Sent: Sunday, December 21, 1997 1:08 AM To: Multiple recipients of list h-sig Subject: Jews of Zemplen c. 1894, part 1 (and part 2) PART 1 The folowing is from the Zemplen Megye volume of "Magyarorszag Varmegyei es Varosai" (edited Borovszky Samu, c. 1894). Zemplen is particularly interesting, because it was one of the first counties of Hungary to have a significant Jewish presence. In translating this, I have left the Hungarian names unchanged, with the surname first. The anonymous author of this piece had a penchant for serious historical research, as is evident from his use of detailed archival material. He provides documentary evidence that Jews were able to buy real estate in Zemplen in the 1700s. Most standard histories claim that Jews could not own land in Hungary before the emancipation law of 1867. (I have looked at the tax census of 1828 for Szabolcs, and did not see any Jewish landowners there.) The author of this essay may have been Sandor Knopfler (1841-1929), a well known teacher at the Kastenbaum school and author on historical subjects related to Zemplen (and probably a cousin or even a half- brother of my great-grandmother Eszter Knopfler, the daughter of Rabbi Moshe Knopfler, a dayan and Talmud teacher in the early days of the Kastenbaum school). He is the author of a history of the Kastenbaum school, and the detailed treatment of it here suggests his hand, as does the hostile comment about the dress of Hassidic Jews. He was noted for his opposition to the Hassidim and their schools. The Israelite Community There is no documentary record to give the historian information about the earliest settlement of the Jews in Zemplen. In the record books of the city of Satoraljaujhely, we find for the first time in 1664 the first mention, that Macskassy Janos and his wife Zsido Katalin. The first official information about a Jew buying real property in Ujhely is from 1761, when the Jew Philep Izsak [note: in this period, any official record would have the notation "Judaeus" in front of the name of any Jew] and his wife, Judovics Erzsebet, bought a house in Paloty Street from the Honourable [lit: nagysagos] Szegedy Johanna. There is a mention from a generation earlier in a less official form. Teutsch David, an Ujhely resident who passed away in 1860, mentioned in his will that his grandfather settled in Ujhely in 1734, when there were only two Jewish families there. Later, one finds more frequent mention of Jews buying real property. Here, according to the city's registry book, on May 8, 1799 Kozba Gabor and his wife sold their hous in Cserko street to the Jew David Rabbe and Markus Anna, along with the cellar. Another record is from September 12, 1800, when the Greek merchant Rozsa Markus and his wife Marton Helena sold their vinyard in Vilyoka for 3000 forints. The first mention of the existence of a Jewish school in Ujhely is from 1744, in the record book of the steward of the Regeczi and Pataki estate (Conscriptio Pratorum). Here it mentions that in the "Willow Tree Meadow," which was owned by the city, there was a small section set aside for the Jewish school. The above mentioned documents cast an interesting light on land ownership by the Jews in the mid-18th century. It suggests that the claim that Jews could not buy or inherit land in the earliest times is a fallacy. It is possible that Zemplen County was more liberal in this regard than the laws of the rest of the country, and followed a different rule. This assumption is further supported by the official ruling of February 12, 1851 (no. 144) of the Zemplen royal law courts, directed to the political authorities. What is even more interesting from the viewpoint of Jewish cultural history is the finding that the city of Ujhely gave a piece of land from its own meadow for the Jewish school, so that the poor Jewish teacher could use it. We also read in the Ujhely registry [literally, orokvallasok konyve] book (1767, May 1, page 54) that the Royal Council sold a piece of land to one Jonas David, and at that time the neighbour on the northern boundary was the Jew Markovics. The documents of the Israelite congregation show that the Hevrah Kaddishah was incorporated in 1772. It follows from this that there must have been by that time a flourishing community in Ujhely. The benefits of this congregation to its members, and the importance the Jews placed on communal health, is also evident from the Ujhely registry book (1783, September 24, p. 189). This indicates that the Jews already had a hospital at that time. At this time, a goldsmith named Ruben Izsak was living in the city. The oldest Jewish gravestone in the old Jewish cemetery dates from the 1760s, but the deceased's name is illegible. The Jewish congregational archive holds the above- mentioned records. It also has the title page of an old worn out book of the Hevrah Kadishah. This most ancient memorial is very interesting from the viewpoint of cultural history. Two pages, illustrated with coloured pictures, explain that Rabbi Hirsch Naftali settled in Ujhely in 1772 and established the Hevrah Kaddishah. On the first page, the decorative pictures show a dying Jew is lying in bed, surrounded by his praying relatives. On the next page, the bed is empty, and the deceased, by ancient tradition, is lying on the floor; beside his head is a lit candle, beside which two children sit; on either side, two correligionists prepare to pick up the deceased. On the right hand our two other Jewish men, and in the background somebody sawing the planks for the coffin. At the bottom of the page, in the distance, the Jewish cemetery can be seen, surrounded by its stone wall; in the cemetery, the gravediggers are at work. Four Jews carry on their shoulders the black draped coffin [literally, "Saint Michael's horse," a common Magyar euphemism]. The dress of the Jews in these illustrations should be remarked on. Most of them are wearing shoes, with hose reaching up to their knees, and coats above their knees, and ordinary hats. That ugly costume, the shtreimel and caftan, with which the Polish Jews make unsightly ["disztelenitik"] the streets of Ujhely and northern Zemplen, is not to be seen in this picture. The county's record book for 1807 tells that the congregation had a major awkward incident due to the arrival of a rabbi from Poland. The authorities deported this rabbi back to Poland. We do not know where the synagogue stood before 1790; probably, they just had some sort of little prayer house. The older synagogue about which we do know stood in the garden of the present synagogue, and its walls abutted the back walls of the present Town Hall. The foundation used to belong to the estate of Baron Sennyey, and prior to its use for the synagogue it housed a granary. We know from a plaque carved in stone, which is now in the wall of the new synagogue, that the old synagogue was built in 1790. At the time the old synagogue was built, there must already have been a flourishing community in Ujhely, which we can see from the substantial size of that synagogue. This synagogue stood until 1887. When it was demolished, seven or eight underground cells were discovered, which suggests that a long time ago the site was used for a prison or monastery. There exist documents listing the names of all the heads of Jewish families from 1817-1819. This is on account of the so-called Lista Taxalis, or "tolerance tax" lists. This tax was brought in by Queen Maria Terezia in 1749, and the Jews paid this on top of their other taxes. Joseph II, however, required the Jews to adopt German names, and changed this to a royal tax. Proceeding in a more liberal spirit, he gave the Jews favours, and in particular extended the rights of the community to govern itself. The Ujhely Jewish congregation's oldest record book dates from February 13, 1831. That is when Grunfeld Hesel was chosen as registrar [jegyzo]. At this time, the famous Teitelbaum Mozes was the congregation's rabbi. Tradition names him as a wonder worker, and the faithful still flock by the thousands to his grave in Satoraljaujhhely. The congregation's record book has been written in Hungarian since 1834. In this first Hungarian record book, we read that in 1828-29 the Jews paid a tax of 2000 forints towards road repairs and mail delivery. On February 15, 1836, the community elected Schon Moricz as its president, and the members of the council were Engel Abraham, Berman Izrael, Thoman Mor, Kremer Mojzes, Reiner Abraham, Hartstein Pinkesz, Ginszler Aron and Reichmann Samuel. The first indications of a schism in the community are seen in the record book on March 4, 1842. The congregation complained to the government that a separate Jewish organization was in formation, whose members "want to separate themselves." A judge forbade the formation of this organization. Jewish public education really started only in 1838, with Kastenbaum's large endowment of 100,000, left in his will for the establishment of a Jewish primary school. The school was built in 1838, in what is now Rakoczy Street, and on its front is a red marble plaque with this inscription: "Israelite school endowed by Kesztenbaum Marton; opened October 16, 1838." At the opening ceremonies, Matolay Gabor, the head superintendent of schools, gave the inaugural address. The school's first principal, Thoman Mor (born 1792, died 1876) was the grandfather of our famous pianist, Thoman Istvan. The language of instruction in the school from the very beginning was Hungarian. One of the most famous teachers was Heilprinn Mihaly, who served the cause of the homeland's freedom and independence, first in 1848 as a soldier, and later as secretary to the Minister of the interior, Szemere Bertalan. In 1852, due to the congregation's dedication, the school was expanded to include a vocational school and a girls' school. In 1856, because of insufficient enrollment in the vocational section, it was cancelled and the girls' section was expanded by four classes. In 1860, the school was promoted to the status of "Israelite Royal Model School." Since 1872, it has been fulfilling its religious, cultural and patriotic activities as the "Congregational Public Primary School." In 1850 the Jewish population of Zemplen County was 14,988, which we know from the statistical research of Fenyes Elek. In 1852, Loew Jeremias was elected to be chief Rabbi, a cultured man of great learning. It was during his time that the congregation was divided, as the Hassidim formed a separate congregation and left the mother congregation. Loew kept up a Talmud school. After his death in 1874, his son Low Lazar was elected in his place. In his time, a new rupture occurred in the bosom of the community, as the Orthodox split off to form a new congregation. Since this time, Ujhely has three congregations, with three separate organizations, three synagogues, and two congregational schools. The Orthodox keep up a separate boys' public school, similarly with outstanding Hungarian teachers. An example of the religious tolerance in the 1840s is that even people of other religions assisted the poor of the congregation. In July of 1848, Mr. Spek, the chemist of Homonna, gave a perpetual endowment of 60 pengos to the local Jewish community. That the Jews of Ujhely played an active role among the freedom fighters of 1848 is attested to in the 1848 records. Many of them went to the war and more than one reached the rank of second-lieutenant. The 1850 record book shows that the Ujhely Jewish community was required [by the Austrian government, after the rebellion was put down] to pay the penalty tax that was imposed on all the Jewish congregations of Hungary (with the exceptions of Pozsony and Temesvar) for their participation in the war for liberation. [Further sections describing Homonna and Varanno will follow in the next few weeks.] Translated by Peter Spiro, peter.spiro@utornto.ca PART 2 The History of the Jews of Zemplen, Part 2: Homonna, Szerencs, and Varanno. The data that would be needed for writing the earliest history of the Homonna community is entirely lacking: neither a registry book, nor documents, nor even a credible oral tradition. However, we know with great confidence that Jews have lived in Homonna and its vicinity for centuries, even if in small numbers. The existing writings show that, by the 1780-90 period, Homonna's Jewish population had grown to the point that it could support an organized congregation, which established a Hevra Kaddishah and constructed a new synagogue. This synagogue was built out of the ruins of the Roman Catholic church destroyed in the disastrous fire of 1793. The Jewish community bought the debris from Count Csaky Istvan and Count Van-Dernath Henrik, for two groats per wagon load. This transaction is recorded in a German language contracts, which still exists. This synagogue had a thatched roof. Soon after, it was found to be too small, and a larger, more attractive one was built, whose construction was completed in 1796. [Translator's note: this is not a typo. It does seem hard to believe that two synagogues were built in the space of three years, but 1793 and 1796 are the dates given.] The Homonna congregation's oldest record book dates from the intermediate days of Passover in 1809. At this time, Propper Mor, the president, and Spira Jakab, the rabbi, decided that henceforth minutes would be kept of all meetings. An interesting entry from the 1821 minutes regards the collection of the meat tax [Aramaic "gabela"], which was farmed out for the weekly sum of 36 forints. A few weeks later, the tax farmer started agitating for a reduction. The congregation realized that he was losing money, and reduced his rent by 2 forints per week. In the first few weeks, the rent received by the congregation totalled 174 forints. Against this were the expenses: two weeks' salary for the rabbi, 12 forints; two weeks' pay for the cantor and the slaughterer, 20 forints; 4 forints for the assistant rabbi; 6 forints for salary previously owing to the rabbi; 14 forints for the rental of the kosher slaughterhouse; 32 forints for the guardian entrusted with helping the poor; rent to Count Van-Dernath for the synagogue's land, to the end of December 1822, 45 forints. Indeed, the 6 forint weekly salary received by the rabbi of Homonna represented progress. By contrast, we find 150 years earlier, in the records of Count Szirmay, that the only pay received by the rabbi at that time was the right to graze one cow on this landowner's meadow. The next rabbi, Fischel Horovitz, had an annual salary of 47 forints, but he did not receive it regularly. This we know from his letter to the congregation, demanding to be paid his 47 forints for the previous year, saying that he no longer knew from whom he should borrow next. Starting from 1835, the government record books related to the toleration tax and public works are in existence. In one of these record books, we find an entry indicating that the Jewish community paid 950 forints for the exemption of 10 men from the military draft. Until 1881, these record books were kept in German; only in July 1881 did they start keeping them in Hungarian. Among the Hommona Jewish community's institutions, the oldest is the above mentioned Hevra Kaddisah, which was founded in 1787. Besides this organization, there was a Talmud Tora association, founded in 1835, to assist with the education of poor children. A third organization was the "Godfathers' Association." Its goal was to assist poor families who could not find a godfather for a newborn child, since this position involves considerable expense. One of the association's members would be picked as godfather, with the expenses covered by the association. This association was found in 1820. The Szerencs Jewish community's oldest written record dates from 1809. This relates to the collection of donations for the construction of a prayer-house. The collection took six years, and achieved a total of 1060 forints and 80 kreuzers. At that time, Szerencs was not an independent congregation, but was a branch of the rabbinate of the district of Mad. It immediately began running its internal affairs, as is evident from a set of by-laws written in Hebrew in 1815. Under these by-laws there are eleven signatures, and the whole congregation hardly numbered more than this. The congregation was run by one warden (Gabai) and four board members. In 1846 they elected as president (Rosh HaKol) Engel Jozsef, who contributed to the development of the congregation. The Billitzer family gave him loyal assistance in developing the congregation. By 1854, the congregation had revenues of 585 forints against expenses of 574 forints. In 1860, the original by-laws were expanded. In 1873 the Szerencs congregation joined the national association of autonomous Orthodox congregations, accepting the regulations approved by the king [translator's note: the Austrian emperor was referred to in Hungary as the "king," as a nationalistic device] in 1871 for the Hungarian and Transsylvanian autonomous Orthodox Jews. At this time, the congregation became independent from the congregation of Mad. In 1875 the congregation established a school, with a teacher with diploma, expanded in 1881 to include a teacher of religion. At first, the school operated in rented premises, and has only had its own building since 1888. The growth in the community's population was strongly influenced by the construction of a sugar factory in Szerencs in 1891, which gave a boost to the city's business. In 1895, the synagogue proved too small and a separate prayer house was built. This did not come under the jurisdiction of the congregation, and it adopted the Sephardic prayer book [translator's note: used in this context, "Sephardic" refers to the Lurianic prayerbook, favoured by the Hassidim, and should not to be confused with the practice of Jews from North Africa.] In 1900, the civil authorities condemned the old synagogue as unsafe, and closed it down. For two years, the members held services in private homes, until the congregation could build a temporary wooden synagogue. In 1902, the Ministry of Religion and Education gave the Szerencs congregation a loan of 40,000 koronas from the teachers' pension fund, to be repaid over a term of 50 years, for the construction of an attractive new synagogue, which opened on August 6, 1903. As for the Varanno community, we know only by oral tradition that it has been in existence for about two centuries. In the existing Jewish cemetery, 150 year old gravestones can be seen, which attest to the community's considerable age. Varanno has had some famous rabbis, among the Lichtenstein Mozes and Spira Abraham, who led the congregation for 40 years. In addition, there were Schick David, Spira Zakarias, and Wechsler Soma. Among the congregations oldest institutions is the Hevra Kaddishah, whose by-laws date from the 1600s. The second institution was the Bikur Holim, whose by-laws were written 85 years ago by the famous Teitelbaum Mozes. Besides these two institutions there is a Crown Association ["Koronaegylet," a patriotic association?]. The congregation has a long history in the field of education. Before the existing state (formerly congregational) school came into existence, there was a public Jewish school with the regular three grades, in a building shared with the Roman Catholic congregation. This building had originally been designed as a hospital. However, in 1849 the city authorities decided it was more important to convert it to a school for the Jews and Catholics, and the two groups jointly renovated it for this purpose. The 1878 yearbook of the former school chronicles these events. Besides the present state school in Varanno, the Jewish congregation supports a Talmud Torah. The expenses of this are covered by an endowment of 5000 koronas made in January of 1888 by Stareich Izrael and his wife, and from tuition fees and a subsidy from the congregation. Translated by Peter Spiro, peter.spiro@utoronto.ca Note: Szerencs is a city south-west of Satoraljaujhely, and it is still in Hungary. Homonna and Varanno are now in Slovakia, and known as Humenne and Vranov. In 1900, the Jewish population of Homonna was 1,293, compared to 4,784 in Satoraljaujhely, while Varanno and Szerencs had under 1000. The other major community in Zemplen was Nagy- Mihaly (now Michalovce in Slovakia) with a Jewish population of 1,419, and it is odd that this history completely omits any mention of it. There were a few Jews found in Homonna, Varanno, Nagy-Mihaly and Szerencs already in the census of 1726. As early as 1698 (immediately after the expulsion of the Turks) Emperor Leopold I tried to organize a census, for the purpose of taxing the Jews. This is described by Erno Marton "as a complete failure" (in R. Braham, ed., Hungarian Jewish Studies, 1966, p. 31). One anecdote from this failed attempt reveals that there were already Jews in the area of Homonna at that time: "The commissioner Dominik, who was entrusted with the census of the Jews in the district of Homonna, complained that Count Peter Zichy hindered him in taking the census of Jews on his estates. Evidently, the aristocrats were not very enthusiastic about the idea that "their" Jews should also be burdened with heavy royal taxes." 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