[Page 254]

Additions

We were forced to open a section in the book called “Additions,” since after ending the printing of the Hebrew part, we received important and valuable material, in which excerpts from the newspapers were supplied to us by Rabbi Reb Nissan Waxman from New York, that reflects the life in Slutsk seventy years ago (among the senders of the correspondences, is Feitel Lifshitz, who was later a professor of economics in Switzerland). Also included are details which were received later by the members of the Baruch Domnitz family, who were murdered in Kfar Gibton in 1939, and lists about two of our townspeople, who died in Tel Aviv with the closing of this edition.

The editorial staff

Slutsk, January 1, 1897. An amusing situation happened in our city in the last days of 1896. It was said in the city that from the beginning of 1897, the customs duty on schnapps will increase even in the regions that are not yet under the governmental monopoly, up to seven ruble per hin (liquid unit), hence everyone who pays the customs before the New Year according to the old law, will benefit from it. A wise man will easily understand, that this news raised the panic level to the same level that was at the “grain gate” in 1892. Everyone who had money rushed “to make good deals” with the local people, to buy the schnapps from them, to pay the customs in advance, so that he could avoid the increase in the customs after Rosh Hashanah. And as only the persons who had schnapps were able to pay the customs, a competition arose between our brothers of Israel regarding the purchase of the schnapps from the local people, and as a consequence, its price was more than double its regular fixed price. In addition, a competition about the loans arose, as there were many borrowers who borrowed money in order to pay the customs according to the old law. Soon our rich brothers, who are usually away from the sight, opened their bundles that were full of money. The artisans and laborers also wanted to benefit from the situation and to get rich as much as possible. The cobbler threw away the awl, the tailor his needle, the builder the meter, because their hands were full of the borrowing and lending “work.” And how great was the commotion and embarrassment in Slutsk at the Cash Gate, when they found out that for every hundred rubles, they paid two gold coins per day! The Treasury house was filled to the brim with those who were in advance to pay the customs of the schnapps on the eve of the Civil New Year. But how much their embarrassment increased when they were informed that there would be no change in the customs! Everyone left the place, some left upset as their plot to benefit did not succeed, and some left happy because they managed to exploit the borrowers. In any case, it became the talk of the day in Slutsk. Recently, the “Musar people” from Slobodka established here a permanent yeshiva with their faithful leader. Although this was to the dismay of our dignitaries, and nobody asked for their opinion on the matter, apparently, they relied on the words of Chazal: “It is possible to perform an action in favor of a person even without his knowledge” (zachin le'adam shelo befanav).

P. Lifshitz (“HaMelitz”, No. 5, 16th of Shebat 5657).

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so they wrote - and for the rest whose opinion is not comfortable with them, they convinced them until they said, “We want it!” On the basis of such letters, the “Musar people” built their nest here, in the Zaretza lot, which stands at the edge of the city. A wise man will easily understand how many disputes and quarrels will be caused here among the people of our city due to this issue. Don't we already have enough disagreements, quarrels and fights that we need to add to them these as well? After all, their yeshiva in Slutsk is to the dismay of our dignitaries and not in the best interest of the material and spiritual condition of our city, so why were they so urged to come here, against the will of the majority of the residents of our city, but only based on the will of some Jews, despised people, that their entire desire is to earn money? After all, there is no great blessing for Israel than peace among the people, and if it will be disturbed by the presence of the “Musar people” here, then for what reason should they come here. These days an impure case happened in our city. In one house a mother and her daughter became ill. The doctor prescribed a medicine for the daughter to be taken orally, and carbolic vinegar for the mother to be used to bandage the wound, but the maid in the house replaced the prescriptions and gave the girl to drink the carbolic vinegar. The girl died that day in severe agony. Last week, one insane Jew froze in the street of the city. He wandered the streets of the city all night and no one bothered to carry him to his home.

HaMabit (“HaMelitz”, 30th of Shebat 5657).

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that was desecrated by his beloved son, and he also demanded that his son would give him a monthly allowance, as he is old and does not have strength to work anymore. The judge ruled the son's sentence, “properly,” to be imprisoned for three months in the prison for insulting his father, and the son would give a monthly allowance of 6 rubles to his father from this day forward. This ruling became the main conversation's topic in our city. This ruling will be an example for all the rich sons, who do not agree to support their parents when they grow old and cannot work and make a living. And there is hope that peace and tranquility will be upon the poor fathers in our city.

An eye witness (“Hamelitz”, No. 135, 30th of Sivan 5657).

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full of emotion, holiness and love of the nation. After that, there was a table of delicacies from the fruits of the land. About one hundred rubles were collected for the construction of the association's library. The evening left a strong impression on those gathered. Fondly remembered are the hardworking activists Dr. Meltzer, Mr. Yitzhak Feinberg and the association's secretary Mr. S. Beilin, who have worked diligently since the foundation of the association until now. They are a blessing to our people!

Yehuda Leib Rabinowitz (“HaMelitz”, No. 25, 23rd of Shebat, 5661).

Moshe Fleischtsik, a soldier in the “Tsar's army,” the son of Shimon Leib, the head of the Jewish folk musicians' band in Slutsk		A group of soldiers from the Hebrew regiment in 1918. Among those sitting from right to left - the second Shlomo Simbol, now in Yad Eliyahu (the son-in-law of Shimshon Leib Fleischtsik of Slutsk)

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The mother, Mina Domnitz

She was the daughter of Reb Yaakov Meir and Rachel Golda Peliak. Her father was known in Slutsk as “Yankel Dichtyarnik,” a grocery store owner and a Torah scholar. Her mother, Rachel Golda, was known as a charitable woman who helped poor families, and Mina inherited this trait from her mother. She helped anyone who needed help.

She was a motherly figure and took care of all the housework and raising the children. She worked from dawn to dusk in the house, in the garden, in the chicken coop and in the barn, and at the same time she always found time to listen to what was going on in the village and at public gatherings. The difficult life in the village of Gibton affected her health, but she was full of hope for the future: “soon the children will grow up and help support the household.” Among the families who registered for settlement in the village of Warburg was the Domnitz family, but suddenly disaster came and destroyed everything.

He was two and a half years old when he immigrated to the Land of Israel with his parents in 1925.

He was educated from the age of 3 in the kindergarten in Acre. He learned in a school in Rehovot until the age of 14 and then started working. He worked as a packer in an orchard, at a factory for trees, “Pri Pri,” in addition to his much work at home, in the garden and in the barn. He was among the outstanding children in his class and among the best gymnasts in “HaPoel.” He was a member of the “Haganah” in the signaling and communication company. He read and wrote stories and lyrical poems. His teachers predicted greatness for him.

He was quiet and modest, he did not stand out and was not boastful of his qualities and talents. He carried the burden of the family with love, understanding and responsibility and thought about the bright future expected to him in the settlement.

On the night of the disaster, Yerachmiel was in one of the guard posts. When he heard the sound of the gunshots, he hurried home to see how his mother and brothers were doing. When he reached the balcony of the house, he was hit by the murderers' bullets and fell covered in his blood. He was brought to Hadassah in Tel Aviv with severe injuries. He asked not to inform his father, who was lying in the next room in the surgical ward, nor to grieve him. After 4 days of terrible agony, he died. He was buried on the 13th of Adar 5699.

The lovers and the pleasant ones that did not part each other in their life and in their death. They excelled in painting and writing songs. Chaimke's poems were printed in the journal “Davar liyladim.”

* * *

There, in the land of Judah, on one of the lovely hills, four people are sleeping under the branches of a thick tree.

They slept that way undisturbed. And even when the morning came, the sleeping ones did not wake up from their sleep, they enjoy their rest.

The wind blew slowly and shook the tree's branches, birds sang to the Creator

And when the darkness arrived, I came quietly to the trees, sat down, listened to the sound of the howling of the mournful wind.

And I waited and waited…

Will the sleeping ones wake up?

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Miriam Maharshak, the butcher's wife and philosopher, the mother of a deep-rooted and extensive family, the religious and Zionist activist, who did countless deeds and was an object of admiration, has passed away.

She was born 84 years ago in Slutsk, in White Russia, to Reb Zachariah, a “regular” merchant, who was known in the city for knowing the Shas by heart.

Together with her husband, Reb Shmuel Maharshak, the author of “Shmuel's meditations,” who was one of the Zionist leaders, she established in her home in Slutsk, the center of the Zionist underground in the years 1920-1923.

On a winter night in 1923, she left Slutsk with her family on her way to the United States, and two of her children left behind. That night a trial was held in Slutsk against five Zionists, among whom was her daughter. In the United States, she was active in the Rochester community and the “Mizrahi wives” movement, and as in Soviet Russia, her home was open to all Zionists and pioneers. After her husband died and most of her children immigrated to Israel, she uprooted from her comfortable home in the diaspora and immigrated to the Land of Israel.

She lived her last ten years in Tel Aviv, in the Bitzaron neighborhood, she was full of love, activity and zest for life. She acted for the building of the synagogue in the neighborhood and for bringing the hearts of its residents closer together.

Apparently, this is so strange: a man lives his best years. He is in his full power, multi-tasking, full of energy, active in public life, he doesn't know what a disease is. And suddenly – he falls ill, he is confined to his bed for several weeks, and dies.

* * *

Baruch had been lively since his youth and dedicated himself to political life. He studied in high school and reached the higher classes. He did not get carried away by the current of careerism, he did not take the easy way, and helped those who swim against the current, who hold the flag of Zionism.

He excelled in the clarity of thought, in the gift of speech. He was well versed in what was happening in the wider world. In the school, there were circles, whose members would submit reviews from the newspapers, each about a different country. In that period, there were wide discussions on the question of the Ruhr region and the Saar region and the annexation of the Allies who defeated Germany in the First World War. Baruch was familiar with this question, he knew it from the bottom up and lectured in the circle on this topic.

He worked with all his zeal in the Zionist youth Histadrut “Kadima,” which operated underground. He was among its active members, and held responsible positions. When he and four other members printed the movement's newspaper, they were banned by the G.P.O. A trial was conducted against these five members and he was released due to his young age, along with three other members.

In 1924, Zionists' arrests were held all over Russia. Many were banned in Slutsk, among them, of course, Baruch. The members were imprisoned in the prison in Minsk for about four months and finally the verdict was given: exile to the Urals for three years, or deportation to Israel.

On September 2, 1924, the deportees from Minsk and Slutsk arrived in Israel on the Italian ship "Milano." They were divided into two groups. The left part was associated with the “Ahdut HaAvoda” party (not to be confused with the “Ahdut HaAvoda” party nowadays) and was accepted into Kibbutz Ein Harod to the Ein Tivon company (Kfar Yehezkel). Among those who came from Slutsk that were sent to this company were: Baruch, Ratner, Hazanovitz and Maharshak.

A short time later they started sending the members to different companies of the kibbutz. Baruch was sent to Yagur. He acclimatized very quickly in Israel and wanted to be called by a Hebrew name, therefore he chose the name Amnon.

At first, the members from Slutsk were very close to each other and exchanged letters. Their interest in the fate of the members who remained in Russia was great. There was an urgent need to send money to Russia to support members who remained there and were languishing in prisons and exiled countries. Accordingly, an idea arose to organize a group made up of various members of Kibbutz Ein Harod companies, who would work in Tel Aviv as a construction contractor group and the money they would earn would be sent to Russia. The kibbutz management agreed and the idea began to take shape. The group was called “Help for Russia.”

Baruch was enthusiastic about this idea; he invested a lot of energy in the organization of the group and was its center. However, the group did not last long. There was a crisis in Israel at the time, and a great lack of work. The group broke up and left debts. Baruch stayed in Tel Aviv to cover the deficit and pay the debts.

It should be noted that even in the first year of his arrival in Israel he took care of the immigration to Israel of his family from Slutsk, despite the crisis in Israel, and he really succeeded in this.

In 1925, after the union between the right wing of Poalei Zion and S.Z., there was a faction in the “Ahdut HaAvoda” party called “Avuka,” whose members were mostly from the right wing of Poalei Zion.

Baruch and several other members from Slutsk were among this group, and he even participated in the magazine Avuka that was published by this faction.

In 1926 he went to France, studied chemistry at a university and graduated as a chemical engineer. After completing his studies, he returned to Israel. He worked in various jobs, related to his profession. In 1940 he was the secretary of the student union, members of the Histadrut, at Beit Brenner.

In 1936, he married a woman and had two daughters.

From 1950, he started working in the “Mashbir” as a senior official and continued

working there until his last day.

Apart from his day-to-day work, he carried the burden of public action: he was active in the Engineers' Association, he was a secretary in the Hapoel Secretariat, in the Central Parents' Committee, in the Tenants' Association.

On September 2, 1944, on the 20th anniversary of the arrival of the first group from Minsk and Slutsk to Israel, a meeting was held between the members. On September 2, 1954, a meeting was held again, dedicated to celebrating 30 years in Israel. Baruch was the main initiator of these gatherings;he took the trouble and traveled from place to place and organized them.

Soon it will be 40 years since the group came to Israel, but the place of the main initiator of these gatherings will be taken and he will no longer be with us.

In those days, when he was full of energy and desire for action, after his silver wedding was celebrated, he was overtaken by the evil hand of fate, he fell silent forever.

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The idea of commemorating Slutsk and its surroundings was conceived by Slutsk expatriates in Israel, even before the existence of the state. In the beginning, the trend was to dedicate a book of remembrance to this. Later, with the visit to Israel of the representatives of the Slutsk expatriate organizations in New York (Dr. Bunin, Harry Lafrak and his wife and Israel Schwedelson) the trend changed. It was decided to establish Yad Vashem for Slutsk in the form of a public institution, to be named after Slutsk.

After negotiations and discussions, “Beit Slutsk” was established in Magdiel, a pulmonary hospital on behalf of the health maintenance organization. The funds were donated by Slutsk expatriates in New York.

However, we, the initiators of the book, were not satisfied with the establishment of the aforementioned institution and continued to look for ways and handle the publication of the book, which historically is important, in our opinion, more than a public institution. Our tendency was to reflect in the book the nature of the city and the surrounding towns, their way of life and their history over hundreds of years and to bring up characters and memories.

During our work in searching and collecting material, we learned that some time before, this was also dealt with by the late Prof. Rabbi S. Assaf, who received a certain amount of money for it from the pioneer of heavy industry in Israel, the late Mr. Michael Polyak. As is known, he came from the Sialki mansion in the suburbs of Slutsk, where the brothers Michael, Shevah, Nahum and their sisters were born.

For this reason Michael Polyak sought to commemorate his homeland. From the estate of the late Rabbi Assaf, only collections about the Slutsk rabbis and the like came to us.

We turned again to the chairman of the organization of the Slutsk expatriates in New York, and asked for his help in our mission, but he did not believe that this enterprise might come true and therefore refrained from participating with us. In the meantime, Mr. Reichman and his wife visited in Israel, and they responded to our request and promised to devote their time and energy to this matter. And indeed, they kept their promise. When our friends Avraham Meisel and his wife Haike from the Ravitz family, visited in Israel, the idea began to take shape. Upon their return to New York, they founded a group of activists and a committee for the publication of the book was established. This committee was joined by Rabbi Reb Nissan Waxman of Starovin and the member Eliyahu Altman. It is worth noting that upon the request of the member Nachmani from his relative David Ozdan, the latter donated all the paper needed to print the book, in memory of Arozova, his hometown. And in this we express our deep gratitude to him.

The material has been collected and gathered for years: in Israel by Nachum Hinitz and in America by Rabbi Reb Nissan Waxman.

We thank our townsman, the writer Y.D. Berkowitz, who went over the material in large part and guided us with his instructive advice. Our friends, who are active in the New York book committee, who joined the effort and made it possible to publish the book of remembrance, will also be blessed. Especially Rabbi Reb Nissan Waxman, Rabbi Avraham Meisel and Eliyahu Altman.

Zvi Assaf, Nahum Hinitz, Shimshon Nachmani, Zvi Givati

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