[Page 193]
Dr. Toviya Hindes
(1852-1920)
by Abraham Zamir
Translated by David Dubin
[Translation Editor's Note:
The first part of this section begins on p. 193. It has not yet been
translated.]
[194]
…Efrayim Cohn and their families, and also foreign consuls in Jerusalem.
Despite the difficulties, he did not want to leave Jerusalem, but the
unremitting fever, which had previously affected him and, later, his wife, broke
his spirit and compelled him (to leave). Two years after his arrival in the land
he was forced to depart with a dejected spirit.
Of his aliya and his departure from the land of Israel, two stories are
told, which sound like fables:
When he alit from the ship in the port of Jaffa, when he placed his foot on the
sand, he bowed – according to the first story – placing his face on
the ground,
kissed its soil and then took from his coat a sword which he had secretly
brought from Europe, and cried fervently: “A sword for God and my
land!”…
And when he boarded the ship when he left the land of Israel, he entered a
cabin, closed the door after him, made a small wound in his left hand and wrote
on a small piece of paper with the blood using his right hand: “If I forget
thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its cunning”… he showed
the
handwritten note to his son many years later on his Bar Mitzvah day, and told
him of his vow which he made as he left the land of his fathers, and which he
kept faithfully until the end of his days.
On his return to Europe he lived in Warsaw, his wife's birthplace, and soon
became renowned as a physician, involved in national affairs and an ardent
Zionist. His home turned into a meeting place for all who helped in the national
awakening - whether with his pen, his statements or his toil. One of the illegal
meetings of the Warsaw Zionist Committee (1898) took place in his home. He was
host to Akhad-Ha'am, Sokolov, Mandelshtam and Usishkin when they came to Warsaw.
Dr. Hindes worked long in Warsaw: he began to discuss Zionism in the
diplomate,
secular intelligentsia, and also to the Orthodox in the “Shaari Zion”
Synagogue (which he had erected with others on Pavia Street). His lectures were
attended by large crowds of young men and women who came to find answers to
their doubts and a basis for their outlook, for he was a fine speaker, with a
wide knowledge and nice style. He fought for the use of Hebrew and fiercely
dedicated himself to its dissemination: he founded the “Hebrew-lovers Union”
in Warsaw, donated money to found schools and publish Hebrew books, and occupied
himself teaching natural sciences and physics in the Hebrew schools in the city.
His drive and dedication drew throngs of followers and believers; his absolute
integrity won over the hearts of his detractors among the assimilationists and
even among the Polish anti-Semites.
Among his followers were the two renowned physicians, Dr. Henrik Nusboym, a
leading assimilationist, and Professor Bronovski, a leader of the Polish
faction. When the Jews of Warsaw won a majority of the votes to the 1912 Russian
Duma, many people (and much of the Jewish press) requested that Hindes would be
chosen the first Jewish representative in the Russian Parliament, the Duma in
St. Petersburg. The masses who loved and respected him supported this. However,
after consultations and also due to “for what the gentiles say” it was
decided to elect a gentile, a man of the P. P. S., the worker [Yagallo].
A special chapter of his activities was his part in the Jewish Cooperative
Movement. Not because of simplistic notions, but rather out of day-to-day
involvement with the downtrodden (in his capacity as physician and national
figure) he decided to aid the Jewish workers in establishing manufacturers'
cooperatives. With his friend and assistant Mr. Lederer and with the help of the
well-known cooperative activist Botko (“Abba”) Levitski, a Ukrainian
Christian, he founded unions of shoemakers, waiters and bookbinders, and his
home then became a meeting hall for the workers. Even though the movement failed
to take root, many appreciated his role and were faithful to him until his final
hour.
In 1914, with the outbreak of the war, a catastrophe occurred which affected him
deeply. His young son, Moshe-Maksimilyan, a student in mathematics in the
University of Warsaw, traveled to the land of Israel, and when he reached Jaffa
he was stricken with dysentery and died. He never again was at peace. His only
dream then became returning to the land of Israel and working there as a
physician or teacher. “My oldest son was born there and my youngest son died
there; how can I stay in the diaspora?” he would say to motivate himself in
those days.
[Page 195]
This thought, which was thoroughly rooted in him led him to look for ways to
bring it about. As he prepared to leave (during the War), he went for a short
time from Warsaw to agricultural towns, left medicine for two years in order to
complete his teaching training, looked for new methods and strategies in order
to reach his goal…
Suddenly, before he could actualize his goal, his fragile life was taken, and he
died in Warsaw in 1920. The whole community mourned him bitterly. His family
realized his dream. One by one his family members left for the land of Israel
(sooner or later) and they brought with them the memory of his pure name, the
memory of a true Zionist from the pioneers of the generation and among the first
of the reawakening movement.
He was a great man, a son of Volhynia, and he left a good name in Kremenets and
in various groups in Warsaw. For the Jewish workers, who were close to his
heart, his name is etched on their hearts. All recall his name as one of
perfection and completeness, trustworthiness and self-sacrifice to his nation,
his land and his culture.
[Page 195]
Dr. Binyamin Landsberg
(1890-1942)
by Toviya Trushinski (Tel Aviv)
Translated by David Dubin
|
Dr. Binyamin Landsberg
& Family |
[He was the] image of a popular nobleman. He was known in the city and its
environs by his pet name “Bozya,” and everyone simply called him that,
whether in his presence or absence. Son of an ancient and important family - his
grandfather, Reb Khaym'l, was related to RYB”L - he was a cultured man and a
community activist, in the contemporary sense. His father, the physician Dr.
Ari' Landsberg, among the first Zionists in Kremenets, was a communal activist
and populist, a keeper of tradition and beloved by all, would come to the study
house daily for communal prayers and he did not neglect communal matters until
the end of his life. (He lived to an exceptional old age).
B. L. was born in Kremenets in 1890. He was his father's only son. (His mother
died in his early childhood.) His early education was in the national school in
Kremenets and later in the Kishinev Gymnasium, from which he graduated with
distinction. He received his Jewish and Zionist education in the home of his
uncle,
[Page 196]
Dr. S. Etinger, who served in Kishinev as a government rabbi. While still a
student in the gymnasium at age fourteen, an article of his was published in the
Russian newspaper “Kievskaya Otkliki”; this article was worthy of being the
editorial. Then he began his Zionist work in earnest, organizing and leading
groups of students. This worked to his disadvantage when he sought admission to
university. B. L. left Kishinev and went to Switzerland, studied law in Geneva,
and on the eve of World War I returned to Kremenets as a Doctor of Laws.
In the First World War Dr. B. L. volunteered in organizations to help Jewish war
refugees. The central committee in Petrograd noticed his work and extraordinary
organizational ability and appointed him head of the committee in the city of
Nezny Novograd, which was then a central station in the wanderings of the Jews
of the Pale of Settlement.
After the February Revolution, B. L. returned to Kremenets and began feverish
Zionist activity. Those days were days of the elections to Jewish and general
organizations in Russian centers and in the city itself. In the storm of those
days B. L. appeared as a national tribune who moved many with his words and won
their loyalty. In public debates with representatives sent from centers of the
various parties, which were arranged due to the elections, B. L. would
encourage general interest with his power of persuasion and his sharp
understanding. He was chosen for the first congress and as a member of the city
administration standing for the education party. B. L. revealed his
enthusiasm and his fiery nature by forming organizations for Hebrew and Jewish
education and culture. The leaders of the Christian Reactionaries looked askance
at his work in the city, and at their first chance, when the Ukrainian hetman
took control with the help of the Germans, B. L. was imprisoned with several
other prominent city leaders. He was released after eight months when the
rebelling farmers broke into the city and opened the prison gates. The era of
changing governments began. Public Zionist activity went underground and became
sporadic. When the Polish army captured the city, B. L. was imprisoned a second
time, along with other Jewish leaders, and was accused of Communist Party
membership. After a long investigation by the Polish authorities, he was
released for lack of evidence.
In the 1920's and 1930's under Polish rule there was a great public awakening in
Kremenets. This awakening came from two directions: from Congress Poland and
East and West Galicia; it arrived from different sources, through Yiddish
newspapers and personally through messengers, business relationships and
cultural sources. These days were full of triumph and failure, with Jews
fighting the governmental authorities for their legal rights even in rural
villages. Kremenets supplied plenty of the disputants, the most powerful and
stubborn being B. L., who was a follower of Y. Grinboym. Like his mentor, he was
fearless and forceful, and as a proud, self-respecting Jewish citizen he lost no
opportunity with the local authorities, tirelessly striving for all the rights
to which Jewish citizens were entitled.
In the election battle for the first Polish Sejm in 1922 Kremenets was one of
the major centers of the Minorities Bloc. B. L. gave himself completely to the
fight, appearing in many gatherings, and encouraging the masses to struggle for
victory. He traveled to towns and villages in the area and spoke in Ukrainian
before Christian voters, and thanks to him the Minorities Bloc won a great
victory in the Kremenets area, and A. Levinson was chosen as a representative to
the Sejm. During transition periods, and between elections during relatively
calm times, B. L. dedicated himself to day-to-day Zionist activity. For many
years he would gather Keren HaYesod contributions from the town and its
environs. This role required a great deal of effort, and it was not uncommon for
him to make several visits in a single day to “difficult” donors, who only
he, with his personal magic, could appeal to their better judgment to
contribute. His hard work and selflessness was done out of a sense of duty
toward the cause. The party platform, which he accepted upon himself, became
second nature, and it, to a great extent, determined his way of life. He also
expended great
[Page 197 ]
effort for the “Tarbut” school foundation in the city, and along with a
small group of philanthropists he accepted the burden of its upkeep. In general,
he worked in all areas of public life. As one of the founders of the local
newspaper “Kremenetser Shtime”, and a member of the editorial board, B. L.
tried to raise the paper's level of cultural and political standing as an organ
for ideas and guidance for the Jewish public in the region. His newspaper
articles concerned Zionist topics, national contributions, cases and rulings of
the local governmental institutions, community matters, taxes, etc., and their
influence was substantial.
For only about two short years, while he was preparing for his legal
examinations, as was usual for lawyers with foreign diplomas, did B. L. stop his
public good work. (The local authorities found their chance to avenge his
public-political activities, and did not allow his exams in his hometown
Kremenets courthouse, so B. L. traveled to the village of Radzivilov, where he
stayed for a long time). But immediately after his acceptance as an attorney, he
returned to all his former activities in the movement.
When the authorities began to threaten the security of the Jewish community and
its institutions, B. L. acted as a shield against those acting under the
“persecutor's”
orders and even the “persecutor” himself was not spared… As a member of
the town council he led the Jewish faction and undertook a fierce battle (which
only a select few could undertake in those dangerous days) against the gentile
council members who had banded together, with the government's encouragement, to
void the economic and cultural rights of the Jewish citizenry. Often he was
reminded from “on high” that he was jeopardizing not only his livelihood but
even his life, and on the other hand the government knows how to reward its
supporters. However, B. L. was not swayed and he stood fast in his resolve
to
continue his fight even outside the city.
As an attorney B. L. excelled from his first appearance in court. His colleagues
predicted a shining future for him. Praise of his propriety and uprightness
brought him many clients from the city and surrounding areas. It is noteworthy
that at home, the language used was Yiddish even though he was brought up
speaking Russian, and his Polish speaking style impressed even the Polish
judges.
Not many know that B. L. tried to move to the land of Israel in 1921. He
completed all his local affairs and traveled with his family to arrange a
British visa, which never was granted, so he remained with his people in his
city. He worked and struggled and was killed among his relatives and friends.
Among the first of the Jewish intelligentsia who studied behind Tivoli Gardens,
long before the destruction of the ghetto, there was also B. Landsberg.
(According to another story, he took his own life).
[Page 197]
Moshe Idelman
(1864-1942)
by Yitskhak Rokhel
Translated by David Dubin
All fire, all movement. He had nothing, if not Zionism and the land of Israel.
All the rest - economic matters, family matters - were secondary. And what was
his Zionism? Only aliya to the land of Israel. Certainly, selling shekels
(for the Jewish National Fund), disseminating for the Colonial Bank, congress
elections, conquering the hearts of the community - these were important also,
but they were merely a means to an end: the land of Israel. “Prepare yourself
in the anteroom in order to enter the palace,” but do not tarry in the
anteroom so as not to lose sight of the goal. The fateful hour arrived in March
1925 when Moshe Idelman arrived in the land and settled in Tel-Aviv. For decades
the battle raged in the family. His wife, owner of a store, did not agree to
uproot her business and follow her husband to a “desolate land,” and only
when the children grew up and became independent did Moshe Idelman rise and
depart. He left alone and lived alone here until he died. Previously he had
visited the land several times, and when the “Herzliya” Gymnasium was
founded in Jaffa, he sent his son, Yitskhak, to complete his studies there, and
each year he would accompany him back from his vacation in Kremenets to Jaffa.
[Page 198]
When he returned from his visits to the land “his soul burned like coals.”
Despite his age, he was youthful and walked among the young ones. He would
gather his “chevra (group),” the youth, and tell them of his itinerary in
the land, about the settlements, the farmers and the workers, about the
gymnasium and Moriah schools, about the Arabs and their doings, of the
“Hashomer”
and the nights in Canaan. The youth would listen silently with sparkling eyes,
rapt and fired by love and longing for Zion.
He was born to his father Jakob, on Chanuka 1864, was orphaned in childhood and
raised by his mother, owner of a store, and received a traditional education. He
befriended his contemporaries Tsvi Prilutski, Toviya Hindes and others, entered
the “garden” and began to read Haskalah (Enlightement) literature. He joined
the “Khovevei Zion” from its inception and later the Zionist Movement and
dedicated his whole being to its mission, coming into conflict with the
opponents of Zionism and even with members of his family. He bought a tract in
Eyn Zitim in the days of the “group of one thousand.”
He was among the founders of the first “modernized kheder” in town, under
the late Asher Beylin's leadership. He did not neglect community activism:
during the First World War he devoted himself to help refugees. With the
outbreak of the revolution he was chosen as member of the community council and
served as vice chairman. His son moved to the land of Israel in 1921, with the
first pioneers. Later, his daughter also went, and then came his turn to go.
In the Land, he did not seek greatness. He did not request priority. He did not
knock on the doors of charities. But he found a lowly job as a tax collector,
which he fulfilled faithfully, and supported himself to his last day. The very
fact of his living in the Land, among the builders and realizers of the dream,
filled his heart with happiness. Every building that was built, every new place,
brings us closer to achieving the ultimate goal. He hoped and believed that the
redemption would arrive soon, paving the way for the Kingdom of Israel.
While here he kept his strong connection with the diaspora, and he worked with
all his might for bringing individuals and groups of Jews from Kremenets. He
strove and labored for any of his hometown citizens to come, to get a
certificate, whether as a purported businessman or as a khazan or rabbi.
Any Kremenets Jew who arrived would be visited by Moshe Idelman, brought to his
apartment, guided in his first steps in the land, and asked about all the fine
details of the news of Kremenets. Many years ago, he already had suggested
starting a society of Kremenets expatriates in order to stimulate massive
aliya from the city. He never complained, was happy with his share
and satisfied to see Zion being rebuilt.
He died at age 78 in 1942. He was laid to rest in the cemetery of Nahalat
Yitskhak near Tel-Aviv and on his tombstone is inscribed:
Love of our land
and our nation
was a candle for his steps
all the days of his life.
[Page 199]
David Goldenberg
(1880-1934)
by Manus Goldenberg
The house of my grandfather, Reb Nakhman Margolis, the watchmaker, was not a
place for young people. There, his friends, Chabad hassidim, the elite of the
yeshiva, ruled, in an atmosphere of the Jerusalem Talmud, Babylonian Talmud and
books on Hassidism. On matters of Torah, there were learned discussions and
sharp wit and more. And we, the young grandchildren, their playthings, did not
even know another way; and the influence of our own parents was only felt when
they moved to their own apartment in “Alterman's yard.” “With noises and
thunder” did these steps resonate, for immediately they traveled a radically
different path when they removed us from the religious teacher and placed us in
the Hebrew school, which was just established. This move was an open rebuff
against tradition and they never reconciled with their elders.
My first memories here are connected with the magical world of the hassidic
legends, Andersen and Grimm, which our father read to us from the pamphlets
“Nitzanim
(shoots)” and “P'rachim (Flowers)” published by the “Tushia” house in
Warsaw. After them came the booklets “Hashiloah” and the volumes of “HaTzefira.”
Eventually his whole Weltanschauung became clear:
Two of our children had already been born before he left his studies in the
religious study hall with his young friend, Getsi Klorfayn. Under the latter's
influence he was caught up in the
Haskala
(enlightenment) literature. He
read Mapu and Smolenskin, and with him joined the Hibbat Zion movement and the
Hovevei S'fat Evri (Lovers of Hebrew). However, his whole life he knew to
synthesize his traditional leanings with the idea of a return to Zion.
While he was busy with his livelihood and his affairs and involved with his
large family, he found time to study a page of gemarah, and to read
books and newspapers.
He served for years as treasurer of the charity fund and active member of the
burial society. After the Sabbath, our home would become a “national bank,”
to which Jews would come for loans in the presence of the committee. For several
years the traditional meals of the burial society were held in our house.
My father spent many nights next to the beds of the ill as a member of the
“Linat
Hatzedek (Righteous Slumber)” society and more than once he returned late at
night from the distant cemetery, escorting an old man or woman to his final
resting place.
A short time after the establishment of the workers' union in Kremenets he was
chosen a president, and he kept this position to his last day. He took upon
himself a heavy burden with his appointment by the authorities as a member of
the tax assessors' committee. He had to fight bitterly to limit the taxes on
every Jew. These meetings lasted months, and the merchants and laborers exerted
considerable pressure. He suffered greatly, defending against a reduction of the
Jews' standing. But there was one bright spot in his life: the Land of Israel
where he longed to go after his children.
The deep darkness of Jewish poverty was also clearly revealed to him when he was
appointed guardian by the social service office, in his visits to the shelters
for the poor, both Jew and Christian. His peace was disturbed at his desk,
surrounded by those asking for help and describing their troubles to him.
Approximately two years before he died he was elected to the town council, and
he involved himself in the fight for Jewish rights, joining the Jewish faction
led by Binyamin Landsberg.
His simple manner, his modesty and the mildness of his ways made him beloved to
all ranks of society. He was a man of the people, who lived among the people,
and lived for them. Our mother also stood with him during his short life by
being his partner in managing his affairs.
[Translation
Editor's Note: The last part of this section ends on p. 200. It has not yet been translated.]
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