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Introduction

Jewish education in Bălţi is worthy of a monument for the gratitude of its graduates who would eventually have the privilege of making Aliyah, as a direct product of this education.

Many are the protégés of the Jewish education in Bălţi, some of whom completed a trajectory to Zionist fulfillment from pioneering settlement in exhausting working conditions, to participation and self–sacrifice in the struggle to free the land of its foreign rulers, in the War of Independence. Others experienced years of exile and deportation in the detention camps and prisons of the British Mandate, or battling the Nazi enemy, either within the ranks of the Allied Forces or the Jewish Brigade, within the ranks of the Red Army, or as Jewish Partisans; some of those experienced the ghettos of Transnistria or were exiled to Siberia. A few reached the safe haven of their homeland and they would go on to become educators, academics, authors and critics, doctors and engineers, people of enterprise in agriculture, trade, and industry, and through diligence and perseverance have made respectable achievements. A few have served officially as diplomatic, economic, and military delegates. The near total enthusiasm that grips those who attend reunions of Hebrew Gymnasium graduates or former members of the youth movements of Bălţi, is evidence of the powerful bonds to the past, to the profoundness of the influence of the Jewish and Zionist education. The emphasis they put on their roots, and their nostalgic view of the past [Translator's note: there is a typographical error in the Hebrew–התפרקות instead of התרפקות.], attest to the depth of their connection to their Beltsian past. It is our duty to memorialize in writing this heritage, the sources from which it drew, and the Zionist consciousness which brought about the fulfillment of our goal–the establishment of the State of Israel.

Let us hope that this written memorial will serve as witness to the generations to come, as to how important Jewish education was to this little community, thanks to whose own efforts we have achieved the results that have brought us here.

In retrospect, one can view Jewish education in the town of Bălţi as a mission fully accomplished. I would say that this system functioned to perfection, and could serve, even now, as an example to Jewish communities in the Diaspora, of Jewish–Hebrew–Secular as well as Zionist education.

This success can be explained by a number of factors:

1. This community had the good fortune that it just happened to have within it wonderfully dedicated educators, role models, educators the likes of: Reidel, Schwarz, Schuster, Weinstock, Tzesis, Dubinovsky, Langerman, Bord, Kilimnik, Kupferstein, and so on.

2. People of action and initiative within the community, with an awareness for Jewish education. Figures such as: Mendel Massis, Dr. Vesterman, Avraham Gefter, Leivush Golobati, Eng. Yerachmiel Jaffe, Gedalia Lipson, Hersch Auerbuch, and others. Bălţi had academics, who did not assimilate like most of the Jewish Intelligentsia in Czarist Russia, whose concern was Jewish education–specifically in its Hebrew form–and even though not all of them were Zionists, they viewed the existence of a Hebrew educational format as an educational primacy.
3. The good economic situation of a broad stratum of the Jewish population, which made it possible to raise the resources necessary for establishing and maintaining the Jewish education system.
4. Lastly, and possibly most importantly: the body of Jewish parents, who specifically wanted Hebrew education for their children, preferring it to the Yiddish or general Romanian, and were prepared to put in the effort and make the sacrifices. The Jews in Bălţi were required often to deduct from their meagre income in order to pay tuition, which was relatively hefty for the times, for a son or a daughter, or even several children at once, to enable them to continue attending the Hebrew School. Moreover, people were forthcoming when it came to assisting those in poverty, through special assistance funds for covering tuition for the underprivileged.

The Hebrew school in Bălţi, both elementary and secondary, conformed to, and implemented the ideology of Tarbut, the educational branch of the Zionist movement. It completely fulfilled the principles of the doctrine of comprehensive Jewish education in the diaspora, as envisioned by the founding fathers of Zionism.

Prof. Zevi Scharfstein, a scholar in the study of the history of Jewish education, in his book History of Jewish Education in Modern Times (in Heb., Ogen, NY, 1949) [Translator's note: This book came out in 1945, and would then be followed by a “ + Vol. II” (in 1947) and “ +Vol. III” (in 1949). The writer gives the title of the 1945 one, but cites the year as 1949. So, not really sure about how to cite the title of this book (i.e. amend the title, or amend the year). Left as is for now.], p. 25, expresses the approach that mandated the teaching of all subjects, not just Judaic studies, in Hebrew, as preached by one of the advocates of a national school, Z. Jabotinsky, opposing those who favored teaching the scientific subjects in foreign languages, led by “Aḥad Ha'am” (Asher Ginsberg). Jabotinsky was among the architects of Tarbut and on its behalf he would lecture all over the Jewish Diaspora about national Jewish education. On one of his lecture tours he visited Bălţi, in 1912, and this visit laid the foundations for comprehensive Jewish education.

Tarbut curricula maintained the study of the maximum of general subjects in Hebrew, rather than just Judaic subjects, Hebrew language, and Jewish history: as the language in which a child is taught all subjects is the device that trains the child to think and feel.

This operation was not an easy one, but the persistence and dedication of the Hebrew school trustees, in the framework of the expansive activities of Tarbut, and with its support, made it possible to execute this noble idea. Prior to the activity by Tarbut there were several attempts, such as the “Talmud Torah” school of 135 students, as mentioned in the press as early as 1898.

In the two–volume study by David Vinitzky [Translator's note: there is a typographical error in the Hebrew–דור instead of דוד.], The Jews in Bessarabia; Between the World Wars 1914–1940 we are informed that by the time of the Russian Revolution in 1917, in most cities and townships in Bessarabia there were already special schools teaching Jewish children in Russian, besides the state public schools. This was a further progression and development of the “revised Cheider”, which was already a revolutionary idea in Jewish education and its “traditional Cheider”.

At the second Conference of Jewish Teachers in 1918, a rift developed between proponents of Yiddish and proponents of Hebrew. Slowly but surely, the influence of the Yiddishists declined under Romanian rule. The parents' committees everywhere were actually inclined towards Hebrew schooling, and the gradual elimination of the Yiddish–speaking school did not take long. Mere remnants of it survived in a few elementary schools, where Yiddish was also taught as a second language. For example, in the Talmud Torah in Bălţi, Mr. Weinstock also taught Yiddish during certain years in the 1920's.

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“The Jews of Bessarabia”, wrote Vinitzky, “most of whom adhere to Jewish tradition and have ingrained in them a national awareness, were not eager to send their children to a school offering very little national content and detached from the nation's sources.” Following the formation of the Ḥibbat Tzion movement,^[1] and later, the establishment of the Zionist movement, Jewish education was now being emphasized everywhere. Wherever a Zionist association was formed, it endeavored to influence the educational policies, through local institutions as well as at the state level. The Hebrew language became a central subject, and national education a goal unto itself.

Ironically, the greatest positive change occurred as the revolution broke out, because it declared liberty for individual nations and enabled minorities to maintain their own educational institutions, teaching strictly in their own national language.

In August of 1917, in Kishinev, a conference was held, for teachers and public functionaries to lay out the new fundaments for Jewish education in Jewish, as well as non–Jewish schools. Alas, the language problem arose immediately, as the Yiddshists and the Bundists demanded that the official teaching language be Yiddish, as the national language. Moreover, it had been the intent of the revolutionists to allow the masses and the minorities the right to teach their children in their own national language, and the spoken language in most of the Jewish environment was Yiddish. This was the famous “War of the Languages”, which had begun at the turn of the century and which came to a head at the famous Czernovitz Conference (Aug. 30–Sept. 3, 1908).

The non–Zionists had the upper hand and with a majority of two–thirds a resolution was passed whereby, “recognizing that teaching in the national school is to be conducted in the mother tongue of the students, it is the finding of this conference that in the Jewish schools in the lands of liberty as well, it is imperative that teaching be conducted in the mother tongue of the students, Yiddish.”

However, it was also determined that the teaching of Hebrew language and literature, as an important element of Jewish culture, must be given prominence in the Jewish school at all levels. A supreme administration was elected, named “The Yiddish School Commission”–In Hebrew it was called “The Hebrew Scholastic Committee”–which received official state approval as a special department under the Education Directorate.

This was immediately following the revolution when, for a brief period of time, Bessarabia enjoyed a sort of autonomy, until the Romanians seized power.

With the annexation of Bessarabia to Romania, the new administration also adopted the policy whereby minorities were given the right to administrate their own schools, in their own language. The new administration had an interest in de–Russification and, therefore, encouraged the establishment of schools in minority languages, as the first step in “Romanianization”.

On August 14, 1917, a royal proclamation was made, that the king has recognized also the right of the Jewish minority to have their children educated in state public schools in their own national language. That which had been achieved by the Russian revolution, would continue through with the Romanians. This right became internationally binding in accordance with the Versailles Treaty of December 9^th, 1919, and on October 20^th, 1920, Romania committed to honoring the rights of the minorities within its borders. The government reiterated this commitment on March 26^th, 1923, in an explicit statement during parliament deliberations into the formulation of the constitution. According to articles 9 and 10, minorities may establish, administrate, or supervise, at their own expense, charity and relief institutions, schools, or educational institutions in their own language, and to freely practice their religious rituals.

The Romanian government promised to grant appropriate provisions in elementary schools for teaching the children of Romanian subjects whose language is not Romanian, in their own language. The government also promised that an equitable share of sums designated for public funds, government budgets, and municipal councils, be allocated to the education, religion, and social assistance of minorities.

Several factors, internal as well as external, motivated the Romanian government during the first four years of the establishment of its administration of Bessarabia, to implement liberal policies towards the Jewish minority while recognizing its national language as an official teaching language in schools.

However, apparently, one of the reasons was a shortage of Romanian language teachers, since following World War I, Romania became a country of 17.5 million, as opposed to 7.7 million before the war, it was not long

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before Romanian authorities began to renege on their commitments, and beginning in 1922, began to inundate national educational institutions with directives and restrictions.

Their aim was to fully impose the Romanian language upon all educational and academic institutions, and to nullify the independence of the Jewish schools. Moreover, the entire Jewish community in Bessarabia at large appeared to the authorities as having been infected with equality and national liberty, an inheritance from the Russian revolution, and clearly would have to be forcibly disillusioned of these fantasies. Then minister of education, Dr. Constantin Angelescu, of the Liberal Party government that succeeded the Gen. Averescu administration, implemented a total shift with regards to the rights of national minorities, Jews among them. He was outstanding in his hatred of the Jews, and treated them with incivility.

The directives he implemented were:

1. Mandatory testing before government representatives, every year beginning with 1^st grade.
2. Implementation of a system of mandated Romanian studies, something Hebrew teachers were neither able nor qualified to undertake.
3. Cancellation of certification exams for uncredentialed teachers.
4. Extending the government curriculum practiced in old Romania to the newly acquired regions under the patronage of Romania, in spite of the fact that it was unsuitable to the realities therein.

Reidel was an educator personified, a teacher par excellence, a man of great pedagogic skill. in the absence of Hebrew text books for the general studies, along with the pioneer of Jewish education in Bessarabia, Wasserman, he undertook the compilation of text books that proved themselves for years, and upon which were reared a generation of students of Bessarabia Hebrew schools. Reidel represented Bălţi at the Tarbut conference of September 5th, 1922 in Kishinev, and was elected to the conference directorate.

This conference set out to summarize four years of Tarbut activity and the existence of the Hebrew school. This was the golden era of the Hebrew school in Bessarabia, which flourished between 1922–1933. Then began the decline. Objective difficulties arose: the authorities became a nuisance, not every Hebrew school established was able to sustain itself, and even the young generation began leaving the rural communities and moving to the city to study.

This is also the period of time during which the Hebrew Gymnasium expands and absorbs students from the frontier towns, from places where previously, Hebrew elementary and secondary schools existed. Tarbut schools, first and foremost, emphasized Hebrew as a primary directive. Tarbut incorporated the study of Hebrew into curricula to the extent of a comprehensive educational method for Jewish youth, administered by the Hebrew teacher. “It had a clear purpose and a deliberate goal, and the underlying principle of aspiring to Zion”, writes Vinitzky, Tarbut secretary in Bessarabia, in his book The Jews in Bessarabia; Between the World Wars 1914–1940. Jewish children were taught already in kindergarten, to sing the songs of the Land of Israel, to become familiar–albeit at a distance–with the way of life in the Land of Israel, through the use of various teaching devices, images and films, but primarily the use of materials supplied by the JNF.^[2]

The textbooks as well, were characteristically Zionist. These were books designed to teach the Hebrew language. The vast majority of the Hebrew teachers were affiliates of the permanent councils for the JNF, locally as well as at the central Pan Bessarabia level.

In spreading the Zionist idea through the schools, and in attracting the youth to participate in activities on behalf of the JNF, whether in fund raising (The Blue Boxes) or various collections, the JNF employed the assistance of emissaries from the land of Israel. Massively successive were the visits to Bessarabia by author Nathan Bistritzky (Agmon).

In 1936 a difficult time for Romanian Jewry begins, and this also affects the Hebrew schools. In 1938–1939 restrictions on Zionist activity come into effect. Antisemitism manages to attain official approval.

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The Goga–Cuza Government, although short–lived, issued all manner of edicts and directives, all geared at disrupting normal life for the Jews, in finance, culture, and education.

Martial Law is enacted, Jewish newspapers shut down, Heḥalutz is dismantled, and a prohibition is imposed on JNF fund raising. The Hebrew school fought for its life and endeavored to adapt to the changing realities. These times, of persecution of Jewish students in public schools, cause an increase in the tendency of youngsters to be apply to the Hebrew school, the Hebrew Gymnasium. Indeed, I should note with some satisfaction that while in most places, the Hebrew elementary and secondary schools were shutting down, the Hebrew schools in Bălţi were able to maintain their educational activity, nearly uninterrupted, and prepare scores of students to pass their matriculation exams, en route to acceptance to universities. Although, few of them intended on continuing their studies in Romanian universities, who, by the way, had almost completely restricted the percentage of Jewish students. Some of the Hebrew school graduates make Aliyah, and there are those among them who continue their studies in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem or the Technion in Haifa, and even those who would eventually join the faculties of the universities in Israel.

World War II breaks out; Hitler takes over Europe.

Calamity approaches Bessarabia as well, although people refuse to believe that the disaster could occur and that the antisemitic threats will come true.

In 1940 Bessarabia is annexed by the Soviet Union and Jewish education is cut down at its peak.

In 1941 Germany and the Soviet Union are at war, bringing about the total annihilation of Bessarabia Jewry. The Jewish community of Bălţi is cut down, as are all Jewish communities in Bessarabia. Brought to an end is the Jewish education and the national cultural enterprise.

Only the remnants, former students of the Hebrew schools in Bălţi, elementary schools, secondary schools, as well as ORT, brands plucked out of the fires, arrive at the shores of the homeland. Others emigrate to North and South America countries. Wherever graduates of the Hebrew school settled down, they continued to bask in the light of the Jewish education they received in their youth in Bălţi, a center of Judaism, out of existence.

Details of the magnitude of Jewish education in Bălţi, are found in a 1931/32 report submitted by the Tarbut center to the World Hebrew Union. See following page:

Source: “List of Hebrew schools and their budgets for the scholastic year of 1931/31” in David Vinitzky, The Jews in Bessarabia; Between the World Wars 1914–1940, 1973, Zionist Library (Jerusalem) and “Scrolls of Bessarabia” (Tel Aviv), Vol. II, p. 600b.

For comparison, note that according to that same report, the Hebrew schools in Kishinev had 979 students, i.e., 12.5% more, while the population of Kishinev that year was 41,405, whereas that of Bălţi was 14,259.

Just how central Bălţi was to the struggle for Jewish education, we can infer from a news item about a day of sit–ins and demonstrations for Jewish education, initiated by the Hebrew Gymnasium faculty and a number of Zionist functionaries,^[a] and one about a convention of Hebrew school teachers that passes a resolution to install a seven–member pedagogic committee, with Bălţi as its central location, and whose members include Bord, Kilimnik, and Kupferstein that will determine a minimal curriculum for the teaching of Hebrew in the schools in that country.^[b]

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Grade	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
1. Hebrew Language	11	10	6	6	4½	4½	4½
2. Bible	–	2	4	4	4	1⅓	⅓
3. Jewish History	–	–	2	2	11½	11½	11½
4. Aggadah	–	–	–	–	1	1	–
5. Mishna	–	–	–	–	–	–	2
6. Religion	2	2	1	1	2	1	1
7. Mathematics	5	4	1	1	2	1	2
8. Science	–	–	2	2	2	2	2
9. Geography	–	1	2	2	2	2	2
10. Geography of Israel	–	–	–	–	–	–	1
11. Jurisprudence	–	–	–	–	1	1	1
12. Hygiene	–	–	–	–	1	1	1
13. Penmanship	–	1	1	1	–	–	–
14. Romanian Language	3	4	6	6	4½	4½	4½
15. Romanian History	–	1	2	2	4½	4½	4½
16. Art	–	1	1	1	1	1	1
17. Song	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
18. Crafts	2	2	2	2	5	5	5
19. Physical Education	2	2	2	2	1	1	1
Total	26	31	33	33	48	43⅓	45⅓

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Jewish Education Characteristically Zionist by nature

The entire educational phase, from preschool, through elementary school, to the Hebrew Gymnasium years, lasted thirteen to fourteen years. Throughout this entire period, interwoven like the scarlet thread, was the cultivation of a love for the Hebrew language and a love for the Land of Israel. It was like a complete integration of Jewish education and Zionist education.

The general impression was that these educational institutions were guided by the Zionist movement. The Land of Israel was reflected in the daily life of these schools, especially around the national holidays and festivals, e.g., Hanukka Balls, Purim, Lag B'Omer trips to the village Natalievca or the Masada training farm. All teachers shared in educating to a love of the Jewish homeland. Even the teachers whose personal beliefs were opposed to Zionism, and they were but a few, became absorbed in the general atmosphere and had no choice but to nod in acceptance of the general Hebrew orientation and the Zionist spirit that prevailed within the school walls. The spirit of the school carried over to the lives of the students outside of the school, to the Jewish home, and to the Jewish milieu at large.

Translator's footnotes:

1. Ḥibbat Tzion, lit. “affection for Zion” was a precursor to the Zionist movement, established in the early 1880's in Russia, which advocated a return of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel. Members of Ḥibbat Tzion, known as Ḥovevi Tzion, organized in local groups to prepare for a life of agriculture, to later found agricultural colonies in the land. Return
2. JNF–Jewish National Fund–founded at the Fifth Zionist Congress, Basel, 1901, with the goal of collecting and raisings funds earmarked for the purchase of land in the Land of Israel. Return

Original footnotes:

1. Unzer Zeit (in Yiddish), № 3790, May 24, 1935. Return
2. Unzer Zeit (in Yiddish), № 4241, October 21, 1936, p. 4. Return

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The school was founded in 1912. The founding committee consisted of David Kishilev, Yechiel Kark, Shmuel Lipson, and Tzvi Auerbach, who was the wealthy patron of most of the communal institutions in the city of Beltz [Bălţi]. This was a religious school at which Jewish subjects were taught in accordance with the style of a modern cheder. It taught a great deal of Chumash with Rashi.

In 1924, the school became an elementary school in accordance with Romanian regulations. It had three grades. Additional Hebrew subjects were introduced in accordance with the Tarbut curriculum, while the study of Chumash with Rashi continued.

A fourth grade was added in 1935 thanks to the efforts of Mr. Rabinovich. The number of students reached 240. Most of the children came from poor families or from the lower middle class.

A workshop for studying the metalworking and carpentry trades was set up through the donations of wealthy Jews of Beltz. Mr. Neustat donated the required sum to operate the trade branch.

A kindergarten was added, directed by Miss Vasiliev.

The committee of the school supporters was composed of the elite of Jewish women of Beltz. Among them were Mmes. Weksler, Shofer, and Lintzki. Mrs. Rabinovich headed the activity. They dedicated their time and energy, and concerned themselves with collecting money for the upkeep of the educational institution, over and above the set budgetary allocation from the Jewish community organization.

To differentiate between the smaller Talmud Torah, this was a modern school (by the standards of those times) that was situated in a large yard with a fruit orchard and a vegetable garden. The girls' ORT trade school for sewing was housed in its own building in the yard. There was a large sports field in the yard, which was appropriate for football [soccer], and also had equipment for gymnastics [such as] wall ladders, a trapeze, and similar apparatus.

In the summer, the yard also served as the training grounds for the Maccabee sports organization, which preceded all the Zionist youth organizations in Beltz.

The building was well designed, with tall windows, a high ceiling, and an abundance of light in the rooms. The wooden floor was always polished, and the smell of the floor polish [neft] wafted from it. The building had a large hall which could be turned into

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a hall for performances and celebrations. There was a kitchen and a large dining hall in the building. It also had a cloakroom at the rear entrance. The outhouses were in the yard, at a distance from the classrooms.

Winter heating during the harsh Bessarabian winter was provided by wood in clay ovens built in the corners of the rooms. At times, they also used metal ovens. The students never suffered from cold, thanks to the proper financial administration by the committee of supporters. The large classrooms were furnished with comfortable benches and desks. Every classroom could accommodate about forty to fifty students.

The students were served a hot meal at lunchtime. The food was tasty. It included beef patties, brown bread, and a bowl of bean soup or borscht. These meals enabled the students to make it through a long school day. Many of the children lived in the suburbs of the city, and the lack of public transportation in the city of Beltz meant that the trip to and from school could take up to two hours in each direction.

The dining hall could also be turned into a hall for performances. Indeed, a great deal of time was dedicated to festive events connected to the Jewish festivals. The periods of Chanukah and Purim were designated for performances accompanied by a choir, and a diverse artistic program, initiated by the teachers and performed by the students. These performances did not only attract the parents, for they also served as a center of attention and enjoyment for the Jewish youth of Beltz who were not students of the school. Friends of the students, whose parents preferred to send them to the (Christian) public school, also thirsted for the atmosphere of a Jewish festival, which found expression within the framework of the Hebrew school. They were anxious to receive an invitation from their friends who were students of that school. Two aspects are worthy of attention in order to understand the character of that elementary school, as follows:

During the years I studied at the Talmud Torah, 1925-1929, and I seem to recall that this only took place during the years 1927-1928, reading and elementary writing in Yiddish was also part of the curriculum of studies. The teacher was Weinstock, of blessed memory. He taught Yiddish, song, and prayers.

I do not know if this was a compromise with the supporters of Yiddish within the Jewish community, or a directive from above. Perhaps it came from the directors of the Tarbut network, and it is conceivable that it even came from the central Romanian government. It could have been a local initiative of the leadership of the school, the board of trustees, or the teaching staff, who reached the conclusion that it was appropriate that a Jewish child, in whose home Yiddish was the primary language, should have at least an elementary knowledge of that language, both in reading and writing.

The second aspect is the reading and repetition of certain prayers under the rubric of religious studies.

I remember the placards in oversized letters hanging on the walls of the classroom, upon which various prayers were written, such as: Brich Shmei Demarei Alma, Ashrei, Shema Yisrael, Ma Tovu, Modeh Ani, etc. The teacher Weinstock would explain the Aramaic in simple Hebrew that was clear to us. It never hurt a Jewish child at all to receive some conception of Jewish prayers at elementary school, even before they reached the age of Bar Mitzvah. It is possible that this was also a continuation of the modern cheder [Cheder HaMetukan] in its new incarnation as a Hebrew School. As is known, Hebrew schools were founded in Russia under the auspices of “The Movement for the Dissemination of Haskalah”, which copied the views of the Haskalah of Galicia. Chumash was not taught in such a school, but rather “Bible stories.” There was no trace at all of the Mishnah or Gemara that was studied in a cheder or a yeshiva.

An emphasis was placed on Jewish festivals. We would read a great deal about them, sing holiday songs, and give expression to them through dance and drawing. The stories in the reader were riveting, as were the illustrations by the famous artists who illuminated the giant German or French reader. These readers with their pictures were the educational props used by the teachers of the school. The festival decorations, for the most part the work of the art teacher Dubinovski, who later, during the Soviet era, became well-known as a famous sculptor, also contributed to the general atmosphere of love of Judaism and the Land of Israel.

The singing, the Hebrew singing performed by all the children together, where the music teacher was for the most part also the Hebrew teacher, as he was equipped with a book of Hebrew songs and musical notes that reached him from somewhere – from Warsaw, at times

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even from the Land of Israel, was an integral part of the Hebrew education in the Hebrew school. This was a daily occurrence. The holiday songs were the main“repertoire”, and there were many of them in various versions. Many of them can be heard today from the mouths of kindergarten and school children in the Land [Israel].

The Chanukah songs, with good latkes (the concept of sufganiot was as yet unknown), the dreidel, the Purim songs, the songs for Passover, Lag B'Omer, Shavuot, and Sukkot, served as the material for the performances and festive choirs of the school children. We would even sing songs of the Land of Israel on our excursions, Kumu shomrim, al tanumi, Kadima mizracha [Arise, watchmen, do not slumber, forward, eastward], Kadru kadru penei shamayim, ruach kal nishba [The sky darkened, darkened, and a light wind blew], Saleinu al shichmeinu [Our baskets on our shoulders]. On Lag B'Omer in particular, we would go out into the bosom of nature, to the meadows surrounding the city, with bows and arrows, along with the students of the gymnasium [high school]. We would also have songs of the love of Zion on our lips, such as Seu Tziona nes vadegel, Degel machane Yehuda [Raise up to Zion a banner and a flag, the flag of the Tribe of Judea]. We would march in formation, but without a uniform. Rather, we wore special clothes, blue pants with a white shirt. In our imagination, we saw ourselves as descendants of the students of Rabbi Akiva more than as schoolchildren.

We recall the albums, the pictures, and postcards from the lives of the chalutzim [pioneers] in the Jezreel Valley, with their simple, farming-style garb, their wide-brimmed straw hats – young men and women, working the earth under the fiery sun. The Hebrew teachers would often show these to their students. All of these imparted in us, already from our childhood, the influence and desire to be like them when we grow up.

A Keren Kayemet [Jewish National Fund] stamp became the primary “precious item” for the students. Every coin saved from pocket money was designated to obtain it, and it became a first-class Zionist educational factor. From it, we began to learn from an early age about the fathers of Zionism and of the Land of Israel. The educational role of the stamp exceeded that of the blue box. Of course, this would not have succeeded had it not been for the support and active role of the teachers. With what holy awe did we hasten to the office of Mr. Bet-Din, the treasurer of the Keren Kayemet of the city, in order to obtain the new stamps. Every new issue, and the portrait of the Zionist figure on it, enchanted us. It was not only a source of Zionist educational knowledge, but also a symbol of belonging to the exclusive club of Zionist youth – the future chalutzim.

Without doubt, this unique phenomenon of a Zionist Hebrew school forms a splendid chapter in Jewish life in the community of Beltz. We can only explain it by the [observation that] apparently the majority of the community of Beltz, both in number and in structure, was enthusiastic about the Zionist idea both in their hearts and externally. That overtook all the Yiddishist leanings that originated in Czernowitz and Poland. When Bessarabia was severed from Russian Jewry in 1918, Bessarabian Jewry sprouted in the spirit of broad-based and firmly based educational Hebrew culture, which itself influenced other Jewish centers. What had once drawn sustenance now became the source of it. Riga Jewry received a great deal of influence from Bessarabian Jewry in the area of Hebrew education.

As has been said, the Zionist Hebrew school, already starting from the Hebrew kindergarten, was the source from which Jewish children and youth drew their love for the Land of Israel. Therefore, it is easy to understand why Zionist youth movements of all types arose in almost all the Jewish population centers in Bessarabia. This eased the task for the Zionist counselors of the movements. They themselves were the veterans and graduates of the Hebrew schools.

Songs of Zion and the Land of Israel served as the catalyst for the love of the Land of Israel in the school, and certainly in the realms of the movements. The Ken [local branch] – referring to the organizational side of the youth movement – was in a closed meeting place or an open field. Communal singing inspired and energized the youth, and someone who witnessed it (N. Bistritzki) saw in it a reincarnation of Hassidism. It has already been stated that, from an early age, we learned how to love the Land of Israel through the medium of song.

I recall the harsh winter days in Bessarabia, when a snowstorm of the month of Shevat was raging outside, the children were learning about the festival of the trees, the New Year for Trees, Tu B'Shvat, and were singing the following words with enthusiasm blended with dreamy longing:

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“To the Land of Israel, my beautiful sister,
To the Land of Israel, journey
In the Land of Israel, the sun shines
In the Land of Israel, the etrog [citron] blossoms.”

The imaginative image that formed in our childhood minds about the sun-soaked Land of Israel, the Tu B'Shvat (called Chamisha Asar^[1] at that time), planted a great deal of love in our hearts. As the song goes:

“The spring, the spring, there the day begins
On the fifteenth of the month of Shevat, on the fifteenth of the month of Shevat.”

Even though we were still bundled up in our winter clothes, benefiting from the warmth of the lit oven in the classroom, and not daring to stick our noses outside due to the harsh cold – we ate of the fruits of the Land of Israel – carobs [bokser], figs, and dates. We were jealous of the children of the Land [of Israel] who went out into the bosom of nature that day for the Tu B'Shvat planting. The imagination caught fire. The gentle children's voices filled the space of the classroom, even though the imagination was far, far away in the longed-for Land.

This education already started at a young age. Therefore, it was easy for the youth movements to reap that which the Hebrew-Zionist teachers of the school had sown. The songs of nature in the fierce cold, the longing for the sun, implanted in us an esthetic sense, in the pattern of the song that we would sing on a day when a sudden, fierce rainstorm occurred during the Bessarabian summer:

“Sun, sun, pure sun
Rise, please rise, and shine
Cast your light on the mountain and the valley
Then, all living beings will be happy and rejoice.”

Or the song of the winter (connected to the songs of Tu B'Shvat): “This is no forest, just a synagogue,
An old oak tree is the cantor,
And the blowing wind
Is the shofar blower, teru, teru, teru!”

Or the ode to the flowers:

“My flower, sprout, how you thirsted for water
Do not cry, wait a bit, I will quickly return,
I will draw a full pail
Of water and give it to you.”

One of the Zionist songs that the teacher Weinstock, of blessed memory, taught us, was the song Chibat Tzion [love of Zion] by Elyakim Tzunzer, beginning with the words: “If along the path”;

and continuing: “There rolls about, a lily with sparkling eyes,
Cast away by the tempest, its petals withering, lying there now for thousands [of years]”

The lyrics and enthusiasm of the teacher-pedagogue, with his strong, pleasant voice (perhaps he was a cantor or a singer in a choir in his youth) also infused the youth with the melancholy in the song.

I do not remember the song or prayer at the beginning of the school day, but it was a similar hymn to the song that we sang in praise of the school. Here are several lines from it.

“To our school, to our studies, we will go with joy every day
…
We will remember you forever, we will not forget you.”

I remember the song that we sang at the end of the school day, before we went home. Here are the words:

“Shalom to the teacher and friends
Shalom to the teacher and friends
Now to home, now to home, to ho-me!”

At kindergarten age, we learned the song that was particularly widespread:

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“On the tree, on the tree,
Stands a lovely bird
A child runs to the tree
The bird flies, flies.
Cry, child, cry,
Where is the lovely bird,
Run child to the tree,
The bird flies, flies.”

At an early age, in the low grades, we still played under the guidance of the Hebrew teacher, the educator for part of the curriculum. I seem to remember that the song was called “The song of the blind.” Here is a stanza from it:

“Blind without eyes
I will touch with my hands
I will touch, I will touch, indeed
To find the son
And the young child, if I meet him
I will touch all of him, all of him
And if I do not recognize him
I will surely go away from him.”

This is a song of the person on a journey, perhaps it is a song of the wandering Jew, and it was beloved by all of us. Its words are as follows:

“I wander, I wander here
La-la-la
Day and ni-ght, I will wander here
La-la-la
Through mountains, through valleys
Tra-la-la-la (etc. etc.)
This staff is my friend…”

There was a pedagogical approach through the songs and the games accompanying the songs – and education in harmony with the beauty of nature. This was the revolution of the Haskalah movement that rebelled against the cheder education, which stifled those who aspired to esthetics.

[As can be deduced] from their tunes, apparently many of the songs were translated from German, and many were children's songs from Western Europe composed by famous composers. The Hebrew words were still pronounced in Ashkenazic pronunciation. They only transitioned to Sephardic pronunciation at the end of the 1920s, thanks to the teachers who had already received their education in the teachers' seminaries, or who had visited the Land of Israel.

This was a new generation of teachers who had not occupied the benches of the Beis Midrash.

The performances by the students, which were organized by the Hebrew teachers, also gave expression to the topic of the Land of Israel. There were declamations such as “From the peak of Mount Scopus”, which was very frequently in the repertoire of the performances, or “They say that the Land is slumbering” or a song like “On a white piece of paper, clear as snow, the chalutz writes about the exile.” Of course, the classic declamations of the poems of Bialik, Tchernichovsky, and Shneur or Yaakov Cohen were an integral part of the curriculum of Hebrew studies.

From among the textbooks, I recall Toldot Am Yisrael [Annals of the People of Israel] or Korot Ha-Ivrim [History of the Hebrews] by Dubnow, as well as the secular books Know the World (geography), and the arithmetic books. In the later years, books on nature, physics, and chemistry appeared – all in pure Hebrew. If one judges these Hebrew textbooks from the perspectives of the times and in light of the conditions of the life of the nation in the Diaspora, their printing and distribution seems to have been a gigantic enterprise that succeeded beyond measure, even though they only encompassed a small section of the Jewish youth.

Translator's footnote:

1. Chamisha Asar means fifteen – Tu [tet vav] is the numeric short form for fifteen. Tu B'Shvat occurs on the fifteenth day of the month of Shevat. Return

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