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Isaac Konstantin
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I was born and raised in the city of Sokal. My parents and grandparents on both sides also come from there. I am a native of Sokal going back many generations, and a number of special memories remain in my memory from the time of my youth, these being facts about one-time Jewish life in Sokal. Let my memories serve as a supplement to those sources that can serve as enlightenment and a reflection of the Jewish way of life in that old birthplace I called home.
A Bit of Residue and Facts about the Oldest History of SokalAccording to the writers of Polish history, the city of Sokal is more than 500 years old. In 1924, the city celebrated its 500th jubilee since its establishment. However, the Jewish history of Sokal does not go back more than about 350 years.
The city which was laid out along the banks of the Bug River, especially on the eastern side of the river – must have gone through many wars and destruction during its first 200 years of its existence, which is testified to by the many human bones that have been unearthed along the entire stretch of the city.
During the time of the Tatar invasions, which happened every season, the city beside the Bug served as an important support-point for the retreating Polish armies. You can see this in the fortress walls of the city, whose traces we can still remember from our childhood. There were two sets of creeks which, in time, became filled in. It is worth mentioning that between these two creeks a sort of island stretched out, like a side street, where I grew up. It was called ‘Na Kempica.’ That is where our house was located.
The St. Bernard's cloister on the western side of the Bug also served as a defense point, which had been built in the shape of a medieval fortress. According to Jewish memories in Sokal this cloister held up the soldiers of Chmielnitckia”nh[1] during the years of Ta”Kh and Ta”T (1648/1649), in which it was necessary to retreat from the city of Sokal.
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The Oldest Headstones in the Sokal Cemetery -
An Important Source of the History of the Jews of that Area
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In the years prior to the decrees of Ta”Kh and Ta”T, despite the fact that a generation was living at the time suffused with Torah, and great Gaonim – one did not engage in the work of writing a Jewish history. It is sufficient to recollect the fact that the only thing remaining from the terrifying destruction of [the period of] Chmielnitckia”nh of the decrees of Ta”Kh and Ta”T that had historical value was the thin, small book ‘Yevayn Metzullah’ written by R' Nathan Neta Hannover – a refugee of that time.
The later generation of Jewish historians, who began to make an impact at the beginning of the period of The Enlightenment, therefore ran into great difficulties to collect Jewish memories, and found it necessary to rely heavily on what was written on Jewish headstones in the Jewish cemeteries.
Regrettably, we cannot make use of these sources to collect memories of our city, because the Hitlerist murderers also undertook the destruction of our cemeteries. The last trace of Jewish generations… we therefore must content ourselves with only the inscriptions on the headstones that remain in our memories.
There was a very special headstone in the Sokal cemetery, which I remember yet from my childhood, and it was only with great difficulty that it was possible to read the faded old lettering. Later on, when the headstone was refurbished, it was definitely established that it came from the year 5399 (1639), this being nine years before the decree of Ta”Kh. In accordance with a medieval tale told by the Sokal Jews, this was the first headstone with which the cemetery was formally opened. It was a contemporary headstone of a young couple that probably died in an outbreak of disease, may God spare us, which was not an unusual occurrence in that time. This couple was interred on a Friday, the parsha of Noah in the year 5399 (1639).[2] On one half of the headstone was the name of the husband, and on the second half, the [name of the] wife. The quotation on the headstone began with the sentence from the parsha of the week, from P' Noah, 7,9: ‘…pairs of every kind came, into the ark.’
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The headstone of a great Gaon was very prominent in the Sokal cemetery, who was called ‘Ohf HaPoreakh’.[3] This particular headstone stood between two other headstones with inscriptions, from which it was possible to deduce that they belonged to two important Gaonim and Tzaddikim. On the headstone of the ‘Ohf HaPoreakh,’ which was constructed in an artistic style, it was possible to read the following inscription: ‘Every Blossoming Bird has a burn on it like on Jonathan ben Uziel.’
This quotation is taken from the Talmud and related to R' Jonathan ben Uziel, who was the most informed one of the Elder Hillel and its significance was, that Jonathan ben Uziel was so holy and great, that when he read the Torah, a heavenly fire enveloped him and every bird was consumed, that flew by at that time. It was this kind of a sobriquet that was added for this Gaon and Tzaddik, the ‘Ohf HaPoreakh’ and as best as I can remember, the date on the headstone was the year 5559 (1699).
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Many other grave markers having historical significance were made of wood, and they were burned down in the cemetery by Christian neighbors. Among those wooden grave markers of this type, I remember there was one of R' Baruch Gebenshter[4] ז”ל. He was one of the prominent Sokal balebatim of that time, a Gaon and a Tzaddik, known by the name ‘Mitzvot HaShem,’ in accordance with the title of the book that he wrote. The grandchildren of the ‘Mitzvot HaShem’ replaced the marker with a new one in the year 5560 (1800).
The final resting place of the Maggid of Sokal, R' Shlomo Lutzker ז”ל stood in the center of the Sokal cemetery, who was a student of the famed Maggid of Mezritch, Rebbe Ber ז”ל. This tent-like structure was very popular with the Jews of Sokal. According to the date on the gravestone, the Maggid passed away in the year 5577 (1817).
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The Sokal Settlement Depended on the Jewish Community in Belz
The Jewish settlement in Sokal, whose first residents came from Belz, was for a long time a branch of the Belz community. As it happens, Belz was a larger city, it was the seat of the Belz Voievode with a venerable Jewish community, one of the ‘nine communities’ that gave direction to Jewish life in Poland.
During the first period of its development, the Jewish settlement in Sokal was small and poor, this being in the first years of the 17th century. In order to get a sense of the poverty of this poverty, it is sufficient to acquaint oneself with a reply from the ‘Turei Zahav,’ (the Rabbi of Lvov in the year 1654). A question arose relating to a Torah scroll for Jewish Sokal – which was posed to him when he had stopped there during a trip in that city. In the referenced reply, the Rabbi stressed that since in Sokal all that could be found was one Torah scroll, regarding which a validity question had been posed to him – he was compelled to rule the Torah fit for ritual use.
The Social-Community Importance of the Sokal Jewish SettlementRegardless of how small and poor the Jewish settlement in Sokal was during the first stage of its development, its residents excelled in their special sensitivity to matters of social importance, providing support for Torah and the fear of God, which separated them from their brethren in adjacent towns. Most of the Jews in these other neighboring locations contented themselves with simple craftsmanship. As an example, the Jews of Kristianopol – a shtetl not far from Sokal – there was practically no social structure. The Rabbi, the homeowner and bathhouse keeper – all were thought of as honest, equal brethren. In general no distinction was made between balebatim and craftsmen.
By contrast, in Sokal, there was quite a distance between one who was one of the balebatim, and one who was a craftsman.
In general, in those times the number of craftsmen in Sokal was rather small. There were barely a few tailors and carpenters and Jewish shoemakers had yet to appear on the scene. During my childhood years there was one Jewish shoemaker actively employed: He was called Leibusz Schuster even though all he did was replace soles and heels, because if one wanted a new pair of shoes, one had to give the order to a gentile shoemaker.
It was first in later years, when the Jewish settlement had grown, more Jewish craftsmen arrived from the surrounding towns, and among them were shoemakers like Hirsch Schuster from Kristianopol, Chaim Hirsch and Moshe Yitzhak from Tartakov, two decent orthodox Jews, which was appropriate for the Sokal community.
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Sokal Jewry drew its origins from Belz, the city from which the first of the Jews came into Sokal. Among these first settlers from Belz were R' Leib ז”ל, the firstborn and eldest son of the Rabbi in Belz, the great Gaon R' Joel Sirkis (1561-1640) or as he was called, the Ba”Kh ז”ל, following the acronym of his famous book, ‘Bayit Khadash.’ Later on he left Belz, and was the Rabbi in a variety of cities in Poland, including Lublin, Brest-Litovsk and Cracow. His son, R' Leib ז”ל was a great Gaon and Tzaddik in his own right and wrote an introduction to his father's book. ‘Bayit Khadash.’ He took up residence in Sokal and raised several children there. In time, this Rabbinical family grew, branching out, and along with this, the influence of this dynastic family of Tzadikim became stronger in the still small Jewish settlement in Sokal.
The Sokal Community Obtains Its Independence from BelzThanks to this Gaonic family, Torah and the Fear of God became deeply rooted in the Sokal community. The Torah community – derived from ‘you will multiply your wisdom through the envy for more Torah,’ – became renowned both far and wide. At the same time – with the departure of the Ba”Kh ז”ל the town began to exhibit spiritual decline, the well-connected families of Sokal began to undertake initiatives to sunder their ties with the Belz community and achieve full independence.
It is understood that the leaders of the Belz community used all sorts of means to frustrate these attempts to achieve independence by the Sokal community. No conclusion could be reached in the religious courts of Chalk or Lvov. An interesting episode was told in connection with these religious court proceedings. The Rabbi of Sokal, R' Sholom Rokeach , ז”ל convened the religious court to deal with this dispute between the two communities. He was well acquainted with their spiritual status and released a decision in which he ordered to count the number of Shas sets in Sokal, and how many prayer books in Belz. The Rabbi ruled that if in Sokal there were more Shas sets that there were Siddurim in Belz, then under that circumstance, the Sokal community will earn the right to separate from Belz and become an independent, self-standing community. Indeed it was shown that Sokal had more Shas volumes than Belz had Siddurim, and with that, Sokal was given complete independence.
Sokal - A Center of Prominent Torah ScholarsThe Sokal community immediately became so popular in the Torah [study] world, that it was not only from the local area, but the prominent among the Jewish people were drawn from
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really faraway places, [including] prominent Jewish scholars and Torah sages who took up residence in this God-fearing city of Torah. Even the renowned Tzaddik R' Leib Sarah's took up residence in Sokal for a long time.
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Also, the legendary daughter of the ShA”Kh (Kohen Shabtai son of Meir)[5] about whom it was told that while still a child during the year of the TA”Kh decrees she was taken to have been lost; However, she was saved by people of the Polish élite and was raised in their ambience. She retained a rather intimate connection with the Sokal Jewish community and even donated a Torah scroll there. There was a precious antique Siddur on the prayer stand that she had donated. Regrettably, it was burned during the great fire in Sokal in the year 1901.
The city obtained an outstanding reputation and grew in numbers, from its practice and pride, and the children and grandchildren of the BA”Kh ז”ל and his families, which produced many renowned Gaonim and Rabbis, who spread out all over Poland.
Also, the author of this writing has the honor of tracing his origins to the grandchildren of the BA”Kh. In accordance with a genealogy chart, I am the thirteenth generation from the BA”Kh ז”ל.
It is from this family of Scholars and Tzaddikim that such Gaonim as R' Shimshon Meiseles, author of the ‘Tosafot Shabbat,’ were traced, who was the Rabbi of Poritzk. Apart from him, it is worth mentioning the renowned Gaon & Tzaddik R' Mann ז”ל, and in addition the prominent R' Eykhal and his three sons, renown Gaonim: R' Yaakov the Rabbi of Krylov whom the elderly Rebbe of Belz R' Sholom ז”ל bore witness to the fact that he was possessed by the Holy Spirit, and it was for this reason there were eight generations descended from the BA”Kh k” to occupy the Rabbinical seat in Krylov, all considered to bear the Holy Spirit within them
The two brothers were Rabbis in Wiszkow and R' Yitzhak David Kimpulung, in Bukovina, from which he later made aliyah to The Land of Israel.
The Sokal Rabbi, R' Issachar Ber ז”ל also was a scion of this Gaonic family, the father-in-law and uncle of the elder first Belz Rebbe R' Sholom Rokeach ז”ל, who from his childhood years, being an orphan, was raised in Sokal by his uncle, in the ambience of an Hasidic family. R' Issachar Ber ז”ל was initially a merchant, and later on became the Rabbi of our city.
The Thousand Nights of the Young Gaon – Sholom Rokeach זצ”לThe Gaonic level and greatness of R' Sholom Rokeach זצ”ל was already recognized when he was still a young lad. In connection with this, there was a story that circulated among Sokal Jewry about the one thousand consecutive nights, during which time the young Gaon Sholom Rokeach ז”ל stayed
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on the watch in the old Sokal Bet HaMedrash, and he did not sleep. According to the way this story was retold from Sokal memories, the young Sholom, along with an added group of young people, his friends, Torah sages, about 10 young men, undertook to stand watch, and not sleep in the Bet HaMedrash for a thousand consecutive nights without sleep, studying the Torah. In accordance with information received from reliable sources – whoever could master the consecutive thousand nights, would be privileged to see ‘the revealed [prophet] Elijah.’ This meant that on the thousandth night, the prophet Elijah would come to meet him, and study Torah with him.
With the passage of time, young men from this group, one after another, began to fall away, and could not last until the end. The only one that remained was the young Sholom, who with great dedication held out to the last night, during which time he had to withstand very difficult trials. On the very last night, a frightening storm-wind broke out along with a heavy rain… A terrifying fear took hold of the young Sholom. With the last of his strength he bolstered himself and did not stop his studying, in order that he not doze off on this last night… the last chance…
At about midnight, the storm frighteningly intensified and knocked the windows out of the Bet HaMedrash. The rain began to penetrate through the broken windows… the candles were extinguished.. The frightened and tired Sholom stubbornly went on studying by heart… but sleep strongly pulled on him… he tiredly exhausted himself not, God Forbid, to even grab a nap, and expose him to lose his entire effort from the entire thousand difficult nights of being on the watch.
Out of great confusion – and difficulty struggling with thoughts – that it might be that it was not ordained for him to attain this holy goal, he fell into a sacred mood, and began to weep intensely along with an attempt at ardent prayer, that the entire energy and exhaustion during the thousand nights that he did not, God forbid, mean to undertake for his own aggrandizement, but rather in honor of The Creator and the honor of the Torah.
In the meantime, the storm began to abate slowly. Elijah the Prophet revealed himself to the young Sholom and comforted him, indicating that this was the last trial and began to study the Halakha of the synagogue [with him].
From that time on, R' Sholom Rokeach ז”ל rose higher and higher in Torah, in fear of God, and the Holy Spirit – until he became the world famous Gaon and Tzaddik, the first Rebbe of Belz זצ”ל.
The Sokal Settlement and the Belz DynastyThe importance of the Jewish settlement in Sokal, whose first source was the significantly pedigree-connected family – which now found a new root in the family of the Tzaddikim of Belz, of which R' Sholom Rokeach ז”ל was the first founder. Rabbi Sholom ז”ל also received endorsement from the Maggid of Kozhnitz, R' Israel'cheh ”z and the Hozeh of Lublin. His reputation grew and while still during the life of his father-in-law R' Issachar Ber ז”ל, he was taken as the Rabbi in Belz.
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Because he became the Rebbe, Hasidim came traveling to him even from faraway places. At no time did he sunder his ties with Sokal, with the city, which was intensely beloved by him, because of its greatness in Torah and. He would visit his important father-in-law frequently, who was also his uncle and the one who raised him, R' Issachar Ber ז”ל and it was in this manner that our city was continuously under his direct oversight. After the passing of R' Issachar Ber, ז”ל, it was entirely natural that the Jews of Sokal decided to take as his replacement, the popular and beloved son-in-law of their deceased Rabbi – the Tzaddik R' Sholom Rokeach ז”ל who was already renown, who then took on the Rabbinical seat of Sokal. However, not wanting to leave Belz, where he was the Rabbi, and which in the meantime had become as a great Hasidic center, he retained the rabbinate in both cities, leaving his son-in-law R' Zundl, ז”ל in Sokal as a Dayan and AvBD”K.
R' Sholom Rokeach passed away in the year 5616 (1855) and his youngest son, Rebbe Yehoshua took over the rabbinical seat of Belz. And seeing that he was yet young, having been born in the year 5485 (1825) and was not yet as famous as his Gaonic father ז”ל, the influence of the Tzaddik of Belz began to wane in Sokal, and the Hasidim there began to gravitate to other Rabbinic authorities. Many followers undertook to attend the children of Ruzhyn: The Tzaddikim of Sadigur, Husiatyn, and Czortkow. There were also followers of the Rabbis of Ziditchov and Strilets'ke in Sokal. This was not an unusual situation, since R' Zundl , ז”ל the uncle f the young Rabbi Yehoshua, being much older than him, took the position that he needed to take over the rabbinate of Sokal.
The Hasidim of Belz in Sokal were still strong, and because of that R'Zundl allied himself with the Hasidim of the Ruzhyner's children. He promised that he would make one of them a Shokhet in the city, namely R' Hersh'ehleh Yitzhak Zalman Joel, or as he was later called Herscheleh Shokhet. However, he did not last long [in this position], and R' Zundl made his peace with the Hasidim of Belz, and a compromise was worked out: Young Herscheleh became the Shokhet, and R' Zundl remained as the Rabbi of Sokal, but only for his own lifetime. The legacy of the Sokal Rabbinate was secured for the Belz Rebbe Yehoshua and those who will follow him.
Immediately after this, when R' Zundl made peace with Belz. He disenfranchised the young shokhet. The Ruzhyn Hasidim felt they had been fooled by R' Zundl and a sharp dispute arose between R' Zundl and Belz Hasidim on one side, and the Ruzhyner on the other side. You can understand, as the rabbi of the city, R' Zundl prevailed, having the power to remove the shokhet, and his decision held. Since that very time, a deep bitterness remained with the Hasidim of Ruzhyn towards Belz, and as it would be, later towards the Rebbe of Sokal. This hostility was held only by the older generation of Hasidim, who were personally engaged in the dispute. The younger Hasidim began to make peace with the Rebbe a little at a time, and because of this, the older more prominent Hasidim exerted a great deal of energy to soothe the mood, and to instill peace in the Sokal community.
After the passing of R' Zundl ז”ל– R' Yehoshua ז”ל placed his oldest son R' Shmuel זצ”ל on the rabbinical seat of Sokal. He was a great and decent Jewish man, sitting and learning day and night. The pedigree of his well-known father bolstered his importance, and strengthened his influence in the city. But he, on his own, exhibited a strong character, and with a firm hand, he addressed the issues brought to the Sokal rabbinate for about thirty years. Thanks to his inherited decency,
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simplicity, and dedication to Judaism, thanks to his exceptional acuity in his tireless study of Torah, he managed to earn the trust of the general populace, his courtesy and listening to everything without exception, of the Jewish populace in Sokal. Even the so-called Jewish intelligentsia, the so called ‘Germans’ respected and admired him. He stood guard over the observance of Judaism and piety of the city. At the end of his days 5668-5669 (1908-1909) R' Shmuel זצ”ל founded a Yeshiva in Sokal and by doing so, strengthened the power of the local Jewry.
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The Yeshiva was for the local boys only, and despite the fact that it existed for two to three years, it contributed a great deal to the growth and influence of the Sokal Bet HaMedrash, which was the old center for Torah and Judaism. It was already at a point, that the local Bet HaMedrash was on the verge of a great decline. About 120 young boys learned there, aged 13 years old and older, and thereby the level of their knowledge of Torah was quite shallow. I grew up at that time, and I was a student at that Yeshiva and I can bear witness to the fact that in the entire population of boys, there were maybe three to four boys who knew the correct way of studying, as it was understood at the time. With the founding of the Yeshiva, the method of learning improved and became better, because good teachers were brought in. The teachers were under the strict supervision of the Rabbi and the most prominent of the balebatim of the city. And seeing that the study of Torah, at that time, was taken up for its own sake, the traditional force of Torah again gained strength in Sokal: the number of students began to grow, and the city once again produced Rabbis from its Bet HaMedrash… These were directors of learning and just ordinary Torah scholars. Up until the last times, the Sokal Bet HaMedrash remained a center of Torah, from which emerged such Torah greats as the Waszawer Rabbi Sztokhammerזצ”ל, who fell in Sanctification of the Name during the Hitlerist occupation and to distinguish the living from the dead, in Zurich (Switzerland) R' Yaakov Breiszשליט”א and many other scholarly personalities.
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This renewed Torah force in Sokal can be principally attributed to R' Shmuel Rokeach זצ”ל. He directed the rabbinate in Sokal for about 30 years and passed away on the second day of Sukkot 5672 [1912]. Also the Rebbetzin Sarah'leh ע”ה[6] was a unique person when it came to Tzedakah and modesty, for all good deeds. She, on her own, had a formidable pedigree. She was the daughter of R' Mendl'eh Viznitzer ז”ל and her mother was the daughter of R' Israel'tzi Ruzhyner ז”ל, from whom she inherited an aristocratic character. She lived quietly and withdrawn – but with an open generous hand for those in need. Her valuable jewelry was always put up as security for Tzedakah objectives, to which she generously donated. She passed away exactly a year after her great husband R' Shmuel ז”ל – the first day of Sukkot 5673 [1913].
The only son of R' Shmuel Rokeach ז”ל, R' Sholom Rokeach שליט”א[7], became the Rabbi of Sokal after him. He, too, exerted himself to fulfill the work of his great predecessor, and understood how to lead the Jews of Sokal in the way and spirit of Torah and tradition. Rabbi R' Sholom Rokeach ז”ל took advantage in the year 1939 to travel to America with his son R' Boruch before the outbreak of the last [i.e. previous] World War and after the war, to make aliyah to Israel. He passed away on 3 Tevet 5722.
The Great Torah Scholars in SokalThe gallery of the great Torah scholars from the older generation, before the First World War, was led by the above mentioned Rabbi R' Shmuel Rokeach ז”ל – the oldest son of R' Yehoshua ז”ל and the uncle of the late Rebbe of Sokal, R' Sholom Rokeach ז”ל.
We have previously described his strong character, and great impact on furthering courteous behavior, amongst the Jewish populace of Sokal. It is, however, worth sharing several facts regarding his strong commitment to observing the traditions of Judaism in the city.
It was communicated to R' Shmuel on a Friday night, that a certain wagon-driver had been very late in returning from work after candles had been lit. The Rabbi immediately ran off to the little synagogue, where this wagon driver always prayed. The latter had already showed up and was in the synagogue praying. Upon seeing him the Rabbi, in front of the congregation gave him two hard slaps… the wagon drive burst into tears and promised the Rabbi, that he would never again violate the Sabbath.
The second occurrence took place after the Russo-Japanese War in the year 1905, when many refugees arrived in Sokal from Russia. Among them, a Russian Jew came wandering in ,opened a business in the marketplace near the Rada-powiatowa, with Singer's new machines, and perhaps for
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the first time in Sokal there took place and incident where a business remained open on the Sabbath. As soon as R' Shmuel became aware of this flagrant Sabbath violation, he immediately went on the first Sabbath, with a coterie of Jews, straight from prayers, to the machine-business, and with a suitable loud voice accused the owner of behaving like a gentile, since he permitted the Sabbath in Sokal to be violated so brazenly. The Rabbi's intervention did not help. Several days later, a son of the owner of the machine-shop fell sick and immediately died.
Sages & Hasidic Persona in SokalWe previously addressed some of the lineage aspects of the Jews that lived in Sokal. The essential thing is that these were honest, decent and pious Jewish folk, full of great, Torah scholars, sages with a deeply-entrenched way of life. There were also simple Jews that lived in Sokal, balebatim (house holders) with a deep feeling for Torah and Judaism, Tzedakah (charity), and generosity, Hasidim and business people, and those who performed good deeds. I wish to pause here and recollect a few of these Jews of Sokal and their significance.
Such a decent Jewish man was R' Meir Berisz Reiman ע”ה. This was a rare man from the era before ours, unique to his times in all respects. First of all, he was a physically formidable person, from his shoulders on up, tall and wide, a truly strong man. In the city, his name was taken as a synonym for physical strength and height. If one wanted to characterize an individual as being tall it was usual to express this as: ‘as tall as Meir Berisz.’ His children resembled him in this respect – it was simply a family of giants. Meir Berisz was a leather merchant and very sophisticated among the balebatim. And just like his physical attributes, he had a sharply honed spirit. He was a gentle and honest Jew, but very stubborn, which nobody reckoned with him. As a member of the Sokal Community Leadership he seriously addressed all municipal issues. The younger generation looked at him as if he were a medieval wonder. The Rabbi of Sokal also had to deal with him. This writer nearly came to trading blows with him. I would, no doubt, have fared badly. I was saved literally by a miracle. I was at that time still a young boy of 14-15 years of age, and there were 12 such boys who studied in the first class in the Yeshiva of R' Moshe Niemirover ז”ל.
We were already capable of learning a Gemara lesson with Tosafot under the oversight of the Headmaster of the Yeshiva. I was among the best of the students, but I also wanted to master the Polish language, which you must understand , was against my father's ע”הwill, who held that it would be enough for me to be able to be able to write an address in Polish and for this reason, he forbade me to study Polish. However, I stood firm (with the help of ) a lad of my age, a certain Yidd'l Spodek, whose parents did permit him to learn Polish, and we both agreed: he should teach me Polish grammar in his house, and I will study ‘Yoreh Deyah,’ You understand that this agreement had to be kept totally secret, so that my father ע”הwould not learn of it. The study of ‘Yoreh Deyah’ therefore took place upstairs in the synagogue where the women prayed. However, after a while, this ‘dangerous disappointing activity’ was taken to the curatorium of the Yeshiva. One day, suddenly an entire group of most of the balebatim came into our class with R' Meir Berisz at their head. He carried on wildly and with anger saying: ‘where is the shaygetz (non-Jew)?’ – the one who exchanges a feast for sand! – who exchanges the ‘Yoreh Deyah’ for Polish? To my good fortune, I was not at
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the Yeshiva and the Headmaster of the Yeshiva worked hard to calm him down until I returned, by which time R' Meir Berisz had left with his group and in this manner I was rescued from his hands.
During the time when Rebbe R' Shmuel Rokeach זצ”ל occupied the rabbinical seat, R' Nathan Tzingman ע”ה belonged to the important balebatim of the older generation, a Jew who was a scholar, who sat and studied day and night, and also raised his children to be great scholars, one of whom – R' Nahum Tzingman, lives and serves as a Rabbi and Shokhet in South America.
R' Chaim Yaakov Reiman ע”ה also occupied an honored place among the prominent balebatim in Jewish Sokal. A gentle Jewish man, he was the Gabbai in the Sokal Bet HaMedrash for many years, and was a community activist who excelled in the substantive acts of ‘those who engage in the needs of the many in faith.’
R' Bezalel Schmutzer ע”ה was a special member of the Hasidic balebatim. Being rich, and a man without children, he was drawn into work for the community. Despite being engaged in his many-branched businesses, he found the time to study a page of Gemara. After the passing of the prior head of the community, R' Isaac Byk ע”ה, also childless, who was a great philanthropist, one who gave Tzedakah in substantial amounts, R' Bezalel Schmutzer undertook the leadership of the community, following a directive from the Rabbi. Being himself an accomplished and trained merchant, he led the Sokal community for several decades in the manner of the balebatim, kept himself accessible to people and maintained his modesty. In his older years, he founded an institute for Tzedakah, a sort of home for the elderly, in the house of R' Mendl Trefel, which he bought with his own money for this purpose. His final years before he died were tragic and sorrowful. In the year 1939 – when the Soviet troops occupied Sokal, the communist forces in power confiscated his entire net worth and inundated him with troubles. He was already a Jewish man of about 70 years old, weak and sick, and so in July 1940 – as a former ‘Burzhoi,’ he received an exit order to leave the city, along with the other balebatim of means, such as the storekeepers Yitzhak Lorenz Moshe Honig, and many other prominent Sokal Jews, who were not allowed to live in this border city. R' Bezalel Schmutzer ע”ה lacked the strength to leave the city because of his age and illness, and so they constantly deferred his departure card. Finally, the date was set for August 3, 1940, at which time he finally had to leave the city. On that day, R' Bezalel Schmutzer died, and was privileged to be buried with his ancestors.
Out of order
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As early as the end of the last decade of the 19th century, when the Galician government readied itself to limit and even eliminate the competition from Jewish communities, the progressive Jewish activists of that time in Galicia from the ‘Shomer Yisrael’ organization called for a gathering of Jewish communities in Lemberg, which took on the role of being a model of status for the communities of Galicia, and it was decided to establish a Rabbinical Seminary in Galicia. Along with this decision during this gathering, a heated battle took place between the forward-thinking
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representatives of the communities and the emissaries of the orthodox. In the end, the Tzaddik of Belz, the Rebbe Yehoshua Rokeach זצ”ל, along with other orthodox rabbis, called for a boycott of all the decisions taken at the Lemberg conference. At the same time, they created a separate religious organization, ‘Makhzikei Das,’ which set itself the objective to contest the progressive tendencies that began to penetrate the Jewish communities.
These orthodox circles called for a conference in Lemberg in 1882, in which 220 rabbis participated as did 800 delegates from Jewish communities in Galicia and Bukovina and so it was decided at the time: The status of the Jewish communities was to follow the orthodox tradition.
This contest between the orthodox and progressive camps in Galicia took on sharp forms – this was especially the case when Jewish-Nationalist leaders began to appear in the Galician political arena, who took up the fight for the realization of Dr. Herzl's solution to the dilemma the Jewish communities.
As we have previously shown, a grasp of the Jewish-Nationalist politics as alien to the Sokal Jewish leadership, and still by the beginning of the 20th century there was calm that reigned on the Jewish street of Sokal, until the appearance of the first Zionist pioneers and even then, Sokal was not plagued by any fighting. Several respected rich orthodox families held sway in Sokal, carrying out their duties and community affairs with commitment, within the narrow limitations of what was then the area of Jewish activity.
These rich people often represented the Jewish populace in the Sokal Town Council, using very simple efforts to obtain relaxation of limits for the Jewish side.
In the battle between the Poles and Ruthenians, they always took a solid position on the Polish side, who supported the single just ruler in Eastern-Galicia.
Out of Order Ends
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R' Meir Pfeffer ע”ה, a committed Hasid of Czortkow was popular and beloved in the city…. ,as the owner of a large clothing store business, with many Christian customers of the Polish intelligentsia, who also had his house (and business ) in the center of town, naturally became a central point in the city. He was held to be a wise man with a strong knowledge base and because of this he was elected several times to the Sokal municipal council. His door was door to everyone, and whenever anybody needed something, a favor, would come to R' Meir Pfeffer ע”ה. To the extent he was able, and along with his very dear wife Lipa Pfeffer ע”ה, he always exerted himself to help others, especially the many city's poor. On the Sabbath, it was in R' Meir's house that the Hasidim of Husiatyn would gather. On Friday evening, during the winter nights, people would stay at R' Meir's table until the late hours, discussing Hasidism.
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Our friend, R' Chaim Ber Pfeffer, wishing a long life to him[8], was a very important and tireless activist from our landsmanschaft in New York, and his brother R' Moshe Pfeffer were the grandsons of R' Meir Pfeffer ע”ה, the children of his son who died young.
Just like R' Meir Pfeffer – R' Israel Bard ע”ה belonged to the circle of distinguished activists in Sokal. Being a prosperous merchant while still young, he was one of the most visible of the balebatim in the Kloyz and of all his good deeds, was popular with the entire Sokal populace. Because of this, he was often the Chair of the Sokal community. R' Israel Bard ע”ה had three talented sons: Abraham'tzi, David and Yeshia. Abraham'tzi Bard ע”ה was a refined Hasidic young man, who owned a lumber business, that he ran himself,. Yet along with this, he always had time to study the Gemara with him. The younger two brothers, David and Yeshia, had already become more modern young folk. They ran bigger businesses, brick making factories, made from brick and cement materials. While doing this, they remained observant Jews. The three Bard brothers were close to the three Kreminer brothers Chaim, Joseph Falik, and Moshe Aharon ז”ל, and were the factual leaders and directors of the Husiatyn Kloyz.
The son-in-law of R' Israel Bard ע”ה, our friend and the distinguished leader of the Sokal Jews in Israel, R' Isaac Birnbaum in Haifa, (thanks to God), in those last years before the outbreak of The Second World War– made aliyah to the Land of Israel, and by doing so, saved himself and his family.
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The three generations of R' Itzik Falik belong to the important Hasidim of the Husiatyn Kloyz, his son-in-law R' Shlomo'lehKreminer ז”ל and his children, and the previously mentioned Kreminer brothers: Chaim, Joseph Falik and Moshe Aharon ז”ל. R' Itzik Falik's ז”ל was a Jewish merchant, and managed a nice wood storage, and because of it became a substantial activist, one who gave Tzedakah, and was himself a warm Hasid. Among his many good deeds, it is told that he would go into the city for every Sholom-Zachor– making no distinction for whom, whether for the rich or the impoverished. He did not miss a single opportunity and under all circumstances, and any kind of weather, he never failed to come and wish Mazel Tov and make the family of the newborn male child happy. And so it was told, that one time such a Sholom Zachor took place at a grave site of a Jew who lived on the cemetery on the Soviet street, far enough from the city. It happened to be a winter's day with snow and stormy winds, but R' Itzik Falik's ע”ה did not miss even this occasion to appear at the Sholom Zachor. Naturally, he was the only guest.
R' Shlomo'lehKreminer ע”ה – the son-in-law of R' Itzik Falik's and his wife Chan'chi – that's what they called her in the city, inherited from R' Itzik Falik's ע”ה his house, the lumber storage facility and continued performing his good deeds. Chan'cheh, a skilled merchant who helped a great deal in running the business, was, at the same time, a Righteous Woman, and a true Woman of Valor, she never let a pauper out of her house, or someone who was hungry. Her husband Shlomo'leh, a very refined Jewish man, could be counted on, and was self-effacing – he sat in the Kloyz learning, and was engaged in Torah and Hasidism. He showed his refinement and good heart during the First World War, when many Jewish refugees arrived from Gorlitz (Galicia?). The Jews of Sokal organized help for the refugees, and R' Shlomo'leh was very active in this undertaking. Many refugees actually lived in his house. There was, God forbid, a terrible typhus epidemic in Sokal at that time, and R' Shlomo'leh fell as a victim of this plague.
R' Shlomo'leh's children, together with their mother, Chan'cheh ע”ה continued to run the business with great success, and again continued the tradition of their elders – the tradition of refinement and Tzedakah.
The oldest brother Chaim ע”ה was practically a duplicate of his father -- refined, observant, and just plainly a man of integrity. He was occupied with the business for the whole day. At night, he sat and learned Torah.
The second, Joseph Falik's ע”ה took after his mother even more, and his grandfather ע”ה. A talented and fully trained merchant – he was the guiding spirit of the business. He consummated all transactions with the nobility and other merchants. Joseph Falik' ע”הremained in their residence in Sokal together with his mother and wife Pearl'eh ע”הalso a good soul; she continued to tug on the golden chain, continue the tradition, of taking in guests and Tzedakah. Joseph Falik's house was often used by the poor and the needy.
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The third brother Moshe Aharon, ע”ה was a synthesis of his two older brothers. He took his continuity from Chaim and his spirit of willingness to shoulder responsibility from Joseph ע”ה, and he also looked after the acquisition of all bought materials from the forests and sawmills. It was in this fashion that the three Kreminer brothers managed the business of their parents, with wealth and respect, with a Jewish nachas, seen in the city as a spokesperson in the well-connected Kloyz of Husiatyn.
Only the youngest of the Kreminer brothers – to separate the living from the dead – R' Itzik, saw (something coming) while still young, immediately emigrated to Canada immediately after the First World War. He lives today in Montreal. He belongs to the most famous industrialists in wealth and is a great philanthropist and activist, and holds a very honorable position in the Jewish community over there. He especially remembers his landsleit from Sokal and like a pure blossom of his refined family – he is a jewel among those from Sokal who survived.
Synagogues and Study Houses in SokalThe great Bet Hamedrash in Sokal was a very substantial center of Torah for many long years. It was built by Rabbi R' Shmuel זצ”ל and it was because of his strong character and great authority in the city that it was created that Sokal got a bona fide Bet HaMedrash. At the outset, there was old diminutive Bet HaMedrash, which had been built by R' Hirsch Tizminitzer ז”ל, who was the father-in-law of the ‘Mitzvot HaShem[9],’ and where all the previous exponents of Torah had studied. By now it was already too small for the new generation of Sokal Jews, and it was for this reason that R' Shmuel זצ”ל began to think of building a new, large Bet HaMedrash on the same location occupied by the previously mentioned old, diminutive wooden Bet HaMedrash. The balebatim of Sokal were strongly displeased, not willing to part with their dear, old study house. However, the Rabbi did not take this into account, and allowed the new large Great Bet HaMedrash to be built next to the old one, and then when the new building stood completely built, the old Bet HaMedrash was taken down. It was in this manner that Sokal acquired this soon-to-be famous Bet HaMedrash, from which emanated famous rabbis, directors of tradition, and unique Torah sages during the entire period up to the tragic destruction [i.e. the Holocaust].
It was in the second half of the 19th century that a new synagogue was built in Sokal, in the same style as the synagogue in Żółkiew, that is, in the form of a fortress.
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Apart from this synagogue and Bet HaMedrash, there were more synagogues and houses of study in Sokal, where the Jews of Sokal not only prayed, but also engaged in and diligently studied Torah. There was a small synagogue in the corridor of the city synagogue near the entrance to the right, which was called the ‘Schul-Schilkhl.’ Even though it was probably built together with the synagogue, it had its own personal pedigree. Many Sokal scholars, from the famous Maggid R' Shlomo Lutzker ז”ל to the Rabbi of Krylov, all learned steadily in this little synagogue.
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There was also a ‘Schilkhl’ in the corridor of the Bet HaMedrash right by the entrance. It was called the Zhydachiv Shtibl. Near the Bet HaMedrash was the Tailor's Synagogue.
On the Sabbath, working men prayed there, and during the weekdays the ordinary balebatim of the city worshiped there. Not more than two minyanim of Jews prayed there in the morning, until about ten thirty before noon. Prayer quorums were available in the Tailor's Synagogue from early morning to twelve noon.
Not far from the Bet HaMedrash – a bit to the side, was the Strilets'ke Kloyz. This was already a larger synagogue, where a greater number of Jews prayed and where a great deal of study took place.
Also in the ‘Babiniec’ – a suburb of Sokal – on the way to the train – the Jews there had their own synagogue.
The Jewish intelligentsia had a separate house of worship. In addition, for many years already, certain progressive Jews of the city founded a separate synagogue. The Hasidim of Sokal added a name to it, calling it the ‘Potchaiver Schilkhl,’ wanting to express their negative attitude to this house of worship, because Pochaiv was a diminutive neighboring place, where many Christian churches were located. During the First World War this small Schilkhl was burned down, and in its place a new synagogue was erected, which was called the ‘Honey Schul.’
The Kloyz where the Hasidim of the children of the Rabbi of Ruzhin prayed especially excelled, and also the Sadigura, Czortkow and Husiatyn Hasidim. It was called the ‘ Husiyatyner Kloyz,’ which, after the Bet HaMedrash was the second largest holy place in Sokal. Only Hasidim prayed there, among them a significant number of Torah sages.
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The Cruel Expulsion from Hrubieszow-Chelm & the Sokal Jews
Immediately after the outbreak of The Second World War – when the German troops took over the entire area on the west side of the Bug (river), masses of Jewish refugees began to stream over the Bug to Sokal, which had remained in Russian hands. At that time the Kreminers opened their houses and took in even more families without asking for so much as a groschen of money. Also this writer, who had gone off to Sokal in 1913 and came back as a refugee from the other side of the Bug, from Kristianopol which was under German control, I too got a room from R' Moshe Aharon in his house and he refused to take rent money. It was in this fashion that many refugee families lived in their houses for about a full year, until the summer of 1940, when the Kreminzers had to take up a ‘wandering staff’ and leave the border city of Sokal together with many other balebatim who were considered bourgeois elements taken far away.
It was Joseph Falik ע”ה who stood out exceptionally during this aktion who treated the refugee Jews who remained alive with kindness after the cruel expulsion of the Jews from Hrubieszow-Chelm by the Germans. This took place right at the outbreak of the war, in the winter of 1939/40. The Germans took over both cities, Hrubieszow-Chelm, gathered all of the Jewish men from the age of 15 to 60 and drove them to the Bug in the direction of Sokal. They were escorted by Gestapo troops, riding in autos, and the Jews had to run [on foot]. Anyone who fell because of exhaustion was immediately shot. After riding for a specified distance, the German murderers stopped, and each Gestapo commandant of a separate group of Jews counted how many Jews remained under his control. If after this count, the number did not agree and there were extra Jews over a certain number – they were shot. – After this, the German murderers again drove the unfortunate Jews as though it were a satanic bloodthirsty sport, shooting those who stopped after counting to the nearest ten. Throughout the entire day, they drove the exhausted Jews hard so that by the evening, 1800 of the 2400 Jews were murdered. The rest, at night in the darkness, fled, and barely several tens reached the Bug, torn apart, beaten, with frozen limbs. They barely got themselves to Sokal – where Soviet guard troops detained them, and didn't let them into the city. This hapless condition of the handful of bloodied Jews even touched the hearts of the anti-Semitic Ukrainian peasants on the other side of the Bug. They took in the unfortunate ones into their houses, warmed them up and gave them food. One of the peasants sneaked across to the other side of the Bug to Sokal and let them know about the fate of the Jews. As soon as this tragedy became known in Sokal, a great wailing broke out in the city. A large gathering was called to be held in the Bet HaMedrash, in order to begin gathering money, clothing and shoes. They also intervened with the Russians and made an effort that these unfortunates should be allowed into the city. A place was also created in the hospital for the sick, and everyone was provided with a dwelling. It was Joseph Falik ע”הwho organized all of this, who spared no effort and strain, in order to provide food and clothing and a place to live for the refugees . Despite the fact that the houses of the Kreminers were already occupied earlier by prior refugees, they took these exhausted Jews into their homes.
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This was a decent and sacrificial undertaking by the Sokal Jews, in which Joseph Falik ע”ה played the principal role. It is a great misfortune that during the Nazi, murders, those who were saved from the expulsion,. their rescuers, those who remained behind in Sokal., and those driven from the city, were all exterminated.
Together with all the other settlements in Poland – our venerable settlement was erased and no longer exists.
A few of the Sokal Jews saved themselves by a miracle… among them was our respected Dr. Kindler, who was a Zionist and community activist was very popular, respected and loved by the entire Jewish population in one-time Sokal. Also, here in Israel, he continued his activities on behalf of the remnants of the city of Sokal even though they entailed considerable personal sacrifice.
Translator's footnotes:
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