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In the second half of the 17^th century Poland was shattered by tragic events. the Cossack storm, the Swedish War and the Moscow War left hundreds of Jewish communities in ruins and swallowed up almost half of the Jewish population. The Apt community suffered especially during the Swedish War, in 1656-1657. The Swedes overwhelmed the Jews with hatred; they persecuted and murdered Jews at every step. We know that during the Swedish invasion a handful of Polish noblemen in Tsoyzmir [Sandomierz] put up a resistance, which was joined by several hundred young Jewish men. The Swedes quickly broke through that position and for the youths' rebellion the entire Jewish community paid with their lives. It is no wonder that the nearby communities also suffered, among them Apt. Fayvish the son of Nosn Faytel from Vienna, relates in his chronicle Tit ha'Yaven how the Apt community suffered: “200 very wealthy families who were shockingly murdered”. In the Pinkes of the Pintshev Jewish community we find a “memorial of souls” for the souls of the murdered and a special prayer for the ruined Jewish communities, among which the Apt community is reckoned.

The Peace of Oliwa finally ended the war that was so fatal for the Jews. Some Jews returned to their demolished settlements. They were presented with the tasks of building back the destroyed houses and institutions for public use, of help for widows and orphans abandoned to God's custody, of ransoming the prisoners of war from deportation and so on. In 1689 two Apt Jews were accused of dishonoring the Catholic religion. The Jewish community then felt a great fear from the Christian population, which had after the Swedish invasion sought a kind of Azazel to blame. The false accusations could lead to a great misfortune; in order to extricate itself from the difficult situation, the Jewish Council gifted the Apt a capitulation 1000 Polish zlotych. The misfortune did not happen, but the gift changed into a yearly obligation.

In 1704 a confederation was organized in Sandomierz, that expressed its loyalty to the King August II, and obligated Apt on the 29^th of January 1704 “to be prepared to sacrifice your possessions, to defend until the last drop of blood, the faith rights of the king and his honor”. The elected marshal Stanislaw Denof, the Lithuanian town resident, called in the other provincial members and even the Warsaw Confederation, who held with the Swedes, to attend the union. Not considering that Premier Radziejowski ordered the national Parliament together in order to elect deputies to the Parliament who would have to crown Leszcynski. During the deliberations of the Sandomierz constituency in Apt (in 1705) Smigelski, the Elder of Gniezn, captured some citizens and dispersed the gathering. Among those dragged in were also some Jews. And so we read in the Jewish Council Pinkes that “in the year 1705 the Germans attacked and robbed to town, arrested the eminent citizens. We declared a collective action in order to ransom them, throughout the town.”

After the death of August II, the Sandomierz group supporting the candidacy of Leszcynski, concluded in a confederation in Apt on the 3^rd of December 1733, and swore their allegiance to him. During the civil war Sasow i Lasow the Jewish population had to pay large contributions in order to insure their lives and possessions. The meetings of the Sandomierz county council regularly took place in Apt. This was a real plague for the Jewish population. The Jewish Council had to continually give the head of the County Council, his assistants and even his servants, various gifts in cash and in kind in order to stave off attacks by the Councilor's staff on Jewish houses and possessions. But the gifts did nothing to help. And the Jewish Council had to continually protest in Sandomierz against the attacks. As we read in the Apt Pinkes: “We have covered the expenses of an official from Sandomierz in order to protest against the thieving attacks by the marshal's staff on Jewish houses”. The Jewish community suffered more though, from the frequent excesses of the school children, who had changed the flickering Jew-hatred of their parents into deeds. They continually attacked Jews, beating them mercilessly and robbing them. In order to stop that, every Jew who went past the school or a church had to pay the so-called Kuzubalec. This was a too-high,

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indefinite tax, and because of that it led to terrible and often bloody fights. The Jews therefore had to give ransom money to the rectors, prefects, higher and lower priests, and so on. From the Apt Jewish community they received a regular tax for every market-day – the lebakalar jarmarczny or fairground fee.

Besides that, the Apt Jews had to support pupils who traveled from various towns and give them gifts and even money. And in the Pinkes we read: “Two pupils from Krakow received the full maintenance, wine and cash, and the same for pupils from Sandomierz, Lublin, Lemberg and others”.

In such an atmosphere of complete economic ruin and insecurity from the outside, the Jews were trying to rebuild their town anew. The Jewish community wanted to rise from the destruction in a short time, when it met yet another problem. In the winter of 1714 a terrible fire wiped out the entire Jewish Street, the moveable and immoveable possessions. The Jews sought a place of refuge in the surrounding villages.

When the Jewish community recovered a little after this reversal, they issued a call to the Apt Jews in which they “Forbid the Jews to build houses on the Polish street, or on the Christian market, or even to base any large or small business there, because the fire destroyed our entire possessions and all the land, and now as we step once again to rebuild the Jewish Street, and we must fortify the situation of our community, each Jew must build his house on the Jewish Street”.

The community's tasks were very heavy. Taking pains to offer advice, the Elders of the Jewish community enlarged the direct duties a lot, introduced heavily-loaded fees and consumer taxes. At the same time the Elders instituted in 1717 a special tax, that the Apt Jews must pay the Jewish Council on all merchandise, silver, gold, clothing, plots of land. All under oath. Freed from the oath were only the rabbis, the cantor and the shul beadle. The town began to be repopulated in stages; many Jews returned from other provinces and settled there. With the growth of the population the crowding in the town grew worse. That forced the Elders of the Jewish community to contact the Vad Arbe Artsos about limiting the influx of “outside” Jews, to eventually exploit their settling there in order to achieve greater hospitality. In 1717 they finally received the wished-for privilege of the right to undisputable possession by giving the newly-arrived the right of community membership. For the text of that privilege – see the excerpt from the Apter Pinkes.

The repression and limitations related to the new-comers were then turned by the Apt Jews into the privilege of the Vad Arbe Artsos. We read in the Pinkes about a decision in the year 1714, which “forbade the exchange of money with newly-arrived merchants. An Apt citizen must not mediate between such a merchant and the Christian merchants. If a new-comer merchant does himself sell to a Christian, he will be severely punished by the Jewish Council”. Thanks to that privilege the competence of the Apt Jewish Elders was broadened. Whoever wanted to settle permanently had first of all to apply for permission from the president of the community council. The community managers also had to give attention to not letting any of the “outside” Jews remain in the town any longer than three days in a row. But the important thing was that the community leadership also had the right to reclaim either partly or wholly the right to settle permanently (right of preemption).

That sanction became, in the hands of the community leaders, a first-rate source of revenue, a tool in the struggle with their personal opponents who could at any time, in the case of an opposition, revoke a right of preemption.

That is how the history of the Apt Jews presented itself on the edge of the 18^th century. In that era of terrible wars, of frequent student unrest under the protection of the wealthy landowners who considered the Jews as a tool to enlarge their own capital, one of the largest Jewish communities in Poland was formed. These historical events, which took place in this town, had first of all a colossal impact on the economic development of the Jewish community.

Before I approach dealing with the economic development of the Apt Jewish community, I will outline in a table the number of the Jewish population, and thereby also name the various trades. Among the lists of Jewish head-taxes I have found another head-tax list of the Apt Jews along with the surrounding smaller Jewish communities, originating from the year 1755.

A total of 1675 Jewish souls:

Lessees	2
Brokers	6
Chicken dealers	1
Bakers	1

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Butchers	5
Tailors	8
Cap-makers	7
Furriers	2
Fur-tanners	4
Sock-makers	2
Old clothes dealers	2
Goldsmiths	3
Conserve makers	2
Dyers	1
Doctors	1
Apothecaries	1
Early ed. teachers	9
Musicians	3
Cantors	1
Singers	4
Beadles	2
Measurers	2
Guards	2
Chimneysweeps	1

The rest – merchants, inn keepers, middle-men. Besides those, there were three rabbis in Apt: One (the community Rov); the Wysla Rov; the Miedzyrecz Rov.

Total 359. Mostly lessees and innkeepers. Together with the town and those attached to the Apt community periphery, 2034 Jewish souls.

I provide the list in order to show the reception power of the Jewish Street in Apt; the number of handworkers and the percentage ratio among the various trades, because the number of handworkers is evidence about the level of living of the population and about the scope of its needs.

The last three decades of the 17^th century and the beginning of the 18^th find the Apt Jewish community in a pitiable, deplorable state. The economic situation became ever tighter under the pressure of the increasing taxes and payments demanded from every side, and depressed any opportunity of life and trade. In order to cover them, the Jewish Council had to take out huge loans from the princes and the clergy. The Apt Jews had their usual creditor – the Lord Cszerski, whom they borrowed from through the mediators Khayim Yosefovitsh and Yitskhak Davidovitsh (two brokers who were often mentioned in the town's documents) – in the year 1692-1693 – 600 zlotych, and in 1702 – 800 zl. from Herr Stanislaw Budzinski (a creditor of the community); in 1700 – 2100 zl.

The temporary help in the form of loans led the Jews into even more complicated conflicts. Wealthy landowners – who were not in a position to demand the debts from the whole community because of its poverty – made the community Elders responsible for private debts. When one sees the expenses, which were clearly shown in the community Pinkes, they create the impression that the entire town, the head tax, the priests, officials, students, the military garrison, all that had received gifts from the community in kind and in cash. I will present a few characteristic examples:

The “respected one”, the lessor of Apt, used to receive “money, meat, fish”. When he came to visit the town, the Jewish community maintained him. And so the community in the year 1702 paid out just in order to sustain the Lessor, 300 zl. – and that is a very serious sum for that time. Above that, his “household” of servants received various gifts.

Among the assignments of the Jewish community was figured a yearly payment for the official, which reached 840 zl. – 4 zl per head. The community paid out 1,000 zl. a year for the large capitulation and a second 1000 zl. for the smaller one. Besides that, the priests received meat, fish, candles, oil, honey, sugar, clothing and even hats (30 zl. for a hat for the deacon). When in 1708 the Bishop of Krakow came to Apt, the Jewish community maintained him and his entourage.

In 1686 a new head for the church came to Apt – the community sent him a gift. Also, each Christmas the community sent various gifts to the priests and even their servants, and what is interesting is that the community gave gunpowder for the traditional shots during the procession of Boze Cialo. Besides that came travel expenses for the plenipotentiary persons in order to undertake all possible defensive means against their plans to limit Jewish activities.

These examples illustrate vividly how large the expenses were for the Apt Jewish community. Already at the end of the 17^th century the usual taxes did not suffice to cover the deficit. The Jewish Council constantly sought new sources of revenue. And thus came an increase in the direct taxes, gradually up to an intolerable height, to the instituting of higher community fees for marriages, engagements, judgements, divorces and so on. But even that did not help, and the Council had to institute consumer taxes, such as the so-called “meat tax” on meat (Krupka wielka), milk, baked goods and so on.

Thanks to the taxes, the situation of the community Council improved a little, although their expenses were constantly growing. The financial dependence of the Council on the creditors and most of all on the Apt Prince finally led to the limiting of the Council's competence. In 1755 the Apt Prince issued an order to the Elders of the Council that limited the rights

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of the Jewish residents. We provide the content of the order:

1. “Whereas since Jews, residents of our town, marry members of other communities, and fall into deep debt to our Prince, our Prince must prohibit either rich or poor marriages, which may not take place without his permission.
2. In the case of a marriage of a son or a daughter of an Apt resident to a resident of another community, our Prince prohibits the Apt Jews from moving to another community without his special permission; our Prince makes the Jewish Elders responsible for observing this prohibition, threatening the severest punishment in case of negligence.
3. From today on it is forbidden for Jews – Apt residents – to sell any kind of immoveable goods, trade them, or sell “places” in the Apt shul without the prior permission of our Prince.
4. Whereas, in the case of selling whisky that is from the hands of another Prince, we warn the members of our community most sharply, that they may in no manner, under the threat of the most severe punishment, sell any whisky that comes from another place, even for their own use or for someone else. In the case that someone happens to travel through another community as a guest and has whisky with him that comes from an outside place and wants to leave that whisky in Apt, we prohibit that whisky from being sold or drunk.”

On the basis of these prohibitions one can come to the conclusion that the Apt Prince is mixing himself too much into the interior affairs of the Jewish Community; the heavy tax burden and the loans from the Prince to cover the debts have led the community to a complete dependence on the owner. He standardizes the economic life of the Jews, having first of all in mind his pocket and his cash treasury.

And so the Apt Jewish community rolled downhill, that community whose economy still blossomed in the second half of the 17^th century. Wars, attacks by the students, catastrophic fires, the huge cost of taxes, the demoralization because of the frequent gifts from the community to the various princes – those are the reasons for the economic ruin that beat against each member of the Apt Jewish community, that bore all the burdens on their shoulders. The most vivid witness is the town chronicle, which illustrates a chain of continually growing need and poverty, that is tied to the progressing economic ruin of the community. The protests and accusations that I encountered in the Apt town documents give the best testimony. Jews came forward with both accusations against the citizens who refused to pay the debts and against one Jew on one of his co-believers that he would be ruined by his dishonest competition.

The Christian population often bought various merchandise in the Jewish shops, mostly on the market days, when the village population drove in to gather in Apt. More than once groups of peasants attacked Jewish shops and robbed them.

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Apt was known even the very olden times for its great rabonim, genius minds and influential Jews, and in that vein, not lagging behind the large cities in Poland like Lublin, Krakow and Lemberg [Lwow].

The Apter Pinkes – a chronicle kept over hundreds of years by the Jewish community – immortalizes for future generations, among other important historical documents, the successive genealogy of the Apt rabbis, brilliant individuals and great minds of their generations who were known in their time in the larger rabbinic world and contributed much to the interpretation of Torah with their published holy books and other explications. The writer of these lines had the great merit to personally study three parts of the Apt Pinkes with the Apt Rov, Rov Tsvi Hirsh Fridman may his sainted memory be for blessing and observe their contents. Of course, not all of it is readable, first of all because of the long time since it was written, and over hundreds of years much of it was effaced. Second, a manuscript from those years is not similar to many of our writings today and so a large part is not comprehensible.

The first one who is mentioned there is the well-known Rov Elieyzer Shmuel Ashkenazi, the author of Damshek Elieyzer, an interpretation of the Talmud section Khulin [kosher foods]. The book, consisting of some 600 pages in a large format, was printed in 1648. In its time the book created a stir in the scholarly world with its deep logic and sensible interpretations. Rov Elieyzer left several compositions after him, on the entire Talmud, which were not published. Only in the book Shmos ha'Gitin printed in 1657 do we find his novel interpretations of various Talmud tracts.

Many people maintain that Rov Elieyzer bar Shmuel is the well-known philosopher Rov Elieyzer Ashkenazi, author of the book Ma'asi D, the Krakow Rov soon after RaM”O and before the BaKh [Rov Yoel Sirkes]. As evidence about him attests, the great thinker, the creator of “Magini Shleyme” , was an “outstanding figure of his generation”. All the great thinkers of his time sent him their most difficult questions. But as one can see from his books, that is a great error, given the difference in the names of their parents. But since the Apter Rebi, the Damshek Elieyzer, was also well-known in the Jewish world, an equal with Ma'asi D, people thought that both were the same person.

We will further mention other important rabonim, great thinkers, who were very well-known in the scholarly world, whose descriptions would themselves take a book. The most famous of them were: Rov Berish Kohen, a grandson of the ShKh”S, who had earlier been the Rov of Stopnica. It is worthwhile to mention that his sons and grandsons occupied rabbinic positions in Stopnica until the very last days. Also, the Rov of Bagri was a son of Rov Yosel Shukht's daughter from Apt, Rov Hirshl Apter, who was an unsalaried Rov in Apt. Due to conflicts, he left that place and went to Kalish and became a leader in the synagogue and the community.

After that came Rov Hershel, a son of the genius of Kremenets, Rov Mayer'l. He was not related to the later Apter Rov, Rov Avrom Yehoshue Heshil, who was indeed a great, great grandson, as we will clarify later on.

Rov Yosef Segal Landa was the Rov of the Apt kloyz [small shul]. He was famous for his Talmudic library of thousands of holy books. It seems that the Apt Jewish community had two rabonim in those years, one who was the town Rov and one who was the kloyz Rov who also served as the Yeshive Head. Such was the Rebi Rov Leyb who was Yeshive Head and Rebi of “Yud ha'Kadush” in Psziske. Because of a dispute he left Apt and settled in Sochaczew and was known by the name Rov Leyb Kharif. Among the well-known rabonim of Apt it is worth mentioning: Rov Yehude Leyb Landa, a shul and community leader, a member of the contemporary “Jewish Parliament” the Vad Arbe Artsos [Council of the Four Lands], a son of Rov Hirsh Landa, known by the name Rov Hirsh Vetish, after his mother's name, who was a daughter of a prominent wealthy man and a champion of charity. Rov Vetish's great-father-in-law was famous in Jewish circles as the genius Rov Hershel, the Rov of Krakow, and was born in Apt himself. He, his father Rov Ruven and brother

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Rov Yankev, great thinkers of their time, lived and died in Apt, and are buried in the Apt cemetery.

The famous Apt Rov Yehude Landa is worth a closer acquaintance. He was indeed the father of the well-known genius Rov Yekhezkel Landa, the Rov of Prague. His wife Khayele was known for her fineness, wisdom and knowledge, and as one of the great prophets of the People Yisroel. Their son Yekhezkel was born in Apt in 1714 (passed away in Prague in 1793). When he was five years old, his father presented him to the Apt Rov and Yeshive Head, Rov Moyshe Yankev. The Rov tested the child Yekhezkel on with a subtle argument from the Talmud tractate Kidushim on a difficult issue. When he was 13 years old, he received rabbinic ordination. He was already known as one of the great thinkers of the time. At 18, he married Libe, daughter of the Genius Rov Yankevke of Dubna, a grandchild of the famed Rov Yankevke, the Nickelsburg Rov. While they were living with his wealthy father-in-law, he constantly sat and studied. Later the father-in-law went to Brod and took his son-in-law Rov Yekhezkel Landa [1713-1793] with him.

Brod at that time was a town with a hundred rabbis, great thinkers and wise men. Well-known at the time was a kloyz known as the Rov Khayim Sansert's Kloyz where the greatest scholars and kabalists of the time studied. Needless to say, our Rov Yekhezkel made friends with them. He mentions them in the introduction to his book Nude b'Yehude as “Lions and tigers at study and in awe of heaven”. There he befriended the thinker and kabalist Rov Avrom Gershon Kituber, one of the Bal Shem-tov's brothers-in-law. All of 24 years old, he wrote responses to some of the most knotty questions, posed to him from all corners of the world. He became Head of the four Jewish Courts that existed then in Brod. At 30 he became Town Rov in Yampil, in Podolia Province. By then he had such a big and famous name that all the best rabonim and thinkers, turned to him as the final judge in the huge disputes between the rabbis Rov Yonatan [Yehoneson] Eybeshuts, Rov in Altona Hamburg, and Rov Yankev Emden about amulets that had split the scholarly world into two camps. The larger half held by Rov Yehones and the other half with Rov Yankev. Among those were also great thinkers, like the “Pney Yehoshua” , Rov in Frankfurt-am-Main, also born in Apt. All the thinkers said that he had written his book Pney Yehoshua with the Holy Spirit [beside him]. The fire of the dispute was huge, indescribable. Books were written about it.

Both sides turned to Rov Yekhezkel despite his youth (he was then 32 years old), and however he decided, so it would remain. So great was his authority. Out of his great love for the truth, Rov Yekhezkel did not sleep and did not eat, but with all his powers, day and night, he wrote to all the great thinkers and rabonim in all the corners of the world, of whom he strongly demanded that there should be peace. As Rov Yekhezkel was a wonderful writer, he devoted himself to making peace. In the letter, Rov Yekhezkel praised Rov Yehonason and compared him to the ancient Commentators. He actually decided that people should hide the amulets because he is not better than Moses Our Teacher, who made the snake of all snakes, and then Hezekiah the King broke the [bronze] snake, and the wise men of Israel from that time on agreed with him. Rov Yekhezkel issued a decree of a strict ban not to speak against Rov Yehonason, and heaven forbid dishonor him or inform on him to the non-Jews, because he is a sacred vessel.

Rov Yekhezkel prevailed, and it stopped the dangerous disputes that had endured for several years.

Rov Yekhezkel was the Rov of Prague for 40 years. The rabbinic contract that they gave him was signed by 25 men, prominent thinkers and proprietors. The contract itself is a rare masterpiece. It was written into the contract that they took him for ten years as Rov and president of the Jewish Court and Yeshive Head and so on and so on. His salary was twelve Reinisch a week – then a very large sum, on which his large family could live generously and rent a roomy apartment. His first work was to found a large yeshive where hundreds of young men could study. True geniuses came from there, well-known in the scholarly world.

The following two facts can serve to demonstrate his greatness. A Rov from a small town asked him a question: A Jewish woman had related to him that a woman friend of hers, an honorable Jewess, had confessed to her that her husband was not really a man and that all her children were from other men. He asked the Rov: What to do with this man? The Nude B'Yehude answered that he would leave things as they are and not acknowledge it. The second fact: Two young men came to Prague, uncultured and not children of Torah. No one

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paid any attention to them. The two fellows went into trade, were successful and became rich, powerful men. They married and had children and became bitter enemies. One competed with the other. Then came the day when a famous violinist came and, as was the custom at the time, he stood between the two houses which were across from one another and played. After he played, people threw money from their windows. The two former friends began to fight – each one said that the violinist had played only for him. A large crowd gathered, and the shouting reached up to the heavens. Until one of them cried out, Why are you fighting? Go to the Rov, he will quickly smooth things out. And so it was. They went to the Rov Yekhezkel Landa. After hearing their complaints, they each took out 25 rendars and laid out their judgement fees. The Rov then said this to them: The violinist played not for you and not for you. Hearing this, the two enemies jumped up with a complaint – Rebi, then who did he play for? The Rov replied calmly, He played for me; and you two go in good health and do not be enemies any longer.

The response he gave General Pakelheim is characteristic. The story goes like this: When the Queen Maria Therea, the famous Austrian queen, paid a visit to Prague, Rov Yekhezkel Landa ordered that a troupe of fine Jewish girls be assembled and be taught a collective dance. When the Queen arrived, the Rov and the Mayor went to greet her. The Rov invited her and her entourage to the courtyard of the synagogue. All were seated and the Rov gave the order to dance. Then the girls carried out their dance for the first time, which was called a sher. The Queen was very pleased with the dance. Despite the fact that she was a very great antisemite, she could not withhold her warm applauds and thanks for the girls and musicians and pressed the Rov's hand. Her adjutant General Field Marshal Pakelheim was sitting with her, a bitter antisemite. He called out, “Majesty, it is not for nothing that these Jewish girls are dancing, they have inherited it from their ancestors who danced around the golden calf. ” “Yes, yes,” called back Rov Yekhezkel, “That is true. But the Jews did not put the gold into their pockets.” (It was said that the General took gold from the Prussian king, so he would close his eyes to the Battle of Frustits because the Austrians were then losing the war.) The General nearly had a fit of rage on hearing this.

Rov Yekhezkel Landa left behind three sons. The last, Rov Akive, was a genius and a rich, powerful person; he lived in Brod and married into the family of the wealthy scholar Rov Zalman Posner of Warsaw. Their grandson was Rov Zanvil Landa, a fine, wealthy Jew in Apt, whose daughter was the mother-in-law of the writer of these lines. Among all the redresses that Rov Yekhezkel Landa issued in Prague was one where he called together all the Jewish barbers and had them agree with a handshake not to shave a Jewish beard. In fact there was one Jew, a rich man, who got shaved by a gentile barber. The Rov had warned him many times. But as they say, “He heeded not at all”. Then the Rov was informed that the rich man had died. Then Rov Yekhezkel Landa ordered the burial society that before they took the body for burial, they should bring it to the shul courtyard. And so it was. When the body was brought the Rov ordered a Jewish barber to be brought, and told him to soap up and shave the corpse, because during the time he was sick, the rich man's beard had grown out, and the Rov did not want him to arrive in the next world with a beard. Once the barber had shaved the corpse, the Rov went home.

The father, Rov Yehude Landa, lies in the Jewish cemetery in Apt. On his left side lies the mother Khayele and on the right side is a grave that stood empty for 150 years, for the honorable Mordkhe Yehude may his sainted memory be a blessing, the grandfather of the writer of these lines.

In Apt in those days was an important wealthy man, a lumber merchant, Reb Noyakh, one of Reb Liber Vinshenker's great-grandfathers. Once, hearing the Rov of Apt speaking in exaggerations, he called out, “Rebi! True. True.” The Apter Rov suddenly stood up in wonderment and asked, “Reb Noyekh, how did you know this?” There are a number of exaggerations told about him. For example, when the Apter Rov went to Miedzyboz he was warmly welcomed by Rebi Brukhl, the “Bal Shem-tov's” grandson. Rebi Brukhl took him in very kindly and served him honey cake and whisky. When the Apter Rov had eaten the honey cake, Rebi Brukhl asked, “Apter Rov, another?” “Yes. I'd like another.” he answered. And so he ate up several plates of honey cake, and when he was served more, the Rebi answered, “I have

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prepared for kings, but not for the seraphim.” When the Rebi asked for an explanation, the Apter Rov said that when he had built his study-house in Apt, with 13 balconies above, they had to bring 25,000 wagons for each balcony. And other exaggerations: The other people could hardly keep from laughing, but the Rebi was sitting earnestly, deep in thought and listening with great intent. When the Apter Rov left, he said to the others, “As long as I've lived, I have never seen a person who ate so “little” and talked so little…”

The Rebi Rov Mayerl took over the Apter Rov's position, arriving from Stopnica, where he had been the town Rov. When he looked at the Apter Rebi's study house he could not contain himself and went right to Miedzyboz, to the Apter Rov. Coming into his room, the old Apter Rov promptly asked him, “New Apter Rov, how do you like my study-house?” And he began to relate new exaggerations about the millions of bricks and wagons and so on. When he left, exhausted, the hangers-on asked him if he had understood anything. He answered them, “Up until the windows I did understand some of it.” He was known as a great genius in Torah and a great saint and opponent of the Psziske and Kock [Kotsk Hasidim]. After Rebi Rov Mayerl came his son Rov Pinkhas, and after Rov Pinkhas came Rov Yanke'le. His daughter Rokhl was known for reciting Torah in public and telling stories of the hasidim. After him was the above-mentioned Rov Tsvi Hirsh Fridman may his sainted memory be for a blessing, and then his grandson Rov Khayim Yosef BaKh, a great scholar. The very last was the Belc Rov's youngest son Rov Sholem Rukakh, who was murdered by the Hitlerists may God avenge his blood.

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In the old cemetery up on the hill, surrounded by small, half-sunken gravestones overgrown with moss, among hundred-year-old trees, stands a large round stone. No letters are recognizable now. Holes had been dug on both sides. There, so they say, people poured in oil and lit it when someone was in big trouble and needed salvation. That was the grave of “Mateh Moshe”, a pupil of MaHaRSha”L, who was Rav in Przemysl. Why did the Mateh Moshe come to Apt? The legend circulating in Apta was the following: When the Mateh Moshe and his pupils wanted to make aliya to Eretz Yisroel to study kabbala with the pupils of the AR”I-ha'Kadosh, they passed through Apta on the way to Eretz Yisroel. At night he went walking on the back streets behind the shul. He heard a voice from inside [the shul], that someone called him up for an aliya – he was to go up to read the Torah among the souls who had long since been purified [tahore] and came every night to pray in the shul… He remained there and a short time later gave up his soul. And so they called him Rav Moshe Mes [corpse]. The truth is that they already called him Rav Moshe Mes while he was still living. A few great thinkers used to call him Rav Moshe Ish-chai v'rav-pelim [a live man of many deeds]. I heard from the very wise expert of rabbinic genealogy, the Rav Dr. Yehuda Rubinstein (publisher of many important, historical books in New York) that the name met is an acronym of marbitz-Torah [disseminator of Torah]. It could be that he was appointed as head of the rabbinic courts for all of the Krakow district, of which Apta was the capital at that time.

But some historians maintain that the one who lies in Apta is another Rav Moshe: that is, the one mentioned by the MaHaRa”M of Lublin in his book and who lived at the same time as “Mateh Moshe”. He was one of the greatest of his generation, according to his impression and how he is written about. In Apta it was accepted that that was the grave of the “Mateh Moshe” who was the MaHaRSha”L's pupil, and around him are his pupils. He passed away in 5356 (1596).

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I happened upon the book Leviyas Chein (by Rav Yosef Sha”Ts of Krakow) which is dedicated to the “Mateh Moshe” and confirms that the Rav Moshe was Head of the rabbinical courts of the Krakow District , which the MaHaRa”M mentions, is indeed the “Mateh Moshe”. That was brought out in Masaas Binyamin (who lived at the same time as “Mateh Moshe” and was his friend). Also, there is a letter which the MaHaRa”M sent to Worms about the matter and there he figures out explicitly he was “Rabbi of the large cities Posen, Apta, Brisk and Lublin”. And Nachum Sokolov found in the Apta Pinkas Binyamin ha'Kodesh, Rav Avrom of Przemysl, who was a brother of Mateh Moshe, described as Moshe bar Avraham ha'Kodesh, who was killed as a Jewish martyr. Now there is no longer any doubt that the “Mateh Moshe” was most recently the Head of the Apta rabbinical court and of all the district, and his grave really is located in Apta, where his brother Binyamin also lived.

The Gaon Rav Yaakov Heilpern, Head of the rabbinical court of the Community of Apta, author of Nachalat Yaakov, passed away in 5351 [1591] (indexer of Seder haDoros). We have not succeeded in learning much about him, because no other source besides Seder haDoros has been found. Recently I was successful in learning a few more details about him. He was named Rav Yaakov bar Eliakim Heilpern. There is an approbation from him in the book Zichron Moshe (Lublin 5371 [1611] ) in the year 5367 [1607] and it could also be that he is the author of the book Kitzur Abarbanel al Avos (Luchos Zikaron).

The Gaon Rav Shmuel bar Eliezer of Apta, the writer of novel interpretations on the Talmud tractates Kesuvos and Kidushin in the year 5378 [1618]. (Seder haDoros). Little is known about him either.

The Gaon Rav Yaakovv and Rav Binem Halevi, Head of the Yeshiva of the Holy Community of Apta. [Note from JL: I suspect there is an error in the original, and the ‘and’ should be ‘ben Reb’ i.e. son of].

About them, we know that the responsa of the MaHaRa”M of Lublin (section 15) wrote about discusses a legal question that came from Apta. He dealt with it in the following way: The gentiles had caught a Jew in a transgression with a Christian and they wanted to give him the death penalty. Must one redeem a criminal? Must one agree to the mitzva of paying a ransom for the prisoner? Or has he already committed himself? And the MaHaRa”M of Lublin answered them, that it surprised him that such great scholars had to turn to him. He understood that they themselves could not decide the case. But since they had asked him, he would tell them his opinion: Although the person is a terrible criminal, one must redeem him, with any amount of money, from the goyim. In any case, they saw from the response that Apta had already played a large role with its scholars and also one of the rabbis was a Yeshiva Head, who ran a yeshiva in which scholars studied, and produced rabonim for other towns, and often for the larger cities in Poland, or Germany.

Rav Avraham Aba of Apta, Head of the Rabbinical Court of the Holy Community of Vienna

The Apta Yeshiva had by then already produced such giants as Rav Avraham Aba of Apta, Head of the Rabbinical Court in the Community of Vienna, about whom we write: “The great rabbi, who left no one like him, who was the head of the rabbinical court of Vienna, Austria for most of his life ”

The historian presents this evidence about him to advise that even in the very olden times Poland was already sending rabbis to Germany.

He passed away in 5388 [1628]. As he was Head of the Rabbinical Court of Vienna for a long time, it demonstrates that even in the years 5350-5360 [1590-1600] there was already an important yeshiva in Apta with great scholars, that one of them had already been appointed to a rabbinic position in such a large city as Vienna, the capital of Austria. He was a son of one of the MaHaRSha”L's daughters, and brother-in-law of the “Megaleh Amukos”.

He was head of the rabbinical court in the years 5390 – 5395 [1630-1635]. He was one of the great decisors of his generation and among the rabbinic approvers for the book Memory Of the Gaon Rabbi Yitzchak Shapira. There is also one approbation from Rav Eliahu Kalmankash Head of the Rabbinical Court of the Community of Lwow, along with the approbation of the “Megaleh Amukos”. He is also mentioned in the approval for the book Or Chadash by Chaim Bochner of Krakow in year 5396 [1636], among three authorities: The Gaon Rabbi Yoel Sirkes of Krakow (author of the Ba'ch), the Gaon Rabbi Shlomo the son of Rabbi Yitzchak Segal (son-in-law of the author of She'eris Yosef) and the third, the Gaon Rabbi Eliahu the son of Rabbi Avraham of Lublin whose signature was “from the holy community of Apta.”

At the end of his years, he became Head of the rabbinical court in Apta. Historians do not know the real reason why he left such a large city as Lwow and became Rav in Apta. It is plausible that his whole family and his parents were buried in the Apta cemetery and he wanted to be in Apta beside his parents. We do know that the family Kalmankash stemmed from Apta.

There is another hypothesis that, as he was Rav of the entire Krakow District, of which Apta was the capital at the time. He passed away on Sunday, the 8th of Nissan 5396. I remember his gravestone, which was refurbished just before the war. I remember the date 5396. The stone stood on

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the top of a little hill, surrounded by old, sunken gravestones under which lay other great scholars, the holy ones of the past. His son was the scholar Rav Avraham Kalmankash, who was one of the rabbinical judges of Krakow, along with the Tosafos Yomtov and from him stemmed the respected Kalmankash family of Krakow.

The great Gaon Rav Eliezer Ashkenazi, who was known for his large and precious book Damesek Eliezer, stemmed from the greatest scholars of his time, from the town of Vermaiza [Worms]. He was given the name Ish-Tzvi after his grandfather, the scholar Rav Tzvi Helman. All the children that he produced had the name of Tzvi . He was a son of Chaim of Worms, who was a grandson of the great Gaon Rabbi Yehuda Lowy the elder. Rav Chaim had three sons: the first was Rav Betsalel. He was the father of the MaHaRa”L of Prague. The second was Rav Yaakov of Worms Ashkenazi. He was Head of the Rabbinical Courts for all of Germany and passed away in 5323 [1563] (Tzemach Dovid). The third was the genius Rav Tzvi Helman, who was the father of Rav Shmuel Ashkenazi. People called him Rav Shmuel the Hasid. Near the end of his life, he and his wife traveled to Eretz Yisroel. Rav Shmuel Ashkenazi left four important sons, who were a light to their generation. One was Rav Chaim Ashkenazi, Head of the Rabbinical Court and Rav of the holy community of Kremenets (he was the father-in-law of Rav Shmelke, Head of the Rabbinical Court and the holy community of Ostrow). He authored many holy books, but none were printed. The second was the great scholar Rav Naftali Hertz Ashkenazi, Head of the Rabbinical Court of the holy community of Sidlow, which was known for its important rabbis. The third son was the Exilarch and Yeshiva Head, Rabbi Yaakov Kopl Ashkenazi. He was the father of Rav Avraham may G-d avenge his blood, of the scion of Tzvi, the Rabbi Rav Heshel of blessed memory, son-in-law and the father of Tiferes l'Moshe who was reared and drawn to Rabbi Rav Heshel and was one of his greatest pupils. The fourth was Rav Eliezer Ashkenazi, author of Damesek Eliezer on the Talmud tractate Chulin and was Head of the Rabbinical Court in the holy community of Apta.

The following was said of him:

In his youth he studied with the Ba”ch (Rav Yoel Sirkis) by the Rav of Krakow, Rav Meshulem Fayvush of blessed memory, the very well-known contemporaneous Gaon in his generation and was one of his good pupils. He created an interpretation on the entire Talmud, but merited only having the tractate Chulin published, in the year 5405-5406 [1646]. There are seven rabbinic approbations on his book, among them from Rav Naftali Katz the first Head of the Rabbinical Court in the holy community of Lublin, the MaHaRa”L's grandson, Rabbi Rav Heshel, the Tosafos Yomtov, the Maginei Shlomo, in the year 5404 [1644]. And after those, Rav Sheftil Sega'l Horovits the son of the Shel'a of blessed memory and of his brother Rav Chaim Ashkenazi and of the Rav of Pinczow, Rav Yoel Feyvush Shtangus, a son of Menakhem Mendl.

The book Damesek Eliezer is a very rare find, as it was printed only one time. Back then when the book was published, it was embraced by the whole world, and even in Turkey. Later in that place lived the great Gaon, the master “Keneses ha'gedola” who completely utilized the Damesek Eliezer. He did not overlook one thing that he could absorb from the book. That is how highly he regarded the Damesek Eliezer.

I saw the book Damesek Eliezer in the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and, as I had heard, they were planning to reprint it. In year 5609 [1649] we find him in Pinczow, at the rabbinical conference was taking place there; and later in Belgrade on his way to Eretz Yisroel. In Belgrade he had given his “Seder Shmos Gitin” to Rav Simkhe Ha'kohen of Belgrade. When he was traveling through Vienna, he gave his approbation for the book “Nakhalas Tzvi” by Rav Tzvi Hirsh Tuch, on the condition that he extract from the book all the matters that had to do with kabbala and the secrets of Torah. The Damesek Eliezer was a strenuous opponent of kabbala for just anyone to study.

He spent his final year in Eretz Yisroel, where a synagogue had been built in his name, Rav Eliezer Ashkenazi. (Even his writings are available in the book Kelilas Yofi, by Rav Chaim Noakh Dembitser, Head of the Krakow Rabbinical Court.). And Rav Efrayim Zalman Margolis wrote in a legal response, that he was “the grandson of the Damesek Eliezer”.

It is possible that he lived in the same time as the Damesek Eliezer , but he was just a judge or Head of a Yeshiva. It could also be that the Damesek Eliezer only later became, in his last years, Rav in Apta. But from the approbations one can see that he was already Head of the Rabbinical Court in Apta in the year 5404 [1604] , because they dated it from the year 5404. It could be that Rav Yisroel Iser was Rav before him, but in his last years had already given up the position of Rav. In any case, I did not find any sources about Rav Yisroel Iser that would establish the facts.

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The Years 5408 [1648] and 5609 [1649]

We do not know what happened in Apta in these years. Evidently all the Jews fled to the larger cities, and some were also murdered, because in the Apta Pinkas of that time are many with “ son of ha'kadosh” as part of their name. That is, that their parents were murdered as martyrs in sanctification of the Divine name,a few years later in 5618 and 5619 [1658-1659].

There are mentions of the Polish-Swedish War in “Teet Hayaven” that more than 200 families were murdered in Apta. Soon after the war we already find a large community of returnees in Apta. We already find some of the great rabbis there, such as Rav Avigdor bar Shneyor, son-in-law of the author of “Kikayon DeYona,” who came specially to Apta to become Rav there many years before the expulsion [of Jews] from Vienna (in 5430 [1670]}. That was in 5421 or 5422 (1661 or 1662). It appears that there must have been a respectable Jewish community there by then.

One of the great Gaonim of his generation. He was Head of the Rabbinical Court in Apta in about 5425 to 5430 [1654-1670]. In 5436 [1676] he was given the post of Head of the Rabbinical Court in Krakow after the passing of the “Birkat Hazevach”. He was Head of the Rabbinical Court in Krakow until the year 5443 [1683]. He left behind two pupils, who each became noted as “Rav of all the Exile”. One, Rav Avraham Broda, Head of the holy community of Prague, and the second, Rav Gavriel Ehkeles, Head of the Rabbinical Court in the holy community of Nikolsburg, and along with Rav Dovid Oppenheim, were the “three pillars of the world upon whom the entire House of Israel was supported upon at that time, and the enlightened the eyes of the Diaspora.” That is what they were called by the great scholars of their time.

Rav Yitzchak Charif was taken as a son-in-law by Rav Yechezkel Landau in Apta, the very aristocratic family, which had produced such giants as Rav Yitzchak Landau Head of the Rabbinical Court for the holy community of Krakow, the “Nodah BiYehuda”, and others.

It is interesting that even back then, Apta provided rabbis for Krakow, which was the capital of Poland, as there were such rabbis as the Rem”a, the Ba”ch, the Tosafos Yomtov and the Rabbi Rav Heshel may his sainted memory be for a blessing. There must have been a fine settlement of great Talmud scholars in Apta at that time.

He was a son of Rav Mayer of blessed memory, Head of the holy community of Kremenets, great-grandfather of Rav who was the author of “Matzmiach Yeshua”. He was Head of the Rabbinical Court in Apta in the years 5440 to 5450 [1680-1690].

Son of Rav Nosen Noteh Kahana, head of the Rabbinical Court in the holy community of Ostra, who came to be called in his time the Rabbi of the whole Exile. He was a son of Rav Mordechai, who was author of the Tzon kedoshim, along with Rav Chaim Schorr, as is known. Rav Mordechai Kahana, as Apter Rav, was in the same time with the “Avodas Ha'gershoni” and Rav Avrom Broyde and was mentioned in their responsa.

When the Rabbi Rav Heshel passed away in Krakow in the year 5424 [1664] , his son Rav Shaul was too young [to take his place]. In Krakow, they nominated other rabbis, such as Rav Aryeh Leib Fishelis of blessed memory, Rav Shmuel Kaidanover (author of Birkas Hazevach, Rav Yitzchak Charif (Rav of Apt) and after that Rav Ahron Teomim (author of Mateh Ahron) who was martyred in year 5450 [1690] in Chmiellnik, when the district council meeting was taking place there that year. In the year 5456 [1696], Krakow appointed Rav Aryeh Yehuda Leib as head of the Rabbinical Court.

Rav Shaul by then had matured in Torah and in wisdom. He was Rav in various small towns. At the end of the year 5457 [1697] he was appointed as Rav of Apta and the Krakow district: we thereby see in all the approbations that he issued after the year 5457, and also in his responsa, that was printed in the Shevus Yaakov, where he writes: “He transcribed the responsa of the Gaon, head of the rabbinical court and Yeshiva head of the holy community of Apta and the district of Krakow” and he signs “the small one Shmaul who lives in the district of Krakow and the holy community of Apta”. Why did he leave such a large town as Brisk and become Rav in Apta? There are various hypotheses. Perhaps Apta together with the Krakow district, was greater than Brisk d'Lite [Brest Litovsk]. Also, a large part of his father's family lived in Apta. The Landau family had made marriage matches with the Rabbi Rav Heshel and they were elected members of the “Council of the Four Lands”, like Rav Heshel and his son Rav Tzvi Hirsh Vitshiz, were leaders of the Jewish community in Apta, as well as representatives to the “Council of the Four Lands”.

Rav Shaul headed a large yeshiva in Apta and young men traveled from all the towns to study in that yeshiva. The yeshiva was known over all of Poland. But he was head of the Rabbinical Court in Apta for only three years, because in year 5461 [1701] Rav Shaul became head of the Rabbinical Court in Krakow.

After the Gaon Rav Shaul and the Rabbi Rav Heshel's son,

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the great Gaon Rav Mayer son of Binyamin Wolf, son of Rav Avraham, son of Rav Lipman was appointed. We find comments from him in many holy books, Krias Shalom (5473 [1713]), Ohel Yaakov al Droshes (5477 [1717]), Zera Berach Shlishi (5474 [1714]). We also find in Apta his brother Rav Avraham son of Rav Binyamin Wolf, who was recorded in the Apta Pinkas as an elected leader of the Four Lands. They also had a sister Hadasa, the wife of Rav Chaim of Lublin. whose son Rav Avraham, elected leader of the Lands of Lublin, got the first-issued excommunication against the people who spoke ill of the Rabbi Rav Yonatan Eybeschutz (Luchos Eidus). With his first wife, Rav Mayer had his son the “Turei zahav”, (Ta”Z).

In 5478-5479 [1718-1719] Rav Mayer was appointed as head of the Rabbinical Court of the great city of Lublin, in the place of Rav Simcha Ha'kohen Rapaport of blessed memory. In Apta, then, they appointed the great genius Rav Yitzchak Landau, who was a son of Rav Tzvi Hirsh Vitels Landau.

There was not any other family besides the Landau family that was so tied to and connected to Apta over 100 years. That multi-branched family was connected with the great Jewish aristocrats of Poland, with the prominent rabbis and thinkers, and had many scholars, Gaonim, wealthy members, and elected leaders in the Council of the Four Lands, that dictated and regulated the contemporary Jewish life in Poland.

The first, Rav Yechezkel Landau, was a son-in-law of Rav Yitzchak Charif with the Yiddish name Shpitskop [sharp-mind], which means Charif. He led a yeshiva for over fifty years, and that is to say that he knew the first brilliant minds like the Ba'ch, Maginei Shlomo, and the Ta”Z. He was an elected leader of the Council of the Four Lands. He had a son named Rav Tzvi Hersh Viteles Landau. They called him Viteles after his mother's name, which was Vitel, Rav Yitzchak Charif's daughter. He was mentioned in the Apta Pinkas in the years 5444-5475 [1684-1715]. He was a son-in-law of Rav Yehuda son of Rav Nisen of blessed memory, head of the Rabbinical Court in the holy community of Kalish, and author of the holy book Beis Yehuda. He was mentioned in Seder ha'doros as well as in Shem ha'Gedolim by Azulay.

Rav Tzvi Hirsh was mentioned many times in the statutes of the Council of the Four Lands. He had four sons: 1.) Rav Yehuda Landau; 2.) Rav Avraham Landau; 3.) Rav Yitzchak Landau; 4.) Rav Yehuda Yechezkel Landau.

Rav Yehuda Landau – or, as they called him in Apta, Reb Yehudele – was mentioned in the Apta Pinkas over the years 5469-5498 [1719-1738] as an elected leader of the Four Lands. He was a son-in-law of Rav Eliezer, head of the Rabbinical Court of the holy community of Dubno and Rabbi Rav Heshel's eldest son. Rav Yehuda was the source of many precious things, which he contributed to the Apta shul, such as curtains for the ark holding the Torah scrolls and covers for the scrolls that were embroidered with gold and silver threads. Those were used only for the Days of Awe and festivals in the Apta shul.

A son was born to him in year 5474 [1714] [known as year of das] on the 18^th of Cheshvan, who was named Yechezkel, after his great-grandfather Rav Yechezkel Landau. He later became known as the “Noda B'Yehuda” who illuminated the entire world with his Torah and before whom all the greatest minds of his generation bowed their heads. Much has been written about the “Noda B'Yehuda” and it is known throughout the world. Rav Yehuda Landau passed away on the 13th of Kislev 5498 [1737]. It was recorded in the Apta Pinkas in these words: “On the 13^th of Kislev 5498, the day that her husband (Reb Yehuda) died, the woman Chaya purchased a burial plot next to her husband the late rabbi, as a gravesite for the time she needs it. She donated a silk paroches sewn with gold to the synagogue to be used on every festival. Even if the woman goes to the Holy Land, this gift will remain with the synagogue.” His wife Maras Chaya who was Rabbi Rav Heshel's granddaughter, passed away in 5500 [1740] and she lies near her husband Rav Yehuda of blessed memory. The “Noda B'Yehuda” joined his parents, who had been dedicated to him. They realized that he was a wonder-child and sent him to study with the greatest scholars. He named his holy books after them, as in “Noda B'Yehuda” after his father's name (Rav Yehuda) and Tzion l'Nefesh Chaya in the honor of his mother's name (Chaya).

Rav Avraham is mentioned in the Pinkas as a rabbi, Head of the Rabbinical Court from the year 5471-5507 [1711-1747]. We know that he had three sons: 1.) Rav Yosef Segal Landau. In 5487 [1727] he became head of the Rabbinical Court in the holy community of Ir-Chadash (Neistadt). 2.) Dov Ber Landau, mentioned in the Apta Pinkas over the years 5487-5488 [1727-1728]. 3.) The Gaon Rav Chaim Segal Landau, Rav of the city of Brod and later head of the Rabbinical Court in Podkamin. He was one of the wise men of Brod. He wrote under the name Rav Chaim Landau of Apta.

He was known throughout the world as the head of the Rabbinical Court in Krakow and of the times of the conflicts of Rav Yaakov Emden with Rav Yonatan. It is noted in the Apta Pinkas that he was accepted as the head of the rabbinical court of the holy community of Apta on 19 Shvat 5479 [1719].

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After Mayer Heilpern son of Rav Binyamin Wolf became head of the Rabbinical Court in Lublin in the year 5484 [1724], he was called again to be head of the Rabbinical Court in Apta. He passed away in 5558 [1798] in Krakow.

The fourth son of Rav Tzvi Hirsh Viteles was Rav Yechezkel Landau. He was a son-in-law of Rav Menachem Mendl, the author of Ateres Zekeinim on the Shulchan Aruch [Code of Jewish Law]. There is an approbation from him in the holy book Tavnis Os Yosef.

The population in Apta was already large by then and there wasn't room for all the people in the shul, so they installed a study-house near the shul. The study-house was built in year 5512 [1752]. I recall that in the middle of the study-house, on the ceiling, was a large beam upon which the date 5512, the date the study-hall was completed, was inscribed. Besides the town Rav, the town study-house had another Rav, or rabbinical judge, and that was Rav Yosef Landau, one of his sons. After that, Rav Yosef became Rav of Zolkiew and then of Brody.

The Landaus made marriage matches with the greatest minds of the generation and from them came rabbis for all the important Polish towns.

Because they were also very wealthy, they conducted Jewish life not only in Apta, but they had a large influence in the Council of the Four Lands, which at the time had a say over all of Polish Jewry.

When the Chacham Tzvi left Amsterdam and gave up the rabbinate because of the terrible disputes that had broken out there because of Nechemia Chayon, a follower of Shabtai Tzvi , he came to Apta, because he had made a marriage match for his daughter Nechama with Rav Tzvi Hirsh's grandson. We have a detailed description of that from Rav Yaakov Emden (the Chacham Tzvi's son) , in his book. It is worthwhile to offer the words that he wrote about Apt:

“In the year 5474 [1713–1714], they arrived in Apta. These are his words: From the onset of the cold, rain and snow fell without cease, reaching full intensity. His pious sister Nechama, may she live, was married–to the grandson of the holy scholar Reb Hirsch Vitshiz (Viteles) of Apta. At that time, the city–the sacred community of Apta–was burned to its foundations. My father, the Gaon of blessed memory, was forced to wander and settle in one of the nearby villages. There, my revered mother, the rebbetzin, gave birth to a daughter, after having given birth to five children and then ceased childbearing. It was there that my aforementioned sister married, living at times in the village and at times in the charred ruins of Apta. Later, as the city began to rebuild, a calamity occurred–a communal dispute involving a powerful family known as Vitshiz. As a result of this conflict, two distinguished scholars were hanged, victims of a libel instigated by the aforementioned strongman. Because of their constant quarrels, the family earned the nickname “Korchim” [JL: seemingly based on the Biblical Korach, but in the Hebrew plural], and they are known by that name to this day. When the head of the family, Reb Hirsch Vitshiz, was nearing death, my father arranged a marriage alliance with him–my sister Nechama had married his grandson through his son. Reb Hirsch sent for one of his mechutanim, my revered father of blessed memory, to visit him before his passing. But my father refused, saying, “Am I a companion to libelers?” After my father's death, his grandson–the husband of my sister–was tragically killed, may God protect us. He left no sons. My sister Nechama, may she live, remained a sorrowful widow for the rest of her life. She refused to remarry, despite proposals from many of the great men of the generation. It seems he, of blessed memory, bore the burden of his grandfather's sins–for years later, he was murdered in the forest. His sons had been responsible for the deaths of two righteous and good men, as mentioned above.”

We do not know what the disputes were then. But we should not let ourselves believe that they were responsible for the death of the two wise pupils. It could be that it came about indirectly, that they hanged two people. Because we cannot rely too much on Rav Yaakov Emden as he was quite a zealot, he did not like the Landau family because they later, during his disputes with Rav Yonatan, as he tended to be on Rav Yonatan's side. Older people from Apta used to relate that when Apta was burned down, the Chacham Tzvi was in Chmielow, near Apta. All the great minds came to the Chacham Tzvi, among them the “Pnei Yehoshua”, who was then Rav in Tarlow. He held a great quarrel in that small town. Then, the Chacham Tzvi predicted that he would someday be one of the great figures.

In Megilas Sefer, Rav Yaakov Emden brings up again that one wealthy Apta man took for himself the Chacham Tzvi and gave him a residence in his forest (he was a forest-products merchant) and provided him with all the best things. From there, the Chacham Tzvi appointed as head of the Rabbinical Court in Lemberg [Lwow] in the same year, 5474 [1714].

After Rav Yitzchak Landau became head of the Rabbinical Court in Zolkiew, the Gaon Rav Moshe Yaakov of Krakow was appointed head of the Rabbinical Court in Apta; he had earlier been head of the Rabbinical Court in Cieszyn. That would have to have been in year 5488-5489 [1728-1729].

An interesting description of how he was

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nominated as Rav for Apta is found in Tzion l'Nefesh Chaya, which the “Noda B'Yehuda” named after his mother Chaya. He writes:

“I asked this question on the words of the Tosafos for many years, but I did not know for sure if I myself had this question, or I had heard it from the late, honorable, famous Gaon, Rabbi Moshe Yaakov, may the memory of the holy be blessed, rabbi and Yeshiva head of the community of Apta when I was a young man. Indeed, now as I am organizing things to bring them to print, I made an effort and recalled very well the didactic discussion when I was a young man between myself and the Gaon Rabbi Moshe Yaakov, may the memory of the holy be blessed. The main fact was that when the aforementioned Gaon was accepted as the rabbi and Yeshiva Head in the holy community of Apta, and he came to grace the city for the first time, it was after the festival of Sukkot. He arrived on the eve of the Sabbath, and all the greats of the generation went to greet the rabbi at evening time. I was young in years and I was raised on the lap of my master, my father, the great rabbi, may the memory of the holy be blessed. My master, my father, may the memory of the holy be blessed commanded me, “Go now, for certainly the rabbi is free in his house, and make your appearance before the rabbi.” I went to the rabbi, and we had a didactic discussion, as we went from topic to topic, until we arrived at the Talmudic section in question. I now recall the question of the Gaon on the words of Tosafos. In the interim, the time for Welcoming the Sabbath arrived, and I went from the house of the rabbi to my father's house, and presented to my master my father the didactic discussion that took place between the rabbi and myself. I said that at present I regret that I did not respond to the rabbi that the intention of the Tosafos was so and so. My master my father (Rabbi Yehuda Landau) responded to me, ‘Your words are good and correct in reasoning, but the Tosafos wrote etc.’ Now I see fit to explain it in a different fashion, see there, etc.”

Here we find a portrayal as to how a rabbi of Apta was welcomed in those times. The entire city and all the greats of the generation went to greet him. The “Noda B'Yehuda” was a wonder child at that time (he was fifteen years old at the time), and he was already able to engage in didactics [pilpul] with such a Gaon as Rabbi Moshe Yaakov, who was one of the greatest Gaonim of that time. We find several approbations in books from him when he was in Apta, such as in the book Gaon Tzvi (5493 [1733]) as well as in the book “Tavnis Os Yosef” in the year 5506 [1746]). He called him, my in-law Rabbi Yosef the son of Rabbi Avigdor. He wrote there that “his uprightness is fitting of the term, and not in the name of haughtiness, as I know.”

From that one can see that he was not a believer in publishing any books. Therefore, he did not leave behind any treatise, although he was one of the great geniuses of his time. He was head of the Rabbinical Court in Apta for a long time, until 5514 or 5515 [1754 or 1755].

Rav Itshele the Rov's – a grandson of the “Holy Jew”, and the son-in-law of the old Apta Rav Tzvi Hersh Frydman. He was a great scholar.		Rav Yaakov Wiesenfeld, born and lived for many years in Apta. He was the son of the Rav of Reb Meiril, Reb Yechiel's. In his late 50s he was appointed as town Rav in Zaklikow, Lublin District. He was the father-in-law of Rav Gutman Rapaport. He served as the rabbi of the Apter Shul in Toronto.

1. I suspect a typo in the original, and what was meant was 5420 – 5430 – i.e. 1650 – 1670. Return

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