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of the Talmud Torah, and his wife
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[Page 121]
[Page 122]
[Page 123]
By M. Izaakovich
(Original Language: Hebrew)
– And here I see our town, in my mind's eye, as it stands on its hillock more than a half century ago. She sits at a crossroads, at a distance of two hours ride in a passenger wagon, from the nearest railroad station.
From the center of the marketplace, one could see the column, bearing witness to historical events of the times of the larger than life rulers, a place where evil spirits and the shades of the underworld congregated. Everything entwined in imaginary legends, which in our childish perceptions were entirely credible, and caused us to believe that our town was the center of the universe, with everything else – attached to it.
Here are the houses on both sides of the marketplace, here are the plentiful stores. At the end of the marketplace – a two-story building, the only one of its kind in town. A few steps from it is the [Russian] Orthodox Church, which instills fear in us children. On the other side, the marketplace is completed with the Rad Krommen,[1] and behind them the Deutscher Gasse up until the second edge of our town. Behind the marketplace stand the synagogues, and right beside them the old Jewish cemetery, which was there to make you understand: ‘know, where you are destined to go.’[2] To the back of the Schulhof, alleys and lanes extended all the way to the Shifa River.
Parallel to the marketplace, on its second side, with the houses and low hanging branches ready to fall on the straw thatched roofs, and this street, it so happens was called Neue Gasse (The New Street).
For generations upon generations, our town stood this way on its hillock, and Jews grew up here, were education in the spirit of the times, and entered into marriage and the task of earning a living. We are short of space to completely detail all the occupations undertaken by the residents, however, when the first years of this stormy and turbulent [sic: twentieth] century arrived, the winds of change did not pass over our town, as did not the sense of resignation and stasis that accompanied the failure of the revolution of 1905. Only that, since that time, the rate of emigration across seas and oceans strengthened considerably, and the pastoral sense of tranquility of prior generations no longer found a place in the midst of the town's youth. The Jews continued their business of buying and selling to the farmers of the area, and craftsmen continue to ply their respective trades, as rabbis and Dayanim, and all manner of religious functionaries – engaged in their sacred work, and teachers continued to instruct their pupils in the study of Holy Writ, each in his own area of expertise – but the sparks of yearning for the acquisition of knowledge, the linkage to the larger world, and the movements for international liberation and brotherhood did not cease from that time on in Dereczin.
Translator's Footnotes:
[Page 124]
By Jacob Rabinovich
(Original Language: Hebrew)
Translated by Miriam Kreiter
Translation edited by Jack S. Berger
The most splendid of the synagogues was the Great Synagogue (Die Grosse Schul), where all the official celebrations took place. It was a large building. Inside, its walls were covered in drawing of lions and eagles, interspersed with biblical and prayer verses, such as Mi SheBerakh,[1] in Hebrew and Russian, in honor of the Czar of all Russia.
Almost every Dereczin resident, even those not ardently observant, felt a great attachment to one or another of our synagogues. A synagogue called “The New Wall” (Der Neuer Mauer), was a popular place of prayer for the distinguished citizenry of our town. Next to it was “The Old Wall” (Der Alter Mauer). There was also “The Wooden Synagogue” (Der Hiltzener Bet HaMidrash). Besides those, there were also prayer houses for the tailors (Hayatim) and shoemakers (Sandlarim).
The sitting Rabbi of the town would normally pray at Der Alter Mauer Schul.
There were various interest groups (A Hevrah) attached to each synagogue. A Hevra Shas for the study of the Six Orders of the Mishna and Talmud, a Hevra Tehilim for the study of the Psalms, etc. During the long winter nights, one could see tens of Jews from all walks of life, sitting around the long tables, listening carefully to the commentaries of the scholars of the community. On the night of Hoshanna Rabba, there were many from the ranks of the scholars in Dereczin, who would go through the entire Five Books of Moses, studying in the synagogue until the early hours of the morning.
It is true that there might occasionally be quarrels and disputes among the Jewish residents of the town. But at times of crisis, such as during war, natural disasters, fires, and general deprivation, the sense of kinship among the Jews and the imperative to extend aid to one another who were needy, would intensify. This was, in no small measure, due to the role of the synagogue, and to the study of the Torah and the Gemara, and its commandments, over the course of many generations.
Translator's Footnote:
[Page 125]
By Chaim Rabinovich
(Original Language: Hebrew)
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of the Talmud Torah, and his wife |
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When the First World War ended, and the Germans began to leave the Dereczin region, we as yet did not know into whose hands the area would fall – to Russia or to Poland.
For a short time, our town and its surroundings were without balebatim. Deserters from the Russian front continued to hide out in the surrounding forests, who engaged in acts of robbery and murder. The German occupation forces carried on a continuous campaign against them, but were unable to clear them from the forest areas.
We saw, that with the withdrawal of the Germans, that Dereczin and its surroundings and neighboring villages, were being abandoned without any control. At that time, we created a self-defense organization, comprised of local Jewish youth, and selected Christian residents of the town. In order to protect ourselves from the eventual depredations, we purchased about forty guns from the departing Germans, a machine gun, and several cases of hand grenades for two thousand marks.
The first objective of the organization was to form a strong self-defense company. A local town leader, Danielevich, a returning officer from the Russian Army, was appointed as Commandant and instructor for the self-defense force. A group of from thirty to forty young people would patrol the town with loaded guns in the evening until midnight, covering both the interior and exterior parts of the town. A peacekeeping force was also established with a militia, who would detain alleged lawbreakers, and try them for possible penal action.
The reserves of grain, potatoes, and other foodstuffs, that remained after the Germans departed, was turned over to the local administration.
From Russia, the peasants began to return to their villages, and it was necessary to provision them with food as well, from the German reserve magazines. It was necessary to maintain a tight oversight to assure that these [limited] supplies were properly distributed and not dissipated. This responsibility was attended to by the administration and cooperating Christians from the villages.
What was interesting was the approach taken by the deserters-turned-bandits, to the administration. Seeing that we had taken control of the situation, they sent a delegation with a request that they be incorporated into the standing militia, until such time that they could return to their homes in the interior of Russia. It is understood that the administration did not accept this offer. We promised them, that if they behaved decently, and did not attack the town, that in time, we would permit them to return to their homes freely.
As has previously been told about these forest bandits, they did not only once fall upon and murder or rob Jews on the roads, and also the resident Christians as well. They murdered the [entire] Fyevsky family in the town of Klimovich – the father, mother and two young daughters. During the time of the German occupation, it was not possible, under any circumstances, to try and track these lawbreakers, and not find the bodies of their victims.
During the time of the [interim civilian] administration, it happened that a couple of these murderers were apprehended, and they were tried and sentenced to death. However, there was no one to carry out the death sentence. They were kept under arrest until the arrival of the Polish authorities. The lawbreakers were turned over into the hands of the Polish police, however, no one
[Page 126]
knows what was done with them.
This interregnum situation continued for several weeks. Slonim had already been occupied by the Bolsheviks, who came from Baranovich – meanwhile Dereczin remained in the middle without anyone in authority. We still did not know into whose hands fate would cast our lot.
A portion of the Dereczin Bundists began to show open sympathy to the Bolsheviks. Over the course of several days, there were heated discussions both for and against Bolshevism.
At that time in Dereczin, there was a certain Russian, by the name of Tchatkov, who had come to visit some of his relatives. He was a specially sent Bolshevik agitator – this became apparent later, when he took a high position in Slonim as part of the Bolshevik administration. It appears that he had a significant influence on swaying the majority of the Bund to the Bolshevik cause.
Suddenly, one day, I received a letter from a newly formed Communist Committee, with a demand that within 24 hours, we were to turn over all our weaponry and ammunition to this Committee, because this Committee was taking control over Dereczin and its environs.
I had no choice, and turned over to this new authority everything that the administration had.
Two days later, groups of the Polish Dombrowsky Army marched into Dereczin. They plundered the town, dispersed and drove out the newly formed Communist Committee, and confiscated all the weapons and ammunition, which had been procured through us for the purpose of protecting the resident population and its welfare.
I found out about this when I already was in Volkovysk, where I had gone with my family after turning over everything to the communists. It was at that time that my membership in the Bund ended, as well as my living in Dereczin. From Volkovysk, I went to Slonim, where I was active during twenty years in a variety of community posts. From there in 1940, the Soviet rulers sent me deep into the Russian heartland – and my family, my wife with our three precious children were brought to their end at the hands of the Nazi murderers.
By Malka Alper
(Original Language: Hebrew)
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With the outbreak of the First Worlds War, the international sentiments of the Russian Jewish people grew strong, and the intelligentsia drew closer to the masses. The expulsion of Jews from the boundary territories created a wave of donor assistance on the part of the city dwelling Jews, whose locations were traversed by these refugees, and who were given sustenance in the form of food, drink and clothing. These refugees reached up to Niznii-Novgorod (modern day Gorky). Schools were opened there for the children of these refugees. The “Hebraists” and the “Yiddishists” competed for a number of the schools that were established, and for the allegiance of the students who were enrolled in them.
Zionist organizations did not stop even during the time of interdiction, and actively raised funds for the Land of Israel.
The expectation that the war would be over, and the belief that this would bring with it equal rights for Jews, accelerated the organization of the Jews.
The front began to disintegrate, and danger began to materialize for both Jewish life and possessions, and
[Page 127]
it was at this time that a self-defense force was organized; In the Jewish street there was talk of autonomy.
In the captured area where we were, the hand of the occupying force began to weaken, and news begins to reach us through neutral countries concerning the conditions of Jews inside Russia, which are published in a Jewish newspaper in Bialystock – the closest city to us, from the standpoint of such communication reaching us.
The revolution broke out in Russia, and it inflamed the passions of the youth in Dereczin. Most of the young people who were Bundists , allied themselves with the revolutionary cause, believing that from it would come the salvation to the Jews as well.
The youth, which had international sensibilities, which before the war had been educated on the new, modern Hebrew literature, had sung Zionist songs, and held discourse on the writings of Ahad-Ha'Am, and spun the thread of hope throughout the war years that even Zionism would be rescued and become widely accepted when the victorious powers would sit down to delineate the new world that would have to be built on the wreckage of the old. – Young people such as these found themselves an expanded vista for their endeavors, and under the encouragement of the occupation forces were permitted to undertake cultural initiatives, started up evening lessons in Hebrew language, history and Tanach. Under this guise, they also undertook to deal with the clarification of issues concerning both general Zionism and Socialist Zionism. A group formed a Bnot Zion chapter, whose goal was to promote speaking Hebrew in daily life, and also for raising funds for the Keren HaKayemet LeYisrael.
Then came the Balfour Declaration. There was, however, no one to organize the townsfolk to focus on a Zionist initiative, because of the concerns about making a livelihood, and the lack of security to life and limb which was threatened by the Russian deserters and military prisoners who preyed on the populace from the nearby forests, thereby eliminating the possibility that the grown-up members of the community could focus on this opportunity.
The youth thirsted for leadership. David Alper came to this role, and along with him (with a wish for long life) Feivel Einstein, who today is in the United States. A vision of an Israel that was working, pioneering, providing personal freedom and fulfilment – this was their world outlook, and they wished to instill in the youth.
Many of the young people rallied to them. The Bund did not stay its hand either, and its influence on the soul of the ignored town youth was at its peak of intensity. In public gatherings, the discussion included issues regarding nationalism and internationalism, the expectations of the diaspora Jews for salvation at the hands of the International, and the question of cultural autonomy and self-rule, the organization of the community (gegegenwarts arbeit -- as it was called) – all these [subjects] became fodder for discussion at the public gatherings, that took place largely in the Old Synagogue, taking into consideration that the youth was supported by the balebatim, who gave them permission to use the building.
In addition to these, more limited meetings were held in which Zionist Socialism was discussed. The facilitator who brought the topics up for clarification [and debate] was David Alper ז”ל. After these meetings and discussions, it was decided to establish a branch of the Zionist Youth Organization , Tze'irei Tzion, in Dereczin, for all ages beginning at age 18 and up.
The youth of Dereczin were not dull-spirited, and these meetings along with the discussions and debates roused their emotions. The discussions spilled out beyond the walls of the gathering halls (where possible…) and consistent with the temperament of the youth, in which each individual recognized his neighbor up close, the members of each faction saw the other as mortal enemies.
When the chapter was organized, David Alper was selected as its leader, and its governing board consisted of: Rachel Shelovsky, Abraham Zlotagura, David Zelig Epstein, and as the Secretary – Malka Alper. The news of the establishment of the chapter took wing, and it began to receive visits from young people in the area, even from Bialystock, who took an interest in the new movement.
[Page 128]
And it is now the days after the War in 1918. We are still disconnected from the center, and it is still not known who will have sovereignty in our area: will it be the Poles, who were granted their independence by the Allies, and wanted a nation defined by its historical boundaries, or the Bolsheviks, who cast their eyes on their Byelorussian brethren. There are also unaffiliated forces, from both sides, who come to town periodically and plunder it, and from whom one tries to keep away to avoid harm. The roads were especially dangerous, but commerce was carried out one way or another, with merchandise brought in from Slonim or Volkovysk. This burden fell primarily on the young people, who when they returned home, would bring any and all materials with them from the nearby cities that they visited (the mails did not work at all). Just as in other times, the Jews in outlying villages would come to town, and go to the Bet HaMedrash, so now, the young people would stop off at the offices of the Zionist Youth Organization, or clubs, provision themselves with whatever they could lay their hands on, and return home. This [experience] served as a means to hone and clarify the various practical questions concerning Zionism.
Meetings of the ZYO took place on Saturday afternoon in the main Hall in the center of town. There were some incidents of disturbance instigated by opponents [of the movement], but slowly, the issues were channeled into their proper courses, and the incidence of disturbance subsided.
During Hanukkah, a soirée was organized with lectures on issues of comparison and presentation – the inauguration of the Keren Kayemet. All the town residents came to the event, regardless of age or outlook, and the crowding exceeded the capacity of the premises, to the point that the [candle]light glowed at its minimum from the heat and humidity. The event went over with considerable success, and was talked about for a long time afterwards.
Fund-raising for Keren Kayemet occupies the youth, and even the ZYO, appearing first as ‘collection plates’ for the benefit of KK adjacent to the various synagogues on the Eve of Yom Kippur prior to the Mincha service.
The working class youth, which felt stirrings of independence in its midst, was not at peace with the Bund, which had allied itself almost entirely with the Bolsheviks, was also not comfortable with the ZYO, whose leadership came from the family of the balebatim. David Alper initiated an effort to found a right-wing branch of Poalei Tzion, which he would oversee, but be run by its own organizers. It was at this time that a PT chapter was established (among its founders who still survive today and reside in Israel are: Nekha Petrukhovich and her husband, Michael).
Every member of the ZYO saw himself perforce as a pioneer, and spoke of facilitating aliyah, and the first one who actually fulfilled this dream, and made aliyah in 1921, was Naftali ben David Dykhovsky.
In the meantime, the Russo-Polish War of 1920 broke out. The Russians got as far as the Viszla, and were under their rule from the Ninth of Ab in 5680 (1920) to the Eve of Sukkot in 5681, amounting to about nine weeks. It should be clear that all manner of Zionist initiatives were silenced. As the Red Army pulled back on the Eve of Sukkot, the Poles entered the town on the next morning. After the cease fire, life began to return to its normal course.
It was a period conducive to the launching of a fully-branched set of Zionist initiatives: the hearts of the Jews were open to these ideas, and they entertained the champions of these causes with sympathy.
In 1921, Fyvel Einstein emigrated to the USA, and in the fall of 1922, David Alper ז”ל moved to Pinsk, to serve as a teacher at the Tarbut Gymnasium there
Activity began to wane, but the seed that was planted in those days did yield fruit, and a portion of those young people did make aliyah. It is a pity, however, that the number who did so was so little.
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