Memorial Book of Borsha
(Borşa, Romania)

47°39' / 24°40'

Translation of
Sefer Zikaron Borsha,
o: ayarat ahavim be-yarketei ha-karpatim



Our sincere appreciation to Yad Vashem
for the submission of the necrology for placement on the JewishGen web site.


This is a translation of: Sefer Zikaron Borsha, o: ayarat ahavim be-yarketei ha-karpatim
(Memorial book of Borsha, or: The beloved village by the foot of the Carpathians),
Ed. by Gedaliahu Stein, Kiryat Motzkin, 1985 (H, 655 pages).


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.



Sefer Zikaron Borsha


Translated by Yocheved Klausner

 

Beginning
We do not create History - it creates itself 9
Early days of Hungarian Jewry 9
Documents about aid to the hungry 9
Discoveries about the first Jews in Borsa 10
Change of rulers in Borsa 10
Two hundred and fifty years in twelve chapters 11
Not all the first settlers are remembered 12
Borsa becomes famous 13
Borsa removed its nickname “Beer Sheva” 13
Acknowledgment - “Thank you” to our supporters 14
 
The Memory of Borsa - how this Book was Created 15
 
The Beginnings of Borsa
A forgotten corner on the Holocaust Map 19
 
Introduction
The “birth” of this book 25
First Memorial Days - Eulogies 26
Eulogies on Memorial Days during the years 27
Exerpts from Eulogies 28
Writing this Book - excerpts from letters of support 30
Memories - and how they have been collected 33
 
The Introduction
About the Introduction 36
The restrictions continue… 38
Some of the restrictions did not reach Borsa 38
Not easy to write 39
Remember the covenant 39
Listen and reply 40
It was written once and twice 40
What we have taken from Borsa and given in return 40
The reason this book was written 40
The goal of this book and its benefits 41
Is this Borsa? 41
The first signs of disrespect 41
 
Borsa in the Austro-Hungarian Expanse
Borsa - its place in the area 44
Borsa on the map 44
The name of the place, Borsa 44
The center of Borsa, East of “the bridge” 46
The center of Borsa 47
The heart of Borsa 48
Streets in Borsa 48
The Three Cemeteries 49
The New Cemetery 49
The Third Cemetery 49
In the neighborhood of Borsa 50
Non-Jewish refugees escaping to Borsa 51
Tired from wandering, finally finding rest 51
The four ways of the Jews' wandering to Maramures 51
The age of Jewish Borsa 52
The name “Borsa” 52
A geological eon in Borsa 52
Noah and his Ark in Borsa 53
The Pietrus Mountain 53
“Jacob's Ladder” will wait for the future 54
A stone fence that guards the BESH”T's garden 54
The small lake on the mountain 55
Borsa, its location and its history 55
The town at the gate of the Carpathian Moubtains 55
Wanderings of the Borsa Jews 56
Good neighbors 56
There was no Anti-Semitism in Borsa 56
The superiority of the Jew 56
The Gentile neighbors 56
How Jewish Borsa came to be 57
When and From Where Did the First Jew of Borşa Come 57
The Legend of the Three 57
The Austrian Emperor in Borsa 58
Avraham the peasant - King of Poland, and Avraham - King of Stokorau 59
Avraham Chaim the First 59
According to Bluma's story (the Second) 60
Settlement 60
Waters flooded the mountains 61
Borsa is building its houses 61
The Pintina - a suburb of Borsa 61
Rivers and streams in Borsa 62
The tall mountain 62
The three languages spoken by Jews 63
Language research in Borsa 64
The story of the Amulet 67
The Gold 67
Small letters written on parchment - dearer than gold 68
 
The Rabbi and the Messiah
The Hassidim spoiled the belief in the Coming of the Messiah 68
The Rabbi-Messiah 69
“Menachem” is “Tzemach” 69
A daring letter from the rabbi of Beregszaz 70
The fear of the Hassidim is growing and growing 70
 
The Rabbi and his House
The Baal-Shem-Tov's garden 71
Honoring the ADMORs in Borsa 72
Visit of the ADMORs 73
From Zidiczow to Borsa 73
Borsa Jews visit the courts of the various ADMORs 73
Borsa Hassidism 73
The name of the village blended with the name of the rabbi 74
R'Alterl's “sweet dream” 74
Borsa is a match for its rabbi and the rabbi is a match for Borsa 75
The family of the Borsa ADMOR 1893 (5653) 75
The Rabbi's house 76
The fate of the Bortos monastery was sealed 76
The history of R'Alterl 77
A remedy against the plague 77
Rav Alter-Menachem-Mendel Hager 77
Hospitality 77
The last holy flame of hospitality 78
Miracles at the Rabbi's house 79
The poor were seen at the rabbi's house - humility was not 79
The Borsa Rabbi's “miracles” - as seen by the plain folk 80
A prayer that penetrates the Heavens 81
When the lion roars - who fears? [based on Amos 3:8] 81
The second miracle 84
The Rabbi and “The War of the Heders” [heder = Torah class for young children] 85
The rabbi had wheels 86
The rabbi's “teachings” 88
A unification of dynasties 89
The rabbi transfers his court to another town 89
“All is foreseen but freedom of choice is given” 90
Important dates in the rabbi's life and family 91
The “ADMOR hunt” in Borsa 91
Hassidism - the essence of Borsa 91
R'Alter 93
R'Alter is “wasting” more than one Chumash [Pentateuch] 93
The first sermon 94
Both are Zionists - Heaven forbid! 95
Twelve synagogues 96
The Borsa synagogues 96
The Upper and the Lower Synagogue, and the sexton 97
The “Lower” synagogue 97
The Upper synagogue 97
The members of the Upper Synagogue 98
The attendant (sexton) and the lady-attendant 98
In the back of the Upper Synagogue 99
The learned scholars 99
The Etz Chayim [“tree of life”] Synagogue 100
The history of the Etz Chayim synagogue 101
R'Yakov Rosenberg I makes Aliya to Eretz Israel 101
R'Yakov Rosenberg II is following his father's tradition 101
Why the name Etz Chayim? 102
The “Last” Synagogue 102
The Zidiczow Kloiz in Borsa 102
Zionism in Borsa passed through the Bet Midrash 104
A pupil prays and mourns his burned up Heder 104
Pawning the Prayer Shawls on Simchat Torah 104
“The Old Synagogue” [Di Alte shul] 104
The Volunteer 105
The charity of R'Wolf 105
Wolf is not afraid of the Morning Blessings [Birchot Hashachar] 106
The ritual baths [Mikve] in Borsa 106
“Beating” in the bathhouse 107
The broom is beating the father and hurting the son 107
The “broom” - or “Sights in Elimelech's Bathhouse” 107
 
Shabat and Holidays
Shabat in the Upper Synagogue 109
Shabat days and Holidays 110
The Melamdim's Sabbath 111
The young men's Sabbath 111
The girls' Sabbath 111
The laborers' Sabbath 112
The shoemaker's Sabbath 112
Elya the tailor's Sabbath 112
Mirel's Sabbath 112
The Sabbath of the well-to-do 113
Israel Yakov's Sabbath 113
Sheindil 113
The wire-woman's Sabbath 113
Shlomo's Sabbath 113
Refuel'tchik's Sabbath 114
Hersheli the bathhouse-keeper's Sabbath 114
Yankel-Ite's' Sabbath 114
Berele Rubinstein's Sabbath 114
The Hoshana-Raba day 115
Hoshana-Raba night 115
The Lulav performs miracles 116
A tale of three shkotzim (from the East) 116
The Law of the Harvest (poem by G. S.) 118
How to obtain Hoshanot in Borsa 119
The trees that grew in Borsa 119
Exploitation and strike at the matzah baking for Passover 120
Matzot on the eve of Passover 120
R'Wolf and his son - from the upper end of Borsa 122
The Vishiva river 124
The path to the “Intervador” [a large area of fields and pastures] 125
 
Cantors
Cantors in Borsa 125
Blessed be the One who has chosen them 126
Where have the Borsa cantors learned their melodies 127
The choir - the cantor's helpers 127
Ritual slaughterer, Mohel (circumciser) and …composer 127
The Jewish “Vallach” [song] 128
In Borsa they did not sing Lecha Dodi [part of the the Sabbath evening prayer] 128
A cantor's blunder 128
Borsa follows the Wishiva cantors 129
Rabbis of Borsa origin served in many other places 129
The Borsa rabbis and Dayanim [judges in religious court] 129
Slaughterers and Mohalim [circumcisers] 130
Cantors and prayer leaders 130
Heads of the Community 130
 
Societies and Institutions
Chevra Kadisha [Burial Society] 130
The Zionist Movements 130
The fifteen Borsa slaughterers 130
R'Moshe'le the Dayan [judge] and his way of judgment 131
R'Michael the watchmaker - builder of synagogues and factories 133
R'Avraham Chaim the slaughterer 133
Why divorce ceremonies were not performed in Borsa 137
How did R'Shlomo obtain the material for his testimony? 137
The rabbis who allowed divorce 138
The ceremony of Halitzah [release from the law of levirate] was performed in Borsa 138
The Borsa Dayan arranges a divorce in Wishiva 139
The “Frint” neighborhood - the Melamdim's quarter 140
Five houses in the “Frint” 141
The other Melamdim and the residents of the “Frint” 142
Hershele the cooper (barrel maker) 142
Shlomo Mechl the melamed 143
The melamed who acted wisely and observed sensibly 144
Little children - liable sinners? 145
R'Moshe Shmuel Rotner - a melamed at old age 145
Avraham-Yosl the melamed 146
The melamed R'Meir Dvortze's 146
The melamed who entered his heder with the “belt” in his hand 147
The melamed Chaim-Avraham Shoel's 147
The Maskil [enlightened] who explained the Weekly Portion according to Ibn Ezra 148
The teaching method 149
Discipline 150
Translation by the pupils 150
The snake named “Piepernoter” 151
It was not easy to make a living as a melamed 151
The melamdim who earned their livelohood in far places 152
The “outings” of the heder pupils 152
The pleasures of the Bein Hazmanim [vacation, lit. between the semesters] days 153
The beautiful world of childhood 154
Dangerous games 154
 
Children's Thoughts
Borsa children - reflecting about Heaven …. 155
… and about life on earth 155
“The reciting of Shema 155
 
“The War of the Hadarim” and other youthful pranks
Recruiting to Yankel's Army 158
A “Court Rebellion” and new appointments 159
The decisive battle at the rabbi's Court, with the rabbi's support 160
“Intelligence” Service 160
The theft of the roof shingles 161
A youthful prank - or “Hasbey's Orchard” 165
Eating meat during the “nine days” 166
“…And you shall say: I will eat meat…” [Deut. 12:20] 166
The ascent to Pintina 167
The lamp that spread brightness 168
Tricks and youthful pranks 169
Children's Sabbath in Pintina 170
With Yakov Iytes 171
Climbing the Pietros mountain 173
“For jealousy is the rage of a man” [Proverbs 6:34] 176
The aftermath of the girls' outing 176
Charity 177
Jewish children take pleasure in all happy matters 177
An encounter with the King of the Evil Spirits 178
The living quarters of Ashmeday [king of demons] in the new Mikve [ritual bathhouse] 178
Meirl the Bathhouse attendant 179
A Minyan [prayer quorum] of the dead in Borsa… 180
The family of R'Moishe'le the Dayan [judge in religious court] 181
The train in Borsa 183
A railroad inside the village 183
The days before Tish'a BeAv 183
A chicken endorses the truth of the Bible verse 183
“A man has no preeminence over a beast” [Eccl. 3:19] 184
 
Sources of Livelihood
Shops 189
Woman Stall Keepers 189
Craftsmen and other occupations 189
Romanians under the rule of Hungarians 189
The five blacksmiths in Borsa 189
Matchmakers 190
Various occupations 190
Yankel the basket 191
Alter the basket 191
Shlomo - Alter's son-in-law 191
More occupations 191
Sons of respected families adopt trades connected with hard work 192
Nachum-Leib the tinsmith 192
 
Wealth (and Poverty) in Borsa
Sawmills 194
Real gold in Borsa 194
The clothes we used to wear 196
The Shtreimel 196
The Jew takes his horses to the water on Sabbath and Holidays, the shtreimel on his head 197
A health resort in the sheep pen 201
Linguistic research in the Carpathian Mountains 203
R'Wolf the messenger 203
The flour mills 205
The miracle of the “Nissel” mill - it was rebuilt from ruins 205
The sawmills of Borsa 206
The Borsa wealthy people 206
The Jewish land owners 207
Where were the pieces of land owned by Jews? 207
How the side-streets of Borsa came into being 208
The Borsa poor 211
Even a stranger would understand that 211
The builders of the Borsa houses 212
Borsa - that is where the gold was… 213
The licence 214
“Wine” - what does it mean in Borsa? 215
The Wine Banquet 215
 
Original Borsa Folklore
Senderil the shoemaker and his wife Zelda 219
Zlata's Purim-cake 219
A lesson in linguistics 220
The brothers Yosl-Baruch and Hirshel Steinmetz 220
Leizer Pollack the shoemaker 222
Avraham Wolf the shoemaker 222
Tuvia's eagles 223
Shlomo Hirsh Gruber 224
Graber - he was a powerful wealthy man 224
 
Zionism
First steps of the Zionist movement in Borsa 229
The “Blue Box” conquers Borsa 229
Enlightenment and Zionism 230
Tora Va'avoda [Torah and Work] 230
The Tze'irei Mizrachi [Young Mizrachi] invasion 231
The activity in the local branch 231
Borsa - the “Jerusalem of Maramures” 232
The leaders of the Young Mizrahi movement 233
Boys and girls, old and young 233
The immigrants to Eretz Israel and the illegal immigrants 234
The “Ritris” Hachshara [pioneer training] for girls 234
Five who went to Hachshara 235
The Tzidkov Aliya 235
Aliya pains in Borsa 235
Various Organizations 236
How Zionism came to Borsa 236
Borsa immigrants to Eretz Israel - building the country and building their lives 237
It happened in Israel, it reminded of Borsa 238
The theft of the Torah Scroll 239
One who “fled” to Eretz Israel 239
R'Yosef Yom-Tov the melamed is singing the songs of Zion 239
Borsa girls study Grammar 240
The first Borsa Jew who made Aliya to Eretz Israel 241
R'Leizer Steinfeld 241
Avraham Zvi Rate 242
R'Hirtz Fruchter, a clever merchant and a dilligent community worker 242
 
Food in Borsa
Corn - the main food of the poor 247
Wheat bread in Borsa 247
From the plains of the Inca to Borsa 248
The many names of corn 248
Seven names of the polenta dish 249
The sweet additions to polenta 249
“Stefan the Great” and the two “Wolf”s 249
Wolf the dairy producer 249
The very delicious food of the rich 251
Tha cakes of Borsa 251
Fruits of Borsa 252
“Fish” 252
What fish did the Jews of Borsa eat? 253
Fishing in Borsa 253
Moshe the fisherman 254
Three partners to fishing 255
Birds 255
The world of insects 256
Animals 257
 
Scholars in Borsa
Levi Yitzhak Steimetz 261
R'Zeidel Fruchter 261
The rabbi Rav Shlomo Yosef Markowitz 261
R'Moshe Leib Apter 262
His son, Zeidel Moshe Leib's 262
 
The Wise men of Borsa
He became a heretic because of…. Einstein 263
The spiritual riches of Borsa 264
Borsa spirit during summer days 264
Winter nights 265
Avraham Zvi Rate 266
Alter Fruchter 266
Alter Steimetz 266
Anshel Ganz 266
Gedaliahu Stein 266
Hirsh-Melech Gold 266
R'Herz Fruchter 266
Leibush-Ber Halpert 267
Leizer Steinfeld 267
Moti Fruchter 267
R'Moshe Moskowitz 267
Meshulam Salomon 267
Azriel Popovici 267
Yankel Stein 267
Yakov Hirsh Riesel 267
Fishel Stein 267
Motele Fruchter 267
“A naval battle” in the Vishiva river 268
A party for a friend - he began with Zionism and ended up with ships 268
A hat of a light color - an inspiration for the speaker at the Association 269
The Rav hates the Mizrahi movement 269
Borsa contribution to Baron Hirsch's enterprises 270
Sukkot Holiday 271
 
Writers in Borsa
Frieda Weider Kesner 275
Naftali Avi-Rachel 285
Shlomo Zalman Stauber 288
Shraga Feibush Hoz 288
Shmuel Werzberger 290
 
Penina Heller's Letters
About my dear family, the Werzberger family 299
R'Yitzhak Werzberger z”l 299
My grandfather R'Chaim Herz Werzberger z”l 300
My dear Father R'Shlomo z”l 300
My dear Mother Mrs. Roisa z”l 301
My dear sister Yente z”l 302
My dear brother Shmuel z”l 302
My dear brother Mendi (Israel Menachem) z”l 302
My town, empty of its Jews (poem) 305
My little village (poem) 305
This was Borsa 306
The geese shepherdess 316
A wedding in Borsa 319
 
Miscellaneous
Klezmerim 333
The two“Motel”s 333
Destroying “historical” documents…. 334
A gentile is the owner of the Jewish Cemetery 334
The Etz-Hachayim [tree of life] companies 334
Wolf reciting Tehillim [Psalms] 334
A chupa [canopy] rising from the flames 335
The rabbi's rabbi 335
The patience of Moshe Moscowitz 335
Wolf's “lover” 336
He who rejoices at the other's suffering - shall be cleared…? [after Prov. 17:5] 336
The Melave-Malka Society 336
Idle conversation between brothers-in-law 336
 
Sarah's Story
The poor man's money is worthless and despised 337
“Poor man's bread” - very costly 337
The mill 337
“The poor man's wisdom is despised” [Eccl. 9:16] 337
A missing little girl in Borsa 338
The four that were murdered 338
The murder of Shlomo Leib Fruchter 338
“Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceit” [Psalms 34:16] 338
How prayer turned into vanity 338
The head (of the fish) turned into a tail 339
Poets in Borsa 339
The church is kneeling in front of the rabbi 339
In the company of young people 340
“…And you shall say: I will eat meat…” [Deut. 12:20] 341
The priest Bortosh and Hoshana Raba 341
The Shtreimel in Borsa 341
Seven men after one woman… 342
Wolf is asking the girls to release his son for the Mincha prayer 342
Making a fortune, but not honestly 343
“Our seed shall multiply like the sand” 343
“Your father is an Emorite and your mother a Hittite” 343
The melamed R'Moshe Leizer 344
When does the reading of the Megilla not fulfill the Mitzva 344
The rabbi was not kindhearted 344
An evil thought that was not realized 344
The rabbi who acted hastily 345
A soldier in the Kosut Lajos rebellion 345
Inventors in Borsa 345
The picture of Yontil the melamed in “Der Stürmer“ 345
Spoiling the “teacher” 346
Meat, sugar and bread 346
The mountain and the little river 346
Elections time 346
A Jewish teacher receives a Christian blessing 347
The “learned young man” who had not studied 347
Selling the Aliyot [calls to the Torah reading] 347
A young man returns from school 347
Communism in Borsa 347
“Kulisha” (polenta) made of wheat flour 348
The poor woman who died in the bed of the rich 348
The “simple” that was not so simple 348
Slaughtering 348
Lying under oath 349
The war of the Etrogim [citron fruits] 349
The offending charity giver 349
The rain 350
R'Wolf “the Great” 351
Gitze Sara-Lea's and the broom 353
Leeches as a remedy 353
Al chet shechatanu” [the sins we have sinned] 354
The “repentant” 354
Secrets of an amulet 354
Where did the knapsack go? 354
Father of the girls 355
 
Games and Entertainement
Shlomo Nachman's, the actor from Borsa 359
A lone actor from Borsa 359
Borsa is studying Drama 360
Members of the Tze'irei Mizrachi movement are wonderful actors 361
Poets 361
Poet and entertainer 361
Secular songs heard in Borsa 362
By entertainement, Borsa makes its poor forget their troubles 363
Borsa songs 363
Lullabies 365
Frightening children's stories 366
“Little Red Riding Hood” - Borsa style 367
 
Heroic Acts, Disgraceful Acts
Miriam, the virgin robber 371
The woman rebel 371
“Inter-regnum” in Borsa 372
Hushda's misterious death 373
The people's version about Hushda 374
“Mafia” or “protection” in Borsa? 374
Money counterfeit in Borsa 375
Counterfeit money - despicable money 376
 
When the Storm was Over
The period of existence of the Jewish settlement 381
The walls that fell down 382
Beliefs and views among the gentiles 382
Romanian princes serve many different masters 382
The Hungarians are favoring the Jews over the Romanians 383
The gentile was hanged and the Jew was released 383
Austria and Hungary are not united in favor of the Jews 383
The Jews are eating the bread of the Hungarians 383
The Hungarians begin to show their dark faces 384
The Hungarian gendarmes ignore the important things 384
The history of Transylvania (dates) 385
Kosut Lajos 385
The Hungarians were the first 385
The Jews' patriotism was ignored many years before Kosut 386
The Hungarians return to Borsa 386
Do not believe in friends 387
 
The Big Fire
The houses of Borsa 391
The big fire in Borsa 391
Borsa becomes known 392
Every fire and its destiny 392
Two fires - and the third 392
It began with murder and it ended in fire 392
“The Middle Ages” are here again 393
The “memorial service” for Hushda, on the bridge 393
The fire and what preceded it 394
The basis of the connection was Anti-Semitism - Communism 395
Strangers visiting us after the fire 396
Defense before World War II 398
 
The Outbreak of the First World War
Refugees and exiles in Borsa 407
The Russians are coming! The Russians are coming! 408
Recruiting to the army 408
The days of the Emperor from the house of Habsburg and the house of Hohenzolern 408
 
Tha Black Saturday and the White Death
The Romanians began, and the Hungarians finished 413
The plague is beginning 413
The snow is collaborating with the murderers 414
The survivors are arriving 415
The stories about the cruel kidnapping 415
Marginian is trying to flatter the returning Jews 416
In the days of wrath, the Borsa gentiles reveal the names of their neighbors 417
The black Saturday on the eve of the “storm” 417
Borsa during the Holocaust 418
The last spark of hope was extinguished 418
Days of the rule of evil 419
Why they did not save themselves 419
As Jews went out of Borsa… 421
The lucky one, who was rescued 422
My sister Chaia could not save herself 422
As I returned to Borsa 422
The Gentile Borsa is blooming 423
The Borsa Jews - as recorded in Yakov's register 423
Returning Home 424
On the way to a desolate Borsa 425
In the abandoned cemetery (poem) 428
I walk alone… (poem) [Yiddish] 430
The exile (poem) [Yiddish] 432
The confession of an unknown soldier (The ballad of loneliness) 434
 
Honor Titles, Epithets and (not very honorable) Nicknames
Shameful nicknames 439
How people cursed in Borsa 441
Famous fools 442
Fools in Borsa 443
Feige's wisdom and the arrival of the “prince” 444
Chana the fool's revenge on the rich 444
Heinoch and his sister 448
 
Borsa Anecdotes
 
Old Tales about Events that Happened in Borsa
The Breslers 453
A dreadful story that happened to Motil and Rachel the Breslers 453
The origin of the name Steimetz 456
R'Mechel is telling a frightening story 456
Father's way of life 457
The night of the Passover Seder 457
Ways of morals and commerce 456
More stories from my home 458
The cantor of the Mussaf Prayer in the Upper Synagogue 458
The Parah [lit. cow] Portion at Torah Reading 459
R'Israel Yakov Freiz's cow 459
A cow is getting married? 461
The affair of the crazy cow 462
Mendel Feivish Mendelowitz's “cows” 463
 
Service in the Romanian Army
How we were released from army service 467
Mourning poem after the “liberation” 467
Elections in Borsa 467
Dividing the “war spoils” between the victorious countries 469
The border guards separated between the bride and the groom on their wedding day 469
“Protection Jews” and “ownerless Jews” in Romania 469
In days of trouble: two degrees of Romanian Jews 469
The “Charity Box” that saved a family of nine 470
Patriotism of Hungarian Jews 470
The big mistake and the bitter disappointment that followed 470
Several historical notes 472
Prohibition decrees still valid 473
 
Personalities and People
The first Jews in Borsa 477
R'Yakov Steimetz 477
R'Naftali Mendel, the ritual slaughterer 478
 
Women
Women literature in Borsa 481
Mirel the Rabbanit [rabbi's wife] - preaches and remonstrates 481
Wherever there are sick people and people in need - there you will find Matzia 482
Gitze Sara Lea's 483
Lane Chaim Hirsh's 483
Breine, Hirsh Apter's wife 483
Rachil 483
Ite Reize Steimetz 484
Pearl, Shlomo's wife 484
Fuchs - Nolti 484
The woman who went to Eretz Israel, went back and was murdered… 485
Cheidel Luzer's 485
My sister Chaia 488
The Rabbanit Meita's three women 488
Miriam Leizerowitz 488
Feya the yeast vendor 489
Bluma the wife of the Shochet [slaughterer] 489
Lighting Sabbath candles on the way to her death 490
The Rabbanit Meita Wertheimer 490
A woman of Valor sitting in the center of the Frint - Chaia Zisel was her name 491
Various types of books 494
The fashion of“Anti-fashion” 496
 
Stories of Gerim [Proselytes, converted to Judaism]
Avraham the proselyte 499
A scientific and Halachic dispute about Borsa's own proselyte 499
A historian is looking for Gerim among the Maramures Jews 500
The rabbi of my town Borsa - of pure lineage…. 500
I doubt the “lineage list” of the local rabbi 500
The Borsa rabbi is defending his lineage tradition - but I am rejecting it 501
The story of Avraham the proselyte of Borsa 503
Nobody knew where the ger [proselyte] came from 503
Avraham the Ger 503
A gabay [synagogue attendant] who studied but did not learn 503
The dispute of the Mishna Scholars concerning the ger was unknown to the melamed 504
Avraham the ger 504
Does somebody know the origins of Avraham the ger? 504
The commandment “You shall love the ger 505
The misterious fires in Borsa 505
 
Good Goyim, Bad Goyim
The Goyim [gentiles] in Borsa 509
A goy who was caught stealing found refuge in Eretz Israel 510
The Borsa goyim who became part of the Jewish scene 510
The gypsy woman - the terror of the geese 510
The gypsy woman and her foundlings 511
The Christian who taught the Jews Torah 511
Dog hunting - the attraction of the Borsa children 512
Vassili Kolbaza 512
“You shall blot out” (the name of Amalek) (Deut. 25:19) 513
The puzzle of the gentile and his Jewish wife 514
A drunk gentile and his Jewish wife 515
A Romanian funeral in the Jewish street 516
Churches in the Jewish neighborhood 516
The Jewish people - united 517
The husband who was buried without the priest 517
 
Disputes, Quarrels; also: Strikes and Charity Institutions
Moshe “Ass” 522
A way of greeting 523
How honest was the way of the Borsa Jews 523
The rebellion of the youth against the Borsa elders 523
The Zionists (Mizrahi) before the elections 524
The Holy Rebellion 527
“The rebellion of the helper of the poor” 528
The war of the etrogim [citron fruits] 529
The first strike in Borsa 531
Communists in Borsa 531
The foundation of the Matan Baseter [charity given in secret] fund 531
Good deeds in Borsa 533
 
Morals and Good Qualities
The legacy of pride 537
Equality of big and little 537
The moral superiority of the Borsa people 539
A quarrel originating in hereditary pride 540
 
The Meaning of the Names of Borsa Jews
Meaning of names 545
The Kamil refugees escaped to Borsa 546
Biblical names in Borsa 547
Surnames expressing concepts 550
Surnames deriving from names of places and animals 550
People named after their occupations 550
Names expressing qualities and attributes 551
Names expressing love and affection - pet names 551
 
In Eternal Memory
Yitzhak Leibeshis 555
The Shlomowitz Family 557
Chana Stein 558
Sprintze Stein 559
R'Yitzhak Vieder z”l 559
Katriel Werzberger 561
Avraham Yosef (Avi) Genzach 562
Avraham Sachs (Deba) 562
Efraim Fishel Stein 563
Bertzi Fruchter 563
Shlomo Fruchter 563
R'Menachem Mendel Fruchter 563
R'Israel Werzberger 564
Shaul Wirzberger 565
R'Emanuel Menachem Hecht (Fischman 565
Berl (Dov) Werzberger 567
Clara Beruria daughter of Dov Werzberger 567
R'Yechiel Mechl Steimetz 568
R'Azriel Stein 568
The second strike, organized by R'Aharon Malik 569
Stein Ezra 570
R'Yakov Mendel 573
R'Chaim Peril 575
R'Avraham Steimetz 576
R'Shmuel Hershtik 578
R'David Sachs 579
R'Hirshel Fruchter 584
R'Chaim Shaul Hershtik 584
Aizik Glick 585
R'Ben Zion Fisch 585
Dr. Meshulam Solomon 586
List of people who died or perished 593-600
Names of residents and their addresses in town 603-607
Signed Family Memorial Plaques 608-615
Early Families 616
Hebrew Sources 621
Sources in other languages 622
The first victim of “The Jewish State” 631
Borsa - the chronicle of pain for those who perished in a lovable town 633-654

 



 Yizkor Book Project    JewishGen Home Page  


Yizkor Book Director, Lance Ackerfeld
Emerita Yizkor Book Project Manager, Joyce Field
This web page created by Osnat Ramaty

Copyright © 1999-2024 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 30 Jun 2023 by JH