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Cultural activity in Bendery was mainly centered on the public libraries. They had a great deal of influence on cultural development, the youth and the intelligentsia. The Jewish public showed interest in reading secular books by avidly following novels by Shumer. The dressmaker, the undergarment seamstress, the hat maker were women who could read and write in Yiddish. The supplier of this literature was Berish the Parcel Carrier. In his basket, which served as a store, he carried religious articles such as fringes of prayers shawls, prayer books for daily use and High Holidays. He would walk the streets and spread his wares in the synagogues. He also had romance novels by Shumer. Shumer was the first Yiddish romance writer before the classicists- Peretz, Mendele, Shalom Aleichem- published their works. Berish would lend a book to his subscribers for one kopek. The romance novels, welcomed by the readers (especially the women) had titles such as “The Bride on the Tree”, “The Runaway Bridegroom”, “The Angry Mother-in-law”. The stories were sentimental and tragic about brides, bridegrooms and mothers-in-law living in Eastern Europe. The readers shed tears as they read by dim candlelight. They would crack seeds and eat them as they read.

Administration of the Jewish Library standing in the doorway

The influence of the libraries was felt in the general development of the town. The Municipal Library, situated in City Hall, was large and rich with Russian literature. The peaceful reading room was roomy and airy and became a meeting place in the mornings and in the evenings for students and the intelligentsia. They were interested in different topics in politics, cultural life and philosophy. We often met our teachers there. One could also find most of the Russian newspapers from all over the country. The librarian was Mr. Vanyushka. He was nice, educated and liberal-minded. He knew classic Russian literature and philosophy and was well-versed in other cultures. He could not be fooled. Whenever someone came to exchange a book he wanted proof that the book had been read seriously, questioned the readers and held discussions with them. Woe to the reader who did not know the book well. He would then advise the person: “It is better for you to take Nikrassov's grammar to read instead.”

The Jewish library in Bendery was founded in 1907-08 by a group of students from the Chief Rabbi's synagogue. They were the Rabbi's son, David Wertheim, Yitzhak Fein, Vodoboz and me. The library consisted of only three shelves with small books in Hebrew published in those days. These were short stories by Yehuda Steinberg, A.Z. Rabinovitch, and Ben Ami (translated from Russian) and monthly youth journals “Shvalim” (Trails), etc. Subscribers were selected from among the youths who had already learned Hebrew and were close to the movement of the “Lovers of Hebrew”. Membership dues were five kopeks per month. (Every subscriber was warned to speak Hebrew only and would be fined five kopeks if he did not do so. The fine money was used to purchase new books). Actually, even this library was illegal since in order to open a library a government permit was necessary. Otherwise, the authorities were suspicious of a conspiracy.

The Zionist teacher Noah Lifshitz and the General Zionists Hirsh Kogan, Moshe Haham and Israel Blank as well as the Zionist youths, founded a library called The Russian-Jewish Library. It was first located in the home of Noah Lifshitz and he was the first librarian. It then moved to the community building on Fidotov Haruzina. When the library was moved to its new location the librarian was Yasha (Yaakov) Bendersky, the son of Dr. Shlomo Bendersky, a well-known doctor and public figure.

The Russian-Jewish Library (Librarians Yasha Bendersky and Y. Lifshitz lend books)

Lastly, the libraries in town served as a place for intellectual development among the Jewish population.

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