Yiddish TOC translated by Gloria Berkenstat Freund
Hebrew TOC translated by Yocheved Klausner

Edited by Janis Friedenberg Datz

S

Hebrew
Since It Reached Me	Zalman Shazar	5
Regional Map		7
Steibtz Town Map		8
Foreword	The Book Committee	17
The Star of Steibtz	David Zakay	18
Steibtz, My Town	Zalman Shazar	19
Zalman Shazar – President of the State of Israel	(From the Press)	24
The President's Words on Receiving Honorary Citizenship of Jerusalem, the Nation's Capital		25
On the Occasion of the Pope's Visit to Israel		26
The President, Honorary Member of the Capital's journalists		26
The Monthly – A Hebrew Newspaper		27
History of the City
The History of the Jews in Stoiptz	Mordechai Machtey	29
My Town Steibtz	Reuven Levine	31
With the Outbreak of World War One	Mordechai Machtey	35
Rabbis
Rabbi Dovid Tevli	M. Cinowitz	38
Rabbi Simcha Shmuel	M. Cinowitz	39
Rabbi Binyamin Ben Shmuel	M. Cinowitz	40
Rabbi Meir Noach Halevi Levin	M. Cinowitz	40
Rabbi Shlomo Mordechai Brodneh	M. Cinowitz	41
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak “Maskil–L'Eitan”	M. Cinowitz	42
Rabbi Yoel Carmel Sorotzkin	M. Cinowitz	43
Rabbi Yoel Carmel Sorotzkin	Yosef Dov Lechovitsky	44
Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Maskil–L'Eitan	Rabbi Reuven Katz, of blessed memory	45
Rabbi Yoel Sorotzkin	Rabbi Zalman Sorotzkin	48
Rabbi Yehoshua Dov Lieberman	Tzvi Stolovitzky	52
Rabbi Moshe Neifeld	Yitzchak Lungin	54
Rabbi Yerachmiel Leizerzon	Rabbi Elchanan Sorotzkin	54
Rabbi Avraham Yeshaya Karelitz, the “Chazon Ish”	Getzel Reiser	55
The Personality of the “Chazon Ish”	Tzvi Stolovitsky	56
The Gaon Rabbi Reuven Katz of Blessed Memory	Tzvi Harkavy	58
Rabbis – Natives of Steibtz
Rabbi Yochanan Mirsky Father and Son – Rabbi David and Rabbi Moshe Vilentzik Rabbi Yaakov Vilentzik	M. Cinowitz	59
From the Press
Haskala and Zionism in Steibtz		60
Movements and Parties
In Those Days	Getzel Reiser	66
Memories From My Life in the Youth Movements	Dov Ben Yerucham	68
The Youth in the Working Zionism	Baruch Aloni (Shatzkin)	70
Hashomer Hatsa'ir in Steibtz	Tamar Amarant	73
The Dry Bones	Dr. Israel Machtay	73
Institutions
Public Institutions	Mordechai Machtey	76
From All My Teachers	Zalman Shazar	80
The Mir Yeshiva in Steibtz	Mordechai Machtey	88
The Tarbut School and Its Teachers	Eliezer Melamed	90
School	Tamar Amarant (Rabinovitz)	91
The New Study Hall	Mordechai Machtey	92
Religious Schools: Talmud Torah Chorev; Beit Yaakov; The Small Yeshiva; “The Tifferet Bachurim” Circle	Tzvi Stolovitzky	93
Persons of Note
Introduction	Aharon Machtey	95
The Appearance of the High Priest Mareh Cohen	Dr. Yisrael Machtey	95
Alter the Teacher	Menachem Halevi	98
In Memory	Moshe Bar' Natan Akun	99
Nachum R' Elihas	Getzel Reiser	100
Rabbi Yisrael Yehudah Ha–Levi Kapushchevski	Rabbi Moshe Levin	100
Yitzhak Alter Yossilevitz	Shmuel Epshtein	102
Rabbi Meir Chaitovitz	Yitzchak Tunik	102
Torah Scholars and Men of Learning	Tzvi Stolovitzky	105
HaRav R' Shlomo Chari		106
HaRav R' Dovid Shmuelovitz		107
HaRav R' Moshe Gitelis		107
HaRav R' Yaakov Domnitz		107
Rabbi Yehudah Leib Stolovitzki		108
Rabbi Moshe Melamed		108
Rabbi Yosef Miskov		109
HaRav R' Yeshayahu Borishanski		110
Itche (Yitzchak) Margolin	Getzel Reiser	110
Hillel Akun Shlomo Yosef Eichel	Mordechai Machtey	111
The Model Teacher	Dov Ben-Yerucham	112
“One Kaddish”	Rabbi Zalman HaLevi Ori (Fibushuvitz)	114
The Last Rabbi of Steibtz	Rabbi Zalman HaLevi Ori (Fibushuvitz)	115
The “Mesharet Moshe”	Mordechai Machtey	115
The Image of a Dear Friend of My Youth	Rabbi Yitzchak HaLevi Epshtein	117
The Rebbetzin, Chassiah-Miriam Sorotzkin-Carmel	HaRav Eliezer Maskil-L'Eitan	118
Memories
A Matter of Dispute	Zalman Shazar	120
Memories of My Childhood Days	Mordechai Machtey	124
Untitled Poem	Yehezkhel Ben Moshe (Flaksin)	127
Memories	Gershon Rabinovitz	127
My Parents' Home	Tamar Amarant (Rabinovitz)	128
My Parents' Home	Chana Borsuk	129
Our Home	The Prosinovski Sisters	129
Between Two Regimes
The Year 1939	Dr. Aharon Machtei	131
A Story of Wandering	Avraham Borsuk	132
The Holocaust
My Small Town Steibtz	Nachman Flaksin	134
My Escape To The Forest	Shlomo Aginsky	135
How I Remained Alive	Zalman Aginsky	137
Departure from the Ghetto	David Levin	139
In the Camp and in the Forest	Isaac Berkovitz	140
The Holocaust	Eliezer Melamed	146
On My Brother's Death	Isaac Berkovitz	169
And You Shall Tell Your Son	David Levin	170
Dreamers and Fighters
Yosef Harkavy	Eliezer Melamed	171
Moshe Zaretsky		172
Boaz Axelrod		173
Hirsh Posesorski		173
Yaacov Spiegel		174
Feiveh Aginsky	Getzel Reiser	176
A. Yehoshua Pekker	Dov Ben-Yerucham	176
B. Yaacov Riefler	Dov Ben-Yerucham	176
C. Meirka Machtey	Dov Ben-Yerucham	177
D. Asaf Shachnai	Miriam Shachnai	177
Sarah Gershenovitz	Eli and Miriam Shachnai	178
Tanchum Rabinovitz	M. Neched	178
Elimelech Machtey	Dov Ben-Yerucham	181
At the End of the War	E. Melamed	182
Greetings at the Celebration in Beit Hanassi	Mordechai Machtey	185
Yiddish
The Editorial Board		189
Foreword	Zalman Shazar	190
The Town and Its Development
Steibtz of the Past	Motl Machtey	191
A Lifetime With My Little Village	Zvi Hirsh Neifeld	196
a. Sixty Years Ago	Mendl Machtey	216
b. The Ferry Over the Niemen River	Mendl Machtey	220
c. Designating Borders	Mendl Machtey	223
Movements and Parties
The Political-Social Life	Mordechai Machtey	225
Zionist Organizations	Shachne Shatskin	228
The Founding of Betar	Shachne Shatskin	230
Institutions
Social Activity Before the First War	Mordechai Machtey	232
Stoibtz Firefighters	Mordechai Mirsky and Betzalel Baskin	235
The Gemillut Chesed in Stoibtz – The Benevolent Society in Stoibtz	Getzl Reiser	239
The Bikkur Cholim – Visiting the Sick (Society for the Care of the Sick)	Getzl Reiser	243
The Artisan's Association	Getzl Reiser	245
Folklore
My “Shtetle” Stolpce	Ben Yerucham	246
Wagon Drivers	Mendl Machtey	255
Memories	Shmuel Milcenzon	257
My Memories of Shteibtz	Leibel Mirsky	261
a. He Kept His Word b. My Last Lag Ba'omer in Steibtz	Yitzchak Russak	262
Stolpce My Shtetele	Aharon Chayat	264
A Memory	Roze Dvoretsky	268
The Family of a Village Jew	Yisroel Proshtsitski	269
Gutkele	Rozze Petshenik–Prusinovski	271
Institutions
The Last Rabbi of Stoibtz – The Gaon Rabbi Yehoshua Dov Lieberman	Rabbi Nissen Waksman	272
The Rabbi Reb Yehoshua Dov Lieberman	Yitzchak Isaac Shapiro	278
My Stolpcer Melamdim (Religious Teachers)	Mordechai Machtey	281
A Bundle of Memories	Aharon Chayat	283
A. Two Communal Workers B. Reb Leib Rozowski the Warden of the Yurezdikke Synagogue C. The Kitayevicz Family	Getzl Reiser	287
Mulye Kaplan	Chana Borsuk	291
Shlomo and Chiene Ruchl Mirsky	Arye Leibl Mirsky	292
Elegy About Chazon Ish	Chaim Gradde	293
Pillar of Fire	Chaim Gradde	294
Morning Stars
a. The Protectors of the Town	Zalman Shazar	296
b. The Revenge of the Rebuke		301
c. Viera Yakovlevna		310
Death
In the Ghetto and in the Concentration Camp	Getzel Reiser	316
With Partisans	Shmuel Leib Aginsky, of blessed memory	325
Fragments from “Forest in Flames”	Josef Reich	329
Of Those Terrible Days	Nachema Inzelbuch	336
Fear and Pain	Esther Bruchansky [Mednitzky]	338
A Terrible Day	Dovid Slutzak	339
How I Survived	Shimon Epshtein	341
The Death of the Jews in the Villages	Mendel Machtey	342
Remembrance	Basia Milcenzon	344
I Remember	Betzalel Ben Moshe Baskin	345
How Can We Forget	Nachman Flaksin	347
A. Back to Stoibtz in July 1944	Getzel Reiser	348
B. Protocol of the Mourning Session		350
A Letter	Noakh Borsuk	351
The First Letters from Stolpce	Rywka Kantorovitz	353
The First Letters from Stolpce	Azriel Tunik	353
The First Letters from Stolpce	Chava Tunik	354
A Letter from a Soldier of the Jewish Brigade	Dov Germiza	354
Letters from Africa and Argentina	Bashke (Basia) Milcenzon	355
	Yehezkel Russak	355
	Henie Kushnir	358
Our Organization in Israel	The Editors	358
Articles of the Association	The Editors	359
Landsmanschaftn – Association of Immigrants from the Same Region
A Short Report of Our Activities	Rozze Dvoretzky	362
A Report from Our Committee	Betzalel Baskin	363
“The Stoibtz Mirror”	Harris Malbin	365
My Memories of 30 Years	Sam Tunik	366
Scenes from My Birthplace	Dr. Zeyfert	369
A Story of Childhood Years	H. Lempert	370
The Story of My Childhood	Nachum Rozowsky	372
Stoibtz As I Remember It	Dr. Zeyfert	373
A Jewish Fellow–Countryman Society Dismantles After 60 Years and Sends Its Torah Scrolls to Israel	“Forverts”	374
Reb Yosef Yeshayahu Cohen [Yossel Shaya The Teacher]	Mordechai Machtey	375
To All Former Stoibtz Jews!	The Committee	376
I Turn Around	Zalman Shazar	377
Poems	Nachman Flaksin	377
Two Stoibtz Golden Weddings	The Association of Former Stoibtz Residents in Israel	378
The Book of Swerznie
The Book of Swerznie		379
Members of Editorial Board		380
Table of Contents		381
First Memorial Service to the Martyrs of Swerznie - 15 Cheshvan 5614 – Tel Aviv 1953	A. D. Shkolnik	382
Swerznie, the Dear Town of My Birth	Reuven Sperans	385
From the Life of the Town Swerznie As I Remember It	A. Rozansky	387
The Rabbis of Swerznie	M. Cinowitz	387
Sounds of the Past (Impressions of the Way of Life in Swerznie)	Yaacov Shalom Katzenellenbogen	389
Memorial to a Life – There Once a Jewish Town of Swerznie	A. Rozansky	392
From the Life of the Town Swerznie – There Was Once a Jewish Town Swerznie	A.D. Shkolnik	393
From the Life of the Town	Yekhiel Shmushkovitsh	441
Memories of Our Little Town of Swerznie	Manya Protas	441
Social Life and Youth Movements in the Town of Novy-Swerznie	Simchah Reznik	443
Refugees in Swerznie	Chanah Vineberg	447
Jews in the Struggle Against the Nazi Occupier	A. Kaplan	452
The Holocaust and Heroism - Memoirs From the Nazi Occupation	Peysekh Epshtein	454
Swerznie in its Agony	Yisrael Tzelkovitz	456
The Last Night	Michael Grandde	463
“Not Like Sheep to the Slaughter”	Munia Yossilevski-Yaron	464
A Memory To Those Who Fell Heroically	Munia Yossilevski-Yaron	477
The Final Liquidation of the Svershzne Jews	Khave Bernshtein	480
Other Towns
Rebzevitsh (Rubiazhevichy, Belarus)	Mendl Machtey	485
The Destruction of the Jews of Rebzevitsh and its Vicinity	Gishke Polayesh	486
From the Press  [H]	M. Cinowitz	488
HaRav R' Arye-Leib Pupko, son of the Chofetz Chaim, a resident of Rubezhevitz		489
My Little Town Derevne	Aharon Broide	490
The Town Nalibok, Its Life and Extermination	Chaim Shlosberg	491
Summary and Acknowledgements	The Book Committee	494
Alphabetical List of Martyrs		495
There are the Names of the Martyrs of Swierzne		503
List of Partisans Who Have Fallen in the Forests and in battle		506
List of Former Stolpce Residents Who Died in Israel		507
List of Former Stolpce Residents Who Died in Argentina		507
Obituaries - For Their Holy Remembrance		508
Family Photographs		517
English Section at the end of the book
Foreword	Zalman Shazar	IV
The History of Steibtz		VIII
A Short Report of Our Activities	Rosa Dvoretsky	IX
A Short Report of Our Activities	Icheskel Russak	XIII
Germiston Pioneers Celebrate Golden Wedding		XIV
How Steibtz Was Destroyed		XV
The Founding of Our Society in Israel		XIX

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