Translation of
Sefer Kobylnik

Project Synopsis

This project is being initiated in order to fund the translation of the 287 page, Memorial Book of Kobylnik. It was originally published in Hebrew and Yiddish in 1967 in Haifa, and the editor was Yitzhak Sigelman. The goal is eventually to provide a complete translation of this book for the Yizkor Book Project.

Key Audiences

Jewish genealogists seeking to trace their roots in this town constitute the primary audience for the material.  However, the material has the potential to be of broader interest to scholars specializing in Jewish history and society in this region.

Yizkor books are unique sources of information on once vibrant towns, whose populations were destroyed in the Holocaust. Written after World War II by émigrés and Holocaust survivors, Yizkor books contain narratives of the history of the town, details of daily life, religious and political figures and movements, religious and secular education, and gripping stories of survival. The necrologies and lists of residents are of tremendous genealogical value, as often the names of individuals who were taken to extermination camps or died in the forests are not recorded elsewhere.

Kobylnik/ Narach is located 79.7 miles NNW of Minsk, in Minsk Oblast. Kobylnik was originally (Minori Medalo) Little Myadel in 1434. Narach was part of the USSR in the 1950's. Today, it is part of Belarus.

As funds become available, Hebrew and Yiddish pages will be translated into English by a professional translator.

The project coordinator will select the order in which the chapters will be translated and will work closely with the translator to ensure a grammatically correct and idiomatic translation. Photos from the book will be paired wherever possible.

Estimated Cost

A full translation is currently estimated to cost $8,500.