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[Page 478]

Memories of my Youth

By Yizi Rosenberg

Contributed and donated by Alain Bornstein

Edited by Jerrold Landau

In my time (the time before the Second World War) the religious youth in Zawiercie were concentrated around two yeshivot. One was run by the Kromolówer Rebbe. The Yeshiva directors were then the Süssmann brothers, sons of “Guten Srulke” (Srulke the Good), Yerachmiel and Chaim Eliahu. The second yeshiva was located in the Beis Midrash. It was led by the older youths of the Beis Midrash with Aaron Silberstein and Yisrael Weitz at its head.

Our town was populated by Torah scholars who had a reputation in the world of Torah learning. The aforementioned Süssmann brothers are especially worthy of note. I spent time with them almost every day.

As far as I remember, during the years 1937 and 1938 they completed the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud several times, along the Tosafos [a commentary on the Talmud], Sifri [a midrashic Torah commentary] and the early and late Talmudic commentaries. They were in contact with the greatest Gaonim of their time, with the Gaon Yosha Dinenburg, the author of “Tzafnat Paanach”, and with the renowned Gaon Chaim Ozer Grodzinski from Vilna. They most certainly remained in contact with the previous Rosh Yeshiva of the Zawiercie Yeshiva, he great Gaon Reb Arieh Zvi Frommer (the Kozieglower Rov).

[Page 479]

With the brothers, I saw entire piles of responsa from the aforementioned Gaonim who had addressed the yeshiva youths as “Habochur Hagaon” [The scholarly yeshiva youth]. These great Gaonim did not address just anybody in such a manner.

I also remember that, on occasion, Yerachmiel used to study Torah for 18 to 19 hours without interruption until his voice became hoarse. Even in such a condition, he used to lie down on a bench and turn the pages of the Gerama. Ignoring his tiredness, he always asked me to pose questions to him relating to each and every page of the Talmud in order to refresh his memory. The first word I uttered was enough for him to continue and complete the entire page. I was constantly amazed at his depth of knowledge of the sources.

From this very circle, one must also mention the Kromolówer Rebbe and his sons, in particular his son Reb Moshele Rabinowicz, the son-in-law of the Radomsker Rebbe and the founder of the famous Yeshiva “Keter Torah” and the “Kibbutz Gavoha” (the latter was a Yeshiva for older students). This sharpness and depth of his knowledge were famous in the whole of the learned world.

The influence of the Kozieglower Rov was absolutely enormous.

Aside from the aforementioned personalities, in my time there were Torah scholars and truly sincere Jews in Zawiercie, such as Reb Chaim the rabbinical teacher, Reb Leibel Chwat, Reb Yaacov Rosenberg, Reb Avraham Helfgott, Reb Zelig from the Alexander Shteibel, Reb Mottel Bornstein, Reb Shiäle the rabbinical teacher, and many more whose names escape me at the moment. All these were engaged in learning Torah for its own sake day and night.

Zawiercie was also the home of very pious and dedicated Jews, such as Reb Shimale Kornitzer, Henech Srulke's, Yisroel Brieger, Landau, Benjamin Perlman, Israel Isaac Machtiger, Chaim Gabai, Moshe Sofer, Kopel Speiser, Avraham Cohen, “Shiäle with the beard” and others.

Jewish Zawiercie was destroyed by the cruel anti-Semitic enemy, the like of which the world had never seen before. Rabbis, Rebbes and those who studied together with all the Jews were led like sheep to the slaughter in the gas chambers of Auschwitz. The soul weeps from pain and sorrow which one remembers the terrible destruction. One is constantly reminded of the words of the prophet Jeremiah.

“Would it be that my head was water, and my eyes a source of tears – I would weep day and night for the slain of my people. [Jeremiah 8, 23].

Written during my visit to Tel Aviv, Israel


[Page 480]

From Pirkhe Agudas Yisroel [boys division of Union of Israel]
to Tsukunft [Future]

by A. Paserman

Translated by Gloria Berkenstat Freund

My father wanted me to study in a yeshiva [religious secondary school]. He took me to the premises of the Ts-erei Agudat Yisroel [young men's movement of Union of Israel] (Aptetszna Street in Mordekhai Hilel Windman's house). Chaim Berger (then the librarian) welcomed us both. Since I was a young man, he proposed that I bring other young men to create a group. Thus, was created the Pirkhe Agudas Yisroel, which numbered 50 young men. Our spiritual leaders were Chaim Berger, Chaim Dovid Wajc, and Leibush Froman. They were Hasidic young men who were dedicated with all their fervor to the work of educating young Jews in the spirit of the Torah.

Chaim Berger was a widely known young man. He would lead us in conversations on worldly themes and books.

Chaim Dovid Wajc was Reb Moshe Ahron's son. Reb Moshe Ahron taught at the Yesod haTorah kheder [Foundation of Torah primary school] and dozens of young men from Zawiercie had him, the admirable, mild man and good pedagogue, to thank for their knowledge of the foundations of Torah.

Dovid Waldliwerant and Dovid Ber Yoskowicz also were active with Chaim Dovid Wajc and Leibush Froman (Yokl Froman's son). Chaim Dovid and Leibush studied a page of Gemora [Talmud] with us at the house of prayer.

In time, Chaim Berger left for Poalei Agudas Yisroel [Union of Young Israel – trade union and political party]. He took a few working young people with him. Leibush Froman later married and also left. The group unraveled because of a lack of spiritual strength.

In 1943, the German beasts took Chaim Dovid, his father, and the entire family to Auschwitz and annihilated them. They took Chaim Dovid and his father in the middle of the Maariv [evening] prayers.

* * *

In later years, as a working young man, I took part in founding the Jewish socialist youth organization, Tsukunft. The local P.P.S. [Polska Partia Socjalistyczna – Polish Socialist Party] and its Zawiercie chairman, Konopka, helped in the organization of Tsukunft.

[Page 481]

Active in Tsukunft were Dovid Waldliwerant, Henekh Warcman, Asher Paserman, Benyamin Lewkowicz and Sholem Gold. The chairman was Dovid Wajnrib, who helped the organization in every way. We carried out widespread informational work in the Jewish neighborhood and drew a large number of young workers into our ranks. We taught them to read and write Yiddish. Every week, we held political and cultural conversations. Along with the P.P.S. [Polish Socialist Party], we fought against the Endekes [members of the anti-Semitic Polish National Party] and their boycott actions. We worked with the Polish workers' movement in all other actions. However, it must be said, alas, that when we needed the leaders of the P.P.S., they betrayed us and did not help. I turned to the leader of T.U.R. [Towarzystwo Uniwersytetu Robotniczego – Workers' University Society] at the time of our critical situation to help us, and he answered me that he knew of nothing. After the war, it was revealed that T.U.R. was a Nazi supporter and itself murdered many Jews after the Germans marched into Poland. Many Tsukunft comrades were murdered by the Nazis. Only a few lived to see Hitler's defeat.

 

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