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Translated by Sara Mages
Głowaczów(?), on Monday, 3 December
A respected man from our Jewish brothers in the city of Rzeszów, the honorable rabbi R' Naftali Hirsch Weinberg, was walking down the street and suddenly one of the generals came up behind him and pushed him out of the away. After the Jew reproach him with flattering words, the general struck him on the cheek. The Jew could not control oneself and returned a blow to his beater, and the general drew his sword from its sheath, ready to stab him. When the Jew saw that evil had overtaken him, he hurried to flee for his life. And the general chased after him, caught him and wounded his head in great anger, If the Jew did not hold the sharp sword in his hand, the general would have brought him down to the ground and killed him. In the meantime, the city's policemen came and rescued him from the hands of the general. This Jew became very ill, was on the verge of death and the doctors lost hope for his life. And after this was made known by lightning lines [telegraph] to the general who resided in the city of Tarnów, he sent to bring the beater to punish him for his crime. And there, he was sentenced to sit for six years in prison after it was learned that the Jew was returning to his health. When the region minister heard this, he went to visit the Jew and asked him to forgive the general for his crime, and he succeeded to hear from the Jew, “I forgave as you said.” This matter aroused a spirit of love in the hearts of the great ministers for the Jews when they saw the generous spirit that pulsed in them, being the victims of their enemies who seek their lives, and the man became a miracle. But to be a sign to the rebels, they did not remove the general's sentence and replaced the six years with six months.
And here we have heard good news that this honorable Jew recovered and has made a feast and joy for all the leaders and dignitaries of the city, who rejoiced in his joy. And he also opened his generous hand, for he is rich, to give with his good hand to the poor of the city, and the whole city rejoiced and was happy.
Moshe David Geshwind
Hamagid, 19 First Adar, 5619 (23 February 1859) No. 8, pp. 29-30
I will not refrain from announcing to a large audience something good and beneficial that has been established in our city, so that it too may be recorded in the Jews Book of Remembrance, and so that our Jewish brothers in the cities of their residence will hear and do as we had done today. A year has passed since our city leaders decided to establish a society called Gomlei Hased whose goal is to be help and salvation to those who sigh and groan in pain in their beds and cannot do their jobs as they used to in order to bring food to their homes, and also to save the poor and the downtrodden who have lost their livelihood. And that is the law of society and its actions. Every man who has the heart to join the society must give one florin on the day of his joining, and every week he will give some coins. And from this, the society will have the money for expenses. If, God forbid, one will become ill, he will be given two florin every week, until he will get up and walk outside on his own strength to bring warmth and bread to the children's mouths, apart from medicines. The gabbaim will also send him delicacies to strengthen him, and the one who will be chosen by lot will sleep at his home at night. And if, God forbid, one of the members of that association dies, and his heirs do not have enough money for his burial, the society must pay all the expenses. And ten people chosen by lot will pray in his house for seven days until the end of the days of mourning. And the poor of the city will also be given support and comfort in the form of a loan, to be paid back slowly, and all without any interest or penalty. Since at the beginning of its founding its members were few in number, I did not announce it publicly, for I said that perhaps it would not achieve its goal, and its work would be in vain. But, when I saw that about two hundred people had joined it, and more join it every day, I said, I will tell my brothers about it, and they will do as I did, and their reward will be great.
K.P
Lemberg, Hamevaser, 11 Sivan 5626 (25 May 1866) No. 20, 6th year, pp. 158-9
When I passed through the city of Rzeszów, I was very happy to see that large sums of money were being collected there as well, and several thousand more will come to the aid of our Jewish brothers and sisters during this difficult time, when the cost of living has risen. And thanks and blessings for the great deed that is done through the efforts of the great rabbi, the sharp and knowledgeable, righteous and humble, glory to the name of our teacher and rabbi, Haim Ori, may his light shine, a judge and a teacher in the aforementioned holy community.
Yitzchak Weisman,from Łańcut
Hamagid, 28 Shevat, 5628 (19 February 1868), 12th year
A reading society (Leseverein) was founded in our city, and its goal is to spread the Enlightenment movement in our city. Now the number of its members is fifty, and each person who signs his name to it must give one florin each month to its fund, and his reward is a spacious house to gather in to read periodicals in Yiddish, Polish and Hebrew. This month the house was opened, and in honor of the day the head of the society, Dr. A. Segal, gave a sermon, after him opened his mouth in wisdom the enlighted R. Dachtelberg the religious teacher in our city, and both brought pleasure to the listeners. May the society succeed in achieving its goal of spreading knowledge and resourcefulness among the people of our community.
Moshe David Geshwind
Hamagid, 12 Tevet 5628 (8 January 1868)
Among those who sat for the matriculation exam this year at the gymnasium in Rzeszów was also the young woman Shaprinze Kamerling, who received the matriculation certificate with honors. The young woman Kamerling is,
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in my opinion, the first to finish her studies in a gymnasium in Galicia. All the Polish newspapers in our country mention her in praise.
Moshe David Geshwind
Hamagid, 3 July 1890, issue 26
At the School for Girls here, a young Christian woman was appointed as a teacher, and although she is young in years, she is noted as an old woman in her hatred of Jews. And in the department under her supervision, she began to make a distinction and separation between the Jewish girls and the girls from her own people, so that they would not sit together on the same bench, and if they are thirsty for water, they will not drink from the same cup. Even the pegs on which they hang their coats will be for the Christian girls alone, and for the Jewish girls' clothing alone. And if one of the Christian girls sinned, she sentenced her to sit among the Jewish girls, and more and more to the shame of her sin. The Jewish girls are also noted for their patience in silently bearing the suffering that has been imposed on them, and also for their concern that the teacher will give them bad grades. Therefore, these girls kept their mouths shut and did not tell their parents how their anti-Semitic teacher was making them angry. But, when this happened to come to my ears two weeks ago, I did not rest or keep quiet and told it to my friends, one of the city councilors, our teacher the rabbi Dr, Lazar, may his light shine. He did not hesitate to propose this matter to the city's leaders and his words made an impression, and this wicked received a reprimand from the city council house. And her evil thought was canceled, and she no longer oppressed Jewish girls.
The State Council managed to take the sale of salt in our country from the hands of the government, and with their tricks they knew how to blind their opponents with Sodomite salt, because they will be able to lease it to anyone interested in this business through an auction. Of course, many Jews also desired this,
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| State school for girls on Gronwald Street |
because until now the sale of salt had been almost exclusively in the hands of Jews, but, unfortunately, those who longed for did not respond to the Jews' request. Last week, here at the district house, they handed over all the salt sales to their allies and with this cut off a large branch of Jewish commerce. Indeed, our hopes were not disappointed because God would sever their plan.
Moshe David Geshwind
Hamagid Hachadash, Krakow, Monday 14 Tamuz 5653 (28 June 1893) second year, No. 23
About sixty boys will study at the Talmud Torah building in our city. Most are orphans left without a father or mother, the rest are those whose fathers are still alive but called dead even in their life, and no one has taken care of them to this day to give them at least one meal a day. Because the Talmud Torah Society has behaved lazily until now, and recently it has shaken off its degradation under its leaders and supervisors who manage it with good taste and knowledge. To pay the rent and the teachers' salaries, to buy shoes for the boys, and countless other expenses. Therefore, the daughters of our city's awakened today, about a hundred young women in number, may there be more like them! Most of whom are daughters of the wealthy in our city, and they have become one association, and each one will donate money every month, or every week, as best she could. They will also collect alms, potatoes, rice and millet, beans and lentils. Every day two of them will come to the Talmud Torah house to give to the cook to cook, and also to distribute lunch to the boys. The heart of every man would rejoice to see the Jewish boys sitting around the table and eating meat with a heart full of joy from what was placed before them! They also decided to sew blankets for the boys and holiday clothes for Passover if only they had enough money for that. They will also keep an open eye on the cleanliness of the house, and they also ordered that every boy would be perfectly washed and combed every single day! As their president, they chose the honorable woman, Mrs. Brindle Ingber, may she live, daughter of HaRav, our teacher the rabbi Yehoshua Heschel Wallerstein head of the rabbinical court of our holly community. In general, each one of them is devoted to this idea with all her heart, but a crown of glory is fitting for these precious young women, and they are: Gelda Mintz, Primed Zucker, Heses and Amkraut, who conceived this precious idea and also brought it to fruition with great labor and painstaking effort and still work with all their hearts today in this mitzvah. Keep up the good work, dear young women – and be an example for Jewish girls!
Eliezer Appelboim
Hamagid, 23 January1800, No. 4, year 34, p. 28, column 2
To the order, “and I will be with you, and I will bless you,” from the time that the exalted government gave us equal rights, and we were considered citizens, no voice of hatred, discord, enmity, or strife was heard in our streets. The citizens lived with us as brothers, peacefully and quietly together. Among the City councilors, the Deputy Chief of the citizens, and other officials were also our brothers. But when people of low status began to spread over the land, to cover
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| The teacher Dzerzynsky and the pupils of the fourth grade of the Elementary School in the year 1890 |
the sun of freedom and tolerance. This disease has also spread to our city. Competition and jealousy began to plague our city until last winter the faction split, and the city councilors were removed from their positions by the order of the commissioner. of the country, and in place of the head of the citizens, a government official served here. The minister did not find the strength to answer the residents of our city, to deprive them of their rights so that the affairs of the city would not be managed by its citizens, a few weeks ago there was a new election for the city council. As in every city, there are people among us who pursue honor, and many have wanted to take the honor of the name “advisor” even if they are not worthy of this position. And it is understandable that we were afraid that the opinions of the voters would be divided and the number of Jewish advisors would decrease. But, by the grace of God, our fear did not come, because by God's will, we have succeeded, through the efforts of the leaders of the community (especially the member Yitzhak Holzer), in electing eighteen counselors and nine deputies from among our brothers as before. Let us hope that our judges will return as before, our counselors at the beginning, and that there will be peace in our cities.
Hamagid Hachadash, Krakow, Thursday 5 Kislev 5653, issue 4, first year, (1892)
One of the honorable undertakings of which Jews can boast is Baron de Hirsch's undertaking for the benefit of our brothers in this country, and why would the Jewish people in our country not warmly welcome this great undertaking? - because most of the Baron's managers will not help, and will not want to know how to perform their duties according to the place and time, and will not fulfill their roles as written. One of the expenders of the Tzvi Project, who knew the soul of their people, is the educated man who loves his people and their wisdom, our teacher and rabbi Yitzchak Holtzer, may his light shine, head of the “Baron de Hirsch Foundation” branch in our city. When he was the head of our community for a long time, he shaped the spirit of his people in general and the spirit of his congregation in particular and knew how to satisfy all parties. When he knew that a school for studies would not satisfy the wishes of all the Jewish parties in our city, he made every effort to have an ironworks school established here in its place. And on Sunday when he said, “and the deed they shall do,” he inaugurated this building with great splendor and glory. All the dignitaries of the community, its leaders and administrators, participated in the inauguration of the Industrial School which, in the meantime, is in the community building. Also the great rabbi, our teacher the rabbi, Yehoshua Heschel Wallerstein, may he live, head of the rabbinical court in our city, was among those gathered. He discussed the issues of the day and described the value of the craft that sustains its owner. Dr. Fechtdegen, the deputy of the committee chairman, spoke in the country's language. He expressed his gratitude to the founder of this factory, to the committee that helped him, and to his friend, the head of the committee, whose great efforts enabled our city to gain this factory. Then, the teacher, Dworzinski, who will teach the language of the country to the students at this respected school, added a few words. He described with intelligence and knowledge the greatness of Baron de Hirsch, and all those gathered applauded and called: long live the generous Hirsch! The magnificent cantor, our teacher the rabbi Yakov Nagler, may he live, also honored those gathered with his melodies together with his singers and sang “A Psalm, a song for the Dedication of a House,” Mah Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov [“How goodly are your tents O Yaakov”] and other songs. All those gathered enjoyed them. And with this ended the celebration of the inauguration of the school, which will be a glory to our city - but this is an everlasting statute, because in place of light there are shadows, and even in place of joy, a hint of sadness and sighing will slowly creep in. Here, the committee leader, R' Yitzchak Holtzer, a scholar who loves the language of the past and has wisdom in his heart, tried with all his might that a qualifies teacher, who would please all the parties, will teach the students. But, to our regret, the executive committee refused his request, because they decided to be only satisfied with a “religion
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teacher” who, as is known, will not notice that the students will be educated on the teachings of Judaism. But not all our hope is lost, we know that Mr. Holtzer will not be silent or rest until his wishes are fulfilled, and then there will be complete joy in the factory, to its praise and glory forever.
Menachem Mendil Neigrshil
Hamagid LeYisrael, Krakow 24 Shevat 5653 (10 February 1893) second year, No. 6
Although the news that I am telling you today is not good, I cannot refrain from informing the residents of our city what happened because my heart is sad. For the cutter has risen and prematurely severed the thread of life of the honorable Admor at the fifty-third year of his life. Our blessed rabbi, the great light, wise and knowledgeable that his teachings were light but good, a man that words of holiness will be spoken about, our teacher the rabbi Reuven Pelsker zt”l, president of the court in our city. In his youth he already sat on the throne of justice in the city of Oświęcimin. From there he ascended and went to sit in the in the assembly of the wise to lead the orthodox community in the city of Sanz - and it's been sixteen years since the people of my community appointed him their rabbi. We only got to enjoy him for a few years, because sixteen years after his arrival he passed away and left us to our sighs. He was one of the few who devoted his time only to Torah and wisdom, in which he found pleasure and in their glory he always succeeded.
A great loss has been lost to us with the death of this rabbi. We are now left like sheep without a shepherd, and there is no one to teach knowledge to the people. Great honor, as befits him, was given to him upon his death.
Rabbis of the surrounding towns came to mourn the loss and cry for it. At the Great Synagogue here, mourn him the wise rabbi Yehoshua Heschel Wallerstein judge from here, and also went with him to all the synagogues in our city. The books, from which he studied were placed on the coffin. Young and old raised a great mourning. He will come in peace, will rest in peace, a man who walks in his uprightness will enjoy paradise: and the provisions he prepared for his soul will stand for his fate. Since he left no sons after him his family name will not be preserved in the world after his death, because he has no brother or redeemer who will be called by the name Pelsker. I said, write this for remembrance in Hamagid book and by doing so his good name be remembered for eternity, and his memory will not cease from them all days .The words of a sad and grieving student.
Hamagid, 4 Tamuz 5632, (10 July 1872), No. 27, year 16.
On Sunday, Seder Ale El Elohim, an important man was taken from us. He is the mighty wise rabbi, the great and honorable man, beloved by all who saw him, our teacher and rabbi Yitzchak Matzner z”l, passed away. This man was the most important in the community of Rzeszów. God-fearing in all his ways, loved and pursued wisdom, and his love for his people in particular was great and holy. He was the head of the community council, judge in court, and member of the school supervisors for many years. Although he did not have the strength or time to accept these positions, he nevertheless did so for the benefit of his people, for he supported many poor children, almost all of whom had lost their fathers in his death. He was the first to ensure that high school students would not write on the Shabbat and holidays so that they would not desecrate the Sabbath.
Sixty years were the years of his life, and a great honor, which had not been bestowed upon a Jewish man in the city of Rzeszów since the day of its founding, was bestowed upon him on his death: Crowds flocked after his coffin, all the people of the city wept bitterly, and all the city councilors, the chief citizens, the judges of the courts, the region governor. All the city's citizens, regardless of religion walked to the cemetery and accompanied the deceased z”l.
The day before his death the exalted Emperor, honored him with a gold medal because he built his home with justice and faith. Apart from his knowledge and virtues of charity, he was well-versed in the Six Orders of the Mishna, the Talmud and Poskim, and excelled in reading the Holy Scriptures and poetic language as one of the famous authors. “A Jewish commander and a great man have fallen today,” the words of the Rabbi of Satanów who eulogized him. God will comfort all the mourners and among them his noble and educated son, the honored and glorified R' Efraim Matzner of the city of Przemyśl, and his honorable and wise sons-in-laws, our teacher and rabbi Yitzchak Haltzer and our teacher and rabbi Moshe David Geshwind.
Those who walk gloomily under the burden of their affliction, God will protect them from all evil!
Anonymous
Hamagid, 20 February 1878, 17 First Adar 5638, No. 8 year 22.
A bad heart-wrenching news reached me from the city of Rzeszów. Last Thursday night, on the night before the eve of the holy Sabbath, on the eve of Rosh Chodesh Elul, my father-in-law, our teacher the rabbi Yakov Gelzner z”l, a learned scholar, a man of many deeds, wise and noble died there at the age of sixty after being sick for three days. This deceased was one of the respected people in the Rzeszów community, he was loved and desired by people and brought joy to all who knew and associated with him. In the past years he was a public activist and a community leader, and also after that, he never stopped working hard. Throughout his life, he strove for the common good and the needs of the public in order to do as much good as was required. In this corner, he always held the stronghold of the Haskalah, to be forward and not backward and to walk in the spirit of the times with those whose goal is to move forward. And not only that, but he was also a loyal advisor in heart and soul to private individuals in their business and personal matters and in all inquiries that they turned to him, and poor and rich alike listened to his advice. All the people of his city, young and old, were saddened that the man who had always stood by their side and guided them was gone. The words of the Sages will be justified in him: all the spirits of mankind are at ease with him, and it is fitting and right to place a monument for him at the first page of Hamagid in eternal remembrance. May God comfort his wife, his descendants, and all who mourn him, and wipe away tear from every face.
A. H. L
Hamagid, 12 Elul 1878, 5640 (18 August 1880), No. 23 year 24.
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