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Rozana: a Memorial Book to the Jewish Community
(Ruzhany, Belarus)

52°52'/ 24°53'

Rozhinoy; sefer zikaron le-kehilat Rozhinoy ve-ha-seviva

Edited by: M. Sokolowsky

Published in Tel Aviv, 1957

 

     

 

 

Acknowledgments

Project Coordinators

Edith Taylor

and

 

This is a translation of: *Rozhinoy; sefer zikaron le-kehilat Rozhinoy ve-ha-seviva;
Rozana: a memorial book to the Jewish community. Ed. M. Sokolowsky.
Tel Aviv, Former residents of Rozhinoy in Israel, 1957 (232 pages H,Y).

Note: The original book can be seen online at the NY Public Library site: Rozhinoy

Purchase details for a printed copy of this translation can be found at https://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/ybip/YBIP_Ruzhany.html

*Ruzhinoy = Rozana (Polish pronunciation), now Ruzhany in Belarus.

My copy has a handwritten dedication to my father: “Abraham Vegotsky, fellow citizen of Ruzhnoy, as a sign of respect and thanks from the committee of Ruzhnoyan landsmen. Tel Aviv, May 7, 1958.”

Translation by Nurith Brier and Edith Vegotsky Taylor.

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.
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Subject  Page
Introduction by the Editor 5
Schematic map of Ruzhany 6
History:  
History of the Town of Ruzhany 7
Ruzhany according to the ledgers of the council of principal communities in the State of Lithuania 8
Ruzhany according to the General Encyclopedia Orglobarnada from 1884* 8
Ruzhany according to the Jewish Encyclopedia 8
Martyrs:
The Martyrs of Ruzhany 10
The Selicha for the Martyrs 12
Martyrs tomb 17
Descendents of the Martyrs 17
The Martyrs of Ruzhany 18
Torah:
Cheders 21
The Teacher's Union 22
A Cheder for Girls 23
Tiferet Bachurim 23
The Yeshiva in Ruzhany 24
Various study organizations 26
Rabbis in Ruzhany 29
“Shaatnez” 41
Labor:
The economic situation of the town 47
Lives of the weavers in Ruzhany during the 19th century 48
Families of workers in the town 49
The Labor Movement in Ruzhany in the 19th century 50
The founding of Pavlova and Konstantinova 51
G'milut Chassadim (Benevolent Societies):
Popular idealists 52
Hadaska 54
Leib Wasz and other members of the Pines family 56
Yona the shoemaker 58
Nimele the butcher Bulgatz 59
Shabtai Shefem of Pavlova 59
Our Town:
Our town Ruzhinoy 60
The synagogues of Ruzhany 62
Public life in Ruzhany 64
The “Takseh” (meat tax, “Korovka”) 65
From the days of my childhood in Ruzhany 66
The Fires:  
The plague of fires 68
Leib “Yachid” [the only one] 71
How the fire brigade in Ruzhany was set up 72
The voluntary fire brigade in Ruzhany 72
The drills of the firefighters brigade 73
Fear of pogroms in the town in 1904 75
The beginnings of Zionism:
“Hurry, Brothers, Hurry” written by Yechiel Michal Pines (song still sung in Israel) 77
Beginnings of Zionism in Ruzhinoy 78
Yechiel Michael Pines 78
More on the Activities of Yechiel Michel Pines 80
Passages from “The Children of My Spirit” by Y. M. Pines 81
Itta Yellin 82
Rabbi Ze’ev Wolf Shachor (black) 82
The founding of Ekron (agricultural settlement south of Tel Aviv) 83
Yearning for redemption 85
The years of agitation: 
The year 1905--the political parties 87
The struggle for 12-hour work day 87
The big strike of 1910 88
Public figures and personalities:
Lullaby 90
Aharon Libushitzky , Meir Krinsky, Zelig Sher, Melech Epshteyn ,
Dov Shpak Lobzowsky, Avigdor Michal Goldberg, Dr. Meir Pines, Moshe Limon		  91-95
The First World War:
The Days of the First World War 97
The First Period of the German Occupation 98
From the Time of the German Occupation 99
The Forest People 100
The Big Fire 101
The Kinderheim (Children’s Home) 102
The Choir 103
“Hazamir” and “Herzlia” 104
The Consum Farein (consumers’ organization) 107
Between the Regimes 108
Pogroms in Ruzhinoy 108
Way of Life in the Shetl:  
The libraries of Ruzhinoy 110
The library in Pavlova 110
Memories of childhood 111
Longing for Zion 112
Longing for the Land 114
Ma’ot Chitim (food fund for needy) 115
The eve of Passover in our town 115
Economic Situation:  
The economic situation after the First World War 119
In Ruzhany 119
The bank in Ruzhany 120
Zionist Movements:  
Hechalutz Movement in Ruzhany 122
Activities on behalf of the Jewish National Fund 126
The General Zionist Organization 129
The Hashomer Hatzair Movement in Ruzhany 131
Hashomer Hatzi’r renews its activities 132
Betar (Jabotinsky’s youth movement) 136
My native town 137
Educational Institutions:  
Educational institutions in the town 138
The Tarbut School in Ruzhany 139
The Talmud Torah Institution in Ruzhany 143
David Miller 144
Charitable Institutions:  
In the 19th century 145
In the 20th century 146
Second World War and the Holocaust:  
Nineteen Days of the German-Polish War, and Russian Jurisdiction in Ruzhany 150
Echoes in Writing 151
In Ruzhany During the Time of the Nazis 153
I Passed Through Ruzhany During the Days of the Nazis 162
Echoes 167
Poem: “Everything Precious to Me” 170
In the German Captivity 170
What Happened To Me When I Returned Home 171
Yaakov Meir Maruchnik 172
In Memory of the Martyrs of Ruzhany 174
The Beloved and the Pleasant 175
In Memory of Those Who Made Aliyah:  
Avraham Yitzchak Chwojnik and his wife 177
Rabbi Ze’ev Wolf 178
Leibl Ziskind 178
Nachum Alperstein 180
The Organization of Ruzhany Natives 181
Our Families:  
A listing & photos of some of the families 184
Those Who Fell in the War of Independence: (Israel)  
Listing of many names & photos 190
Poem: The Jewish Body 192
More names listed 193
Another poem: Liberty 197
“Amal is Geven a Stetl” - Ruzhinoy as I Remember:  
Once There Was A Shtetl by Yosef Abramowich 199
In Memory of our Martyrs 212
Ruzhinoy and Environs 213
List of Ruzhany Natives Living in Israel 228
List of Liskova Natives Living in Israel 232

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