« Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page »

[Page 267]

The Teacher Noach Leiderman

by Ephraim Sharon

Translated from the Hebrew by Dafna Meltzer

In those days, when we sat in the “Cheder” and learned from the Rebe the basics of reading and writing, and later on, when we continued in the Hebrew school and studied religion from our teacher Noach, we did not know how to properly appreciate the dedication and warmth of R. Moshe Leiderman, nicknamed “Zamakhover,” and his son Noach. They implanted in us Jewish ideals and excellent social principles.

Noach was instrumental in instilling Zionist ideals in his students. He emphasized the principle that Zionism means personal fulfillment and Aliyah. He was an excellent Hebrew Literature teacher and made it easy for us to absorb the works of the great Hebrew writers, both modern and classical. He insisted we dig deep into the essence of the works and not to be satisfied with just memorizing them.

He was loved by all who knew him.

[Page 268]

Despite the crowded and difficult living conditions in his parents' home, the house was neat and clean. Noach himself showed up for class well dressed, with a shirt ironed, and shoes shined.

He devoted his free time to Zionism and his movement – “Ze'irei-Zion.” He was an accomplished orator and his words, spoken quietly, and penetrated the hearts of his audience.

Personally,I remember in particular the help I received from Noach when I decided to move to Israel. He spoke to my parents so they would allow me to go and would provide me with whatever I needed. And indeed, he was successful in this endeavor.

I can still see in front of my eyes his regal figure. How deep the sorrow that Noach, my teacher, together with his educated and faithful wife, Liuba, the daughter of the activist Mordechai Sheindelman, z”l, were killed in the Holocaust and were not able to fulfill their dream of going to Israel.

 

Yed0267.jpg
The last photo of the private school of Mr. Dubrow's school

 

In the 1930s, the Romanian authorities restricted Hebrew education when they implemented their obligatory education law. With the threat of this punishment, they forced parents to send their children to two governmental public schools. One was run by Gurayvsky, and the other by Likanyuk. There were now only two recognized Jewish schools in town – the Talmud Torah and the private-public school of Mr. Dubrow. All the other Hebrew schools and cheders were unrecognized or illegal. The extent of Hebrew education fell precipitously. In the center of the photograph are the teachers Hadassah Dubrow (in Israel), Yisrael Toporovsky (who died in Israel), Mina Dubrow (in Israel), Hillel Dubrow (who died in Israel), and Feldman (husband of Hadassah who died in Israel).

[Page 269]

Yed0269.jpg
The popular private School “Dubrow” in the 1930s

Teachers: 1. H. Feldman (died in Israel), 2. Hadassah Dubrow-Feldman (Israel), 3. Mina Dubrow (Israel), 4. Clara-Claudia, wife of Likonyuk (Tchubonov), 5. Teacher Gurayevsky, 6. Teacher Likonyuk, 7. Yisrael Toporovsky (died in Israel), 9. Hillel Dubrow (died in Israel)

 

Hillel Dubrow – Highlights of His Life

by Shimshon Nachmani

Translated from the Hebrew by Dafna Meltzer

His beginnings were not sad! In the springtime of his life, he was already known to be a genius. “Genius from Starshin” is how they called him the in the Torah study circles in Slutsk, in the city, also in Israel, as well as in the major scholarly center in Russia. As soon as he felt confined by the yeshiva, he went off to the great Beit Hamidrash (House of Study) and immersed himself in his own learning of the Talmud, its commentators, and the early and later rabbinical scholars. He was a good and intelligent person. Everyone who knew him liked him and considered him as a rising star for the rabbinate. We, the boys in the yeshiva, accorded him respect and envied him as he spent his time among the great scholars discussing Jewish law with them.

A few years went by, and the same handsome young man appeared in a new environment. Hillel Dubrow, a pioneer in the teaching of Hebrew in Slutsk, was the soul of the Zionist movement and the dissemination of Jewish culture. Those were the days of the dawn of National Zionism, the period of the first Congresses, and the flourishing of modern Hebrew literature.

[Page 270]

Hillel Dubrow was naturally alert and energetic and did not confine himself to the framework of the religious school. In no time he acquired a certain balance between secular, Hebrew, and general educations and gave himself completely to the Zionist cause and the rebirth of the Hebrew language. He was young, and his small room at the edge of town served as a heaven for those devoted to Zionism and the Hebrew culture. The best minds of the town, men of nationalistic awareness, would join him morning and evening. He was gifted with charisma, too. Young Hebrew speakers surrounded him. Per his influence, the sound of a living Hebrew language was heard at public meetings, at events for modern and classical literature, and even on the street and in private homes. He knew to encourage literary talents among the youth in his circle, and more than a few received his encouragement when they were young and went on in later years to become a force in our literature (Among the best known I'll mention the researchers and writers Prof. Simcha Esaff, Y.D. Berkovitz, Abraham Epstein, z”l – and in the USA, Dr. Meir Waxman). He spearheaded and led a Zionist club and a public library in Slutsk, the organizations that grew over time and played an important role in the movement of the Hebrew rebirth in the town.

At the beginning of 1905, Dubrow left Slutsk. At first, he settled in Yekaterinoslav (Russia) where he taught Hebrew.

[Page 271]

Later he worked in Warsaw and Odessa under the tutelage of Yechiel Halperin, z”l, in schools for grammar school teachers. At the beginning of the First World War, he moved, for personal reasons, to Bessarabia. In the town of Yedinitz he established a modern Hebrew school, where he instilled national awareness in hundreds and thousands, many of whom went on to fulfill the Zionist dream in Israel. In Bessarabia, he was known as one of the principal participants in the movement “Tzeirei Zion” and worked in the furtherance of immigration to Israel. His home in Yedinitz was Jewish-Zionist in all respects. The spoken language in his home was only Hebrew; his children were raised as Zionists. Since then, when they immigrated to Israel, they fulfilled their father's dream.

At the beginning of 1936, he moved to Israel with his family. When he arrived, already of advanced age, he retired from his extensive involvement in public life (except for his activities in the school for Keren Kayemet LeIsrael), and continued to teach for another seventeen years, until his full retirement.

[Page 272]

Shortly before his sudden demise, after lighting the second candle of Hanukkah while he was listening to a radio program about a relay race in Modi'in, he said with his usual sense of humor, “I will also run in a relay race and carry a torch.” While he entertained this thought of carrying the torch for the Macabim he collapsed from a blood clot in his brain, passed out, and never woke up.

Indeed, Hillel Dubrow carried the torch of freedom and rebirth all his life.

Tel Aviv

[Page 271]

A Zealot and a Companion

by Shimshon Bronstein

Translated from Hebrew by Laia Ben-Dov

With his pleasant appearance, his charming manners, and his vivacious language, Hillel Dubrow captured the hearts of students, parents, and friends.

He was a typical Lithuanian Jew who had a yeshiva education, was well-versed in Judaic studies, and shared this knowledge with those close to him, even when he was a young child. He conquered for himself a way of instructing and educating, to which he was naturally destined. As the principal of the “Tarbut” school and a teacher in the gymnasia, he obtained countless hearts since he was a teacher par excellence.

He came to Zionism from within the “Chovevei Zion” movement well before the appearance of Herzl. With his faithfulness to the idea and with his talent for organization, he conquered an honored place at the head of the Zionist movement in our town, and not only there. He was counted among the founders of “Tzierei Zion” in Bessarabia, was a member of the center of the movement, and was the chairman of the chapter in Yedinitz.

According to his characteristics and the position he held in the town, he was regarded as a leader, but the truth is, that he distanced himself from all titles of honor and worked like a simple soldier. He did not evade action, not even the simplest.

In his youth, he was the adult man of action, and in his old age, he had an abundance of sweeping youthfulness and an increasing fountain of Jewish enthusiasm. He had a young spirit even though he was older and conducted himself with the young and the generation of pioneer youth in the “Gordonia” and “Dror Poalei Zion” movements. They were educated in his Torah. He knew how to inflame everything with the fire of love and longings for Zion. He was the man of moral claims within the movement, consistent, and bold in his position. He was intelligent and witty, and at the same time, he had charming manners; he was decent and honest.

He lived among his nation; he suffered its sufferings and celebrated its rejoicings. These are the lines of character that stood out in the wonderful, lordly image of Dubrow: devotion to his faith, love of justice and truth; sincerity and excellence, a soul mate and companion.

These comments were made on the first anniversary of the teacher's death.

 

Article about the passing away
of the teacher Tziporah Feige Dubrow

Translated from the Yiddish by Asher Szmulewicz

Yed0272.jpg
Article about the passing away of the teacher Tziporah Feige Dubrow.

Article from the newspaper “Our Time” (Unzer Zeit) dated October 7th, 1923, in Yedinitz

 

Before Sukkot eve parted from our Shtetl with great respect and profound sorrow our finest and one of the prettiest Jewish women, Feige Dubrow (the wife of Hillel Dubrow, Zionist activist, and teacher), who died at thirty-two years old after a short disease. She was one of the few precious souls who combined in herself the highest qualities of humanity and Judaism.

She finished the Frebel Hebrew course in Warsaw and spend an amount of time doing pedagogic work, something she loved to do.

With her sudden death we lost the finest exemplary of a delicate and rich minded Jewish woman esteemed by her friends and acquaintances during her life, and whom we mourn now with a heavy sorrow for her young life and early death. May her soul be bound in the bundle of life.

Signed: Lamed Noon-Noon Tsofit (editor's note: these are initials of author; L. N—N in English)

[Page 273]

The Teacher

by Mordechai Reicher

Translated from the Hebrew by David Goldman and Yariv Timna

With fear and trembling, I write my memories of our teacher Hillel Dubrow, who taught us so much from the fountain of his great spirituality, from which we drank, both the young and the old. We called him “Teacher.” Just “Teacher.” Even before we knew about the word Rebbe and about Rabbi Judah the Prince; we just called him Teacher, without any additional description.

Not Hillel nor Dubrow, but simply “The teacher.” Everyone knew who we were referring to. This is how we called him between us, the students; this is how we called him when he was not around; this is how we called him when talking to him, and how pleasant it was talking to him. This is how we called him in here, in Eretz Israel, even though the term “You” was used between older and younger persons. This is how his students and admirers will always remember him, as “The Teacher.” He taught us that there are no boundaries between people.

A new wind was blowing in our school, working under the Eretz Israel wind even before it became a common term. He taught us that people are equally regarded of class and ethnicity; and when it was our turn to educate, we kept his teachings faithfully.

Once you entered his home you immediately felt the new refreshing wind – every day, the lively Hebrew language wind. Listening to people talking in Hebrew felt as a miracle to us, and we tried to learn it quickly. Everybody there spoke it: the teacher, his wife, his children, even the housemaid. I remember a funny incident: The young maid was arguing with Tzfira, the youngest daughter. The maid threatened to tell her father and used the term “Dam Tatten” in Yiddish. The little girl, who did not know this term, cried: “No, father is good and pretty, he is not Tatta, he did not do anything to me.” This was the atmosphere in his house and school, and we, his students, became “Guardians of the Hebrew language,” which was formed those days in our town.

The teacher taught us to love the Jewish holidays and traditions, the old and new ones. We prepared for the Jewish holidays with love and reverence. I remember a scene from Hanukkah: a boy and a girl, standing by the school's bench, talking about Yehuda Hamaccabi and his victories.

[Page 274]

Yed0274.jpg
Senior leaders in Yedinitz in the first decade of the 20th century

The girl wearing the fur hat is Zippora Kaufman, who eventually became Dubrow's wife and the first kindergarten teacher in Yedinitz. She died there in 1923. (See previous page). The other two people are unknown. The style of the photo was typical in those days

 

This is what he instilled in us, and we did the same to our pupils.

He knew every one of his students and knew how to approach them. One day he came to me, as he did with others, and suggested I'd “write something.” I did not understand what. “Write from your imagination,” he said. This is how I started flirting with writing.

[Page 275]

This “punishment” I cherish to these days.

He did not leave his students after they finished their school days. His home was always open for us, with help and advice. If we went abroad, for work or to university, the first place we went to when returning was his home, to tell and get his wise advice.

Then we grew older. We became teachers ourselves, but we never forgot about “The Teacher.” When the “Halutz” movement formed in town in the 1920s, we, the youngsters, formed the “Halutz Hatzair.”

[Page 276]

Every night we gathered in the town's garden (Boulevard), seated in a circle, and the teacher told us about the “Halutz” and its missions, getting us closer to Hagshama .[1]

The years have passed. We grew older, but when it came to him, we always remained his pupils.

Then Immigration time came: “The Teacher” is moving to Israel. In the farewell party, in the house of Yoske Riseman, our “opponent,” as he was a “Poalei Zion” man, I said: You, The Teacher, can say, with a twist to the prophet's verse: “I brought up sons and they are carrying my lessons proudly.” The next day, I came to his house to say goodbye. He hugged and kissed me. “You comforted me, follow me,” he said, and no more. Tears were in his eyes…

Translator's footnote:

  1. Fulfillment. It means actually going to Israel, as opposed to just talking about it

[Page 275]

Exemplary Figure

by Eliyahu Naor-Bitchutsky

Translated from the Hebrew by Yossi Lerner

I first met the teacher Hillel Dubrow when I was a child of about thirteen years. Once I heard the voice of rejoicing and children's joy during a school break, it immediately became known to me, and to the other children in the neighborhood, that a new school was opened near us. There, the teacher sang and danced with his pupils. We children went as a group to the new school, and indeed we saw a strange but wonderful sight. A young teacher with his small pupils were in a circle. He danced and sang Hebrew songs with them. At that time, we also learned and even started to speak Hebrew in school, but it was the first time that we heard the melodies of Hebrew songs in public. These songs immediately entered into our young hearts.

If there was a motive for the Zionist youth groups that emerged in the town, if there was a spring from which drank all the youngsters of the pioneering-Zionist wing, we should thank the teacher Hillel Dubrow. He achieved teaching us not with propaganda, but with painstaking educational work. Not only at his school but also his home was a greenhouse for these young Zionist seedlings, which kept growing and evolving because of the vitality that they got at this “greenhouse.”

His pupils constituted most of the activists and operators of the youth groups that were established in town: “The Friend,” “The Hero,” “The Light,” etc. which later developed into chapters of the national pioneering youth movements like “Hatchiya” and later “Gordonia,” “Dror,” etc. Many members of these youth movements later made Aliyah to Eretz Israel and joined the settlement movement there.

[Page 276]

I can see in my mind's eyes the teacher Dubrow when he appeared at youth circles during lectures and discussions. Every young boy or young girl saw his home as their own home, as a warm Zionist home, where the spirit and the heart were open for everyone.

His private home was an example of simplicity and modesty. You cannot ignore the fact that there were periods of difficult economic situation in the teacher's life and his family, but in any situation, he was loyal to his Zionist path, and he knew how to make any efforts so that his Zionist activity will not be affected.

Here is one example among others: In 1928 a delegation came to our town from the settlements in Eretz Israel as part of a fundraising campaign for the Eretz Israel Laborers movement (KAPI). The members of the delegation were Haim Shorer and Zeev Shefer (then, he was called Fineshtein). We gathered at the Tarbut building for a meeting and fundraising. I clearly remembered these dramatic moments when the teacher Dubrow had to donate his share, but because of his economic situation, he was unable to donate anything. We looked at him how he got up from his seat and took out from his pocket a cigarette silver case, and with tears in his eyes, and with holy trembling, he gave it to the members of the fundraising delegation as a donation to KAPI. It was a noble act that indeed served as an exemplar to the others.

We will always remember his pure figure that served as an example to us all. We hope that our daily life will fit in his way of life and the knowledge that we learned from him. May his soul be part of our life project in the state of Israel, something that we were lucky to see its revival, and to live there during his last years.

Part of a eulogy on the first remembrance day after the death of the teacher Hillel Dubrow, z”l

[Page 277]

The Teacher Baruch Yeshchikman

Yosef Magen-Shitz

Translated from the Hebrew by Yossi Lerner

The teacher Baruch Yeshchikman was for 21 years one of the central figures of the Hebrew education of the town's young generation. For most of these years, he worked at Talmud Torah school which was located at Shaarey Zion (gates of Zion) Synagogue. After that, the teachers Toporov, Hillel Dubrow, and others made Aliyah, the teacher Baruch Yeshchikman took most of the burden of the Hebrew and National education to the young generation.

Baruch Yeshchikman z”l was born in Vinkovitz, Ukraine. When he was still young, his family moved to the county town Proskurov. While studying at the Yeshiva, he learned by himself a general non-religious education. After WW I while Ukraine was the battlefield of the bloody civil war, and while the Jewish population in all Ukraine, and especially in Proskurov was wallowing in its blood, the Yeshchikman family moved to Bessarabia. In the beginning, the family lived in Lipikan, where the young genius started to teach Hebrew.

After his marriage Rivka Apelbaum, the daughter of the Rabi from Bericheva, the young family moved to Yedinitz, where he was invited, to serve as a teacher for the Hebrew subject studies at Talmud Torah school. Very famous teachers taught Hebrew at this school: The poet Eliezer Steinberg (for a short period), Hillel Dubrow, Toporov, and others. Yeshchikman served longer than all the other teachers in this school.

But Yeshchikman was not only a teacher. His soul was tied to the local youth, and he escorted all the youth's cultural activities outside the school. He guided and lectured at the youth movements halls. His home was the meeting point for the local drama circle, which he led and guided.

In 1938-1939 he worked in Czernowitz. During the first Soviet occupation, Yeshchikman moved to teach at the state school, where the teaching language was Yiddish.

Yeshchikman passed away suddenly while eulogizing a fellow teacher. He felt bad and lost his consciousness forever (on 1.1.1941, please see the article written by Frida Meital in this book). It was about half a year before the German invasion of Bessarabia, which involved so much blood for the Jewish people and Jewish community of Bessarabia and the town. He was about 50 years old when he died. His wife, the two daughters Lea and Pessia, and the son Moshe escaped to Russia and spent the years of the war at Novosibirsk. After the war, the family moved to Czernowitz.

[Page 278]

Only the daughter Lea made Aliyah to Israel (in 1974), and she lives with her husband Professor Cochva, from the University of Tel Aviv, and her two daughters in Holon, Israel. The wife Rivka passed away in 1970 in Czernowitz. Two of the brothers of Baruch and his sister with their families live in Israel.

It was known that the teacher Yeshchikman used to write touching songs in Hebrew and Yiddish, and he used to read them loudly on several occasions. His writings were lost during the horrible days of the war, but one rhyme was left engraved on his gravestone, at the Jewish cemetery in Yedinitz.

His gravestone survived the destruction and became a pilgrimage place for the local Jews and visitors. Many people quote this rhyme and even photograph the gravestone.

Here is the rhyme as was quoted by Eliyahu Rosenberg z”l, who also took the photo of the gravestone (translated from Yiddish to Hebrew):

When you have only a spark of hope in your heart
Don't give up my dear friend
Believe that tomorrow will come
And yesterday will be today

Yed0278.jpg
The gravestone of the teacher Baruch Yeshchikman

On the right – Eliyahu Rosenberg z”l; on the left – The shochet Rabi Yeshaaya Elkis (made Aliyah in 1972)

[Page 279]

Eliyahu Rosenberg z”l (on the circumstances of his death in Hanita, Israel you may read in a different article) added on the other side of the photograph of the gravestone (translated from Yiddish to Hebrew): “A hole dug below the gravestone by evil people, who desecrated the grave, looking for gold near the skull of youngsters' friend Baruch Yeshchikman z”l”

[Page 280]

Lea the daughter of Baruch wrote about the origin of the rhyme: These lines were written by my father to my mother in one of the letters that he sent from Czernowitz to Yedinitz.

The gravestone was erected right after his death during the first Soviet occupation.

 

Yed0279.jpg
 

Yed0280.jpg

 

Education and Health in 1920

These are two reports from Yedinitz that were published in the first daily newspaper in Bessarabia (Der Yid). In the report from 9.1.1920 the reporter writes that the public school (Talmud Torah) “was established on pure public foundations,” a team of supervisors was elected with the leadership of Dr. Zilberman, a “good teacher” was invited, and there are 120 pupils in the school, 70 of them study for free.

But, a year later (on 21.12.1920) another reporter (L. Shwartz) writes that the sanitary situation became worse and that the school Talmud Torah is at the lowest situation. The teacher H. Dubrow was fired since he dared to criticize the supervisors who were the “General Zionists” movement. Other teachers were invited, and they do not get their salaries. The reporter complained that the Zionist activities and fundraising are disturbed. This last report describes the conflicts between the public leaders of the town.

And the two correspondences from Yedinitz, who appeared in 1920 in the first Jewish newspaper in Bessarabia “Der Or” (The Light) brought to light the fights between local activists.

[Page 281]

The Researcher and Linguist Yisrael Toporovsky

By Yisrael Zamora

Translated from the Hebrew by Asher Szmulewicz

He went from one ancient book bookstore to the other in all major cities. He regularly corresponded with many international, ancient book dealers, inquiring, examining, and checking each source in order to get all the references of all editions of a book, solely to obtain the first and updated editions of a particular book. He was profoundly happy if he succeeded in fixing a typo, removing an error, and stating things logically. He was surprised and astonished to see, not only that he was ready to pay any price for an ancient book of a rare edition, but moreover, any price was not expensive in his eyes, and he felt the book was given to him as a present.

And not from his love and dedication to the ancient literature he earned for himself the knowledge of the Hebrew language, but with diligence, perseverance, and a lot of toil.

He read dozens of Hebrew books from the Middle Ages to find their influences on the modern authors, in order to discover the thought process of various types of modern writers and to learn the style and language of the poets, rhyming prosers, philosophers, and commentators, etc. From the strength of this love, he succeeded in becoming a scholar, and he understood and discovered as much as researchers and professional scientists.

 

“Yisrael Toporovsky - his biography”

Yisrael Toporovsky, the typical teacher, was active for almost fifteen years in Yedinitz, teaching Torah and the Hebrew language to the many scholars, researchers, and linguists who came to our town with the flow of refugees from Ukraine after the Russian revolution.

Yisrael Toporovsky was born in Tomashpol, Ukraine in April 1889. His grandfather was one of the leading Chasidim of the Rabbi of Telna, who sent his young grandson to the Rabbi's court where he spent a few years until his Bar Mitzvah. At age 16, he left his hometown and went to Kishinev in 1905. There, he finished his high school studies as an extern. While in Kishinev he taught Hebrew and was one of the first modern teachers to teach this language in this town.

In 1909, at age twenty, he moved to Kiev and became a member of its major Jewish Zionist center and a member of this modern Hebrew center. During this period, he was involved in the Hebrew writer circles and his close friend was the writer Yehudah Leib Levin. He also corresponded with Dr. Yosef Kloyzner, z”l, asking about the Hebrew language research and development.

After the revolution broke in Russia, he moved with his family to Bessarabia (Romania). He changed his family name from Toporover to Toporovsky (in Yedinitz he was nicknamed Toporov) and settled in Yedinitz. There he taught Hebrew, together with other Hebrew teachers in town, including his old friends Hillel Dobrov,

[Page 282]

Baruch Yashtshikman and others. They built generations of Hebrew-speaking and true Zionist students.

In the year 1933, he emigrated to Israel with his family and settled in Tel Aviv. During his first years in Israel, he made a living from the trade. Nevertheless, he continued to learn and research in the fields of the Hebrew language and grammar, the scriptures, Hebrew poetry, and philosophy of the Spanish period and the Middle Ages. He learned and earned to speak fluently Hebrew, which helped him in his research of the origins of the Hebrew language.

From 1942 on, he left the trade and dedicated himself entirely to research and learning. To make a living, he worked as a proofreader and punctuator. He worked for years at the publishing company “Machbarot lesifrut” (literature notebooks), on the editorial staff in the newspaper “Davar,” at the publishing company “Am Oved,” and the editorial staff of the monthly “Bamachaneh.” Furthermore, he worked on punctuating books for both old and new manuscripts. Also, he compared various sources of Sephardic poetry and literature of the Middle Ages. Among other writings, he published articles about the Islam culture.

He corresponded and was in touch with famous contemporary researchers, authors, and poets. His works received an extremely enthusiastic appreciation. He re-edited the Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato) scripts with a comparison of the sources, Kalonymus son of Kalonymus, Abraham ben Samuel Chasdai, Rabbi Yehudah Alharizi, Maimonides, and others. He punctuated the writings of Yehudah Halevy, Rabbeinu Bachaye, Bahya ibn Paquda, and others. He passed away on Shevat 17 Tashach (February 15, 1960) at age 71.

[Page 283]

His path was marked by learning science and the research from great university scholars.

He helped every compiler, every researcher, every editor, every Hebrew literature lover if asked for, and was ready, not to receive an award, to help to draft, to proofread, to lend books, and if not asked for, he suggested assisting, to advise, to remove typos and fix errors. Every effort was important to him, every toil was not a toil for him. Instead, it was a commandment, and he was very happy to perform his duty, to teach, to influence, and to prove.

Each time he was asked to compile and proofread short writings, he became young, fast and his studiousness was doubled, even tripled. He did not know any limit except that he had to publish a fully edited version of a poem, rhyming prose, an ancient book of Jewish thoughts, etc.

He also helped Chaim Nachman Bialik with his research work about Sephardic poetry and exchanged letters with him, and he was also a welcomed guest in Bialik's house.

He was a friend and humble adviser of all the contemporary Hebrew literature researchers and the ancient book editors who published new editions. His input, knowledge, and his name were seldom credited with a mention.

Tel Aviv

 

Yed0283.jpg
Teachers of the Talmud Torah

From right: Chanshe Ludmir-Fishman (Israel), Yisrael Toporovsky (deceased in Israel), Baruch Yashtshikman (deceased in Yedinitz), Moshe Kopit (New York), Adela Gokowsky

[Page 284]

Yed0284.jpg
Farewell picture of Tziporah Toporovsky before her Aliyah to Israel (1935)

From left to right standing: Mina Dobrov (Israel), Antshel Wolfenson Hy”d[1], Pika Milgrom-Kormansky (deceased in Israel), Nechama Lerner (South America), Chava Shpilberg Hy”d[1], Fradya Wolfenson Hy”d[1], Hillel Dobrov (deceased in Israel)
Sitting: Chaya Eisenberg, Yeva Bronshtein Hy”d[1], Sheva Kliger z”l, Tzipah Toporovsky (Tel Aviv), Tzeitel Pradis Hy”d[1], Henya Ludmir-Epelman z”l, Sarah Fried
Sitting below: Raze Goychberg-Hurwitz (Brasil), Henya Shteinwortz (deceased in Haifa), Ita Bronshtein (Menashe's wife) Hy”d[1], Leahke Shwartzman Hy”d[1]

Translator's footnote:

  1. Hy”d: G-d avenge his/her blood

[Page 285]

The Gymnasium - Its Beginning and End

Yed0285.jpg
The Gymnasia - 10 year anniversary

Teacher: 1. Georgy Ivanovich Bakunsky (Physics) 2. Feodor Ivanovich Kasher (Superintendent) 3. Alexander Nikolayevich Vinogradov (Math) 4. Zalman Zisselman (Hebrew) 5. Solomon Davidovich Greenberg (Inspector, History) 6. ------- 7. Nina Grigorovna Feldman (Classical Drama) 8. ----- 9. Gregory Gregorovich Wilensky (Director) 10. Valentina Alexandrovna Wilensky (Clerk) 11. Father Spiney 12. Olga Ivanovna Tushinsky-Bahy (the “German”) 13. Alexander Ernestovich Bahy (the “Frenchman”) 14. Dr. Sobolevsky (Hygiene)
Students: (apparently includes both students and graduates):
1. Breina Parnes-Bordman (South America) 2. Vera Shatz 3. ----- 4. Ita Grobman (South America 5. Moshe Kupit (New York) 6. Sheindel Kuzminer-Eidelman 7. Sioma Bernstein 8. Izzia Bronstein 9. Sioma Tolfoler 10. Misha Feinbaum 11. Khazin 12. David Reider 13. Yitzchak Gertzman 14. Mina Parnes-Cohen (Tel Aviv) 15. Teibele Blank (Israel) 16. Hadassah Dubrow (Tel Aviv) 17. Kassel Fradiss 18. Manya Bronfman 19. Tsili Schwartz 20. Esther Lerner 21. Chaya Mayansky (Haifa) 22. Sonya Greenberg 23. Yitzchak Fuks (South America) 24. Esther Gandelman-Kaufman (Tel Aviv) 25. Fishel Malay (South America) 26. Manya Silberman-Malay (South America) 27. Mendel Rabin (Tel Aviv) 28. David Lerner 29. Sonya Gandelman-Sazhman (Tel Aviv) 30. (error 32) Manya Baron 31. Itele Bronstein-Gurvitz 32. ------- 33. Adella Gukovsky 34. Tsilia Goldstein-Rosenbaum 35. Rosa Goichberg-Gurvitz (South America) 36. Sioma Freilich 37. Dobele Jampolsky (South America) 38. Bella Kormansky 39. ------ 40. Peretz Kliger (Israel)

 

« Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page »


This material is made available by JewishGen, Inc. and the Yizkor Book Project for the purpose of
fulfilling our mission of disseminating information about the Holocaust and destroyed Jewish communities.
This material may not be copied, sold or bartered without JewishGen, Inc.'s permission. Rights may be reserved by the copyright holder.


JewishGen, Inc. makes no representations regarding the accuracy of the translation. The reader may wish to refer to the original material for verification.
JewishGen is not responsible for inaccuracies or omissions in the original work and cannot rewrite or edit the text to correct inaccuracies and/or omissions.
Our mission is to produce a translation of the original work and we cannot verify the accuracy of statements or alter facts cited.

  Edineţ, Moldova     Yizkor Book Project     JewishGen Home Page


Yizkor Book Director, Lance Ackerfeld
This web page created by Lance Ackerfeld

Copyright © 1999-2024 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 27 Aug 2022 by LA