[Columns 147-148]

… On the way to Vladimir^[a] I stopped in the town of Lokatsh [Lokachi], a distance of 17 versts from Vladimir, an old Jewish town with a stone-built “gate” and the ruins of an ancient palace. When I arrived in the town, I immediately noticed that the mood there was depressed, as if they were waiting for a pogrom. Most of the shops were closed, but the shopkeepers stood by the door, sad and heartbroken. In the middle of the market a group of Jews stood and talked in whispers. They looked to the side every moment, because a man was crossing the street in a hast as if he was in a hurry to inform someone of important news,

I did not know whom to turn to and who to question and demand, and the carter stopped in front of the largest house in the market. The house was beautiful, but half empty, as if its inhabitants had begun to leave it. Only a few pieces of furniture and houseware remained in it. I passed through several rooms and found no living soul in them. Only in the last room I saw an old Jew dressed in poor clothes, to whom the homeowner had entrusted to guard all his belongings. The homeowner, Atlas his name, a rich man, was not in his home, and his family members left the town. The guard, named Schwartz, was a little startled by my visit. I calmed him down and asked him to call the homeowner, and by the time he arrived, Schwartz had told me who and what he was.

[Columns 148-149]

- I had three sons, two of them went to war. One fell in battle and the second was wounded. Now it's the time for the third one to go. I myself held a position in the Mill House and received a salary of fifty rubles a month. Now the Mill House has ceased its operations, I am left without food and sustenance.

He told me calmly and in a quiet voice, and added:

- Am I exceptional in this fate? There is no family that one of its sons was not killed in the war, and here everyone is dying of hunger.

Mr. Atlas came. He told me that for two weeks there had been rumors in the town that all the Jews would be deported, and this had put everyone in a very terrible mood. Initially they said that they would expel all the Jews on the Sunday of the Feast of Peter and Paul. The Jews have already begun to prepare themselves for the road. Farmers from the surrounding villages came to “take the Jews' property for themselves.” But the rumor was not verified. But today the deputy police officer came and announced that an order had been received from the camp's chief commander to expel all the Jews of the region in one day. In that same order, it was said as follows: “to expel all Jewish residents living on the southern side of Grubeshov^[b] [Hrubieszów].” Lokatsh is indeed located east of Grubeshov, and yet the governor ordered the Jews to be sent away from there. With a large sum of money, with which the Jews bribed the deputy police officer, they managed to postpone the deportation by one day. Atlas' partner, Zusman, one of the richest men in the place, immediately left for Vladimir and took with him five hundred rubles to bribe the governor. He will try, if not to cancel the entire decree, to postpone the deportation as long as possible, since every day is very valuable to the city's residents and also to the partners, who have many thousands of sacks of flour in the Mill House, and they need to get them out of there.

The situation in the city is very difficult even without the deportation decree. There are many refugees from Porityck [Pavlivaka] and Mylyatin (31 families) and from other towns, and there is nothing to save them.

The city is plagued by cholera, which is spreading more and more, and there is no doctor. A week ago, an entire camp of refugees from Galicia passed through here, and they started a pogrom. When they attacked the deputy police officer with pleas, he replied with fury:

- Have you given me enough to protect you?

Then they appease his anger with a gift, and he drove away the rioters.

I asked Atlas to invite several Jewish residents. An aid committee was formed, which undertook to support the refugees, and if the Jewish residents were expelled, it would have to prepare bread for the needy, and carts for the sick and the children. I gave four hundred rubles for this purpose, and additional twenty-five rubles to buy medicine. Zusman's son, a student, traveled to Vladimir to buy the medicines there, and I took him in my cart.

On the way he told me a few episodes. In Lokatsh officers settled at the home of a Jew, a father of two student sons. They got drunk and started telling stories that all Jews are spies and called to the homeowner: “we need to slaughter you all, Zydzi [Jews]!” They also began to threaten with their swords. The women were very frightened, and the students also thought of hiding, only the father remained sitting calmly in his place and said:

- This matter makes me happy. Now you see how difficult it is to be a Jew, and what a great price we sometimes have to pay for this honor. From now on, you will learn to cherish your Judaism even more.

A Jew, whose son was at war, asked the general to inform him of his son's well-being. These days he received this response that was written on an official sheet with a number: “damned Zyd, your son is in captivity.”

… As soon as I came to Vladimir, I asked Mr. Yochenzon to invite several of the city's public activists for a meeting, to consult on the situation in the city and what to do in the event of deportation. About twenty people gathered. My conversation with them gave me the impression that the residents of the city are only confused by the possibility of deportation, but they hope to delay it in some way until the Germans enter. They regard the entry of the Germans with excessive optimism. I felt it my duty to tell them what happened in most of the towns that passed from hand to hand. If the city itself does not become a target for the enemy's cannons, and is not burned by the bullets, then there is someone in the retreating army who will set it on fire, and with that he will also commit a pogrom. Sometimes at the last minute, they evict all the residents or take hostages and put them in prison. Of course, my story made a hard impression on them. The local residents portrayed the Germans' entry in a completely different way, but nevertheless, they all decided not to leave the city of their own free will. Some of them expressed their opinion that even if an expulsion order were given, no one would move from their place, or at least try to hide in the few days until the Germans arrived.

- The thing is, one of those gathered summed up the various suggestions: if a fire breaks out, it will not burn the entire city to the ground. If a pogrom is committed, something will still remain. Even if they kill people, say up to twenty people, death will consume such and such. But, if we leave the city, we will all remain destitute, and many will starve to death.

I proposed to them to establish a committee that, in the event of a pogrom or deportation, would prepare wagons and provisions for the journey. To this they replied that it was difficult to establish such a committee, if all the residents were deported, then everyone would have to take care of themselves and would not have time to deal with public needs. I warned them that such an attitude towards public affairs is disgraceful. My words made an impression. Seven or eight people expressed their desire to take on the work.

We established a committee and prepared the work plan. We calculated and found that in the city it would be possible to collect at least eight hundred rubles. I promised to give them a thousand rubles and with this money they will have to prepare several hundred pods^[c] of flour. With that, it will be necessary to find a known number of horses that can be purchased in time so that the army will not confiscate them. I promised them to keep the horses in our company.

I learned that the Jews of the city, including some Christians, are digging trenches in their yards, as places of war, to hide in

[Columns 151-152]

if the enemy will fire on the city. The local government knows this and does not oppose it.

On the twelfth day of the month Yochenzon came to me, and he was very agitated. He informed me that the head of the nobles told him that an order had just been received to deport all the inhabitants from Vladimir-Volynskiy, and from hour to hour we can wait for this order to be published. The next day the rumors intensified. I gave the committee the thousand rubles I had promised to give it. The committee bought 300 pods of flour to bake bread from and also planned to buy twenty horses and ten carts for the sick, the poor and the children.

Apart from the fear of deportation, the situation of the residents is bad and bitter because diseases such as cholera and typhus are spreading in the city. There is not a single doctor left, and the only pharmacy is being removed from the city.

I persuaded the Jewish doctor in our company, Zuckerman, to visit the city's patients a few hours a day and he agreed to my request. The chief doctor, Moskvin, claimed that it was impossible for Dr. Zuckerman to cancel a few hours every day from his work at the hospital. Then, I invited for a meeting the doctors from the three hospitals of Komissarov's company, together with the doctors Mission Hospital and our hospitals. They decided to take turns doing the work, each visiting the city's sick one day a week. This is how things worked out, and until the last day, when the hospitals left the city, the doctors worked diligently on their work in the city, as they had decided.

I proposed to the community leaders that they hand over to me the synagogue's ancient and precious artifacts for safekeeping, as they had done in Lutsk. To this they answered me that all the objects, including the ancient copper lamps, were taken by the synagogue gabbai, a suspicious man, tough with district minister. It is said that he is an officer in the secret police, and the people of the city are afraid of him. Therefore, without saying anything, they handed him the silver jewelry along with the other belongings. .

Two public activists came from Uscilug and told that on the eleventh day of the month, five Cossacks entered the town on horseback and gave an order that all Jewish residents must leave the place. Immediately they collected two hundred and fifty rubles and gave them. But they demanded five hundred rubles. For now, they took the two hundred and fifty rubles they were offered, on the condition that they would receive the rest on Monday. The public activists came to me with a request because they don't have the two hundred and fifty rubles. But I absolutely refused to give it to them for this purpose. I scolded them that there was no need to bribe the Cossacks with money, it is necessary to turn to the district minister residing in the city and find out if there is such an order. They listened to what I said and acknowledged that I was right, but added to that in a mournful voice:

- And what would have happened if in the meantime the Cossacks had carried out a pogrom?

In Vladimir-Volynskiy I moved to a hotel and young Zusman brought his father to me. With a pale face, he told me that for five hundred rubles he had managed to convince the district minister to delay the deportation from Lokatsh. He sent a telegraphic question to the commander-in-chief, had Lokatsh entered the area “opposite Grubeshov?” Two days passed until he received a reply, and it is possible that based on the reply, there will no longer be a need to expel the Jews from Lokatsh.

Here I learned that the deputy police officer in Porityck is unable to return the Jews return the Jews who had fled during the pogrom to the town. One Jew returned to Porityck to take out the seven Torah scrolls that were left in the synagogue, and the deputy police officer wants to put him in jail without letting him take the Torah scrolls with him. He ordered him to hurry and leave the town.

The Rav Mitaam^[1] and one of the important Jews, Yochenzon, came to me and told me that Supreme Commander's order to deport all Jews from the places located “opposite Grubeshov” caused terrible confusion with its unclear words in Vladimir-Volynskiy and also in dozens of cities in the vicinity. I advised them to immediately send a delegation to Petersburg to try to cancel the decree. They decided to send the Rabbis of Vladimir-Volynskiy and Uscilug. They were supposed to leave on that day, but they only left four days later. The reason for the delay was that the Rabbi of Vladimir was honored to be a sandak^[2] at a circumcision, and he has no want to leave the city earlier.

The hotel owner, to whom I turned, an intelligent young man, told me that ten days ago the incoming soldiers began committing robberies and murders. The Rav Mitaam, Morgenshtern, and one of the important Jews, Poizner, went to plead the case before the city commandant, who was the deputy police chief in Lublin. There were many people in the reception room.

The commandant came out, and when he saw the Jews, he called:

- And you, Zydzi, what do you need here?

They presented themselves before him and expressed their request that he protect the Jewish residents from the acts of robbery and murder that were being committed none-stop.

Without listening to their words, he called out in a rage:

- You should all be hanged Zydzi! Get out of here!

Poizner handed him an official certificate, stating that the emperor thanked the Jewish residents of Vladimir for the help they provided when they pushed back the Austrian army at the beginning of the war.

The commandant looked at the certificate and threw it on the floor. - The emperor is an emperor - he shouted - and I will do whatever is best in my eyes! Get out of here!

Mr. Yochenzon, who was with me with the Rav Mitaam, a resident of the town of Uscilug a distance of 12 versts^[3] from Vladimir. He told me that three hundred refugees came to the town from Kryluv [Kriylow], where provocations are currently taking place and the Jews have been expelled from there. The refugees are hungry for bread and are not receiving help from anywhere. I gave Yochenzon three hundred rubles on the condition that an aid committee would establish it in Uscilug.

(S. An-sky. “The Destruction of the Jews in Poland, Galicia and Bukovina.” Volume Translated by S. L. Zitron. A. A. Stybel Publishing. Tel-Aviv.)

Original footnotes:

1. S. An-sky is using the Russian name for Ludmir - Vladimir-Volynskiy. Return
2. A provincial town in the Lublin Voivodeship on the Huczwa River. Return
3. 1 pod = 16.38 Kg Return

Translator's footnotes:

1. Rav Mitaam (lit. “Official Rabbi”) was a position in the Russian Empire given to a member of a Jewish community appointed to act as an intermediary between his community and the Imperial government, to perform certain civil duties such as registering births, marriages, and divorces. Return
2. Sandak (lit. “companion of child”) is the person who is honored to hold a Jewish baby during his circumcision. The name has its origins in the Greek word for advocate, since he acts as the representative of the father. Return
3. Verst is a Russian unit of distance equal to 0.6629 mile (1.067 kilometers). Return

[Columns 153-154]

Collected by M. Tzinowitz
May laws in the 1880s
and the situation in Jewish Ludmir

HaMelitz^[1] 1883 (No.94)

Vladimir, Wolyn Province.

“Our city stands in the domain of 50 versts^[2] of the Austrian border. and the people who were born in other cities and settled here conducted their trade and business for many years without anyone opposing them. But now, an order has arrived from the governor to the court of our city to expel Jews from other cities from the domain of 5o versts - and also workers and craftsmen who have the right to live outside the Jewish Pale of Settlement. These annoying acts happen here every day and also affected the community leader B. T., who was ordered to vacate his apartment and move to his hometown even though, according to the law, he has the right to reside here. Not long ago the manufacturer S. M. brought two craftsmen from Lublin. Both of them, who worked here in the army, had to work with him in preparing the tobacco in his factory. When they came before the lieutenant governor to show him their letters of credentials, he took these letters without any pretext and only told them that they had no right to reside within the domain of 50 versts near the border.” The regular correspondent from Ludmir:

On the same matter, the aforementioned writes in HaMelitz (60) 1884, regarding the implementation of the old law prohibiting Jews from settling after 1838 in Ludmir, which is located within 50 versts of Austria.

“This law is an explosive tool in the hands of the local policemen to impoverish the few that remained from our brothers in the last days, and to finish the last penny from their pockets. -Especially that ninety out of a hundred craftsmen in Ludmir are these “guests,” and when they are driven out of the city, the city will remain desolate, and those who remain will be lost forever, God forfend. Because even now people will die of hunger here before our eyes.”

The writer continues: “The laws for the time being” have shown their adverse effect on our brothers living in the Pale of Settlement, but of the ten Kabs^[3] of troubles and hardships that befell our brothers, nine were taken by the residents of our city. As is known, our city is far from places of trade and railways, and therefore the trade routes here are in mourning. There hasn't been any buying or selling here for years, and since the expulsion from the villages around us began, more settlers have been added to the city by our brothers in the villages. The competition has increased greatly, to the point where dozens of people will hold a single branch of the tree of life (in trade), and forty-seven merchants, who were engaged in large trades, will now go bankrupt by their creditors. The vast majority are servants who have reached adulthood, or old and weak people who have nothing, and these lost ones will now die in poverty in secret as one.”

The year 5648 – 1888
HaMelitz No. 247 1888

Mr. Shlomo Goldzmed writes the following:

“In Ludmir, they laid the foundation to build the old hospital called Hekdesh^[4], and to organized it as is customary in all the improved cities. From all corners of our city, they flocked to bless the builders and those dealing with the matter, and to carry out a vow. The mayor and many of the local officials and nobles also came to the foundation of the building and gave alms of their money.

Five years ago a valuable association, Bikur Cholim^[5], was founded. All of the hospital's income came from vows and donations, but the meager resources are not enough to achieve the goal. All the more so, at this time of expulsion from the 50 versts domain and from the nearby villages, the number of poor, oppressed, and sick people increased, and what can be expected from a poor association without an existing fund and without money.

The writer also warns about the Talmud Torah school that was recently founded in our city, and there are no one to support it. At the same time, when a holy one (he meant a Hasidic Admor) from some forgotten town, who settled in the nearby Austria, occasionally visited our city as a guest tended to stay overnight, he found redeemers who do kindness in thousands.

A section from Ha-Yom^[6] No. 97, 28 April 1887

Vladimir-Volynskiy

After five years from the date of death of the rabbi, the president of the court, R' Yehoshua Heshel, may he rest in Paradise, our community appointed last summer a rabbi a native of Galicia and his name R' Yakov, may he rest in Paradise. He came to our city with the consent of all the Hasidic sects, which were numerous here. Also the old tzadik of Trisk [Turiisk] supported him and testified that he is God-fearing and was worthy to serve as a rabbi.

And indeed, this rabbi was one of the most prominent and distinguished people, because Torah and wisdom joined together in him like the twins of a gazelle. When he was a thirteen-year-old boy he wrote the book Me'or Einei Chachamim and other books of wisdom like the responsa Diverie Yakov, Aggadot Yakov, etc.

In the first few days of his arrival here, all the Hasidim showed him great affection and bowed before his name as if before a saint. But after

[Columns 155-156]

Talmud Torah in Ludmir

It goes without saying that the whip of their tongues had done the terrible thing they had hoped for in advance. Through the efforts of the provincial governor the matter was referred to a judicial investigator, who received a written guarantee from ten respected homeowners in the city that the rabbi would not be able to travel from here until the legal matter is investigated. From then until now, the turmoil has grown, and the conflicts have multiplied in our community, because two parties hate each other, and the fire of discord has spread around in a very terrible way.

But in recent days the wild fanatics have intensified their evil deeds. The leaders of the hooligans sent a letter requesting the G”G (Governor General - M. Z.) in Kiev to put the rabbi in prison, since he is among the criminals and the axis around which all the quarrels revolve.

This, of course, made a great impression on the governor, and he issued a stern order to bring the rabbi under guard. And on Sunday of this week, the innocent rabbi was taken, escorted by armed policemen to prison and there he is tightly locked. Far from man sits the unfortunate Rabbi, alone and desolate. And who knows how long his days in prison will last until his fate is determined.

The zealots, who participated in this serious crime, will be praised in the city for doing so, for “they have been zealous for the Lord, the God of Hosts” [1 Kings 19:10].

King Yanna [Jannaeus] was undoubtedly referring to such people when he said to his wife: “Do not be afraid of the Pharisees… rather beware of the hypocrites who appear like Pharisees, as their actions are like the act of the wicked Zimri and they request a reward like that of the righteous Pinchas.”

HaMelitz 1887- No.130

Vladimir-Volynskiy, 21 Sivan – Shlomo Galdzamd

In an old scroll it is written to say: long ago, the Jews of Ludmir expelled the great rabbi from the rabbinate, and that day was the eve of Shabbat and the rabbi left the city with all his possessions, and as he left, he cursed it.

I wish you could see the things you never got to see in your life, our rabbi. To see that the evil of our ancestors has not yet grown so great and that their descendants have truly accumulated the weight of their sins to bring a clean and innocent rabbi to prison like one of the rebels and criminals. I knew you would ask us, dear reader, what is to a rabbi who sits in judgment to be a poor and ironclad prisoner? Therefore, I must lift the veil and reveal the deeds and plots that took place withing the walls. And if you are of a pure mind and conscience, you will understand by yourself how to understand one thing from another.

For ten whole years, the Ludmir community lived without a rabbi. The leaders, that is, the judges, did not deal at all with public affairs, and they usually added prohibition to prohibition, decree to decree, as was customary in most cities in Wolyn, Until the simple and poor people sighed under the weight of a wave of hardships that they could not bear. But as long as the decrees were not revealed to the city, the ways of the judges were successful. They issued decrees right and left and no one protested.

But at that time, when even the powerful began to suffer the harsh yoke of the leaders, a new movement emerged among the community, because the public activists chose for their rabbi a man born in our city, R' Y. Rp”p (Rappoport - M. Z.), who was a loyal student of the Rabbis of Galicia and ordained a rabbi in the city Metze on the border of Bukovina. That rabbi was indeed one of outstanding men, for Torah and wisdom coexisted in his heart, and apart from that, he was humble as one of Shelomei Emunei Yisrael^[7]. And since our city was known as a city with a majority of Hasidim, the local dignitaries found it necessary that the city and the Holy of Trisk, that according to his admirers' words - before him flowed all the conscientious of the heart and he will be ordained for his righteousness. And so it was.

[Columns 157-158]

Well, rabbi came here with a blessing and conducted his presidency in a dignified manner, because his clever books, which he had written in his childhood, were favored by the wise men and they appreciated his value properly. And the rabbi also showed great affection towards his followers because he did not demand a large salary from them and was content with only a few rubles a week to make a meager living. He devoted all his attention to public affairs, to resolving conflicts and disputes, and to correcting the mistakes made by the old leaders. All that he wanted to do was to establish peace on his own terms, and to unite to one association all the Hasidim parties that always hostile to each other each other.

But his days of peace did not last long, for as the light of his Torah grew brighter, so did the shadows that covered his glory with their weight and trapped him. And this is the matter: when the rabbi came to our city, the city's dignitaries wrote an document that he was a native of the place, and only by mistake his place is missing in the Census Book of 1858. The above document was signed by about one hundred of the important and well-known men and was sent to the regional office which legally approved it.

In those days the Trisker Hasidim were very zealot and started to kick the city's rabbi who wanted to disqualify a certain ritual slaughterer whose hands were shaking, and according to an explicit law in Yoreh De'ah^[8] he was forbidden to slaughter. (it is said, that according to the “wakeful holy one”^[9], it was a bad idea to persecute the city's rabbi, the president of the court, because for a long time the outcast ritual slaughterer was a ritual slaughterer in the rabbi's court, and it is known “Holiness should only increase and not decrease…”).

And they all formed one association to expel the rabbi from his home as a destroyer of the Jews who comes to uproot the Hasidut and to improve the city under the kingdom of the Haskalah^[10]. They found it easy to despise his image in the eyes of the masses with notes, notices, and scrolls of books as was the custom of the country. They also slandered him before regional governor that he is a native of Galicia, and the people who signed the letter of credence violated the law of the government.

And so the matter was brought to the hands of the law investigator, who brought the rabbi and the signatories, about ninety in number, to trial. If it were not for the efforts of several important homeowners, who provided a secure financial guarantee for him, the rabbi would have been thrown into prison as a criminal. Several weeks passed in peace and quiet. The zealots ceased their anger and the rabbi's admirers hoped that peace would come soon.

But alas! They strayed from the path! When the leaders of the association - I will not mention their names - saw that the rabbi was sitting on trial, they added the sin of rebellion and tried to have him imprisoned before the district commissioner as a person who inspires hope and causes discord among brothers. Their efforts were approved by a faithful testimony of the District Minister, and by a special order from the Governor General, the rabbi was taken to prison accompanied by soldiers.

It is easy to understand the state of his wife and young sons, who are crying bitterly over their father who was exiled from the table, and the state of all the rabbi's admirers, who are embarrassed and saddened by this great loss.

The community quickly sent men to one of the great rabbis to express their sorrow and ask him to lobby for our city's rabbi. That great rabbi shed tears like a river when he heard this bad thing and gave them letters of recommendation to an excellent lawyer and to respected men and men of action in Kiev [Kyiv], to hurry for the benefit of the prisoner. But all the recommendations and efforts were in vain - and the emissaries returned from Kiev empty-handed.

According to Ha-Tsfira1889 (754), the Rabbi of Ludmir was registered under the name Yekil son of Yoel Rappoport. And indeed, through informing it was proven that he is a native of Austria, and his real name is Yekil son of Yitzchak Schor. Seventy-three people, including people from the Ludmir community, signed on 31 March 1886 that he is Yekil Rappoport, he is forty years old and the son of Yoel son of Yekil Rappoport, a resident of Ludmir. However, so far, he is not included in the list of registered. The document was also signed by the elder (Starosta) of the residents of Ludmir with the signature of the nomads from May 26. The decision of the aforementioned Jewish community was approved, and they signed and vowed to it. According to the informant, to their clear knowledge, Yoel Rapoport had no sons, and not only them, but all the Jews of Ludmir know that the accused who came to them is Yekil Schor from Austria. The defendant, Yitzhak Schor, informed that he was indeed a resident of Ludmir, and when he was seven years old, he was given to the home of his relative Yitzhak Schor, who adopted him. When he came to Ludmir, all the signatories new that he was Rapoport's son, but it was not written in the census books in Austria.

Eighty defendants were brought to the trial. This offense resulted in being sent to the King's Prisoners Battalion. All the defendants were elderly with families. The number of defendants' sons is 309, and the number of people affected by the trial exceeds 1,000. They are defended by Kopernick a lawyer from Kiev.

Ha-Tsfira1900, (No. 120)
Vladimir, Wolyn Province: Ay, Zalaznik

On the fifth of this month (May), early in the morning, a fire broke out in one of the houses in the city center, and at this moment the flame surrounded half of the houses in the city, most of whom were not insured, and all their occupants were poor and destitute. Within two hours, two hundred and fifty residential buildings were destroyed, and six prayer houses and sixty-eight Torah scrolls were burnt .

About six hundred families have lost all their possessions. They are thrown under the open sky without bread to eat or clothing to cover their nakedness, because there was not enough time to save their household goods, and the few they saved were burned or lost in the city streets.

It is difficult to describe the condition of those affected by the fire and their terrible distress. Their eyes are fixed on the help of generous people who will send their alms to the address of the Committee for the Assistance of the Fire Victims, which has now been established on behalf of the authority.

There. No. 185

Vladimir-Volynsky. The great fire destroyed in our city more than three hundred houses of our Jewish brothers. Their inhabitants, more than two thousand men, women, and children, were left without bread or clothing on the piles of ruins under the open sky, without shelter from the wind and rain. They aroused a generous spirit in the hearts of the generous residents of our city and the military ministers, to establish a committee to receive alms for the support the “burnt” whose needs are very great, and the abundance of alms is very little.

But our disaster is great, because also the houses of prayer, including the Great Synagogue which stood in all its glory, went up in flames,

[Columns 159-160]

and only the walls of the synagogue, within which more than fifty-five Torah scrolls are currently preserved, remained.

We, the undersigned, gathered our courage and will do everything we can to repair the Great Synagogue, in which about three hundred unfortunate Jews gather every day to pray under the open sky. But the repairs require great expense, because there is no roof. But what will we do for the High Holidays and the approaching autumn days? From where will our help come? Therefore, we turn to the generous people in our call to have mercy on us and send us their alms to rebuild the ruins of the synagogue, so that the embittered souls will be able to pray and God will reward your deeds .

There. No. 237: Ay, Zalaznik

Six months of work and hardship have passed on us since our city was judged by fire. Those affected by the disaster slowly began to rebuild the ruins of their homes, even with difficulty. But the Great Synagogue and the charitable institutions here still stand in their ruins, and no one takes the trouble to call a meeting and to consult on how to rebuild these houses.

The members of Talmud Torah Society, who had until now cared for the fate of the poor of the community, were left with no means of support because their income was very small and their debts had grown greatly. The teachers' salaries were nonexistent, and they haven't been paid in years. The students are abandoned like sheep without a shepherd, wandering the city streets to the displeasure of their parents. And our capable leaders, who present themselves as “Torah lovers,” stand aside, and none of them notice the failure and the need to renew the society's activities as in the past.

The plight of the teachers in our city, whose number is quite large, is very great. And all the more so, after the fire, many stopped sending their sons to teachers to teach them writing and language, and it is a sad sight to see frightened and desperate teachers walking from house to house. Seven teachers held one homeowner and said: give me your son and I will teach him Torah and wisdom for a pitiful salary. And when the days of the month passed for the teacher in desolation and worry, in poverty and stress, and he came to ask for his salary and they dismissed him with go and come back, and the next day it was not given either...

HaMelitz 1903 (54): Yakov Boim

Vladimir-Volynskiy - The Jewish community here numbers about two thousand five hundred families. Most of our brothers here are merchants of timber, grain and cattle, shopkeepers and craftsmen. Their economic situation is good. They see a return for their labor because there is no unfair competition here. Our city excels in the charitable and welfare institutions that exist in it, as in the most improved cities.

There is a Bikur Cholim institution here that provides a lot of help to poor and oppressed patients. Next to the hospital there is also a pharmacy that sells drugs and medical supplies cheaply and gives to the poor for free or at half price. Last year, ten thousand rubles were taken from the remainder meat tax for these institutions.

There is Talmud Torah here in which the children of the poor will study and receive a good education, and it also has a teacher of the language of the past [Hebrew].

Two years ago, the Gemilut Hasadim institution was also founded here through the hard work of the community leaders. The organization lends money to any craftsman without interest, and sometimes also to support people who have become impoverished.

Another institution was founded here a few months ago through the efforts of educated young women called Malbish Arumim [Clothing the Naked] for the benefit of the poor cannot afford to cover their nakedness.

But one drawback is noticeable here, and it is Hachnasat Orchim [“welcoming guests”]. The poor who visit this city have no place to rest from their work and are forced to sleep on the hard benches in the seminaries and prayers houses. All their bones will be broken, and there is also a desecration of the houses of prayer by turning them into guest hotels.

I also feel obligated to warn the community administrators that they will allow the cemetery fence to be rebuilt. For a long time, the cemetery has been a busy road and a trampling ground for all kinds of animals and living creatures, and a source of shame and disgrace.

In HaMelitz No. 34, from 1903 we see things as follows:

“The Jewish community here numbers about two thousand five hundred families. Most of our brothers here are merchants of timber, grain and cattle, shopkeepers and craftsmen. Their economic situation is good. They see a return for their labor because there is no unfair competition here. Our city excels in the charitable and welfare institutions that exist in it, as in the most improved cities. There is a Bikur Cholim institution here that provides a lot of help to poor and oppressed patients. Next to the hospital there is also a pharmacy that sells drugs and medical supplies cheaply and gives to the poor for free or at half price. Last year, ten thousand rubles were taken from the remainder meat tax for these institutions. There is Talmud Torah here in which the children of the poor will study and receive a good education, and it also has a teacher of the language of the past [Hebrew]. Two years ago, the Gemilut Hasadim institution was also founded here through the hard work of the community leaders. The organization lends money to any craftsman without interest, and sometimes also to support people who have become impoverished. All matters of this institution are decided by Rabbi Asher Zaliyaznik, who works with faith, diligence, and perseverance, and not for the sake of receiving a reward.

Another institution was founded here a few months ago through the efforts of educated young women called Malbish Arumim [Clothing the Naked] for the benefit of the poor cannot afford to cover their nakedness.

But one drawback is noticeable here, and it is Hachnasat Orchim [“welcoming guests”]. The poor who visit this city have no place to rest from their work and are forced to sleep on the hard benches in the seminaries and prayers houses. All their bones will be broken, and there is also a desecration of the houses of prayer by turning them into guest hotels.

I also feel obligated to warn the community administrators that they will allow the cemetery fence to be rebuilt. For a long time, the cemetery has been a busy road and a trampling ground for all kinds of animals and living creatures, and a source of shame and disgrace.

Translator's footnotes:

1. HaMelitz was the first Hebrew newspaper in the Russian Empire. It was founded by Alexander Zederbaum in Odessa in 1860. Return
2. Verst is a Russian unit of distance equal to 0.6629 mile (1.067 kilometers). Return
3. The Kab was an ancient Hebrew unit of volume, primarily used for measuring dry goods, but also sometimes for liquids. It was a relatively small measure, roughly equivalent to 1.2 liters or 1.3 quarts. Return
4. In East European Jewish society, the Hekdesh was a charitable institution that functioned as both a poorhouse and a hospital. It housed beggars, vagrants, the chronically ill and poor orphans. Return
5. Bikur Cholim (lit. “Visiting the Sick”) refers to the mitzvah of visiting and extending aid to the sick Return
6. Ha-Yom (lit. “The Day”) was a Hebrew-language newspaper published from 1886 to mid-1888 in Saint Petersburg, Russia Return
7. Shelomei Emunei Yisrael is a Hebrew phrase, meaning “the peaceful believers of Israel.” Return
8. Yoreh De'ah (lit. “He Will Give Instruction,” a reference to Isaiah 28:9) is the second and most varied of four sections discussing a range of topics not covered in the other sections including the laws for ritual slaughters. Return
9. The phrase “wakeful holy one” refers to a figure who is spiritually vigilant and enlightened, and it can be found in different forms across several religious traditions. Return
10. The Haskalah, or Jewish Enlightenment, was an intellectual movement in Europe that lasted from approximately the 1770s to the 1880s. Return

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