[Page XI]

The preparation of the Sokal Memorial Book was fraught with a variety of risks from my perspective. As the “sweet sixteenth” of my translation initiative we anticipated a smooth translation process for development an English translation from the (largely) Yiddish and (some) Hebrew text. This was a perfect example of “Man thinks (or plans), and the Almighty (laughs).”

I had a delightful opportunity to visit Israel, where my lady friend had just been presented with a great-granddaughter. We deplaned in Jerusalem, and certainly had a wonderful time in celebration of the young lady's arrival into her family. But nothing comes without a price: just as we landed in Jerusalem, I became aware of the passing of my dear classmate Samuel Blumert, ע”ה who apparently died not too long after our plane landed. I am at an age, where I have come to expect these sad life events, but did not become aware of this until after he was buried. Nevertheless, we were able to pay a shiva call to the family of his siblings, to formally express our sincerest condolences.

It was serendipity that Sam and I were classmates throughout high school, and then ended up studying engineering at our mutual alma mater, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, he in Civil Engineering and I in Chemical Engineering. I had the unique privilege of recounting a variety of my memories to members on his family which helped to round out their view of his life from late childhood on.

At the end of the week we were staying, we returned home just under the wire, as the COVID pandemic burst upon the scene. The pandemic threw a monkey wrench into any rational attempt at scheduling. The result stretched out. There were periods when work could be accomplished at a normal rate, but various impacts of the Pandemic brought work to a halt. It was obvious that this endeavor was going to take much longer than previous ones, and it certainly lived up to that expectation.

But we finally got it done! Not unlike other important centers, smaller satellite communities came into being over the course of time. In this case, it was theshteltlach of Tartakov, Varendzh and Stoyanov. Memoirs for these shtetlach are included here as well, since they were not of a size to have a separate book done. The story is not new to those of you familiar with the fate of Eastern European Jewry, but it presents an alternate point of view which enriches our understanding.

Finally, I wish to acknowledge the support of my editor, Karen Rosenfeld Roekard of Berkeley, CA who continues to give of her time and energy notwithstanding setbacks in health. The Staff of the Yizkor Book section of JewishGen deserves an equal recognition, especially Lance Ackerfeld, for their tireless encouragement to the toiling we undertake behind the scenes.

[Page XII]

[Page XIII]

“The Exile continues from Forgetfulness But it is in Remembering it that Salvation will come”

– The Baal Shem Tov

[Pages XIV-XV]

It is these that I remember, and I will pour out my soul for them...

The heart drips blood ,and there is bitter weeping, when one recognizes that we are in the process of erecting a memorial headstone to the Sacred Congregation of Sokal and its vicinity, a city justifiably called a Mother in Israel הי”ד, that was wiped out from the face of the earth^[1] and no longer exists.

With a sacred trembling, let us bow our heads, and let us unite with those noble souls that were comprised of thousands of personalities, blood of our blood, flesh of our flesh, that were uprooted, vanished and are no longer here – and all that remains is the memory of them...

Let us Remember those precious and beautiful souls that lived and worked with dedication and boundless loyalty for the sake of The Lord, their people, and the members of their families...

Let us Recollect the memory of the houses of worship, the houses of study, the tents of Torah, the institutions of The Faith, culture, the benevolence and charity, the economic institutions and education, that enriched life and were wrecked on top of their Rabbis, Dayanim, Elected Community Heads, Teachers and Activists...

Let us mourn over both the old and new cemeteries, the resting place of all who were holy, pure and precious for generations upon generations, whose graves were desecrated, and bones scattered to the four winds, their headstones uprooted to be used as pavement for roads... the source of pouring out one's soul, utterance of prayer and solace have been sealed...

Let us weep bitterly over the mass of our brethren, parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, who were exterminated in Sanctification of the Name that were not given a proper Jewish burial, and no headstone has been set up for them...

Let us unite with the memory of the young people, dedicated and ardent, that served Zion with loyalty and love, but did not live to see the culmination of their desires and vision to make aliyah to The Land and to see its establishment [as a Jewish State]...

Let us not forget the infants and children, precious above all, who did not live to enjoy the caress of their beloved mother, let us recollect our children who were not brought to the wedding canopy, all those who did not participate to bring a Jewish family into the world, whose thread of life was cut in the middle, all those who were killed, cremated, and choked to death in the perverse bloody aktion in the ghetto and outside of it, at the hands of the German and Ukrainian Scourge...

I weep for all of these, my eyes, my eyes shed tears, because the location of my soul is far from me, my sons have become desolated, because the enemy has triumphed (Lamentations 1:15)^[2]

Let these pages serve as an eternal monument for the coming generations, so long as any of us draws a breath, we will not forget them forever.

O, earth do not cover their blood, Lord who dwells up high, the jealous God of vengeance, exact revenge for their spilled blood and bring down those nations in anger, from beneath the heavens of God...

...יתגדל ויתקש שמה רבא

1. The threat that it is God who will exact vengeance for spilled blood. Return
2. “The Lord has rejected all the warriors in my midst; he has summoned an army against me to crush my young men. In his winepress the Lord has trampled Virgin Daughter Judah.” Return

[Page XV]

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