« Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page »

[Column 293]

Rabbi Yitshak Ayzik Halevi Grossman –Zionist Rabbi

by M. Tsinovits

Translated by Dr. Ida Schwarcz

He was the son of a religious family in Bialystok. He received an excellent Talmud education in the local yeshiva in his birth place and in famous yeshivot in Lithuania. He continued his Talmudic studies even after he was married to the daughter of Harshman from Bialystok. He was known as one of the young guard of scholars in religious Bialystok. He was interested in religious education in the city. He became one of the treasurers and examiners of the upper grades of the yeshiva. He was also one of the heads of the council of the Talmud “kibbutz” which was founded at the end of the First World War.

After the war, he was appointed Rabbi in Ludmir in Volyn and after that the head of the religious court in Grajewo. He succeeded the famous rabbis Rabbi Eliayhu Aharon Milikovski (later Chief Rabbi of Krakow), Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Amiel (later rabbi in Antwerp and then Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv), and Rabbi Binyamin Eliyahu Ramigolski.

Rabbi Y. A. Halevi Grossman was a loyal Mizrahi Zionist. When he was still a rabbi in Hassidic Ludmir, he openly carried on propaganda for the two Zionist funds, Keren Kayemet Le–Yisrael and Keren Hayesod. He did a great deal to prepare religious pioneers to immigrate to Erets Yisrael.

While he was still in Ludmir in 1925 he participated in a declaration by famous rabbis in Poland, Lithuania, and other countries asking Jews to contribute to the Keren Hayesod.

In 1926 his name appeared among the group of rabbis asking Jews to support a fund for the Mizrahi pioneers.

In 1936 when he was the head of the religious court in Grajewo, his signature appeared on a proclamation of rabbis of Poland asking for support of the Keren Kayemet Le–Yisrael and that it was one's duty to support it, especially since it had founded a department for “haredim” [at present, translated as fervently religious but at that time simply meant religious]. In this proclamation it was emphasized that this department was dedicated to redeeming the land from strangers for the settlement of religious Jews.

In 1937 he was appoint head of the religious court of the community of Bedzin.

Rabbi Grossman died towards the end of the Holocaust. He was taken to the gas chamber in Auschwitz together with the last Jews of Bedzin and Sosnowiec on the 15th of January 1944 and gave up his pure and holy soul.


[Column 294]

Hannah Rachel Werbermacher
(The Ludmir Maiden)

by A. Ludmirer

Translated by Dr. Ida Schwarcz

In 1815 a daughter, Hannah Rachel, was born to R' Monish Werbermacher of Lublin. While still a child she studied Humash [Five Books of Moses] and taught herself to write Hebrew. Later she studied the legends of the Talmud and the Midrash and books of ethical teachings. She prayed like a male, three times a day, so fervently, that she awed those who saw her. She had such an unusually fine character that as soon as she was a little older there were many proposals of marriage. She was soon engaged to a young man from the same town. This event caused an upheaval in her spiritual life. Since she knew her bridegroom from childhood she loved him with her whole heart and soul. She wanted to get together with him but according to the customs of the time, this was forbidden. Because of her frustrated longing she became ill. Her mother died around that time. Hannah Rachel began to distance herself from people, and to live in seclusion. From time to time she would visit her mother's grave where she could weep and reveal her deepest feelings.

They say that once, when Hannah Rachel was sitting on her mother's grave, she fell into a deep sleep. When she woke up it was nighttime and she was very frightened. She began to run through the old cemetery where there were the graves of the greatest holy men of the past generations. On her way she stumbled and fell on one of these graves. She began to scream and she fainted. The watchman, who heard her cry, found her, and when she recovered consciousness he escorted her home.

She was lay ill for some weeks, and the doctors gave up on her. One time she called her father and said to him:

[Columns 295-296]

“I have just been in heaven, at a meeting of the heavenly court, and I was given a new sublime soul.”

Some days later she regained her health. From that time on she wore a tallit katan [an undergarment with fringes on its four corners], prayed with a tallit and tefillin [prayer shawl and phylacteries], (two pairs of tefillin, Rashi's and Rabenu Tam's)[according to the interpretation of each of the scholars –most men wear Rashi's –– wearing two pairs is done by very pious men] She broke her engagement and decided never to marry.

Meanwhile R' Monish died and left her a large inheritance. She built a study hall named the Gurin shtibl, with a separate room where she prayed and studied.

Everyone talked about the Maiden of Ludmir. Men and women, scholars and rabbis, would come to her from the neighboring towns and villages, as if to a holy person, asking for her blessing. She would sit in her room with the door open, and people would stand in the study hall and hear her homilies. A group of Hassidim formed around her who were called “The Hassidim of the Ludmir Maiden.”

Righteous men of that generation came to see this wonder woman. They tried to persuade her to change her way of life and marry. But she adamantly refused to hear of it. For some time, the Hassidic Rebbe , R' Motele Chernobyler, started arguing with her and tried to persuade her to marry. She finally gave in and married a rabbi, but divorced him soon after. After a time she journeyed to Erets Yisrael and died there.

In Ludmir the story of the Ludmir Maiden was told in various versions. This is the version of Yossele Dreyer, when An–ski was in our town.[Playwright and anthropologist An–ski travelled around Russia collecting folk tales and songs which he recorded on wax cylinders.] An–ski was very careful to copy the story word for word as it was told.


[Column 296]

The Maiden from Ludmir

by Mordekhai Biber

Translated by Dr. Ida Schwarcz

…From the conversations transmitted orally by some of the old people of the previous generation in Volhyn, the image of the Maiden from Ludmir may be seen. In the middle of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th, there was a Jew in Ludmir, a wealthy householder, a scholar and a pious man, named Rabbi Monish Werbermacher. His wife was a good woman of her time, a good housewife, clever and wise, who managed her household and was very charitable. With all the wealth and abundance with which the household was blessed, there was a cloud darkening it: The woman was barren and after ten years of marriage without children, her husband suggested that they talk about a divorce. She was a proper wife and had to accept the judgement of the religious court. However, by all kinds of devices she postponed accepting it and then she asked him to agree to a last attempt, perhaps it would help.

Not far from Kiev there is the small town of Chernobyl, the home of a great righteous man and wonder worker, who was known to bless barren women. She asked her husband to go to him and ask for his blessing. Rabi Monish, was not a great believer in such wonderworkers but he was willing to have his wife go by herself. The woman came to Chernobyl, fell at the feet of the righteous man and poured out her bitter heart to him. She asked for a blessing to have children. Rabbi Motele from Chernobyl[1] encouraged her and spoke to her kindly and promised that within an appointed time she would give birth to a daughter. And thus it happened, within a year's time she gave birth to a daughter who was called Hannah Rachel.

The child awed all who saw her. She had an angelic face, and as she grew up, her spiritual graces increased. Her parents were careful to give her a good education. The child learned how to read with ease from the siddur and other prayer books and women's tehinot [special prayer books for women] in Yiddish, and devoted herself to prayer and reading. Her great desire was to understand books written in the holy language [Hebrew] and she achieved this through her discipline and strong will. With the help of Yiddish translations, which were printed on the margins of the prayer books and holy writings –she learned the original language. From this point on she read and studied the Bible, legends and commentaries, and books of ethics. She was punctilious about praying three times a day, washing her hands and saying the grace after meals and the other Jewish traditions, like a man. And she was still very young and had not yet reached her twelfth birthday.

With her sharp mind she also understood lay matters. Her father was a business man whose home served as a meeting place for both Jewish and gentile business people. On rare occasions there were also visits from people from abroad. She was drawn to this world, and listened with great interest to the conversations and negotiations about different affairs. She understood these conversations so well that sometimes she would intervene and express her opinions about these matters. She surprised everybody with her accurate grasp of these matters, and with her logic and analytic ability, and matters reached so far that venerable merchants would consult with the young girl about various matters and if they followed her advice they were successful.

[Columns 297-298]

In his free time, especially in the evenings, her father would sit at the table and study Talmud and young Hannah Rachel would be attracted to his sweet chanting. She would sit for hours, absorbed, in her corner, listening to her father's chanting of the Talmud, the ups and downs of his voice, and with all her being she was swept into the sea of the Talmud and swam in it. She soon learned the language and style of the Talmud. Her father, out of his great love of her, accepted her as a study partner and was amazed at the width of her understanding and the acuity of her mind in the difficult questions of the Talmud and its commentaries. But Hannah Rachel was not as drawn to the halakhic discussions as she was to the legends, where she showed great interest and amazed her father with her understanding of the hidden meanings of the legends of the Talmud.

The girl's development seemed to be unnatural. Her parents feared the new revelations which increased daily, and were confused by what they saw and did not know how to treat her.

One time she came home and astonished her mother when she said that she smelled a corpse in the house. When the table was set and food was served, she announced that she would not wash her hands until the corpse was removed from the house. Her father stood up and said; if Hannah Rachel insists that there is a corpse in the house, it must be so. He sent his wife to question the butcher about the meat that he had sold her that day. She investigated and discovered that the butcher had exchanged a kosher ox for a non–kosher one. There was a great tumult in town. The religious court decided that the meat must be thrown away, and all the ceramic dishes as well, and all the metal pots where the meat had been cooked had to be boiled. Hannah Rachel received the reputation of a pious girl, in whose merit a disaster had been prevented.

Her parents treated her with great care, gave her everything she requested, provided her with a private room where she studied Torah, Mishneh, legends, and works of ethical works. She was not seen in public except for going to the synagogue for morning and evening prayers. She used to take walks outside the city on the banks of the lake, where there was a grassy plain and the shade of pine and cypress trees. She walked there every day, about an hour before sundown, to be alone with her Creator, and to refresh herself in the in the glory of the beautiful surroundings.

Once, towards evening, as she stood on the banks of the lake, leaning on the tree trunk of an oak tree, reflected in the waters of the lake, she noticed an image standing opposite her. She raised her eyes and saw a graceful youth with beautiful eyes. He told her that he had heard about her and her holy ways and his heart was drawn to her and he only wished to look into her eyes. After he said this he disappeared. Hannah Rachel's heart was touched by the youth's words. Her femininity was aroused and she felt a new spirit. She devoted herself even more to prayer and her soul, yearning for love, which expressed itself in song and devotion until she reached spiritual ecstasy. In a while her fame spread throughout the town and environs. Important people, rabbis, leaders of the community, wanted to arrange matches with her, but she rejected them all. She did not reveal the meeting with the youth to her parents. They also refused to involve themselves in matchmaking because they knew that Hannah Rachel would do what was best for her; but secretly they were sick at heart.

 

vol298.jpg
Reyzl Limonik, the wife of R' Itsie Dof, a very old woman who remembered the maid of Ludmir

 

The tender soul of the girl–her yearning for what was lofty and noble, combined with negative longings for a man, she sought spiritual elevation purified in the furnace of faith and pangs of love.

Fate struck a blow – her mother, the person who was nearest to her, who guarded her every step and understood her, died after a difficult illness. The girl could not find surcease. Orphanhood and loneliness troubled her soul. Her father tried to spare her sorrow, but in vain. She used to visit her mother's grave and her she became paler and thinner from day to day. Her father began to talk to her about marriage, and to his joy, she seemed to agree. But when possible matches were discussed she revealed her secret. She had already chosen her bridegroom, a certain youth of low estate. Her father was astonished, but he knew that he could not move his daughter from her decision and he agreed, against his will.

Hannah Rachel was soon engaged to the youth who had appeared before her at the lake outside the town. The engagement astonished the residents of the town and environs, where her fame had spread. The love for her chosen one grew greater and greater, and since she could not see him, as was the custom in those days, she poured out her yearnings in prayer and study of holy books. She spent many hours lying on her mother's grave, believing that her mother heard her prayers and understood her, as she had when alive. When she returned from the cemetery, she felt lighter, as if a heavy load had been removed from her and she was more at ease. On one of the days when she was praying on her mother's grave, she sank into a sleep exhausted by weeping. When she awoke it was nighttime. When she saw that she was in the cemetery, she was seized by fear, and she began to run between the graves in the dark, screaming in fear. As she ran, she stumbled into one of the tombstones, fell, and fainted, and remained lying in a faint, until passersby, who had heard her cries, succeeded in finding her. She was brought home unconscious, and all the efforts of the doctors to bring her back to consciousness were in vain. She lay on her bed for a number of weeks, sick and with her eyes closed. Her father brought specialists from the capital but they could find no medicine for her.

[Columns 299-300]

R' Monish even went to his wife's grave to beg for help for his daughter, and when that did not succeed, he went to the Rabbi of Chernobyl, for he said to himself; he who blessed his wife to give birth to their daughter, will help her recover. He came to Rabbi Motele, and the rabbi answered him. Go home, your daughter will recover and will yet bring you great pleasure and great sorrow.

After R' Monish returned home, there were great changes for the better in his daughter's condition, until one day she opened her eyes and called her father. With joy he hurried to her side and she stroked him and asked him to sit by her bed while she spoke to him.

She had stood before the heavenly court, which would decide whether she would live or die. The witnesses for the defense brought before the court all her righteousness, her observance of God's commandments above and beyond what was required. But the prosecutors said that she did not behave in the way that wise men had ordered, that she performed commandments that women were not commanded to perform, that she had taken upon herself the yoke of the study of Torah and observance that were required of men, and since her love was that of a woman and she had been created a woman, she was desecrating the honor of the Torah. The heavenly court could not decide her fate but decided that the judgement would be rendered by R' Motele of Chernobyl who had brought her into the world. They called R' Motele and he said, let us call the maiden and ask her opinion, whether she lives or dies will be her decision. Hannah Rahel replied in the words of the Torah,”I shall not die but live, and tell the deeds of God.” She added that she wished to delve deeper into the study of Torah, to learn about God and to reveal the secrets of creation, but since she knew that her heart was the heart of a woman, and she would not be able to attain the heights and to be purified, she asked for a new soul, with a higher degree of ability to rise with her great thirst for the word of God. She would not think of the vanities of this world. Her request was granted and her soul soared higher.

Her father heard her stories and did not know whether to rejoice or to sigh. After a few days Hannah Rachel recovered and left her bed. She stopped behaving as a woman and behaved as a man. She would wrap herself in a tallit and put on tefillin. Her father, in his sadness at her new ways, tried to move her from this path, but Hannah Rachel explained to him that even though her new soul was in a woman's body, but she could reach heights in the study of Torah and in prayer from dawn until midday, when she wore tallit and tefillin, and afterwards until late at night.

Her father was sad, and once he asked her what she thought about marriage. Hannah Rachel seemed to try to remember something forgotten and murmured; marriage, I thank you for reminding me about this subject. I have to return the engagement agreement to my fiancé. When R' Monish heard this he was happy because he thought that his daughter had realized her error and that this match was not appropriate according to her station and he agreed to nullify it. But when he promised to find her a more appropriate match, his daughter told him that she was cancelling her engagement because she would never marry, because all her life would be devoted to God and Torah, and on that day she returned the engagement contract to her fiancé (the text of her letter has been preserved.)

[Column 300]

The letter is an approximate reconstruction, published in Ts.L. Mekler's “Fun Rebben's Hoyf” [From the Rabbi's Court] New York, 1931 (Volume one, pages 235–236):

I am sending back the engagement agreement, but it does not mean that I regret the match, or that I have found something wrong with you, or something lacking in you. I am doing this because I am going down a new path. I have been shown a new path from above. I shall no longer be like other women who marry and limit themselves with women's commandments. I want to observe the entire Torah, just like men. That is why God gave me a new soul. I do not want to weaken this soul, or lower it by becoming like all women. [There follows a translation of the Yiddish letter into Hebrew.]

R' Monish saw that he could not dissuade her, but he did not cease talking about “Takhlis”[end result]. It seems that he realized that her way of life was decreed from above. Of course he would a have chosen his daughter to live like all women, and that is why he travelled to Chernobyl to see Rabbi Motele the Hassidic master. And he heard from him that he should not look for changes in his daughter's way of life for now, for she was searching for her way in worshiping the Creator. When she herself would find her way, she would herself decide change it. Meanwhile, he should allow her to go her own way for the present.

Hannah Rachel acquired the title of “The holy maiden” and her home was also considered a holy place. She became even more isolated, studying Torah and praying. Her father was sunk in sorrow. The good name and the many honors which were shown to his daughter, could not heal his broken heart. He did not view this as the way his daughter should live in this world. He got weaker and weaker and finally fell ill and did not leave his bed. Hannah Rachel mourned him, said Kaddish [mourner's prayer] and even wanted to pray before the ark, but was not able to do so.

As the only child of her parents she inherited all of their fortune. With the money she built a beautiful synagogue in which a special room was set aside for her, where she spent her time studying Torah and praying.[2] Her fame spread abroad and hundreds of people came to Ludmir to see the wonder. At first she did not allow anyone to get close. She locked herself in her room and did not leave it. But the masses of people who asked for her blessing and were thirsty to hear words of Torah from her mouth made an impression. Although she did not allow anyone to enter her room, she did hear those who were pleading, knocking on her door, while she stood near the door and gave her blessing. And this is how she behaved with all who thirsted for her words. People prepared tables in the synagogue and she opened a small window in her room, said words of Torah and her audience were amazed at her wisdom. Her voice was heard but her face was not seen.

The number of her Hassidim grew. She became an actual “Rabbanit” [female rabbi] and rabbis and Hassidic leaders followed her. Her followers spread stories about her as a healer of the sick

[Column 301]

and one who expelled dybbuks [evil spirits]. She was known as “the holy maiden” and her followers as “ Hassidim of the maiden of Ludmir”.

Her success grew. The number of her Hassidim reached thousands. This aroused a storm in the courtyards of Hassidic masters and caused strife between her followers and the followers of other hassidic masters.

Some spread a rumor that a dybbuk had entered her and spoke from within her. This increased the battle between her followers and their opponents and even resulted in fisticuffs.

The matter reached the court of Chernobyl and Rabbi Motele decided to go deeply into the matter. He went to Ludmir and spoke to the maiden, and he was very persuasive. It seems that he showed her the dangers of her way, which simple human reason could not fathom. She argued that she was permitted to behave according to the heavenly decree, and that in order to rise to a high level she did not need new ways. A person was not permitted to deaden his desires, he should feel desires and anger and pride, but he should not get angry or be proud. That is, he should fight his evil inclinations and know how to go in the right path. But, he said to her, you have choked off the feminine nature within you and you have become like a man in your thought and deed. You would be better off as a woman, living the life of a woman, and serve as a model of righteousness in your behavior for other women who will learn from your ways, not as you are doing now. If all the other women would model themselves after you as you are now, it would be the end of the world, God forbid, with no more progeny.

[Column 302]

When Rabbi Motele concluded his words, there was the sound of weeping from the other side of the door. The Ludmir maiden acknowledged to the hassid from Chernobyl, that she saw her errors, the door opened and Hannah Rachel appeared in front of all with eyes red from tears.

Afterwards she attempted married life, was married to one of the rabbis, but because of her holiness he feared to be with her under one roof. She was devastated. Happiness was far from her. According to rumors she went to the Land of Israel and died there.

Her life in the land of Israel was described by Dr. S.A. Horodetsky in his book of legends, that at one time she met with a kabbalist and they tried to bring the end of days by means of combinations of secret words. In order to do this they had to hide together in one of the caves around Jerusalem. They pointed out the site of the cave and called upon a third person to be present, since it was forbidden for a man and a woman to be together. After all the preparations the Ludmir maiden came to the appointed place early, went into the cave, and waited for the old man, but he did not appear so finally she left and went home.

And the story goes that when the old man wanted to go leave, there came to him an elderly man of good appearance and the old man treated him with hospitality. Meanwhile he forgot about this important appointment. The legend ends with the story that the elderly man was Elijah the prophet who was sent from above to cancel the plans the two had made, for the time of the end of days had not yet come.

(Mordekhay Biber, “Reshumot” a Journal of Memoirs for Ethnography and Folklore in Israel, (Devir: Tel Aviv, 1946, pp. 69–75)

 

Footnotes:
  1. Rabbi Motele from Chernobyl , Rabbi Mordekhai (1770–1837), son of Rabbi Nahum from Chernobyl, one of the followers of the Besht [Ba'al Shem Tov, founder of Hassidism] author of the book “Ma'or Einayim” [Light of Eyes] novellae of Torah and Hassidism Return
  2. The synagogue was still standing until recent times used by the Zlatapol Hassidim Return


The Ludmir Maiden Prays

by Kehot Kliger

Translated by Dr. Ida Schwarcz

Evening comes to the wooden porch of the Gornshtibel
A grey shade covers the rosy almond shaped window panes
In her dark silk dress, like an evening birch tree
The “Ludmir maiden” sways piously praying the late afternoon prayer

In front of the gold embroidered ark curtain, quietly and alone
The holy Hannah Rachel prays with devotion at twilight
And with enthusiasm she sings “Kedusha” [name of a prayer]
The shadows of her followers are seen on the walls.

Two blue doves kiss over a [?] book
In the weekly noise heard through the windows
Rings a childish laughter, like satin bells.

Hannah Rachel sways as she prays the Shmone Esrei [Prayer said standing]
Her eyes are moist. The doves have flown away from the book.
But her heart –weeps for not having been a mother.

[Note: Very difficult to translate. Author has invented some words.]


[Columns 303-304]

Motikl the Water–Carrier

by Kehot Kliger

Translated by Dr. Ida Schwarcz

Motikl – a name to remember. That is what he was called everywhere in our town. Although he was not very old, old age seemed to have enveloped him as if he were seventy years old. Out of his red, somewhat crooked eyebrows, there appear a pair of big strong eyes, which often have a youthful flicker, as to testify that he is not so old. His crooked chin with the round little beard, which is almost always wet and sticky, looks like an old stretched out [gomke–rubber band?] Bent over, his back to the ground, he almost falls under his heavy burden.

A lonely water carrier for many years, his second wife, “Esther the Blackhaired Litvak” helps him in his honorable work.

On Thursdays they change patterns of behavior. He, Motikl, cleans up a bit, combs his thick beard, and cleans off the dirt from his heavy boots, patches his sleeve or his pants, and walks out to shop for the Sabbath in the market place. His wife gives him this job because he, Motikl, has always been a clever shopper from childhood. And he often bring big bargains from the market, which he buys from the village peasant's wives. As soon as he leaves the house, his wife Esther, takes a few dried pieces of bread, leftover from the week, in her apron, takes the pails on the yoke, and carries the water to their customers.

When Sabbath comes, Motikl is happy. He feels a special love for God, and if He has helped him with a “good week” he has no greater joy.

“The Sabbath makes me live longer” he always says to his wife Friday night after the meal, when he sits at the table comfortably, chewing on the leftover bones. In the morning, when he goes to the synagogue, he is completely cleaned from his weekly work, wears a patched khalat [robe worn on Sabbath] under which peep out a pair of worn pants with white stripes. On his head he wears a well–used hat, pulled over a bit over his brow, as is his habit, from which one can see his naked nape with his greying hair, and a pair of over the knee boots, which look as if they had been soaked in oil, shining with polish, which lend a Sabbath festive air to his dress.

Coming home from the Study Hall he greets his wife with a “Gut Shabbes” while humming a tune, washes his hands slowly, says the blessing, and sits at the table. During the meal he loves to tell the news he has heard in shul, and all kinds of stories which he wife enjoys. His wife, with her strong Lithuanian accent, loves to ask questions, and he, Motikl, always admires his wife's clever ideas and sharp comments.

“She has such a head on her shoulders,” he thinks about his wife, who cannot be compared to any other woman.

When it is time to sing the Sabbath melodies, Motikl becomes lively and full of joy, wipe his face, brushes off the crumbs from himself, and leaning on his right hand, he begins singing in his thick bass, as if he could never finish.

It seems to him that the more he would sing, the longer the Sabbath would last, and the more he could rest. But his wife keeps reminding him that he should say the grace after meals and lie down a bit. She does not actually mean it for his good, but for her own. For, when he sleeps, she can slip over to her neighbors and have some good conversations which she loves.

When Motikl ends the grace, and his bed is ready, he takes off his outer clothing, gives a mighty yawn, and says to his wife;

“Listen, Estherke! Wake me up for minha [afternoon prayers]” And she, nodding her head as if promising to do so, answers immediately, in order not to have further discussion, “ Yes, yes, Motenyu!”

And Motikl is already stretched out on the soft bedding, asleep without a worry, not thinking that tomorrow, Sunday, his two heavy pails are already waiting for him…


[Columns 305-306]

Fradl and Leml
(From the series: Ludmir types)

by Moshe Babyuda

Translated by Dr. Ida Schwarcz

They were both short, almost the same height, and their poverty could be seen at a glance. They did not have any children. He was blond, with a ruddy face, a thin light yellow beard, with red rimmed bright blue eyes. He had a light smile, over his whole childlike face. He wore an old black kapote [long robe] which was shiny with dirt and old age. On his feet he wore shoes which were almost house slippers. He almost did not touch the earth as he walked, completely absorbed in himself. He kept silent, as if he saw no one, whispered to himself, as if murmuring a prayer. He spent years in the basement of the anteroom of the courtyard of the rabbi, Rabbi Pinhasl. The neighbors were used to him and hardly noticed him, and occasionally gave him some money or a piece of bread. He did not respond, smiled a bit, and remained standing as was he was used to doing, deep in thought as if far away.

When half the day was gone, his provider, Fradl, would come, slowly walking, tired, in her old dirty clothes. Her eyes still had a youngish glint. Her face looked middle– aged, covered with deep wrinkles, as if she had just finished crying. She had trudged through many streets, talking to herself as she walked, and asking for money from passerbys, not everyone, only some, “ Give me something, God will help you”. And with her weeping voice she would wish them, “You should have and have, give and give” repeating the words over and over, “have and have, give and give”, as if the world was made up of givers and takers. Finally she came to the anteroom basement to Leml, exhausted, and would pull out something to eat from her pocket. He would look at her and keep silent. And she, with her weeping voice, would repeat,” Have and have, give and give.”

 

vol306.jpg
Farewell party for Dr. Israelite and his wife before they left for the Land of Israel
Sitting: Dov Fishl, ––, Dr. Drelitsh, Dr. Israelite, Mrs. Israelite, David Bokser, Ya'akov Yelin, Liber Libert, Avraham Libert
Standing: Likhtenshtein, Nahman Geler, Mrs. Shifra Drelitsh, Shmuel Herlikh, Rohtsi Zinger, Nahman Grin, Mrs. Rivka Yelin, Yitshak Zinger, Avraham Ingber
Reclining: ––, Simha Vagshal

[Columns 307-308]

The Zionist Council in Ludmir says goodbye to the first haluts [Repeated in Yiddish] Elkana Ben–Hur (Yentis) upon his departure for the Land of Israel, 18.4. 1923. [Repeated in Yiddish]

 

vol307a.jpg
Yitshak Atlas, Simhah Yentis, Elkana Ben Hur (Yentis) Moshe Zinger, Leib Shavir, Binyamin Zinger, Yitshak Atlas

 

vol307b.jpg
Moshe Zinger, Elkana Ben Hur (Yentis), Levi Hurvits, L. Grushka, Keremer, Y.KL. Fayershtein, Koyfman

 

vol307c.jpg
Ya'akov Zipper, ––, Avraham Krelenboym, Elkana Ben Hur (Yentis), Yitshak Atlas, Rivkah Yentis, Sarah Papiles, ––, Leib Lerer, Mindl Kanat

[Columns 308-309]

The Community Council in Ludmir, 1935[1]

vol308.jpg
From right: Yisrael Krolik, Refael Birman, Ya'akov Kultun, Yisrael Shraier, Yitshak Bubis, Rabbi David Morgenshtern, Naftali Grosman, Ben–Tsion Kohen, Leibish Tsukerman

The governance of the Jewish Community in Ludmir were chosen by the governance on 23/8/1935

1.Rabbi D. Morgenshtern 2. Chairman Yitshak Bubis 3. Vice Chairman Yisrel Shraier 4. Treasurer Refael Birman 5. Ya'akov Kultun 6. Aryeh Tsukerman[2] 7. Naftali Grosman 8. Bentsiyon Kohen 8. Yisrael Krolik

The governance of the Jewish community was chosen by “Tarbut” in 1935 in the building of the hospital and thus were able to grant the Jewish children a national education. It transferred the supervision of the Jewish population in Ludmir to be proper material for the monographia of the town of Ludmir.

[Columns 311-312]

vol311a.jpg
The City Council of Ludmir

 

vol311b.jpg
The leadership of “TAZ” in Ludmir

 

vol311c.jpg
The Committee to care for Orphans with their charges in summer camp, 1929

 

Translator's footnotes:
  1. Within the photo there are the names as above, in Rashsi script, with additional titles Return
  2. Leibush Tsukerman appears as Aryeh Tsukerman. His name was probably Aryeh Leib, and he was called, familiarly, Leibush. Return

 

« Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page »


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.

  Volodymyr Volynskyy, Ukraine     Yizkor Book Project     JewishGen Home Page


Yizkor Book Director, Lance Ackerfeld
This web page created by Jason Hallgarten

Copyright © 1999-2024 by JewishGen, Inc.
Updated 22 Aug 2017 by JH