Book of Remembrance of the Community of Bialobrzeg
A Street Filled with Jews in the Town of
Bialobrzeg
Edited by:
Rabbi David Avraham Mendelbaum
Published in Tel Aviv in
1991, by the Council of Bialobrzeg
Meyer Cohen, Tel Aviv
Chaim Simcha Goldberg, Tel Aviv
Zoev Piyanz, Ramat Gan
Avroham Pesach Feldman, Tel Aviv
Yishka Bar, Shachon Ephridar Ashklon
Contributed by:
Dr. Sarah J. Greenwald
Translated by: Rabbi Boruch Greenwald and Michael Paley
Thanks to Ann Bies for her help in scanning pictures.
For further information, contact Joyce Field, Translations
Manager of
the JewishGen Yizkor Book Project
jfield@jewishgen.org
Links and Maps
Bialobrzegi
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(Lat. 51°39´, Long. 20°57´)
Map of the Pre-WWII Town of
Bialobrzegi
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Preface
Sarah's comments are in blue.
After the transliterated spelling of a town,
(M) means the spelling came from MapQuest, (B) means it came
from a polish map at the end of the Yizkor book, and ? means that
I could not find it anywhere.
Between the city of Warsaw and the city of Krakow, along 300 km,
the person who wants to travel from Warsaw to the direction of Krakow
begins traveling to the southern direction.
He passes the cities Pruszkow(M), Grodzeensak(?)
?Grodzisk Maz., Piaseczno(M), Nadarzyn(M),
and others.
One finds right and left of the road, about
20 km from Warsaw, that
you may happen upon the city of Tarczyn(B), that rests on the road.
Tarczyn(B), a town of Jewish ?, in the past had almost all of its people
as Jewish.
When you continue on the road to Krakow, we notice on the left side of the street
a sign that indicates the famous city of Gora Kalwaria(M) is not
far from here.
Further down the road is the town of Grojec(M), the large
town, Aseeseet(?), which served as a center place in business for
all of the surrounding cities. Many Chasidic jews lived there and this was,
like we mentioned, a central place for all activities and different things.
Further down the road, on the left side of the road, another sign
tells us about the town of Warka(M) that is found there. From this
town, the Warka(M) rebbis spread the lite of torah and holiness to
distant places.
In the town of Bialobrzeg, there was a center of torah and
Chasidism, and many were Chasids of Warka(M).
From here, it is already not far to travel. We pass by more signs that
tell us of the cities Gosheen(?) and Mogielnica (B),
which lie on the left side of the road. We arrive at a
valley named Falnatseeyatsa(?).
This valley is found approximately 72 km from Warsaw and is the
entrance to Bialobrzeg.
On the sides of the valley, there are scattered small towns. In them,
live the families of farmers. In them also were many jewish families.
Amongst villages, there is also the village
Veekov(?) and more.
---Picture of a half completed bridge-- Bridge in the middle
of being built in 1935.
At the southern exit from the city, we bump into a sign that
tells us
Radom(M) 32 km, Krakow 225 km, and others.
In the town of Bialobrzeg, the jewish population was large
when compared to the total population.
In the counting of the dwellers in the year 1827 there
were 785 families of which 323 were jewish families (41.1%).
In 1857, there were 853 families of which
436 were jewish families (51.1%).
In 1921 (and also 1935) the town grew to
2419 families of which 1418 were jewish families (58.6%).
Just before the Holocaust, between
1920 and 1940, 60% of the town was jewish.
Therefore, the jews had a big impact on the way things
were done in the town. Their general influence and money were
very decisive and this idea was apparent in relation to the
heads of the jewish congregation from the viewpoint of the
polish leaders and laymen.
When you come into the town, you arrive at a central street
Krakovska, along which there are tens of stores and business markets
belonging to jews.
See also the
Map of Pre-WWII Town of
Bialobrzegi
On the right side, there is a jewish market, which is well
known amongst polish jews. Hundreds of
salespeople would stand once a week on
Wednesday with merchandise. They decided about all the important
matters - about selling things for the town.
The next street is the street Pheekraska (Street Haoopheem)
on which the rabbi of the city, the great sage,
the rabbi Alimelach Reevsaki, his memory of righteousness should
be a blessing for us, lived in his time.
Further down the street on the right side there was the street
Suska. On the corner of that street was the main temple of the
town. In the courtyard there was also a Mikva.
---picture of plan of Bialobrzegi---
The next street is Kooshseelna (the Hachnseeya street).
There was a polish school where jewish boys also learned.
In the beginer 1st and 2nd classes, the jewish boys learned only
with jewish teachers. In the classes afterward, from 3rd grade on
up, the jewish students learned together with polish students.
This street brings us further to the city of Veeshmaz'seah, a close
10 km from Bialobrzeg.
---picture of jewish marketplace---
The next street is called Targohva Street (the Marketplace Street of the
Jews).
The next street is called Sohndoova Street (the street of the
courthouse), where the courthouse is, is the street on which
many jewish workers, tailors and the likes lived.
The next street is 11 Vnohbnebar Street.
On Suska Street, that was parallel to the first street Krakovska,
there was a store of horses (yiddish name Dye Phartatz Me'erek).
This street and the square on it is remembered for a very bad thing by
the people who left that city in the time of the war. The Nazis (that
there name should be erased) gathered the people of the city
there before they took them to Treblinka. By using machine
guns, they killed tens of the people of the town.
At the corner of Suska Street and Sohdnoova,
there was a path that led to the jewish cemetery.
Nonjews lived outside of these streets in the rest of the town.
The jews mostly lived in the places that we spoke of.
They enacted educational foundations in the town.
Torah and kindness were very great, and they taught about every
kind of job.
Aside from the main temple in our town, there were also little shuls
of Chasidm of Goon, Casidm of Varka, and Casidm of
Rabbi Shraga Yaeer from Bialobrzeg. Also, there were
many other minyans of groups of different kinds of jobs
(ie the tailor's minyan), and there were also minyans
in individual houses. For example, there was a separate
minyan in the house of the
head of the town, Reb David Cohen.
There were also many foundations for young
people to teach them jobs. For example, from the group of
young jews, at the head stood a capable boy by the name of
Me'er Goldberg. At the group, Nasan Lieberman
and Me'er Cohen stood at the head. There were also groups of
Boned, Mizrachi, Veytar and the group of Longwood. There
were also groups formed by the government of Poland, which
were sent out to different camps of learning like at
Arzeh and etc.
The organization of these groups brought together and produced
many events and close friendships.
Chaim Simcha Goldberg went to Israel through Sartpick, on a
public relations trip. He went thru the group
Agoodat Yisrael in Poland. After the success of this
trip, other young people such as Meyer Kohn also went to
Israel.
We remember the high holidays, Purim and Simchat Torah,
as happy, pure and simple for the jews of the city.
In the city, there was also an organization of kindness and
help for the public. People performed acts of kindness and
helpfulness and also had a charity fund.
When we remember the town before the holocaust, we remember
how on every Thursday the city seemed festive because of the
preparation for the Shabbat. On Friday, these
preparations came to a climax when the rabbi Reevsky and
after the rabbi Belomnaphled went to the markets
to remind them to close for the Shabbat.
On Saturday and holidays you could almost feel the Chasidic
holy atmosphere in the streets, as the town was
adorned with grace.
Most of the people wore festive and Shabbat clothes.
Everyone was wearing these clothes -
butchers, teachers, workers, water carriers, cow herders,
shoe makers and others all wore festive clothes on Shabbat.
They danced and stepped with holiday spirit to the shul and to the
shteebles (small shuls). It is impossible to
compare the way they looked on Shabbat with the way that they
looked during the week.
On Shabbat, they were completely different people. The holiness
was spread over them and the divine presence was resting upon
them.
Who could forget the song that the musicians sang. Yosel the
water carrier sang in the third meal in the shul.
He sang the songs that where the driving
force of the whole 3rd meal. He poured out his soul and he
wasn't the only one. Regular workers who appeared as simple
jews in the middle of the week came on Shabbat and on the holidays
to reveal what they had inside them. They revealed
jewishness that burned like a fiery flame with a great desire for
Hashem. Nothing in the world mattered to them except for holiness
and goodness.
There were jews in the town that people said knew the whole
talmud, but didn't take part in Halochek issues which they left
to the head rabbi of the town, the rabbi Rayske of blessed
memory. Rabbi Rayske was known to be a great rabbi of the torah
and was accepted and loved by all the people of the town.
Afterwards, his young son in law, the rabbi
Bloomenfeld, of blessed memory,
was a well known student of the Rebi of Bet Aosrooav, of
blessed memory, who was also a very learned person.
He had great knowledge in worldly things and he had a great
aura - he could bring out kindness
and grace from all that would see him.
He would give forth torah to the public with public torah
classes.
He had a great many students, including Rabbi Yosef Pratz Poyzer,
who was a top notch talmud torah sage.
The head of the congregation was David Cohen, who was a great
figure himself. You will see more about him
in the chapter about the Cohen family.
Reb David sanctified himself through the community service
and everyone knew that one could receive
what they wanted - whether it was a communal or personal
request.
The Israeli spirit of groups was conveyed to young Bialobrzegers
who were filled with love for the land of Israel.
After Meyer Cohn went to Israel in 1932, he began to work in Namal,
it should be built up. He sent a telegram to
Moshe Sene after
visiting the land of Israel. In a Warsaw newspaper, he wrote it under
a headline that the people of Bialobrzeg were building up
the land of Israel.
In the year 1933,... the text goes on from here
(page 23), but
it has not been translated yet.
Rabbis and Leaders of the City
Memoirs of Bialobrzeg [Written in Hebrew as Bialobzig or Bialovzigl]
Officiating Rabbis and Chassidic Leaders of the Town
Please note that *** is mixing text (the photocopy of
the book which we had for the translation had words close the margin
chopped off.)
1) The first officiating Rabbi about which we know, in the town of Bial',
is Rabbi Yisroel Tzvi (Hirsch) Rubinstein1, who served as a Rabbi in the
town starting before the year 5600 [1840]2
1
"The Rabbi of Joy," a biography of R' Moshe Nechemya the Cohen of D'vohart,
by Pinchas Zelig Glicksman (Lodz 5690 [1930]) p.70 note 1.
2 From the archives of "Yad VaShem" we came to know of R' Hirschel
Lantzar/Lanetzer who served as Rabbi in Bial' in the
year 1832. But it is not clear [if this is the same as our Y.T. Rubinstein]
because we know nothing about him. He might be our Y.T.L.
When he was widowed, he married the daughter of the Chassidic Rebbe, R' Yitzchak of Vorko, Ms. Sarah Chana. He was then appointed as Rabbi in Vorko.
In the book The Rabbi of Joy (p. 10-l l) a letter by R' Yitzchok of Vorko was printed, in which he writes:
INSERT 1. Facsimile of the original letter quoted above.
In the year 5607 (1847) his wife, Sarah Chana, passed away. R. Yisrael Tzvi (Hirsch) moved to Lodz. In
the year 5620 (1860)
[This date conflicts with the date on the letter quoted
above], on Shabbos, after
they had called him up to the Torah and he had made the first blessing, he fainted and was carried home. On Sunday, the 10th Of Tammuz, he passed away.
He was then approximately sixty ***
2) *** after him [From when he married and moved to Vorko],
serving as Rabbi in Bial' was the second son-in-law of R. Yitzchok of Vorko,
*** Avrohom Meir Mushkat from Prague, the author of Roshei
Besomim, Atzai Besomim, and other books.
*** R. Avrohom Meir was an only son. He married the
daughter of R. Yitzchok of Vorko, Ms. Blimeleh.
He passed away whilst still young, in his father's lifetime,
in the year 5612 (1852)
R. Avrohom Meir's sons-in-law were: R. Dovid Goldman who served as a Rebbe in Chmielnick and Kiyaletz, R. Moshe Pinchas Trunk, son of R. Yisroel Yehoshua of Kutnoh, author of, Salvation of Israel and other books.
INSERT 2: Invitation to the wedding of one of R. Dovid Goldman's children, Yisroel Yiztchok, to Chanah Yenta, daughter of R. Moshe Yehudah Helemner of Lentshner.
3) R. Dovid Goldman was a businessman and landowner in his youth,
and was a chassid of R. Shraga Yair [who, according to INSERT 5, lived in
Bial']
(a grandchild of the 'Holy Jew of Parshischa')
about whom we will discuss later at length.
However, the chassidim of Vorko set their eyes on him and appointed him as their Rebbe. He then moved to Kiyaletz and began to
'hold Tisch',
and drew a strong following. (Book of Kiyaletz, p. 175)
Among his sons-in-law, was R. Tzvi Hirsch of Lomza, son of R. Dovid of Kotzk.
(This was R Tzvi Hirsch's third marriage. The first made him son-in-law of R. Shlomo of Radzmin, the second of R. Lipa Landsburg).
INSERT 3. A personal invitation written by R. Dovid Goldman on the printed invitation, addressed to R. Moshe Nachum Yerushlimski, head of the Bes Din of Kiyaletz. Below that is a personal invitation by the Rebbetzin Rachel Goldman to Rebbetzin Yerushlimski.
This R. Dovid was very well accepted by his acquaintances, and was greatly loved by the populace
who recognized him as a lofty individual.
He passed away 16 Cheshvan, 5684 (1924) at an advanced age. (Eitz Chaim atlas, vo1.13, p. 120)
4) Between the years 5637 and 5668 (1877 and 1908) Rabbi Zalman Tzvi Hirsch served as Rabbi and
Head of Beis Din in the town. We do not know many details about him, but we find him as signator [as Rabbi of the town] in the 'Names of Donators' printed in the back of Azoir Hatzvi, [a commentary
on the Pentateuch] by Rabbi Avrohom Yalin of Vengrov (Warsaw 5665 [1905]).
INSERT 4: The 'Names of Donators' The names are listed alphabetically
under the section of Bilevrzig. Included is R. Zalman Tzvi Hirsch and R. Nosson Dovid son of R. Shraga Yair
INSERT 5: A list of dignitaries, Rabbis and others, each of a different town. Probably collected as an
endorsment of some sort. For Bialevrzig are listed R. Shraga Yair and R. Zalman Tzvi Hirsch.
5) After him (1908), Rabbi Eliezer Pupka served as Rabbi and Head of the Beis Din
[in Bial'].
6) In the year 5673 (1913), R. Yeshayah Elimelech Reiybsky ascended to the
Rabbinate. He was the son of R. Yechezkal Avrohom who was the Head of Beis
Din in Selitz, and who authored Binyan Yechezkal which is comprised of
Rabbinic Responsa in part one, and a discussion on the responsa of the
'Pri Megadim' in part two.
Rabbi Yeshaiyah Elimelech came from a noble lineage, as his father
wrote in the introduction to his book Binyan Yechezkal ibid
INSERT 6: An ancestral listing, written by R. Yechezkal Avrohom at the
request of his children.
INSERT 7: The title page of the book, Binyan
Yechezkal.
INSERT 8: A halachic question reproduced in the book, [which is presumably
followed by his response].
INSERT 9: A similar question addressed to him
by his son, the Head of Beis Din in Bialovrzig.
When he was thirteen years old, R. Yeshayah Elimelech married the
daughter of the Rebbe, R. Simcha Bunem of Vorski/Otvosk, called Tzvayleh.
Incidentally, R. Simcha Bunim of Otvosk was a son-in-law of R.
Eliyahu Hertz. R. Eliyahu Hertz had a son-in-law called R. Tzvi Moses, son
of R. Yudel Moses, son of *** Alexander Ziskind Moses,
who was the son-in-law of R. Noach 'Shachor' from Biala, who was, in turn,
son-in-law of the 'Imrei
Emes' of the Gerer Dynasty.
Rabbi Shmuel Tanchum Rubenstein, who is of the Beis Din in Tel Aviv
today, who *** at that time in Bial', knew R. Yeshayeh Elimelech well. He
described him as an impressive-looking person, *** exceptional scholar,
and pleasant to speak with both in Torah and Secular matters.
R. Yeshayeh Elimelech lost two of his children in their youth. At
the funeral of his daughter
Blumah *** her father eulogized her movingly. He said:
"How can one eulogize such a small girl? However, this I can tell over in
her merit. She
had her [full] measure of harsh suffering, and many times I awoke in the
middle of the
night and saw how this *** young girl would take a knife and wished to
take her own life to liberate herself from the suffering, G-d help us.
*** to her and explained to her that according to the holy Torah, it is an
unforgivable sin for one to take one's own life. And she listened to me
and left it.
"This story will be a merit for her," ended ***
R. Yeshayeh
Elimelech and his wife had another three healthy sons.
R. Yeshayeh Reibsky
passed away during his best years in 5696 (1936).
About his sudden
passing, the remnants of the town tell an awe-inspiring story:
His children were: His son, Simcha Bunem, about whom we'll see later in
the excellent essay by R. Shmuel Tanchum Rubenstein, which recounts the
period in which he leamed with him during his youth. He (Simcha Bunem) was
killed during the holocaust years - may G-d avenge his blood. His daughter,
Sara Reitcheh, who was sent to learn in the Bais Yakov Seminary in Karkov.
And when she became of age, she married a respected young man, R.
Elimelech Blumenfeld.
7) Rabbi Elimelech Blumenfeld studied during his youth in the Mesivta
[yeshivah high-school] of Warsaw. After that he went to learn Torah from
the Great R. Yechezkel from Ostrovstzeh. There, he
established an excellent and wide reputation, after which he was given the
honor of becoming the son-in-
law of Rabbi Reiybsky.
In his essay, Rabbi Shmuel Tanchum Rubenstein describes Rabbi
Blumenfeld at great length, and tells of his visit to the town and his
wonderful speech [that he gave].
We have heard much from the remnants of the community about the
industrious work of R. Elimelech as
Rav of the community after the sudden
death of his father-in-law in 5696. R. Elimelech Blumenfeld used to give
public Torah classes for his community in Midrash, Bavli, Yerushalmi, and
Rambam, when he would offer wonderful explanations, with the help of
which, those listening would enjoy his words and his lectures.
During the holocaust, R. Elimelech was taken by the Nazis may their
names be eradicated, to do extremely hard work, and he passed away "amidst
troubles and grieving" in the year 5700 (1940), from
typhus.
At his funeral, R. Yechiel Meir Goldberg (May G-d avenge his blood)
eulogized him. Amongst other things, he said:
So passed on the last Rabbi of the town of Bial'. May their memories be
blessed! ! !
INSERT 10: ?
The Rebbe, R. Shraga Yair Rabinowitz ztz"l.
The town of Bial' boasted of a chain of Rebbes, descendants of 'The
Holy Jew' of Parshischa. R. Shrage Yair who settled in Bial' was the third
son of R. Nosson Dovid Rabinowitz of Shidlovtzeh, who was the son of R.
Yerachmiel, the only son of 'The Holy Jew' of Parshischa.
R. Nosson Dovid was recognized by all the Tzaddikim of his
generation as one of supernal holiness. Wondrous things were told about
his holy ways, and awe-inspiring miracles happened in his
room, especially in the field of "correction of souls." [this means both
detecting past sins in people and
instructing as to how they may be corrected. The 'Holy Sight' is often
used in both of these tasks] Many stories are known about the flocks of
doves/pigeons that would eat from his courtyard, and permanently showed
themselves there. After his death, they disappeared.
R. Nosson Dovid passed on at the age of fifty two, on the seventh
of Cheshvan, 5626 (1866). The Tzaddikim of the generation said about that
year that in the words, "For in this day you will be atoned for," the
numerical equivalent of the first and last letters are 626 [?]. They were
eluding to the fact that in
that year, many of the Chassidic luminaries passed away. The 'Chidushei
Harim' (the Gerer Rebbe) on
the twenty sixth of Adar, the 'Tiferest Shlomo' Radomsk, on the twenty
ninth of Adar, the 'Tzemach Tzedek' of Lubavitch, on the thirteenth of
Nissan, and R. Nosson Dovid, as stated.
R. Nosson Dovid planted four
cedars in Israel [metaphorically speaking]. The eldest son was R. Tzemach
Boruch, son-in-law of R. Elazar of Koznitz, son of R. Moshe, the 'Preacher
of Koznitz' [The Koznitzer Maggid]. He (R. Tzemach Boruch) led chassidim
even during his father's lifetime. He passed away young, at the age of
fifty six, in the year 5652.
His (R. Nosson Dovid's) second son was R. Pinchas of Kintzik, who
died on the twenty second of
Elul, 5661(1901).
His third son was R. Shraga Yair ofBialovzhig.
His fourth son was R. Yaakov Yitzchok of Biala, author of Divrai
Binah. He was son-in-law to R. Yehoshua of Ostrovoh, author of Toldos
Odom, and son of Shlomo Leib of Lotshnah. From him
branched out the chassidic groups of Partzovah, Levertov, Shedlitz, and
Biala.
,br>
R. Shraga Yair was born in 5610 (1850) [Should be 5600-1840 see
below] to his father, R. Nosson Dovid. A wondrous thing was told over by
his son-in-law, R Yosef Eliezer, a nephew by his brother R. Pinchas:
"***** G-dly man of Shidlovzeh, when he spent time in the holy
shadow of the G-dly man, R. Meir of Premishlan. He then handed him a note
[given to a Rebbe requesting spiritual direction or a blessing]. When he
[the Premishlaner] reached the name of my holy uncle and father-in-law, he
said about him that he possesses the Holy Spirit."
This is a wonder,
because when the Rebbe, R. Meir of Premishlan passed away on the 29th
Iyar, 5610, our master *** was [only] ten years old, and such things were
already being said about him.
With the passing of his father, he was
appointed as Rebbe over thousands of Chassidim, and
despite his young age of twenty six, all the elders of the community
attached themselves to him, and appointed him as leader and Rebbe over
them.
At that time, he moved his residence from Shidlovtzeh to Bial', which was
close by.
A wondrous thing was written by his son-in-law (by his first
marriage), the Rebbe, R. Chaim Elazar of Munkatz, in the pamphlet "Words
of Eulogy" that he printed in his memory (Bratislava 5682):
R. Shraga Yair was, by his first marriage, son-in-law to R. Shmelke
of Sasov *** of R. Moshe
Leib of Sasov. (See about him in Beis Shlomo biography of R. Shlomo of
Munkatch who was also a son in-law of R. Shmelke.) He [Shraga Yair] married
his [R. Shmelka's] daughter, Dinah Rochel (see about
her in Divrei Torah by the Munkatcher, 9:59).
**** wondrous stories are cited in reference to the Rabbi (Shraga
Yair). Crowds of people used to come to him *** matters of help and health,
as his son R. Nosson Dovid recounts in the introduction to the book Aron
Ha'aydus:
INSERT 11: The title page to the posthumously printed book of R. Shraga
Yair's teachings, published by his son, Nosson Dovid. See below the
numerical reason for the unusual spelling of the name of the book.
*** in reference to this, his son, R. Nosson Dovid writes in his
introduction:
Further below is recounted the important part of the renown
Chossid, Rabbi Shmuel Shmerel Goldberg in the *** and the preparation of
this [above mentioned] book, Aron Ha'aydus.
*** the new print of the book
that was published in B'nei Brak, 5743 (1983) was added to the biography
*** the author, the introduction of the Rebbe of Biala-Lugnow, and more
*** of importance, from the Torah novellea cited in the name of the author
in different books.
*** who traveled in his youth to the Rebbe, R. Chaim of Sanz,
author of Divrei Chaim. *** appears from the following story below, which
is told in the book "Bais Tzaddik (by R. Eliezer Tzvi Seigleman) *** and
these are his words:
*** the "Holy Light," the "mouth speaking big things," - R. Shraga
Yair, traveled to visit the Rebbe, R. Chaim of Sanz. When he entered his
house, he found the Rebbe of Sanz *** angry at one of his chassidim. R.
Shrage Yair began speaking and asked R. Chaim, "Do you remember the words
of the Rebbe, the G-dly Sage - R. Dov Ber of Mezritch, on the words of the
verse, "Remove your shoes from
your feet?" [The Burning Bush narrative. Removing the shoes was a
prerequisite for entering a holy place] He answered, "I do not remember."
R. Shraga Yair then told them to him, as follows:
G-d spoke to Moshe,
meaning the leader of the generation who is called Moshe, as in "Moshe
you have spoken well," in the Talmud. The word NA 'AL (shoe) is an acronym
for Neshica (biting), Akitza (stinging), Lechisha (murmuring). This
eludes to saying expressed in the mishna, "Be careful about their coals
[the anger of the Tzaddikim] etc. because their bite is that of a fox,
their sting is that of a
scorpion, and their murmur is that of a serpent." The meaning being that
the verse [about removing the shoes - NA 'AL] is a warning to the leading
Tzaddik of the generation that he should not harbor ill feelings, and not
be angry at people, whatsoever. Because if he does, it will harm the
person by whom he
has been upset, since, "their bite is that of a fox etc.," and the anger
of the Tzaddik will result in damage,
G-d forbid. And the Tzaddik must be good as in the verse, "Say of the
Tzaddik: [he is] good." G-d therefore told the Tzaddik of the generation
who is called Moshe, "Remove your NA 'AL."
The Sanzer answered him:
"Is it not shown in the Torah how our teacher, Moshe was himself
angry and said, "Why did you not eat the sin-offering in the Holy Place?"
One must conclude that since his anger was for the honor of heaven, it was
good and does no harm."
R. Shraga Yair replied:
"The words of the Maggid [R. Dov Ber] are not at all puzzling, and
the support you cite from the verse "Why have you not etc." is not a
refutation at all. The answer is that the anger of Moshe was not like
other people's anger; it was only an appearance and external display of
anger, but internally he was full of love and goodness for the House of
Israel. It may be said, that by way of a hint, the first letters of "Why
have you not eaten the sin-offering in the Holy Place?" spells out "Full
of Love". [Indicating that] internally he was full of love and good will to
Israel. That was indeed the reason for his acting severe, so that through
a [mere] external display [of anger], he silenced the accuser."
In the year 5677 (1917) [apparently a mistake - see next story
which dates 1912] there was a big fire in Bial'. R. Shraga Yair came out
and said, "As long as I am in my house, the fire will not reach here." And
so it was, that the fire reached his house, stopped, and went out.
After a short while, another fire broke out in which his house was
also burnt. The Rav then moved to the town of Radom where he lived out his
last years, surrounded by his faithful chassidim who had moved with him to
Radom.
In the year 5672 (1912) one of R. Shraga Yair's close acquaintances
heard him sighing and asked him about it. He replied as follows. "It is
written, "I am a hundred and twenty years old today" [Moshe speaking
about his own death]. 120 is the numerical value of (5)672." He said no
more than that. (Kuntres Zer Zahav, at the end of Aron Ha'aydus, p. 88.)
So it was, on the thirteenth of Sivan, 5672, our Rav passed away and was
buried in the sepulcher of his father, in the town of Shidlovzeh. His
son-in-law by the first marriage, the Munkatcher Rebbe, printed a Kuntres
[booklet] in which he enthuses about his father-in-law.
*** left behind him his only son, R. Nosson Dovid, who retumed to
the town of his grandfather *** and served there as head of Beis Din, and
Rebbe to thousands of Chassidim. He too, passed away at
a young age, at the twenty eigth of *** 5679 (1919). His son, R. Chaim
Sholom Sholom Yekusiel filled his place. *** son-in-law by his first
marriage of R. Moshe Betzalel Alter of Gur, son of the *** Emes'. He died
in the holocaust on the twelfth of Tishrei, 5703 (1943), may G-d avenge
his blood.
INSERT 12: The title page of booklet, "Words of Eulogy" by R. Elazar
(Shapiro) of Munkatch, the
'Minchas Elazar'. It includes his eulogies for R. Shraga Yair, R. Moshe
Yehuda Leib Shapiro, and R. Eliezer Zuker.
(page 56)
The text was written in a very Rabbinical Hebrew.
The commas sometimes serve as periods since the ideas
are condense, but also integrated.
The Eulogy for our Rabbi, by his Son-in-law (by his first marriage), R'
Chaim Elazer of Munkatch.
***
*** in the summer of 5672, during the month of Tammuz, it was made
known to me, due to our many sins, the distant tidings, [a halachic phrase
which might indicate that the news reached him after thirty days after the
passing, which has ramifications for the length of the shiva] which are
close to the heart of all Israel, his acquaintances and friends, of the
passing away of my friend and grandfather [more likely to mean 'elder' as
in "village elder "] who was my father-in-law (by first marriage). He was
the holy Rabbi, the G-dly man, Master of Torah, the Candle of Light, the
Deep and Hidden, *** Precious, [one whose] light was sought by many, our
teacher, Rabbi Shraga Yair of Bialovzeg, ***
in Radom on the thirteenth of Sivan. The Jews, doers of kindness, in their
thousands, who
followed his bed, brought him and carried him about six parsangs to the
community of Shidlovtzi, to the sepulcher of his father, the holy and
famous Rabbi, the G-dly man, Rabbi Nosson Dovid.
*** how can I describe, with pen on paper, my great sorrow and
pain, and the crying and moaning of my heart ***. I will put on paper, at
least, some words of eulogy
which come to mind, so that "only a bit you may see, but the whole you
will not see," because to recount and describe his praise is not within my
capability, because he was a jewel *** priceless. (As his holy father
told him before his passing to adhere to the
quality of, "walk humbly [unostentatiously] with your G-d.") The wonders
of his doings
and his awesomeness was as one of the ancients. One can *** from the
wisdom of his Torah, and his ways of Divine service, since a compilation
[of his teachings], Aron
Ha'aydus on the Pentateuch has now been printed. *** is a fraction of a
fraction, almost like a drop in the ocean, of his wisdom from [all of
that] he expounded and drew out ***
Torah novellea in his mind and heart, of which he would occasionally tell
to an individual. I also occasionally wrote *** that which I heard from
him.
*** on the verse (Ezekiel 21) "And when they will ask you why you are
sighing, you should answer "because of the tidings which are going to come
about, and all hearts will melt, and all hands will be weak, and all
spirits will be dimmed, and all knees will
turn to water'." *** one can point out that the verse states "all" the
hearts, hands, and
spirits etc. *** In Kesuvos (Folio 62a) there is a discussion why it says
"all" in this verse. *** "That a sigh breaks (only) half of the body," but
this needs explanation. ***
"Available to those who want them" [this quote can also be read
"Expounded for all their needs"] at any time, and in any area of
application. [he is excusing himself for borrowing the verse for the news
of the passing of Rabbi Shraga Yair.]
*** put toward this verse for this
tidings of the passing of my friend, elder, and father-in-law, the
above-mentioned Rabbi, to the verse "Because ... which are going to come
about, and all hearts etc." We find in the Pentateuch regarding the
passing of Aharon the Priest (Chukas) "And they mourned for Aharon thirty
days, all the house of Israel." Rashi explains that "All the house of
Israel means both the men and women,
since Aharon would pursue peace and build love between arguing parties and
between husbands and wives.
*** doesn't do justice to the one now at rest, compared with his
greatness, the brilliance of his mind, and depth of his feelings, the
strength of *** which I saw in him, even during his illness in his last
years when his veins were greatly weakened ***, according to the opinion
of the doctors, with the name by which they call the illness of Totzo'ot
[?]. Namely [i.e. the greatness that he saw...] *** whereas there were
many times, due to our many sins, that one couldn't speak to him at all
because of his great weakness, nevertheless, on Shabbos *** Atika Kadisha,
[Mincha time on Shabbos afternoon. This was probably at the Seuda
Shlishis.] after saying his Torah Novellea, as was his *** awesome,
with hints and Gematriyos [Homiletic methods way, expounding texts, the
latter by numerical equivalents.], truly astounding, with the equivalents
of whole verses, all suitably fitting [the author has lapsed into Rabbinic
poetry], composed with treasured lessons, in different ways, (my [own]
eyes saw [firsthand] and not a stranger's and my ears heard). During
that time, both before and
afterwards, we did not hear from him in this type of setting, any mundane
topics, even
about those things of which he would usually speak of when he was well.
Since the
weakness had overcome him and affected his body and his memory. We then
saw clearly that only the words of Torah dedicated to Heaven was he able
to speak, because of his soul from above, which was his elevated half. In
this holy part, the illness and suffering did not have an affect, it
transcended nature. It was above our understanding.
Also then, his holy
words were directed in the defense of the Jewish people and he dwelled on
this at length (to us and to the chassidim. Inside his room) almost
constantly without stop, we, his followers, scholars and chassidim who
were close to him, took pleasure in his words, from thc pleasantness of
his holy speech. In the place of his
greatness, (as mentioned) there you find his humbleness, and the love
of Israel which was
inside of him was very great, since with every individual (regular people)
who came to
spend time in his presence, and also with his townspeople, he generously
spent time with
them to draw them near, to pray for them, and to speak good on behalf of
all Israel. Through deed and speech, both through words of intercession
and through prayer, [he
would help that] matters should be affective upon high. That was his
effort all day and
night.
That then is the meaning of, "Regarding the tidings that have come
about and 'all hearts.' " Intended, is the same as it is written about
regarding the death of Aharon, "And all the house of Israel mourned for
him," which Rashi explains to mean both the men and women, "All the house
of Israel," inclusive of the entire multitude of the faithful. They cried
very bitterly as they remembered his love for them and for all the house
of Israel. Woe, who will now stand up for us, to shield and intercede in
our merit. May G-d have mercy on us speedily in our days. This explains
the nuance in the verse, "And all hearts will melt and all hands will
weaken, and all spirits will be dimmed, and all knees etc." meaning that
everyone felt, and sorrowed over losing him.
His years were seventy two, alluding to "The number of your years I
will fill." (Mishpatim) [Being numerically equivalent.] On this verse the
Mesorah writes:
One might say in accordance with that which is known, that a Tzaddik
who has completed himself in his Divine service should accordingly depart
from this world without reaching old age, as is known from the Midrash,
"Bar Bun who died while still young etc." Since G-d wants the Tzaddik to
live, even after he has completed his personal Divine service, he lets him
live for the benefit of others so that he might complete their souls and
lead them as is fitting. There is, however, a Tzaddik whose main
achievement is accomplished unostentatiously, deeply mired, unfathomably
deep, so that others cannot learn too much from. He would therefore [have
to] pass away young as mentioned. For him, though, there is another
council to lengthen his days. That is through him constantly finding new
and different ways of Divine service, to bring something precious out of
the cheap etc., to delve, to know, to chase and find G-d. When he
discovers new areas in this endeavor, the result is that as long as he has
not completed this path, and he is always fresh in the faith of G-d and in
attachment to Him, then he still has [purpose] to live in order to
complete himself in the path of G-dliness that he has discovered, in
greater depth.
This is in accordance with the tradition that is illustrated by the
story about the ancestor of the departed one, namely the famous 'Yehudi' of
Parshischa. [The story was with] the famous Koznitzer Maggid who was very
old and weak and whenever his weakness would overcome him, he would send
for the 'Holy Jew' to come quickly from Parshischa to Koznitz to visit him
**"* and his time had already come to pass away. He therefore called the
'Yehud' *** with him ways of Divine service. The 'Yehudi' was a great
genius and had great depth, and every time [he came], he would hear new
advice in
divine service from him. This meant that there was a purpose for him
living in order to
actualise the path about which he heard when they spoke. So the Maggid
told his sons.
*** one could explain the theme of the Mesorah as follows.
"The number of your days I will fill." (However, since it would seem that
a Tzaddik who has finished achieving his goal would lose from his number
of days, the solution would be through,) "I will fill my mouth with
admonition." (He can admonish others and thereby lead them on the path of
G-d and His service. Then the Mesorah adds that this is necessary since)
"To inherit to my loved ones [a gift of] substance, and I will fill their
storehouses" (Meaning that there is prepared for him in the stores of Gan
Eden [paradise], his "reward with him" - abundant good which is waiting
for the righteous. Because of this *** [the heavenly accuser] is more able
to use as a pretext, since [the Tzaddik] has completed his soul, and in
Paradise there awaits stores of good, then it is fitting to put him there
and that he should depart from this world.)
*** there is an anecdote [in
this vein] with my father-in-law, the departed. On the night of Kol Nidrei
[Yom Kippur Night], that *** and he was at rest, but then they heard his
voice shouting to his household and chassidim to arouse him with shouting
and crying. *** of them then that they should leave him be, saying that
the stores of Paradise
are waiting for him [to enjoy in] peace, and so why *** he trouble himself
in this low and
dark world. This awesome story is not [intended] as a suggestion ***,
though one can at
least imagine from this how much reward was added [to him] for all those
year's service,
from when he fainted that Yom Kippur night (and was healed then, on that
same night). He worked many years *** [after that] in his holy work, and
there was therefore room to
question [lit. "to bring a charge"] that he should pass away because
"Their storehouse I will fill." There was no solution but that he should
"Fill my mouth with admonition," to direct, lead, and influence people.
*** that is with one who is a unique man, as King Solomon said, "There is
one, and he has no second." *** he is a person of hidden ways
(unrecognized greatness) and does not rebuke others, and truly carries on
in his perfection, a Tzaddik ***. Such a person is called, "And one" -
meaning a person
"unique unto himself." [The next word in the Mesorah was VeChad='and one',
which he
explains to mean 'Meyuchad LeAtzmo' - unique unto himself.]
In answer
to this, in order to counter any who would bring such a charge against
one who's way was not to admonish people that much, the Mesorah continues,
"I will fill
him with the spirit of G-d, in wisdom, understanding and cognition." (This
means *** of G-d, and, "With Cognition" means the "Holy Spirit" as Rashi
explains on the same verse, 'To recognize the G-d of your fathers and to
devote to him with depth *** constantlv renewed.' Through this there is a
solution even for one who is unique unto himself, such as was this one, to
lengthen *** years) as we said (see also our [my] book "Divrei Torah"
first edition, Part 55.)
***
Kesuvos (103:b) it is written "Rabbi [R.
Yehudah HaNassi] lies in Tzipuri, and a place is prepared for him in Beis
Sheorim *** (Rashi - Rabbi lies ill at Tzipuri and his grave is prepared
in Beis Sheorim). But did not learn "Pursue righteousness,"- he went after
Rabbi to Beis Sheorim,' [indicating that] Rabbi was in Beis Sheorim?
[Rather,] he was in Beis Sheorim but since he became ill *** to Tzipuri
which is better [i.e. healthier] and the air is better."
One could suggest
about my father-in-law who lived in Radom *** the fire that happened in
Bialobzig) and outside the town, in an airy place. His grave was prepared
for him *** Sheorim, as Rashi explains. One might wonder about the phrase,
"his grave was prepared for him." If [it means] that they dug a grave
during his lifetime, it would be in contradiction with the testament of R.
Yehuda HaChassid not to dig a grave whilst a person is still alive.
[Although the Talmudpre-dates the 'Testament' by far, it is assumed
that there would be no unaccountable contradiction between them.] If it is
forbidden to
do this for one who is actually expiring, even if in a different place,
how much more so for one who is [only] ill, as it cites in the Shulchan
Oruch, Yoreh Deah (339:1), "Do not
give an opening" [i.e give air to an adverse suggestion]. One must
certainly explain [his
grave being prepared as] referring to the graves of his ancestors, the
heads of the house of Israel, which were in Beis Sheorim. And after his
death, they carried him there. This is the meaning of "His grave was
prepared from him," meaning that it was known that it was the plot of his
family and holy ancestors, and it is pleasing for one to be buried next to
his ancestors, how much more so with such ancestors, spiritually elevated.
This [applies] too with our teacher, my father-in-law, that his burial
place was
prepared for him in Shidlovze, in the sepulcher of his holy father, as
mentioned. engaged him in conversation many times in Bialovzeg, when he
was healthy, about why he didn't establish himself in Shidlovze. It seems
that his real reason was that he was
worried about the length of his days since he knew that he would be buried
there in the sepulcher of his father. When acquaintances realized this
from his words, he slipped out, [he changed the subject], and continued
for days and years, and he did not pre-empt
things on his own. And since "[G-d] fulfills the will of those who fear
him," He fulfilled the will of the Tzaddik after his death [and buried him
there].
Now our sages say in Rosh Hashana (f.18) that the death of the
Righteous is as hard on G-d as was the burning of the Temple. The question
on this is known, from different books, that this contradicts what is said
in Midrash Rabbah, Aicha (ch. 81:3a) that the death of the Righteous is
harder than the destruction of the Temple. (See what I
wrote on this in the essay, Zichron Tzaddikim printed in eulogy of the
holy Rabbi). One
can perhaps explain that they ascribe to two differing rationales that can
be explained in the following analogy: There were two worthy people who
were captured, treated abusively, underwent severe suffering, were exiled
and chased. One of them used to be
very rich, successful, and had plenty of all good. Suddenly the wheel [of
fortune] turned
on him and he was caught in the net for no fault of his own. The other was
a man who had known illness from his youth, poor, had bad luck, and was
plagued by suffering in all areas [of life]. In addition to all this,
there now came upon him the tragedy of his capture and disorientation
through no fault, he was pursued by trouble, together with the rich
man. They talked together. The rich man said to the poor man, "My brother
and friend,
can there be a worse pain than that which has befallen me, for I have
fallen from a great height into a low pit, and been thrown from heaven to
earth (as is stated in Chagigah 5:b). Suddenly this misfortune came upon
me, from light to darkness, and I have been placed
in a pit. Not so with you - you are used to suffering and poverty and are
not so affected
with the trouble of imprisonment which has befallen you, since in your
case, Babit
becomes second nature'." The poor man answered, "Exactly the reverse is
true. You
were a rich man, well-kept all your life, with pleasantness, richness, and
health, and
nothing was withheld from you. With this you amassed strength during good
times so
that now you are able to endure these troubles, whereas not so I. I have
been crushed
with suffering all my life, and the power to endure all this additional
suffering has gone, until almost my soul escapes me."
It is in this that
the Tannaim and Amoraim differ. [Tannaim were the Rabbinic authorities
of pre 200 c.e., and Amoraim were of the 200-500 c.e. era]. In the Talmud,
Rosh Hashana, they said that the death of the Righteous is as hard on G-d
as the burning
of the Temple. That is to say that the Temple, which was the source of our
life and our
desire, and shone to the whole world, was then burned and destroyed, and
our joy was turned to mourning. This, to Him, is similar to the death of a
Tzaddik who shines to the world and then is taken from us, and the joy of
our hearts ceases. This is similar to the
logic of the rich man who was captured, as above. However, the Midrash
follows the
logic of the poor man. It therefore states that the death of the Tzaddik
is harder than the
destruction of the Temple. At least while it stood we had Glory,
treasures, and honor,
and all spiritual and physical pleasures from the Temple and the
Sacrifices, causing gratification on high and below. This is "*** we had
the strength which we amassed in the good times to withstand the great
tragedy of our coming destruction. Not so with the passing of the
righteous during our long exile, in which every day is harder, and exile
follows exile, and troubles *** immeasurable and innumerable. Every day
the men of kindness grow fewer, they pass away, and the righteous go ""*
and we are left to sigh. With all this suffering, if one true Tzaddik like
this is missing, G-d forbid, there is no
more strength left to endure the great pain, since we are already full of
suffering in our
exile without this. *** the answer of the poor man that his suffering is
harder to endure
things on his own. And since "[G-d] fulfills the will of those who fear
him," He fulfilled the will of the Tzaddik after his death [and buried him
there].
Now our sages say in Rosh Hashana (f.18) that the death of the
Righteous is as hard on G-d as was the burning of the Temple. The question
on this is known, from different books, that this contradicts what is said
in Midrash Rabbah, Aicha (ch. 81:3a) that the death of the Righteous is
harder than the destruction of the Temple. (See what I wrote on this in
the essay, Zichron Tzaddikim printed in eulogy of the holy Rabbi). One can
perhaps explain that they ascribe to two differing rationales that can be
explained in the following analogy: There were two worthy people who were
captured, treated abusively, underwent severe suffering, were exiled and
chased. One of them used to be very rich, successful, and had plenty of
all good. Suddenly the wheel [of fortune] turned on him and he was caught
in the net for no fault of his own. The other was a man who had known
illness from his youth, poor, had bad luck, and was plagued by suffering
in all areas [of life]. In addition to all this, there now came upon him
the tragedy of his capture and disorientation through no fault, he was
pursued by trouble, together with the rich man. They talked together. The
rich man said to the poor man, "My brother and friend,
can there be a worse pain than that which has befallen me, for I have
fallen from a great
height into a low pit, and been thrown from heaven to earth (as is stated
in Chagigah 5:b). Suddenly this misfortune came upon me, from light to
darkness, and I have been placed in a pit. Not so with you - you are used
to suffering and poverty and are not so affected with the trouble of
imprisonment which has befallen you, since in your case, Babit becomes
second nature'." The poor man answered, "Exactly the reverse is tn~e. You
were a rich man, well-kept all your life, with pleasantness, richness, and
health, and nothing was withheld from you. With this you amassed strength
during good times so that now you are able to endure these troubles,
whereas not so I. I have been crushed with suffering all my life, and the
power to endure all this additional suffering has gone, until almost my
soul escapes me." It is in this that the Tannaim and Amoraim differ.
[Tannaim were the Rabbinic authorities ofpre 200 c.e., and Amoraim were of
the 200-500 c.e. era/. In the Talmud,
Rosh Hashana, they said that the death of the Righteous is as hard on G-d
as the buming
of the Temple. That is to say that the Temple, which was the source of our
life and our
desire, and shone to the whole world, was then burned and destroyed, and
our joy was turned to mourning. This, to Him, is similar to the death of a
Tzaddik who shines to the world and then is taken from us, and the joy of
our hearts ceases. This is similar to the
logic of the rich man who was captured, as above. However, the Midrash
follows the
logic of the poor man. It therefore states that the death of the Tzaddik
is harder than the
destruction of the Temple. At least while it stood we had Glory,
treasures, and honor,
and all spiritual and physical pleasures from the Temple and the
Sacrifices, causing gratification on high and below. This is *** we had
the strength which we amassed in the good times to withstand the great
tragedy of our coming destruction. Not so with the passing of the
righteous during our long exile, in which every day is harder, and exile
follows exile, and troubles *** immeasurable and innumerable. Every day
the men of kindness grow fewer, they pass away, and the righteous go ***
and we are left to sigh. With all this suffering, if one true Tzaddik like
this is missing, G-d forbid, there is no
more strength left to endure the great pain, since we are already full of
suffering in our
exile without this. *** the answer of the poor man that his suffering is
harder to endure
than the suffering of the man rich in holiness. It therefore poses that
the passing of the
Righteous is harder than the destruction of the Temple. (When we had at
least amassed
strength from the pleasure that we had *** when it stood.)
*** So it is
with the passing of my elder. After the passing of many Tzaddikim, our
teachers ***. Troubles have swept over us, and he served us as the light
of Israel, and an intercessor for the exile of Ariel [The Jewish nation],
the remnants ***, this Holy
Rabbi, the last of the Great Assembly. Now, that he has been taken to
heaven, the wave
has swept over us *** like the burning of our Temple, as in the Talmud.
We can additionally quote the words of the Midrash, since *** suffering
innumerable, and
inexplicable due to their number, and so our strength has been eroded
through our sins. *** and because of the many Tzaddikim who passed away
before him, there is no strength to withstand it anymore. This is the
meaning of, "Their passing is harder than the destruction of the Temple."
May G-d console all of the house of Israel, and help us through his
salvation *** with the building of Ariel [the Temple].
Behold he left behind his son and successor, the Rav, Gaon and
Tzaddik, Sinai and uprooter of mountains [i.e. the two qualities of broad
knowledge and of great depth],
renown in the gates, ***, Rabbi Nosson Dovid, who was accepted as Head of
Beis Din of
the community of Shidlovtze immediately after his settling there. He was
a Rebbe *** spending time in his father's presence. Woe after woe. I heard
and my innards were in turmoil, because now, in the year 5679 (1919), our
crown [crown=679] has been removed, and his son passed away. "My innards
rage and are embittered" when I
remember his love between *** friends (still alive), followers of my
friend and elder,
who was my father-in-law. Even though my brother-in-law was *** advanced
in years,
he adhered to the adage "From all my teachers I have learned," when he
would learn with
me together, at the directive of his father. (This was when I stayed in
the presence *** and my quarters were occasionally there). He was a vessel
***, great in Torah, with sharpness and knowledge, in the revealed and
esoteric [parts of Torah], and [had] all the
good qualities that our sages mention. A vine ***, outstanding and
glorious, stood as banner for his people, a wonderful leader,
unadulterated gold, a man of treasures, with all *** endearment, one
cannot finish praising him. ['ayn gomrim olov es hahalel']. Now, in his
youth, he has been taken from us. Oh, woe, he was *** and also my
brother-in-law, a
friend and a brother to me. One can apply the verse of grieving said by
King David about
Shaul and his son Yonosan, who were also his father and brother-in-law, so
too could I
bitterly grieve for my father-in-law *** his son who was my
brother-in-law, "They were
swifter than eagles, and stronger than lions to do the will of the Creator
in their lifetimes, and in their deaths were not parted." Regarding Sh. B.
who was the brother-in-law most
friendly with me, it could be said, as David mourned his brother-in-law
Yonosan, (Sam. II Ch. 17) "Your love was astounding to me." (See what is
written on these verses in the
discourse *** Tzaddikim," in eulogy of the Rebbe of Radomsk)
"On Shaul and Yonosan *** to teach the Sons-of-Yehuda (Judea) weaponry -
keshet," which, as known from [other] books, stands for K
rias Shemah
[recital of Shemah, the most basic Jewish creed] [and] Tefillah.
This can
be said about my father and brother in law who were Rabbeim, teaching
Benai-Yisrael the order of Shema and Prayers, to unite Him, may His name
be blessed, through prayer ***, and to be devoted to Him, to stand with
bow and arrow against those who reject [the religion], who are breaching
[standards], and to strengthen others with faith in G-d ***, may their
merit protect us. And let us merit speedily, as we understand it, to
salvation from heaven, with the building of Tzion and Yerushalayim, with
the coming ***.
(page 61)
By Kalman Goldwasser o.b.m.
R' Shraga Yair
(translated from Yiddish - Aharon Sorosky)
Biolovzig was a picturesque town. Blue skies, kilometers of Oron
woods [a type of tree], and wheat fields that fed the population of the
town and village. In middle of the
river Yaffe ("Filtzeh") there were green islands upon which grew
willow trees
['Hoshanos' used in the ritual of the seventh day of Pentecost,] (kosher
to a higher standard), and it had golden banks (from which the name of the
town was derived) that squatted, so to speak, on the edges of the path
upon which ran the sole connection between the town and the wider world.
It was like a wagon-driver's barrel in his square wagon [?].
Reb Zalman, the town beadle, the 'clock of Jewish town' - was a
tall man who had grown together with the town. Every day at dawn, he would
go on his rounds with a wooden hammer in his hands. He would go from one
shutter to the next, and at every place that a Jew lived, he would stop,
knock three times, and call into the window in a sing-song voice full of
longing, "Jews! Arise to the service of G-d..."
They used to say about Reb
Zalman the beadle that he had, thank G-d, long passed his ninetieth year.
Others dismissed this appraisal with a wave of the hand, since according
to their reckoning, he had long passed his hundredth year. Reb Zalman
himself
did not pay attention to any of this. He continued to wake the Jews to
[their] Divine
service, until one day his wooden hammer slipped out of his hand... From
that day on, the hammer passed on to his son Moshe'l.
In the dawn of its history, when Bialovzig as a town was taking
it's first steps, the place served as a center for religious Jewry. Things
changed with the passing of time, but
in the meantime, the court of a Tzaddik had opened there. There, all the
spiritual life of the Jews of the town was centered. Even though there
were shteiblach [a shteibel is a
familiar community synagoguej of other Chassidim: Gur (Ger), Vorki,
Amshinov,
Vochutzk and others, and though the general synagogue served as 'the
illumination of the
Exile', nevertheless, Bialovzig shone mainly from the glory of the Rebbe.
From both sides of the Varshoee "Trackt," [the 'Warsaw highway' -
see a map of Poland] square wagons were being
pulled,
which were over-filled with singing Chassidim, and were attached to four
"lions" led by
wagon drivers; Michel, Aharon, Shlomo. These were Jews who were typical of
their type, whose weather-beaten faces and wide beards, made them look
like Generals returning from a battlefield on the victorious side. "Vyeh,
Vyeh," [at least I suppose
that's how it sounds] they called energetically to the horses, as was
their custom. The horses, trained to the call, would tap their hooves
rhythmically on the cobbled stones,
blending with the [rhythm] of the singing and sounds. And now they have
come to the long market street which was completely settled on either side
by Jews, and everyone would look out of their windows and doorways at the
cavalcade, and quickly caught on to the tune of the Rebbe, and would join
in singing it. The street itself [seemed to] sing. So
the journey continued until they came to the big wooden house. There they
stopped
together, as if the "lions" were saying, "This is the place! We have
brought you to the right address, we are not going any further..."
At the
front of the house, they went about ten steps from the porch toward the
door on the right, to *** old, of small stature and distinguished
features. The light of the
Shechinah [G-dly imminence/manifestation] radiated from them. A face ***
old, silver like the work of a craftsman. This was the appearance of the
Tzaddik, Rabbi Shraga Yair, of blessed memory.
Into the room *** Jews were drawn from the four corners of the
earth. Principally [they came] from within the kingdom of Kaiser, Franz
***, Hungary, Chechye, Bohemia, East and West Galicia, and from all
corners of Poland. More than once *** that also a non-Jew knocked on the
Rebbe's door.
*** was the Chassidic philosophy of Bialovzig? Something like that
of Kotz,
Gur, and Vorki? Something *** I heard that by us (and maybe I was too
young to understand these things). There flooded into here, Jews *** and
from far. All of them came specifically for him, to the Tzaddik, as if
every day of the year was a festival! *** crowned with noble ancestry. On
one hand he was the son-in-law of Rabbi Shmelke of
Sasov. From the other side, he was the son of Rabbi Nosson Dovid of
Shidlovzeh, a
descendant of the 'Holy Jew' of Pashischa *** also authored and compiled
certain books, including Aron Ha'aydus, [a commentary] on the Torah and
festivals *** all this is pertinent to the 'text of Bialovzig'.
*** today is Friday; today is a special day. The whole week round,
the courtyard
of the Rebbe looks like *** a half-way house. Chassidim from foreign
parts, distant
cities, that had come to spend Shabbos *** in the shadow of the Rebbe,
prepared to go back on their way, and others arrived to take their place.
Friday, toward the end *** a
kind of in-between-times was created. The holy Shabbos had not yet
arrived, but the *** mundane have already ceased and gone. No one was
involved with mundane activity any
longer. Besides for R. Chaim the [Rebbe's] assistant, who is burdened
sevenfold *** on
a day like this. His great brim, big enough for two, was pushed up ***. R.
Chaim was
cutting the fish in honor of Shabbos with great diligence. In this field,
he is an expert *** of a kind.
This time, there were more chassidim, guests, than every other
Friday. Everyone was hurried and running - running here, running there,
without knowing precisely why they were running... They pray a quick
mincha and continue running. *** worried about missing out on something,
that they shouldn't be too late. Then, when the tempo reached
its peak *** opened, one of the side doors. It opened with a
commotion, and then
suddenly there fell a hush - the Rebbe has arrived! On the doorstep ***
the shining form
of the Tzaddik.
*** was already at a great old age, small stature, weak, he
sometimes was carried by two relatives who would hold him by his arms
[until they reached] the prayer lectern. In a quiet voice that could only
be heard with difficulty, the Rebbe started the Shabbos night prayers,
"Come, let us sing joyously to G-d, [let us] shout out to the Rock of our
salvation."
*** time, unusually, the Rebbe stopped on his way to the
lectern, and opened his eyes. He looked around *** synagogue, to all
sides, as if he were looking for someone. In the end he asked, "Is Yankel
Bialovziger *** here?" From amongst the crowd, came forward a
distinguished looking Jew, his blackish/red beard nicely combed. "Yes,
Rebbe," he answered humbly. "Come here, then, Yankele, to lead the Shabbos
services
today."
*** is this Yankele, that he was even then called by the name of
his town? Did he ever live here? *** that this Jew once stood at the
greatest hights [financially], and he
then fell ***. Contrary to his bad luck in things material, success came
to him from a different direction. He was a father of four *** who were
famous cantors. I knew two of them personally. Yisroel Kuper/Kufer, the
last cantor *** in the chazanus of Kalish. His two other sons were also
cantors of renown in the world in general. However, not one of them
reached the level of their great father, who was like an ever-growing
spring
in the field of tune and song. His tremendous voice was like a flood of
crashing water,
like a storming sea, like a waterfall taking apart mountains, and
shattering rocks...
For this Shabbos night service, Reb Yankel let forth
with a wonderful new tune that he had composed specially for the honor of
the Rebbe. Everyone then understood well why he was considered a special
guest, not just by the Rebbe, but even more so in
the eyes of his son, R. Nosson Dovid, who was literally love-sick for
songs. He (R. Nosson Dovid) himself would lead the services, by a supernal
kindness, and was a
composer of musical pieces. All the Jews of the town loved him, and came
to listen to
his prayers in order to feel the pleasure of Shabbos.
In Bilovzig, there could have been found at that time, a line of
Chassidim who could leader of the service and who knew how to sing. Each
one of them was a "high
priest in his service," and at least one of them should be remembered
here. He is R. Yisroel Meir Lipshitz. When I heard his prayers, it was
on the last Yom Kippur of his
life, he did not have the strength to stand at the lectern for the Amida.
They brought him
a special chair, and like that - sitting - he prayed Mussaf and then
Neilah with such an
outpouring of feeling, the likes of which the congregants of the shteibel
had never once heard from him. After a few weeks, R. Yisroel Meir expired
and passed away.
The son of the Rebbe, R. Nosson Dovid, was himself a
powerful singer, and always sought talented people who could take-in and
improve his compositions. He was also extremely pedantic. Any slight
change in nuance, a wrong or slipped note, would
bring him out of his complacency. For such a 'misdemeanor', the singer
would receive a
sharp poke in the side....and the one who received more pokes than any was
his son R'
Mordechai Yirmiyahu.
But despite everything, there came whole days and weeks in the town
when peace
reigned. The cavalcades of chassidim ceased, and at night, the
flickering-lights did not
burn in the Rebbe's study-hall. This was not just a regular quietness, but
was like the
quiet before the storm. Before the awful days arrived.... It was in the
summer months,
when all the Rebbe's family seated themselves in a wagon of one of the
coachmen, and
left. The talk in the town was that they were traveling the health spa in
Karlsbad. But no
one could tell from behind those hills of darkness, lay that 'Karlsbad'.
[?]
For about two months, this quiet reigned in Bialovzig. Even in
Karlsbad, or any
other place, R. Nosson Dovid did not sit with folded arms in order to
enjoy the pleasures
of this world. He was an expert, not only in religious song, but also in
classical music. More than one tune wandered into the big synagogue in
Bialovzig from world opera. There it found a 'home' in the stanzas of 'Ayn
Kitzvo' that R. Nosson Dovid let forth with on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
Already in the first days of the month of Elul, Bialovzig had once
again received its normal appearance, with the end of summer, the Rebbe
retumed with his family. Once again, the 'flickering-lights' shone at
night from the Rebbe's study house. R. Nosson Dovid bcgan to arrange
rehearsals with his singers for the new tunes which he had brought back
with him from the warm health-springs at Karlsbad, and to fit them into
the High Holiday prayer book. The preparations for the day of Judgement
were in earnest...
Bit by bit, chassidim began to come. There were the early ones who
came at the beginning of Elul *** Yom Kippur, the crowd already numbered
in the thousands, which took up every corner in every Jewish house.
Moshele, the son of Reb Zalman the beadle, with his wooden hammer in his
hand, would pass by every dawn *** the houses in the town. His three
knocks on the shutters of the Jews sounded like stones. His moving voice,
*** calling into the windows, "Jews! Arise, arise for Slichos."
The first
people to lead the congregation for Rosh Hashana, were Reb Mendele
Shebrishiner and his group of singers *** with him. In the language of
modern music, one might refer to their pleasant songs of prayer **tatiyah'
(songs closest to speech). However, I do not think that this fittingly
expresses *** of those Jews, which are far better and more accurately
expressed by words like, 'Songs of the Angels', 'Heavenly singing'. So
they truly were.
*** it is impossible to describe the expert singing of R. Nosson
Dovid at Kol Nidrei, Mussaf *** on Yom Kippur - when he had the exclusive
right to lead the congregation. Thousands of Jews *** for them with a
pulling of the heart. Throughout
the whole month of Elul, he would be busy with preparations and practice.
Now ***
before the stand, a fine-looking Jew with a dark beard, his Tallis on his
shoulders with its
crown of silver *** letting forth diamonds and Jewels: "Ya'aleh," "Hineni
He'oni Mima'as," "Unesaneh Tokef Kedushas Hayom," "Zecher kol
hanishkachos," "Kevakoras Tzoin Edroi," "Mi Bamayim uMi Ba'aish," "Mi
Bacherev uMi Bamagefah."
All these were not, during those days, mere
excerpts of the Machzor! The Seder
Ha'avodah, *** 'Malchiyos, Zichronos, Shofros, and 'Z'chor Bris Avrohom
V'Akaydas
Yitzchok!' With his sweet and pleasant voice, R. Nosson Dovid drew the huge
crowd to higher worlds.
*** my last years of wandering throughout the wider world, I have
had the opportunity to hear many cantors and musical experts, both Jewish
and nonJewish, in famous and spacious halls and with *** with high
ceilings *** from the highest quality of all sorts of music. Holiness
[however], I did not *** outside of the town of my birth, Bialovzig.
The joy ceased in one of the days in the month of Sivan 5671
(1911), when a fire broke out in our town *** literally a few seconds, almost
all of the Jewish settlement was consumed in flames. Most of the
shteibelach and study-halls were gone. The houses of
the Rebbe and the two adjacent synagogues were consumed in fire *** Four
Jews also perished in the tragedy of the fire. Bialovzig assumed a mantle
of grieving and mute
silence. *** this silence continued until the year 5680 (1920). Without
having a place to
live, the Rebbe's family moved to Radom. There the Tzaddik, R. Shraga
Yair passed
away after only two weeks. He was brought *** burial in the town of
Shidlovtzeh, next
to the resting place of his father, the Tzaddik.
After that, his son R. Nosson Dovid was crowned as Rebbe in
Shidlovzeh. But
not long passed before he, too, passed away. With his passing went a great
and colorful
man, a wondrous genius in song *** Jewish. In his place, his son R. Reuven
Baruch was
appointed as Rabbi in Shidlovtzeh. He, too, did not live long. After him,
his younger
brother R. Chayimel, was appointed to the Rabbinate. He was incidentally,
*** most
suitable from all his brothers, he was loved by everyone who knew him,
even from his
youth. A wise and sharp man, who revealed *** and skill in Chassidic
leadership. He did not disappoint his acquaintances from maintaining these
personal qualities to the day of his sacrifice. Chayimel was the last
Rabbi of the community of Shidlovtzeh. It was decreed that he die in
sanctification of G-d's name through strength of character. When the
Nazis, may their names be eradicated, brought the remnants of the Jews of
Shidlovtzeh for destruction, they directed R. Chayimel to get out of the
carriage, and promised him that he remain alive. But he answered them, "I
went at the head of my
congregation in life, I will also go with them on the last journey." In
reaction, the
oppressors fell upon him with great fury and terrible blows, until blood
flowed from all
about him. He was brought like that together with his flock to destruction
in Treblinka. Thus, the Nazis, may their names be eradicated, severed in
their cruelty, the golden
thread of this famous house of Tzaddikim, which had continued down from
the days of
the 'Holy Jew' of Pashischa, until the Rebbe of Bialovzig and his
grandchildren.
Dwellers from outside the Land of Israel
"..." after text means that certain more current
information has been kept out for privacy reasons
Fichell Igelman
Simcha Zalman Altman
Chaim Baumgarten
Fichell Bornstein (Stone)
Avrohom (Abe) Kutovitz
Yosseph Kutovitz
Aron Goldfarb
Yaakov (Jack) Goldfarb
Hillel Igielman
Shalom Weintraub
Zanvil Weintraub
Hershel Weisbroid
Pinchas Wintrov
Hershel Tepper
Aron Tennbaum
Avraham Nathan Lieberman
Yonoh Studenk
Eli Leibson
Liebel Landstein
Pauler (Pearl) Flantzbaum (Nee
Lerman)
Mayer Polker
Avraham Polkier
Mordechai Farshtendig
Paulter Friedman
Yoseph Tzimbelista
Golda Kochman (nee Cohen)
Shmuel Yitzchok Cygelman
Shraga Kipper
Paula Cooper
Shlomo Kligerman
Kopel Kendal
Leible Sherman
Sheindle Rozenberg (Nee Rachman)
Meir Sherman
Yoseph Sherman
I was born in Biyalabgige to my father David and my mother Frumet. I had four
brothers and sisters; Moshe Lieb, Binyamin, Devorah, and Pearl.
In 1942 my family together with most of the Jews of Biyalabgige were deported to
Treblinka were they were all exterminated by the cursed Nazis - May Hashem
Avenge Their Blood. I was the only survivor and I went through many
concentration camps; Chainstechowe, Sarkizowe, Kamminer, and Buchinwald.
I was liberated by the U.S. Forces, in Checkslovakia. I then left to
the USA... I am very pleased to see that a book of Biyalabgige is being
published which will be an everlasting memorial to out Town, Biyalabgige.
I was born in Bialobrzeg, the son of Reb Binyomin son of R.
Moishe Chaim and Esther daughter of Reb Moishe Yosef. I was
one of three children, Chaim Zelig was in Russia resides today in America.
My sister Ruchoma and I were sent to a concentration camp and after our liberation emigrated to America. Ruchoma passed away in 1977... I hope and pray
that our children will never have to go through what we endured and will live in peace and harmony.
I was born in Biyalabgige in 1913 to my father Yitzchok and my mtoerh Chaya.
We were family of eight children. My brother Simcha Meyer, and my sisters;
Baila Gradel, Miriam, Malka, Frumet, Yochved, and Dinah. In 1932
I went to France to my sister Miriam who was already living there. I stayed there until my fathers illness in 1934 when I then returned to Biyalabgige.
In 1936 I was conscripted to the Polish army. In 1938 my mother
passed away. I returned to Paris straight after the Shiva period.
During the war my brother and my sisters; Miriam, Frumet and Yochaved
were murdered by the Nazis. My sister Malka (Feldman) presently lives in
Paris next to me. My other surviving sister Dinah lives in Tel Aviv.
During the war years I was sent from camp to camp. In 1946 I emigrated to the
USA where I was once again united with my brother Simcha. In the USA I met
my wife Chaya Etika (nee Eckstein) who is also from Biyalabgige... Her
parents were called Yisrael and Chava Esther. My wife had a brother called
Shmuel David who also perished in the Holocaust. She has another vrother Velvele who emigrated to the USA in 1925...
I was born in Bialobrzeg in 1923.
My father was called Yitzchok Noter and my mother, Gittel the daughter of Avraham Birenbaum.
My oldest sister was called Miriam who was married to Avraham Zaltzhendler when the War broke out. Both were killed in Branawer in 1941, my sister being only
29 years old. My G-d avenge their Blood. My second sister Fiegi was also killed in
Branewer in 1941, she was 22 years old. My brother Simcha was married to Surela
Rabinowitz. He passed away in USA in 1961 at the young age of only 42 years old. As I write these lines I recall my dear family who were so mercilessly massacred in the
Holocaust, I do so with pain and sadness and may G-d avenge their Blood.
I was born in Byalibgige to my father Lieble and my Mother Pesia, I had three
brothers and one sister: Shlomo, Yisroel, Yoseph, Binyamin and Esther.
In 1942 the Nazis expatriated myself and my two brothers,
Yisroel and Yoseph to "Skarzisko Kamieno" where we slaved in an
ammunition factory. We were then sent to Chernstichowe, where we also worked
at an ammunition factory. We worked on night shift and it was extremely
arduous. From there we were transported to Buchenwald. Yisroel and
myself were liberated on 11-4-45. My brothers Yoseph and
Binyamine were liberated by the Russians, four months before us.
Yisroel and I were hospitalized for six months, and when my brother
Yoseph and Binyamin found out that we survived and of our whereabouts they came
to us and we were once again united. We were
all wed in one evening on one ceremonly in Landsburge, Germany.
I was born in Byalibgige to my father Yehuda and my Mother Pesia, I had
three brothers and one sister: Shlomo, Yisroel, Yoseph, Binyamin and
Esther. In 1942 to my depp regret we were separated from my parents
and the rest of my family, who were all exterminated in
Treblinka - May G-d Avenge Their Blood. Only my two brothers Yisrael,
Avraham and myself survived and after our liberation we emigrated to
the USA... May we hear only good tidings.
I was born in Biyalabgige to my father Moshe and my mother Sara. My father
was the son of Rabbi Chaim Dov Goldfarb of Wurkeah. My
mother was the daughter of Reb. Liebke Chaider.
We were a fmily of nine children. During the First World War two small
children passed away; Chaim Dov and Chayia, which left us with seven children;
The oldest was called Esther, after which came
Yitzchok, Avraham, Yaakov, Myself, Bracha and the
youngest Shimon, who was named after the Grand Rabbit of
Skernowitz Zal. My father was an ardent Chassid of the
Rebbe of Skernowitz.
In 1930 my mother passed away, and left seven orphans, and my
oldest sister Esther became our surrogate mother.
My father Reb Moshe Zal. worked very hard and eked out his living as
a Melamed (Hebrew teacher) at the local Chaider.
When the Nazis started to send us to forced labor, I was amonth the first
transport which was sent to the billage of Schucher not far from Biyalabgige. It was
there I begame to hear terrible stories of the atrocities that were taking
place to our Jewish brethren but at that stage I still found it difficult
to believe.
The officer in charge was acertain "Hauptstrumfurer" Rozach,
and his deputy was caled Schmidt Shtekel and another
cruel Nazi called Otto. We worked six days a week hard labor.
The Judenrite arragned that there should be an equal recruitment
from all families alike, but the more affluent families bribed themself out of
the conscription, and others had to go instead.
After the deportation in 1942 my brothers Avraham and Yitzchok and myself
remained in Sucher. From there we were went to Radom and to another labor
camp called Pieunki. We worked there in an ammunition factory together
with other friends from Biyalabgige. The work was extremely
strenuous, and the conditions were atrocious.
News began to filter in that a few members of our family are hiding in
Poland. In August 1944 the three of us escaped together with other
friends from Pieunki. During the getaway I lost my brother
Yitzchok and friend called Zissman Birman. We then
decided to return to Sucher, hoping that we would find remaining members
of the family. We dug a bunker which resembled more like a grave.
The hardships that we endured is indescribable. We were located
in close proximity to the battalions of the famous German General
Schtoube. We remained there until out
liberation on 12-1-45.
Our first thought was to return to Biyalabgige in order to try and find
any remaining members of the family. We were soon joined by
other survivors, each one of us had so much to tell of his travails.
Shortly after our return to Biyalabgige the Poles showed
great hostility towards us. At that period the pogrom at Klotzer took place were 50 Jews, Holocaust survivors, were
brutally massacred by the Poles. We therefore decided to leave for
Germany. We arrived to a town called Amperthaim, which was then
under American occupation. From there we emigrated to the USA
where we were once again united with our brother Yaacov, who arrived
through Russia.
It always pained me greatly that my brother Yitzchok was not given a Jewish
burial. In 1973 I traveled back to Poland,
and with the help of a certain Polish family and the help of the American
Ambassador in Warsaw we traced borth the grave of my brother Yitzchok and of
Zissman Birman and we reburied them at the Chulon cemetery in Israel...
I am very pleased to see that a book of Biyalabgige is being published
which will be an everlasting memorial to our Town, Biyalabgige, and
may we never again undergo any suffering.
About my family my brother Aaron has already written I will
therefore write about myself. I left for Warsaw before the War in order to work
and provide support for our family. It is difficult to describe how hard it
was for us to elk out a living. When the Nazis invaded Warsaw I fled
to Brisk, and then I moved from town to town.
Whenever we heard the slightest rumor the Germans were closing in,
I immediately was once again on the run. On the way I met two
communists from Biyalabgige; Yitzchok Reich and Simcha Blendever.
We then fled together to Odessa and when the Nazis invaded Russia in
1941 at Stalingrad I went to work for the Red Army. I was released
in 1948 and then returned to Poland where I met my wife Malkah...
I was born in Byalobzegy in 1929 to my parents: Ficshel and
Brucha. My four brothers, Phinchas, David, Srulick,
and Yankle, and my two sisters, Necha and Shiener perished in the
terrible Holocaust, May G-d Avenge their Blood.
In 1941 I was taken to work in an ammunition factory in the city of Radom.
After a short period I was then transported from Camp to Camp and I
was even taken to Auschwitz. I was liberated from Dachau on the last
day of the War...
I was born in Bialobrzegi to my parents; Yaacov and Sara Elkah.
My Father passed away in his prime in the year 1920, and left my
Mother a widow and my brother Zanvill and myself orphans. We had
a very large family living in Bialobrzegi, uncles, aunts and
many cousins, all tragically perished at the hand of the cursed
Nazis, May Hashem Avenge Their Blood.
I remember my uncle, Yoseph Laizer (my mother's brother),
his wife Feigi, and their children, Yisroel, Chaim, Sarah,
Chanah Pearl, and many more of my family, who were all so brutally
butchered by the Nazis. May Hashem Avenge Their Blood.
Despite those horrifying years of war and persecution we endured, we
managed with great miracles to survive, and
reach the United States where we rebuilt our lives afresh...
It gives me very great pleasure and satisfaction to see that at
long last a book is being published on my beloved town, Bialobrzegi.
I was born in Bialobrzegi to my parents; Yaacov and Sara Elkah.
My Father passed away in his prime, and left my Mother to look after
me and my brother, Shalom. As my brother Shalom already described,
our large family perished in teh Holocaust, May Hashem avenge Their
Blood.
I managed to survive together with my brother Shalom, despite the
great suffering we endured in the many concentration camps we
went through during the six years of the War.
After our liberation I emigrated to Cleavland in the USA...
I am in deep gratitude to all my friends in Israel, who assisted in
publishing this book, so that our future generations will
always remember and cherish our birthplace, the Town of Bialobrzegi.
I was born in Byalabgegi to my father, Zeissman and to my mother, Fraidah.
I had a brother Daniel and a sister, Baila Mindel. My entire family lived
in Byalabgegi including my granparents (from my father's side),
Baruch and Blumah. We were a most happy family.
My father had a textile shop, and we lived in an apartment in the shop.
Im my youth I learned Hebrew studies with a "Rebbe" like the rest of the
children of my age.
On the fateful day of the deportation of all the Jews from
Byalabgegi, the cursed Nazis shot and killed my Father and my
Sister. The rest of my family were taken to
Treblinka where they were all murdered, May G-d Avenge Their Blood.
I was sent first to Skunzisk and then to Chenstochowa, Buchenwald, and
Moiselwitz.
After my liberation I lived for a short period in
Germany, and then emigrated to the United States...
I wish the generations to come, theat they should enjoy a happy and prosperous
life, but most importantly, that our offspring should always remember their
roots.
I was born in Bialobrzeg, the son of Reb Yehuda Arye. I was in the
Bialobrzeg Ghetto when the war broke out and
was there until 1942. My family was then sent to a concentration camp,
I was transported around various camps until 1945;
and after liberation lived in Germany until 1947. I then emigrated to the
US...
I was born in Biyalabgige to my father Reb Moshe the son of
Reb Shalom and my mother Chanah the daughter of Reb Yitzchok Aiyzik.
My brothers were called Yitzchok, Shalom, and Yehuda and I had a sister called
Dinah. They all perished in the terrible Holocaust
in the death camp Treblinka - May Hashem Avenge Their Blood.
After the War I emigrated to the USA...
I was born in Biyalabgige to my father Reb Leibish and my mother
Martel. My two sisters were called Chiaya and Sara. My brothers
were called Yaakov, Yisrael, Moshe, Piniya, and Mendle.
Our lives were similar to the rest of the Jews in Biyalabgige,
we did not lead and affluent life but we were a large and
happy family.
All my family perished in the horrifying Holocaust - only myself and
my brother Mendle (who resides in Israel) survived...
I am very pleased to see that a book of Biyalabgige is being
published which will serve as a study book for our offspring and will
also be an everlasting memorial to our Town, Biyalabgige.
I was born in Biyalabgige in the year 1905 to my parents Yisrael and Freide (Nee
Kopper). We had a very large family all of whom, to my greatest
sorrow, perished in the dreadful Holocaust.
My mother had many brothers and sisters. She had a sister called
Esther Feiga who married to Itzer Landstein,
their daughter; Hadassa chanah and her husband, their son Mendle and his
wife Zlater and their children. Another sister Sara Tamma married
Eliezer Sherman. Their children were
Esther Rivka and her husband from Warsaw, their daughter married to
Israel Rozentwieg. Another son was called Meir. My mother's
other sister was called Channa Leah who was married to Moshe
Arron Waldenberg and they had a son called Hersh Nathan.
My mother's brother was called Lemil Kooper, his
wife Sima, their daughter Pearl Zlader married Yonoson Lewin from Warsaw.
Lemil had more children Rechavia, Yechiel, Shlomo, Nathan and his
wife Jenny Nakowski. My mother's other brother David and his
wife Chavah, their son Yaakov Hirsh, their daughter Brindel, and Eta.
My mother's youngest brother was called Yechiel Meir his son
was called Shlomo Nathan.
My father had on e brother Efraim who married Chanala and together with their
son Moshe all were killed by the Nazis.
My parents had six children - Esther, Channa, Yocheved, Brindel,
Yuter, and my only brother Moshe. My sister Esther was
married to Hersh Yoseph Rozenbich, they had three children -
Lieble, Yisrael, and Nathan. My sister Chana was married to
Yossel Bien and they also had two children Pearler and Yisrael.
My sister Yochaved was married and had two children Yisrael and
Avraham.
Breingdel was married to Mottele Rozenberg, and my
brother Moshe married Shifra Birnbaus, and were murdered together with
their five year old son, Yisrael.
My father was a great Torah scholar who was born in Skernawitz, and
his father Reb Yechiel was a very famous Chassid. My mother
was the daughter of the Dayan Reb Avraham Bornstein, who was
also a very renowned Talmid Chacham.
My father passed away very young at the age of 48 and my
mother was left a widow with 6 children with myself being the oldest.
In 1930 I married to my wife Yocheved Baumgarten. In 1942 our
only daughter Bisya was born to us, and we
brought her up with great joy and tender loving care. I have with me many
wonderful memories which I cherish to this day of our life in
Biyalabgige from the years 1918-1930 when I was very active in the
Zionist Youth Movement in out town. Also I have many
memories of the pre-War era in Biyalabgige ie the years 1930-1939 where
the atmosphere was already highly explosive and we felt the war
tide rapidly blowing in from Nazi Germany. Of course we never
envisaned in our wildest dreams of what was really to take place.
During the War I lost my dear wife Yocheved who was killed on
28/6/43 in Staninislaw together with three other
Jews from Biyalabgige - Yaakove Leib Shustach and his two brothers,
and Yossef Yom Tov Sherman. I remained alone with
only my surviving daughter, Bisya.
After the War I emigrated to Paris...
I was born in Biyalabgige to my father Reb Mordchei and my
mother Zlater. We were a large family. Their names were
Dinah, Arron, Yisrael, Zeilig, Nechomo, Vellvel, and
Avraham.
I was born in Byalabgegi to my father, Yechezkel and to my mother,
Rivkah (nee Birenbaum). We were five children at home,
Mendle, Zecharia, Hersh Lieb, Berel, and myself. My father
was a wealthy man before the War, he had a ice cream and soda factory,
in addition to a restaurant. He was also a timber merchant.
When the Nazis occupied Byalabgegi, they drove us out of our house and we went to
live in Sodova Street, we suffered greatly together with the rest of the
Jews in the town. In 1943 all the remaining Jews were deported to
Treblinka where all my family perished, May G-d Avenge Their Blood.
I was sent to Sucha where I was forced to do many kinds of
difficult and strenuous labor. I was then deported to
Ostrowicz and then to Auschwitz, where I spent one and a half years.
I was then transported in an open train to Buchenwald, where
I worked for three months in a forest.
At Larger Dora in Nordhausen I was badly injured from a shot in
my left leg. It was then amputated for "experimental"
purposes with out anesthesia.
I was liberated by the famous Colonel Hugh Cary who later became
Governor of New York State. After my liberation I became Mayor
of Gosiar Am Hartz, for a period of six months.
In 1949 I emigrated to the USA...
I was born in Biyalabgige to my father Reb Itchia and my mother Esther
Fiega.
We were a family of six at home. My oldest brother was called Moshe
and next came Mendle after which came my sisters Hadass Channi and
myself. My two youngest brothers were called Yehuda Aria and Henoch,
respectively.
Before the War we lived very affluently working for the local
Squire - we lacked nothing.
In 1942 my whole family was deported to Treblinka where they were
exterminated - May G-d Avenge Their Blood. My brother
Moshe and myself were the only survivors. My brother Moshe
passed away in 1976.
During the War I was in a camp called Sacrzsto Kimminer and
later in Chanstichowe, I was liberated in 1945. I then returned
to Biyalabgige where I lived for about half a year. I then went to
live in Lodj also for half a year. I then moved to Germany
where I met my wife Sara and we married.
I was born in Bialobrzegi to my parents Eliezer and Sarah Tamah,
the daughter of Reb Yoseph Koper.
Our family consisted of four brothers and two sisters - Rivka,
Sheindle, Breindle Eta, Nathan, Yhoshua, and myself Pearl Hadassa.
My mother came from a very large family. My grandfather Reb.
Yoseph had about eighty children and grandchildren before the War,
Alas very few remain alive today.
My oldest sister Rivka married before the War, they lived in
Warsaw, and they had one son. When the war broke out we wanted
them to return to Bialobrzegi, because in Warsaw there was a terrible
shortage of food and people were dying of starvation. She however did not want to
leave her husband and they all perished in Treblinka, May G-d Avenge
Their Blood.
When the deportations started in Bialobrzegi we were given one
small room for the whole family, it was extremely difficult.
My brother Yhoshua married in the ghetto to Pessia the daughter of Arron Goldberg also
from Bialbrzegi. I worked very hard to earn a living for our family.
I remember when the Nazis shaved off my father's beard. We cried
so much, but my father calmed us and explained to us that the most
important thing is to fight for survival. Once a few young Germans
knocked on the door and shouted that we should call our
father. I started to cry in front of them and told them that I had
no one left in the world except my old father and pleaded that they
leave him alone. They left and went to our neighbor Leible
Blechash instead. They forced him out of the house and killed him
on the spot.
In 1942 the Nazis gathered all the Jews into the "horse market",
and many were killed on that day, including my father.
May G-d Avenge Their Blood. The rest of my family were deported to
Treblinka where they all perished. May G-d Avenge Their Blood.
My brother and sister in law remained a little longer in Bialobrzegi.
From Bialobrzegi I was taken to Sacrzshuska, and from there to many other
labor camps, among them Auschwitz, from there we were sent to Hindenburg, and from their to
Bergen Belzen. It was there that I understood the real meaning of
"Hell". It was also from there that I was finally liberated.
After my liberation I simply did not know where to turn, when suddenly
I met my brother and sister in law, Yhoshua and Pessia. In 1948
I married my husband Chaim (Flanzbaum) and we emigrated to the US...
It is of greates importance that our future generations should remember
the great suffering of our people which tood place in one of history's
darkest eras. Since this is the object of this book, I am therefore
deeply indebted to you.
I was born in Byalabgegi to my father, Yechiel and to my mother, Chaya.
My real name is Mayer but I am often referred to as David.
I had five brothers - Yaacov, Mayer, Chaim, Shulom and Abe (Avraham).
Out of all my very large family, only myself and my brother Abe
survived.
We were together in a concentration camp in Radom, and we were
liberated from the notorious death camp Dachau in 1945. After
my liberation I emigrated to the US...
I was born in Bialobrzegi to my parents Yechezkel and Chayah. We led
a peaceful and happy life until the War broke out.
During the war years I was expatriated from one camp to another.
I was in Auschwitz and in Dachau. I was liberated by the American
forces in April 1945...
I always tried to keep in contact with survivors of Bialobrzegi both in the
United States and in Istrael where we visited very often.
I always thought how important it is to publish a book on our
town and to record all that transpired in our birthplace, Bialobrzegi, so that our
future generations will always remember the dreadful Holocaust, the fine era preceding it,
and most important of all, how we managed to survive and rebuild once again
our family, only this time in the Holy Land.
I was born in Bialobrzeg, the son of Reb Meir. I was one of five children,
a sister Devorah and brothers Simcha, Itzza and Mendel.
My sister Devorah married a young man called Meir Langman and
they lived together in Apla. They had a son called Yankele, who was
only two months old at the outbreak of the war.
As the war took hold I wanted to know the well-being of my
sister and her child so I traveled two days on foot to Apla,
where I found her and her family alive and well.
I wanted to return to my family in Bialobrzeg but my brother in law
refused to let me return as the road back to Bialobrzeg was
extremely perilous at that time.
I waited until a whole group of fellow Jews wanted to return to Bialobrzeg and I joined with them. That was the last time I saw my sister and
her child, may Hashem Avenge Their Blood.
My parents and my brother Simcha perished in the notorious death camp
Treblinka, my brother Izza died at that time from illness and my
other brother Mendel was killed by a Ukrainian in a concentration camp.
Their images constantly appear before my eyes from the termination of
that horrific War until today.
I was born in Biyalabgige to my father Fievel and my mother Rivkah.
We were a family of four children, Itzah, Moshe, Rachel, and myself.
My whole family was annihilated in the Holocaust and I was the only
survivor...
I was born in Biyalabgige to my father Reb Yaacov and my mother Yenta.
I had three sisters - Rivkah, Pessia and Henia, and brother Elchonon.
My father founded an interest free loan fund and many benefitted greatly
from it. He passed away in 1938 after an illness.
I was together with my family until 1942 when all of the Jews of
Biyalabgige were deported to Treblinka.
All of my dear family perished at Treblinka, May Hashem Avenge Their
Blood.
I was deported to a labor camp in Radom where I was together with many friends
from Biyalabgige. In 1944, I was sent to Germany to a labor camp in
Hanover, where I stayed until April 1945 when I was liberated by the
French forces...
I am very pleased to see that a book of Biyalabgige is being published
which will be an everlasting memorial to our town, Biyalabgige.
I was born in Biyalabgige to my father Yechiel and my
mother Chava Cohen. We were a family of seven children, four sisters
(including myself) and three brothers.
My sisters - Rivkele, Sara, Miriam and myself, Golda. My brothers -
Shloime, Meyer, and Avromileh.
In 1942 my dear family were taken to Treblinka where they all were
martyred, May G-d Avenge Their Blood. Only my
brother Shloime and myself managed to survive and we are currently
close to each other in Canada.
During the War I worked in a number of Concentration Camps such as
Pinky, Auschwitz, and Bergen Belzen. I was
liberated in 1945...
I send my warmest greetings and blessings to those who have taken the
innovation to publish this book, which will duly serve as an everlasting
memorial of my beloved town, Biyalabgige.
I was born in Byaloibygi on 25/7/1928 to my parents Hershel and Chava.
I had three brothers Zev, Mayer and Jonah, and one sister Rachel. We
had a large family of many uncles, aunts and cousins all living in
Byaloibyge.
When the war broke out I was taken to perform forced labor for the cursed
Nazis. In 1941 I was taken to the city of Radom to work in an
ammunition factory where I stayed until 1943.
I was then transported to Hungary where I was in various concentration camps such as
Vyhingen, Hessentall, and Dachau. I was liberated in 1945
from Mittenwald Bavaria...
I was born in Biyalabgige to my father Reb Moshe Ahron the son of
Reb Yoseph and my mother Rachel the daughter of Reb Ahron. I
had a brother called Yitzchok Nathan and a sister Rivkah, who were all exterminated in Treblinka, May Hashem Avenge Their Blood.
I was born in Biyalabgige to my parents Yoseph and Rachel.
We were a family of 11 children.
My brothers were Lemal, Yechiel Meir, David, Menachem, and Pinchas.
My sisters were Sara, Tarna, Esther Fiaga, Channa Lea, Freida, and
myself.
I left Biyalabgige before the War and went to live in Warsaw. It was while
I was residing in Warsaw that the War broke out and was in the
Warsaw Ghetto.
It is very difficult for me to describe those unspeakable horrors
which I as a young girl of only 14 years old went through
together with the rest of the Jews of Warsaw. Every day literally thousands
were transported to the nototious death camps of Auschwitz. My
survival was a great miracle.
From my very large family I was the only survivor. Apart from my
immediate family, all my uncles and aunts including Shmuel, Rehnaia, Shlomo,
Sara, Itzick, Nathan, Mamia, Beumi Cooper, Jonas and Irka Lewink,
Chaim and Luba Leifeld. May the Lord Avenge Their Blood.
After my liberation I went to live in Germany until 1951 when I then
emigrated to the USA...
I would like to give my blessing to my dear children and grandchildren,
that they should read this book and understand what we went through in the
terrible Holocaust, and may we know from now on only good.
I was born in Biyalabgige to my father Reb Yoseph Zvi
and to my mother Sara Rivkah.
Besides myself we were a family of five. My brothers were
Avrham Mordechei, and Yechiel Meir. My sisters were
Esther Blima, Chanah Yocheved, and Tova.
Before the War, we had a family in Biyalabgige of more than
a hundred relatives, and to my greatest sorrow I am the only
survivor.
I went through a terrible time in those horrible war years.
At the begining of the War in 1939 I was two years in Ghetto Biyalabgige.
The Nazis massed all the Jews from the surrounding villagers in
Biyalabgige, and the overcrowding was appalling.
People were dying on the streets from hunger, and from
time to time the Nazis would seize people from the streets for labor.
In 1942 the whole Jewish population of Biyalabgige were deported to Treblinka,
in sealed cattle trucks without any food or drink. The conditions were an undescribable nightmare.
This is how they spent their last few days in this world because they
were all brutally massacred in the notorious gas chambers
on their arrival at Treblinka, May G-d Avenge Their Blood.
I managed to avoid the transport by hiding on a polish farm
approximately 6 km from Biyalabgige, from 1943 until January 1945.
The farmer who gave me shelter was a very special person who together
with his family risked their lives in order to save as many Jews as
possible.
The book which is currently being prepared for publishing will retell
to the future generations all that transpired to the Jews from our beloved town
Biyalabgige, that we remember our parents and family who perished at the
hands of the cursed Nazis, remember all those who
suffered so greatly in those darkest years that mankind ever went through.
May we always remember our dearest and closest ones, May G-d
Avenge Their Blood... I am currently married to Paula Cooper (see above)
I was born in Bialobrzegi on 7-3-1928 to my Father Shmuel Elya and to my
Mother, Chana Devorah (Nee Kandelcukier). My Father
was a very religious man who had an iron monger business,
trading under various names. I had two Sisters, Chaya
Liber and Esther Fiega. To the best of my knowledge they all perished
in Treblinka.
I had two uncles on my Mother's side, Hirsch Meir and Mailech
Koper, who emigrated to Israel in 1936. I also
had a number of cousins from my Mother's side. One cousin
called Hersh Kreiger lived with us, married in 1938, and had one child.
During the War I was deported from one concentration camp to
another, including
Treizenshtat and Buchenwald.
I was liberated in 1945... It gives great satisfaction to see that a
book is at long last being published on our dear Town Bialobrzegi.
I was born in Bialobrzeg, the son of Reb Yitzchok and Chaya.
I was one of six children, five brothers and a sister.
My entire family perished in Treblinka in 1943. I was the only survivor.
I was 16 years old when the War broke out and was sent to work in
an ammunitions factory. After many years of suffering, I was
liberated by the American Army. At that time I weighed just 30 kg and was
near to the end.
I settled with my family in Paris. I carry with me the memory of the Holocaust which
devestated our people and my beloved family and I pray that such an atrocity will
never befall our people again.
I was born in Bialobrzegi to my parents Simcha and Dinah (nee Karak). We
were six children at home, Charner Esther, Pearl, Baila,
Shmuel and myself, Sheindle.
My father owned a butcher shop and we lived a happy and
prosperous life. All this was until that fateful day when the
cursed Nazis invaded Bialobrzegi. They shaved the beard off of my
grandfather, Yankle, my mother's father.
In 1942 the entire Jewish population was deported.
I was sent to labor camps, where I was forced to work extremely
hard until October 1944 when I was then deported to Auschwitz. It was
there that I met my mother's youngest brother Eliezer. He was
murdered in Auschwitz, May G-d Avenge His Blood.
I was then sent to a labor camp in Germany, after which I was taken to
Bergen Belzen.
After my liberation at the end of the war, I
entered a hospital where I stayed until I recuperated. I then
went back to Bialobrzegi, but to my great disappointment,
I found no trace of any remaining family. I left
Bialobrzegi and went to Lodj
where I found my mother's brother Yisroel who had joined the Partisans
who fought the Nazis during the War from the forests.
It was in Lodj where I met my husband...
I was born in Bialobrzeg. My father was killed during the First
World War, when I was a small child. I was one of twelve children,
seven brothers and four sisters. Eight of my
family perished during the Holocaust - my brothers
Shlomo, Zelig, Pesach, Feivel and Beinish, and
my sisters Frimet, Ba'ashe and Chava. The remaining four live in the
United States...
I was born in Biyalabgige to my father Shlomo and my mother Elita.
We had five children in the family -
my brothers Zeilig and Yudel and my sisters Zloder and Riezer.
In 1942 my family were deported together with the rest of
the Jews to Treblinka where they were exterminated. May G-d
Avenge Their Blood.
Only my brother Zeilig and myself were not deported to Treblinka and
we spent those difficult war years together in labor camps.
To my great sorrow my brother passed away in one of the labro camps at
the end of the war.
After my liberation I emigrated to the USA...
It is a most important thing that a book of Biyalabgige is being published
which will be an everylasting memorial to our Town, Biyalabgige.
Select Pictures
Map of the Pre-WWII Town of
Bialobrzegi
A large version of Page 14 The Jewish Market
A small version of Page 14 The Jewish Market
Page 16 Horsecart and People
Page 9 The Bridge in 1935
Page 117 Chaim Simcha Goldberg's Family
Bottom Page 118 Chaim Simcha Goldberg's
Family Standing by
the Grave of Rabbi Yitzchak Baumgarten
Top Page 118 A Building
Page 126 Bialobrzeg's Trade School
Page 202 Tamar and Zeysel Cohen Working in a
Soda Shop
Page 215 Young Bialobrzeger's
Page 310 Aron Tennbaum's Family
Page 371 Bialobrzeg's Youth Group in 1930
