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(R' Avremeleh is third from the left)
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[Page 71]
By A. Birnbaum (Haifa)
Edited by Dr. Rafael Manory and Erica S. Goldman-Brodie
Recently, during the dedication of a new cemetery in Sokal, I heard from elderly Jewish people that there an old gravestone can be found there of a man and his wife and in the folio, which had been burned about thirty years ago during a fire, the following legend was appended as an addition to the headstone.
At the time that Sokal began to build the first cemetery on the side of the Bug [River] the cemetery was dedicated. The Rabbi at the time, R' Revill expressed his wish, that on the same day he should renew what his wife immediately grasped and articulated, that just as she had accompanied him to the wedding canopy, she wishes to be interred with him in the 'True World' which was immediately done.
Being curious to satisfy myself if such a gravestone actually existed at all, the basis for the legend, I set off to find this headstone, with several escorts, and with help from someone who knew the way, we actually found it. The writing on it was the following:
' For a number of years they came to the Ark, a man and his wife were buried.'
Then the headstone was divided in its length by a prominently carved feature and on the right side the inscription read: “On the 26 of Tishri in the year 5399 ( 4 October 1638), here is interred an honest and faithful man, a vessel of nourishing manna and a beautiful exalted and bestowed upon us Rav ben Our Teacher (Moreinu) זלל”ה a master of wisdom for many years, and as a reward for this may his soul be bound up in the bond of life.'
The left side indicated:
“On the 26th of Tishri in the year 5399 the important, attuned, and modest woman Mrs. Pess'l daughter of Abraham Yitzhak זלל”ה, having trod in a just path for her entire life, and for this reason may her soul be bound up in the bond of life.”
Not far from this headstone, we encountered a readable headstone, which interested us because of its style, which said the following:
“Here is interred the deceased Moshe Safra Rabba D' Israel. Head of the top of Ari-El acute and accomplished in the flowering bird, consumed Yonatan ben Uziel, his steed and carriage of Israel, our souls will weep because the Ark of our advice was taken from us, this being Our Teacher and
[Page 72]
Rabbi the Great Gaon and renown, Mr. Moshe Mazil ben Moshe ז”ל deceased – the year 5459 [ca Gregorian year 1699].”
In asking elderly Jewish men about the headstone, several offered that they are aware of this headstone, and in his day, they inquired of the elderly Rebbe of Belz זלל”ה as to whether this headstone is known to him, and how does it happen that they used the sobriquet “flowering bird?” – to which he immediately replied that he knows of this headstone, and in those days no false things were written.'[2]
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(R' Avremeleh is third from the left) |
Original footnotes:
By Dr. Zigmunt Gruber (Petakh-Tikvah)
Edited by Dr. Rafael Manory and Erica S. Goldman-Brodie
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The connection of the municipal council and its members towards matters of life to the Jewish people was a reflection of the relations between the Jews in Sokal and the local Polish–Ukrainian populace. The organization of the Jewish section in the municipal commercial sector was in a large measure dependent on standing aside from the municipal council, in particular from the Presidium and its implementers.
This mostly affected the masses of small businessmen a large percentage of which consisted of Jewish merchants, who lacked the support of material means and a variety of expenditures for the good of the government and municipal employees and appointees, to have them render a helpful treatment of their just issues.
The Jewish populace had to place great awareness on the unity of the municipal council, to assure themselves a fair treatment of their justifiable issues, especially the Presidium that had the final decision.
During the time when the Sokal Burgomaster was Janowski, the relationships were sufficiently cordial, given that one member of the Presidium was Jewish – Dr. Kerner as the Vice-Burgomaster. Thanks to his popularity with the entire populace, and to his knowledge of the law, he brought help and advice on behalf of the mass of small merchants more than once.
In the thirties, ill winds began to blow in the Polish and in the Ukrainian populace from the Hitlerist west as well, when the former Starosta (Kostolowski) expressed an open war against the “Yiddn-Comuneh” [Jewish community] and this changed the position of the Municipal Council and its attitude towards the Jews.
Burgomaster Janowski and the Jewish Vice-Burgomaster Dr. Kerner left and the shrunken Jewish representation had to be content with the Presidium (Lawnik), occupied by the engineer Schwartz, who, with great commitment of heart and soul, placed himself against the growing anti-Semitic influence in the municipal council and the Presidium. By doing so, he lost favor with the Polish club, until the next (and last) election, they did everything not to permit Eng. Schwartz to join the municipal council.
Only the following seven Jews were elected to the municipal council: D. Byk, Dr. Gruber, Israel Eymeril, Birnbaum (son-in-law of Bart), Gerstler, Z. Krantz and Israel Rapaport. These Jewish councilmen formed a Jewish club in the Municipal Council, with Dr. Zygmunt Gruber as the chairperson. Our club at this point had a more difficult task, that was expressed immediately in the election of a Lawnik – a position that up till now had been occupied by a Jewish man (Engineer Schwartz).
[Page 74]
Whereas previously we recognized the previous activity of Eng. Schwartz as being necessary and useful for the Jewish community, in particular because he had enough free time – we decided to strengthen his one inner difficulty to make use of the regulation through which the Lawnik did not have to be a member of the Municipal Council.
The Polish club did not want to agree to this under no circumstances, preferring my candidacy, which, because of the large number of my obligations, I could not assume. And so, with our Jewish votes we were able to see through our candidate, so the Poles attempted to initially use a subterfuge, and called together a sitting of the Municipal Council on the Sabbath. And when, following my orders, all the members of the Jewish club appeared in their Sabbath finery at the meeting, the Poles, for the second time, made use of the fact that I had left Sokal for a few days, and using my absence with the greatest of speed called a meeting of the Municipal Council and elected a Polish Lawnik. At my protest when I returned, the Presidium refused to respect our intervention for the good of the Jewish populace.
The heavy clouds that came closer on the Polish horizon found an echo in the abstaining regarding Jewish issues by the Ukrainians and the Poles, simultaneously. Despite the fact – and this needs to be stressed – there has never been such a sharp move in the Municipal Council. The outbreak of the war and the ensuing destruction – tragically ended the fate of Sokal Jewry and its representation in the Municipal Council.
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