In the Light
of the Bright Past

[Page 8]

[Page 26]

What Does the Hebrew Encyclopedia
Say About Our Town?

Translated by Tina Lunson

Apt, one of several towns in Poland. Before the First World War, a Polish District Town in Radom Province. In Independent Poland, after the First World War, a District Town in Kielce Province.

In accordance with the divisions of Poland by the Vad Arbe Artsos – the Jewish self-government in Poland in the years 1650-1764 – Apt belonged to the land “Lesser Poland” (Krakow-Sandomierz).

The Jewish settlement in Apt was mentioned already in the 16th century. In the year 1634, the town became divided into a Jewish part and a Christian part. The Jewish part of the town was the so-called “Jewish Street”.

The author of Tit ha'yon relates that in the time of the Polish-Swedish War (1656). More than 200 Jewish families were killed.

The situation of the Jewish Community after the war was very hard, as the Vad Arbe Artsos forbade any new Jewish families to settle in Apt without a special permission from the Jewish Council. In that time, the Apt Jewish Council was well organized, and its various functions (among others also collecting money for the Jews in Erets Yisroel) were carried out by special managers. In the 18th century, the economic situation of the Jews and the community was significantly worsened, and they were forced to accept help from the town managers.

The Pinkes of the Apt Jewish Community is an important source for researching the history of the Jews in Poland. Until the year 1939, there was a copy of it in the extensive Jewish library in Warsaw.

In the 19th century, the Jewish population in Apt grew continually, such that in 1856 it numbered 2,517 souls (of 3,845) and in 1897, 4,138 (of the general number 6,603). Among the Apt personalities of that era, the saint Rov Avrom Yehoshue Heshel– “the Apter Rov” (1745-1825) – was especially well-known.

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In the Light of the Bright Past

In the Light
of the Bright Past