menkes)	114
Imparting General Enlightenment		116
The Hebrew Language		117
Settlements and Tours		117
The Place of the Branch in the Midst of the Jewish Zionist Community		119
‘Tze'Irei Mizrahi’ in Sokal	Yaakov Za”K	123
The Youth Organization ‘Gordonia’ in Sokal	Yitzhak Levin	128
The Resuscitation of the Hebrew Language in Sokal	Dr. David Kindler	133
Non-Zionist Organizations in Sokal		137
‘Agudat Israel’	A. Kh.
The ‘Bund’ in Israel		139
Jewish Agricultural Work in the Sokal Vicinity	Aryeh Fass	141
The Jewish Contribution to Sokal's Development	Dr. David Kindler	143
Humanitarian and Charitable Institutions of the Jews in Sokal		147
Jewish Philanthropic Organizations & Institutions In Sokal	Dr. David Kindler	148
The Home of My Father	Dr. Y. Efrat (Menkes)	167
And I Will Remember These!...	Y. HaLevi	171
When I Remind Myself of Zhabuzhzha...	Zvi Klinger	175
The Rebbe R' Shmuel Rokeach ז”צל	Menashe Unger	183
The Gaon Rabbi R' Shimshon Sztokhammer ז”צל	Melech Neustadt	184
Rabbi Shimshon Sztokhammer ה”יד	Abraham Zemba	186
Abraham Yaakov Z”K ז”ל	Y. F.	187
Leoniah (Leib) Fyvel.	Y. F.	188
Dr. Joseph Weniger ז”ל	Michael Landau	192
Regarding the Character of Naphtali Shimoni (Tauba)	Dr. Y. Efrat (Menkes)	194
Aryeh Fass ז”ל	Dr. Y. Efrat (Menkes)	197
David Byk	Dr. David Kindler	199
Engineer Schwartz		202
Zigmunt Leider		202
Yidd'l Grossman	A. Becker (Buenos Aires)	203

The Holocaust		206
Pages About the Torture and Execution of the Jewish Settlement in Sokal	Moshe Maltz	207
In the Nazi Gehenna		210
On the Ruins of Jewish Sokal		233
The Fate of Two Jewish Children: Miriam & Shlomit		236
Dov Zigman's Experiences in the Ukrainian Gehenna	A. Kh.	247
The First Letter to Dov'cheh's Aunt, Szprinza in Haifa		247
Letter to Dov'cheh Zigman's Uncle Henryk Klinger		249
Frightening Details Regarding Ukrainian Cruelties		251
The Rescue of 15 Jews in an Attic Above of a Pig Sty	Y. Szmulewitz	255
The Course of My Life During the German Occupation	Safa Rotenberg	259
In the Forest		262
In A German Labor Camp	Aryeh Fass	264
Memories from the Period of Suffering and Pain	Miriam Ruziner	266
From the Sokal Ghetto	Leah Baumel	271
“Remember What Amalek Did To You”	Baruch ben Zvi HaLevi Lewittes	272
One of the Righteous Gentiles of the World	Gitt'l Linsker	280
Jewish Doctors & Medical Professionals in the Sokal Ghetto	Dr. David Kindler	283
Scions of Sokal & Vicinity In Israel and the Diaspora		287
The Organization of Émigrés of Sokal & Vicinity in Israel	Joseph Fyvel	288
Jews from Sokal in the Diaspora	Joseph Fyvel	298

Tartakov		306
Memories of My Birthplace, the Sacred Congregation of Tartakov	Aryeh Bak	308
The Community of Tartakov		308
The Community Way of Life Within the Town and Congregation		315
Tartakov – My Shtetl	Shaul Linsker	325
Jewish Life in Tartakov	A. Becker	330
About the Jewish Religious & Socio-Cultural Life in Tartakov		332
The Tale of One Family	Chana Cohen	342
The Path of Pain and Suffering	Hersch Genauer	349
A Diary From The Nazi Gehenna	Zvi Abers	351
In Memory of My Friend Asher Rubinstein	Shaul Linsker	355

Varenzh		357
My Town of Varenzh	Sarah Ben-Yaakov	358
Joseph-Hersch the Itinerant Village Merchant	Shlomo Strauss-Marko	371

Stoyanov		375
Regarding My Small Shtetl of Stoyanov	Aryeh Warband	376
Memories of My Shtetl	Moshe Yekhiel HaLevi Segal	383
R' Moshe Yekhiel Segal ז”ל	Elimelech Rosenbaum	390
A Little Bit of the Memories of My Shtetl	Leah Ben-Yehuda	391
Our Brother A. D. Warbner	Szifra Rosenfeld, Malka Landi, Zvi Warbner	394
Regarding Yaakov ben Joseph Grossman ז”ל	Szifra Rosenfeld, Malka Landi & Zvi Warbner	396
Stoyanov – In the Years of Nazi Captivity	Y. Kremnitzer	397
Black Friday		401
The Elderly Jew		402
The Sadistic German Soldier		403
The Decree to Wear a White Armband with a Star of David		403
Sending Jews to the Work Camp at Kuzaki		404
Aktionen of Clothing		404
The Mood Amidst the Jews		405

The Last Aktion		406
List of the Martyrs That Were Exterminated in the Holocaust		409

Necrology		411

Index of Illustrations		437

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