Yizkor Book of Lechowitz
(Lyakhavichy, Belarus)

53°02' / 26°16'

Translation of
Lachowicze: Sefer Zikaron

Edited by: Y. Rubin

Published in Tel Aviv, 1965


 

Acknowledgments

Project Coordinator

Stephen Warshall

 

Our sincere appreciation to Mr. Moshe Inditski of Tel Aviv, Israel,
representative of the Lyakovichi landsmanschaft,
for permission to put this material on the JewishGen web site.

This is a translation from: Lachowicze; Sefer Zikaron (Memorial book of Lachowicze),
Editors: J. Rubin, Tel Aviv, Association of Former Residents of Lachowicze, 1948-49 (395 pages, Hebrew and Yiddish).


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Translated by Andrew and Stephen Warshall

This is a translation of portions of the Yizkor book for the town variously called Lyakhovichi (Russian), Lachowicze (Polish), or Lechowitz (Yiddish). The title is usually listed in American catalogues with the Polish town name as “Lachowicze: Sefer Zikaron, Y. Rubin (ed.), Association of Former Residents of Lachowicze, Tel Aviv 1948-49”. This translation, however, has employed the Yiddish form “Lechowitz” as a more appropriate memorial.

The translators worked from a copy of the book owned by Al Streit of Albany, CA; access to that copy was arranged by Margot Tutun of Lexington, MA. Ruth W. Mannino of New York City supplied photocopies of seven additional pages of photographs bound into the copy owned by the New York Public Library.

Preface 7
Foreword 8
Roll of Honor 10
Committee of the Lechowitz Society 11
 
I. Manners and customs
Rabbi Yechiel-Mikhal Tukachinsky, Jerusalem: Lechowitz 70 years ago 15
Rabbi Nisan-Aron Tukachinsky, Jerusalem: From the mouth of Abba and the influence of Abba 19
Dr. A. Mukduny: My shtetl 50 years ago 21
Shual Tukachinsky, Shanghai: About Lechowitz, 40-50 years ago 33
Baruch Greenspan, New Jersey: Sabbath eve in my poor home 45
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan, Tel Aviv: In the courtyard of Rabbi Noach'ke 57
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan, Tel Aviv: The Zionist movement in Lechowitz 62
Moshe Cohen, Miami: More memories of a nearby shtetl 70
Nisan Tukachinsky, Tel Aviv: Childhood years of a Lechowitz boy 76
Dr. Y.D.Mintz, Mexico: Of youth in Lechowitz 93
Chaim Tseitman, Brazil: Images of Lechowitz 99
Avraham Lev, Tel Aviv: Events and images 101
Yakov Tukachinsky, Shanghai: Memories of my childhood in Lechowitz 110
Berta Turbowitz-Brevda, Tel Aviv: The beloved brook 112
Yakov-Simcha Avidor (Peker), Tel Aviv: Teachers and schools, masters and houses of learning in Lechowitz 116
Nisan Tukachinsky, Tel Aviv: Curious tales of Lechowitz 128
Nisan Tukachinsky, Tel Aviv: Memoirs of the Revolution in Lechowitz
...1. The Bund is triumphant 132
...2. Faivel Rivkin hits Nikolai 133
...3. The revolving ten rubles 136
...4. A socialist for a week 137
Nisan Tukachinsky: The rescued Sefer Torah 140
Nisan Tukachinsky: Dinka and the landlord 142
Nisan Tukachinsky: Just like in Chelm 144
Nisan Tukachinsky: Avramnos tries to ruin himself 145
Avraham Lev: From what Lechowitz Jews made a living 147
Shimshel Bogen, Cyprus: Lechowitz then and now 157
Shimshon Brevda, Mexico: A deed with a hundred dollar bill 159
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: Moshe Shaval, the thief who became a teacher 161
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: “Don't take a fool's blessing lightly” 164
Avraham Lev: When the sad are made happy 167
Chaim Friedstein, Johannesburg: From the dead home 170
Alter Brevda (deceased), Tel Aviv: Shuls of Lechowitz 172
Baruch Greenspan: Images of a dear old one 176
 
II. People and scenes
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: Rabbi Libla Magid 183
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: The Holy Elder of Lechowitz and the Gaon Rabbi Israel Maivenitz 187
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: Rabbi Mordecai of Lechowitz (the Holy Elder) 191
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: Rabbi Noach (the elder), son of Rabbi Mordecai of Lechowitz 193
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: The Rabbi, Rabbi Mordecai, son of Rabbi Moshe-Chaim (Rabbi Mordecai the second) 196
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: The Admur, Rabbi Ahar'li Malavitsky 198
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: The Rabbi, the Gaon, Rabbi Simcha Halevi Horwitz 200
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: The Gaon, Rabbi Meir Peimer 203
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: The Rabbi, the Gaon, Rabbi Israel David Ratskovitz 205
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: Rabbi Idel, son of Rabbi Manish, the Merciful (Idel-Manias) 208
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: Rabbi Tzvi M”S (Hershele MaS) 210
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: Rabbi Lemel Gavza (Lemke Dayches) 211
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: Rabbi Meir, son of Rabbi Yehuda-Leib (Meir Leyvkes) 213
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: Rabbi Elia, Master of the Psalms (Elia the hatter) 215
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: Yosef Bussel in Lechowitz 216
Dr. Avigdor Greenspan: Rivke Galin 220
Dr. Alexander Mukduny: Moshe Betzalel 223
Dr. Alexander Mukduny: Shaye the pious 231
Dr. Alexander Mukduny: Yakov Moshe the pious 234
Nisan Tukachinsky: Famous Kashrut experts of Lechowitz 239
Avraham Lev: Warnings to the poor, or “The Blessed Belly” 244
Chayota Bussel, Deganiyah aleph: On my village, Lechowitz 251
Chaim Friedstein: Rabbi Avraham-Yakov Kaplan 254
Chaim Friedstein: Rabbi Lippe, the cantor 257
Avraham Lev: A Walk through my Devastated Shtetl 259
 
III. The destruction of Lechowitz
Yosef Birger, Lodz: There was once a shtetl called Lechowitz 313
Yosef Peker and Zalman Rabinowitz, Munich: Black chronicle (The tragedy of the Lechowitz Jews) 319
Yakov-Simcha Zevelinsky, Buenos Aires: When death awoke 323
The Partisan Shmualik 326
Rachel Feigelman 328
The end of the hangman at the gallows (Hebrew) 329
The end of the hangman at the gallows (Yiddish) 334
 
IV. Remembrances of souls 343


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