After years of strenuous effort, we finally realized the publication of this memorial book, which commemorates the cherished name of our hometown of Zambrów, the place of our birth, that was and is no more.

Many ties have bound me all of my life to this place, where I first saw the light of day. I left it as an eleven-year-old boy. I have wandered a great deal since that time, and I have absorbed both familiar and unfamiliar cultures. However, I have never become estranged from the culture of my home town and my mother's tongue. And when Zambrów was so tragically wiped off the Jewish horizon, she rose spiritually anew before my eyes, and an innermost impulse began to drive me on with an impelling force: to arise and erect a spiritual memorial to Jewish Zambrów -- to give an account of its history, those who were well-to-do (its balebatim²), those Jews who toiled in her midst, her clerical and secular elements, its learned men and the plain pious folks, her synagogues and houses of study, its fraternities and institutions. And if it would not be done at the present time, by the last generation of Zembrovites, it would be unlikely that it would ever come to pass. And so I took it upon myself, with a feeling of deep nostalgia, to bring to realization this high purpose, this labor of love.
 

The memorial now has been erected. The book has been published. But to my utmost regret, the enterprise has not succeeded to its fullest desirable extent.

Zambrów was a small town. There is practically nothing written about her in both Jewish and non-Jewish literary writings. Also, our ‘old home town’ is mentioned very infrequently in the daily press. The city archives no longer exist, and the part that did survive is not accessible to us. The old-timers, as a live source of information, have passed on a long time ago. Therefore, the one and only thing that remained for us to do was to bend our head over whatever documents were available to us, and from the casual remarks or allusions, out of brief statements, try to restore sketchily the history of the town. And who is to know how many facts disappeared from our view, and how many personalities were forgotten by us? We could not resolve this issue. Despite this, we established this initiative and the book was published, in which the entire town passes before us as if in a play. So, here and there, personalities and facts are perhaps missing.

We turned to our countrymen, both the young and the elderly, who retained things in their memory and are wont to wield a pen. Very few responded to our proposal, apparently because they did not believe that we would be able to accomplish our task. Nevertheless, here is the book before you, the book that describes the pathetic story of our Jewish Zambrów -- from her very beginnings, up to her downfall.
 

What remained was for us to fashion something about the history of the town from remnants and old documents and from glimpses and minor observations, going from point to point, item to item, to create an organized list of the history of the town and its Jewish settlement. Despite this, we put together a book about our Jewish Zambrów, from its inception to its destruction.
 

We have written this book in both languages, as our traditional literature had been written at one time: ‘The Holy Tongue’ (Hebrew) and ‘Ivri-Teitch’ (Yiddish) together, side by side. The reader will have to make an effort to find the translation on the second side – but in this way we have done justice to our two languages: the mother-language (Yiddish) and the father-language (Hebrew). We are providing a short overview in English – let the grandchildren of those from Zambrów come to know something about the way of life of their grandfathers and grandmothers. In a few places, we shortened the text in one of the languages, or made use of only one of the two languages. We took care to preserve the Zambrów Yiddish idiom³ as it was spoken in Zambrów.

We have been able to provide the utmost possible number of photographs that we had in our possession, if only the were in a fairly good condition, as quite a great number of them were regretfully in such a faded state that they would be unfit to print. We have incorporated into the book more that two thousand images of the Jewish Zambrów children, pupils of cheders and folkshuls, with their rabbis and teachers. We incorporated several hundred young people – pictures of members of societies and political parties, to the extent that we had them, not differentiating between one party and the other. We have also given a series of portraits of singular personalities, portraits that are in most cases the one and only thing that remained to remember them by. We have included things about the ambience of the town – this freshens our memory and links us all the more to the cradle of our childhood.
 

Regarding the eve of the destruction of Zambrów and the Holocaust itself, we exclusively relied on primary sources: from letters and eyewitness accounts. Regardless, if certain details are not consistent, e.g. dates, etc., we have included everything, just the way it was recalled.

The subject matter of the book can, in part, serve as an historical source of Jewish life in Poland during the last century in general, and of the last several decades in particular. To this end, we have included Zambrów into the golden chain of Polish Jewry that was exterminated by the German Amalek⁴ and its accomplices.
 

It is my responsibility here, to bring to mind with gratitude and respect, those numbered few who helped me with my work: My friend, Mendl Zibelman (son of R’ Israel-David, Miami, Florida), adorned this book with his inspiring memories. Professor Ber’l Mark (Warsaw). Chaim ben David (Moshe-Aharon, the painter’s son, Detroit – Israel). Zvi Zamir, Sender Seczkowsky (Itcheh the Painter’s son, Tel Aviv), Joseph Srebrowicz (Tel Aviv), Joseph Jerusalimsky (Ashkelon), The three Yitzhaks: Golda, Golombek and Stupnik, and Moshe Levinsky – smoking embers snatched from fire and sword. And last, but not least: my beloved father and teacher, Israel Levinsky ז"ל, who did not write just a little for the book, but was not privileged to see it come to fruition. Chaim Zur (son of Fyvel Zukrovich, Ramat HaKovesh) designed the cover of the book and sketched a map of the town from memory.

Three Zambrów landslayt organizations contributed generously to the material expenses for the book: The United Zembrover Society, Inc. in New York, with its brother societies headed by our American ‘ambassador’ Joseph Savetsky, Isaac Rosen, Isaac Malinovich (who gathered untold tens upon tens of pictures for the book), Eliezer Pav and many others. With their broadness of heart and full and open hands, the book became a reality.

Our countrymen in Argentina, led by the recently deceased Ch. Y. Rudnik ז"ל, and to be mentioned for long life: Boaz Chmiel, Joseph Krulewiecki, Jacob Stupnik, Crystal and many others – also contributed to the book, and from time to time offered us encouragement.
 

"The Society of Zambrów in Israel" is headed by the comrades: Zvi Zamir (Hershl Slowik), chairman; Zvi ben Joseph (Hershl Konopiateh), secretary; Pinchas Kaplan, the sisters Malka and Liebehcheh Greenberg, Leib Golombek, et al. They have all done their beneficial share for the book.
 

At the end, our small Zambrów families: In Mexico City, our friends Chaim Gorodzinsky, Isaac Rothberg and others; and in France – Esther Smolar-Shleven.
 

All those whom I have mentioned here, and to those whom I have perhaps forgotten – may they be designated for good, and may they all bless themselves with this book, which they cooperated in producing.

Yom-Tov Levinsky, Tel Aviv
 

The Pinkas⁵ of Zambrów is edited and partly written by our landsman Dr. Yom-Tov Levinsky.
 

A full eight years have gone by since we decided to publish a Yizkor Book about our Zambrów. In that time we made strenuous efforts – but I am not exaggerating when I say that were it not for the editor, Mr. Levinsky, the book would not have appeared. His phenomenal memory made it possible to dig up from the past, and from forgotten memories men and facts, incidents, ways of life, histories of families and other interesting things that ran their course in Zambrów years ago. He searched, rummaging relentlessly day and night and uncovered sources relating to the history of the town, especially in the Hebrew newspapers of the times. He looked after giving a voice to the landslayt in Israel and the world at large, especially those not inclined to take pen in hand, encouraging and directing many in their writing. And now, when the book lays before my eyes, a book of some seven hundred pages – beautiful Zambrów passes before my eyes like a panorama: The streets and byways of the town, the Pasek⁶ and the marketplace, its synagogue and houses of study, its clergy, the rabbis, dayanim⁷ and shamashim,⁸ and community political organizations; their leaders and hordes of members; HeHalutz; prominent families who were so extensively branched out; porters, wagon drivers, storekeepers and bakers, the erudite bookseller Abba Rakowsky and other prominent townsfolk, the young schoolchildren and the elderly – hundreds of pictures that preserve every aspect of the town of those days up to the Holocaust. Many pictures that were donated were obtained only with great difficulty in Israel and the United States. It seems to me that the whole town, as it [once] existed, appears in this book. Not a one has been overlooked.

The special chapter about the destruction of Zambrów during the Holocaust is written by Yitzhak Golombek, one of the living eyewitnesses and a survivor of Auschwitz, and with him Yitzhak Golda and others. Read it with an ache in your heart, but with respect and recognition for our heroic martyrs, parents, brothers and sisters – from the beginning of the predation, the concentration in the ghetto to the extermination – you hear the reverberation of the cries of those who were taken to slaughter, and you breathe in their final minutes.

The folklore pages of the book have special meaning. The editor has incorporated words and expressions from Zambrów, which in part we still use to this day in our daily affairs. Special chapters are dedicated to education, political movements and social assistance. In addition there are descriptions of various type of Zambrów folks, writings about the way of life, etc. Using this, he truly takes us into the ‘old home (alte haym)’... he deals here with the young people in the synagogue, societies, work and industry, mutual aid, etc. The Zambrów societies of all countries are described, their activities on behalf of the local countrymen (landslayt), and for their brethren in all corners of the world. I will not be exaggerating when I say that our Yizkor Book will be one of the best of those that have already appeared up till now, and we may take pride in it.

Our ‘old home,’ Zambrów, is no more. The sacred bones and remains of our townsfolk have not been given a proper Jewish burial. Their remains lie in the great mass graves in the forests of Szumowo and [Rutki]-Kosaki, and in the ash heaps at Oświęcim. In the town only Christian peasants go about, who have seized Jewish assets, and no one remains to take it back from their hands. Only a few faded headstones remain in the cemetery among the overgrowth and thorns, which indicate that at one time there was Jewish life and a sizeable Jewish city.

This book is, and will remain for generations to come, the truest memorial of Jewish Zambrów. In it we have preserved the memory of the lives and the echo of the suffering of the Jews who no longer exist. It is here that we have put a ‘place and a name⁹’ to their light and their memory.

We therefore wish to thank our brother organizations in the United States, with our comrade Joseph Savetsky at its head, and in Argentina, and so forth – for their material help and great interest in the book. We thank those who took part in the book by sharing their memories. We thank all of our landslayt in Israel and outside the Land, and especially our friend Zvi ben Joseph in Israel, who gave so much of his energy and attention to the book. All of those who participated encountered difficulties with all of the obstacles that laid in our way, and despite this we produced a book that is both pleasing and substantive. At a suitable time, let our townsfolk consult it, and let us leave thereby a legacy to those children who will follow us, about the eternal way of life of our people who lived it in our town of Zambrów הי"ד.

All, all of you, consider yourselves saluted and blessed.
 

In the name of the Zembrover Landslayt-Organization in Israel
Zvi Zamir (Slowik), Chairman

 

A city does not simply spring into being all at once. First, a small settlement appears, then a village, and later when the village spreads out it becomes a town. This certainly must have been the case with Zambrów. It was a small village for many years, and after that a village. It was first, only in the second half of the fifteenth century, that it grew large and the residents demanded from the authorities the Mazovian Principality that they grant it the status of a city. Their request was accepted, after it was certified that Zombrowo satisfied all the criteria to be considered a city.

In the year 1479, 5239 after creation, the ruler of Mazovia, who ruled over the Płock Region, the Prince, Janusz II, was persuaded to grant the Zambrów settlement the right to call itself a city (Zombrow/Zomrow), and from that time on to enjoy all the privileges of a city. Several years later, the residents of the city again petitioned, on the basis that they did not have any regularly scheduled fairs and the merchants of the surrounding towns avoided coming to Zambrów, and therefore compelled the residents to travel to buy goods at the market fairs of neighboring cities. Then, Prince Janusz II officially designated this privilege upon Zambrów, even nominating it to be a powiat (a central city). At this time, it was already being called Zombrowo (Zambrówa)..

 

The ruler granted the right to the city to conduct two fairs a year. One on June 24 (Czerwiec), on the day of St. John (Swiaty Jan) and the second – on September 21 (Wrzesien), meaning: one fair before the harvest, and the second after the harvest. The populace needed to wait three-quarters of a year until the new fair. First, forty-four years later, when the city had developed further and a number of villages became affiliated with it, in the year 1523, the government of the Kingdom of Poland, to which Mazovia de facto already belonged at that time, decided to designate four additional fairs for the year – a total of six fairs. This was a symptom of a progressing city. With ceremony, it was, once again, designated as a powiat. In 1527, when Mazovia officially became part of Poland, the privileges of Zombrowo were again certified.

In the year 1538, Zambrów was destroyed by fire and sword. The war between Poland and Prussia, by happenstance, took place in Zombrowo. The Prussian military fortified itself in this place, afterwards called Pruszki. The Poles – were on the other side. The city, which was in the middle, was meanwhile burned down and the residents all fled. In the year 1575 – Zambrów belonged to Ciechanow, where the castle of the ruling noble was located.
 

The new Polish King, Zygmunt I, son of Casimir IV, heartily received a delegation of balebatim from Zambrów, listened to their complaints, and took a hand in their plight, promising to alleviate it. There were no Jews among them. He lowered the taxes of the city, annulled all of their debts, and renewed the privileges of the city, that had been lost when the original copy of their official charter was burned. The members of the delegation certified the details of the burned declarations by oath.

Were there Jews already [present] in Zombrowo? It was not made clear to us whether there was already an established Jewish community in the city, but what is known to us [is that] the city government turned to the King, Zygmunt I, ¹⁰ to have him allow the movement of the market day from Wednesday to Thursday, so that the Jews would be able to purchase their requirements for Shabbat, the Jews being present in the area in not insignificant numbers. However, a number of incidents took place in the city that caused its decline. It is possible to see this from the revenues [sic: of the market days] that in the year 1620 the revenues from meat, honey, liquor and grains were close to five hundred and eight florins (approximately like gulden), and those [same revenues] in the year 1673 had fallen to an income of thirty-five gulden. The area of the city and its environs reached fifty-two voloki (the volok was twenty marg¹¹), and only nine of them constituted land that was being worked, with forty-nine voloki remaining fallow.
 

We have already documented the fact that the name was first written as ‘Zambrów 'o,’ and later as ‘Zombrow.’¹² Stanislaw August II who ruled from 1764-1795, called it ‘Zembrow’ (according to ‘Starozhitnya Polska’ 530-523). In the nineteenth century, it was already being called ‘Zembrow,’ and in Russian, ‘Zambrów.’ The Jews always called it ‘Zembrow’ (according to Pinkas Tykocin¹³), and in the last century – ‘Zembrowo.’ In the list of the Jewish census in Warsaw, from the year 1781, there are listed, among others Jews that lived in Warsaw, but that came from ‘Zembrowo.’ One individual registered himself as follows: ‘I come from Zembrowo,’ and another, ‘from Zambrów...’
 

The name Zamrow-Zambrów appears to be derived from the small river, Zambrzyce which is beside the town, or perhaps the other way around – does the river take its name from the town? One is led to believe that in the thirteenth or fourteenth century, there was a Prussian colony of the Teutonic Knights (who were crusaders). Here, a summer vacation spot was located for the German rulers, because the location was encircled by forests. It was called the Sommerhof – which [it is believed] that the Poles later modified to Zomrow and according to the linguistic rules, either a ‘b' or a ‘p’ gets inserted between the ‘m’ and the ‘r,’ for example, Klumar – Klumfurst, Kammer – Chamber, Numer – Number, etc. [In this way] Sommerhof became Zombrow – Zambrów.
 

Zambrów is administratively divided into two parts: the city proper (called the osada in Polish) and the gmina (the greater vicinity, or community). The city itself was small, encompassing one market square (Rynek), from which small streets emanated in all directions. The horse market bounded the town on the west, and the ‘Poświątne’ on the east.

The gmina, however, had under its jurisdiction, twenty villages and hamlets. By 1880, the gmina had forty-four villages under its jurisdiction and numbered 12,154 souls. Jews also lived in those villages, some as tenant farmers (pokczary, but the majority, up to about ten or more, were: Gardlin (Galyn, the Bialystoker Road, where Shlomleh Blumrosen’s brick works was located), Grabowka, Gorki, Grzymaly, Długobórz, Wadolki, Wiśniewo, Wola [Zambrówska], Wiebrzbowo, Tabedz, Cieciorki, Laskowiec, Nagórki [-Jablon], Sędziwuje, Poryte [-Jablon], Pruszki, Konopki, Koretki, Klimasze, etc.

Zambrów belongs to Mazovia, an independent but poor land that is rich in water, arable land, forests, cattle and fish – but is little-developed and stands at a low cultural level. After the Crusades in Germany, from the year 1096 onwards, the local Jews began to immigrate to Poland. In the twelfth century – thousands streamed here – thousands of German Jews. Thousands also took up residence in Mazovia, [and] in the older cities such as Płock, Czersk, Sochaczew, Wyszogrod, Płońsk, Ciechanow.

With their full ardor, the Jews began to occupy Mazovia and industrialize it. The lived here in tranquility and were not subject to predation. Only when Mazovia first began to draw close to Poland [proper] – did limitations begin to be imposed on Jewish citizenship rights. Nevertheless, Jews enjoyed the privileges through a special law for Jews, ‘Jus Judaicum’ (Privilegium Judaeorum). The Jews integrated themselves well into the local life and the Mazovian laws, even calling it ‘our law’ (Jus Nostrum). In the year 1526, Mazovia was integrated into Poland, and they became one country. The Mazovian Jews now fall under the laws and limitations that apply to Polish Jews.
 

From time immemorial, Zambrów belonged to the Łomża Guberniya (province) and is counted as its second largest city according to its population. At the end of the fifteenth century – Zambrów was officially a powiat (center). In the year 1721, the Polish Sejm divided the Łomża Guberniya into two municipal districts: Zambrów and Kolno. The chief city elder (starosta), resided in Zambrów.

Zambrów lies within the Cieciorki and Wandolki forests, among others, not far from the famous forest area of Czerwony Bór (about thirteen versts from Zambrów). And between the cities: On the east is Czyżew, which has an important train station to Warsaw and Bialystok; Wysoka and Jablonka to the west; the train station Czerwony Bór and Łomża, the provincial capitol of north Bialystok and south Ostrów Mazowiecka.

Three small rivers ring the town: A. The Jablon – whose headwaters are in the town of Jablonka, courses through Zambrów, flowing for a distance of about twenty versts to Gać. B. The Prątnik, which emanates from the town of Prątnik near Sędziwuje, and C. The Zamrzyce, which emanates from Wiebrzbowo and flows into the Jablon. Jablon (or Jablonka) is the principal river of the area.

Following a regulation promulgated by the Zambrów community at the behest of the Rabbi, all of the little rivers were officially referred to as the Jablon, in order to facilitate the preparation of ritual divorce documents (e.g. a get) in Zambrów: this is because the town river has to be documented in the get. The provincial leadership accepted this proposal.

About one verst from the town to the east, the ‘Uczastek’ of the military region is located. There were [more than a few] Jews who lived here, who made a living from the military. They had their own Bet HaMedrash there, two bridges – one made of wood and was [located] on the ulica¹⁴ Ostrowska; and a concrete one on the ulica Czyżewska, which connected the town to the surrounding settlements. 
 

The Jews built out the market square (Rynek), and one after another they erected houses around the marketplace, opening stores, and in this way worked over the center of the town and took commerce and industry into their hands. The gentiles concentrated themselves around the horse market and the Poświątne and engaged in agriculture.

Zambrów had good drinking water from its streams. The principal stream was behind the Red Bet HaMedrash, which provided for more than half of the town. A second stream was on the Rynek itself, and the water was obtained by a pump. Water-carriers would also draw water from the river.

There were two (Jewish-operated) steam-driven mills -- one was a water-mill, and four to five Jewish manufacturing facilities. On the ulica Ostrowska, near the water, there was a large Jewish dye plant. On the other side of the city – a large Jewish brick works (Gardlin). Jews participated in small industry/business: they distilled whiskey, made wine, brewed beer and made kvass and soda-water. According to the census of 1578, there were six distilleries and eight shoemakers, which also employed workers, five butchers and eight bakeries. Having about itself the rich Jalowcowa forests, much beer was brewed, which was given the name ‘Jawlocowca Beer.’ In the referenced year, in accordance with the tax rolls, it was established that two hundred and forty-one barrels of beer were brewed in Zambrów.

The city was consistently ruined by fires, plagues, peasant uprisings, invasions by the Tatars, Swedes and Prussians, such that, in the year 5560 (1800) it only had eighty-one houses in it and a population of five hundred and sixty-four residents. Part of the population lived in barracks, and they cooked and baked under the open sky. In the year 1827, there were ninety-one houses already (ten new houses in twenty-seven years!) And the population numbered eight hundred and eighty-six¹⁵ people. And it was at this time that the Jewish initiative and spirit of commitment to develop the city got started. In the passage of four to five years the entire Rynek was built up, with thirty new houses of Jews. In each house there was one or two stores. The city established a cemetery, retained a rabbi, built a synagogue, two houses of study, a bathhouse with a mikvah, established a building for a religious court, founded a yeshiva and – Zambrów was a Jewish city.

In the year 1868, there are 1,397 Jews in Zambrów, approximately sixty percent of the general population. In the year 1894 – there were already 1,652 Jews in Zambrów. In the year 1895, at the time of the First Great Fire – according to the newspapers – more than four hundred Jewish homes were consumed, among them about a hundred Jewish stores and eating places, and about two thousand Jewish residents were left without a roof over their heads. The numbers speak for themselves.

The Jews of Zambrów had an interest in making the city attractive to Christian worshipers, the lesser nobility (szliachta), peasants and dyers, who, in going to church, would along the way buy all their necessities. So, outside the city, there stood a half-built church dating back to 1283. It became ruined and had been burned several times. At the end of the eighteenth century, the Canon of Płock, Martin Krajewski, became the senior cleric of the Zambrów parish, and in memory of his parents he reconstructed a wooden church, with a bell and a mortuary. The Christians in the villages would go to worship in Szumowo, Jablonka, Sędziwuje, etc., so that in Zambrów, a larger central church could be built, which could accommodate hundreds of worshipers every Sunday. The old church stood at the west of the city, beside the horse market, to serve the worshipers there. The new church stood to the east and attracted scores of peasants from all of the villages, filling it on Sunday, along with the city streets and stores.

Two years after the fire the number of Jews rose substantially, as seen in the census of 1897, where in the Zambrów gmina (including the surrounding villages), there were 10,902 residents, among them 3,463 Jews, nearly thirty-two of the general population.
 

The Market Place (Zambrów Rynek)
 

It is difficult to answer this question. Jews were already in Mazovia, the part of Poland where Zambrów is located, since the beginning of the fourteenth century. However, impoverished Mazovia did not have much attractive power, and consequently few Jews settled here. Apart from this, the political situation was not conducive; there were continuous invasions by the Prussians and others that destroyed the land. It was first at the beginning of the fifteenth century that the circumstances began to improve, with the Lithuanian princes¹⁶ Janusz I in Warsaw and Ziemowit IV in Płock, who strove for peace under the aegis of Poland. Consequently, economic conditions also improved. Fields and woods bloomed anew, fish and wildlife, leather and hides, flax and wool, honey and oil, all developed, and the Jews found an attractive location here. Cities were established here, and therefore for the first time, in the year 1471, we hear about Jews in Łomża for the first time; the diocese of Płock spread its ecumenical purview also to cover the Łomża district, and accused the Scholastic, Stanislaw Modzielow of Łomża, in an assault on Jewish merchants of Łomża and has him arrested.

Since the year 1549, the Jews of Mazovia paid their national head taxes through the ‘Va’ad Arba Aratzot,’ the Jewish Sejm, which was required to present the kingdom with a specific sum of taxes on an annual basis, which was collected in accordance with a set formula from all cities and towns. Zambrów does not appear in this list, because a Jewish community did not exist there yet. Tykocin, which was one of the three central cities of Podlisze and collected the Jewish head tax from the residents of Łomża, Grodno and other centers, imposed a levy on the surrounding small settlements where there was no community, and strictly demanded taxes and regulated issues between Jews and gentiles, and took care to assure that one party would not unjustly take away the livelihood of the other, in land leasing and in liquor distilling, fields and gardens, milk and cattle, mills and the like. If there was a larger settlement – then Tykocin would impose the mission on the community or on the religious court of the town, to the point that if a city in the area was mentioned in referenced acts, for example, even one that was as large as Bialystok, it was added to be ‘in the vicinity' of Tykocin, because Tykocin was the capitol city of the district up to 1764, until the Polish regime dissolved the Jewish Sejm – the Va’ad Arba Aratzot, which was a government within a government, and adopted other and better means to collect more head taxes from the Jewish populace. Also, afterwards, Tykocin continued to be the chief city of the district. Regarding Tykocin, we know that in the year 1676 (5436) the community adopted a resolution “under penalty of excommunication consisting of seven decrees, and extinguishing black candles, with trumpets and blowing of the shofar: that no one has the right to raise either hand or foot to deal in strong drink, not as a business or for sustenance, whether by license under the government, as a tenant, under beverage-making duty, or beverage-selling duty, etc., without the cognizance and express permission of the community. Everything must first be presented to the community and its leadership, who must thoroughly and completely examine it without the presence of the petitioner. Whatever they decide is to be recorded in the Pinkas of the community (all this according to the Pinkas of the Va’ad Arba Aratzot, p. 148, sign שנ"ב). The Pinkas of the Tykocin community no longer exists, as was the fate of many of the Pinkasim of other cities. However, during the First World War, when the Jews of Tykocin were compelled to abandon their city – the Pinkas was placed in the hands of the Rabbi of Bialystok, Rabbi Chaim Hertz. His grandson, who is today a professor of Jewish history at the University of Jerusalem, Dr. Israel Heilperin, secretly made a copy of the protocols of the ancient Tykocin Pinkas and in this way, managed to preserve them for posterity. Among the protocols (which are still in manuscript form) we find the name of Zambrów mentioned in isolated places, and we have made note of them.
 

ulica Kościuszki (Koshare Road)

We now turn back to Zambrów, as it was in those times. There is a theory that in this location there already was a small Jewish settlement in the sixteenth century, but that it was disbanded in response to the residents, who had the had the discretion not to tolerate having Jews in their city (de non tolerandis Juudaeis), as was also the case in Łomża and other tens of cities and towns in Poland. We do not possess any documents with which this can be established. Zambrów was also not an important point and did not have any substantial undertakings that would merit mention in government regulations.

We are able to extract from the Tykocin Pinkas that in the year 5476 (1716) there still was no Jewish community, despite the fact that Jews lived here and ran substantial businesses. On page 164, volume 748 of the Pinkas, it says: “income-producing business and the house where R’ Shmerl ben Yitzhak lived, passed into the hands of the brothers Yehuda and Shmuel, the son of the previously mentioned Shmerl, and they are entitled to right of enjoying its benefits in perpetuity. This remains the case even if there is a change in city Elder, or the Elder’s death, or if a gentile will have possession of the business for a number of years, and if someone wants to repurchase the business from gentile hands – he has no right to do so, because it belongs only to Shmerl’s children. This was approximately in the year 1716.

On page 271,volume 796 of the year 5476 (1716) it is again told that Yitzhak son of R’ Yaakov of Jablonka bought the franchise (the right of Furmanka – use of a wagon) to collect ‘franchise taxes’ from the Zembrowski Powiat in the Łomża Guberniya. All the franchise promissory notes from the previously mentioned powiat, are his prerogative in perpetuity, even in the event that he should no longer reside in the powiat.
 

In the same Pinkas, page 797, of the year 5476 (1716) there is a reference to a ‘sharp discussion’ that took place between Tykocin and the Jews of Zambrów, with regard to the control of the liquor franchises in Cieciorka. The noble of that region had constructed a distillery on his estate and leased it to the Jews. As was the custom, a Jew could not independently come to lease such a facility – only with the facilitation of the Tykocin community could that be accomplished. And here, the community permitted the lease to go to one, R’ Jekuthiel. The Jews of Zambrów argued that they had a prior right to the lease, based on proximity.

In the same year, and on the same page, it is recorded that the lease to the distillery of Cieciorki, which is near Zambrów, was sold by the dozors of the community to Mr. Jekuthiel son of R’ Mordechai, and 'no Jew may approach there (to infringe on his territory) because it belongs to him, in perpetuity' – after it was certified that ‘Cieciorki is further from the boundary of Zambrów, and that is why it was sold in perpetuity to R’ Jekuthiel.’ This means: the Zambrów community has no say in whether the distillery is leased to a Jew from Zambrów, or a Jew from Jablonka, because Cieciorki is far from the Zambrów border and therefore does not belong to it.
 

It appears that the previously mentioned R’ Shmerl was a businessman on a large scale and had leases on businesses, not only in the city of Zambrów, but also in the gmina, meaning the larger district encompassing Zambrów and its surrounding villages (Wola Zambrówska), Nagórki, Klimasze, which according to all our information were attached to Zambrów, and whoever had a franchise for a certain way to make a living in Zambrów – that privilege extended to the villages. Sędziwuje was exempted because allegations were made that it was far from the Zambrów city limits, and is therefore not included, and as a result a local resident has the right to take the franchise for this village.

In protocol number 784 of the same Tykocin Pinkas, we read: ‘The decision of the chief rabbi, Rabbi Yehuda, son of the [former] chief rabbi Shmeri’ Zembrover, that all the villages in the ambit of the city of Zambrów are under his jurisdiction, and no man has the right to infringe upon that right, as if it were in the city of Zambrów itself and within its borders. And these are the villages whose status was clarified as being within this ambit: Sędziwuje, Wola, Nagórki, Klimasze. However, a protest went out regarding Sędziwuje, which is further from the borders [of Zambrów], and an outcry was made to settle the matter by measurement by someone trusted by us, and for as long as the matter is not clarified the village will remain under the jurisdiction of the [Zambrów] community.

Tuesday, 14 Iyyar 5476 (1716)

This means: The previously mentioned Yehuda son of R’ Shmerl, one of the two brothers who inherited the franchise for the spirits business in the city of Zambrów from their father, and no one is permitted to infringe on their franchise in the city – registered a complaint in the religious court in Tykocin, that other Jews were grabbing pieces of his income, and violate his right. because they have income from the nobles, part of whose assets is from Zambrów. The defendants defended themselves with the excuse that they transact business only in those villages that are not under the control of Zambrów. A special session was called to clarify this matter. All the previously mentioned villages were measured, to determine if they were close to Zambrów, from the border to the city. They discovered that the villages of Sędziwuje, Wola, Nagórki and Klimasze were close to Zambrów, and therefore are included in its ambit. For this reason, no one may infringe on the franchise of R’ Yehuda son of R’ Shmerl. The protest of the accused is just, in that Sędziwuje is more distant from the Zambrów border. However, their complaint was not yet researched enough, and ‘calls to attain the truth’ by means of measurement. Because of this, Sędziwuje was declared to be a ‘free-city;’ it did not belong to Zambrów, but was not considered out of Zambrów’s ambit. In the interim, the Tykocin community will manage the village, and will designate who may practice the businesses and estates of the nobles of Sędziwuje. The judgment was carried out on 27 Iyyar of the year 5476 (1716).

A short time after this, we read, in volume 785 of the Tykocin Pinkas (page 269) that the religious court determined that the village of Sędziwuje is at a further distance from the border of the city of Zambrów, but not more than one quarter of a verst. This became clear through the testimony given by someone who had personally measured the distance. The judgment was carried out on Monday, 2 Elul, of the year 5476 (1716) and the protocol was signed by: Abraham Auerbach, Yitzhak son of R’ Abraham, and Gedaliah son of Menachem the Kohen.

The previously mentioned R’ Yehuda son of R’ Shmerl appears not to have remained silent, and complained that one quarter of a verst was hardly a distance that was significant, and that he alone, had the right to [the business of] Sędziwuje, and that right was his as a citizen of Zambrów, and did not belong to anyone else. This matter dragged on from the month of Elul 1716 [5476] to Iyyar 1717 [5477]. And finally, in the end, a judgment was promulgated on the basis of research and investigation, and credible witnesses that Sędziwuje is ‘far’ from Zambrów and does not belong to it, therefore it is under the aegis of the Tykocin community, and that the owner of the Zambrów franchise has no longer any basis for dispute and complaint against the village, [written] Wednesday, 16 Iyyar 5477 (Lag B'omer eve, 1717). Signed by Yitzhak ben R’ M”Y.

We did not find anything else in the Tykocin Pinkas about Zambrów. We can, however, infer with great confidence that if there had been a community in Zambrów with its own religious court building, that Tykocin would not have involved itself in the issues of the city. Zambrów would have independently defended its own interests, even if it would have had to secure the concurrence of Tykocin.

 

The cemetery at Jablonka served Zambrów also, as well as other towns in the area including the villages of Nagórki, Pruszki, etc. At the beginning the bodies of the deceased were brought to Jablonka by wagon, as they were. The Chevra Kadisha of that town then dealt with the bodies – subjecting them to ritual purification, dressing them in burial shrouds and interring them. However, this was not out of respect for the deceased – having to leave them for a period of time without undergoing purification, but this was the custom in the smaller settlements. When the settlement at Zamborow grew more populous, it was decided to establish a Chevra Kadisha there, which was to deal with the deceased in that location, and to bring [the body] already purified to Jablonka to its final resting place. As is recorded in the Pinkas HaYashan [The Old Folio] (according to the eye witness R’ Yehoshua Gorzelczany) – the Chevra was established on 17 Kislev 5501 [Tuesday, November 25, 1740].¹⁷ It seems that the founding was accompanied by a festive banquet, because the above date is the day of the Chevra banquet in several [sic: neighboring] communities. Because the simple goal of the Chevra, the “dirty” work, was the digging of the grave and performing the burial – that was done by the men of Jablonka. The men of the Zamborow Chevra permitted them to add a condition in the Pinkas: whoever is not knowledgeable in the study of a chapter of the Mishna, cannot be a member of the Chevra Kadisha.¹⁸ In a similar fashion, the honorific ‘Morenu’ [Our Teacher] that is added to one called for a Torah aliyah, was given to a man only by the Chevra. The heads of the Chevra were learned men, and it was possible to establish who was a scholar and rightly could be called: “Let Our Teacher R’ So-and-So the son of So-and-So...,” and from whom to take away the title of ‘Morenu’ if it was improperly bestowed. From this point in the Pinkas, it is possible to easily infer that these were learned Jews. The Chevra Kadisha was a catalyst to the formalization of a community, with all of the requisite appointments, and that did not tarry in coming.

On March 21, 1767 (20 Adar 5527) the government commission of the royal treasury (Kommisja Rzeczypospolitej Skarbu Koronnego) designated those communities that now belong to the Tykocin region, with regard to the level of taxes and the collection from both. Nineteen towns are enumerated there: Augustow (Yagustowa), Bocki, Bialystok, Goworowo and its surroundings, Goniądz, Wizna and its surroundings, Zawady and its surroundings, Jesionowka, Jedwabne, Loszyc, Niemirow, Sokoly, Sarnak, Konstantynow, Rutki and its surroundings, Rostki and its surroundings, and Rajgrod.

Zambrów, which is not far from Jablonka, and Rutki are not in the list! And yet, we know from the dispute between Yehuda son of R’ Shmerl and other lessees, in connection with the rights over the Zambrów [liquor] franchise, Tykocin got involved and decided who was right. [We deduce that] Zambrów was, indeed, under Tykocin tax control. This means: Jews were living here, but not organized into any sort of a community, without a rabbi, without a mikvah, and without a cemetery.

It is only first, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, that the history of the [Jewish] community in Zambrów begins. The original settlement was in the villages of Pruszki and Nagórki. The distance between these two villages was not great, and it was there that a Bet HaMedrash was built, which also served as a cheder for the children. Older children were sent for education to the surrounding towns: Jablonka and Śniadowo. Śniadowo has a reputation as a large Jewish community, and its rabbi even had aegis over Łomża, which at that time still did not have its own rabbi, and not even a bathhouse. (According to Polish municipal regulation, it was necessary to have a special concession for a bathhouse). The Jews of Łomża, from one side, and the Jews of Zambrów from the other, would travel or walk on Friday, so... as to go to Śniadowo to bathe, and wash themselves, get their hair cut, and sometimes be cupped or have blood let – all in honor of the Sabbath.

ulica Wodna (Wodna Street)

The number of Jews who took up residence in Zambrów proper grew larger and larger. They observed that it did not make sense to leave Zambrów to go pray at the Bet HaMedrash in Pruszki, so they formed their own prayer quorum in Zambrów and two Torah scrolls were brought in from Tykocin, borrowed for a short period of time. The Jews of Zambrów set about having Torah scrolls written for themselves. The settlement in Pruszki supported its existence and remained connected with the Zambrów Jews, as if they were one town. An incident occurred where a Jew in Zambrów died, and it was necessary to have him taken for burial to Jablonka, by way of ulica Sędziwuje. The weather was bad – with heavy rain, and the road was covered in mud, rivulets of water and potholes, because no paved road existed there yet at that time. Therefore, it was necessary to defer the funeral to the following day, and to the day after, and this was considered to be a great offense to the deceased. So on Saturday night the Jews of Zambrów and Pruszki came together in an assembly and decided to create their own cemetery, on the way that was, indeed, between Zambrów and Pruszki. R’ Leibeleh Khoyner, the ancestor of the Golombeks, then donated a parcel of land, and with ceremony, it was decided to step up to the preparations: obtaining permission from the authorities and indeed, also the concurrence of the Chevra Kadisha in Jablonka, which each year demanded a certain stipend from the Zambrów Jews towards the upkeep of their cemetery and the expenses of the Chevra [Kadisha]. A liberal wind was blowing through Poland at the time under Russian rule. This was evident in the relationship of the Poles to the Jews in Łomża, the provincial capitol, from which the permission was supposed to come. When the permission arrived, they began to cordon off the field and build a small structure for purification of the deceased bodies. In the year 1828 (5588) the first cemetery was dedicated.

The community in Łomża was established anew in the year 1812, under the influence of the spirit of Napoleon, who created the slogan among the Poles with regard to the Jews: Kochajmy się, meaning, ‘Let us love one another! In 1815 Poland came under Russian rule. The Russian authorities wanting to disrupt the unity among the Polish population, removed many of the Polish limitations placed on Jews. Despite this, the ‘Polish Kingdom’ under the Russians resisted this, and in the effort of a delegation sent before the regime in Warsaw, in the year 1822, they succeeded to create anew, a ghetto for the Jews and limit their rights in Łomża. This was also the case in Ostrołęka and other places. It was first, in the years 1827 and 1828, that Poland secretly began to prepare for its first uprising (powstanie) against Russian rule (1831). It was necessary to co-opt the Jews, and because of this, liberal winds began to blow in Poland. It was therefore not difficult to establish a Jewish community council in Zambrów. The Jews of Zambrów, at that time, actually favored Poland, and were patriots on its behalf, even in the uprising of 1863.

The Chevra Kadisha grew and reorganized itself. A Pinkas was initiated. The first gabbai was the father of R’ Chaim-Pinchas Sheinker. Later gabbaim were: Monusz Golombek, Shmueleh Wilimowsky, Binyomleh Golombek, Abraham Moshe Blumrosen, Abraham-Yossl Wilimowsky, and Yankl Zuckerowicz. Zuckerowicz was the last gabbai. The Nazis drove him to Germany and tortured him. When he returned exhausted, at the end of 1939, under the rule of Russians, he collapsed and died.

Of the martyrs, the names of the following are recalled: Abraham-Moshe and Wolf-Hirsch Kuczapa, his son, El’yeh, Israel-David Zibelman, Motl Melsheinker, and Yitzhak the Dyer.

Approximately in the year 1890, the cemetery was filled to capacity. The community then purchased a new location for a new cemetery, which bordered on the old cemetery and appeared like an extension to it. It has been said that a question arose among the gabbaim at that time, about what is to be done with the ‘ohel’ (the small building for purification of the dead): should the old one remain in place, which will now be at the [extreme] end of the new cemetery, and the deceased will have to be carried through the cemetery to be purified over all of the graves that will in time appear – or build a new ‘ohel,’ at the entrance of the new cemetery. R’ Shmueleh Wilimowsky said that the ohel should remain in its old location, and all that is needed is to rebuild it and enlarge it. Monusz Golombek argued that it makes better sense to have it at the entrance, so that it will not be needed to carry the deceased for a long distance, if it should be on a rainy day or during a snowstorm. To this end, he proposed with humor: we are not going to live here forever. In a hundred years, we are going to be buried somewhere here, in a respectful place, at the front – as gabbaim, and in the coming generation when the cemetery will be full of graves, and the members of the Chevra Kadisha will exhaust themselves by carrying the deceased for such a long distance – they will point to other graves on their way through, saying: Here lie the elder sages of the community, who lacked the common sense to build the ohel at the entrance, and put it so far away... [at that time] will it be pleasant for us to hear such talk? When no good will be said about us at the entrance, at least we will not be in a position to hear this embarrassment... At this, Shmueleh Wilimowsky laughed heartily, and agreed to what R’ Monusz proposed.

In the government regulation about having their own cemetery, they already had incorporated the right to create a Jewish ‘community’ in Zambrów. And this did not take very long. The communal statute was declared in the same year.
 

At first, prayer was conducted in small quorums. In general, the town consisted of small, wooden buildings, with straw roofs, and without making any comparison, even the church was made of wood, just outside the town, not far from the horse market.

One of the wealthy balebatim, R’ Leibeh, the son-in-law of El’yeh Katzin, built the first building on the marketplace and opened a very large tavern there. He was schooled in Kabbalah, and a very decent Jewish man. R’ Leibeh died suddenly – while still young. His young widow, ‘Rosa the Tavern Keeper’ or ‘Rosa of the Building’ gave over part of her house to be used as a Bet HaMedrash, and this was the first house of study in the town.

They were not, however, content with this: the town needed a synagogue. Accordingly, a collective action was taken. Balebatim bought ‘places’ even before the synagogue was built, and up front they paid a larger amount of money – for the good of the building. R’ Monusz Golombek donated the parcel that stretched past his yard in the direction of ulica Łomżyńska, for the synagogue. The provincial engineer permitted a street to be cut between his house and the synagogue.

The synagogue was constructed of stone and mortar, made of strong bricks and stone walls. At the beginning of the construction, the history of the synagogue building was written down on parchment, who donated the parcel, and who made contributions to the building fund, and it was sealed well in an earthenware po and embedded in the foundation¹⁹. When the foundation was torn apart in later years, at the time the new synagogue was built, it was found – it was reread, and once again imbedded in the foundation.

After the construction of the barracks, when the town had grown by several hundred new worshipers and the synagogue became crowded – it was decided to build a large Bet HaMedrash. A ‘dispute’ arose in the shtetl: The grumblers complained: it is necessary to build a stone Bet HaMedrash, on the other side of town, on the way to Cieciorki, so that it would be nearby for those that lived far off. The ‘Golombeks’ argued: we don’t have to be pretentious, and if the synagogue is made of stone – the Bet HaMedrash should be made of wood, since this is the way things are done by Jews.

Until the time Monusz Golombek turned over his parcel, which bordered on the synagogue, and wood was procured, and boards were carpentered, and the wooden study house started to go up slowly, beside the synagogue... at which time Shlomleh Blumrosen and his partners donated ten thousand bricks from his brick works, Herszak Bursztein donated a place, and a stone Bet HaMedrash was erected. It was at that time that they began to call [them] the ‘Wooden’ Bet HaMedrash and the ‘Stone’ Bet HaMedrash, or the ‘New’ Bet HaMedrash. During the time of the First Great Fire of 1895, the wooden Bet HaMedrash was consumed along with the synagogue. The stone Bet HaMedrash remained intact. In place of the wooden synagogue, a stone synagogue was erected already in about three years time, made of red brick, in accordance with the initiative of the ‘forthcoming Golombeks’ – Leibl and Binyomleh. It was therefore called the Red Bet HaMedrash, and the ‘New-Old’ Bet HaMedrash, which was colored white, was called the White Bet HaMedrash, until the town was destroyed. The synagogue remained in burned ruins for nearly thirteen years. At first, when the Red Bet HaMedrash was not yet available, they would worship in the burned out synagogue, between the walls, covered with a sort of tarpaulin.

Rosa’s building, where the first Bet HaMedrash in Zambrów was housed, went into the hands of R’ Hirsch Michal Cohen. When the synagogue was built, the Bet HaMedrash was liquidated. This then became the location for R’ Chaim Nahum’s dry goods store. The house was rented to the municipal chancellery, and in place of the old Bet HaMedrash...the municipal jail was put in place [die Kozeh]. The building was last bought by Yisroeleh Shia-[Be]zalel’s.²⁰

There is no city that does not have a bathhouse and a mikvah. There had been a mikvah in Zambrów for many long years. Without one, a Jewish settlement cannot exist; however, a bathhouse requires special permission from the authorities. It was difficult going with the bathhouse: the authorities were not easily persuaded to permit a bathhouse to be built – that is to say, a place to bathe in honor of the Sabbath. From the perspective of the authorities, it had not yet been demonstrated that this was necessary for the populace... the Poles actually did not bathe. Up to the nineteenth century, only special towns had concessions for a bathhouse. It was the gabbai Shmueleh Wilimowsky, who built the bathhouse in Zambrów. The Jewish community invested about fifteen hundred rubles in the building. It was built on community land near the Hekdesh. The bathhouse had its own special brook, a cold and warm mikvah, a sauna to steam oneself, and a cold room, after being switched with branches. The bathhouse was leased for either a year or three years, and the community had a significant income from it. It was lit and heated on Thursdays for the womenfolk, and on Fridays for the menfolk. Occasionally, the baths would be kindled in the middle of the week, and it was shouted out in the streets: ‘the bath is being heated!’ Friday, at midday, when the bath was thought to be sufficiently heated (only men used the steam room) the stones in the oven would glow, and Józef the Shabbos-Goy had provided for enough switching branches, and the shammes would go out into the street intersections and announce: ‘To the baths!’ The military represented a large clientele for the baths. Soldiers, officers would fill up the baths, sometimes causing a scandal.. accordingly, for a while the bathing season was regulated: after candles were lit – the soldiers can come and a gentile keeps watch and collects the entrance fees.

They did not always succeed in having a good bathhouse manager. The last of these was R’ Alter Dworzec (Koltun), and it appears that the whole history of the baths came to an end with him.

Together, with the growth of the [number of] Jews in the city, the Christian population also grew. They began to settle in the northeast side of the outskirts of the town. Here also is where the post office was set up, the court, and the religious Catholic institutions. And this is the history of the gentile section at the outskirts.

Behind the Rynek, on the way to Czyżew there was a large stretch of government land, that was called Poświątne. Shmueleh the Butcher bought this land from the government for a song. Shmueleh the Butcher had an ‘in’ with the government and was the contractor who supplied meat to the military. Accordingly, he got this parcel for a cheap price. A short time afterwards, the Zambrów parish decided to build a large, stone Roman Catholic church in place of the older wooden building that stood at the entrance to the town, not far from the Jewish cemetery. Since Shmueleh the Butcher sold off a parcel at a cheap price for the construction of a church, Jews also bought parcels and built new little houses along the church street, ulica Kościelna, because this location had developed into a source of livelihood: every Sunday, when the gentiles would gather from the surrounding villages, to perform their religious rites, they provide a great deal of earnings. The Jewish settlement grew and branched out further in this manner.
 

In the year 1882, Zambrów became a military [focal] point. The Russian authorities decided to garrison two full infantry divisions and an artillery brigade there. Smaller detachments of soldiers had been in Zambrów for a while, previously. Immediately after the Polish uprising (powstanie) of 1863, soldiers were stationed in Zambrów. Seeing as there were no barracks yet, they were dispersed throughout the town. At the location where later there was a place for receiving guests, and the old home of the Rabbi, and his small court house – was the post, and at the place of the Red Bet HaMedrash – a mustering place for the soldiers. The Jewish populace suffered some bit of morale problems because of the soldiers. They would constantly come around begging for food, especially on the Sabbath – a piece of fish and a piece of challah. Jewish daughters would be fearful of answering the door at night. Jewish children learned the profanities used by the soldiers. On the other side, they brought in income to the town. Jewish tailors and shoemakers, bakers and storekeepers who sold clothing, made a good living, and the population of Jews in the town increased. It was only after deciding to station two divisions of soldiers, that consideration was given to constructing barracks. To this end, Captain Radkiewicz was sent to Zambrów from the Warsaw Military District. He then purchased a large parcel of land from Shmueleh the Butcher, on the road to Czyżew, on which to erect the military compound: tens of barracks, places for drilling and mustering, a Russian Orthodox chapel, housing for the officers, warehouses and stables, an arsenal for ammunition, clothing, etc. The contract to put up the entire military compound was taken by a Jew from Łomża, named Manes Becker. He was an orphaned and solitary young boy who studied at the Talmud Torah in Łomża. Later on he apprenticed with a mason and worked his way up a little at a time, until he became a contractor for sizeable structures. Together with his son-in-law Abramowicz (the son of the coppersmith of Lochow), he built the first of the military barracks on ulica Kościelna, and the street then took the name Koszaren²¹. Many Jews, tradespeople, merchants, contractors, all made a good living at the Koszaren. Those Jews who were engaged in the construction, were called' koszarers’: Avreml Koszarer, Herschel Koszarer, etc.

Zambrów became a large Jewish town that provided sustenance to hundreds of families, and people came to engage in employment from all directions.

 

With the growth of the town in line with the needs of the Jewish populace, which made meaningful use of the post and telegraph services, the small post office on ulica Wola near the nobleman Sokoliewski, moved over into the large premises in Bollender’s house on the ‘Uchastek.’ The post office was in Jewish hands and was closed on the Sabbath. Letters and other posted articles were conveyed by Jewish wagon drivers to the train station, and from the train station in accordance with an annual agreement with the postal authorities. The first mailman was Jewish, ‘Alter the Mailman.’ His mother was a midwife and had relationships with the wives of the nobility and the wives of appointed and employed people. It was because of her connections that he became the mailman. The post office served the entire Zambrów gmina. However, it would not distribute to local addresses in the villages. They would have to come to get their mail.

No small number of Poles fled the country after the Polish uprising. Accordingly, their parents and relatives would come every Sunday to Alter the Mailman, to inquire whether or not a letter had arrived. Often he would set out a small table on Sunday, not far from the church, and respond to the interested parties. He was well compensated for letters with produce from the villages and money. So Alter became rich. His two-story wooden house on ulica Ostrowska was one of the nicest in the town.

In time, the post office bought its own horse and wagon and transported the postal items to the train, as well as passengers. The post office could no longer remain closed on the Sabbath because of the Jewish mailman.

The post office became secularized, and the meaning of ‘Jewish mail’ was again applied to letters that were not delivered in a timely fashion, but languished somewhere in a pocket. Alter’s position was taken over by a gentile from Goworowo.
 

As previously mentioned, Zambrów survived a number of fires concurrently. However, of special note was a ‘Jewish fire’ that broke out in the month of Tammuz (July) of 1895, which burned down the entire Jewish settlement, the synagogue and the Bet HaMedrash. From that time, Jewish Zambrów began to reckon time with reference to this fire: [to wit]: ‘I was born a year after the fire.’ ‘Such-and-such was before the fire,’ etc.

The first great Zambrów fire – made [quite] an impression and was written up in HaMelitz and HaTzefira – the two Hebrew daily newspapers of Russia-Poland. No Yiddish newspaper existed yet.²¹

Mr. Benjamin Cogan writes in HaTzefira, Friday, the Parsha of Balak, 5655 (1895), that a large fire broke out. Approximately four hundred houses were consumed, [as well as] one hundred stores, food shops and storage facilities, two houses of study, and the synagogue. Only twenty houses remained, and about two thousand people were left without a roof over their heads. When the news reached Łomża, R’ Nachman Drozowsky organized an aid initiative. The rabbi, R’ Malkhiel, went from house to house with balebatim on the Sabbath to collect food, clothing and money.

In HaTzefira of 15 Av 5655 (1895) number 167, the committee thanks Mr. Eliyahu Frumkin of Wysokie, on behalf of the victims of the fire, for the bread and one hundred rubles that he came up with. The committee approaches the public with a request for assistance to the unfortunate of the town after the fire. When Czyżew, Sędziwuje, and Rutki had burned down – Zambrów did not rest, and it collected a lot of money and clothing. Accordingly, it was now time to return that help.

In HaMelitz of November 19,1895 in 29/11. The rabbi, R’ Dov Regensberg, thanks his friend the editor for the aid initiative that he published in his newspaper, which on one occasion brought in one hundred and fifty rubles and another time fifty rubles.

In HaTzefira, number 55 of 3 Nissan 5556 (1896), the correspondent complains that since the Kozioner Rabbiner²² R’ Moshe David Gold moved to Nowogród, municipal affairs have been neglected. The Chevra Kadisha requires one thousand rubles a year for its needs, and no fence has been put around the cemetery. Today, one finds bones there...the money that was sent for those who were burned out has been distributed without an accounting, and those who stood closest to the trough were the first to benefit from it...

In HaTzefira Number 36, from the year 1897, Y. Gurfinkel writes that the economic situation in the town has already improved, the kosher canteen for the observant soldiers who do not wish to eat non-kosher food from the [regular] canteen has reopened after two years of dispute. Before this, a midday meal would cost a soldier ten kopecks, and as a result there were few patrons. Now a midday meal is much cheaper because the contributions from the supporters have increased.
 

Every town had its own pejorative nickname. For example there were the Wise Men of Chelm, and Warsaw Thieves. In the Zambrów area there were: the Gartl-Wearers of Czyżew, the Bullies of Ostrów, the Kolno package [carriers], the Jablonka Goats, the ‘Guys’ from Łomża, the Jedwabne Crawlers, the Cymbal Players from Staewka, etc. Every town knew how to describe its pedigree and the story of its nickname.

Zambrów also had such a nickname: the Zambrów Gangsters, meaning, bands of thieves. This name was notorious in Poland. In a book, ‘By Us Jews’, which appeared in Warsaw in the year 1923, Mr. Lehman tells in his article ‘Thieves and Robberies’ (page 56) why people from Zambrów are called ‘gangsters:’ ‘In the sixty to seventy years (it really should be seventy to eighty) of the previous century, there were gangs of horse thieves in Zambrów. It has been told that the horses were stolen from deep inside Russia, and at night they were brought to Zambrów, and they were quartered in the stables of the large Zambrów taverns. A couple of nights later the horses were taken out of their clandestine stalls and taken off to the Prussian border. The investigating judge, Tuminsky, undertook to excise these gangs, and he succeeded. That is what is written there in the book.

Correspondence concerning the trial of the gangsters was printed in the two Hebrew daily newspapers at the end of the prior century – [in] HaMelitz in Odessa, and HaTzefira in Warsaw, and we will introduce them here, in abbreviated form: A certain A. Z. Golomb wrote the following in HaMelitz Number 123, on June 4, 1887: Approximately ninety men joined together, from the entire area, even as far as Grodno, and carried out large scale thievery and murders, assaults with intent to rob, and so forth. However, they were especially notorious for the stealing of horses. The Chief of the Secret Police in Łomża harassed these thieves, so they stole his horse as well. When he became very upset and ashamed, the thieves told him: he was to put two hundred rubles in a certain place, and they will then return his horse to him. He placed the money in that spot – and they took the two hundred rubles and didn’t return the horse as well. At that time, he did a very daring thing: he traveled to Petersburg, and went through a course on how to apprehend thieves. Upon his return to Łomża, he had acquired the [added] title of  'Court Investigator’ and obtained all the rights to arrest the gangsters. His attack against the gangs lasted for three years, until he captured and arrested them all in Łomża. The trial took place in May 1887 in the Łomża district court. Among the accused and held in irons were thirty-three Jews from Zambrów. The sentence was announced on May 28: Of the men, twenty-three were found guilty, and ten – innocent. One of them, Moshe, was accused of informing on a gentile. Joseph L. and Joseph Sh. robbed and raped a noblewoman. A boy, Mikhl L,. stole a goose and a few days later attacked the owner and beat him, because the goose was so scrawny. Among those arrested were a number of prominent and respected balebatim from Zambrów, owners of taverns, who were sentenced to several years of imprisonment. Two prominent horse dealers from Zambrów, Y. and N., were sent to Siberia with their wives and children.

In the June 28, 1887 edition of HaTzefira, Abcheh²⁴ Rokowsky (see a separate chapter about him later on) offered a rebuttal to the article by Mr. Golomb, indicating that he was guilty of a sacrilege, because the Russian and Polish dailies seized on it and reprinted it. Mr. Rokowsky argued that the court had added a variety of criminals to the trial of the gangsters, because the police, in this manner, wanted to raise its prestige. [He complained that] prominent balebatim from Zambrów were arrested, not because they were partners in the gangs, but because they were considered disloyal citizens: they had not told the authorities that the gangsters were stopping off in Zambrów on their way to the Prussian border. Abba Rokowsky writes that Mr. Golomb created a tempest in a teapot [literally: a storm in a glass of water] and had insulted the Zambrów Jews.

This matter was discussed for many years in the shtetl. It was later shown that a political issue was involved here: Germany was interested in buying Russian dragoon horses. A gang of non-Jews, Poles, carried this out. They would bribe soldiers who stood watch, officers, etc., and they opened the military stables. Some of them would then mount some of the horses, tie a row of other horses to them, and go off in the dark of night to the border. Zambrów was a strategic point for them. It was possible to reach the border in one night. Here there were large stables that belonged to the three brothers B. who owned taverns. From time to time, the gangsters would lodge there, posing as horse merchants. The local Polish community put pressure on the Zambrów Jews, the owners of the taverns, to maintain silence. Also the gabbaim of the community, who were responsible for the deeds of their brethren, had to keep quiet. For this reason they to, were arrested, but later on they were released.

However, for purposes of enhancing their prestige, the criminal police added charges of ordinary theft and murder to the charges against the gangsters, which had been ‘discovered’ and were incidentally recorded in reporting to the authorities. It was said that horses had been stolen from a nobleman near Zambrów, night after night, the Chief of Police said to the nobleman: leave two good-looking horses in the stable tonight, and I will hide in the haystack and will harass the thieves. So that night, they not only stole these horses, they also stole the jacket and sword of the secret agent.

For many years, the family of horse traders that was sent to Siberia were called the 'Siberians,’ when they came back from Siberia. In town, the truth was known, and the dignity of those who were mixed up in this trial was not impaired.

So this is the story of the Zambrów Gangsters, who marked our town with a less than stellar reputation in the larger world.

After the [First Great] Fire, the town got itself back up on its feet. The marketplace and the surrounding side streets were quickly rebuilt. Instead of single small houses, two-story houses were built. Several tens of additional Jewish homes were added on ulica Ostrowska, on ulica Bialostocka and ulica Cieciorka. Commerce flourished, and the houses of study were full of worshipers. Zambrów became the principal city of all the surrounding settlements. Zambrów looked after the Jewish settlement in Brzeznica, in Szumowo, etc.

Approximately four hundred Jewish recruits were installed in Zambrów, and the town had to provide for their kosher food., for their Sabbath, and Festival holidays, and other matters pertaining to their Jewish faith. In general, it was the military that contributed most of the income to the town. During the summer, the Jewish small businessmen and tradespeople would be drawn to the ‘summer residence’ in Goszerowo, where the Zambrów soldiers would spend the summer in camp. Maneuvers would frequently be conducted – and at that time, the town was packed with soldiers and the stored were full of them. The town considered itself to be entirely Jewish and was enclosed in an eruv,²³ thereby permitting the town Jews to carry a handkerchief, or a prayer book on the Sabbath, or to carry a cholent, etc., until the Second Great Fire arrived, which broke out on Saturday night, May 1, 1909.

About five hundred Jewish houses were burned down. The misfortune was laid at the foot of the Zambrów Christian Fire Fighters Command, which was anti-Semitic in its sentiments. Once again, the town got back on its feet quickly and became much more beautiful and prosperous than before. Ulica Kościelna, with its sidewalks and pretty businesses, became equivalent to what one would see in a large city.
 

Introduction
 

How old was Zambrów of yore? Who were its first Jews? How did they make their living?

The Pinkas of the Zambrów community was in our yard, from the first day of its existence in 1828 until 1914, as well as the census books of the same period that were also in our possession, and therefore I can remember things that I would see from time to time in the Pinkas. I also remember what it was that I heard from the elderly Jews of that time, and that which I am capable of remembering on my own.

My name is Mendl, a son of Israel-David the Shammes, of the former Red Bet HaMedrash in the Zambrów that used to be. My father was a son-in-law to Moshe Shammes ז"ל. These two people, my father and his father-in-law, were the administrators of bygone Zambrów for approximately one hundred years.

 

Monument-Pillar in the Center of the Market Place
 

Moshe Shammes was the one who started the Pinkas and began to document the out of the ordinary Jewish incidents that would take place in the shtetl from time to time. He was also in charge of the graves, because in that time, when an incident of death occurred in Zambrów, the deceased would be taken to Jablonka for their final resting place, and this is the way it is described in the Pinkas.
 

Moshe Shammes also managed all the books where all births, deaths and weddings were recorded. The census books were kept in the Polish language. From 1863 onwards, the census books, as well as all meeting minutes, had to be kept in the Russian language. As can be seen from the books themselves, Moshe Shammes had a good command of both languages. Apart from this, he was a substantial scholar because many books remained behind him in our house, about which he wrote commentaries which took up tens of sides, and he added them separately to each book. He was also schooled in secular subjects. This could be seen from the correspondence that he carried on with world-famous people of that time. One such person was the world-famous mathematician and astronomer, the editor of ‘HaTzefira,’ R’ Chaim Zelig Slonimsky. As a fact about Moshe’s knowledge of astronomy, he composed a one hundred year calendar and displayed it to be engraved on a tobacco snuff box. It was engraved beautifully and artistically. That snuff box was in our home for decades after he passed away. His penmanship in the languages that he knew was clear and understandable, as if it were printed. It appears that he engraved his own headstone thirty-seven years before he died, and the headstone was put in a place that he had selected for his burial spot, and on that spot he planted the sapling of a sweet cherry tree. This was the only fruit tree in the Zambrów cemetery.
 

My father would recall that in the summertime, when it got hot, Moshe Shammes would go to the cemetery and lay down on his future grave, and he would often sleep this way for several hours. He did this for many years. I can still recall a part of what was written on his headstone: 'His soul is still within him, he returns easily to the ground of his creator...’ Moshe Shammes died at a very advanced age. His son-in-law, my father Israel-David ז"ל , took over all of his responsibilities.
 

My father also possessed all of the knowledge required to manage the census books, the Pinkas, as well as all the functions that Moshe carried out, and he did this without an interruption in service until 1914, when he was already at a very advanced age, over eighty years of age. Being alone (my mother ע"ה died in 1912), his six sons in America brought him to Philadelphia. He died here in the year 1918, leaving eight sons. Two continue to live here in America, my brother Caleb, and myself, Mendl. Two remained in Europe: The youngest, Baruch, was in Knyszyn until the Nazi bandits invaded there, and one older than I, Naphtali, who lived in the Caucasus since 1905, in the city of Baku. Naphtali survived the First World War, serving in the Russian Army, and later on during the entire time of the Revolution. He came back sick and was given a post by the Soviet regime, until after the Second World War. He died in Baku in 1946.

The Market Place on Saturday Afternoon
 

Jewish life in Zambrów officially starts from the years when the Pinkas was opened and the cemetery was begun, along with other Jewish institutions. All these events begin with the year 1828. However, there is no question that Jews were already in Zambrów for many years before this. In order to understand what sort of place Zambrów was at that time, it is necessary to grasp what sort of Poland existed at that time.

In Poland, there was still a feudal system in place. Ninety-five percent of the Polish population worked on large landed estates in the employ of the wealthy nobility, and they lived from whatever the earth gave forth to satisfy their daily needs. They received no money for their labor. Not only had no industry developed, but also manual trades stood at a low level.

With what [then] did the Jews of that time engage, in order to make a living? Most of them had gardens, orchards, fields and parcels of forest. Ninety-five percent of the Jews already lived a little better than the ninety-five percent of the Poles, but not very much better, because they were living in a static, unmoving world that bore no resemblance to the world in which we find ourselves today.

It was first later, after the Napoleonic Wars, when the Czarist Russian regime began to arm itself against further incursions across its borders and decided to build paved roads to its towns and villages that were not far from the German borders — and Zambrów was one such town – the economic condition in Poland first began to improve, and it got better from year to year. In that time, without machinery, every undertaking took tens of years. There were no locomotives or automobiles. Accordingly, it took years, to bring in all of the materials on peasant wagons required for the construction of the roads. Accordingly, quite a number of years went by before the roads were completed.

Zambrów was ringed by a network of roads from all sides, cutting through the town, both in length and breadth. This provided an opportunity for hundreds of peasants from the surrounding villages to come to Zambrów with their accumulated rural produce. The Jews purchased this produce, and for the first time the Poles obtained money for their produce. Jews opened small stores, taverns; Jewish craftsmen started to get organized; Poles, in growing numbers, began coming to Zambrów with their rural produce, and it was decided to renew the old weekly market day. Every Thursday became the weekly market day, in order that the Jews should be able to purchase items in anticipation of the Sabbath. The gentiles, indeed, immediately spent their earnings in Jewish businesses. And this is the way it went on for a stretch of years. Zambrów garnered a reputation in the area as a small town where money could be made. Many of the Jews from the surrounding villages sought to move into Zambrów and open stores. The peasants would come and visit Zambrów with increasing frequency, bringing their produce. With time, a large Roman Catholic church was built there for the mass of Poles who would come to Zambrów on a weekly basis. Sunday also became a day in which Jews could earn a living, and it was in this manner, a little at a time, that the number of Jews in Zambrów grew, as well as their wealth. In those years, there were no large cities in Poland, in general. Bialystok was also not more than a small town, no larger than Tykocin, and Zambrów – smaller than Jablonka. It is possible to imagine what Zambrów looked like in those years: small, muddy, no paved streets, small wooden houses, many of them with thatched straw roofs. Decades went by this way, until something like progress began to develop, and was brought to a war or a rebellion somewhere.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, something happened that shook up Poland – this was the uprising of Poland against the Czarist regime in the year 1863. Russia immediately sent in a large force of Cossacks, and they quickly put down the rebellion. However, Russia no longer withdrew the army from Poland. Russia began to construct barracks for an entirely new army, named ‘Warszawski Voyenyi Okrug.’ – The Warsaw Military District – with a Governor-General in Warsaw. He had control over all the military contingents in all of Poland, as well as ten civilian governors of the ten Polish provinces. In general, Russia entered Poland, as it were, with both feet. Poland, having lost in the rebellion, now had also lost many liberties that it had enjoyed up to that point, and it became fully controlled and ruled from Russia. However, Russia invested hundreds of millions of new rubles into the economy of the country. Poland began to come to life, and the Jews of the country took a substantive participation in the economy. Poland, however, accused its Jews of informing the Cossack commanders of where the cohorts of the Polish patriots could be found. Accordingly, the Jew was made to be a scapegoat, which was directly responsible for the failure of the ‘Majtez’ (The Polish Rebellion). As detailed in the Zambrów Pinkas, tens of Jews were seized in the surrounding villages, and their tongues were cut out. The Jews who were killed, were brought to their final resting place in the Zambrów cemetery.
 

The Solemn Reception for the President of the Polish Republic, Mr. Wojciechowski
(The Representative of the Jewish Community, left, beside the lamppost).

When Russia decided that the army it had sent in to Poland to suppress the rebellion and quiet the uprising would remain there, it began to build barracks for a quarter of a million soldiers in a variety of cities and towns in Poland, including Zambrów as a strategic point. However, it took approximately ten years for the engineers to get the plans finished. In the eighties, contracts were signed with hundreds of contractors who had to provide a variety of building materials for the barracks, and they began to assemble the various craftsmen from the building industry. The contractors and craftsmen were mainly Jewish. However, there were not enough qualified workers because in the cities around Zambrów, such as Ostrowa²⁶, Łomża, etc., barracks were also being built at the same time. It was therefore necessary to import five hundred skilled craftsmen from deep inside Russia. This meant a great deal to Zambrów because, along with the local workers, this provided a great deal of income to the Zambrów economy. And this meant a great deal, giving a living to Zambrów store keepers and people in the manual trades, and the Jewish population in Zambrów grew in number from week to week. The original Zambrów Jews, whose business consisted of gardens, orchards, fields and parcels of forest, now also ran taverns, stores, and became contractors for specific materials for the barracks. It was in this way that the resident Blumrosens provided millions of bricks from their own brick works that they had erected for this purpose in Gardlyn, on the ulica Bialostocka. Also, two Jews constructed two steam-driven mills on ulica Ostrowska, one on the right side by Mr. Grayewsky, and the second on the left side of the road by Mr. Goldin of Tykocin. Years later, Grayewsky’s mill was burned down, and it was never rebuilt. Goldin’s mill was later sold to three partners and it was still in existence in 1910 when I left Zambrów.

The Market Place in the Days of the Czars.
First on the Right, Sholom Rotbard, the Fruit Dealer.
 

From all appearances, the oldest families in Zambrów were the Bursteins, Golombeks, the Kuszarers, or Lewinskys. In former times they engaged, as was previously said, in forest products, orchards, gardens and fields. However, with the passage of time they also had taverns and other undertakings. The barracks were finished. In the first years of the nineties approximately nine thousand soldiers arrived, and it just so happened that when the soldiers arrived in Zambrów, the officers barracks were not yet completed. So, temporarily the officers were billeted in private homes, naturally, mostly in the homes of Jewish balebatim. Among the officers there also was found a Jew, I think the only such Jewish officer in the Russian army. He was Baron Ginzburg from Petersburg²⁴. He was quartered with Shlomleh Wilimowsky, who was one of the most prominent of the balebatim, a gabbai of the Chevra Kadisha and the Bet HaMedrash. With the opening of the barracks, and the arrival of so many soldiers in such a small town like Zambrów, a new, good era was launched for Jewish Zambrów, with good hopes that the town would grow larger, as well as the number of Jews and their wealth. The contractors who provided all of the provisions for both of the divisions and also for the artillery brigade were the Jews Chomsky, Bollender, and Binyomleh Golombek – all residents of Zambrów. Also, the other things that soldiers needed were provided by Jews. Also, the officers and their families would buy everything from Jews. The officers’ tailors, shoemakers, and hat makers were all Jews. The Jews also set up the stores for soldiers and officers, everything, even the wood to heat the barracks was provided by the Blumrosens, kerosene for lamps by Abcheh Rokowsky. The barracks provided several million rubles of income to Zambrów’s Jews. The Jewish population more than doubled, because the contractors and most of the Jewish craftsmen who worked for the barracks remained already as permanent Zambrów residents. So the town built another Bet HaMedrash – the previous ones had become crowded for the large number of worshipers. It was called the ‘White’ or ‘New’ Bet HaMedrash, because its exterior walls were colored white.

From the past there already were a large stone-built synagogue and a wooden Bet HaMedrash. There was also a Shas study group and a variety of Hasidic shtiblakh, and a variety of assistance groups such as: ‘Hakhnasat Kallah, Gemilut Hasadim, and certainly the Chevra Kadisha and a variety of others. By that time, Zambrów also had the well-known maggid, R’ Eliakim Getzl, a formidable exponent of Musar, and a very animated individual. Later on, a controversy erupted because of him, and he was compelled to leave Zambrów (see Section F). Also, another shokhet was retained. With the arrival of the soldiers, every year it was necessary to swear in several hundred new Jewish recruits. Because the Rabbi of Zambrów ז"ל did not know any Russian, it was necessary to procure a Kozioner Rabbiner, [who was] recognized by the Russian regime. And so, this is how Zambrów grew from year to year. In the last ten years of the nineteenth century, several significant events took place in Zambrów, which I will describe in the following text: the great epidemic of cholera, the controversy over the maggid, and the First Great Fire.

When the barracks were nearing completion, a terrifying epidemic broke out, cholera, and it kept on spreading in Zambrów and its environs. Medical science, at that time, was on a very low level and the epidemic took away tens of lives each week. When all of the superstitious treatments and remedies proved to be of no avail, the central authorities from Warsaw brought in a doctor by the name of Delaney, a specialist in these sorts of things. He began to create discipline in order to arrest the epidemic.

First, he prohibited consumption of water from the river or from brooks that had not been previously boiled. Large containers of water were put up beside the various houses of study, which were boiled day and night, to be used as drinking water for the town. Also, in the community houses, he set up first-aid stations. If someone came down with an attack of cholera, he was immediately isolated from the healthy and brought to a first-aid station, where first-aid was immediately administered. With time, the doctor managed to control the epidemic. However, the religious Jews organized a procession to the cemetery, in order to make certain that the cholera not ever return. To this end, the discards of old sacred texts in the attics of the Bet HaMedrash (called shamos) were collected and packaged. The Jews gathered near the synagogue, surrounded with lit wooden torches, to light the way to the cemetery, because the procession took place in the evening. I was, at that time, still a little boy, but I have a strong memory of the incident, because my father was a marshal and commandant of the procession. When the Jews arrived with the shamos from the synagogue, they were placed on the same bier on which the dead were placed on their way to burial. My father rode on a horse; this was the first and last time that I saw my father riding on a horse. He gave the signal, and the procession began on its way to the cemetery. Coming to the ‘field,’ prayers were recited, and the shamos received a suitable burial. From that time on, cholera did not return to Zambrów.

Herschel Kuszarer, building contractor of the army barracks and his wife, Esther-Mattl.
 

At the time that Zambrów retained an additional shokhet because of the increase in population, both rabbis needed to certify his capacity to perform slaughter in accordance with ritual. The Kozioner Rabbiner immediately offered his concurrence. However, the old rabbi Regensberg זצ"ל was opposed. Meanwhile, the shokhet performed slaughter, and Jews ate from his produce. The town maggid, as usual, sided with the old rabbi. In town, two sides were formed immediately. The majority sided with the Kozioner Rabbiner. The maggid, who was a great exponent of Musar, in his usual Sabbath sermon exhorted and indicated to the Jews who ate from the new shokhet’s produce that they were eating trayf²⁵, and they will suffer for it in this world and the world to come. He also called out balebatim by name, whom he knew to be eating from this shokhet’s produce. A dispute broke out immediately between the two factions of Jews in the town. It was taken to Łomża to the provincial committee, where it was averred that there was such-and-such who was a trouble-maker. An investigation committee then arrived, and it decided that the prominent people of the town would decide by a blackball vote: each person would receive two balls, a white one and a red one. If he throws in the white ball – he favors the maggid, a red one – opposed. The side that held in favor of the Kozioner Rabbiner was in the majority. So, the maggid lost his position and was compelled to leave Zambrów within two weeks' time. He went off to Bialystok and was a maggid there for a couple of years. After that he became the maggid for the city of Brisk. In his final parting sermon that he held in Zambrów before he went away, he said that the sin committed by Zambrów will not be silenced, and the entire town will suffer for it. He even went so far as to say that the very stones in the streets will burn... When he went away, two weeks later, Zambrów burned down, and the entire town went down in a terrifying blaze. The Jews, who held with the maggid, interpreted this as ‘God’s Finger,’ while other said that the maggid had cursed Zambrów. In the history of Zambrów, this is called ‘The First Great Fire.’

The Great Fire took place in July 1895. It was a hot summer day, and sometime during the day the fire started on ulica Ostrowska, near the river in a smithy. It was a hot summer day and a warm breeze was blowing towards the town, where all the houses were made of wood. Most of these with straw roofs, [which were] dried out from the intense heat. It was sufficient for a single spark to ignite such a straw roof, and for the breeze to blow such burning straw fragments toward tens of other such houses, and in this way ignite entire streets in a hellish fire. And, indeed, this is exactly what happened. The entire town burned all at once. There was not yet any organized fire fighting command. [To boot], it was Friday, and most of the Jewish men were in the bathhouse, on the first bench, shouting 'let’s have steam!’, and they were sweating themselves, and being switched in honor of the coming Sabbath. Women were occupied with their tsimmes²⁶, with cooking gefilte fish, with getting the cholent ready to be placed in the oven²⁷, and they also wanted to keep an eye on the children, so they would not go run to the fire. The town was burning. The stores in the marketplace had small casks of kerosene, which immediately went up in flames. A detachment of soldiers came from the barracks to see if they could be of any help. But once they saw how the taverns were burning, and how the stores with all their goods were going up in flames – they first helped themselves... the children were rescued, and people went off into the forests and fields around Zambrów, and that is where we remained already for the Sabbath. On the field and in the forest, it was possible to see Sabbath candles being lit and hear blessings being made over wine, as well as the sound of songs being sung... and so they remained this way in the fields and woods until Sunday, while quite simply: their meager houses were left open to entry by anyone. The fire consumed property from the houses of Avreml Kuszarer, which stood beside the bridge on the Kuszaren, to ulica Łomżyńska and the synagogue street, up to the bathhouse, including the synagogue [itself] and the wooden Bet HaMedrash, and from the river on ulica Ostrowska – where the fire started – enveloping the marketplace from all sides, and penetrated deeply into ulica Bialostocka, where Khachnik’s orchard was located, and where the ‘Wieznie’³¹ stood, where transient prisoners were brought from the prison in Łomża and needed to be sent to other prisons, or be sent to hard labor or off to Siberia. Beyond the previously mentioned places, there were not yet any houses. It was first, on Sunday, that the children were gathered up, and using the wagons of peasants rode off to the surrounding villages, or the nearby towns – to wait while Zambrów would be rebuilt. On that first Sunday, help arrived in the form of bread from all of the cities and towns around Zambrów. Wagons full of foodstuffs arrived from as far away as Bialystok. The burned-out store keepers began to set up temporary stores, nailed together from charred boards on the Pasek that stretched from the middle of the marketplace from ulica Ostrowska to ulica Bialostocka. Such booths were put up on both sides. And the store keepers brought their small amount of merchandise to be kept there, in order to serve the residents who had been burned out – until such time that a new Zambrów would be built, and it didn’t take very long. Before the year was out, a new, modern shtetl was erected, and the ‘town’ of Zambrów became the 'city’ of Zambrów, and the small, wooden houses -- many of which had straw roofs -- were replaced with two-story houses with balconies. Instead of straw roofs, all the stone buildings were required to have tin roofs. And all the houses, stretching form ulica Łomżyńska, on all four sides of the marketplace, and also all of the houses on ulica Kościelna, were required to be made of stone, and not wood. This was a new requirement of the province, and when the city had more-or-less rebuilt itself, all those who had taken up residence in the villages and towns around Zambrów began to return to the new houses, and the store keepers began to be drawn to the just rebuilt stores, configured in the latest style, with all manner of merchandise and goods, as is appropriate to an urban Zambrów. Zambrów acquired a more modern appearance, and people began to dress better, because it is not proper for a newly ‘developed’ city to have its citizens walk around bedraggled. Accordingly, the people did not want to detract from the new houses, and they began to primp, and one thing leads to another, and Zambrów became the second city as the most beautiful and also [the most] aristocratic in the entire province of Łomża.

Regarding what I write here, that one thing leads to another, reminds me about a Zambrów Jew, I believe his name was Yitzhak Velvel Golombek, a son of Monusz. He had a building for Kuszaren, opposite Abcheh Frumkin’s building. He dressed modestly. He was, however, quite a clever Jewish man, and he was once asked how is it that he is never seen with his boots shined. He then did a calculation: were I to shine my boots, I would then have to buy new socks. And if one had shined boots and new socks, new trousers would be needed with a new jacket. For a new jacket, one then needs an armoire where it can be hung, and to accommodate this the house needs to be expanded. So he computed that to shine his boots, it would cost him twelve hundred rubles, and it is therefore better and cheaper not to shine the boots, and to wear torn trousers The wags in Zambrów good-humoredly nicknamed him ‘the man without pants’ for his cleverness.
 

Zambrów also had to participate in the celebration when Nicholas II ascended the throne, just as all other cities and towns of the Russian Empire. Naturally, most of the ceremonies took place in the barracks, but also in the city -- it was a week full of celebrations. First, all the houses in the city had to hang out new Russian flags. Beside the white Bet HaMedrash, a gate was erected, fashioned from colored flowers, and at night they were illuminated by colored lanterns of red, blue and white – the colors of the Russian national flag. The same was done on the balconies of the new Jewish houses on the marketplace. Poles got drunk, soldiers drank, and the Jews offered ‘Mi SheBerakh’ blessings in the various houses of study and sang [the national anthem] ‘God Protect the Czar,’ the new king, Nicholas II. And Nicholas immediately repaid them by taking away the taverns from the Jews and replacing them with [state-run] monopolies. Perhaps it was necessary to stop drunkards from drinking, but many Jews lost their livelihood. Nothing else newsworthy happened in Zambrów in those years. Poland was already on the way to becoming industrialized. This had the greatest effect on the large, landed estates of the nobility, and this brought tens of thousands of the rural element into the cities to compete with the urban people. And this, in turn, drove thousands of people out of the cities, mostly Jews, causing them to immigrate to other countries, to America. Zambrów was no exception. One would travel to earn and save a few hundred dollars, and then come back. People would even return to serve in the military, because no one wanted to be cut off from their birthplace. In the later years, when the anti-Semitism had worked its way into the fabric of the economy of the land, immigration to America became permanent – never again to look upon Russia.

The beginning of the twentieth century heralded the coming of great change, because the masses of two of the largest countries on two continents had harbored revolutionary ideas for years: to topple their monarchial governments and to establish a constitutional government. These were Russia and China. The opportunity to do so came quickly when the Czarist government sought to weaken the Revolution by dragging Russia into a war with Japan. This had exactly the opposite effect – because the Russian masses did not want war, and this led to sever defeats on the battlefields of Manchuria and forced the Czar to issue a Manifesto, introducing a constitutional monarchy in the Duma.

The economic plight of the Jews in Poland grew worse and worse. The Czarist regime curtailed political rights. This caused a great immigration of Jews from all cities and towns to America – and Zambrów was among them.
 

During the war with Japan, from time to time, five or six hundred soldiers would be selected from the Zambrów garrison and sent to the Japanese front. Older soldiers, from provinces deep inside Russia, would be brought to replace them. These were middle-aged men, bearded nomads. On one morning, an officer, riding on his horse in the woods not far from the barracks, on the road to Czyżew spied a horse and wagon standing in the woods, and he didn’t see anyone near the wagon. This struck him as suspicious. He rode over to the wagon and saw a couple lying near the wagon, killed. He immediately began to search and look for clues about the murderers and discovered them immediately. Not far from the wagon, he discovered a heavy piece of wood covered in blood, and also a letter written by one of the nomadic soldiers from the Tambov Province, and seeing that the letter contained the name of the soldier as well as the name of the division and the number of his unit, he was immediately arrested and he was asked why he did this. He said that at first he robbed them, but was unable to find more than a ruble and fifty kopecks, and this enraged him so that he killed them. The most severe sentence in those years was twelve years at hard labor for a murder, and that is what he got.

Who were the two people? This was a Jewish couple from a village not far from Zambrów. They were traveling from Łomża, from a visit to their son who was studying at the Łomża Yeshiva. The two murdered people were brought to burial in the Zambrów cemetery. Their son from the Yeshiva came to mourn them, standing between the two graves, bending over to the father’s grave, and took his leave of him with a heart-rending cry, and afterwards, the same with his mother. And anyone who was at the cemetery at that time, wept along with him. It rained, and it looked like the heavens themselves were weeping along with us... a headstone was set at the one-year anniversary, which was made by Broder the gravestone maker, beginning with the words: 'Lovers During Life, and not Parted in Death...'
 

In that period, there were a variety of revolutionary parties in Zambrów. For the most part, it was the craftsmen of the shtetl who belonged to these parties. The leaders, however, were the children of the balebatim, or the so-called ‘intelligentsia’ of the shtetl. A few of the parties had a Jewish following in it, such as the Bund, or the S. S. (Zionist-Socialist) parties. There were other, simply international [parties], such as the Social-Revolutionary and Social-Democratic parties. The Communist Party did not yet exist then. However, there was an anarchist group whose program was communist. The Jewish revolutionists from Zambrów could not play a significant role in the Revolution because, as was the case with all small towns, they were only small-town workers, not industrial workers, and they were rarely visible in times of revolutionary upheaval. The parties belonged to a regional committee that was found in Bialystok. From time to time a speaker would come down from Bialystok or Warsaw. Occasionally, [a speaker would come] from more distant cities, from Russia. A gathering was then called, somewhere in the woods outside of the city, where the young people would get together and the speaker would give a report on what the party was doing, and also determine what the smaller towns can and must do. From time to time demands were presented to the balebatim to improve the conditions of their workers, and those who did not want to cooperate were written up with communication to other cities where the balebatim travel to either buy or sell goods, and they would be met there. Upon returning to Zambrów, they would treat their workers better. The work of the parties, however, had to be carried out in a strictly conspiratorial manner, so that the gendarmes and the police should not be able to discover who was a party member, because the smallest infraction in those days carried with it the possibility of years in Siberia and sometimes also the death penalty. One individual was sentenced to a lifetime of hard labor, and this was because he accosted two gendarmes with a revolver in his hand. He was a tailor, and had to be grateful for his life to Abcheh Rokowsky, because he [Abcheh] gathered signatures from the resident townsfolk; and Abcheh wrote a petition to the Czarina, and she set aside the hard labor in favor of a twenty-year sentence of ordinary prison. Later on, this was further reduced to nine years. Today this person is located in New York, and his name is Yankl Grzewieniorz.

The defeat of the Czarist régime in the war with Japan profoundly demoralized the Russian armies, and the revolutionary spirit also took hold among the garrisons of the army. In many places there were open manifestations of armed forces, and they refused to suppress the strikes of students and workers. In the Zambrów garrison, there also was an uprising. It first started in the 15th Rota of the Lodozhsk Division. The soldiers presented a set of demands to the Rota commander. This, of course, was contrary to military discipline. When the commander demanded that they discipline the revolutionary committee, the entire battalion went over to the side of the revolutionary soldiers. In a short time the entire Lodozhsk Division and the entire artillery was on strike, and it instilled a fear among the officers. Most of them fled to the villages and cities around Zambrów, taking their families. The second division, Schlüsselburg, had a very good and wise commanding officer, and he immediately mustered his division, which was already getting ready to support the mutiny, and he won them over with gentle persuasion, saying that everything that the striking soldiers want to win, they will also get, but if they lose, they most certainly will be punished. ‘But they will not be able to do anything to you, because you did not take part in this.’ Accordingly, his division did not stand with the mutiny. Because of this, he was later made a Brigade Commander and was promoted to the rank of General. He was the Brigade Commander of the Zambrów garrison for many years – this was General Salanin, who was also favorably disposed towards Jews, and he did favors for the Jews. The rebellion was suppressed within a day because several divisions of soldiers arrived from other garrisons, composed of infantry, dragoons, Cossacks, and artillery as well. The mutinous soldiers were surrounded, and they were disarmed, and many were sent to the stockade in Łomża where a military tribunal sentenced them to a variety of terms in discipline-battalions. One was sentenced to death by firing squad because he slapped his commanding officer. He was shot in the woods beside the Zambrów barracks.
 

By coincidence, a revolutionary group among the officers in Zambrów came to light in the following manner: In Zambrów, there was a Jew by the name of Prawda, who would often come to the officer’s club, where he would sell cigars and cigarettes. He would do this in the garrisons of Ostrów, Ganszerowa, and the officers knew him quite well. So an incident occurred as such: when he came to the officers' club in Zambrów, with is cigars and cigarettes, an officer came up to him and asked him if he was planning to be in the Ostrów club any time soon, and could he take along a letter to a friend of his, [also] an officer, whom he will find in the Ostrów officer’s club. He immediately composed the letter and gave it to Prawda. When Prawda arrived at the Ostrów club and asked for the addressee by name, they pointed out the officer and he gave him the letter. Prawda did not know that there were two officers in the same club with the same name. And indeed, he switched the two identities... this officer, upon reading the letter, and seeing that it dealt with a revolutionary officers' group, immediately turned it over to higher ranking authorities. The officer, along with Prawda and his two sons, were immediately arrested. And immediately, an investigation ensued. In the meantime, Prawda and his two sons were sent to the Warsaw Citadel, and they were held until the trial. The investigation uncovered a rather completely networked revolutionary officers group involving many garrisons in the Warsaw military war zone. Thirty-eight of these officers were arrested from a variety of garrisons. Five of them were from Zambrów. They were sentenced to five and six years of hard labor, and service in disciplinary battalions. Prawda, along with his sons, were released. At the same time, it was uncovered that the writers in the Zambrów military headquarters were printing up revolutionary proclamations and distributing them among a variety of garrisons. This revolutionary group was also arrested.

The custom of the time was that each division maintained its own treasury, and this money was kept in a closed and locked wagon. The wagon could be found outside, near the window of the headquarters. A soldier with a gun was stationed beside the treasury [wagons]. Every hour or two the corporal would come and change the guard, replacing the first soldier with a fresh one. And so it occurred, that once when they came to change the guard, they found no one there, and the treasury had been emptied. Naturally, the entire division was sent out to look for the soldier and the money on all roads, fields and woods, but without success. It was a cold and dark night, and the thief understood that an intensive search for him would be launched, so he scaled a tree and observed how he was being sought so intensely in the area. And since nobody noticed him, and it was cold, the soldiers of the division decided to turn back and return to the barracks, and as soon as he saw that they were falling back, that is how quickly he came down the tree, looking about thoroughly. Not seeing anyone in this part of the forest, he sorted out all of the money. He immediately buried the coupons under the tree that he had been sitting in and set off with his packet of money to the first village. Along the way it appears he was able to procure civilian clothes, and when he arrived in Rutki he went into a saloon and hired a wagon driver who took him to Bialystok, and there, for money, he found people who took him over the border into Germany. He was a ‘Latisch’ and spoke German well, so he felt very much at home in Germany.

In Zambrów, the higher officers of his division were very depressed by this whole incident and didn’t know what else to do. So they decided to consult with the Brigade Commander – Salanin. When the entire officer ranks of the brigade assembled to deal with this question of where to find the soldier and the money, having no trace of him the general’s batman named Shapiro, a familiar educated Jew from among the Zambrów intelligentsia, asked the general if his idea for finding the thief would be acceptable. The soldier had, most certainly, already crossed the border, Shapiro said, and before the thief is able to travel further Shapiro wants to be given papers to cross the border, and also identification papers for the Prussian police. He took on the task, meaning locating the soldier, to bring him back to Zambrów. None of the officers had any better approach, and so Shapiro was given all of the necessary papers and went off to Germany to look for the soldier. As soon as he crossed the border, he immediately presented himself to the Bureau of the Gendarmerie, showed his papers, and told the reason for his arrival. He said that he wants to have two German gendarmes accompany him to the immigrant-control station. He does not know the thief, and he is certain that he is using another name [than his own], and if someone calls out his real name – he will certainly look around, and he will then go over to him and speak to him in Russian, and at the same time the gendarmes should also come nearby and take part in the investigation. And this is the way it was done. When Shapiro approached, the soldier denied nothing. The soldier was immediately arrested. He argued, however, that he was a political refugee, and Germany has no right to return him to Russia. Shapiro, however, wanted him to show where he had buried the coupons. The Germans agreed to this, and on a Saturday during the day, Shapiro, the soldier and two German gendarmes arrived in Zambrów. It was not permitted to turn over the soldier to the military, but he was held in Plotnikawa in the Hotel – he showed them where the coupons were buried, and he was taken back to Germany.
 

The Marketplace (Rynek) on a Market Day
 

This matter took place in Wysokie Mazowieckie, but a vary large part of it has to do with Zambrów, and it took place at the same time, and it also has to do with the soldiers of the Zambrów garrison.

In the years after the war with Japan, many revolutionary parties organized assaults against government banks, in order to obtain enough money to carry out their revolutionary work. The Polish P. P. S.²⁸ carried out such an assault in Wysokie Mazowieckie, and as usual, such an assault was planned and executed with great care. First an investigatory commission came to see how the bank was guarded, the entrances, and escape routes. The bank in Wysokie was guarded by a unit of soldiers from the Zambrów divisions. On the last day of the month, the unit of soldiers returns to Zambrów, and a day later, another unit comes to take its place. On that day, a well-organized group can assault the bank, because all that remains in the city are a few policemen who can be quickly disarmed, and the entire town during the time of the assault can come under control of the [attacking] group.

On the last day of the month, approximately forty members of the Warsaw P. P. S. arrived and carried out the assault on the Wysokie government bank. For a little under an hour, the entire town was under the control of the group. The police were disarmed. The telegraph and telephone lines were cut, and the guard at the bank was absolutely powerless to resist, and he had to open the bank to them. Several horse-drawn cabs rode up, and the group loaded the money from the safe onto these vehicles and set off in a variety of directions to different towns. When they left Wysokie, one of the group made a speech to the frightened populace, and said for what purpose the money is being taken, and that no one should make a move to pursue them, including the police. The residents released the confined police and told them which roads were taken by the robbers of the money. The police then too set out in pursuit along these roads. One of these cabs with money, and two of the robbers stopped at the Zambrów marketplace, at Mordechai Aharon’s tea house. Meanwhile, two Wysokie policemen arrived in a carriage. Recognizing the carriage that stood near the tea house, they immediately began to whistle, calling the Zambrów police to help them. The robbers heard the whistling and immediately ran out, shot to death the two Wysokie policemen, got onto the carriage with the money and quickly set out on the Łomża Road. Having thus traveled several viorst from the city, they stopped and took the paper money with them, which were in sacks, leaving the small change behind, which remained spilled out inside the carriage. In this way, they took off for the first village and asked one of the Poles if he will take them to Łomża in his wagon. The Pole went to hitch up the horses, and meanwhile they went into his house to get something to eat. Meanwhile, the carriage with the spilled coins stood on the road, and the Zambrów police took Sadawki’s (the Zambrów warrior) carriage and went to find the robbers. Arriving at the place where the carriage with the spilled coins was standing, the police first helped themselves to some of the coins, filling their boots with as much as could be put in, and they then rode to the nearest village where the robbers were and immediately entered the peasant’s house. Before they even had a chance to ask anything, the two guests took out revolvers and shot them. They came out of the peasant’s house got into the cab with which the police had come and fled the village. The peasant took the two dead policemen and put them into the wagon that he had hitched up for the robbers, and set out to ride to the magistrate in Zambrów. It was here that it became evident that their boots were full of coins, which they had poured in there. The names of the two policemen were Kocko and Efrimov. The magistrate went to the military garrison for help in apprehending the robbers. Hundreds of soldiers on horseback were sent to pursue and find the robbers, but without success. Police in other cities, who gave pursuit, had the same (sic: unsuccessful) outcome. All in all, about ten policemen were killed, and not one of the robbers was apprehended alive or dead. When all of the forty men who carried out this act for their party came back alive to their central committee, alive, with money, they sent a letter to the head of the Wysokie bank, that they had confiscated the money. The head of the robbers signed the letter – Józef Pilsudski.²⁹
 

A general strike broke out in all of Russia in October 1905. After three weeks, the government was compelled to concede to many of the demands, and the Czar Nicholas II proclaimed a manifest that he will introduce a constitutional government like the one in England. In all cities and towns the people came out en masse with their standards, to celebrate the victory of obtaining a constitution. They marched and nobody stopped them. The gendarmes, police and also the military, did not interfere with the joyful movement of the civilian populace, and that day was also a festive day in Zambrów. It was Sunday, the portion of Noah. Jewish revolutionary groups came together after the midday on the Ostrów highway. Bercheh the Melamed released his cheder class and sent the older children to go from cheder to cheder, to let the melamdim know that they have to let the cheder class go on a day such as this. It is a holiday for everyone. The Rothberg brothers, Malka-Cymal’s children, Elyeh and Itzl, raised a red flag, and they were followed by a group of young people singing revolutionary Jewish songs. The Chief Guard Bamishov, a stout and short man, arrived holding his hand on his sword, but not knowing what to do: to disperse the crowd or not? – This is something of a constitution, new times in Russia, and specific orders from the province were not yet here. In the meantime, a claque of white-comrades ran up to him, grabbed him and lifted him into the air, and shouted: “The Cow’s Ass, Hurrah!” – “The Cow’s Ass” which was the secret name given to him by the revolutionary Jewish youth in Zambrów. The Chief Guard let himself down, and embarrassed and confused he didn’t know how to react.

In the evening, however, the general festivities of the revolutionary populace took place on the Kuszarer Gasse, Gentiles and Jews. The young people, and especially those who belonged to the conspiratorial revolutionary parties, came together on Kuszarer [Gasse], many of them in their uniforms, in red or blue shirts. And as if it had sprung from the earth, there sprouted a red flag. Several Polish nationalists put on their Polish national hats, with four corners (konfederatkehs), which until that time, were forbidden to be worn. The Chief Guard Bamishov again stood and looked on, asking only that they not create any disorder. The provisioner from Skarzinsky’s pharmacy, a person of short height but a great Polish patriot, came outside with his Polish hat with the four corners and joined in standing with the Polish and Jewish revolutionaries. His name was Strupczeski. In former times, his father was also a pharmacist, until the First Great Fire. He went into the pharmacy and brought out fireworks, which was then lit, and it then burned and spread various colors about, and this illuminated the entire Kuszarer Gasse. Bamishov and the gendarmes stood by and kept an eye on order, but they did not interfere, nor did they stop anything. Six of the young people again went over to the Chief Guard Bamishov and picked him up in the air again, shouting: “Hurrah! Hurrah!,” and the gendarmes laughed. However, they interfered with nothing.

The reactionary elements in the government, though at that time they seemed to be in the minority – they were a strong minority. This was because on their side stood the Czarist family, the strongly reactionary Russian Orthodox Church, and the reactionary elements of the Army and the conservative right-wing press. All these united in one union and began a strong movement against the constitution. The reactionary element became terribly frightened when they saw how the people accepted the news of the last few days, and the newspapers began to write and demand even more freedom. The reaction became confused, and Czar Nicholas II began to insist that if the people will be unable to control themselves under a limited constitutional monarchy, he will be compelled to revoke various liberties that he had proclaimed in his manifesto in the month of October. The reactionary newspapers began to accuse the Jews for all the troubles that befell Russia and called upon the darker elements of the land to launch pogroms against the Jews. Day in and day out, the newspapers brought more and more accusations against the Jews, and the darker elements permitted themselves to be incited, and in tens of cities and towns pogroms were carried out against the Jews. Hundreds of Jews lost their lives and their possessions. Millions of rubles were wiped out in fire and plunder. The pogroms went on for several days. When the government finally put a stop to the pogroms, it immediately enacted many of the liberties that were promised in the manifesto to all nationalities that occupied the Russian Empire. However, the right to elect a parliament (the Duma) was not enacted.

The people got ready for the first Duma elections, and all nationalities and all parties had the same, equal rights to vote and be elected; accordingly they all began to prepare for the elections. After the elections, it became apparent that the first Duma was the most Left constitutional parliament in the world, because the reactionary elements were in the minority. The majority consisted of various types of socialist parties from all nationalities of the Russian Empire.
 

I was arrested in March 1907, and it seemed like I was going to get long, hard years in prison. I was working for Berl-Leibl Finkelstein on Kuszarer [Gasse]. Across the street from Skarzinsky’s pharmacy, he had a leather business, and also a boot manufacturing operation. In the small towns, the workers and employees would work from quite early in the morning until late at night. The salary was also small; the first and second years were worked entirely without any pay, and so it was decided to shorten the long hours and also to demand a little better pay. The demands were presented by the professional union to the balebatim of Zambrów. Many of them immediately agreed.

Berel-Leibl was, however, an angry and stubborn Jew, and did not want to agree. The professional unions, however, had means that they would utilize from time to time – to compel those employers who had refused to comply. Each union had a committee that had the Russian name, ‘Воевй-Отряд’³⁰, which would carry out a variety of actions against the employers who would not comply. The committee took down the signs from Berl-Leibl’s business. They also broke all the window panes in the windows of his business and his house. It did no good. He then went to the police. but since no one had seen who did all of this, the police were unable to hold anyone responsible. At that time, I was already working at a different leather concern. The professional union also did not remain silent and adopted more severe measures against Berl-Leibl. The work of the Воевй-Отряд was very conspiratorial, and nobody knew what or when something was going to be done, because if they were caught it carried the implication of many years in prison, or Siberia. So they wrote to the union in Czyżew, and they waited for Berl-Leibl [who was] coming into the train station, and they gave him a warning -- he said that they beat him, but it didn’t help. He remained even more resolute in not conceding. Once again, he went to the police who could do nothing. Several weeks later, the regional committee of the union, which was to be found in Bialystok, wrote a warning letter to Berl-Leibl, and they referenced my name in the letter, and since the letter bore the stamp of the union and the party, both of whom were underground organizations, and to be a member carried with it the possibility of jail, Berl-Leibl immediately turned over the letter to the chief of police, and told him what the letter contained, and he connected this to the threats that he had previously received. The chief of police gave the letter to Szczynka the Teacher, from the public school, to translate, because it was written in Yiddish. The chief of police prepared two charges. One, that I belong to an underground revolutionary party; and the second that, in the name of the party, I participated in criminal acts against Berl-Leibl. He sent a gendarme to bring me to the chief of police and asked me three times whether I understood well the seriousness of the two charges. When I answered him in the affirmative, he ordered me to go home, but that I should not travel away from Zambrów. My mother pleaded with me to temporarily travel off to somewhere, to another city, because I will certainly be arrested. However, I did not want to be a fugitive. On the same day, in the evening, the same gendarme returned, [accompanied by] a policeman and a patrol of soldiers, and did a search of the house, and found nothing, because as it appears the police chief gave me plenty of time to clean the place out, so that they would not find anything. However, I was immediately arrested and taken to the Zambrów jail. The police chief immediately placed soldiers with guns to guard me. For a whole three days, the shtetl youth as well as the curious older people, stood and looked at the bars of the jail, wanting to know who it was that the soldiers were guarding so carefully. On the fourth day, I was handcuffed and put up into a wagon with two gendarmes and also two policemen, and the soldiers were put into two other wagons, one in front, and one behind my wagon. The chief of police, with the charges, sat in a carriage, and he traveled off to Łomża immediately. A little later, our wagons, also, went off to Łomża. This was three weeks before Passover.

When the chief of police went off, a gendarme boarded the chief’s carriage and traveled with him, and two soldiers were boarded onto my wagon. I knew the soldiers from before because they secretly belonged to a revolutionary group, and every first Sunday of the month I would meet them at a specific place where I would turn over hundreds of pamphlets that had been printed in Bialystok, especially for soldiers in the entire region. I thought that these two soldiers also had something to do with my arrest, and so a thought occurred to me to ask one of them if he could take off the handcuffs and descend from the wagon with me for a couple of minutes, and we will follow the wagon because I am very cold. I wanted to find out if they had any part in my arrest, because they would be the best witnesses against me. In several minutes, I concluded that not only did they say nothing, they even told me what the chief of police had said, and this was very necessary for me to know.

We arrived in Łomża, to the district commander’s office on the Langer Gasse, near the new marketplace. The police chief was there already, and they began to question me and sought to entrap me in a variety of pitfalls. Seeing that they are unable to do anything with me, they said that an examining magistrate will come to see me at the magistrate building at the old marketplace. Two weeks later, an examining magistrate came and posed the same questions to me, and I gave him the same answers, because they could not connect anything to Berl-Leibl’s complaint. Regarding the letter, I said to him that, since the letter was not written by me, I cannot be responsible for it, and as far as I know – the letter could have been written by a provocateur. He began to shout that he was going to send me to jail that very day, and an examining magistrate from a higher court will come there because the complaint is tied up with underground parties from other provinces.

It was the eve of Passover, and an hour later five soldiers arrived and led me to the old marketplace into the great prison near the public hall. On my way to the prison, I was met by Berl, the son of Nachman-Yankl the Wagon Driver, quickly hurrying to get to Zambrów for the seder. In prison, I was given a solitary cell, and a Jew brought in matzoh and told me to see that there was no leavened produce in the cell, and that there would be a seder that evening, where all the arrested Jewish inmates will be together. Seven weeks later, an examining magistrate from a higher court arrived, because on the door of the room where he interrogated me was written: Следователь поВажнйшйам Делам (an investigator of the most important issues). He began to question me, and the court secretary began to write. He was, however, a very intelligent and liberal man because when the secretary left the room for several minutes, he said to me that this is the result of when a party writes a letter, and no name is to be mentioned, because those mentioned are placed in danger of being sent away. He immediately had me freed on bail. However, I was never called up on a complaint. I think he was a bigger revolutionary than I was. Two years later, I was taken in as a soldier, and in the papers there was no mention that I had ever been arrested.
 

In the year 1909, I was taken to be a soldier in the Russian army and was sent to serve in the Amur area. And since soldiers were sent in freight wagons, the ride took more than forty days, traveling through all of Siberia in colds of minus forty and fifty degrees. We arrived in the city of Khabarovsk, after which papers arrived from Łomża that I had a ‘legota’ (a privilege that freed me from military service), and a high number, so I had to be let go. On the eve of Passover I arrived [back] in Zambrów, learning that Zambrów had just lived through a week of terror, because there was imminent threat of a pogrom that certain anti-Semitic elements, with the help of the Polish press in Warsaw attempted to incite [as follows]: Jews from Zambrów on a certain night had allegedly gone to the Polish cemetery and desecrated graves and broken headstones. The Polish newspapers from Warsaw even provided names of specific Jews who had been seen on that night when they went out to the cemetery. In the newspapers, the Polish populace was called upon not to ignore this, and to settle accounts with the Jews because of this. Gentiles began to prepare themselves for a pogrom, during the Holy Week of Easter, when they would be coming to the Roman Catholic Church. Jewish contractors, with Binyomkeh Golombek at their head, went off to the brigade commander and he posted heavy patrols near the Roman Catholic Church, as well as along all the roads that led into the city, and all the suspicious characters were not permitted entry into the city. Afterwards, the culprit was found. [He was] a Polish baker who worked in the German bakery Piper-Kasper. He got his punishment. Passover for the Jews was not disrupted.
 

A few weeks after Passover, on May 1, 1910, a terrifying fire broke out in Zambrów yet again. It was given the name “The Second Great Fire.’ And for the second time, Zambrów was burned to the ground. The fire started on a Saturday night in the stable of Elkanah the Wagon Driver, and in Avreml Kuszarer’s houses on ulica Kościelna, not far from the bridge. And since a small breeze was blowing into the city, it quickly ignited many houses simultaneously, and now a larger and more prosperous Zambrów was on fire, and the damages were greater than in the case of the First Great Fire. However, there were more houses that were insured, and so the losses actually didn’t come out so large, and it was possible to rebuild more quickly. By the time of this fire, there was already an organized fire brigade, but almost all of them were Poles, and instead of putting the fires out they aggravated the burning by pouring kerosene on the Jewish houses. Meanwhile, the city went under from the fire. A short time after this, I left for America.

Zambrów in the Suwalki-Łomża Kollel in Jerusalem

 

In 1949, there existed in Jerusalem a unified appropriations committee that allocated the support funds that came from outside the Holy Land to the ‘Kollel of Pharisees,’ meaning the Mitnagdim and the ‘Kollel of Hasidim.’

 

However, when the olim from Germany and Holland established that most of the monies came from their countries, and that the allocation process was short-changing the Germans – they decided to separate, and to form a united kollel for the Jews of Germany and Holland called Kollel Ho”D (Holland and Deutschland).

 

However, even here the unity did not continue for any length of time. The people of Lithuania and Poland established a kollel of their own. In the year 1850, the scions of Poland separated from Lithuania, and established ‘Kollel Warsaw’ – which received funds from the Jews of Poland and distributed it to the émigrés from Poland in Jerusalem. A hundred years ago, approximately in 1863, the émigrés from Łomża and Suwalki who were consolidated from an administrative point of view with the rest of Poland, found they were being short-changed in the allocations, because in those cities and their surroundings, people tended to give more generously to the Land of Israel, for their kinfolk who went ‘either to live or die,’ but here, no one was taking this into account. Accordingly, a ‘Kollel for Suwalki-Łomża’ was established for the purpose of allocating those funds raised from the environs of these cities. The kollel of Suwalki-Łomża was one of the most active among the kollels of Europe.

 

The first president of Kollel Suwalki-Łomża was the Rabbi of Zambrów, R’ Lipa Chaim HaKohen³⁵. We have no insight into why they chose the Rabbi of Zambrów in particular, and not the Rabbi from Suwalki, Łomża or Szczuczyn³⁶, as it were. Apparently he was very well-respected, trustworthy and someone you could depend on. All the monies collected for the Land of Israel in all of the cities and settlements that were in Suwalki and Łomża came into the hands of Rabbi R’ Lipa Chaim. After the dignitaries in Zambrów assisted him in the counting of the total, the funds were transferred to the treasurer in Szczuczyn, and from there to the Land of Israel. The emissaries, who were designated to empty the charity boxes of R’ Meir Baal HaNess, had to receive permission to do so from R’ Lipa Chaim. In 1876, Tuvia Fenster, a scion of Szumowo tells from his memory, that when his father wanted to tour the Land of Israel, many tried to persuade him against it because all the ways of travel were dangerous, etc. His father, Yaakov Moshe, decided to travel to Zambrów to the president of the Kollel, R’ Lipa Chaim, to seek his advice, and he would do what he said. And as it turned out, R’ Lipa-Chaim encouraged him, and even wrote letters on his behalf to his acquaintances in Jerusalem, to R’ Meir Auerbach who had been the Rabbi of Kalisz and to R’ Eliyahu Sarasohn, who received R’ Fenster with respect.

 

Emissaries would come out of Zambrów to distribute and set up charity boxes of R’ Meir Baal HaNess, and also to empty them for the entire area, and they would say: ‘Put some money in the box, or it will be an embarrassment when the Emissary from Zambrów arrives, who will be coming shortly to empty the charity box.

 

From the accounting records of the Kollel, “The Sun of Justice” signed by Rabbi R’ Lipa, on this side, and the heads of the Kollel in Jerusalem as well – it is difficult to find support for Jews from Zambrów among the hundreds of recipients of the allocated funds, because all of them signed themselves ‘from Łomża’ – the provincial capitol, and not their native towns. Occasionally, some name from Zambrów shows up, but without any family identification, such as: R’ Israel Shammes from Zambrów, etc.

 

When R’ Lipa Chaim passed away, his son-in-law, R’ Yehoshua Heschel Shapiro, was appointed president of the Kollel, the Rabbi of Szczuczyn, and after him, the grandson of R’ Lipa Chaim – R’ Joseph HaKohen. The last president of the Kollel was the son-in-law of R’ Lipa Chaim, the Rabbi Dov Menachem Regensberg. The treasury was in Szczuczyn.

 

If anyone from the Łomża-Suwalki area made aliyah, he was entitled to receive financial aid from Jerusalem from the allocated funds, but he did not receive this without the consent of the Rabbi of Zambrów. The last appointed head of the Kollel in Jerusalem was the Rabbi R’ Moshe Kharlap ז"ל, who worked faithfully and knew all the émigrés from Łomża-Suwalki up to the year 1952.

 

The first emissary who was sent by the Kollel of Suwalki-Łomża to America in the year 1892, to arouse the hearts and to donate to causes pertaining to the Land of Israel on behalf of the Kollel, was R’ Abner, a scion of Zambrów.

 

 

A Blood Libel By Tuvia Fenster     Tuvia Fenster

 

This took place in the 1870's in our town of Szumowo, between Purim and Passover. I remember it as if it were today, and the newspapers also reported it.

 

The peasant Maczei was a forest worker for Graf Zamoyski. In his old age he purchased a small parcel of land between Szumowo and Srebrna. His wife had already died, leaving him with three children – two girls aged five and seven, and a young lad of thirteen. One day, when Maczei returned from church on a Sunday, he found all three of his children murdered. This had a terrifying impact on everyone. Maczei sat and mourned, and his loyal neighbor, Bartek comforted him. Everyone wondered: three souls slaughtered, and no blood was found beside them. What a wonder – Bartek argues: ‘It’s Jews, Passover!’ – That means: ‘Jews murdered them in honor of their Passover, and [they] have used all of their blood...

 

A rumor then spread, that the Jews of Zambrów, the closest town, came to slaughter them and use their blood to prepare matzohs...
 

In Szumowo, a police detail had been stationed there since the last Polish rebellion, and it consisted of three policemen and a senior over them, Semyon Gavrilicz (Shimon ben Gavriel), a grandson of a Cantonist³² (who had been snatched as a Jewish child and was turned over to serve as a soldier, and needed to adopt the Russian Orthodox faith). Semyon Gavrilicz was quick-minded and smart – he had a Jewish head. He was the first to arrive and ask the old man a variety of questions. From this he learned that one hundred and fifty rubles were also taken by the murderer, and nobody apart from the neighbor, Bartek, knew about it.

 

Semyon immediately cast suspicion on this so-called loyal neighbor and ordered his policemen to investigate what Bartek was doing. He personally investigated and poked around and came to the conclusion that it was only Bartek who was the murderer. But there was no trace, no evidence!

 

In the meantime, rumors circulated about how the Jews had sucked out the blood from the children. Also, the anti-Semitic Polish press from Warsaw portrayed all of these rumors and incited the masses. Accordingly, all of the Jews from the villages fled to Zambrów. Also, in Zambrów, the priest in church spoke about this and said that suspicion had fallen on the Jews. A special meeting was called at the home of R’ Shmuel Wilimowsky, the head of the Zambrów community, and it decided to immediately travel to the Governor in Łomża. The Governor heard everyone out and promised that he would not permit anything unlawful and without legal permission, and he will personally come down to investigate the matter. Semyon Gavrilicz, however, did not rest. As the suspicion against Bartek acquired more of a basis, he decided on a bold move: In the middle of the night, he took his three assistants and suddenly woke Bartek out of his sleep with the shout: ‘Thief, where did you hide Maczei’s one hundred and fifty rubles?’ Bartek became confused... The police began to conduct an intensive search, and in poking around they found the money. Bartek was immediately put in chains and taken off to Szumowo.

 

As it happened, that morning the Governor arrived from Łomża. He ordered Bartek released and brought to him. The Governor called him to the table, put a glass of whiskey in front of him with great ceremony, and asked him amicably:

 

'Listen, Bartek, we are after all nothing but people. Every one of us can fall into the clutches of Satan, and you too fell, and you transgressed. Confess and you will not be punished. But first eat something and tell me everything afterward.'

 

Bartek took note of the great respect that was being shown to him by the Governor, and so he crossed himself, emptied the glass, and followed it with a slice of white bread and related the following: 'I have to buy a horse for my work, because what good is a peasant without a horse? And for what purpose does Old Maczei need money? So I quickly disposed of the children while everyone was in church, but I had to struggle with the boy, he was strong...' The details he provided were terrifying. The Governor heard it all, and his face flamed, but he kept control of himself.

 

– 'But tell me, Bartek,' the Governor says, 'why is it that not a single drop of blood was found in the house? All are wondering about this.' 'It is quite simple,' Bartek says, 'I called my dog, and Maczei’s big dog, and they licked and licked...'

 

With this, the Governor could no longer contain himself and began to bang on the table: 'Keep still you dog, it was not enough that you murdered three children, you wanted to throw the responsibility onto the Jews! You filthy vermin!' – 'Semyon Gavrilicz,' he shouted to the police senior,' take this criminal away from me and shackle him in irons, hand and foot, and bring him immediately to Łomża, to the prison...'

 

Bartek was sentenced to life at hard labor, in Siberia. Semyon Gavrilicz received a commendation with a “Похволнй Лист” (a letter of commendation) and he became renown. Part of the Jews from Szumowo and Srebrna chose to remain in Zambrów.
 

 

 

Pages By Aryeh Golombek

 

 

Executive Committee of the Young Zionists

 

Standing (R to L): David Rosenthal, Abraham Krupinsky, Yekhiel Don;
Sitting ( R to L): Mayer Rutkevitz, Sarah Rebecca Slovic,
Leib Golombek. Herzkeh Skozendanek, Sarah Rosen.

A. I Am the Zambrów Commissar

 

In the summer of 1920 we prepared ourselves, myself and my friend Yitzhak Gorodzinsky, Chava’s son, to make aliyah to the Land of Israel. It was wartime between Poland and Russia. We waited for passports and visas. In the meantime I came back to Zambró, because it was harvest season, and I needed to help. In this time, the Bolshevik invasion occurred. A militia of firefighters was formed in the city. The commandant of the firefighters left the area and wanted to take along the Jewish firefighter Shlomo Yaakov Kukawka, whom he valued highly. But he [Kukawka] said: I want to remain among my brethren. So the first militia commandant was the Polish harness-maker, Manyk Wysotski, a member of the P. P. S. and a vice-commandant of the firefighters. He was not satisfactory to the Russians. So everybody proposed me to be the commandant of the militia. I did not want to do this, because I was not close to the communists, and after all I was imminently going to make aliyah to the Land of Israel. So pleading began to come from all sides, that in my position I would be able to do favors, and rescue many, even from death. So I accepted the post and became the chief of police of Zambrów, and they brought to me a Jew from Wysokie, Srebrowicz, who dealt in foreign exchange, a serious offense. I made an extensive ‘investigation’ and then released him. Simcha Stern set up a bottle of vodka for a Jewish soldier of the Red Army – and he was under the threat of a death penalty, so I ‘investigated’, shouted at him, and set him free. Abraham Shlomo Dzenchill (Pracht) committed a severe crime, and a Polish militiaman brought him in chains: he illegally sold a can of kerosene...

 

So I sent him home, etc. When the Russians retreated, I wanted to flee with them, fearing that the Poles would take vengeance on me. But the Poles asked me to stay...so I showed myself running with the Russians on the outskirts of the city, and I secretly got down and returned home. Afterwards I came to Warsaw, and from there I traveled to the Land of Israel. Six years later, I came back as a visitor. I was then informed on, that I was a communist commissar. However, respected Poles gave testimony that I was OK, and I was not detained.
 

 

B. Two Tables

 

The firefighters used to have an annual dinner. At one time there were only two Jewish firefighters: Gordon the photographer, and Yossl Mozzik (Modrikman). Since the Second Great Fire, there were many Jews. So food was prepared for two banquets – one was trayf, with swine flesh, for the gentiles, and one was kosher, under the supervision of Yaakov Shlomo Kukawka, for the Jews. During the feasting, two delegations would come out: A Jewish delegation that would go to offer their greetings to the gentile table, and a gentile delegation, with the pharmacist Skarzynski at its head, to wish the Jews good luck.
 

 

C. My Father’s Initiative & Influence

 

My father, may he rest in peace, Binyomkeh Golombek, was the gabbai of the Red Synagogue and of the Chevra Kadisha. As a contractor who supplied provisions to the two military divisions stationed in Zambrów, my father knew the garrison general quite well. One time, when the threat of a pogrom hovered over Zambrów because the gentiles had accused the Jews in desecrating the Polish cemetery – my father went to the general. My father told him of the situation and asked for his help. The general immediately ordered that a military guard be deployed in the city, conducted inspections of the peasant wagons, confiscating any suspicious arms that they found.

D. Jewish Soldiers Furloughed for Festivals

 

Hundreds of Jewish soldiers served in Zambrów. For every Festival Holiday, the rabbi would travel to the division commander, accompanied by a number of other balebatim, mostly with Abcheh Rokowsky, and request to have the Jewish conscripts furloughed for the holidays. A kosher kitchen was set up for them in the city, and even a special minyan in which they could pray, in the ‘Wood House’ of the White Bet HaMedrash. The Jewish conscripts had their own individual to lead services, and their own Torah scroll. Once on Rosh Hashanah, at the beginning of the service, the rabbi approached my father and whispered a secret in his ear: ‘The soldiers have not been given a furlough this year...’ My father immediately set aside his prayer shawl and immediately ran to the general’s quarters. - What happened?, the General asked him, Is not today a very important holiday for you? – But my brothers, the soldiers, today they do not have a holiday, they were not given a furlough... the order was immediately given, and an hour later the Bet HaMedrash became full of Jewish conscripts.
 

 

E. A Soldier Defends Jewish Honor

 

 

 

Binyomkeh Golombek and Family

 

 

 

Young Girl Schoolchildren
 

 

There was an out-of-town soldier who was serving in Zambrów by the name of Zerakh Kagan. He was zealously observant. Accordingly, every day before going to military exercises, he would arise to pray and put on his tefillin. Gentile soldiers would gather around him to look at his phylacteries, which they had never seen before, and offer him respect. Except one time, when an anti-Semite paused to mock the Jew. Kagan took no note of him and continued praying. So he went up to him to tear off his tefillin, and Kagan gave him a stout kick with his foot – and he fell down and ailed for two to three days, after which he died. There ensued a tumult during which Kagan was arrested, for which he was under the threat of a very serious punishment. My father involved himself, and with considerable effort caused the military doctors to establish that the soldier died from a heart attack, and not the blow from Kagan. Kagan was then released. When Kagan completed his military service, he was not permitted to travel home. A Jew like this needed to remain in Zambrów. He was found a match with the daughter of Miriam the Wigmaker, and Meiram Burstein. He became a teacher in a reformed cheder, and educated hundreds of students in Torah and to do good deeds.

 

How A Pogrom Was Avoided in Zambrów   By Sender Seczkowsky (As recorded by R’ Israel Levinsky ז"ל)

 

 

 

At a reunion of Zembrowites in Tel Aviv to commemorate the devastation of the native town.
Mr. Sender Seczkowsky and his wife are in the front row, third and fourth from the right.

 

 

 

The Young Girls of the School
 

 

On a fine morning, the fear of death fell upon the Jews of Zambrów: unknown persons desecrated the Polish cemetery, breaking crucifixes and headstones. The suspicion fell on the Jews. Gentiles immediately came forward who saw Jews milling about ulica Ostrówa, near the cemetery.

The young priests in the church incited the faithful by saying that all troubles emanate from the Jews, leading to the creation of a mood for a pogrom in the city. The gentiles in the surrounding villages designated a specific Sunday to assault the Jews and to rob their businesses. There were only five policemen in Zambrów, [each of whom] were Polish, and it was not possible to rely on them. So a delegation went off to Łomża to the Governor. Representatives of the Łomża Jews went with them. The Governor, who was from Courland, was a philo-Semite, and immediately ordered a hundred-man Cossack contingent sent to Zambrów to maintain order. Also, Binyomkeh Golombek, the contractor, arranged with the garrison general to have soldiers sent to maintain order. The appointed Sunday arrived, and young and old, man and woman, came out of the church into the cit, to rob the Jewish places of business, and they had prepared in advance by having axes, staves etc. stored in their wagons. I hauled myself up to the roof of our house and looked through a crack: the mob streamed out of the church to ulica Kościelna. A chain of Cossacks, however, came across them on horses and dispersed the hooligans with their nagaikas³³, removed the axes from the wagons and the other instruments of violence. The Secretary of the gmina stood near the Cossacks, and for each peasant, he told the Cossack officer from what town he is – and the Secretary showed them the way to travel home. If someone resisted – he got a couple of whacks with the nagaikas. This immediately softened him up, and he retreated. The Poles did not anticipate such a calamitous denouement. So they got themselves ready for another attempt.

 

That occurred three months later. A fire broke out on a Saturday night on Kuszarer, and the firefighters – all gentiles, apart from the two brothers Yaakov Shlomo and Herschel Kukawka, instead of putting the fire out, threw kerosene-soaked rags and caused the fire to spread, and so the entire shtetl was burned down for the second time. The gentiles took their vengeance for the cemetery... Several weeks later, the following was clarified with regard to the incident at the cemetery: In a gentile bakery, in the house of Mendl Rubin the Hatmaker, one youthful baker stabbed and killed another one. Before he died, he saw fit to tell the boss that he wanted to tell the truth, that he had broken the headstones and crucifixes in the cemetery, the other party had harassed him, and that is why he stabbed him..

The murderer was arrested and confessed everything. The Jews of Zambrów breathed a little easier...
 

 

 

During Wartime By Sender Seczkowsky (As recorded by R’ Israel Levinsky ז"ל)

 

A. The City Is Saved from Destruction

 

In the year 1915, during the First World War, the city was full of the homeless. Tens of families arrived who were refugees from Jedwabne, Grajewo, Szczuczyn, Nowogród, Ostrołęka, and so forth. They were quartered in the Batei Medrashim, in the synagogue, in private houses, to the extent that we could.

 

Zambrów was a tranquil town, far from a strategic point, and that is why many refugees fled here in order to save themselves. But a little at a time the battlefields crept near, and the front already stood near Zambrów. A division of Cossacks arrived in the city, and it felt as if the days of the Russians were numbered – because the Cossacks were the last to leave a city before it falls to the enemy. They received an order not to leave any town, any city, any repository of grain for the enemy – but to burn everything. Every night the sky was reddened: all around the villages the stacks of grain burned. When the Cossacks began to behave violently – beating Jews, raping women, robbing, burning – everyone hid out in cellars and were afraid to stick their heads outside. I sat in a cellar with the family of Yankl Prawda.

 

At one time, in 1905, Prawda was a fiery revolutionary. He had a warm heart and was always ready to take a stand for a Jew. And so it disturbed him: which means that they were beating the Jews, they are plundering – so something has to be done. That the Cossacks should not set the city aflame in their retreat, and here rumors were going about that the Russians had already mined the bridge and plan to put the city to the torch. Prawda wanted to get out and do something, and his wife, Bat-Sheva, Shammai-Lejzor’s daughter, didn’t let him and burst out weeping: is it worth your life, and you are the father of children, and therefore he is not allowed to go into the city. Nevertheless, somehow he tore himself away and use the back ways and fences to reach the municipal secretary Komarowski, who was friendly to the Jews, and together with him they went through all of the cellars collecting money to buy off the Russians so that they not destroy the city.

 

They got together a sum of money in a short time, and it was set up so that the greater assignation should be from above, and under a danger to their lives went off to the commandant at the bridge. The commandant was not there. His substitute was an officer who indicated that nothing was going to help – the order was to set fire to the city. When Yankl Prawda waved the money about, he softened up and sent to have the commandant summoned. The commandant said to his aide: ‘Берий Денгий и Положий Выещик Козначайство’ – Take the money and put it in the safe. And to Yankl Prawda he said: Do you have wine or whiskey? (Because the Russians had confiscated all strong drink in the area of the front, and had forbidden it to be sold). Komarowski recalled that in some stable of the municipal chancellery a case of vodka can be found that had once been confiscated from a storekeeper, and he ran to bring it to the commandant. They stuffed themselves, and half drunk left the city, not bringing any destruction on it.

 

We began to kiss Yankl Prawda when he returned. His wife now took great pride in her accomplished husband.
 

 

B. When Poland Was an Independent Nation

 

On a fine morning, when the Germans still held control over the city, a bunch of gentile thugs showed up with Jozhombek the shoemaker’s son at their head, and with revolvers in their hands, they surrounded the barracks and ordered the Germans to get their hands up and surrender. The mighty Germans did not seem to twirl their moustaches and surrender. The Poles disarmed them and took away their arms. In a couple of hours later, the Germans took up a position, half civilian and half military with small valises in hand, and took off on their way to the Prussian border. The Poles escorted them with mockery, and we Jews did not know how to behave because we felt that in the hands of the Poles it would be worse for us.

 

And in reality, the Poles looked at us askance and did not include us in their victory. It is true that in matters of money, such as taxes, allocation of materiel, clothing, etc., the Jews were extensively included. The best of the youth went off to serve in the Polish military and were sent to the front. That is, those born from 1896 to 1900.

 

The Bolshevist invasion drew closer.

 

The Russians, though, waged war against the Poles, and for this reason they always trusted the Jews: Jewish employees, those in the police, in food jobs, requisitioning, etc. Part of them cooperated in good faith, and part of them did so reluctantly and under duress. The Poles however, blacklisted them all. When the Russians drew back, all those who cooperated with them ran off with them. The Polish authorities, however, pursued their parents. Jeremiah Syeta (Yash) was severely beaten because of the misdeeds of his son. Israel Prawda was hunted and his wife was tortured, who jumped off the balcony.

 

The Polish pharmacist Skarzynski, was sentenced to death by a Bolshevist tribunal. So, temporarily he left the area and hid in a booth belonging to Shimeleh Warszafczyk, near the river. He hid himself there for a week’s time, and the Jews took care of him until the first Polish patrol returned to the city. At that time, Skarzynski came back to the balcony, and he waved the Polish flag. He was nominated as the chief of the civilian populace. When he was asked about the conduct of the Jews during the Bolshevist invasion, he stammered, but upon seeing those Jewish eyes that had rescued him, he expressed himself that the Jewish ‘ne’er-do-wells’ had fled with the Russians, but that the decent citizens had remained here. In this manner he defused the possibility of a bloody pogrom in the shtetl, even if a number of Jews did get a beating and their possessions robbed. One woman was even murdered.

 

C. The Murder of Szklovin the Pharmacist

 

Szklovin the Pharmacist was a discreet person with leftist tendencies. Despite this he was involved in community work, and even worshiped for a time with a Shas study group, and during the Bolshevist occupation he was neutral toward them. It is possible that as a pharmacist he had to adopt this posture. The Poles looked for him and wanted to arrest him. So he hid himself. His wife went to Skarzynski, the Polish pharmacist and beseeched him to save her husband. The pharmacist requested that he come to him, and nothing will happen. Szklovin came to Skarzynski in his holiday finest. Polish young people came running and demanded that Szklovin be turned over to them. Skarzynski didn’t think very long about it and turned Szklovin over, whom they then stripped naked, and together with a young man from Warsaw was severely beaten and forced to pull a wagon full of manure all over the city. They were tortured for so long that they died. The ‘good’ commandant later ordered that their bodies be turned over to the Jewish community, in order that they could be buried.
 

 

Three Who Made Aliyah to The Land of Israel

 

A. The Old Shammes Kuczopa and His Wife

 

Once on a Saturday night, in the year 1903, a tumult occurred on the street of the synagogue in Zambrów. The old shammes, Fortunowicz, who was called Kuczopa (nobody remembers his name anymore) created a scandal in the city and the Bet HaMedrash: ‘I have been a shammes in the city for over sixty years, serving the community day and night. I was the one who did the burying, was the community porter, the Bet-Din shammes – and now in old age, when I am close to eighty years old, I want to travel and die in the Land of Israel. So I have no money to cover expenses...I would therefore like the community to help me. I have earned this, and the community is not poor, so the money can be procured’...

 

The Shammes lived opposite the synagogue, where later on Shama-Lejzor the Maggid would live. And so people stood under his window and eavesdropped on how the old shammes was shouting, cursing and having a fit...also the wife of the old shammes was weeping and wailing about her misfortune. She was a pious and naive Jewish woman, coming before dawn with her husband to prayers in the Women’s Synagogue, and would beseech The Master of the Universe: ‘Good morning dear God, I your servant, Kuczopikha, have come to you to recite the morning service, please accept my prayer!’...

 

Accordingly, the public took an interest in this demanding request from their little old shammes, and decided to provide part of the allocation funds that had been collected (after all, the Rabbi of Zambrów was the gabbai of the Allocations Committee of the Łomża-Suwalki Kollel). The Rabbi assured him that he would be accepted in Jerusalem and placed on the allocation list, and there he will receive his weekly stipend.

 

Apart from this, the following Sabbath, the reading of the Torah was delayed in the Red Bet HaMedrash, where he was the shammes. It was decided to give him half of the travel costs from the community treasury and from the Chevra Kadisha (he traveled with his wife and a grandchild, a daughter’s daughter age thirteen to assist them on their journey to Jerusalem) and the rest that he was missing would be raised by pledges and contributions: all those receiving an aliyah for the entire month ahead, in the Red Bet HaMedrash, will be asked for a Mi Sheberakh contribution for the old shammes, and the contribution will be eighteen groschen (one-time chai) on his behalf.

 

Several weeks later, it was on a Sunday morning, on the morning after Shabbat Nachamu³⁴ that everyone turned out to escort the shammes, his wife and grandchild to begin their long journey. The Rabbi, the most prominent balebatim, craftsmen – all escorted them as far as the cemetery. Many gave him groschen, kopecks, and ‘ditkas, even ten-notes – for him to give as charity in Jerusalem, in their name, because an emissary that performs a mitzvah leads to success. The Shammes then put all these funds in a separate red wallet, bid farewell to the deceased in the cemetery, got up on the wagon, and rode off to Srebrny Borek, and from their, by train, to Odessa. Their daughter and his three sons, Leibl, Elyeh, and Henokh, escorted them to the train...
 

 

B. Mendl the Half-Carpenter

 

Mendl Zusman was a carpenter, and he was called ‘the half-carpenter’ and was never trusted to produce good furniture, as was the case with Berl the Carpenter or Mishl the Carpenter. People would shrug [and say]: a man has to support a wife and children, and he spends half his time on foolishness: set down on white paper with a corner and ruler in hand... if someone wants a bench, a bureau, a table, etc., he first does a drawing, fusses over it for hours and the buyer is waiting for his result... and they were not satisfied with his work, and went to others... and so his wife would argue with him, demanding money for expenses, and there was none.

 

Until one fine day, the news came out: Mendl the half-carpenter left his wife and children and went off to the Land of Israel. So the wife ran to the Rabbi, to have him write to Jerusalem that he should not be given any allocation and to apply pressure to him – that he should return. It didn’t help, and it was said of him that he was ‘caught in the act,’ God forbid, and the Kollel allocation committee and the rabbis had not knowledge of him.

 

Some time later it was found out: Mendl Zusman the half-carpenter found favor with Professor Boris Schatz, the head of the ‘Bezalel’ School of Art in Jerusalem, and engaged him as a teacher of table making. Under his direction, he taught the youth how to do wood turning, and was successful.

 

Mendl subsequently sent for his wife and children, and they settled peacefully in Jerusalem.
 

 

C. Pesach, the Wine Maker’s Son, Travels to Jerusalem

 

 

 

Maccabi Committee
 

 

It was 1908. R’ Elyeh Zalman  Jerusalimsky, the Wine Maker, had a love of the Land of Israel. The family had a tradition of traveling there in old age to die. It was from this that the family name Jerusalimsky was derived.

 

One of his sons, Pesach, a diligent youth, studied in Volozhin and got married there. So he came to Zambrów for purposes of saying goodbye. The shtetl was overwhelmed: what do you mean, a young man discards all manner of making a living, leaves his wife behind with her father, and travels to the Land of Israel to become a colonist, a peasant, to make wine from real fresh grapes, not like his father who makes it from raisins... But it is forbidden to restrain him: he is traveling to the Land of Israel!

 

So the Zionists made a going-away evening in his honor at the home of Benjamin Kagan. Abba Finkelstein brought biscuits, his father had naturally sent wine, and the lady of the house put up the samovar and served tea with jam, egg kichel and fruit. Speeches were given in Hebrew and Yiddish, songs were sung, and a hearty farewell was had.

 

Pesach traveled on a freighter, which was transporting Russian pilgrims. Accordingly, he suffered a great deal along the way. When he arrived in Jerusalem, he wanted to become a teacher, but he was unable to find work. Since he had a talent for drawing and sculpture, he came to the ‘Bezalel’ Art School. He studied there for a while but could not satisfy himself with the work, and in the meantime he used up the little bit of money that he had taken along with him. And his wife wrote him bitter letters – either he is to bring her over to Jerusalem, or he is to come back. So one fine morning, he packed his valise and traveled from Jerusalem to Jaffa and took the first ship back to Poland. He took a vow, however, that at the first opportunity he would return.


 

Jablonka By Joseph Krolewiecki       Joseph Krolewiecki

 

 

 

The Young Girls of the School
 

 

Let my little shtetl of Jablonka, the mother-city of Zambrów, also be recalled in this Pinkas. Jablonka, nine kilometers from Zambrów on the way to Wysokie Mazowieckie, was one of the oldest cities in Mazovia, certainly older than Łomża and Zambrów. At a time when Zambrów did not even have a prayer quorum, Jablonka was already known for its rabbi and congregation. Indeed, in that time, the dead were taken from Zambrów to Jablonka [for burial]. In the year 1863, at the time of the Polish rebellion, Jablonka was the principal headquarters for the revolutionists. Just like at one time it was not known where Bialystok was located, and so it was necessary to add 'Bialystok, which is found near Tykocin,' so it used to be written: Zambrów, which is near Jablonka. It was a poor shtetl, and tragically it was, but is no more!
 

When, in the time of the Czar, it was decided to build barracks near Zambrów, it is said that the engineers wanted to erect barracks near Jablonka. However, they demanded a ‘tax’ from the city in the amount of one hundred rubles – and this money was not available, so the barracks were not built. From that time on, Zambrów began to prosper -- tradespeople, craftsmen, and small businessmen were drawn to Zambrów, and Jablonka, the Lord protect us, became smaller and more shrunken. But no one could take away its pedigree, its ancient pedigree. Its old synagogue bore the stamp of five hundred years of existence. The headstones in both of its cemeteries bore testimony to the many generations of Jews who were brought here to their final rest. The new cemetery alone boasted of headstones that were more than three hundred years old. Not far from the synagogue, there was a live spring of water. It is said that Rabbi Levi-Yitzhak of Berdichev bathed here. When a childhood disease broke out here, may this not even be thought of today, diphtheria, a fast was decreed and prayers were said for ‘Selichot of sick children.’ When this did no good, Rabbi Levi-Yitzhak was brought to town, who would carry on conversations with the Master of the Universe, as a man converses with his neighbor in order that he pray for our children. He saw the poverty of the Jews, with several families living in one room in a crowded condition, and he made use of the phrase from the Haftarah of that week (in Isaiah 28:10): For precept must be upon precept, a precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; and he reasoned from this that it was neither in keeping with modesty and not healthy to live this way. It is further told that: R’ Levi-Yitzhak was brought to exorcize a demon: Who are you? He replies: A musician. R’ Levi-Yitzhak says: I will not set you right, until you sing for me the tune that you sang at a wedding. The demon began to sing, and all the dark names of the dead. So I skipped eating and fasted with the group, because it took the entire day. Accordingly, that evening, I had to remain for the large and prominent feast.

 

Apart from the old synagogue and the Bet HaMedrash, there were also Hasidic shtiblakh. The oldest and biggest could be found with R’ Yosha-Yankl, not far from the church. Not only once did it happen that at the time of shaleshudes⁴⁰, when the Hasidim went into a state of ecstasy and began to dance – the church bell would start to ring, which would call the faithful to their Saturday evening mass. The Jews always thought that the gentiles did this on purpose. From time to time the rebbes of the various Hasidic sects would come to Jablonka, and they were heartily received. In the year 1936, when I had come to say goodbye to my kin before my voyage to go to Argentina, I found all the houses broken into, and the window panes broken, and I did not see a living thing in the street. Approaching the house of my parents, I heard a choked voice from the cellar: ‘We are hiding ourselves from the ‘Nara⁴¹’ people who are carrying out a pogrom against us. This is how the nationalist Poles prepared the ground for Hitler. I reminded myself that seventy-five years ago, in 1863, my grandfather hid himself in the cellar of the Polish leaders of the revolution, among them the nobleman Skarzynski, the father of the Zambrów pharmacist. My grandfather, at that time, risked his life. Today, his grandchildren sit in the same cellar and are hiding themselves from the Poles. I documented this, at the time, for the Jewish press.
 

 

Destruction חורבן

 

 

In Memory of My Mother
 

By Bezalel (‘Tsalkeh) Yellen

 

No yahrzeit candle, for my mother, Will I light, no. For I know not to where she has vanished, I do not know where her resting place is.   I know not where, I know not when, In the city, the forest, during day, during night, No one has brought your remains, To a proper Jewish burial...   Perhaps, my mother dear, To the last breath, like a heroine, You struggled with the enemy, And fell to the desolate field?   Or did the enemy, in a bunker, Burn you alive, When you uttered your prayer And wrung your hands to God?   Perhaps, mother, before death, You mentioned the names of your children: ‘My children, you must remember, And avenge your mother!’   I have not yet places a yahrzeit candle For my mother, I know not where, I know not when, She left this world.   Every day, beloved mother, Your visage is before me, So why say Kaddish and Light a candle for my mother?...

 

 

 

On the Threshold of Doom

 

 

Jewish Soldiers Serving in the Polish Army

 

 

 

    A Summer Resort for the Sick Children of the
Poor from Zambrów, under the Auspices of Centos

 

 

 

Centos

The Relief Society, Founded in Bialystok with the Aim of Bringing
Aid and Comfort to Orphans, Children and Youngsters in General

 

The Last Five to Six Years

    
The last five to six years, before doom overtook the Jewish community of Zambrów, were terrifying. The shine disappeared from this previously mentioned town. The pride of the town’s youth vanished. It became a city of the hungry and the suffering, both physically and emotionally.

 

There were no citizen’s rights, and no rights as human beings. The Poland, which had not been liberated such a long time back, had become one hundred times worse that the worst of the Czarist times. A Jew must pay the highest taxes – but he has no right to demand even the most minimal rights as a citizen. If a Jew had a small store, he has to pay all sorts of taxes for it. But the government gives the right to the worst hooligans from the village and the town to stand at the door of the store and forcibly prevent anyone to go into the store and thereby let the Jew earn something... legal, plain acts of a pogrom. If the Jew mixes in – he is beaten, and the police do nothing about it: because the Jew mixed in and violated the law.. it is the alibi of the police, and more – a case is put together that the Jew has insulted the Polish eagle, the Polish government – and deserved three to five years in jail, or to be sent to forced labor (Каторга Работа) in Kartuz-Bereza. The market days are a hell.

 

In the good years, the Zambrów shoemakers would provide about seventy-five of the normal demand for boots by the peasants for the winter, in the surrounding market days, and at cheaper prices during the summer. Both parties were pleased by this: the buyer came home with a pair of new boots that were inexpensive, and the Jew made a living. The same also held true for a pair of trousers, a garment, a Boroshkov hat for the winter, and a Maczewieka for the summer. After the merchandise was robbed from the Jewish storage facility and thee Jew beaten bloody – they stopped coming to the fairs, and instead sat and starved with the wife and children.
 

 

A City Hungers

 

And if a city hungers, everyone goes about in torn clothing, patches on the patches, even on a Sabbath or a Festival holiday, and it is past the point where anyone feels any shame. It is not possible to eat a bit of meat even on the Sabbath, a glass of milk is not available even for the children, a roof is not repaired even if the rain comes in, a broken window pane is boarded up with wood even if it keeps out the light of day, the oven is not kept warm, etc. Small Jewish children complain, scrawny from tuberculosis, and the authorities have no obligation to give help. The Sisters of Mercy with their large crucifixes around their necks, who kneel before God and Jesus ten times a day, and more – cross themselves, when a sick Jewish child is brought to their ‘Holy Ghost’ hospital, and they cry out in mercy: ‘przedziezh to zydek’ – ‘oh, it is, a Jewish child!’ And they shut the door and do not permit admission.

 

 

Who Will Help Me?

 

And so, the Jew of Zambrów raises his head heavenward and cries out: ‘From whence will come my succor?’ – So it is with balebatim of pedigree, and so it is with the craftsman, the manual laborer, and the common laborer – the proletarian.
 

And from the Land of Israel come Job’s messages. There are not a few scions of Zambrów there, some well-situated with work, and in their business undertakings, and there the situation is also critical: unrest, assaults, the gates to the land are locked, the sea is a barrier. The eyes are drawn to Zion, there is a striving to obtain release from the Polish hell – but now that hope is a small one.

However, rays of light became visible from America: Zambrów scions there, are not silent and do not sleep the nights, and collect money for their brothers and sisters in the ‘old country.’
 

 

The Help Committee in Chicago

 

And ambassadors appeared, unappointed ambassadors from amongst the Zambrów scions in America. The Help Committee in Chicago and New York do not abandon their brethren. Every month a packet of dollars arrives to be divided by the hilfskomitet of the community, who helps the poor without discrimination, especially the poor clergy and the scholars, the Linat HaTzedek, the Zambrów Sick Fund, which supplied medicaments, doctors, nurses and sanatoria, maintenance and healing for the sick of the city from all walks of life, and the tireless leader in these bad times, Shlomo Dzenchill, the son of Lejzor the Butcher, who is the president and the father to all of these who are suffering, The Women’s Society, which helps the poor women, women going into confinement, etc., in their time of need. The Manual Trades Society, whose Assistance Fund helps out the craftsmen, enabling them to buy raw unfinished goods on credit, and later to pay this off with income and additional loans for new merchandise, the Savings & Loan Bank, which gave loans to storekeepers to buy merchandise, to balebatim, to repair a house or pay taxes that have been levied against them, and last but not least – the Centos, which provides Jewish children with bread and milk, shoes and fresh air, and saves hundreds of children every year from tuberculosis, and the swollen bellies that come from malnutrition.
 

 

Shlomo Dzenchill and Max Stone

 

The dollars arrive in the name of that decent public servant Shlomo Dzenchill, the man of the people, and he distributes it among the various institutions and sends receipts back to the brethren in America. We do not have the letters that the Help Committee in Chicago sent to all of the Zambrów institutions. All have been lost along with the addresses (?). However, we have read the thank you and request letters from them to the committee in Chicago, which were received thanks to the warm-hearted, loyal and honest secretary, who would answer everyone immediately and quickly sent the needed help – landsman and brother Max Stone, who [in reality] is none other than Mendl Finkelstein, the son of David Breineh-Pearl’s. I remember him quite well, the skinny kid, with the small black and constantly darting little eyes. According to the letters sent to him – he raised himself to the level of a Joseph in Egypt, who sent sustenance to his brothers in the Land of Canaan...
 

 

From a Packet of Letters38

To flesh out and illustrate our own words, we include here excerpts from letters that Noah Slowik wrote to his brother Herschel in Israel, from the community Hilfskomitet, from Linat HaTzedek, and from Max Stone. Excerpts from other letters are included in the chapter, ‘Social Help.’

Jewish Zambrów Seethes...

 

...It was just a few years back, and the city bubbled. On every street corner there was a ‘Local’ for one or another youth group. Placards hung everywhere, printed and handwritten, done artistically, which informed you: There will be a discussion this evening. Here, a literary-musical evening, there, a presentation, here a concert, there a general assembly, elections, a report from a conference, etc. Today – desolation. Everything has vanished, the youth has fled. Those who remain – have hidden themselves. The Polish authorities do not permit one to raise one’s head. Two sport clubs still exist, on a precarious basis: ‘HaPoel’ and ‘Gwiazda.’ The first belongs to a wing of the Israel Labor movement, and the second, to the left-wing labor movement – who even polonized their name (Der Shtern has become Gwiazda.). They still compete with one another: If one puts on a sports evening in white and blue, the other puts on such an evening in red... From time to time theatre groups still come from Warsaw. The people go to get a bit of life from them... just recently we had the ‘Vilna Troupe,’ ‘The Happy Band’ and lastly, the good orator Rachel Holzer, before she left to go to Australia.

 

Cultural Struggle Infuses Life...

 

 

 

In a Flower Day

 

A breath of life was introduced by cultural competition. Our rabbi had already given up on the Yiddishist schools. No ‘nachas’ is ever going to be gotten from their students. However, from the Hebrew schools there remains a possibility of salvaging something.
 

So the Rabbi placed the Tarbut school with its teachers in excommunication. The excommunication was carried out to the letter of the law, as it was done in the Middle Ages: A set of Jews were called as witnesses in the Bet HaMedrash, black candles were lit, the shofar was blown, and the following was said: May you be cursed by day, may you be cursed by night... The Agudah and the Revisionists were supportive... the Revisionists did this to take political revenge: their school had been liquidated, because the general Zionists and Tze‘irei Tzion did not want to support it. This led to a shouting match, and the Zionists called for a mass meeting, together with the parents of the children and declared war on the rabbi and provided evidence and justification from Poskim, that the Rabbi had acted incorrectly. In the meantime, the rabbi opened an Agudah-School ‘Bet Yaakov,’ where the daughter of his second wife was the teacher. This cause thirty girls from Tarbut to transfer over to ‘Bet Yaakov.’ That night, the Zionist youth knocked out all the window panes in the ‘Bet Yaakov’ school... and this brought a bit of life back into the shtetl, a struggle between progress and fanaticism.
 

 

‘Pickets’

 

Thing are also not tranquil with our neighbors, the gentiles. Here, a pitched battle took place between hooligans – from the villages, who had come to impose that gentiles should not buy from Jews. So long as all they did was visit trouble on the Jews, nobody stopped them. The police made believe nothing was happening, such as ‘picket’ – groups of Poles who stand about and assure that no one enters a Jewish store and buys something. If in this process, a Jew was beaten up, a window pane broken, merchandise stolen – the police ‘didn’t see and didn’t hear.’ However, when these picket-heroes began to push the politics against the régime – the police intervened, and in the middle of the market, a pitched battle took place and a policeman was knocked down, a platoon leader. All the stores were immediately closed and locked, and the police hid themselves... until police arrived from Łomża, under the leadership of a Police Major. Forty police entered the fray with city and village picketers, and mass arrests took place. Full busloads of arrested people were taken off to Łomża. The peasants fled the city, knocking out the window panes on Jewish stores in the process... all of them were released, except for twelve men, who had mounted a bloody resistance to the police, and they were detained. As a result, ‘picketing’ was forbidden. However, several weeks later, a delegation of Polish citizens from Zambrów used its influence with Warsaw to permit the renewal of ‘picketing’ against the Jewish stores, in which the picketers would make certain not to instigate any sort of pogrom.

 

 

The Market

 

 

 

Cooperative Shop Operated by Young Seamstresses

 

What does the market look like now? Of the ninety-five percent of the Jewish stores, barely forty percent remain, and even these are looking for buyers to take them over... almost every day, a Jewish store shuts down, Christian artists, masons, carpenters, tear down the Jewish sign and renovate the store... not only businesses – also houses are going over into gentile hands. Jews are thanking God for being rid of these meager assets...the market that once was full of tables – ‘warehouses’ – that were Jewish: bakers, kerchiefs, soap, goods, shoemakers, tailors, hat makers, pots and pans, furniture, etc. – there is no Jewish footprint remaining...all gentiles...Only two or three tables off to the side, selling vegetables and fruit only to Jews... The objective of the Poles is to forcibly take away work and sustenance [from the Jews, and provide it] for the unemployed Christians. But the reality is – the place of the Jewish stores is taken by the rich gentiles, who sell at much higher prices than the Jews, giving bad merchandise, and the unemployed are afraid to speak up...

January 12, 1933

 

 

 

Letter Facsimile April 4, 1938

 

 

 

Letter Facsimile

 

Hilfskomitet of the Jewish Community in Zambrów
 

 

To: The Zambrów Help Committee in Chicago

 

In the name of the Hilfskomitet of the Jewish Community of Zambrów, we certify that we have received from our Chicago landslayt, through Mr. Max Stone – fifty dollars (and 276.50 zlotys). The money will be distributed along with the seven hundred and fifty dollars from the New York Relief Committee. We will send them the receipts. In the name of our committee, as well as the needy Jewish people of Zambrów, we express our heartiest thanks to you, and our wishes for a Happy Holiday.

 

Signed: Gershon Srebrowicz, President
Y. Dunowicz, Secretary
Committee Members:

Abraham Shmuel Fiontek
Leib Rosing
David Finkelstein

Linat HaTzedek

     To Brother Max Stone, Secretary of the Help Committee of Zambrów Landslayt in Chicago.

 

12/12/ – 19,8³⁹

...We have received the fifteen dollars through Mr. Shmuel Finkelstein. We are devastated to hear of the death of R’ Zalman Goldman. We immediately called an assembly of mourning, at which we read your letter. We recognized and knew him, his good heart, and his devotion to his Zambrów brethren. In the name of the Komitet and many poor and sick for whom this money will be used, we express our sorrow and wish to convey words of consolation to the widow and the children: ‘May you be comforted among those who mourn in Zion and Jerusalem.’ May they know of no more ill tidings and bereavements, and may they look forward to a better day, and may we together fulfill the words: ‘From desolation to joy, from a day of mourning to a day of happiness.’ We request that you send us the specific day on which R’ Zalman passed away, and the name of his father ע"ה, because we will inscribe his name in the Pinkas of [the] Linat Tzedek, and on the day of yahrzeit, we will hold a memorial.

 

In the name of the Komitet:

Shlomo Dzhenchill, Chairman
Yaakov Odem, Secretary

 

 

Letter II

 

12/7 – 1939

 

Dear Friend Shlomo Dzenchill,

 

I have sent six hundred zlotys to you for the Zambrów Relief Society, to be divided among the four organizations in Zambrów. The Women’s Society – eighty zlotys, ‘Linat HaTzedek’ – eighty zlotys, The Manual Trades Society – eighty zlotys. To Centos, for the summer colony for the poor children – three hundred and sixty zlotys. I request that each of the organizations send us an acknowledgment that they have received the funds, just like they did last time.

 

Max Stone

Letter III

 

24/7 – 39

 

Filled with pain, I must inform you that we have had a great loss. We brought a committed landsman to his final resting place, who lost his young life, tragically, while at work. His name is Shepsl ben R’ Moshe Kalman Bass. The deceased was active in our organization, and for a time was its treasurer. During his funeral we collected the money that we are now sending to you. We hope that the ensuing money that comes to you from America will come on occasions that are happy. If possible, it would be appropriate if the children’s summer colony this year be named for him in his memory.

 

In the name of the Zambrów Relief Society
Menachem Stone, Secretary

 

 

The Beginning of the End   By Yitzhak Stupnik

 

I entered my parents' house. A note was already waiting for me on the table: I am obligated to present myself to the military, in the Zambrów Kuszaren.

 

At the command post I encountered no small number of my friends, who had already put on military garb. We practically did not speak, we felt what it was that awaited us.

 

The Jews of the shtetl ran about with fear on their faces, trying to provision themselves with food. Mothers stood at the corners of the streets, bidding farewell to their children who were going off to the front.

 

The Poles, who all the time shrieked that we were aliens – ‘altered’ their position a bit: our blood was necessary for the Fatherland.
 

We waited for an order while in military formation. Finally, all of the Zambrów Jews were allocated to one company, to be the first to go into fire...we marched off to the East Prussian border, during which time the first of the German bombers appeared over Zambrów and destroyed three-quarters of the city. We also suffered great losses at the front. Our company lost one hundred and thirty men and returned with only ninety-five men. Then we took up positions behind Nowogród. We dug ourselves into foxholes covered with branches. When the German tanks were to ride over us, we were supposed to blow them up at the point when they ride over our concealed and buried heads...

 

I fell asleep in the ‘grave’ while standing, after so many disturbing days and nights. My father then came to me in a dream, with his white head and gray beard, stroking me and calming me: ‘Do not fear, my servant Jacob,’ Do not be afraid, my child!...

 

Thereby, I felt a strong movement in my shoulder: this was my commanding officer, who had ordered me out of the ‘grave’ because the Polish method of attacking German tanks is certain suicide... we began to move back. It was before nightfall. The Germans detected our company and shot it up. I was wounded in my right foot. We ran for the entire night. Before dawn, with no strength left, without food or drink – we saw that we were surrounded by the enemy...

 

The Germans transported the able-bodied soldiers off to somewhere in Germany, and the wounded were driven into the church at Jendziv. Despite the fact that I had lost a lot of blood, I jumped the fence of the church, and I went into the Bet HaMedrash of the little shtetl, and here I encountered a Jewish family who immediately changed me into civilian clothing, and with a limp I set out to get back to Zambrów. My parents greeted me with great happiness, ‘let you be wounded, so long as you are alive!’ My parents were worried about the fate of my two brothers, Yankl and Moshkeh, who were also at the front, but had no news of them.

 

There was a panic in the shtetl: the Red Army is leaving, and how long is it before the Germans will kill all of the Jews. Accordingly, the men all hid, and the confused women awaited the surprises of the coming day. We lived in fear of death for two weeks, until finally the Germans drew back silently without a word, to the west side. The city remained in a state of chaos, no sort of citizen-militia had been formed. The Red Army entered the city.

 

The Zambrów Jews breathed more freely: all citizens are equal. Everyone has to work. Collectives and cooperatives were created. Everyone worked at their craft and made a living. Jews who had no trade were employed by the Soviets and also earned their bread. Even the very observant Jews, who were far from being in sympathy with communism, saw in the Red Army a means to save the oppressed Jews. This example serves to illustrate the fact: On the First of May, many religious Jews marched with a red flag, among them: my father Abraham Shmuel the Shokhet, wearing their long kapotes, etc.

 

This ‘Red Paradise’ did not last long. The Russians drew back and the Germans took over the city. And it is hear that the destruction begins...
 

 

 

A Letter to the Land of Israel

 

 

 

Young People Obtaining Schooling After Work

 

The Teachers are Sitting in the Middle: –
Yehoshua Domb, Lola Gordon, Bercheh Sokol, Nathan Stoliar, Pinia Baumkaler

 

When the Russians Occupied Zambrów

 

 

Zambrów, January 8, 1940

My dear son Aryeh,

 

... We think about you, because we have not heard any news from you for a long time. We received your last postcard. We are all well, and things here are good, we feel free, and Jew and Christian are treated equally...

Israel Kossowsky.

 

 

Dear brother Aryeh,

 

... Fate (or oversight) has spared us. Our family has not suffered from the war and its aftermath. I have returned intact from the field. I obtained work as a bookkeeper in a large business. Mosheki works as a carpenter, and Zalman is getting ready to enter the Jewish gymnasium which is opening in Zambrów. You would have never believed this, we have true freedom. Our house has remained intact...

 

Your brother Yitzhak Kossowsky.
 

 

 

Blood, Fire, and Columns of Smoke   By Yitzhak Golombek

 

 

I. Zambrów – My Birthplace

 

Who among us from Zambrów does not remember our shtetl with its precious young people, with its synagogues, its yeshiva, with its skilled craftsmen and its workers, who brought honor to the Jewish populace, depriving the gentiles of the canard that Jews are only fit to conduct trade: Jews in Zambrów plowed, sowed, and also reaped.

While being a shtetl of Mitnagdim, Zambrów also had a reputation from its Hasidim.

 

In the ‘Red Bet HaMedrash' (called that because it was built out of red bricks) it was mostly the occupiers of land that worshipped there. In the ‘White Bet HaMedrash,’ as it was called in the final years, the Bet HaMedrash of the craftsmen, one could come to hear all the wonderful maggidim and orators who appeared before us in our shtetl. The beautiful Zambrów synagogue was a center for the town’s intelligentsia. There, on the High Holy Days, one would encounter Jews, who for the entire cycle of the year had not sat down in a Bet HaMedrash. The synagogue graciously took in all those who came to collect funds for the benefit of the Land of Israel. Neighboring the White Bet HaMedrash, was the so-called ‘shtibl,’ the [sic: spiritual] home of the Hasidim of Zambrów.

 

The ‘Zionist minyan’ could be found in Salkind’s house, where the activists worshipped with Koczor and Rawikow at their head.
 

The Jews of Zambrów founded a Manual Trades Bank, a Gemilut Hasadim Bank and a Bikur Kholim. Zambrów, which had been small, became a city and a magnet for Jewry. Zambrów, the city of merchants, craftsmen and land leasing, did not know much of the bitter need and deprivation, which never left all the other surrounding small towns. There was a large military camp here, and twice a week there were market days.
 

In the years 1934 and 1935, Zambrów began to feel the heavy hand of the risen Narodowa Party.⁴⁰ They began to boycott Jewish businesses and beat Jews in the streets. Life became difficult, and unbearable. Young Jewish men organized themselves in order to offer resistance. Once, on a market day, it was on a Tuesday, peasants, who had arrived from the surrounding villages launched a pogrom. They tore out paving stones and used them to knock out the panes of windows, while robbing stores. Many Jews were wounded. That day remained in the memory of Zambrów as ‘The Black Tuesday.’ It was from that ‘Black Tuesday’ that all of the trouble started which Zambrów had to withstand in the coming years, until its demise.
 

The young people of Zambrów began to look for ways and means to flee. With great difficulty and the expenditure of much energy, a very few managed to get to the Land of Israel. Many other young people left their ancestral home at that time and undertook to go all over the world, without any specific goal in mind.

 

II. The War Between Poland and Russia

 

 

A Market Day

 

The outbreak of the war between Poland and Germany heralded the destruction of the Jewish communities. In the year 1939 I returned to Zambrów from the front as a Polish fighter. It was difficult to recognize the shtetl. The side, in the direction of Łomża, and the left wing of the marketplace lay in ruins, gutted by fire. [Also] the Red Bet HaMedrash had gone up in smoke, [as well as] the house of the yeshiva, the White Bet HaMedrash, and all the surrounding houses. Upon my arrival in Zambrów, the Germans were still there. We had no roof over our head, but my family was intact, and I later heard from people that the Germans still held back their hands from murdering and did not touch anyone in the shtetl. However, a fragment of shrapnel pierced a store, and Leibl Golombek and an additional number of Jews whose names I do not remember any longer fell at that time. After the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, the Germans pulled back to the second side of Szumowo, meaning to the Bug River, which was a natural boundary between Germany and Russia, after the partitioning of Poland.

When the Red Army entered our area, we were overjoyed: the dark terror that weighed heavily on the burned down and impoverished city lifted, and there was dancing in the streets, the joy being so great – we had gotten rid of the Nazi murderers!
 

Life in Zambrów began to normalize itself in accordance with the Soviet style. It was our communist youth that had a large part in the introduction and establishment of the communist way of life. The gentiles immediately changed their skin, and changed their appellation of the Jews away from shame: no more would be heard ‘zyd-kommunist’ or ‘zyd-spekulant.’ The communist régime did not tarry, and it sentenced masses of Jews for the crime of ‘speculation,’ for long years of prison.
 

Slowly life acquired a certain normalcy to it. Commerce came to a standstill. The balebatim got jobs in the government. The larger houses in the city were nationalized. New houses began to be built.

 

III. The Expulsion of the Jews of Ostrów Mazowiecka Begins

 

Like an outpouring that comes from a broken dam, Jews began to come streaming across the border into our city. The Germans, on their side of the border, began their work of extermination. Thousands of people sat in the street without a roof over their heads, and Zambrów did everything within its power to help and lighten the suffering of the refugees. Meanwhile, the Russian authorities looked away at those events transpiring in our streets. But not for long. Some time later, the Russian authorities began to look upon the Jews as spies for Germany and shipped them off en masse to Siberia. Tens of families remained living with their Zambrów relatives, until they were later transferred to Slonim. Our young people were mobilized by the Russians and sent to Russia to serve in the Red Army.

 

IV. The Russian War in 1941

 

 

Soldiers Drilling in the Marketplace		A Spot in the Marketplace

 

The Germans had taken possession of our region beginning from the first day of the war. On the second day German patrols roamed the streets. In the month of June 1941 the Germans called together the activists of the shtetl and said that they want to have Jewish representation for the Jewish populace. It was at that time that the first Judenrat was created, with R’ Gershon Srebrowicz at its head. The first demand that the Germans put forward was a financial levy. It was the responsibility of the head [sic: of the Judenrat] to provide this ‘contribution’ in the sum of hundreds of thousands of gold marks, a levy which the German authorities imposed on the Jewish populace. A failure to provide this contribution at the precisely designated time placed the lives of tens of Jews in jeopardy.

 

The demands of the Germans became ever more difficult and oppressive. They began to seize Jews and send them to work on the digging of trenches near the Zambrów barracks. Among those seized, on one day, was my father ע"ה. My father told us that, at work, an officer approached him and asked: ‘Jew, what is your occupation? – ‘I am a tenant farmer,’ my father replied. The German then screamed at him in a wild voice: ‘You lie, Jew, you are lying!’ He went off and asked other Jews about my father. Discovering that my father had told the truth, the German called my father away to a side and asked him to stand on a bench. He called together a number of Germans to look at a Jewish tenant farmer. He questioned my father about his family, about the children and wanted to know if the children are also tenant farmers. After work, he gave my father a loaf of bread and told him never to come back to work on the digging, but to remain at his work on the land. When our father told this to us, we understood that we needed to hide ourselves.

 

Living in Zambrów became increasingly more bitter from day to day. One early morning, the Germans went into the Wander Gasse, and they seized my uncle Leibl Slowik with his son Moshe, the old cow-herder and his son-in-law, Leibl Dzenchill, and other additional Jews, whose names I no longer recall. They were taken away, and we never saw them again alive. We were told that they were working here, or there, on roads, and similar stories...

 

After this incident, Jews began to hide themselves, avoiding the possibility of appearing in the streets. The Germans then took to the Judenrat demanding they provide people for labor, most of them for work in the Zambrów barracks. Regarding the ‘contributions,’ the Judenrat failed, not having the resources to satisfy the very high German demands. The members of the Judenrat were beaten murderously more than one time. In the end, the Germans dissolved the Judenrat. They found a Jew named Glicksman and gave him full power to set up a new Judenrat on a completely different basis. Glicksman, a scion of Grudzonc, was an assimilated Jew without any Jewish feelings and spoke the German language. He verbally abused the Jews, had bad names for them, and raised his voice to them even higher and more sharply than the Germans. His power over the Jews was practically unconstrained. His police – stern and insolent. If it happened that they could not get what they wanted in a gentle way, they knew very well how to extract it with severity.
 

 

V. The Sorrowful Tuesday

 

 

ulica Czyżewska (Czyzew Street)

 

The order was given that on August 19, at 5:00 A.M., all the Jews in Zambrów were to assemble in the marketplace. All, except for the small children, have to be in the street. Anyone who will be encountered in a house will be shot on the spot. Glicksman issued this order. His police force then went from house to house to inform everyone about this issued order. There were many craftsmen who worked in the surrounding villages, so Glicksman’s messengers traveled there and brought them back to the city. They were told to dress themselves in their holiday finest. Various rumors began to spread: some said they were to be taken to work; others said that they were looking for communists.

 

On the day of August 8⁴¹, at 5:00 A.M., young and old alike in Zambrów found themselves in the marketplace. At about five o’clock, there appeared armored vehicles with S. S. troops in them, armed with machine guns. They took up a formation surrounding the marketplace. We were arrayed in rows like soldiers. And then the ‘work’ started. Incidentally, the Poles knew how to keep a secret, that they [sic: the Jews] were to be taken away and killed. They stood behind the houses and looked out from corners towards the marketplace, waiting for the moment when they could begin the work of plundering the abandoned city. We, from our places in the marketplace, could see how the company of Poles was forming itself, with bands around their arms. It became very clear to us, what it was that

the Poles were intending to do.

 

A Street in Zambrów

 

The selektion then began. The bandits went about between the rows and selected the best of the young men and women, and took them out of the rows. They were immediately arranged in groups of five, facing the direction of Łomża, diagonally opposite the ulica Czyżewska. I was standing with my father and mother and my two brothers, Israel and Yankl. My brother Moshe and his wife stood in a second row. A thought dawned on me and my youngest brother: since another row was formed, selected by Glicksman’s men, we were not to stand and wait for the S. S. troops to come to us, and we ran over to the second side of the street and placed ourselves in that row. And this is how I saw, five minutes later, how my father with my brother Israel, and the brothers Meir and David Bronack, came to the general row. We stood facing the direction of Bialystok. Later on it became forbidden for us to look at the second side. I will recall here, that for the elderly in the city with Rabbi Regensberg at their head, the Germans brought a big freight truck, and took them off in the direction of Warsaw.

 

Meanwhile the groups were closed. Our group became filled. My brother Moshe and his wife were the last ones that finished out the large row that was headed towards Łomża. The order came to march. The first to move was the group facing Warsaw. After them we went off in the direction of Czyżew. The group heading toward Warsaw was guarded by Poles carrying staves, all from Zambrów, well-known among the Zambrów populace, and by the S. S. troops. The wailing and keening was indescribable. Mothers ran after children, and children after parents. The Germans opened fire to drive people out of the marketplace. The wailing and crying could continue to be heard even very, very far from the city. Little children without parents, parents without children. Entire families were eradicated at one time. A terrible sorrow fell upon those who were left behind. The little children, who remained without parents, were divided up among families. I took I took Chaim Kuropatwa’s child. He was called Yankl, and he became our child – until Auschwitz.

 

VI . Dealings with the Germans about a Ghetto

 

 

 

The Town on a Saturday
 

 

The Germans cordoned off the streets that ran parallel to the ulica Czyżewska, that is the Jatkewa and Neben Gasse, which was to include Szliedziewsky’s and Dembrowsky’s factories, and the river should be a boundary line. The burgomaster of the city was August Kaufmann, the German, who lived diagonally opposite the cemetery. He confiscated Szliedziewsky’s wealth from Gedalia Tykoczinsky ז"ל and from Dembrowsky – our yard along with the buildings. It looked like the deal was done, but something behind the scenes caused them to regret this and walk away from abandoning their businesses. For us Jews, this change was a matter of great significance. It meant that we would have more room for those who would be taken into the ghetto. Because of this change, things all of a sudden quieted down. And since the space on the two small streets was too crowded for those Jews who remained, rumors spread that the town council had made a decision to approach the Germans and ask them to take away another couple of hundred Jews, asserting that the severe overcrowding in the ghetto would endanger the health of the Christian populace, which by the way would be separated from the ghetto by a barbed wire fence. In the meantime, they began to build a fence, and in the corner of the Bialystok road near Kaufmann’s house, a tower was erected. It became clear that this enclosed area had been designated to be a ghetto.
 

 

VII. The New Aktion

 

 

The Town on a Saturday
 

 

Two weeks and two days later, the Germans again ordered the Judenrat to call all of the Jews together on the marketplace, with the same warning that they will shoot anyone on the spot who failed to come. Everyone has to appear at the designated location in the marketplace. Everyone, except children. This notification from the Jewish police engendered a new outbreak of panic, which was anticipated because they no longer forcibly dragged people along. Whoever could hide themselves did so. I, the rest of my family and the little Yankeleh Kuropatwa, spent the night at our colony under the open sky. At seven o’clock in the morning, the peasants who had come to the city were intensely amazed when they found us in the field. They brought us the tidings that the Germans had once again led off many people, men and women. At ten in the morning, I was already at the yard on the Łomża Gasse. The Poles had come to see if any of the Jews remained, fully prepared to seize booty. And when they saw me and my brother Yankeleh, they said to me, in amazement: ‘You are still here?’

 

It was harvest time. And since we had just constructed a new barn, small-time peasants came to us and asked if they could place their grain in a small corner of the barn. Their intent was premeditated: since they expected that I would be taken away, they would come to reclaim the grain they had stored with me, and who would be there to keep them from taking everything?

 

It was Thursday, September 4. Many people were missing at that time, and to give orders to others as to what they should do was not possible. Everyone dealt in a way dictated by their own common sense. As we were later told, the Germans raised a hue and cry that they were short of Jews. We thought that the Germans needed Jews to do labor, and therefore, as a result, they would take only the able and young. Accordingly, everyone made an attempt to appear worn out and old. Women put kerchiefs on their heads. The intent of the Germans this time, however, was much worse than before. They seized people randomly, young and old, even pregnant women. ‘They are taking us to the

slaughter,’ the terrifying thought stabbed in our minds. That morning they were led off in the direction of Bialystok. And as we later found out, they were killed in a forest near Ruti Kasaki. May the Lord Avenge Their Blood.
 

 

VIII. The Preparations to Occupy the Ghetto

‘Now there will be enough space for the Jews,’ the Poles were heard to say. The Zambrów ghetto was created, but all the Jewish tenant farmers were obliged to remain on their places outside the ghetto and work their fields. This was the wish of Kishel, the German land-farming inspector. It was harvest time, when the grain needed to be gathered in, the potatoes dug up, and to get ready for the winter planting, and he therefore had need of the hands of the Jewish tenant-farmers. The entire population of the ghetto derived help during that time by this. When a Jew was caught outside of the ghetto, he would say that he had been working in the fields with a Jewish tenant-farmer – and this was legitimate.

 

At the end of September 1941, we were given no more than fifteen minutes of time to go out, that is, to leave our houses, the barns with grain, the machines, horses and cows – and return to the ghetto. My mother, myself and my brother Yankeleh were taken in by the family of Yudl Eusman. Together, we were in a two-story house – the Eusman family, Alter Dwozhets (Dworzec) and we three.

 

IX. Life in the Ghetto

It was a hard and difficult life. We had many orphaned children. Also, parents who had lost their children. Fate, however, declared that there would be some solitary families that remained intact. The Zambrów ghetto became a place of refuge for Jews from the surrounding towns. The ghetto was literally the center and gathering point for workers that the Germans drew from there, for labor gangs to build and pave streets and roads. Our gang worked at breaking stones and pouring asphalt. All of the Jewish workers worked only for the Germans. There was a gang that worked in the Zambrów barracks, where the Germans had created a camp for Russian prisoners of war.

 

We lived in the ghetto under a despotic régime of self-governance. Glicksman, the ‘Chief Jew’ had a police staff under him and ruled his kingdom with a high hand.

 

X. A Typhus Epidemic in the Ghetto

 

The thousands of prisoners in the Zambrów camp fell victim to hunger and typhus. The typhus disease was carried into the ghetto. It was said that since the surrounding fields had been made filthy with the fecal waste from the barracks, it was the cucumbers that we ate from those fields carried the typhus bacteria.

 

Near the river, in the ghetto, we had a hospital. The doctors were Dr. Grundland and Dr. Friedman. The head nurse was Masha Slowik. Their dedication was without limit. But their reach was too limited to be of help.

 

Here, in praise, I wish to recall the lady, Elkeh Kaplan ז"ל, a truly righteous woman who collected kasha, grits, potatoes, and cooked up a bit of food for the abandoned orphan children.

 

The ghetto did not know any spiritual life. There was no Bet HaMedrash, no school, and there were no resources to be found in the ghetto. In the last months, the Germans permitted the transfer of a new, unfinished house from outside the ghetto. The house was moved and was set up on the account of the owner, Sender Kaplan. This house became our Bet HaMedrash.

 

In the meantime, a variety of news reached us, brought by refugees. They told of Treblinka near Malkin. The human mind could grasp, and then not grasp what this meant. However, we did grasp that we, too, were exposed to the danger of extermination.

 

We also received a variety of false reports. Regarding the people who were led away on Tuesday, we were told that they were seen working on a road in Ostrów Mazowiecka. All of these reports came from gentile mouths, from Poles who the Germans put up to this. There is a story about a letter from David Bronack, which a Pole named Klosak brought. This Pole had worked steadily for Yossl the Painter, and we knew him well. He demanded one hundred and fifty marks for the letter from Rivka Bronack. She immediately came running to tell me the news, that the people are alive. We gave the Pole one hundred and fifty marks, and he gave us the letter. He told us that David Bronack gave him the letter, and apart from this we could not get another word out of him. In the letter the following was written: ‘We are alive and are working on the roads.’ Sadly, neither Rivka, nor her son Moshe, could recognize David’s handwriting, but because of the many errors that we found in the letter, we understood that this was a fabrication, a means to swindle us out of money.

 

During the time that I still was living outside the ghetto, Poles told us that they heard from other Poles, who had accompanied Jews along the way, that they were all shot in Glebocz near Szumowo, in an incompletely built Russian fortification, and in this same mass grave, many other Jews were also buried, who were from the area, until the substantial fort intended for the Russian artillery was filled up.
 

 

XI. Jewish Valuables are Turned Over to be Hidden in Gentile Hands

 

When life had already lost all semblance of order, all those who remained alive gave away a large part of their furniture, bed linen and clothing to Poles who they knew. And on another day, it was already possible to see how displeased they were to encounter someone from the family, who knew about these transferred valuables. There were also instances where Poles immediately refused to return any item that someone wanted to sell in order to buy bread, and it became necessary to look for help from the Judenrat, meaning from the Germans, to reclaim those items from Polish hands. The Jews of the ghetto were like a thorn in the eyes of our neighbors, the Poles. They would say: ‘See, the Jews have been settled in the ghetto, and it's like nothing, they are alive. If it were us, we would have died of hunger within a month.’

 

We began hearing rumors about the liquidation of the ghetto in September. Beinusz Tykoczinsky and I, once when we went together outside the ghetto, ran into Beinusz’s good friend Szliedzesky, who, under the Russian régime held the post of Chief of the Firefighters Brigade, with Beinusz as an assistant. Szliedzesky said to Beinusz: ‘It goes very badly for the ghetto. This morning we were given an order to set up a guard over it.’ We already knew what this meant, because we had heard from refugees that the Germans always call out the firefighters when they are getting ready to liquidate a ghetto. We brought this frightening news into the ghetto, and a panic broke out immediately. Despite this, a couple of days went by and nothing happened, and the tension subsided.

 

In those days, a group of comrades who had left the ghetto in order to join the partisans in the forests, came back home. This matter was kept in extreme secrecy, so that, God forbid, the news would not pass to the Germans by way of an informer. One of the group was Yitzhak Prawda. The group went out of the ghetto well-dressed, shod, and provisioned with a sum of money. In the fields they encountered remnants of the Russian army, mostly Ukrainians. The Russians and Ukrainians beat them, took away their money, stripped them naked and barefoot, and drove them away in shame back to the Germans.

 

Immediately rumors about the liquidation of the ghetto started up again. As previously mentioned, the Jewish craftsmen worked exclusively for the Germans. Among them were tailors, shoemakers, furniture makers, and other sorts of trades(men). One day, the Germans appeared and demanded of the Judenrat that they gather up all work, whether finished or unfinished, that the Germans had ordered. The Judenrat police went out to carry out this order. For us, this was the signal that the danger of liquidation was near. The ghetto residents, in resignation and terrorized by fear of death, began to look for stratagems by which to save themselves. Whoever had gentile acquaintances carried off whatever remnants of goods they had, to have them hidden or to plead for mercy, that they should hide that individual himself. The work gangs marched into the ghetto. We gathered at the Judenrat and demanded that Glicksman tell the truth.

 

XII. Glicksman and His Truth

Glicksman began by addressing his police and began to shout over the heads of the gathered people: ‘What do they want, the dirty Jews? The Germans took away these things in order to exchange them for other things.’

 

The Zambrów Jews, seasoned from their troubles and knowing their ‘Senior Jew,’ didn’t take him at his word. When nightfall came, everyone took for the barbed wire. The barbed wire was cut, and we fled underneath to the river, near Dembowski’s and Szliedzesky’s. Men, women, and older children ran, with packs on their backs to the extent that they had the strength to carry. We fled to the nearest forest. I, and my mother and brother, at about ten o’clock at night, went off in the same direction. In the ghetto, the only ones left were older people who surrendered to their fate, and children in cradles, that parents were unable to take along. In the late hours of the night, when Glicksman saw that he was left without Jews, he, and his entire coterie also fled and hid themselves, out of fear of the Germans. Those who arrived in the forest later said that it had already become difficult to get out of the ghetto, because the Germans had surrounded it.
 

 

XIII. Zambrów Jews in the Forest

Fate decreed that one misfortune should be worst than the next. Fleeing into the forest, we knew was no salvation. However, people, when exposed to the danger of being killed will run anywhere in the world, driven by an inner force, an impetus that cannot be contained. Having run a considerable distance, one remains standing, spent, without any strength left and one asks the other: ‘Where do we go?’ The only answer that could be was: ‘Into the forest!’ And how will they be able to live, even if just being able to regain some equilibrium – men, women, and children, hungry, beaten down, without help, surrounded with a murderous foe on all sides? – To this there was no answer.

 

My mother, my brother and I, dragged ourselves to the Czeczork Forest. We sought out a hiding place between shrubs and settled ourselves there. We heard people running nearby, heard their heavy breathing and mumbling. The night was long and didn’t want to end. Very early on we heard a great disturbance in the forest, the sound of a struggle. I crawled out of my ditch and immediately saw in front of me a cadre of Poles, in groups of five, six, or more, with staves and scythes in their hands, pushing the Jews and striking out left and right. The Jews cried, begging for mercy from their beaters, pleading with them to take bribes, ha – money, gold – that is what they want though. Having gotten rid of one band, we immediately fell into the hands of a second band. With each band, little shkotzim ran along, from seven to ten years of age. They climbed out from under every shrub, making noise, whistling, shouting: ‘Żydy! Żydy! Żydy! I crawled back into my hiding place and sought counsel with my mother and brother, as to what we should do. I had just begun to get back into our ditch, and we had a small shaygetz near us, and he shouted at the top of his lungs: ‘Żydy! Żydy! Żydy!’ He let out a whistle, and the adults immediately came running. As soon as they saw us, they remained standing and called out, ‘Oh, Jesus, the Golombeks!’ They covered the mouth of the little rat and sat down next to us. As beaten down and broken as we were, we burst out in tears.

 

Who were these shkotzim? A person named Proszenski lived on our street. His sons worked for us as shepherds. In more recent times, one of them worked for August Kaufmann, the burgomaster of the city, and sitting on the ground with us, beside the shrub, he told us: in the city placards were hung about that carried the notice that if a number of Jews will be apprehended and brought to the gendarmerie, a reward of an amount of money and a bottle of whiskey will be given. I was able to sense that they had already gotten the whiskey. The placard also warned that whoever would hide a Jew would be shot on the spot.

 

It was under these circumstances that the bandits from the city went into the forest – and after them, came the bands [sic: of predators] from the village.

 

They let us go free, and we proceeded further. After each bit of the journey that we took, they confronted us. They robbed us and took away whatever they could find that we had. There were those among them who did not allow themselves to be bought off. They did as follows: One of them, who was their representative, first robbed us, emptying what he could of the Jews, after which they began to beat and drive the people further. They seized a couple of tens of Jews this way, and drove them into a barn in Czeczork. There, others were waiting, who led the Jews into the city. At first, resistance was offered to them, struggling with the assailants. In the end, however, it was necessary to capitulate. We were too weak to defend ourselves against murderous enemies, who only wanted our deaths, in order that they could have all our assets, which would remain as booty for them to plunder. There was not a single Christian family that didn’t have one sort of Jewish valuable or another in their possession.

 

In this manner, the Poles rounded up hundreds of people that day. When the sun was getting ready to set, we also were apprehended and driven into the barn, which we found to be full of captured Jews. They robbed us of our money, watches, good clothing and shoes. We gathered up money among ourselves, dollars, and shoved it into the hands of the leader of the Polish band from the city. It was now clear to us that they will enthusiastically lead us to be killed.
 

 

XIV. We Leave Our Mother in the Forest

Night fell. Again, I sought counsel with my mother as to what we should do. One of the members of the band told us, after he had received money from us: ‘Run!’ So my mother said: ‘Children, if you can save yourselves, run away from here! Let at least a memory of this family remain.’ The first one to run was my brother Yankeleh ז"ל. And as soon as Yankeleh went off, my mother said to me: ‘Yitzhak, try to save yourself.’ It was difficult for me to get myself moving. I was suffering from a broken foot that I had gotten from an accident while working in Szumowo. Despite this, with the elastic bandage, which wound around my thigh down to my toes, with all of my strength I undertook to flee with all of the others. In this way, I reached Bielicki’s garden. There, I hid myself in a field booth and had a long bitter cry.

 

In the still of the night, yet another cry carried in my direction, the crying voice of someone who thought they were talking to themselves: 'There no longer is a mother, there is no longer a brother, alone like a rock.’ I tear out of the booth, and I run to the fence. I call out: ‘Yankeleh!’ – but I didn’t see him any further. In the morning, my neighbors told me that Yankeleh stayed with them and left in the night, and they do not know where he went. Later on, I was also told that if had he not left immediately, he would have been taken away with all of the others to the Zambrów barracks.

 

Glicksman and his men, as I heard it told, presented themselves to the Germans, and he will be the ‘senior Jew’ in the concentration camp.
 

 

XV. My Third Day in the Forest

With the setting of the sun, the Germans surrounded the forest and opened fire. After that, they penetrated deeper into the forest, accompanied by Poles. They again trapped a lot of Jews in their dragnet. The truth of the matter is that life had become repulsive to these people, and almost all of them had decided to give themselves up.

 

The Poles did not permit any Jews to come into their homes. When they sold you a bit of bread, they demanded that you immediately go away.

 

In the garden of a peasant, I found a pit full of potatoes, which had a cover with a small door. That is where I made a place for myself to live. During the day, I wandered about the fields. At night, I went into the potato pit. I loitered about this way for two weeks, in the field and in the pit. With each passing day, I saw fewer and fewer Jews. The Poles told me that all are going into the barracks of their own free will, and they are given food there. The peasants provide potatoes for the camp. Hearing that the people were alive, I decided to give myself up and go to see if I could help my mother. After fourteen days of living in a pit, I presented myself to the gendarmerie. I was led to the ghetto. That was the gathering point for all the apprehended Jews, and those who came of their own volition. The fire fighters escorted the captured as far as the barracks. I asked to be allowed to go into my home, to take a towel. I was permitted to do this, but not to take any more than fifteen minutes. I could not negotiate the street in the ghetto, which was covered in mountains of pots, bottles, pieces of furniture, utensils, shoes, linen, clothing, pillows, books, copies of the Pentateuch, and volumes of the Talmud. Every home was barricaded by loose goods that had been extracted from the houses. I made a path for myself through this to our house. The door was broken open, and everything from the drawers had been pulled out, thrown about on the floor, linens, clothing, shoes, the furniture upended.

 

The Zambrów Jews who had gone off to the fields took practically nothing with them. They left everything behind, abandoned to be plundered. By contrast, the Jews from Łomża arrived in the camp with bedding, pots and utensils.

 

XVI. The March to the Barracks

The Jews wore yellow badges in the form of a Jewish star, on the front and back. The Jews were forbidden to walk on the sidewalk, being compelled to walk in the middle of the street, where the sewer waste ran. Marching over then Zambrów's Kosciuszko Gasse, I saw Poles, residents of Zambrów and its vicinity, workers, merchants, peasants. All looked to the side, but I saw one shikseh who was weeping, as she went by. This was a woman of the streets in Zambrów who I knew...
 

 

XVII. Entry into the New Hell

 

A German soldier with a death’s head insignia on his helmet, opens up the barrier into the stalag and lets us in. Up to then, the Poles had fulfilled their sacred mission – and then left. There is stalag number one, number two, and tower number 3. Thanks to God, I too, am now in Hell. People are running back and forth. Later, I found out that this was the day when the peasants had delivered a contingent of potatoes for the camp. But this is a story unto itself, as we see so later on.

 

I inquire about as to where Jews from Zambrów might be found. I am told, that block 3 will be designated for them, and those from Łomża will occupy block 1 and 2. Block 4 held Czyżew, Wisoka and Umgebung. In block 5 – Jews gathered up from various places.

 

When I arrived at the block, I was surrounded on all sides. They began to tell me about the great extent of the hunger. As previously mentioned, those from Zambrów fled into the forest empty-handed; no protection for their skin, not a pot to cook in, and a pail in which to hold water was totally out of the question. In order to get water into the camp, it was necessary to let each other down, one over another, into a deep well. The people from Zambrów were eager to draw water, but they had no pail at hand – so, they are suffering this way for two weeks already, slavering for a drop of water.

 

I immediately began to inquire: ‘Who has seen my mother?’ I was led up to the second story. In the large chambers, with plank cots in three levels, lost in a forest of people, I found my mother ע"ה. This is the picture: The ‘residence’ was the middle one of the three levels of cots, running the length of the wall, cots banged together from boards and poles. Shrunken in there, sat my beloved mother. Seeing me approach her, she gave herself a push, tearing herself to me, but then immediately falling back for lack of any strength. I jumped up onto the cot, and my first words were: ‘Mama, forgive me, for having left you alone.’ With tears in her eyes, my mother said to me: ‘ But I was the one who sent you away. Do you have any news of Yankeleh?’

 

In the meantime, my entire family gathered around us: my uncle Slowik’s two daughters, Chaya and Masha, my uncle Isaac with the children, Rivka Bronack with two daughters and a son, and a little daughter of my brother Moshe, age two-and-a-half years old. She was called Racheleh. I had brought a couple of loves of bread with me, and I divided this and in doing so bought myself into both worlds.

 

My mother told me that she is living this entire time on the ration of bread that she receives. She had not tasted so much as a single spoonful of soup. Once she ascended to her place on the bunk bed, she no longer stirred from there. And this was also the case with many other women. I sat myself on the bunk bed. When my mother regained some of her composure, she spoke further:

 

‘Since I figured that I had lost my children, and that I would not live much longer than another couple of days, I took my packet of jewelry and threw it under the bunk bed. Since life has ended and there are no children, what do I need it for?’ This packet held the legacy of generations – precious stones, golden chains, rings and small watches.

 

The lowest bunk bed was about ten centimeters from the ground. I went underneath, found a stick and swept the packet out from underneath.

 

In the kitchen, they gave out a bit of soup and kasha. So I went down, and got a bit of soup, ‘vashka’ in the lingo of the camp, in the pot that I had brought with me.

 

A little later I went down again to see and hear what was going on downstairs. Again a running around, a movement with shooting that came immediately after it. I barely am able to become aware of what had happened, that they are now first carrying dead out on stretchers.

 

I must say here that the Jews from Łomża were far more bold than the ones from Zambrów. On that day, potatoes were brought into the camp, and the hungry, pity them, let themselves loose wildly at the fully-laden wagons and began to grab potatoes. The soldiers at their posts opened fire, and about five or six people fell. Despite this, a number of wagons were emptied of their contents. People fell on the potatoes and began to gnaw them while they were still raw, as if they were good, sap-filled apples.

 

Everyone in the camp could not understand why I had come. There is no way back from here. A barbed wire fence – and then another fence. And such surveillance! Hemmed in, walled in, unable to penetrate through, and getting close to the barbed wire means a faster death from a bullet in the back. Death here is sown left and right.
 

 

XVIII. Getting Out – And Returning

 

A long row of wagons, loaded with potatoes, stood outside. The peasants, who had to wait in the line for unloading, came inside with whips in their hands, to take a look at the ‘Żydzs.’ In this way, I encountered a peasant that I knew, inside the barracks, and struck up a conversation with him. And in talking to him this way, I took off the yellow star from myself, put up the collar of my short jacket and took the whip out of the hands of the peasant. The peasant did not catch on to what was going on. I ask him: ‘Where is your horse and wagon?’ He says: ‘On the other side of the fence.’ So I gesture to him: ‘Come out of here. Here they shoot. Why do you want to loiter around here? Come to the wagon.’ We went out of the barracks and continued talking. I passed the first guard tower uneventfully, then the second tower, and I am now at the main tower. My heart was pounding out of fear, but I steeled myself. And here I was out free. I am proceeding without my clothes badge in the middle of the sidewalk, to spite the Poles. I am stared at, indeed, with wonder, but I continue along my way insolently, with feigned haughtiness. I come to the ghetto, do not go in through the gate, but through the back way, on the side of Dunovich’s fence. Big Tiska, a wall-builder encounters me. He says: ‘You were led out of here this morning, how is it that you are coming here?’ I say: ‘The

camp commander sent me to bring back wood for the kitchen.’ In the meantime, I grabbed a neighbor of mine, Litwinsky, with a horse and wagon. He tells me that he works in the city council, transporting things from the ghetto. I give him thirty marks for him to transport a bit of wood for me. The gentile permitted himself to deal. I entered my own home and began to pack up some things with which to cover myself, grabbed a blanket, a bit of underwear, a couple of towels. More to the point, I wanted to take some pots, bowls and plates. And this was mostly to be retrieved from the street. Also, I found small sacks of food that the peasants felt was not worth taking away, lying in the street. I filled a wagon with pots and pans and utensils, with kasha flour, with everything that came to my hand. On top, over all of these things, I put wood that the gentile through out through the gate; I went out the way I came in – through the back way. I went into a bakery and bought ten old loaves of bread, literally dried out, for which I was charged a high price. With everything loaded onto the wagon, I am now traveling with a great deal of merchandise. I had made up with the gentile that at the gate he should say that he was sent from the ghetto for the Jews, with me as the interpreter. And

that is the way it was. I said that I was coming from the forest, and that the bread was for my family in the camp. With luck, I got through the first gate. And they then permit you to go on further, because they know that there is no way back. I ride over to the third block. I was greeted with great astonishment and tumult; from whence did I bring all of these things? Previously, I had not entrusted my great secret to anyone, so they would not know what I was thinking. I recall the elderly Chaimsohn falling upon by neck and beginning to kiss me.

 

When the wood was taken down from the wagon, and they saw the pots and pans and utensils, there ensued such a melee of grabbing, that if I had not grabbed a pot for myself, I would have been left with nothing. Also, all the sacks of food were taken up, but the people afterwards brought back part of it for me. On that day, I brought life back into that block, and one could now see people standing by the kitchen with plates and pots.

 

On that day, Donkland, a man from Zambrów, approached me, who had been a former police-lieutenant in the ghetto, and wearing an official armband in the camp, and he asked me, if I wanted to come and live with him in his room, designated for a couple of families, since it was within his discretion to pick whom he wants, and since I am a ‘sidekick’ he wants to include me in these couple of families. I was taken into this room with my mother. We got a corner, and in a couple of days time, my brother Yankeleh arrived in the camp.

 

They were a few tens of Jews near Sendzjawa in a barn on a field (also Chaim Kaufman was in this group). The Poles turned them in to the German gendarmerie. From that time on, Yankeleh was with me.
 

 

XIX. The Bread of Hunger

 

Life in the camp got progressively harder and harder from day to day. The little children who were with us began to die off. Also, our child, who remained after my brother Moshe and Sarah Bronack died. The typhus epidemic grew more intense, spreading death and desolation around. A sort of hospital was set up in a large and cold barracks. Using straw as the bedding, like in a horse stable, and covered in rags, the sick expired from the cold, in pain and agony beyond human capacity.

 

It was in the months of November-December. Tortured by hunger, strategies were sought for how to get bread brought in from the outside. Those who have survived must surely remember how we used to drain the effluent from the latrines in the barracks, and take it away in large barrels as the refuse with which to fertilize the fields. It was believed, as previously already mentioned, that it was this waste material that was the cause of the typhus epidemic in the camp. Using these very same barrels, the carriers of the typhus plague, they were employed for smuggling bread into the camp. We struck a deal with a certain gentile, a latrine worker, that on the way back from the field with an empty barrel, he should fill the vessel with a sack full of bread loaves for the camp. We paid for the bread with gold and precious stones, which not only once had traces on it of having been in that barrel. We literally fought with one another, almost like a war, for this bread. And indeed, this war led to the revelation of this ‘conspiracy.’

 

The Germans would never have thought that these vessels would be used to conceal food. And when the fighting broke out in the camp, an open war, the Germans investigated and discovered the reason for it. They beat up the latrine barrels, but there was no one that was willing to take the cover off the barrel and stick his head inside – well, the Germans then used long insulated tongs...

 

There were a group of ‘toughs’ in the block that wanted to seize the ‘monopoly’ over the bread. The police in the block oversight were partners in this endeavor. On the other side, stood people starved, totally spent, furiously impelled to buy a morsel of bread for themselves. Who were these ‘toughs?’ The ringleaders were Arky and Barky. The police had to get involved in order to make a compromise: on one day, the ‘toughs’ will get the bread, and on the next day – the remainder of the block.

 

About the camp, there straggled people who were mere shadows, who begged for their own death. The block became infested with lice. The lice crawled all over the clothing, those items that were already worn, but had to be worn during the day and slept in at night. With the coming of the day, some of the clothing was taken off, first the overcoat, and put out on the snow, in order to freeze the lice. This aired out coat was then put on again, and some other part of the clothing was taken off to be frozen.
 

 

XX. The Łomża Refugees Plan to Escape

The Łomża Jews had organized themselves to plan a breakout from the camp. And one out of every ten of the group volunteered to crawl through the barbed wire, and to reach the fence. The post watch opened fire on them, but nobody was hit, and the group escaped. At a second time, a group of Zambrów and Łomża residents also attempted an escape. Once again, they were fired upon. Shmulkeh Golombek’s son who had blundered into the barbed wire and was wounded, was captured, this being the younger one from Dobczyn and another young man from Zambrów, whose name I do not remember. The third one captured was from Łomża. The executioners carried out their vengeance in a very basic way, in front of the people as witnesses. All the Jews in the camp were driven together on a large plaza, and the three young boys were brought there, one of them crippled in the feet. Four S. S. troops stepped forward to do whipping, holding nagaikas^.42 All three were stood up, and one after another were whipped with the braided nagaikas. Two of them beat them as if they were threshing wheat with grain in them, and each one was given thirty lashes. After the whipping, they were taken to the hospital, and they died there.

 

I had previously told that the peasants used to provide potatoes for the camp. Two of the young men who has gotten away in the first escape, from the Łomża group, bought a horse and wagon, and brought potatoes, pretending to be peasants. Hidden under the potatoes, they would smuggle meat, butter, and other sorts of foodstuffs. Young men, from Zambrów and Łomża, worked in the commissary of the camp, and they knew how to conceal these provisions. One time the boys dealt with this stuff in an unguarded fashion, perhaps out of too much confidence in themselves. They came into the camp with a wagon load of potatoes, at a time when there was no one else with them, real peasants. The guards inspected these ‘peasants,’ and they were not satisfied. A patrol was sent after the wagon. An investigation and search was conducted in the wagon, and they found what they found. For this crime of bringing food to the hungry, the Germans sentenced these two young men to death. They were hung in the barracks. If I am not mistaken, they were called Itzik and Yudkeleh. I knew them from the labor camp at Szumowo. We were there together, both people from Łomża and Zambrów.

 

Once again, all contact and dealing with the outside world was broken off. We literally expired from hunger. Death hovered over our heads.

 

The dead from the camp were interred in the Zambrów cemetery. There was a small wagon in the camp, on which, day-after-day, the dead were placed, and under watch taken to the cemetery. The graves were dug to a depth of forty centimeters and lightly covered with the earth. On the way back, usually we bought a bite of bread, onions, and potatoes from the residents who lived beside the cemetery. On time, Schaja Henoch’s son-in-law came along. He stepped away from the funeral procession to buy bread. When he returned, the soldier shot him. He was shot, and we were ordered to bury him immediately. People said that when he was lain in his grave, his still showed signs of life.

 

XXI. The News

 

It was the middle of December, 1941. Seeing that the typhus epidemic grew more intense, and people were dying on a daily basis either from typhus or from hunger, the commandant of the camp, on one day called our representatives to him and said to them as follows: ‘I see that you are all going to die here, and I have decided to convey you ‘further to the east,’ near Odessa. There you will work and remain alive. Here, we have no work for you. Tell you brethren, that they should comport themselves quietly and in an orderly fashion, and we will deal with them in a good way.’

 

When the representatives came back to the blocks and relayed the news to us, there was no doubt in any mind that this means – Treblinka! The exhausted ones were shaken, and the spirit of rebellion rose in the blocks. This was true with the people from Zambrów and Łomża, as by those from Czyżew and Wysoka. Voices were raised that said: ‘We will be killed here, but not to go to Treblinka!’ Talk began about a rebellion. With bare fists, however, nothing could be done, and there could be no talk about having arms and ammunition. And even at the price of hundreds of victims, we were to break through the gates, where would we go? We had already fled once – and came back or had fallen back into German hands.
 

 

XXII. Glicksman Feigns ‘Making an Effort’

As we understood it, Glicksman, along with the Senior from Łomża, Mushinsky, again made a deal with the camp commandant. Now the commandant no longer spoke of Odessa, but only about a labor camp. I am not certain if he actually called out the name of Auschwitz. At this time, that name was not familiar to us. The commandant said that in this labor camp there were factories, and he promised that we will have the same seniors and leaders there. That is what was communicated in that hall, that after long negotiations that Glicksman engaged in, that we will not be sent ‘to the east,’ but rather to a second camp.

 

XXIII. The Preparations for the Trip

 

'Life has become repulsive, and it is not possible to continue this way!’ – You could hear this in every conversation. People, who were half-dead, for whom there are no words to describe their misfortune, gave up on everything, making peace with their dark fate. In the meantime, news reached us, all manner of rumors. First the Łomża block would travel. The transports will depart by night. The extraordinary situation will be clarified. The people in all the other blocks will remain confined, not even permitted to stick their heads out from their confinement, and it is forbidden to light candles.

 

Between the eighth and the tenth of January 1942, the ‘work’ began. In the middle of the night, movement began in the first block. Immediately short shots were heard, and there was no lack of victims. The same took place on the second night in the second block. And now comes our turn: block number three. I think it was about eleven o’clock at night. A fresh newly fallen snow shone in the window with its pristine whiteness. We began to drag ourselves out of the barracks to a rear gate. There was a deathly silence all around. We felt like we were going on our last walk. No one brought so much as a word to their lips, as if everyone, simultaneously, had turned to stone. We go and fall in the snow. One person helps another. Each one has a pack on their backs. On the other side of the gate there was a long row of sleighs and wagons waiting for us. One way or another, we got on board. The entourage moves. There are a hundred sleighs and wagons. I was among the last. I am not among those who are in any hurry. It didn’t matter to me if I was the last one to die. We are traveling in the direction of Czyżew, to the train station. On the way, once again, I spoke my thought out loud: ‘Perhaps we should flee?’ My mother was silent and didn’t utter a word. This time she didn’t say ‘yes’ and not ‘no.’ She was mumbling with her lips as if she were reciting the Tehilim. Yankeleh said: ‘I no long will flee. I have nowhere to flee to. The Poles drive you out, turn you over to the Germans. There is no Jewish settlement. Where am I going to go?’ I myself lacked nimbleness on my feet, and I had decided to stay with my mother. And Yankeleh added: ‘Whatever happens to you, will happen to me.’ And so we traveled. The road was strewn with frozen people who had fallen off the wagons. Sleighs came up from the rear and collected them. I will never forget this terrifying trip.
 

 

XXIV. On the Train Station at Czyżew

Dawn began to break when we arrived at the Czyżew station platform. A chain of about fifty to sixty freight cars stood there. We were driven across the icy stretch. Those who were frozen were dragged by the head and the feet and thrown into the wagons. As to the living, about fifty were crammed into each car, and the doors sealed from the outside. And this way, we stood and froze for long hours. In the end the train moved. After riding for a couple of hours, we again remained standing. We are expiring from the cold, oppressed by hunger and thirst. We lick the ice from the rivets on the sides of the wagon that had grown up on their large steel heads.

 

In my car were: Velvel the Fisher with is wife and little daughter; Elkeh, Meir-Yankl Golombek’s daughter with children. We still harbored the thought that, despite all, we were being taken to Treblinka. When we arrived at the Malkin station and the train stopped there, a frightful panic immediately broke out. We knew that from Malkin, one rode into a forest, and the distance is not more than from ten to fifteen minutes a ride. Velvel’s little daughter began to tremble and spasm over her entire body, and she screamed that she did not want to die. Following here, everyone broke out into bitter wailing. I sat stonily in a corner, and looked at my watch. Five, six, seven minutes... ten minutes...fifteen minutes. We are proceeding to travel further. Who can convey the agony of that moment. ‘Yes’ – Velvel says to me – ‘Glicksman didn’t deceive us after all. Indeed, we are not going to Treblinka, just as he said.’ Velvel, who belonged to the police staff, knew Glicksman and his ways well.
 

 

XXV. Not to Treblinka!

We are happy with our newly won life. Not Treblinka, well, then it can be whatever it will be. And, lo, once again we remain standing at a station platform, parallel to our train. My Yankeleh sticks his head out. ‘Yitzhak, it is a military train,’ he says to me. And the kitchen stands exactly diagonally opposite my little window. Since Yankeleh had worked for the Germans, he spoke German quite well, and so he says to the cook: ‘We are refugees, can we ask for something to drink?’ The cook says: ‘Give me a pot, and I will give you coffee.’ I had a small bowl with me, that we used as a urinal in the train car. It was quickly wiped out, and Yankeleh stuck it out between the grating on the little window, which went up and down, and in the blink of an eye, we had a bowl full of black coffee (at the time that the bowl was on the way from the kitchen to our little window, a soldier shot twice in that direction. However, the bowl came into our hands intact). We divided the coffee by drops, and everyone got a taste of it. We were happy: not Treblinka, and to that, we even got a bit of black coffee – well, there must be a God in heaven! But this joy did not last for long.

 

After two days and two nights of travel, we finally came to a junction. Taking down the covering from the grated window, we saw a lit up area with large excavation machinery. The snow had covered hills and vales. These were the chambers of Birkenau, Auschwitz.

 

And if so, are these the machines used to dig graves? Is it here that we will come to our eternal rest? Meanwhile, a variety of ideas came to us. Velvel says: ‘If they let us take our packages, this will be a sign for life; and if, God forbid not – it means that we need nothing anymore, it will be a sign of death.’ We hear a noise, and it sounds Jewish. Yiddish is being spoken. What a joy, we are among Jews. A wagon platform arrived with pickaxes and spades, Several tens of people in pajamas, who speak Yiddish, led by Germans in uniform, and it was about midnight, going from Friday to Saturday. They immediately went to work. The locks on the doors were covered with ice, and they were hacked apart with the pickaxes. They began shouting ‘Everyone out! Everyone down!’ They began to hit us with batons over the head. In a minute an entire movement started, and an alarm broke out. Around us there stretched a long line of freight trucks, covered in black tarpaulins. We hear the command: ‘Into the trucks, up!’ The unloading was hellish, like out of a nightmare. You immediately saw a pile of people. Frozen, fainted, half-dead. And I saw one who had pulled his overcoat over his head to protect against the cold, and he was beaten with batons and thrown onto the huge pile of people. Another command: ‘Women separate! Men separate! To the trucks!’ And the freight trucks are soon overfilled. I remain with my mother and brother, locked and impoverished in the great trap. We see how men and women are picked off. They are set out in rows of five. The job of the selection was being conducted by German officers. A significantly large number were picked out. The Germans don’t let anyone through. We see the way people tear themselves away to come into the ranks of those selected, and they are driven back. And here my mother said: ‘Run children, maybe you will be able to save yourselves.’ We exchanged kisses with our dear mother. She remained standing with outstretched arms, and tears were flowing from her eyes. In a moment, we no longer saw her.

 

We get closer to the row which is very strongly inspected. The big German shouts at us: ‘No more room, locked!’ We force ourselves over to him. We present ourselves anyway. He takes us in with a glance. Two handsome young men. He asks me: ‘ What is your occupation?’ I answer: ‘Construction workers.’ And Yankeleh says: ‘ I am a gardener.’ ‘Remain here!’ the German says. And in this fashion, we were the last two who had the privilege of being in that group.

 

When we left that place, dawn had already begun to break. God had begun to look down upon his great handiwork. On the killing field, the mountain of the dead, frozen, beaten, and half-dead remained. They waited for new freight trucks to arrive and take them away, because they could not walk under their own power. I remember that Chaim the Harness Maker wanted to push himself into that line. But everyone had received the order to lock [arms] and not let anyone else in. Pitiably, all he got was a whack in the head with a baton, and he was driven away. A minute earlier, before the lined were closed, Bendet Fekarevich the watchmaker smuggled himself in. We begin to march, that is, those Zambrów Jews able to work, approximately a hundred in number. What the number of the women was, I do not know, but I gathered that it was much less. The remaining Jews of the Sacred Congregation of the Jews of Zambrów were killed that same night in the gas chambers.
 

 

XXVI. The March to the Birkenau Camp

The march began with beating and kicking, with pushing and hitting with clubs and rifles. We came to a large tent. We were taken inside, and turned over to the hands of the camp people, dressed in pajamas.

 

This was the dress in the camp. We were arrayed in two rows. Those who were occupied with us, were Jews, big, strong young men. They shout like the Germans, and also hit like the Germans. My Yankeleh says: ‘See, it is possible to make a German out of a Jew.’ One, the senior among them, gives his speech. The first greeting was accompanied by a hail of curse words. Listen up! Do you know what Auschwitz is? You came here by yourselves, you were brought here in chains. So, damn your father! Turn over your dollars, gold and precious stones. If any of these things are found with you after the bath, he will go directly to the ovens. That is a ‘K.L.’ ‘Kein Leben.⁴⁷’ You go in through a gate, and you go up to God through the chimney. You understand that here, you need nothing!’ He goes through the row this way, stops at an individual and asks: ‘What, you are not pleased?’ – raises his hand and delivers a hard blow to the face.

 

A blanket is spread out – and immediately a sum of money fell on it, along with watches, golden chains, and rings. Who could take the risk of trying to conceal something valuable on his person? After this welcome, a number of us were granted a small dish of hot kasha. In this time, less robust five or six men had fallen down from lack of strength, lying by the door, lacking the strength to get up on their own. After eating, the procedure began of etching us with a tattoo number on the arm. When this was over, we were told we would be taken to bathe.
 

 

XXVII. Into the Bath!

They lead us out of this barrack and bring us to a second barrack. This is the location of the baths. We are given the order: ‘Undress!’ To strip naked, immediately outside at the entrance to the barrack. We strip off our lice-filled but warm clothing, and we stand naked as the day we were born in the frosty outdoors. ‘Wait a bit, another party is bathing right now. They will come out soon.’ We wait this way for about a half an hour, frozen, contracted from the cold. Our clothing was cleaned off. Finally, with luck, we are going into the bath. Barbers were waiting for us with hair-cutting machines, and they took to us, to shear off the hair from our heads. After the haircut, we went and stood under the spigots. Water is pouring onto us, water as cold as ice. A number of us first take to having a drink. Imagine if you will, how great the thirst was that oppressed us.

 

After the bath, we were driven to a disinfection station. We were made to sit on benches, like in a bathhouse, no comparison intended, and released a bit of steam onto us. After this, regardless of how wet we were, we were driven into yet another large barrack. Here, we were allocated clothing. ‘Fall out into rows!’ – the order was given. And again a speech, with the same theme: ‘anyone who might steal an extra shirt, or a legging for the feet, will immediately go into the oven!’ Shirts are given to some, drawers, pants, a jacket, a pair of shoes with leggings. Shivering from the cold, we donned these rags. Some got three-quarter trousers, others shoes that could barely be put on the feet. There was no covering for the totally shorn heads.

 

Now Polish guards take us over. We are told, that we are going to Block 21. Again, we stand, petrified by the cold under an open sky. We wait until everyone gets dressed.

 

XXVIII. Block Number 21

Finally, the ‘party’ begins to move. We wind through, in a serpentine path, small streets of barracks. We come to Block 21. ‘Remain standing!’ – the block senior orders. We remain standing. And another order: ‘Undress, and enter the block one at a time!’ We undressed on the snow, and we waited. We are allowed in, one at a time. I happened to be among the first. Inside, near the entrance, there was the camp doctor, not a German. He begins to examine me. As previously mentioned, I wore a bandage on my right foot. I had already torn off the lower part of it, but the top part still adhered to me, even to the point of having melded with my skin. ‘What is this?’ – the doctor asks me. I explain to him that I received a blow to my leg when I worked for the Germans, and this was put on me then. He asked me to sit down, and to raise myself fifteen times, and when I did this, he let me through. And this is how several went through the examination, and if someone displeased the doctor, he made note of the tattoo number on his arm.

 

Now we go to sleep. The bunks are concrete, with five people to a compartment. And on the concrete there was a blanket and two coveralls. We arranged ourselves on the hard bunks, and immediately fell asleep. [After] a couple of hours of deep sleep, they are shouting already: ‘Get up!’ We tear open our eyes, and bandits are already standing there with irons and shovels and they are banging on our feet. The feet stick out of the bunks, because we lay stretched out straight, like herring in a barrel. We jump up from our sleeping place, but they don’t permit you to get dressed. Nobody indicated doing more than pulling on one’s trousers. We ran barefoot, and completed getting dressed on the snow. We received an order to fall in by pairs and straighten the line – and remain standing, not to move from the spot. We stand, and stand, shivering from the intense cold. After standing like this for two long hours, we were allowed inside and given a meal. It consisted of a soup made from green leaves with kasha, and a potato in it. Barely having swallowed the bit of food with the ardor of the hungry, and another order resounds: ‘Out!’ Once again, we are standing outside in the cold. Clutches of people steal up to us, curious. ‘Where do you come from?’ – they ask. We hear that the new transports are being taken for work in the factories and coal mines of Buna. ‘And if not, you will have our fate.’ It is superfluous to say that we envied those who were already dead.

 

When night fell, we were admitted into the barrack. We were given a bit of black coffee – and to sleep. And do you think we are allowed to sleep? In the middle of the night – an alarm. ‘Get up!’ We raise our heads. An order: look at the number on your arm!’ The senior of the house calls out numbers. And since the group knew what this implied, nobody replied when his number was called. We also knew who they were looking for, because they themselves told us that the doctor had taken down their names. From what I can remember, among the listed were: Bendet Fekarovich, Kozatsky, Konopiata, and a Finkelstein, who lived with an American widow on the Wodna Gasse, and the widow’s son, and a few others whose names I no longer remember.

 

Since calling the names out was proving futile, the guards, who were mostly Poles and Ukrainians, grabbed the shovels and began beat people on their heads and feet. Again we were chased outside naked. Outside, a very frightening snowstorm was raging that night. Half-dead, not one of us was able to utter a single word. The block chief took up a position and began anew to call out the numbers, but the numbers that he was really looking for he kept until last. All of us were let back into the barrack, and they detained those sought out of doors. Now the guards took themselves to the job of killing out in the street. The frightening screams from those being tortured, which reached us in the barrack... Kozatsky’s plaintive whining... slowly grew still, and still they kept hearing the dull thud of the shovels, and the tired breathing of the beaters, We never again saw our beaten and tortured brethren again. The block chief ordered the dead to be dragged to Block Five, which was the last station to the crematorium.
 

 

XXIX. We Travel to Buna

We stayed in Birkenau for seven days, several days with the same tribulations and severe tortures. A piece of bread with marmalade – and then driven out of the barrack to stand until the meal of a bit of soup with kasha was served. After this meal, again, having to stand on one’s feet in the cold. In the evening black coffee brewed from leaves. We never got more than one piece of bread a day. This is how we lived for seven days. Every day, and every hour, was more than we wanted, being not more than a delay from dying, because we had already seen the dead. Hunger and cold began to devour people. One spark of hope possibly remained with part of us: perhaps we will be sent to Buna. There, we heard, people worked, some in a factory, others in the coal mines, and food was given. One morning, when we were driven to stand out in the street, the block chief arrived with a smile in his moustache. ‘Well, you have luck,’ he said. ‘You are going to Buna. My block has been selected for this purpose.’ Well, good, a joy. It doesn’t matter what else will happen, so long as we get out of this hell. On the second day, they brought us to the barrack with the bath. There, we were examined by the camp doctor. After this, we were given new clothing. When we came out of the bath, we were turned over to the hands of an S. S. command, and we went out to travel. The distance from Birkenau to Buna was about forty kilometers. After two hours of marching, we were brought into a fine building. This was a bathhouse with the best and newest appointments. Here, we bathed ourselves and went through a thorough disinfection. We also were given a portion of bread and set out on our journey again.

 

Coming out of the bath, I started to get sharp pains in my foot. My brother Yankeleh and Moshe Bronack propped me up from both sides, otherwise I would not have been able to continue. Late in the night, we came to this new Garden of Eden. Again we were driven to the bath barrack, and again we went through a disinfection. Finally, we were led into a large barrack, a hall that had rows of beds, three-tiered, with two blankets on each bed. After a lecture, which was given to us by a German Jew with a thick club for splitting heads, we were finally allocated beds. It was the first night in many long months that we slept like people, covered with a blanket. A new spark of hope stole into our hearts: who knows, maybe they will give us something to eat... when we go out to work, it may be possible to go on living. Here, we are told, we will remain for two weeks time, meaning, until we regain some of our strength, and after that we will go to work.

 

In the morning, we made our beds. Since I was a veteran soldier, I made my bed, and my brother Yankeleh’s bed, which was next to mine, like I had learned to do in the army barracks. The report preparer, an S. S. man, came for inspection in the hall, and he stopped by our beds. He called over the house chief and ordered him to bring the two who occupied these beds. We were presented to him, and he designated us to do the work of making the beds and keep all the beds in the hall in order. This was a big deal for us, because every morning we would be driven out into the street to march and sing German songs, as if we were in the military.

 

On the third morning, very early, the S. S. man came again to us for an inspection. We were not yet finished doing our work on the beds. I immediately hear ‘Come here!’ I run over to him. He begins to shout in a wild voice: ‘Is this how you make a bed?’ and delivers a blow with all his might, with a fist to my face. I immediately spit out two of my cheek teeth. With this comes a second shout: ‘Stand at attention!’ Like I have a choice here? I remain at attention, bloodied, and he hits me again with his fist, in the second cheek, and knocks out two more of my teeth. I am missing these teeth to this day.
 

 

XXX. The Typhus in Buna

Already, in the first days in the new resting place, the result of the physical deterioration to which we were subject began to manifest itself among the survivors of the Zambrów Jews. Many instances of sickness occurred, headaches, sore throats, congestion, and we had no way to deal with it. To go to the doctor in the hospital meant – ‘going into the oven.’ One girded one’s self to overcome the symptoms and hid them so long as was possible to conceal the signs of illness. Among the first of our sick was Chaimsohn’s son-in-law, who when he arrived in the camp was a healthy young man. When he was bedridden by fever, he had no choice and was compelled to go to the doctor. He did not return. This was the way several tens of people went away from us.

 

As for me, my vision began to blur. One day, I was holding myself together with all my might, and then another day. This lasted until I ended up lying on the floor between two beds (it was forbidden to lay down on a bed during the day). I said goodbye to my dear brother, and with all my friends and townsfolk, with the thought that they will never see me again. My brother and Moshe Bronack escorted me to the hospital. There they took my temperature – and no longer permitted me to leave. They established that everyone who had arrived on our transport who came to the hospital, was sick with typhus. Every day, from the hospital, nine out of ten of the sick were taken away into the ‘oven,’ and only one – to the hospital in Auschwitz. After an examination by the S. S. doctor, we were divided into groups. When the hospital attendants gave us portions of bread, they didn’t fail to remark thereby: 'this is the last bread you will ever eat.’ We are standing and waiting in groups of three and five. My group consisted of three. I no longer remember who the other people were, I only know that they were not from Zambrów.

 

Transport trucks came to the hospital, and the sick were chased outside, naked and barefoot, in a meager shirt. The S. S. troops would grab people by the head and feet and throw them into the trucks. My group was last. After an hour of waiting, came our row. We are driven out, like all the others, naked. We were standing in Dutch Sabots, and we were forced to leave them behind and proceed barefoot. Not far from the door, was a Red Cross car. An S. S. man alights, opens the door, and lets us in. He takes the papers and asks: ‘This is all the shit?’ We bid Buna farewell.

 

XXXI. In the Hospital

The truth was that it was all the same to us, wherever they were taking us. We all were running a high fever, and we were badly affected by the cold. We bundled ourselves together and jumped like a ball. After a fifteen to twenty minute ride, the automobile came to a halt and stood still. The door opened. I look around. It is literally a city. Red walls. I read on the big sign: ‘Hospital.’ We are taken into a long corridor. There is a cement floor. Doors open one against the other. After a long wait on the cold floor, we were taken into a washroom. Here, we were taken over by Poles. The first greeting we received was: ‘Clients for the oven.’ And they began to ‘work’ on us. They let a stream of ice-cold water on us from a water hose, until we lay unconscious. Two Poles, took hold of me by my head and feet and carried me into a house. The house chief took note of the number on my arm. I was thrown onto the middle bed of a three-level bunk bed. The bed was not more than sixty-five centimeters wide, but I was not, God forbid, on that bed alone, but with another sick person. I remember enough that my neighbor was as hot as fire, and I was a cold as ice. We embraced each other, and in this way I fell asleep. In the morning when I awoke, I was immobilized as if I was held in iron pliers, in the arms of my bed companion, and with great difficulty disentangled myself from him. The young man was dead.

 

As to medicines, they didn’t know about such things in this hospital. The ill were kept there until they either got through their disease, or gave up the ghost. After three weeks of torture and suffering, I was able to leave the hospital – and go back into the camp. It was the camp of Auschwitz.

 

In the year 1943, a person, meaning a Jew, could expect to endure in Auschwitz for at most three months time. The camp had twenty thousand people in it – Poles, Russians, French, Germans, Jews, Belgians, Dutch. The principal spokespersons in the camp were the Poles. The human stock was turned over continuously. New transports full of Jews kept on coming. A large part of the people were sent to work, and the rest – into the gas ovens. At all times, the camp held the same number of people. Those that fell were replaced with newcomers. After two weeks of work, all that remained of a person was skin and bones. Added to this, people were beaten with staves unto death. Auschwitz produced thousands of dead every day. Non-Jews there were able to get packages from home, and letters once a month. Only on us, the Jews, did that great anger fall. Death stood ever ready behind us.

 

In Auschwitz, factories were constructed to make arms. I worked on building the ammunition factory. We were about six hundred workers, mostly Jews, and Christian ‘kapos.’ Germans, Poles, and in part also German Jews, worked in the good commands, as in the camp, in the factories, under a roof. Approximately in May 1943, I met up with Bendet Sosnowiec in my division of a hundred that were carrying bricks to the building. He told me that in Auschwitz could be found Koszcewa, Plotki Adon-Olam of Ostrów Mazowiecka. There was a son-in-law of Zelig from the brick works. From them I heard that everyone from Buna was taken back to Birkenau, and there all the Jews from Zambrów gave up the ghost.

 

XXXII. The Murder Combination Auschwitz-Birkenau

 

The Unforgettable School Students, Beloved and Pleasant in Life

 

Auschwitz (called Oshpitzin in Yiddish, Oświęcim in Polish) lies between Weisel and Salto. Birkenau (Brzezinka) in one large swamp, and in 1944 when the German army retreated from the east, I worked there in erecting barracks for the German Air Command. On the swamp was built the great death factory with four large chimneys, which in one day could cremate between forty and fifty thousand people.

 

As was previously stated, men and women were held in Auschwitz from every nation in Europe, but only the Jews were killed without stopping. All manner of bizarre deaths were visited on people in Auschwitz, as was the case, for example in Block 10 and 11, where the most beautiful women were held, on whom to perform experiments; torturing them, cutting them, sterilizing them, after which they were either shot or gassed. There were also hospitals in Auschwitz, where Jews were brought every two weeks for examination, and from there led off in light shirts to the gas chambers. Every month, each block had a quota of fifty men on transport, this means to have them cremated after they had been tortured by hunger. No Christians were taken in such aktionen. In 1944, in the course of several days, it is estimated that up to fifty thousand French Jews were transported to Auschwitz, and they were gassed. The ovens could not cremate that many. and so they dug pits in which they were cremated. In the factory where I worked, at a distance of five kilometers from that place, it was necessary to shut the windows because of the stench, which was not possible to stand. Some time later, Hungarian Jews were brought, and others in the same number. A Jew that remained alive after six months of being in Auschwitz was an exception, one out of a thousand. Over one million Jews were exterminated in Auschwitz. Their ashes were spread out over the fields around Birkenau and saturated their swamps. The black road that led to the crematoria is pressed with human ash and bone. The clothes of a million people, their shoes, gold teeth, glasses, not to mention jewelry, money, valuable papers – everything was precisely sorted and taken off to Germany. That is the way the Germans conducted their war.

 

In the year 1944, there really was an uprising in one crematorium, but regrettably not one young man was able to save his own life. Allied airplanes bombed Auschwitz, but no bomb ever struck a crematorium. A bomb fell in the block where Bendet Sosnowiec was, and he was wounded in the arm.

 

This murder combination operated this way until January 1945. On January 22, I left Auschwitz through the gate that had on it the inscription ‘ Arbeit Macht Frei ’...

 

Black Tuesday By Yitzhak Golda (A chapter from my book, “In the Wolf’s Talons”)

 

Yitzhak Golda

It is Monday at dusk, the evening of the aktion of August 22, 1941. This is an unforgettable date to us, scions of Zambrów.   On that very day, immediately in the morning, the sun appeared in the sky. However, it rapidly vanished under the black clouds that covered it like a mask. Silence, silence reigned in the street, not a hint of a breeze, as it was a prelude to a thunderstorm. The air was stifling and smelled of gunpowder.   The Jewish populace was expecting something of a decree; each and every one of us knew very well and had heard of what had happened in the vicinity, and what had happened to the Jews of Szumowo. The Christian populace, meanwhile, also was looking forward to this in a similar manner, and they later told us everything, how the Jews were tortured: they were ordered to carry out all of the Torah scrolls from the Bet HaMedrash onto a pyre of wood, and then burned, forcing them to sing and dance around the fire. After this, all of them [sic: the Jews] were frightfully tortured to death.

We would listen to stories like this every day. Some of the people believed them. However, there were many Jews who simply deluded themselves, and they believed that what had happened in their vicinity would not be true for them, but rather that the Christians are trying to panic the Jews. They would especially comfort themselves in the following way: Zambrów is after all a work center, in which the majority of the Jews work for the Germans. Therefore, such a thing could not happen in our location.   People went about harboring these kinds of illusions. They, the Germans, however, looked upon everyone in the same manner, like a butcher looking at a fowl he is readying to slaughter. There were no ‘better Jews’ to the Germans, all of us looked the same to them, one sooner, the other later. We Zambrów Jews were among the later ones. And indeed, during that quiet nightfall, the ‘Black Terrorists’ (S. S.), as they were called, found it desirable to travel to us in Zambrów.   It was still twilight, when first on the Łomża Gasse, a taxi appeared, and after the taxi a freight truck covered in a black tarpaulin. As it happens, at that moment, I was returning from a friend and needed to cut through the ‘Szwenta-Kiszka’ Gasse to reach my house, on the Molishev Gasse (at that time there was not yet a ghetto). Along the way, I was able to observe this. I immediately understood what was up here. They immediately rode to the city gendarmerie, which was formerly the headquarters of the magistrate. Immediately a German flag appeared with a swastika in the middle, fluttering at the tip of a high pole that stood beside the gendarmerie. Police and all of the S. S. troops entered the command post.   I immediately went home to tell what I had seen and consulted with the family about what we should do. I thought that, in the house, they did not yet know about this new development. However, when I arrived home, my older brother Berel was in the house. At that same time, he had also returned from the street, was also at the ‘Judenrat’ and related that the ‘Judenrat’ had received an order that the entire Jewish community is to be notified that at 5:00 A.M. the next morning, all Jews over the age of fifteen are to gather on the marketplace. As to what purpose – the ‘Judenrat’ itself didn’t know.   Hearing this sad news, it became dark and bitter for us. We began to decide what it was we had to do. Our brother Berel added something else: Pruszynski the musician, a Christian, told him that one should not go out into the streets on the morrow, because there is going to be an ‘aktion,’ and many men will be taken away to be shot. The Christian told us he had heard this from reliable sources and was not lying (as happened later on). Therefore, my brother said, my plan is that we will not go to turn ourselves in tomorrow, to the Angel of Death, but we should find some place to hide ourselves. All of us were then of a mind not to go to the assembly point.   My brother-in-law, Zaydkeh, was not at home. He was with an acquaintance, but in the middle of this discussion he happened to arrive and gave us entirely different news. He related that he was at the ‘Judenrat’ and said that everyone has to be at the assembly point, and there is no danger. The Germans merely wish to take people who are able to work. Anyone who does not appear at that place will be considered the same as a political criminal. Well, my brother-in-law said, he said we should trust in God, and what will be, will be.   My brother-in-law’s words affected everyone greatly, and the initiative for everyone to attempt to hide was dissipated. Because of this we decided that early in the morning we would all go to the assembly point. except for my brother Berel ז"ל, who hid along with those who did not wish to go there.   It is night. My mother ז"ל prepared fresh undergarments for everyone. We dressed in our better clothing, getting ourselves ready, as if for a wedding. We do not get undressed before going to sleep, but rather lay down in all our clothes. And so, we await 5:00 A.M. in the morning...   On that morning, Tuesday, August 23 -- a date that no surviving Zambrów Jew who lived through that time will never forget, because we, scions of Zambrów, paid entirely too dear a price. The beat and most presentable of our youth were torn away from us on that day, never again to return.   The clock struck 4:30 A.M. I wiped the sleep out of my eyes and reminded myself that in less than a half hour we will be standing before the Day of Judgment. A shiver ran through my bones. I quickly got out of bed. My father and his brother-in-law ז"ל had been up for some time already, covered in their prayer shawls, reciting individual prayers. The early morning rays of the sun were beginning to penetrate through the windows. It will be a nice day... the birds were already singing the praises of a beautiful nature. Everything was normal, as if there was no war even going on. More than anyone else, I envied the birds at that moment, who were so free and fortunate and don’t know anything about ‘Black Terrorists,’ about any ‘aktion,’ or other decrees that we, the pitiable, sinful Jews, all have to endure. Time, however, did not stand still. It was shortly before five o’clock, and we have to go to the assembly point. At that moment, we heard knocking at the window, this being a member of the ‘Judenrat’ I think it was ‘Itcheh Pomp’ and the second person with him – one of the Jewish police, I think ‘ Arkeh Bick.’ Both were soaked and all sweaty from running around the Jewish houses to tell everyone to gather at the assembly point. Itcheh Pomp quickly said that we were to depart for the assembly point because almost everyone is already gathered there.   We all immediately set out for the street, and my brother Berel ז"ל was going along with us, but midway he disappeared away from us. As he later told us, he took a risky chance at that moment. During the entire time of the ‘aktion,’ he stood under a wall to the side and observed everything that happened from that spot.   When we all arrived at the assembly point, about three thousand people already stood arrayed in ranks: the men separate and the women separate, all arranged in straight rows, just like at a military parade. As I learned later on, we came a little too late, because other Jews had been standing there since four o’clock in the morning... because of this, we were that more anxious to quickly fall into the ranks so the Germans would not notice us. My mother and sister stood themselves in the ranks of the women, and my father and I and my brother-in-law among the men.   A deathly quiet reigned on the street. All eyes were turned in the direction where the truck with the black tarpaulin stood, and where the S. S. troops in their black Death’s Head uniforms. All were dressed festively. In total, they were only eight men. All were visibly dead drunk, talking among themselves, laughing and banging with their rubber truncheons against the shined German insignias on their boots.   On the wooden walk that went around the marketplace, groups of people from the Christian populace began to assemble, to look at what was being done to this small group of Jews. The S. S. troops, however, do not permit them to stand by, and order the Polish police with the white armbands to break up these small circles. The Christians jump into the gates of the houses, and look out from there, at leisure, at the beautiful spectacle that is going to be made of the Jews. They spoke among themselves and made signs with their hands, one to another, as if they were carrying on a serious debate, No one, not even their neighbors scrutinized them as carefully as I did: I understood what they had to say very well, and what they were gesticulating about. I understood that they were already arguing over those Jewish assets and how to divide up that booty... I saw in their faces how they took such satisfaction from our misfortune. I understood it all and entreated God in heaven not to let them live to realize their wishes.   The ‘selektion’ is at its peak intensity. The S. S. troops, with their truncheons in hand, go about among the people, examining each Jew from head to toe, and those with whom they are satisfied are told to step out into a second line, both men and women. In general, they took one out of every three Jews, and ordered him to also stand among those who were ‘selected.’ At that moment of the ‘selektion,’ the people were so confused that nobody understood what was going on and what to do. There were, in fact, quite a number of people who simply ran over to the group that was selected. From all of this, it is possible to see how far the Nazis could go in deceiving a mass of people, so that there would be no chaos or panic, that they should not perceive that they were not being selected for death, but life, meaning – to go for labor.   This ‘selektion’ lasted until ten o’clock in the morning. The crowd was already worn out from standing so long on their feet. During that time, everyone silently recited their confession in their heart, because no one could know whose fate it would be to remain among the living. Beside me in the line stood the Zambrów Yeshiva headmaster, called R’ Yudl. I can still see him before my eyes (he was later taken away with the other Jews from the ‘barracks’, to Auschwitz and killed there). At that time, he was standing with a bowed head and murmured something silently. His long black beard was pressed under the folds of his overcoat in order that the S. S. troops not take him for an old man. But as the S. S. man went by, he rather calmly raised his head and looked the murderer square in the eye. The Jewish police, who wore white armbands during the ‘selektion,’ and who were certain that nothing would happen to them, and because of this their senior, Glicksman ordered them to stand in a separate line. The ‘Judenrat’ also stood in a separate line. The members of the ‘Judenrat,’ as well as those of the police, pulled over many of their relatives to the ‘selected’ ranks – at the last moment, when the entire colony had already begun to move in order to leave the location. Thanks to this, they were spared from death. This was also the case with Zaremsky, whom Isaac Sucharewicz ( a ‘Judenrat’ member) had saved. The rest of the people, who had no connection to someone in the ‘Judenrat’ or the police – were taken away, literally like sheep, to the slaughter.   The rabbi, Rabbi Regensberg ז"ל, did not go out onto the street during the time of the aktion, because he felt very weak at that time, but despite this he wanted to be among all of the Jews. However, the ‘Senior Jew’ Glicksman did not permit him to come out to the marketplace and promised him that nothing bad will happen. However, as it later became evident, even Glicksman’s assurances did not help. One of the S. S. men called over the ‘Senior Jew’ and asked about the Rabbi of the city. He replied that the Rabbi was ill and cannot come out to the assembly point. They immediately ordered the Jewish police to bring the Rabbi. It did not take long, and two Jewish policemen were seen supporting the Rabbi under his arms, directly to the place where the truck stood that was covered in the black tarpaulin (we later named this vehicle the ‘Chevra Kadisha Wagon’). The S. S. ordered that a stool be brought out for the Rabbi. When the stool was already placed beside the truck, they ordered the Jewish police to take the Rabbi under his arms and help him get into the truck. The Rabbi thanked them for their ‘helpfulness’ but got into the truck by himself. It is worth noting that, at the time, the Rabbi was ninety-five years old. At the time, he was counted among the oldest rabbis in all of Poland, and it was pitiably that his fate to be brought down by such murderous hands. Anyone who did not see how the Rabbi took his leave of all the members of the ‘Judenrat’ who stood nearby, since no other people were permitted near to that place, could not have had their hearts torn into little pieces watching his great sorrow from a distance. When the Rabbi was already seated under the black tarpaulin of the ‘Chevra Kadisha Wagon,’ the S. S. murderers gathered together seven other Jews, all of whom were old. Among them was an elderly Jewish man, a melamed from Jablonka. At the time that all of these seven elderly men were standing near the truck, getting ready to board it, this elderly man felt a need to relieve himself. The old man, not thinking, dropped his trousers in front of the S. S. murderer, and they immediately understood what the oldster wanted to do, and he was ordered to quickly get off the street and return immediately. They did not send a guard with him. The oldster had enough presence of mind to not come back, and to fool these ‘wise’ guys. They paid no attention to the fact that the old man did not return, and together with the Rabbi they boarded the remaining old men onto the truck and took them off in the direction of Szumowo-Glebocz. As soon as they had disposed of the elderly, they ordered the ‘selected’ ones to begin moving. As the ‘Judenrat’ subsequently certified, this colony consisted of fifteen hundred people, of which six hundred were women. Women who had small children with them were not taken. The best and most beautiful of the young people of our city, on that day, were taken away by the Germans to Szumowo. All of them there were driven into the synagogue building, and from there by truck, fifty people at a time, they were taken to the execution place in the Glebocz Forest. At ten o’clock that night, all of them were already dead. The transport of this colony of people took place in the following manner: at the front and rear taxis rode with two S. S. troops, who were accompanied by four Polish policemen. with rubber truncheons in their hands. In this manner, a group of twelve men led a host of fifteen hundred people to the slaughter!   The tragic moment was when the entire colony was taken from the marketplace on the Ostroger Gasse, down the hill, in the direction of Szumowo-Ostrog-Mazowiecki. Those remaining behind still stood under guard by the remaining S. S. troops on the street. A wailing and a cry went up from the women and children. A frightful panic seized everyone. The S. S. troops immediately took up their arms and began to shoot directly at the people. At that moment, I happened to be standing by the pump which was in the middle of the street. A line of women stood immediately beside the pump. As soon as they heard the shooting, they began to flee. And as they ran, an elderly woman, right in front of my eyes, fell down not far from me, having been struck by a bullet to the heart. She was immediately covered in blood. The shooting, however, did not last very long because the crowd became afraid and it calmed down. Once again, the S. S. troops ordered everyone to get into lines, according to age. The first were a group of fifteen to thirty year olds. At that time, I was seventeen years old. I put myself into this group. A fat S. S. trooper ordered us not to make chaos or start a panic, and one at a time we should run home. Our group was close to five hundred people. Seeing that we were set free, we fled however quickly we could, in order not to stand there and look into the eyes of the murderer.   Not knowing the fate of my family, I came running home. I felt myself to be fortunate that I encountered my father and mother, brother and sister, who were also saved in this way from the selektion as I was. On seeing my sister’s sorrow, who mourned her husband who had fallen in among the ‘seized,’ all our satisfaction was spoiled. We wanted to comfort ourselves, as did all the Jews in that time did, with the feeling that these people had only been taken away to do labor, and that one day they would return. My sister refused to be comforted, and cried whiningly...   On that day, it was Tisha B’Av in our house, and this is the way it was in all Jewish homes in which some member of a family was missing. This is how the aktion of the ‘Black Tuesday’ came to an end. This was a day in which we paid with fifteen hundred young, innocent martyrs. An unforgettable chapter for those of us survivors from Zambrów.   The Eyewitness Account of a Christian After Black Tuesday, after they took away fifteen hundred people, various rumors spread about their fate. Some were comforted, and others were saddened. It must be said that the larger part of the populace allowed itself to be lulled by false hopes: nothing bad will happen to those people who were taken away. They will work for a specific period of time, and afterwards they will peaceably be sent home. They could not grasp in their mind, how civilized people could permit so many people to be slaughtered. But there were others who understood the situation differently: this was an extermination initiative, and we will never see them again. However, the one thing no one was able to arrive at, was where were all of these people killed. This was a secret. And our family was the only one that was privileged to uncover this secret, thanks to our father ז"ל, who had many connections with the area Christians. My entire family was killed and unfortunately did not live to see the liberation, so that they could personally be able to speak of this. The details that I relate here were the eyewitness account of a Christian, Stefan Muszalowski, who does not live far from the place where the butchery took place. A short time after ‘Black Tuesday,’ a Christian by the name of Stefan Muszalowski came to us from the village of Glebocz. He came especially to relate the entire story, because he had heard that my brother-in-law had fallen among these hapless people. Before telling us, he made us all swear not to tell anyone, because he was terribly afraid of the Germans. My father ז"ל, was therefore compelled to assure him that nobody would be told. We took this Christian into a second room, where there were no unfamiliar people and locked the door. The Christian then began to speak in this manner: On that same Tuesday, a nice day, the hay in the fields, which had been cut for some time and was as dry as pepper, needed to be gathered quickly from the fields because if the rains came it would get wet again. I was therefore hurried in conveying the hay, shortly before sunset. I was riding with my wagon full of hay back home, from the other side of the forest, and it was necessary to cross through a small part of the forest itself. Even before I got to the forest, I could hear heavy machine gun fire and the loud outcries of people. I could not grasp what was going on here. I thought this to be maneuvers being conducted by the German soldiers. But afterwards I recollected the large pit, that I and other people from or village had dug. At that time, the Germans told us, when we asked them, why this pit was being dug, that this was a place to ‘store potatoes.’ Now, while riding along, everything became clear to me: in place of potatoes they had filled this space with human bodies... The Christian continues his story: I draw near to the forest, and the sounds of shooting and shouting suddenly stop, and it becomes still. Just as I entered the forest, the entire spectacle was yet again repeated: shooting again, and again, the outcries. Along the path through the forest that I was travelling, it was not possible to pass by and not behold the scene that I later saw with my own eyes, because the pit lay about fifty meters to the left of the road. Once again, it became still for a while. I saw nothing. Suddenly, I hear a thick masculine voice, in German: ‘Halt!’ And I had no sooner turned my head to the left, than I saw a German soldier with a machine gun on his back crawling out from between the trees, coming right at me, and so I remained still. The German approached me immediately and ordered me to get down from the wagon, [so] I debarked the wagon with my crop in hand. And I then immediately ask him what he wants of me. He motioned with his hand that I should go with him, because he wants to show me something. His speech was a little bit German and a little bit Polish, and because of this I could understand what he wanted from me. I went with him. It did not take long, and we reached the place of execution. A terrifying picture unfolded before my eyes, when I saw the pit full of fresh corpses that lay like herring packed in a barrel, one thrown on top of the other, twitching like fish on dry land. Around the pit stood about twenty S. S. troops, all visibly dead drunk, watching this whole scene with satisfaction. As soon as they saw me, they immediately called me over to them. One of them then asks me if I am a Pole. I answer in the affirmative. He then indicates that I should go nearer to the pit, and that I should look carefully at the people in the pit. I went over to the pit, looked at the people, and said that they were Jews. As soon as they heard me say this, one of the S. S. men walked over to me and gave me a slap across the face, on one side, and then again on the other. It immediately became dark and bitter for me, and I lowered my head. But not waiting long, the same S. S. man orders me to raise my head a little and pay attention to what else he has to say to me. The same question came again: I am to answer whom it is that I see here in the pit, and for the second time, somehow involuntarily, I blurted out that I did not know. I cannot remember these people, because they are covered in blood, and lie one on top of another. This answer immediately satisfied them, and the translator immediately conveyed to me in Polish: ‘This satisfies us. No one knows, and that suffices.’ These people, the S. S. man says, are war criminals, these are Russians. They made war against us, and for that reason we killed them all. And now, he continues, you now know, you filthy Pole, who these people are. Repeat it, the S. S. man repeated murderously. A heavenly miracle occurred at that time, that a taxi drove up and stopped. A tall man, who was well-dressed emerged, recognizably an officer, and immediately called over several of the S. S. troops to him and quietly whispered something to them. What he had to say, I did not apprehend. The officer immediately ordered the S. S. troops to release me. The S. S. troops immediately called me over, took down my name, and also the address of where I live. The same S. S. man twho brought me there, took me back, crop in hand, to my horse and wagon. I quickly got up into the wagon, flicked the horse and galloped on ahead. Meanwhile, the S. S. man had turned to the side and vanished into the thick pine trees. When I came home – the Christian continues to tell – it was already dark. I went into my hut to tell my wife the whole story. We did not eat our evening meal. For the entire night, I could not shut my eyes to sleep, the entire picture from the forest, the S. S. troops and the pit, the dead bodies stood before my eyes. I lay there thinking about the fact that they wrote down my name. Maybe they will come to take me. Shortly after the liberation, when I had emerged from the dark pit into God’s free world, I also had the privilege of being able to see this [mass] grave, now overgrown, thanks to this same Christian, Stefan Moszalowski. The grave is about twenty meters long and two meters wide. One length looks like a long rake. All around is a bare parcel of field, surrounded by a thick stand of pine trees. As the Christian told me, shortly before the liberation, in the month of June 1944, the Germans brought a party of Jews from Bialystok, who were especially employed to dig up the mass graves in our vicinity and to incinerate the bones. The grave of the Zambrów Jews in the Glebocz Forest was also dug up, and the bones burnt...   A Smoking Ember Rescued from the Fire By Moshe, the son of Berel Lewinsky (From his memoirs, recorded by Joseph Yerushalmi)       The Germans occupied our city a month after the outbreak of the war. Before their arrival, they had bombarded the city and burned about half the buildings, among them the entire Jewish district from the Łomża Road, the synagogue, the houses of study to the cemetery. They were in the city for just ten days, after which, according to their agreement, the Russians entered. They took over what the Germans had left, founded professional cooperatives, and sent some of the well-to-do to Siberia. In July 1941 the Germans came back. This time, they immediately began with repressions, confiscating assets, seizing people for so-called forced labor, etc. On one occasion they rounded up ninety men, among them also aged, such as R’ Tuvia Skocnadek, and they never came back. On a second occasion, they compelled everyone to assemble on the marketplace and seized eight hundred people, among them the aged Rabbi – and they were never seen again.   Moshe Lewinsky We felt that we were going under. We were advised to build a ghetto. We collected money, about three kilos of gold, and obtained permission from the Łomża Gestapo to squeeze ourselves into a ghetto between the Jatkowa Gasse and Swietna-Kszisa – to the river. About two thousand of us people were gathered into that location and surrounded ourselves with barbed wire. We were there from July 1941 to November 1942. In November, we were taken to the vacant barracks buildings. There were about fourteen thousand Jews concentrated there, from Łomża, Wysoka, Czerwin-Bura, Jablonka, Rutki and Szumowo. Those were hard days there, hunger and cold, epidemics and death. Until the Nazis began in January 1943 to transfer a party of Jews each night of about two thousand people through Czyżew to Auschwitz. At the train station at Czyżew it was easy to escape, but nobody knew where to go. While we were still in the ghetto, I fled with my entire family to a peasant, a good friend of mine, but we came back almost immediately because he was afraid to try and hide the entire family. Also, here in Czyżew, when my feet were almost entirely frozen, a peasant called to me and told me to crawl to the outside of the city, and to travel with him to a village. He said he would hide me. This was a friend of mine from the military, and not only once had I done favors for him. With frozen feet, I crawled, holding onto the hollows in the walls – until I got to the outskirts of the city and got into his wagon. However, my entire family went off to Auschwitz. I saved myself in order to be able to tell what happened to us. The peasant kept me for only one day, and on the following morning he told me to travel back to Czyżew, because his wife was afraid to hide me in the house. I went off on foot through the forest, to the first gentile who kept me with the family for a day, and he took me in amicably, trusting the secret only to his son, and did not tell his wife, ‘quartering’ me in a stack of hay. For me it was sufficiently warm there. During the day I lay there, squashed in – at night, I crawled out a bit. I ate dried out bread, and every other day he stealthily brought me a half portion from his dog... I was severely weakened by the bad food, from the lice that pestered me, and from the wounds in my frozen feet. The peasant tended to me, and with a great effort got a hold of a small bottle of naphtha with which to massage my feet. He decided to reveal my hideout to his wife. She became extremely upset, grabbed her children and ran off to her father. However, she calmed down and came back and began to give me a warm bowl of soup each day and washed my shirt. I was there for twenty months. Once, German representatives came and confiscated the hay from the peasant. Everything was laid out in wagons and taken away. I was almost uncovered. My good gentile, however, rescued me, and told me to run behind to the stacks of hay in the fields. There also I was saved by a miracle, because the Germans there were looking for peasants who had fled from forced labor. I entered a bog and sequestered myself there, and I was not taken. I came back to my peasant, and I wanted to surrender myself to the Germans, because I had become severely weakened, confused, and isolated. My peasant gave me hope and comforted me, saying that the Russians were very close to arriving. The Germans began to scour the entire area, and even at that point I experienced a miracle that I was not taken, practically under their noses. As they retreated, they ripped up the entire vicinity. I barely escaped with my life. The Russians found me fainting and like discarded garbage. They interrogated me, gave me food, and told me to run away from this place. There were battles to take place here. I then dragged myself two kilometers to Kolaki and later was able to return to my good gentile. When the front moved on, I went to Zambrów. I found a city that was destroyed. After a great deal of searching, I found one other Jew, Finkelstein from the Wodna Gasse, who had also found sanctuary with a gentile. We took up residence in the attic of Averml Tuchman’s forge on the Bialystok Road. On the morrow, a few other Jews were found: the three Stupnik brothers, a son of Zaydl Tabak, a couple of Jews from Czerowny-Bur. We founded a ‘Jewish colony’ and took up residence in the vacant house of Itcheh Mulyar. Together with Finkelstein, we began to till a small parcel of land. The magistrate helped us out a bit. We saw, however, that our lives were in danger if we remained here. The gentiles were finishing up what the Nazis had not succeeded in doing and were murdering the few who had been left living. So we fled to Lodz, where a larger center of Jews existed, but also here we found no home, despite the fact that there was a way to make a living. Our only home became Israel, and I made aliyah and was satisfied. True, I was orphaned, isolated, without my wife and children.   I remember my good peasant very well, and I write letters to him, and also from time to time I send him a little money to help his family.   I have also not forgotten the Amalekites, despite the fact that their name does not cross my lips.      A Letter from the Other World   Under the ruins of the house at Nowolipki 68, in September 1946, and at the beginning of December 1950, there was found parts of the archive of Emanuel Ringelblum from the Warsaw Ghetto.44 The historical documents were largely published by the Jewish Historical Society and others. Among other items, a letter was found there from our landsman, teacher and leader of Poaeli Zion, Nathan (Noskeh) Smolar, the son of Dovcheh Smolar, dated the 10th of December 1942, in Warsaw. He tells here of his last meeting with his mother, in Bialystok, how the Germans captured his wife, Esther – the well-known teacher in the Zambrów Borokhov School (Poaeli Zion) – with his three year-old little daughter Ninkeleh. [And] how later, how his sister Ethel was captured and killed, who had dedicated her life in Warsaw to raising Jewish children – orphans and homeless ones.   Nathan Smolar was one of the finest Jewish pedagogues and directed a municipal Jewish school. During the ghetto period he was alone – and put forward his struggle for giving a Jewish education, and he was in a fighting group of Jewish intellectuals against the enemy, and as such he fell – on the barricades, among the first active combatants against the Nazi plague. He was among the first instigators of the Ghetto rebellion.   Being isolated and torn away from his family, he believed that the only one who remained alive was his sister in New York, in the Bronx, at 1568 Leland Avenue, Pesha Deitchman. He therefore wrote her a letter, his last letter. However, since contact with America was broken off, he buried the letter in the cache of the ghetto archive of the historian Emanuel Ringelblum, his friend. He believed that we would not be exterminated, and that a day would come when Jewry would again unite and push forward its struggle for a better future. He believed that his letter would reach his sister.   As an aside: he did not know that his younger sister, Esther, the wife of the writer Szlewin, saved herself (is now living in Paris). He also did not know that his younger brother, Hershl, also remained alive, after having fought with the partisans in the Minsk area. (Now, he is in Warsaw, the Chairman of Polish Jewry).

And Here is the Letter:

 

The Smolar Family
 

To the Forest, the Forest! With Bow and Arrow!

Zambrów children from the three cheders, and their teachers: Bercheh Sokol, Fyvel Zukrovich, and
Zerakh Kagan, ז"ל, going to the Forest, with the National Flags at Front, On Lag B’Omer 1918.

My dear sister Pesha Deitchman,

Should I not survive, whoever has the possibility should send over to you this small folio about your family, because here a thousand times more awful things happened.

Your brother Noskeh
 

The family’s Book of Job begins with our dear mother ז"ל, in Zambrów, at the end of July 1941. Even a week earlier, she, the good-hearted one, risked her life for the price of a golden watch (from father’s wedding gifts), and set out on the danger-filled way towards Bialystok, to determine if her children were still alive. She took along a little bag of candy, a bit of kasha and oil for the children, because in Bialystok Jews were already afraid to go out in the street to procure a bit of food. In Bialystok she met up only with me and sister Ethel, after we had fled from Zambrów to Bialystok on the second day of the war. Esther (our sister) had left Bialystok immediately on the first day, and we have no news from her. Herschel (a brother) left on the second day and has remained somewhere among the malefactors. I received regards from him somewhere in the vicinity of Baranovich. Mother traveled back on that very same evening – having spent altogether one day with us. A week later, the German band of murderers entered Zambrów, called together and then drove out the entire shtetl into the streets, about fifteen hundred old and young, men and women with small children were all gathered together, dragged off to the Czyżew vicinity in the forest, where large trenches had already been dug, and there met their end with the others. The news reached us in Bialystok three weeks later. We, especially Ethel, the frail youngest of my mother, so spoiled, took it very badly.

Some time passed, and first I, and then Ethel, left Bialystok and came to Warsaw. Ethel considered herself very fortunate when it fell to me to be able to find her work as a governess in an orphanage. How much heart she gave to those children. How many times did she sit for hours at a time to find a suitable lullaby, or a game for the children, loving them – like a mother loves her own children. Today, there are no more children, there is no more Ethel. I have gotten off the timeline a bit – forgive me, my sister.

It has already been some time since the ‘resettlement’ began (this is the name the Germans have given to the mass-murder of Jews), the beginning of the prelude, the preface to the tragedy: shootings have started in the streets precisely in this fashion: an auto drives by, and from it they shoot Jewish passers-by. In addition to this, there are organized nightly mass shootings, about fifty or so Jews are taken out of their dwellings, taken away several houses from their own, told to turn around and lie down. Later – a new group of one hundred people were taken out of arrest houses and shot: through a notification, we are told, that this is punishment for not obeying the demands made by the German authorities, and that we even resist them. And again there are tens and hundreds of murders. Rumors abound, one worse than the next, circulating that they will drive us out of Warsaw, somewhere outside the city. We could not believe it – could it be possible to drive the Jews out of Warsaw, such a city that was a mother to Jewry, a city of four hundred thousand Jews? We learned on our own that this would certainly happen to the homeless, with those who had fled here, but no way would this happen to those who were born here.

That is, until the trouble started. Placards appeared – all Warsaw Jews – except... and except... would that it would have happened this way, so there would not have been so many victims. Perhaps self-defense would have been established, and such a denouement would not have occurred, that over three hundred thousand Jews, among which there were tens of thousands of young, should be led like sheep to the slaughter.

Exceptions were listed on the notices: except for all those who work in the municipal institutions, in the provisioning organizations, social institutions (the Jewish Help Committee, Centos, TOZ), the manual trades union, and others. Yes, and everyone they take under their protection (and do not have to be sent out), their wives and children.

A stampede began. Until the Jewish police was seen to be sending away all the poorest of the refugees who, had fled here; driving the poor from their houses. who had nothing with which they could buy themselves out of this situation, since ninety percent already had documentation that they belong to the privileged categories and are not required to be sent away.

I too, who was employed by the community – took care of myself by joining a shop – I became a carpenter and after many pains, I was taken under the aegis of a shop, including my wife and child even though she herself was also a community employee.

A panic began: the J. H. K. was no longer recognized: in very short order legitimization by the community will not be tolerated... by contrast: ‘shop’ – that was the talisman, a one hundred percent assurance. In order to verify the rumors, I was pointed out as one, and there another one of the J. H. K. appointed by the community, seized, not paying any heed to legitimacies. When I finally got my ID card with the red stamp of the S. S., I was completely secure and had protected my family, for whom I had acquired a special classification for all the members of my family. To be absolutely sure, and to obtain further protection, I took my wife and child into the factory with me. Other hundreds of shop workers did the same thing. They sat themselves in the yard of the factory (Gensza 30), shoved far into a corner, far from malevolent eyes, and sat there for the day. And when the Angels of Terror – the Jewish police, bands of German S. S., with their Ukrainian, Lithuanian and Latvian accomplices – ended their day’s work, we would go home to lodge for the night. Often we would not undress, because of the continuous night-shootings and wild rumors about night pogroms.

And lo, one day, the talisman of the shop card became voided, and to my misfortune our shop was the first one where this gate was broken down. It was on a Friday, August 7, a sum total of seventeen days after the beginning of the mass-murders. The women and children and the old folks were, as they were every day, seated spread out, way back, hidden deep into the yard, unseen by the outside world, when the S. S. and Ukrainians broke into the rear through a fence in the adjacent yard. The people were wondrously clam. They ordered everyone to get up, line up and head towards the gate, where only the documents would be inspected, everyone has documents – so they went quietly. They came to the gate, but there is no inspection of documents: they proceed further, and anyone who dared to utter a word, to resist, began being beaten with truncheons, pointed rods, right in the face. A few were shot outright – and everyone then proceeds as ordered. We, the men, didn’t even know what was taking place here, because the factory has to be operating on full steam, and each person has to be at their work station. They did not even look into the factory at that time. They gathered everyone together and took them to the assembly place – the modern Golgotha, from which they were led to the train cars to the extermination point at Treblinka, where mass executions took place by gas and shooting.

I hurled myself in vain at this, like a wounded animal in a cage. I ran to the assembly point, paid to find out if Esther, my wife, with Ninkeleh are still here. I sent money, a lot of money, to bribe the police, to Dr. R.⁴⁵ We sent our own factory police. I found out that they were able to avoid getting on the first transport of six thousand people, which had left at 11 o’clock in the morning. But with force and with beating, they were driven out of their hiding places, when the second transport had left that day. Nothing could be done to help them. With a child in her arms, it was not possible to avoid the bleak fate. I received news that she was seen with Ninkeleh, wearing her red jacket, on the way to the train cars.

In vain I expended additional effort, making a telephone call to a person I knew had a business connection to the overseers at the Treblinka camp. He replied that he could provide no help, that everyone there is condemned to death. (He, himself, was later shot there). From that time on, the glow vanished from the shops. It was not only family members who were arrested, but random people – whoever had, or didn’t have a shop ID card. Blockading the shops became a frequent occurrence. It happened in this way: a pair of S. S. men would enter and immediately after them, Ukrainians, who spread through the entire area of the factory, and after them, Jewish police. Everyone is ordered out into the yard. Women and children hide themselves. The Ukrainians search. [They look] for money, watches or other kinds of jewelry. They can be bought off, but often after them come others, and drive people out of their hiding places. Out in the yard an S. S. man goes through the ranks with his riding crop, pulling out this one and that one, those who are told to go to the side, this means – to death. Anyone who does not go immediately is beaten with the riding crop, or as was the case with us in several instances, shot on the spot. Those who have been stood aside squirm, making attempts to run over to the ranks of the ones left behind, but the Jewish police does its job faithfully – and does not permit this. You try to pass them, as you did to the Ukrainians, jewelry, or several hundred zlotys. Much is given to obtain this temporary salvation. Many conceal themselves during these blockades in previously prepared hideouts, thanks to which there remains a small remnant of women. Along with the blockade of the shops, there is a blockade of the housing block of the factory. Everyone is dragged out of there, who have not been able to hide themselves properly, or to bribe their way out of the hands of the Ukrainians. I managed in this way, partly through concealment, and partly through luck, to stay alive until this day...October 12, 1942.

On the night of September 5^th to the 6^th, a new form of misfortune arrives. All the shops, all the ‘platzuvkehs’ who go to work for the Germans on the Aryan side, are going to be disbanded. Everyone has to leave their residence by Sunday, September 6 at 10:00 A.M., and come to the sealed streets (Mila, Slubecki, Stawki). There a fresh registration will take place of all the workers, and those who get through this process will be able to go back to their place. I live on the Mila Gasse, and on that morning of September 6, I stood by the window and looked out. No pen is able to write down a description of the nightmarish picture of that morning.

Tens of thousands of people, faces darkened, all hope given up, unwashed faces, mothers, masses, and masses, wander back and forth. There is helplessness in their gaze. And they go and keep going. And the segregations take place. One part goes back, and the larger part, in the thousands, are led to the assembly point.

A thousand and one stories of tragedy are told by those who survived that day. Who can retell it all? Each word is reliving a tragedy. Our segregation first took place on the fourth day – Wednesday. Every day, we waited for our landlord, the German Henzl, and in the end he came with the good news: our shop is going to remain. It is permitted for five hundred men to stay, and as they remained after so many blockades, there were less than five hundred men, amd it appears that everyone will get to stay. Notwithstanding this, the elderly, women and children, should hide themselves. The remaining men should promptly present themselves.

We waited for the entire day for the S. S. troops who were carrying out the ‘selektion.’ They arrived at about 6:00 P. M., like an angry storm, like a [swarm of] locusts. Leading them was the murderer himself – Brandt. With bloodshot eyes and a hoarse shout, they quickly, quickly took to their ‘work.’ Alert workers in the factory understood how to utilize the psychology of terror and hammered out metallic labels with the initials O. B. W. (Ost-Deutsche Bau-Tischlerie- Warschtatten), with numbers and sold them at three zlotys apiece. These metal labels were called dog tags, and despite this, many bought them as if they were a real talisman, to prevent any and all misfortune. In order to make these metallic labels appear to be significant, they were not given to the women. It was these metallic labels that the S. S. troops took to be an important credential, and anyone who did not have such a tag was sentenced [sic: to death]. With wild shouting, with truncheons and riding crops, and the senior Brandt with a board in his hand, they divided the group up into three camps, and anyone who was sentenced was bestially beaten. Twice, Brandt broke the boards over the backs and the heads of those who did not move quickly enough, who had been sentenced to die. Blood ran freely. And in order to inflame his anger even further, or to justify his perverted actions in the eyes of the civilian German shop owners, he shouted out at every blow: enough, enough, for you, three years we are bleeding because of you Jews, and it is because of you that the German people suffer.

My sister, Ethel, was also among these hundreds of men and women. Her children from the orphanage had long ago been taken away to the usual sacrificial altar. I took her into the factory as my wife and exerted myself to get her a factory ID, a card with the S. S. stamp on it, indicating that she was legitimate according to the rules – and she lived with me. She went to the selektion with confidence. There was no question that she was going to get through. Who could, if not she, a young twenty-two year-old, fresh, beautiful; especially since the desired contingent for the factory had not been filled. As soon as the S. S. had separated out those with the metal tags, and ordered them to return to the factory, a strict blockade was carried out in the housing, dragging people out of the housing and the hideouts, and afterwards taking them to the train cars, and after that not a trace of her.

Additional blockades took place afterwards, internal selektions, and seizures – I, in the meantime, remained.

What happened to my sister Chana and her daughter Belcheh, I do not know. I only know this: The same thing also occurred during November in Zambrów. There, the executions took place in Czeworny-Bor? – I have no news from them.
 

This write-up was found in the Ringelblum Archive. The original is found in the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw:

All the Jews of Zambrów, as well as the Jews from the surrounding vicinity, were packed in by the Germans into the Zambrów barracks. The Łomża Jews brought the elderly with them from their old age home, and the orphans from the city orphanage. Approximately twenty thousand Jews were squeezed into these barracks – without appropriate food, without water, without light or air. There were no sanitary facilities. The overcrowding was frightening. The little food we had taken with us from the ghetto lasted about two weeks.

Shortly afterwards the hunger began to assault us with full force. After much exertion, the Judenrat was able to get a ‘concession’ to gather up the abandoned food that had been left behind in the ghetto and transfer it to the barracks. When we finally got a bit of food, we immediately opened up a community kitchen and immediately provided a warm midday meal to the children, and the elderly, and whatever was left over were distributed to the able-bodied [adults].

Because of the seriously deficient sanitary conditions, a typhus epidemic broke out. People dropped like flies. With the expenditure of a great deal of effort, we managed to organize a hospital in that place, and with great difficulty we acquired a little bit of medicine from Skrozhnik’s pharmacy, where I had previously been employed. By whatever means, under these given awful conditions, we managed to run a small pharmacy. It is worth mentioning the dedication and extraordinary relationship of the Jewish doctors, who were with us, as for example -- Dr. Knott from Łomża (now in Israel) and others. They stood at their post and served the sick day and night.

The moment of the liquidation arrived. The Germans mobilized a mass of peasants with wagons, and every night they transferred about two thousand men from the barracks to the close-by train station at Czyżew, loaded them onto special sealed train cars, and then transported to somewhere. When someone tried to ask: ‘Where are they taking us,’ the cynical reply was: to a labor camp, where each person will be able to work at his own trade, without overcrowding or hunger. I was in the last transport, which left Zambrów on December 27, 1942 (19 Tevet 5703). The camp commandant came to the senior member of the Judenrat with a proposal: he had, in his possession, a kilogram of Veronal⁴⁶ – he wanted to use the drug to put the children, the old and the sick, to sleep permanently, who were not fit to work and will not be able to survive the difficult trip. No one took up this satanic proposal. Despite this, they managed to achieve their goal, and they poisoned about two hundred of the old and infirmed.

At the last moment, when I needed to leave the barracks, I ran through the rooms to see if anyone was still left. To my great heartache, I saw about two hundred children, elderly and the weakened, lying sunk in a deep sleep and a rattle coming out of their throats. This was their last death rattle that pierced the air. I immediately grasped what was going on here, and from my heart I tore out the old, sorrowful blessing: ‘Baruch Dayan HaEmet!’ That death rattle followed me for the entire journey, and with weeping and pain I stuck with the solitary brethren who yet remained alive, who are now going to experience a train journey of unknown nature, over which death was fanning us with its wing.

We were five days taken on this journey, without food or water. Small children, neglected, lay whimpering: they pleaded for a bit of bread and a bit of water. From time to time, we scraped off the bits of ice from the small train car windows, and gave it to the children to revive them somewhat. We finally arrived in Auschwitz-Birkenau on January 3, 1943 (26 Tevet). There we met up with about ten percent of those who had come on the transports that had arrived to date, that were yet alive. All the others had given up the ghost and breathed their last in the gas chambers. The ones who remained alive were sentenced to hard labor in the death camp...

And this is how I got through this gruesome period and was liberated twenty-eight months later by the liberating American army, in Munich, on May 15, 1945.
 

We Organize a Partisan Group By Yitzhak Stupnik (Buenos Aires)

My brother Yankl and I managed to wriggle out of the Zambrów ghetto and went off to work in the ‘Pniew sheds,’ a colony not far from Czeworny-Bur, near the swampy Pniew Forest. We worked there for a prosperous peasant, Wiszniewski. We figured out that when our situation would become difficult, we will flee directly into the forest. My older brother Moshe was in the Łomża ghetto. On one Saturday we went over to Czeworny-Bur. The Jews there were being harassed minimally, because they were needed there to work. Once there we remained until Sunday. Sunday, after the noon hour, the news spread with lightning speed that all the roads are surrounded by gendarmes, so that no one could flee, and the gentiles in the area had received a forceful order to come with their wagons to transfer the Jews from Czeworny-Bur to the Zambrów barracks. We came up with the idea by ourselves... we decided to flee at any price. Riding on horses, the gentiles searched for Jews who had fled into the fields and brought them back to the Germans. They received either a half liter of whiskey, or a kilo of sugar for each Jew that they could seize this way. The Soltis of Czeworny-Bur himself got on one knee and aimed his gun at a Jewish boy who had saved himself and was running in the filed, just as if he were shooting a wild duck, as was reported by other gentiles... In the dark we managed to wriggle out into the forest with a few other Jews. Before dawn we saw some human form shadows moving towards us. We were frozen: it was our brother Moshe from the Łomża ghetto. They too were confined in order to transfer them to Zambrów. A member of the Judenrat, a young man from Zambrów, Baumkolier, accidentally happened to learn about the aktion, and he quickly let all the Jews know: save yourselves as best you can, flee! Accordingly, certain individuals fled, among them my brother, Moshe. He ran the whole night to Czeworny-Bur, to us. We then decided not to separate and to remain together. We decided to go back to the Pniew sheds at night. At the edge of the forest we espied a peasant’s hut. Moshe, who looked like a peasant, went into it to ask for something to eat. We waited at a distance. He came out quickly, and a band of gentile thugs began to chase him, in order to turn him over to the Germans. We immediately came to the aid of our brother with sticks, which we had hacked off the trees, and the gentile thugs ran off. We dragged ourselves to the shed at night. The Wiszniewski family took us back, let us spend the night in the loft of the stall, gave us food to eat – but very strenuously encouraged us stay in the forest during the day, and that only at night could we come to eat and sleep. In the morning, both our lives and their lives were in danger. We remained there for four weeks: in the forest during the day, at night, up in the loft. Our brother Moshe was counted as a friend, not as a brother. We met up in the forest with other remnants from our vicinity, from Gać, etc., and we decided to form a partisan group at our own risk, in the Pniew Forest.

It was about six months after the liquidation of the Zambrów ghetto. Alone and dejected, we wandered in the forests, hiding by day and looking for something to eat by night. We had no connection to Polish partisans, and when we did come in contact [with them], it would be to our detriment – they would have killed us, being no better than the Germans. When we discovered several others in the forest who had escaped death, such as Israelkeh Gebel, the butcher from Gać, his son, Zelik, with his wife and three small children, the two Rudnik brothers, Isaac Burstein (also a butcher), Yossl Kwiatek and others, we decided to organize ourselves into a ‘partisan brigade,’ procure arms, and fight the enemy. My brother Yankl was nominated as the Commandant, and we found a suitable location in the Pniew Forest for our headquarters. With an enormous amount of effort, we procured some arms with a limited number of ammunition rounds from the peasantry. On one morning, a peasant was drawing near to us, with an unsteady gait. We immediately went on alert, because he had become suspicious to us. With fear in his eyes, the peasant got closer and expressed his feeling regarding our plight and began to tell us that at his location, under the roof of his barn, a man and his wife are hidden who are Jews, and they need to be rescued because the surrounding neighbors had sniffed them out and will turn them over to the Germans. The Polish groups from the A. K. (Armia Krajowa) circulate in the area, and they kill off the remaining Jews.

We quickly took counsel and decided to carefully proceed and rescue these two Jewish people, according to the signs that the peasant had given us. My brother Mishka was designated as the one to lead the mission. Late at night, with his gun loaded, he came up to the barn. He climbed up to the eaves, and he heard an intake of breath in the straw. Mishka whispered in the dark: I am a Jew, having come to rescue you! Come out and tell me who you are? – I am Motl Sh. from Myszyniec, a male voice responded. – And I am Rashkeh Ch. from Lomzyca, a querulous female voice answered. A shudder ran through Mishka’s bones, as soon as he heard the name of Motl Sh. He was a well-known informer who had cooperated with the Germans in the Łomża ghetto and had brought no small number of Jewish lives to an end, and later caused troubles in the Zambrów ghetto. Mishka didn’t lose control of himself and said: I cannot rescue two at a time, therefore let Rashkeh Ch. come with me first. Out of a great deal of grief and joy, Rashkeh forgot to put on her shoes and ran barefoot with me. When we were on our way, she realized that she couldn’t step on the pointed little stones and must go and get her shoes. Mishka did not let her go back, told her to wait at the entrance to the forest and went back alone to look for the shoes. Looking for the shoes in the straw, Mishka noticed persons wearing short leather jackets, besieging the barn, lighting it up with flashlights – they sensed that there were Jews there... Mishka immediately jumped down and stationed himself behind a wagon, with his gun in hand. One of them drew nearer to him. Mishka did not want to waste a bullet on him, he silently gave his a blow in the head with the butt of his gun to the heart. That individual immediately fell to the ground and Mishka fled to the forest. They shot at him in the dark, but did not hit him. Motl Sh. also fled, saving himself, and before dawn found our location. He stood before us with his head down and said nothing. We decided to try him. After Israelkeh the Butcher, and others told us about the Jewish victims in the Łomża ghetto that fell because of Motl, also informing on the secret means of procuring food for the Jews, the new refugees who arrived in the ghetto, etc., until the senior in the Łomża Judenrat, Mr. Mushinsky, became aware through a German, that Motl was a provocateur and is turning over all this information to the Germans. Mushinsky then allowed him to be arrested and confined to the cellar of the Judenrat. The Germans then let them know that all the Łomża Jews would be held accountable for him. He was released, and he went off to Zambrów... it pained us that millions of our brethren were killed while innocent, and this bandit remained alive here and was standing in front of us. Our ‘tribunal’ sentenced him to death.
 

A Scion of Zambrów – Leader of the Minsk Ghetto Fighters

Herschel, the son of Dovcheh Smolar was enthralled with communism as a youngster. He served six years in the Łomża prison. When the Red Army entered Łomża, they set him free. In accordance with party orders, he penetrated the Minsk ghetto in order to secretly lead the anti-fascist resistance groups. Afterwards, Smolar went over from Minsk to the partisans, and received an array of distinguished medals from the Red Army, and today he is the head of the central committee of Polish Jewry. In the year 1946, his book, ‘The Minsk Ghetto’ was published in Moscow in 1946 by the ‘Emes’ publishing company – where all the terrifying deeds of the Nazis are recounted. We bring here, a summary of a long article (eight hundred lines in close penmanship) that was dedicated in ‘Einikeit’ of 28 September 1944 – an organ of the Jewish anti-fascist committee in the Soviet Union.		H. Smolar

... Herschel Smolar, the thirty-five-year-old young man, had no other option but to fall into the paws of the bestial enemy in the Minsk ghetto. He could have gotten Aryan papers and resided among the gentiles, but he said instead: I am after all, a Jew, and my place is among Jews. He immediately went to work as the commandant for the underground resistance company that had only one objective: strike the enemy by all means. Smolar was already seasoned at this work: it is already eleven years that he is working illegally in the party, including his six years in prison, until the Red Army freed him. He had contacts in the surrounding vicinity by clandestine means. [In the outside world] he was known as Yefim Stoliarewicz. After a few weeks he needed to arrange for the municipal hospital to attend to the sick with infectious diseases. The location was created for him by Dr. Leib Kulik. The Germans did not interfere in the affairs of the hospital a great deal, being afraid to become infected themselves. It was here that the resistance units were organized, and it was here that poisons and all manner of other dangerous materials were prepared in order to poison the food and drink of the enemy, by Jewish workers and cooks. It was from here that armed wings would sally forth and assault the German provision trucks, food storage dumps, leather supplies, manufactured goods, sugar, etc., and distribute this booty within the ghetto. When the dangerous Stoliarewicz was being intensely hunted by the Gestapo – Smolar left the area. The Judenrat received an order to turn in Stoliarewicz –- if they failed to do so, they will pay for it with their heads. So, the head of the Judenrat, Joffe, fell upon a stratagem: a night before this the Nazis had assaulted a large house and killed about seventy men. They then put false papers on the body of one of the dead men under the name of Stoliarewicz, bloodied him up, and brought him to the Gestapo commandant. At this point, Smolar needed to conceal himself even from Jewish eyes, and he was brought into the hospital on a cot by sanitary workers, concealing him among the severe typhus cases, and his bed became the general headquarters of the underground resistance company. It was here that he organized the plan to send out groups of one hundred and fifty men at a time secretly, and to connect up with the partisans in the Naliboki Forests. Everyone began to search for ammunition for these resistance groups. On July 23, 1942, Tisha B’Av, the Nazis made a bloodbath in the ghetto. For four days and four nights, they shot and murdered. Smolar was stuck away in the space between a double wall in the hospital. The Nazis shot and killed all of the sick, and Smolar stayed between the walls and carried on from there. This was until a messenger came to him from the party central command, from twenty-two year-old Maria Gorokhova, who worked as a cook in the German kitchen, and together with another girl who was Jewish, Emma Rodowa, got Smolar out of the ghetto. As a carpenter, he was now living in the most dangerous house, in the Gestapo building, and above him was the senior German commander Kuba. They came to transfer him to the partisans after six weeks. He traversed ten kilometers with the trusted individual and gave no sign of connecting with them. He returned and hid himself with a woman, a lecturer in medical courses – under a bed, covered with sacks and valises. Later he was taken to a railroad employee at night where he slept, and the Gestapo came knocking at the door. Smolar jumped through the window, onto the roof in his nightshirt. He scrunched himself up on the roof, in order not to be noticed. When it quieted down he went back inside through the window. His companions were arrested. The Germans sealed up the house. Smolar gathered up his borrowed papers and set out on the road. He wandered for seventeen days until he reached the partisan company and became its commander, according to the order of the Party. Then Smolar began to carry out a new accounting with the enemy.
 

The Third Fire By Isaac Malinowicz (The Bronx)

 

A Banquet on Israeli Independence Day. A Group of Zambrów Landslayt in America,
with Mr. and Mrs. I. Malinowicz drink a ‘L’Chaim’ to the Zambrów Survivors.
 

The ‘Special Cave’ Devoted the Memory of European Jewry on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, is comprised of monuments to the destroyed Jewish Communities. The first one, to the left, is the Zambrów Memorial Tablet, and standing beside it is the Representative of the Society of Jews from Łomża and Zambrów in Argentina, Ch. H. Rudnik, of blessed memory.

They would say that when the lovely summer arrives, the fires start. Every summer, entire towns would burn down, with Jewish assets, Jews of means, balebatim, craftsmen, would pitiably be left without a roof over their heads or a bite of bread for the children.

The fire did not spare our Zambrów either. The first fire, which burned down practically the entire shtetl, broke out on a Friday just before candle lighting. It was a hot summer day in 1895. Women and men always liked to tell about the great fire, with the added groan: ‘we should not even think of anything burning today, the way it burned back then...’ Whole stories would circulate around town about this. Some simply said that in the smithy by the river, on the Ostrog Road, there was a shipment of illegal merchandise that had been bought from the soldiers, and this had been ignited, and spread the fire all over the town, with its straw-thatched roofs. Others said: If God wills it, a straw roof does not burn and gunpowder doesn’t explode. Rather, the city had sinned against the maggid R’ Eliakim Getzel, and he cursed the city – and his holy words had come to pass. And you can see a sign of this, adds an elderly Jewish woman, with a sigh: the fire broke out precisely after midday on Friday, when the men were taking a steam bath, preparing for the coming of the Sabbath. Others were still out making their rounds through the villages of the vicinity, and those that were indeed home were working hard to get finished in time for the Sabbath. A garment, a shoe, a hat – not well slept, exhausted by the entire week’s labor, barely able to make it to the little bit of Sabbath, to rest a bit and catch a little sleep. The womenfolk worked hard to get the Holy Sabbath into their homes, cooking, baking, getting the cholent ready, cleaning, washing, and here, suddenly, totally unanticipated: a fire from God cascaded over the city...

So, afterwards. two times seven good years went by, the shtetl quickly and beautifully had rebuilt itself, the new barracks that were built, the two divisions of soldiers in the city – provided a source of income, so that in very short order, houses were constructed with tin roofs or covered with roof tiles, some with shingles, but no longer with straw. A very attractive commercial street was set up, the Kościelna Gasse, with wooden sidewalks, stone and concrete houses with balconies. The city was revitalized, but that great fire was often recalled: so-and-so got married ‘after the fire,’ that one was born ‘after the fire,’ there simply was no other point of reference that had comparable significance.

That is, until... the second fire occurred.

This, indeed, was on a Saturday night, immediately after Havdalah, when everyone was home, well-rested, and having gotten some sleep still dressed in their Sabbath finery. This was May 1, 1909. The workers did not strike on the first of May, because that day was a sort of Sabbath to them, and in general it was rather quiet in the city, not like the year 1905. Along with another couple of young boyfriends, we were sitting at the ‘booth’ on the Pasek, drinking soda water with red syrup, joking with one another when we suddenly heard a shout: Alert, there is a fire. Where is the fire? – At the barracks, the mangel near the capitan is on fire. So we ran home. The fire was already close to us, the Jews having relied too much on the gentile firefighters, because there were no Jews in the firefighting command structure. One Jew, Gordon the ‘Tiefer’ was a firefighter, and no other... an anti-Semitic attitude reigned in the shtetl, this being not long after crucifixes had been broken in the cemetery, for which the Jews were blamed, and because of this, instead of throwing water to extinguish the flames, the gentiles threw gasoline on the Jewish houses, and because of this the Jewish part of Zambrów burned for that entire night, taking down the largest part of the city, up to the middle of the marketplace and about five hundred Jewish houses were burned down.

A variety of curious things took place around the shtetl:

One Jewish man, a gabbai in the Chevra Kadisha, shouted out into the street: ‘Jews, come and help me perform rescue.’ He was dragging a very heavy box. So he was given assistance, and the box was taken away to some place on the Ostrog Road. Everyone thought: there is bedding inside, laundry, jewelry, candlesticks, but it was later found out that the box contained soil from the Land of Israel... He actually permitted his bedding and clothes to simply get burned...

A second person was storing his daughter’s dowry in his oven, not trusting to turn it over to earn interest. He shouted: ‘Jews, help, the oven is on fire...'

On the following morning, wagons laden with bread arrived from Łomża, from Bialystok, and from other neighboring towns. Also, this time, the shtetl was quickly rebuilt. By and large, the homes were insured, and the Jews took on fire protection, borrowed a bit, and built even nicer houses, mostly of stone, concrete construction, with balconies and pretty stores in front. There was a living to be made, and the homeless erected barracks for themselves on the marketplace, and life began to normalize itself. However, there was one thing that Jewish Zambrów won from this fire: many Jews signed up into the firefighters’ brigade. While it is true that the anti-Semitic commanders, like the pharmacist Skarzynski, and his deputy, the Prussian, Baker, looked askance at the Jewish firefighters, but they had no right to forbid it. Accordingly, every Sunday, the Jews would put on their firefighters’ caps (the satin covered helmets were not made available to them so quickly...), and went to conduct an ‘exercise.’ They would stop the formation at some spot and drill, or just plain crawl up on a roof, and wield the axes or a hook against the burning roof. In time, the Jewish firefighters became the best in the shtetl.

Until the third fire came along – after thirty-two years...

The city had changed considerably. Government changed hands -- Czarist, German, Polish, Bolshevik, and again German. All of then excelled at one thing: their enmity towards the Jews. At the end of 1941, the Jewish section of Zambrów burned down for the third time, but this fire was the most terrifying. After this, it was no longer rebuilt, and will never be rebuilt forever. It is told that this too, took place on the Sabbath. It was not a summery Sabbath day, but rather a frosty day in December. The Jews who had been held in the Zambrów barracks were brought to Auschwitz before dawn that day, where they were crowded in together with the Jews of Łomża and other Jews from the vicinity. That Saturday, it was not the houses of Zambrów that were burned, but rather the living souls of the residents of Zambrów...

We counted: the first fire, the second fire, but it is the third fire that will eternally remain in our memory. Our living Zambrów residents were carried off with the smoke and the gas, and they will never come back to us...
 

Memories of a Yahrzeit

 

The United Zembrower Society recently purchased $10,000 worth of State of Israel Bonds.

Right to Left: Sam & D. Stein, Joe Savetsky, David Stein, Joe Waxman, I. Cooper (President),
M. Monkash (representing the Israel Bond Organization), G. Tabak, Isaac Malinovich, Ben Cooper.
 

On the 18^th Memorial Day, dedicated to the Annihilation of Zambrów ( Tel Aviv 1961).

Right to Left: M. Bursztyn, L. Golombek, J. Jabkowsky, Ahuva Greenber, Chaim-Yossl Rudnik (Argentina), Zvi Zamir (Slowik), Cantor Wilkomirsky, Gershonovich, Dr. Yom-Tov Lewinsky.
 

From that beautiful, living Zambrów, all that remained were four mass graves, somewhere or another, without a marker and without a name. No one knows where to go to pay respect to one’s ancestors.

The First Grave was at the long military trenches in Szumowo.

This was in the middle of summer, on the 19^th of August. All around, things were flowering and growing. As usual, the sun was sending its rays into the world. The German beat, then ordered us to gather at the marketplace in Zambrów on a beautiful clear Tuesday. The Germans selected fifteen hundred men, the best among the Jews, along with the Rabbi and the Yeshiva headmaster, and drove them all off to Szumowo, into a church building or a church school, divided them up into groups in accordance with their crafts, by age, and until ten o’clock at night, the trench in the Glebocz Forest became filled with the dead, and the living dead...

Today, this blood-soaked place is covered in wild grass and forest trees. Cattle graze there. And who is to say that late in the dark nights, that the solitary groan does not reverberate about, the echoes of orphaned wailing, the weeping of fathers and mothers, the sighing of sisters and brothers? Who knows?

The Second Mass Grave, takes us to Kosaki. Three weeks later, at the beginning of September, an additional fifteen hundred men were driven to that location. This consisted of about nine hundred from Zambrów and about six hundred from Rutki, and they were all thrown alive into a mass grave. The earth at that location heaved for hours on end, like fermenting dough – until those who were buried this way eventually asphyxiated and died, and no longer twitched in their grave. Wild grass grows there today, dogs howl on dark nights. The ‘God-fearing gentiles’ cross themselves, when they travel past this place... Jews are no longer here. There is no one to recite a Kaddish at this terrifying place.

The Third Grave is someplace behind the Zambrów barracks. On December 27, 1942 (19 Tevet 5703) the inhuman Germans could no longer stomach the suffering of the two hundred elderly and sick Jews in the ghetto hospital. They were all dosed with Veronal barbiturate, and put permanently to sleep. The last of their death rattle reverberated through the empty barracks for hours on end, until they lapsed into unconsciousness.

Very quietly the murderers disposed of the dead bodies, and to this day no one knows where their remains are to be found...

The Fourth Grave, the last one, somewhere in the gas ovens of Auschwitz... Here our Zambrów martyrs were exterminated en masse. Here hundreds and thousands of Jews were burned alive and asphyxiated, from all over Europe. It is here that a world of Jews must come to recite the Kaddish...

And yet, the world continues on its trajectory, the sun continued to bestow its light, and the earth brings forth its fruit.

As to the ‘old home’ from that sacred Jewish Zambrów, somewhere or another, four graves were created – without a marker, without a name...

 

The Survivors, After the Holocaust

The Heart-rending Results As soon as the war between Poland and Germany broke out, Zambrów was cut off from the surrounding world. And so it was with all of Poland.   During the short Russian occupation a few letters from Zambrów managed to get through and here. Once again we present a letter from Israel Kossowsky and his son Aryeh Kossowsky in Israel. A variety of rumors surrounding the mistreatment of the Jews and the suffering of Polish Jewry circulated around the world – one’s heart became embittered and angered [because] the reach of the hand was too short to extend help...   After that frightful war, the heart-rending results of what had occurred to our ‘alter haym’ began to become visible: everything had been wiped off with fire and sword, and that which remained by some miracle fell into the hands of the [sic: gentile] Poles. Shamelessly they took possession of assets that were openly and justly the property of Jews. They killed off those few surviving Jews (such as Beinusz Tykoczinsky, Hillel-Herschel Shiniyak, et al) after victory had already been declared against the Germans, who had struggled with death against the Germans and managed somehow to survive – doing so, in case they will come and demand their just legacy from their Christian Zambrów neighbors.     Those Who Vanished in the Fire A remnant of survivors from Zambrów did remain. About a minyan of Jews had managed to save themselves from the gas ovens in Auschwitz and remained forlorn, exhausted, with no strength to continue the struggle for life any further (such as Yankl Stupnik, Chaim Kaufman, Fyvel Slowik, et al). A minyan of Jews hid themselves, using [sic: forged] Aryan papers, among the gentiles in the partisan groups in the forests, such as Herschel Smolar, Elazar Wilimowski, and the three partisan Stupnik brothers. And another minyan came from Russia, those who were left from the ones who had been exiled to Siberia as either bourgeois or Zionists, such as  Zayda Piorko, the son of Moshe the Butcher, Shlomo Pekarewicz, two sons of Herschel the Tinsmith (who were in the Russian Army), David Regensberg, the Rabbi’s grandson, Israel Rabinovich, son of the melamed Mendl Olsha, Motya’s son-in-law, Yitzhak Gorodzinski (son of Leibl the Watchmaker) with his family, et al.   Two Central Addresses: Jerusalem - New York The Devil himself has not created the instruments for exacting vengeance for the spilled blood of small children.                                                                                                                                                          - Ch. N. Bialik      The Precious School Children of Zambrów                                       Survivors of Zambrów Among Other Refugees in Lodz (1946) These very survivors did not even know of each other’s existence. They needed one central address to which they could turn, and to get back addresses from that central point, as well as news and help. And these were the two such points: In Israel, Jerusalem, with the Jewish Agency – the general – ‘Office for the Location of Relatives,’ – a facility to locate friends; and in New York, consisting of the Help Committee of the Zambrów Jews. during the time of its active existence (it has only been active until now), the ‘Office for the Location of Relatives,’ in Jerusalem that found hundreds of thousands of addresses and tens of thousands of Jews who were then connected to their relatives who had been saved. It reunited families, got children returned to their parents, sisters and brothers reunited, etc. Not the least among them were Zambrów Jews.   The Zambrów Help Committee in New York was especially active on behalf of those Zambrów Jews who had saved themselves and survived.   The Food Packages   :        The Management of the evening classes for young workers says "good-bye" to its active member, Mr. Moshe Eitzer, on the occasion of his departure to Argentina (1921).     A Maccabi Demonstration and Gathering in the Market Square (1918)       On the Memorial Evening Ceremony Dedicated to the Memory of the Exterminated Jews of Zambrów (Tel Aviv, 1961)   As soon as they received the general lists of survivors in the camps and saw someone from Zambrów, they immediately sent out a food parcel with clothing and asked for an answer, and to document: who is the individual, which members of his family are living in America, where would he like to move to, and like questions. It was in this manner that the Zambrów committee sent out thousands of valuable packages of food containing, for example, canned meat, milk, honey, butter and oil, tea, sugar, cocoa, etc., and valuable packages with clothing and suits, jackets, underwear, etc. Even when the address was not sufficiently certain and precise, the committee took the risk and sent the packages. And this got the package recipients back on their feet, and if the produce or clothing was not appropriate or didn’t fit – they either sold it or exchanged it for something else. The sick got the most expensive medicines by air mail, such as penicillin and cortisone, to be administered by injection.   Zambrów landslayt concentrated themselves in specific cities such as in Bialystok (Stupnik, Slowik, Finkelstein, with the little boy Beinusz, etc.), in Lodz (headed by Moshe Levinsky), or in Zambrów itself. In Milan [sic: Italy] Yankl Stupnik, Moshe Pekarewicz, Menachem Blumstein, the Topols, with their daughters and son-in-law). One of them was designated as the Representative and Trustee, and [they] sent over tens of thousands of dollars for the Zambrów landslayt, providing for ship tickets if someone had expressed a desire to travel somewhere to take up residence, and with resources to get themselves settled even here in the current location, etc.   Moshe Eitzer and Joseph Savetsky And let this be the place where we recall, with respect and affection, the two landslayt from Zambrów, the leading people in the Zambrów Relief Committee, who held the position of Secretary, answering hundreds of letters with brotherly warmth, and implemented the help activities: Moshe Eitzer (Ejzer) [who introduced himself in his the letters as son of Baylkeh and Abraham the Barrel Maker, and a grandson of Shakhna the Shoemaker. His wife, Pauline, was a daughter of Motl Shafran], and Joseph Savetsky, the son-in-law of Chaycheh Kozhol the Baker.   I had the opportunity to read over one hundred letters from Zambrów refugees to these two mentioned individuals, about what they accomplished with their letters of encouragement and rapid help. Everyone on the committee pitched in and helped with heart and soul. As is related in the letters, how R’ Yaakov Karlinsky, David Stein, Shmuel Stein, Sholom Abner Borenstein, Louis Fav, Leibl Molitsky, Hirsch Kukowka, Moshe Borenstein, Isaac Malinowicz, Nathan Barg, Joseph Wierzbowicz-Waxman, Yitzhak Rose, et al.   Joseph Savetsky is especially mentioned in tens of letters. This generous man of the people and honest, committed activist was elevated in these letters by the survivors to the level of a legend. Like a father, a  generous-hearted father, he stood and helped. He answered correspondences promptly, sending many tens of letters a week. I read part of those he sent to his suffering brethren, written in his clear handwriting. He found a word of comfort for everyone, understanding what the other person felt. He would send one person only money, another only food, a third a raincoat and a pair of boots, a fourth, tea with cocoa, knowing who each of these people were, where they were, and where he was thinking of going to. We must be proud of such a brother and with this kind of devotion.   From ‘A Bintl Briv’   [The following] are excerpts from a rather large portfolio of correspondence which is in our possession, from those first years after the [Second World] War. They shed light and provide context regarding the plight of the refugees and the many-branched relief activities of the American Help Committee.   A Letter from Fyvel Slowik         Zambrów, July 25, 1945 Dear Gedalia,   ... it is now a couple of months since I was liberated from the German camps. I struggled with death from all manner of causes: hunger, cold, illness. Thanks to my strong body and my strong will to survive against the Germans and exact vengeance from them, I remained alive. From the camp I traveled home immediately. I figured that I might meet up with some of my own, my only sister, Zambrów Jews... and I wandered about, and I was alone, not sure whether I will wake up tomorrow alive. They reside, the Poles do, in Jewish houses, Jewish bakeries, Jewish factories, and if they should spy a Jew, they think that he is coming to claim what is his, and therefore he needs to be wiped off and gotten out of the way...  Fyvel Slowik   From a Letter Written to Joseph Savetsky      February 22, 1946 ...You ask: is it possible to prepare a list of those from Zambrów who are still alive? It is difficult. Because a small part of them were driven off into Russia, and we know nothing of what happened to them. Several of the Zambrów families came together in Zambrów, a few from the surrounding villages, and thought about establishing a new community, and to begin rebuilding the city anew from this. Practical considerations showed that our lives were not safe, that the Poles are no better than the Germans, and it is dangerous to go out into the street. So everyone fled to Lodz, to Wroclaw, etc. At this day in Zambrów, the following are found: Shlomo Pekarewicz – returning from Russia, Itka Morozowicz with a child – a scion of Łomża, who was hidden by a Christian. The writer of these lines – Fyvel Slowik, a baker, arriving alive from the German camps, and Moshe Levinsky. This is all of Zambrów... your packages that you are sending us are keeping us alive, and in our heart there still flickers a spark of human love: we still have brethren in America...    Zambrów, July 22, 1946 ... I am the only Jew in Zambrów. A few landslayt are holding themselves together in Bialystok and Lodz. I saw Berl Sokol in Bialystok. The Stupniks, Givner, Golombek. I am here alone. My life here is also not secure – but my life, in any event, is broken... from time to time the feeling is awakened in me that it is necessary to marshal the resources to rebuild everything from anew...   ... after a great deal of effort, I found my brother, in Mexico City. I am waiting for exit papers to arrive from him...   Fyvel Slowik   Chaim Kaufman to J. Savetsky          Lineburg, Germany, January 1946 ... have you perhaps heard from, or received a letter from Yankl Stupnik, a shoemaker? I was together with him in Auschwitz until last year. I, and many other Jews, have much to thank him for, in that we are still alive. The entire time he worked in the camp as a shoemaker and helped everyone out...   ... write to Moshe Levinsky about me, that I am to be found in Germany in the British Zone. He will be happy to know this, because before we were sent off to Auschwitz, I advised him to approach the Christians he knew in connection with being hidden by them, and he did this. I also wanted to do this, but because of my mother, I did not do so; my conscience did not permit me to abandon her to be alone – so I placed my life in danger for my mother. It is for my mother’s sake that I have remained alive.   ... I work in a big hospital as a pharmacist, and [I] get a hundred cigarettes a month for this, lunches, and three hundred and sixty marks, and there is nothing available to purchase with this money.   ...You certainly knew Aharon Leibl Karlinsky, a very reliable person, whom I became friendly with towards the end. He worked for the Russians as an employee, and his older son also earned a wage. As soon as the Germans arrived they dragged the first fifty men away, among which were Karlinsky and his son. His wife, Sarahkeh was left by herself, until she was taken away to Auschwitz...     Lineburg, March 10, 1946 ... In the previous week I received a letter from my friend Leibiczuk Golombek in Israel. He wrote me that Beinusz Mikuczinsky [along] with Hillel Shiniak were murdered by Poles, six days before the arrival of the Russians. I cried very intensely when I heard this news. I had advised Beinusz that he should attempt to conceal himself among the gentiles. I was certain that he would survive the Germans. You cannot conceive of the extent to which Beinusz helped me and others in the ghetto. Together with him, I had the oversight for the sanitary conditions in the ghetto. There was no such thing as a job too difficult that Beinusz didn’t manage to see through. He was a loyal comrade for all of the Jewish people.   ... I heard that Dr. Grunwald and his wife and children are in Lodz. I must tell you that he received much in the way of earnings from the last times. He was the only doctor in the ghetto.   ... Yesterday, I received papers from my cousin to be able to travel to America. I immediately went off to Hamburg and registered in the American consulate. ‘Also you send me papers,’ she writes to me, which will make it easier for you to obtain an American visa. After several months, I will leave this dark ‘camp life’ forever. My friend Brenner, from Wysokie Mazowieckie, also received papers to travel to America. Think of this: we are managing to hold on here from Auschwitz and [Bergen] Belsen, and also here in the camp... the foreign hospital where I used to work has been closed up – and so, once again, I am without work and without food.   Dearest Joseph, I thank you yet again for the package and for your letter. I get a letter from my friends in Israel every other day. Also from friends from America, such as Malka Koven-Scheinkopf,  Joseph Wierzbowicz-Waxman, and others, who write to me.   Please send regards to [my] friend Moshe Eitzer. I have a great deal to tell him about Freidkeh Shafran, his mother-in-law. She clung to my mother up to the last minute...   ... from the family: Shlomo was taken away immediately with the first transport to Szumowo. His wife and children, as well as Basheh with the oldest of the sisters, were in the ghetto until the last day. They had a good place to live, with   Menachem Dunowicz, in a new house...   ... regarding Nehemiah’s (Golombek) family, I remember how his brother’s wife was taken away in the first transport, meaning (Meir) Bronak’s daughter, their little girl remained alone, a very pretty little girl – who later died in the ghetto, while Bronak and his older son and his young wife, Leibl Rosing’s daughter, also went off in the first transport...         September 25, 1946 I received the package and letter today. You are so punctual with your writing and mailing: in a week’s time, I have an answer from you, and a package takes only five weeks. All of the packages that you send to my address arrive regularly, and I divide the contents up, in accordance with your instructions on that same day.   You did well in looking up the friends of Yossl Schmidt and made an effort with the Rutkers to help him.   ... Who has returned from Russia? It is interesting to me to find out, if those who were sent there are returning. I am imagining the multi-branched and tireless work you do in writing so many letters, so many people to reply to, to fulfill their requests, to try and locate their relatives and to help them...   ... together with a partner I have opened a wholesale pharmacy, because I received a good recommendation from the Red Cross for the work I did at the hospital that has since been closed. It is possible that it will develop into a good business, even though I strive to flee this place. I am among the few that have abandoned the sordid life of the camps and have moved over to the city, in order to achieve some independence. I am occupied here with community work, and in the Jewish society...   ... You cannot imagine the joy with which I received the letter from my elderly Rebbe, written in the style of Sholem Aleichem. It restored many memories of my first cheder, of my childhood. Give this elderly Rebbe Bercheh Sokol my heartiest regards and wishes. May he have as many years to live in wealth and honor, as the number of smacks he laid upon his pupils, and I will write to him later on.               Chaim Kaufman   Chaya Kaufman writes:     Reichenbach, November 10, 1946   ... I cannot find the words to express my gratitude to you for your activity. The packages of food and clothing sustain us, as does the money...   The war has completely broken me. It took everyone and everything away from me. The worst blow for me was the loss of my best friend, my husband. With his death I feel like I have lost my life, and I no longer have any will to live. I live only because of my two children: my daughter, who has remained behind in Russia, and a little boy who was sent off to Israel by way of a kibbutz. My daughter is studying in Russia and chafes to get out of there to be together with me. I am now in Silesia, in Reichenbach, and am preparing to travel to Israel, and I have become a member of a kibbutz...   Could you perhaps put me in touch with my friend in New York, Alta Pakczor, and with the daughter of the Zambrów hazzan, Wismonsky, who calls herself Adina Cantor in America. My one desire at this point is to find young friends and immerse myself in the depths of the past...   P.S. Because of the political life of my husband, I have not changed my family name.   The Two Kalesznik Sisters  Paris, August 2, 1946 Dear Friend Savetsky,  ... We have received your letter containing the gift, and we heartily thank you. We do not need the clothing as much as the foodstuffs. The matter of domicile has not yet been resolved, and we are living on a roof without a kitchen and without gas...    ... Tomorrow is Yom Kippur Eve. We are going to buy candles for the memorial lights of those departed souls who were exterminated, and carry them off to the synagogue. We still have to locate a synagogue that should be nearby, so we will not have to say the Yizkor prayers after using the Metro... The holidays had a different look to them back in Zambrów... We remind ourselves of how, during the High Holy Days, we would run to the synagogue to our mother. Yes, we too at one time had parents (when that was, we no longer recall...). We went to hear the sounding of the shofar here and did not go to work on Rosh Hashanah. And so the local Jews here laughed at us. And so as the holidays arrive, we become even more broken, both spiritually and physically. The French Jews don’t feel this... Heartfelt blessings for the New Year. Give our regards to Yudka and Naomi Jablonka...          The Two Kalesznik Sisters    Paris, October 28, 1946 ... Thank you for your letter and gift. We want to pass along some news: we have received visas for Australia, along with exit papers. This will spell an end to our wandering. Perhaps, once again, we will be able to live like human beings...   Paris, November 25, 1946 ...We are going to Australia. While still in [Bad] Waldsee, we made the acquaintance of two boys who later went off to Australia to their families. When they found out that we were in Paris, they sent us exit papers and visas through the British consulate. They sent us ship’s tickets, which we are expecting to receive soon. Should we not receive the ship’s tickets, we ask you to permit us to borrow the costs, and we will pay you back double... only with them will we be able to be happy and live once again... The Kalesznik Sisters   The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee  Moscow, June 20, 1945 Our Respected Joseph Srebrowicz, ... I remember you very well. I guard the memory of everyone and everything that has any relationship to our hometown. Foremost, I am happy at the thought that in your second letter to me I will receive regards from all of our landslayt who find themselves in Tel Aviv, what their fate is, and their current circumstances... Only one sister has survived from my family, Esther. She is with me. My sister Sarah was killed in the shtetl of Radun, near Lida, where she was working...   ...After two years of fighting with the partisans, I turned back to more satisfying work. I say ‘turned back.’ There will no longer be any satisfaction in my soul, until I draw my last breath, I have had no rest in the Byelorussian forests, where day-in and day-out, we paid the debt of blood. I have no rest here [either], when I pay the obligation to the memory of our slain brethren through my modest literary work. This is the destiny of my generation. To tell the truth: I am applying what remains of my energies to once again restore our people. I exert myself to do what is more basic – seeing in this the sole possibility to still my raging heart...   Your Herschel   Herschel Smolar Proposes the Publication of a Zambrów Yizkor Book Lodz, November 4, 1946   Respected Friend Savetsky,   It is now several months since I have returned to Poland. I have plenty of work... I am a member of the Presidium of the Jewish Central Committee and we are required to exert ourselves considerably, to attempt to restore, even piecewise that which the Hitler murderers have annihilated here.   ... It was a great joy for me to learn from our friend, Moshe Levinsky, about your endeavors to help all of those that were saved. I have always held that people from Zambrów, in general, are always and everywhere, very decent people... Your help today has given the those from Zambrów a chance to get themselves together after the difficult war years...   And now I wish to approach you on a more general issue: Zambrów, as a Jewish city, no longer exists. However, our home city continues to live in the memory of all of us, as it once was. I am trying to say that it is our collective responsibility to place a memorial marker for our hometown, and in memory of the lost lives of our dearest. My proposal is that you should gather a specific sum for the purpose of publishing a memorial book about Zambrów. In my opinion, such a book should accept an array of articles and writings, memories about the Zambrów of yore, and a greater section of material about the destruction of Zambrów during the German occupation. From my end, I am prepared to devote all my energy to help you to realize this plan. I await your reply to my proposal.      Wroclaw, December 25, 1946   Dear landsman Savetsky,   I have received your letter and package. I want to express heartfelt thanks for your special effort in trying to locate my family: my grandfather and great-aunt. My grandfather has sent me money. I am in a kibbutz, and I am waiting for a certificate. I do not wish to travel illegally, because I have bounced around Russia for five-and-a-half years – and that is enough for me. Now, I wish to enter Israel legally and get right to work. Costs here are very high: a pair of boots costs twenty-five thousand zlotys... I am preparing to get married with a pretty young lady, also in the kibbutz, solitary and poor, just like me... Shlomo Pekarewicz has already received the visas for Mexico. He is waiting for a ship’s ticket from his brother...     Gershon D.     Salzburg, 7 Tishri 5707 (1946)   Honorable Chairman of the Zambrów Landslayt, J. Savetsky,   My name is Yitzhak Golda, and I am from Zambrów. I am sending you a bit of writing that I have done, after having spent the year in Zambrów. I am no poet or writer. I do have an inclination to document everything that has occurred. I have documented my life as a partisan in the forest and kept a daily diary from the beginning of the liquidation of the ghetto in Zambrów up to the liberation by the Red Army. For the time being, I am sending you this fragment of writing... there are several other Zambrów landslayt in Salzburg, such as Kadish Kaplan, Sender’s brother, as well as Isaac Burstein. There are even more Zambrów landslayt in Munich, and my brother is there as well... My uncle has sent papers to me.     June 16, 1947    ... I am from Zambrów, Dobka Wonsever (Wonsower), a daughter of Topol. My mother Yehudis Topol is a daughter of Kosciol. I am in Germany with my husband and child, and I am in need of help...     Buenos Aires, July 24, 1949   I am from Zambrów, Hona Goldwasser, a son of Goszer the Shoemaker. I have a brother in Brooklyn, Israel Goldwasser, and a sister Golda. Her husband’s name is Hona-Yudl Katz. I would very much like it, if you would be so kind, as to locate them. I have already written to the paper(s) and to the Union of Polish Jews, but without success.   Hona Goszer     Milan, April 22, 1947 Dear Comrade Savetsky,   With thanks [we acknowledge] – receipt of your letter and packages.   ... We are in Milan for four months already. Pretty soon I will be going to Israel. The following people from Zambrów are found here: Reineh Sokol, Moshe Khanit, Yaakov Stupnik, Abraham Kron and others.   ... In 1939, I was compelled to flee from Zambrów, from the Russians, because of my Zionist activity. They seized me in Lithuania and had me arrested. For five-and-a-half years, I served time in Siberia at hard labor, in a climate of seventy degrees below zero, wearing threadbare rags. I worked for twelve hours a day under armed guard. Our food consisted of soup made from nettles, and I was left sapped of all strength. When we were let go, I walked twenty meters and collapsed. A Jew in the street recognized me as a fellow Jew and took me into his house until I came around a bit. I came back to Poland and went off to Zambrów. I did not encounter anyone who I knew there anymore. So I began to wander from border to border, until such time that I will come to my home – in the Land of Israel. Now, we are sitting in Milan and waiting... with our eyes turned to Israel.   Elya (Zayda) Piurko (A son of  Moshe the Butcher)     Lodz, September 23, 1947   Dear Friend Savetsky,   Today is the eve of Yom Kippur. I am moved to write and thank you for everything that you do for us. You do more than a father would. I received the tallis and tefillin, and how can I thank you?  Such a prayer shawl cannot be found in Poland, and wrapped in it I go to worship, walking with great pride, knowing that we have such good brethren. Mrs. B. needs to receive assistance. She is a grandchild of B. who worked in Abraham Schwartzbard’s brick works. He was called Abraham Strikhar. She is here with a small, sick child, and has a right to the help sent by the Zambrów committee. Rachel Rubin’s daughter is in Cyprus. Rachel and her son feel well. I do not know the landsman Kron. Stupnik divided the money for all of the people from Zambrów, in my house...         Moshe K.   Bad Reichenhall, December 25, 1946   .. I am in Bad Reichenhall to be cured. In the year 1942, I was run over by an auto. For the entire time I was in the camp, I did not have any pain. However, recently, the place where I was hit had begun to hurt, and I am in Reichenhall to take the waters... ... Regarding the landslayt: In the previous week, Shlomo Lehrman received an affidavit. Stupnik has received a national exit permit for Australia. In Facking, there is a Lifschitz and a Golombek – Abraham Shlomki, the son of the melamed. The Kasha Maker’s children were with me. Herschel the Tinsmith’s second son came back from the Russian Army. He is found in Feldafing (Lower Bavaria) together with his brother. I forwarded them the letters.  Wahrszafczyk (Warszawczyk) was also to see me. I have received a letter from Chaim. It is entirely possible he will come to me, in which case I will help him get settled...        Golombek   Paris, December 29, 1946 Respectfully sent to the community activist R’ Yaakov Karlinsky   I am Israel Rabinovich, a son of R’Mendl Olsha, who was called Motya’s son-in-law. My father was a melamed, on Bialystoker Gasse No. 3. My mother died in the year 1939. I do not know my father’s fate. As the Rabbi, the Russians exiled me in 1940, having found my credentials of rabbinic ordination and other writings in my possession. They proceeded to torture and oppress me. It is four months since I have returned from there, destitute and without anything, with sick children. I met up with a landsman in Lodz, a neighbor, Mr. Moshe Levinsky, and he has helped me a great deal. Now I am in Paris. I already have papers from the Baltimore Yeshiva, named for the Chafetz Chaim, as a teacher of Talmud. My father-in-law will be traveling with me, a former shokhet, who is an elderly man. When you are able to find the address of a relative of mine, David Cohen, in Detroit, and R’ Yaakov Yellin in Buffalo...      Rabbi Israel A.     With the Help of Hashem, Monday, Portion of Ki Tetze, 5707 [1946], France To my dear landsman R’ Joseph Savetsky,   ... I have received your letter, You have asked, who am I? I am a son of the Rabbi of Wierzbenica. As a six-year-old orphan, I came to Zambrów, to my grandfather, R’ David Menachem Regensberg51. I lived with my grandfather in Zambrów for twenty years. During the war, I fled to Russia, and The One Above saved me. Now I am in France. My name is now Sivenbuch, [because] I had to change my name in order to save myself using someone else’s passport...                 David Regensberg     Brooklyn, December 19, 1947   ... The Yeshiva of Łomża, where I once studied, brought me to the Yeshiva in Brooklyn from Italy. Now I am studying at Yeshiva University. I am, however, in need of resources for support...                Moshe Kerszanowicz     Zlota Gora, April 23, 1949   ... I thank you for the package that I have received. It is not effective to send clothing to Poland at this time, because the [local] factories are working, and there is now sufficient clothing [to be had]. What is worth putting in the packages are: black pepper, bitter cocoa, penicillin, streptomycin...               M. G.      Bialystok, October 20, 194_   Dear Friends, Savetsky, Moshe Eitzer,   I am Khatzkel Givner from Zambrów. I am here for two years already. I have never before asked for any help or a package. Suddenly, from Golombek’s address, I receive a package from the Zambrów Help Committee, which moved me greatly to see that I had not been forgotten, despite the fact that I had not asked for anything... and I thank you. I am a son of Chaim-Hirsch Szatka and a brother of Aharkeh’s.                 R. G.     To the honored Zambrów Help Committee,   Thank you for the packages that you have sent me. For us, it is a wellspring of solace, that someone is still out there thinking of us. Who is this Joseph Savetsky, whose name has become a legend among us? I was told that he is a son-in-law of the lady baker,  Chaycheh Kosciol, is this correct? I went to cheder together with Chaycheh, the lady baker’s son...   Please send regards to Yehudit Jakula. Her husband’s name is Chaim Tzedek. I am a brother of Sarah Rachel Jerusalimsky. If she writes to me, I have a lot of information to communicate. I fled to Russia, and thanks to that I remained alive. As soon as possible, I would like to flee this polluted soil...                Moshe Jerusalimsky   Szczeczin, April 19, 194_ Dear Friend Savetsky,   ... I am from Zambrów, and my husband is from Goworowo. We have come back from Russia broken, impoverished, and isolated. My husband was wounded in his right hand during the war. I have five children, may they live and be well, and we need much for them. My father’s name was Mendl Denenberg and was a cousin of Abcheh Rokowsky and Abcheh Frumkin. I ask that you add us to your list of those eligible to receive assistance...         Chaya Sh.     Sanatorium Byelokhonko, April 5, 1949   Dear Savetsky,   ... I am from Zambrów, my father was Pinchas the Tinsmith, on the Bialystok Road. My mother,  – Tsirl. They were murdered. I was sent off to Russia and liberated not long ago, with lung disease. I find myself in a sanatorium in a struggle with death... coming back from Russia, I came for a visit to Zambrów... I was unable to find a single person who I knew...              Yaakov Moshe M.     Salzburg, January 26, 1947   Dear Friend Savetsky, Yossl President of the Zambrów Scions,    ... I am from Zambrów,  Menachem ben Yekhiel Blumstein. We lived at the house of Gershon Jablonka, my uncle, in his yard. We had a large family – and now, I remain the only one... I spent five years in the Russian military. After the war I returned to Poland. I was too frightened to go back to Zambrów. The Poles stop the buses and drag Jewish passengers off in order to kill them. I could no longer countenance the Poles, who were Hitler’s accomplices – so I went over to Austria. My friends in America help me a bit. Please send my regards to my cousin Judka Jablonka. Can you send me cigarettes? I smoke a great deal out of nervousness...  Menachem B.   Giveat Brenner, June 14, 1947   [To my] best friend Savetsky,   By happenstance, I became aware that you are the one who answers all of the letters and send each and every package. I am in the kibbutz, and I lack for nothing. I am a daughter of the tailor, Abraham Posner. My husband is still in Germany, and he is yet to arrive. I have only one request to make of you: help me locate my brother, who has been in America for forty years already. His name is Yaakov Herschel Posner. Because of the war, I lost his address.            Regards, Malka P.     Milan, Italy, October 4, 1947 Dear Savetsky, I have received your letter of 19 September, and this is my one solace. I have many friends in America: Abba Stupnik, Leib Becker, the Blumwalds, the Fyevkas, the family of Elya Weinberg. I write to them – but the letters are returned to me; the address is incorrect. The only one who gets my letters and replies is Joseph Savetsky. I have also received the package that you have sent to me...there are a number of people from Zambrów milling about in Italy: Moshe Pekarewicz, the Topols, with two daughters and a son-in-law, having returned from Russia, Reizkeh Sokol, Menachem Blumstein. Give regards to all the folks from Zambrów.      Yankl Stupnik     Wroclaw, March 19, 1949   I have received your parcel and it has sustained my soul. I haven’t written to you in a long time because my wife was seriously ill. However, thanks to my great-aunt Liebeh Pekar who sent over doses of penicillin injections to us through our Zambrów Relief Committee, my wife stayed alive. Now my child, who is six months old, has need of penicillin, and it is very difficult to procure it here. We are yearning to leave Poland and travel to the Land of Israel, but difficulties remain yet... I do not know the situation of our landslayt in Lodz. Dr. and his family are found with me in Kalina Jospa.       Gershon R. Zlota Gora, November 23, 1949   Dear friend Joseph,   ...Until the year 1946-47 there were about six hundred Jewish families here with a Jewish aid committee. But they all moved off, and the committee no longer exists. Only five Jewish families remain, and I am among them – and we all would like to go to Israel as soon as is possible, but we have no means at our disposal... can you possibly place me in contact with my brother, Itcheh and my brother’s daughter Rana Sztupakewicz? Perhaps they will assist me in being able to go to Israel? Please, my dear friend, see to it that I do not remain here as the only Jew...          Moshe Granica     Lodz, February 12, 1949   Honored friend Savetsky,   I thank you for your letter and the five dollars. Thank you for the packages. Should you be sending parcels for Passover, please send tea in one box, not in individual small packets, send pepper. Do not send margarine, only olive oil. Do not send borscht kosher for Passover, because there is no lack of beets in Poland. Please send some snacks for my rascal, meaning my little boy. I have managed to acquire a bit of down, and if it is not difficult for you, can you send me something to fill, because that is hard to come by here. Please send eighteen meters of material – for a down blanket and two pillows. It is very forward for me to ask this, but I have no choice. My husband is working, but he is an invalid. Send regards to everyone from Zambrów.      Your Peshki G.   Lodz, August 17, 1949   Best friend Savetsky,   ...You have forgotten me, and don’t even ask if I am well or sick. You sent a tallis and tefillin to our friend M. which he doesn’t need because he will not put on the tefillin. Rabbi Olsha thought he was observant, and demanded of you that you send this to him. I have remained the sole survivor of such a large family and have need of medical help. I am selling my clothes in order to buy medicines...            Sarah S.     September 16, 1949   ... I swear by God that I will never forget what you have done for me. The medicines are getting me back on my feet, and I get better day by day. The twenty grams that you sent me – are almost gone, and the doctors say I need a hundred grams. It is getting cold already, and I am naked and barefoot and sick. I am tranquil because you will not abandon me.              Yaakov M.      Lodz, March 17, 1950   I received your package only after a great deal of exertion, because the address was incorrect. You got the package to me just as Elijah the Prophet would have... I have recently hosted a circumcision ceremony. Accordingly, two people from Zambrów were invited: Rachel Rubin and Moshe Levinsky. They are set to travel to Israel soon. Regrettably – my husband is sick. As a result, my family and I must continue to suffer here... can you send us powdered milk? The little children don’t even lay eyes on any milk...          Pessie G .    Souls that Were Saved      Beinusz Sarny     Beinusz was a little boy who was born in Zambrów at the end of 1940, at the time when the Russians still ruled the city. His father, whose family name was Sarny, was from Zambrów. His mother was Christian, who lived among the Jews, and was counted as a Jewish woman. Did she perhaps convert? Who knows? Beinusz was raised within the Covenant of Our Father Abraham, like all other Jewish children. About a year later, in 1941 – when the Germans entered the city, his father was murdered – he was one of the first victims. His mother remained alone, and supported herself and her child in her village, close to her own relatives. In the year 1944 the Germans shot the mother, because ‘loyal neighbors’ had told the Germans that her husband was Jewish, and she was giving the child a Jewish upbringing, so that he [would] remain a Jew. So Christians, fearing the wrath of God, kidnapped the four-year-old boy and hid him. The Boy, Beinus Sarny   After the war, at the beginning of 1946, a peasant came to Zambrów from some village that was not too far away, and scrupulously searched for Jews... he was barely able to find one, Mr. Gershon Finkelstein, and entrusted him with the information that he was sheltering a Jewish child and wanted to be paid for this, in return for which he would continue to shelter the boy, or pay him off for his endeavor up to this point and have him take the boy away. So Gershon Finkelstein sought counsel with landslayt in Bialystok, with the chairman of the L”L Union in America, Mr. Savetsky, and decided to redeem the child from gentile hands and give him a Jewish upbringing.   Until this time, the little boy had been raised in an anti-Semitic environment, often saying that he hated Jews, despite the fact that he had never seen them. A little at a time, Beinusz became attached to Jews. With the assistance of the Help Committee in America – the little boy was placed in a Jewish Home in Bialystok, and in time he became a Jew, just like other Jewish children...   Chana Kopperman         There was a young couple in Zambrów, Mendl Kopperman, a tailor, and his wife Gutsheh. In the year 1941 the Germans murdered both of them. However, they had the presence of mind before death to hand over their only daughter Chana, almost five years old, to an elderly Christian woman Leszczynska who had worked for them, and this Christian woman secretly raised the child. The parents saw fit to give the Christian woman the address of the mother’s brother in America, Mr. Irving (Isaac) Robinson, in Brooklyn. A photo montage of a picture of the daughter and the mother – to establish resemblance.   The Christian woman hid the child for about a half year, until she no longer could. The ghetto had been liquidated, and she didn’t know what further to do. Contact with America had been cut. So she came up with a plan, that she would surreptitiously leave the little girl at an orphanage, and they would be forced to take her in. So she rehearsed the little girl, who spoke Polish, that she should only say that she is a Christian child. She put on a crucifix around her neck and traveled with her to Łomża.   At night, in the middle of a snowstorm, when not a living soul could be seen in the street, the elderly woman put the little girl into a sack, told her that she must keep still, and under no circumstances reveal who it was that left her there and where she is from, and she left the sack by the door of the orphanage on the Ostrołęka Gasse. The old lady hid herself in a yard somewhere close by, and watched from a distance through a slit in the fence to see what would happen... a few minutes after this, the dog in the yard of the orphanage began to bark and tried to tear himself from his chain. It became irritating to the headmistress of the orphanage – a good, pious woman, who secretly worked against the Germans – and she went out onto the doorstep to see what was happening: why is the dog barking like that? She then saw the sack with the little girl in it... she immediately brought the sack into the house, and the elderly gentile woman left immediately, and on the following day she went off to the Zambrów Road late in the night... Even before they had begun to ask her anything, the girl, out of fright, immediately began to cry and said: I am not Jewish, I am Catholic, see the crucifix around my neck... the headmistress understood only too well what it was she had in front of her, but she feigned ignorance, calmed the child, gave her food and drink, washed her and put her to bed. In the morning, she went with her to the municipal office to present her. First, however, she learned what to say and what not to say. She gave her the name Halina Koperska and rehearsed this name many times. The headmistress and governess Julia, prepared her well for her ‘examination,’ and came with her to the municipal office. A Polish-speaking German received them and continued to shout that she was a Jewish girl from the liquidated ghettos, and she needs to be taken away... to her parents. The little girl, however, held her ground: I am a Christian!... soon we will know the whole truth, the employee threatened: I will call in the big dog: If you are Jewish, he will tear you to pieces, he hates Jews. So the little girl burst into tears: he will not tear me to pieces, because I am a Christian girl... the interview lasted for three hours... and she remained in the orphanage as a Christian girl until the year 1949 – for seven years. The headmistress of the orphanage was seized by the Germany as an underground operative and shot. Halina Koperska was baptized and raised as a religious Catholic girl. She studied in a volksschule, learned how to sew, run a business, and the secret of her origin was known only to the faithful Christian governess, Julia.   Would that life had continued tranquilly. The elderly Christian woman, Leszczynska, was troubled by her conscience: she had promised herself to contact the uncle of the little girl in America about this. Now is the time, and she wrote up a letter to him, and told him everything, giving the address of the orphanage and in this way assuaged her conscience. The uncle, Irving Robinson of Brooklyn, immediately turned the matter over to the proper authorities, and the Help Committee for the Rescue of Children, the Zionist coordination for children and youth issues, ‘Beyt Aliyat Yeladim,’ in Lodz immediately intervened in the matter. Here is what the representative of the Central Committee wrote to the uncle on June 4, 1947:   ‘Your letter of March 2... we have received the full authority of the consulate and immediately begun an initiative to repatriate your sister’s daughter Chana (Agnieszka) Kooperman47 from the Christian orphanage in Łomża, where she was converted and currently resides.   Łomża, and the entire surrounding region is today ‘Judenrein.’ We have sent a special emissary there, who has visited the orphanage, saw the child, and has negotiated with the leadership of the orphanage to have the child immediately released. For the moment this is not possible because of the many formal difficulties. The reason is that the register of the orphanage counts the child under her current Christian name, Halina Koperska. The child was taken in 1942 as abandoned, immediately after the liquidation of the ghetto. From the first moment on, whether in front of the people who found her, or in the orphanage, whether later falling into the hands of the Gestapo – the child consistently argued that her name was Halinka Kosperska. It was in this fashion that the child saved herself from the German murderers.   The inculcation of this story, that she was Christian, has remained with her to this day, and she continues to argue that she is Halina Koperska, and that she never was a Kooperman. Accordingly, the management of the orphanage cannot release the child, and the matter will have to go to court. However, in court, we have no evidence that it is she. For this reason, our emissary has carried out the following: he photographed the child, and has brought the picture to Lodz. Here, we have found three people, former residents of Zambrów:   1. Moshe Levinsky, former chairman of the Zambrów landsmanshaft in Lodz, and former employee of the Zambrów Judenrat. He knew the mother since the time she was a girl, and the child up to the age of five.   2. Rachel Rubin, and Pessia Gutfarb who verified that the child completely resembles the mother. With this kind of evidence, we will launch a legal proceeding. But since a legal process must take a long time, and it is not desirable that a Jewish child should remain for any length of time in Christian hands, in the next immediate few days we are sending our special emissary to Łomża, to try and get the child out by more quick means.   We need an affidavit from you for the court and the lawyers. We also need a photograph of your sister, certified by the leadership of the Zambrów landsmanshaft in New York.'                                                                                                   Signed: Leibl Karsky                                    (Central Committee of the Zionist Children’s Coordination in Poland).   The Jewish-Polish officer, Drucker (today in Israel) and the emissary, Gerschater, exerted themselves strenuously to get her out of gentile hands. It was first in April 1949, that the girl was let go legally from Christendom and from the Polish orphanage. During the time of the court proceedings, she accustomed herself to the idea that she was a Jewish child, and began to long for her heretofore unknown uncle in New York. But she could not be taken out except by means of a family that would legally obligate itself to be her guardians. This is because she was still a minor of thirteen years of age. A Jewish woman in Lodz responded to this, Alice Kyle (her husband Handelson was the director of the new theatre in Lodz), who took her under her protection, looking after her like her own child and expanded her exposure to practical Jewish life. Her uncle in America sent her money and packages and wanted to take her to him. The girl, however, made friends with other Jewish children and understood that she had no recourse but to turn back with her whole heart to her people, from who it was attempted to tear her away. She then decided to travel to Israel, notwithstanding her love for her uncle, who was her savior, [which] was boundless.   She came to Israel in 1950, with a youth aliyah, and she was sent to Kibbutz Rukhama in the Negev. Here she learned Hebrew and agriculture, got a general education, and devoted herself to small children. Later on, she went over to Kibbutz Noah, to her future husband Siboney. Today she is a mother and works as a child supervisor.     The City After the Destruction By Herschel S.    (An Excerpt from a Letter)   ... It is Shavuos of June 12, 1959. I had come to visit our Zambrów, together with my friend, Moshe Eitzer from America – also a landsman. There are no more Jews here any longer. Zambrów is known in Poland for its large textile factory. There is no trace of Jewish buildings – everything is burned down. If something had survived, it is in gentile hands. On the location of  Beinusz Tykoczinsky’s cinema  – a Polish lyceum is being built. Zambrów has within it, ninety-five hundred residents. It has three schools and an orphanage.   About a week ago it was discovered that near the village of Koloka, there is a mass grave of fifteen hundred Jews from Zambrów and Rutki who were murdered in August 1941. Perhaps my dear mother lies among them, and my sisters, Chana and Baylcheh, who were murdered at the beginning of the war? In the year 1944, before the retreat, the Germans set up a machine [gun] at that location, that shot for a whole day without stopping at Jews who were put up there. I wanted to visit this grave, and made an effort to do so with the authorities, but I was not permitted to have access... there is an hypothesis, that close to their retreat, the Germans dug up the bones to grind them up, in order not to leave any traces... the local populace does the same – it is wiping off all the Jewish traces of the former Jewish presence in Zambrów. I made an effort to go and see the mass grave on my own, but I was not given permission... I intend to investigate this matter, when I will return to Warsaw, and demand that some sort of a memorial be erected there. A similar mass grave is near Szumowo, containing Jews from Zambrów, and yet another place – not far from the city. We went to visit the cemetery. Here, too, almost everything has gone away. All we found was the grave of Szklowin. The authorities of the government assured me they would not eradicate the cemetery. The headstones, however, are falling over out of old age. I attempted to lift a headstone, and it disintegrated. This is what our home town looks like. The city is a new city, all that is left of the old Zambrów are only graves.   On the Ruins  By Chaycheh Zukrowicz-Netzer In the year 1961, as a co-worker with my husband, Zvi Netzer in the Israeli Embassy, I made a visit to Zambrów, the city of my birth. It is difficult for me to let go of the town where I was born. I knew that, in this area, there was not even a single Jew anymore. I knew I was not going to hear the sound of my brethren, the sons of my people. And how could I restrain myself and not go, to shed a tear over the graves of fathers and mothers? Only a short time ago, it was even a life-and-death danger for a Jew to come and visit the towns surrounding the area from Zambrów to Łomża. Despite this, I went to search for my city.   To my great pain, I could not find it – it no longer existed. A new city in the direction of the Ostrówer highway had sprung up, without even a single Jew in it. The little river is dried out, the bridge is new, and the Burgomaster – a joke of fate – is Jewish... he comes from somewhere far away, assimilated, with no interest in Jews or yidishkeit, and is a loyal party man... the only one who recognizes what was once the burgeoning Jewish Zambrów is the gentile Komorowski, the former clerk and wójt48 of the city, who is now on the periphery, living on a pension. The barracks are still standing. The center of the city is there, and a huge textile factory operates there with approximately five hundred employees. There isn’t a Jew to be had even to save your life. The entire Jewish section, around the synagogue and the study houses, is eradicated. The pitiful cemetery stands alone, vandalized, overgrown with ‘prickles’ and thorns. No one comes any longer to pay respect to the dead ancestors, [that is to say] apart from Polish intruders, who come to drag away the last of the headstones, those which have fallen down, which they need for paving purposes. Our Zambrów exists only in our memory.   I Write a Letter     By Moshe Wilimowsky             Yiddish Version   Hebrew Version       I write a letter – I don’t know to whom I begin to enumerate names Of father, mother, sisters, brothers. Of all manner of branches of the family; I enumerate an entire list; But who of them has remained in the shtetl? To where should I address it? Maybe what I need to do is try To send it to Majdanek? Where ‘Fritz’ and ‘Janek’ Concluded an unclean pact? And maybe send it to Buchenwald? Where, forcibly, hordes of Jews were driven from their homes, Forced to dig deep pits, And then arrayed the entire assembly?             – – – – – – – – And perhaps send it to ‘Treblinka?’ Where Germans of the ‘left and ‘right,' With new ‘Aryan theories’ Created crematoria, And a huge gas chamber, And, in front of the eyes of a watching world, Drove Jews to death And derived such glee from their death throes?             – – – – – – – – And so I light a yahrzeit candle, Burn the letter...cover my eyes And say: Yisgadal v’Yiskadash Oh God, take the ashes from this letter! Combine it with the ash from those who are holy and pure, Who gave their lives in Sanctification of the Name!     Let me write a letter to the members of my family, To father, mother, brother and sister, But there is not a person left in the Vale of Tears There is not a single address, at the least... I will recall names and addresses from my memory, Relatives, friends, the names of city residents; Oh, but they no longer exist: sons on fathers All were put to death, without leaving a memory or trace! And the letter is dropped, abused and orphaned Without an address, and to nowhere. What if I addressed it to Maidanek, Will it thread its way there these days? There, the Nazi Fritz, and the Pole Janek Concluded a blood pact against us. And perhaps to Buchenwald? – hah, to the prison, Hordes of Jews were crammed in there, Man, woman and child, Forced to dig their own graves. To Treblinka, the place of the crematoria If I address you there, would you meekly go? – There, lo, daughters, sons Were asphyxiated by the light of day! All, all of them were lost, incinerated, There names and memories forever ended... Without a memorial – I have lit A candle of the soul, to my martyrs: I whispered the ‘Kaddish’ in silent trembling And by the light of the candle – I destroyed the letter... And this ash as well, Merciful Lord, mix in, With the ash of those who gave their lives In Sanctification of the Name...   The Houses of Study, Rabbis & Other Clergy     The Yeshiva of Zambrów Seated: R’ Meir Zukrowicz, R’ Leib Rosing, The Yeshiva Headmaster Kovir, The Rabbi, R’ Yeshia Goruszalczany and R’ Abraham Shlomo Dzenchill. The Rabbi’s Melody An old Ukrainian folk song that deals with a foolish peasant, wandering about the marketplace, buying nothing, but just making a tumult. The Chabad Hasidim changed the words and used the song to make sport of the evil inclination in Man, which wanders about among God-fearing Jews – trying to entice their souls...   Houses of Worship and Public Institutions Fifty Years Ago By Yom-Tov Levinsky   The White Bet HaMedrash       Nachman Granica, the Shammes   That was what the older Bet HaMedrash was called, which stood diagonally across from the firefighters station, in the direction of the Czeczork Forest. It was called ‘the New Bet HaMedrash’ because it was burned down and then built up again. It was stained dark on the outside, but the color was faded, as was the case with many other houses. But since the second Bet HaMedrash, which stood by the synagogue in the direction of the horse market, was built out of red brick, with its roof stained in red, and the rain runoff being red, etc., it got the name of the 'Red Bet HaMedrash' – the other was then called: the White Bet HaMedrash.   The White Bet HaMedrash was one that selected its members. It was here that the balebatim recruited one another, the disciples of the Rabbi and his people. It was here that the Blumrosens worshipped, along with the Bursteins, the Wilimowskys, the Levensons, Abba Rokowsky, the Kossowskys, Levinsky (my father), Kagans, and others. Almost all of the butchers in the shtetl worshiped here, beginning with the Pendziuchas, who lived across from the Bet HaMedrash with their children and sons-in-law, the Dzenchills ( their elder, Lejzor the Butcher, also lived in the neighborhood of the Bet HaMedrash). Many craftsmen worshiped here, who were indeed the living and moving part of those who prayed here. Almost all those who espoused a love of Zion congregated here. At the time that Dr. Herzl passed away, and the Rabbi ordered that all the houses of study be sealed in order that this   ‘apostate’ should not, God forbid, be eulogized, the balebatim of the White Bet HaMedrash tore open the doors and conducted a substantial memorial service (see the chapter about Abba Rokowsky).   Those craftsmen who needed to get up before dawn in order to go to work travel to fairs in nearby towns and set up their booths there – would drop into the White Bet HaMedrash when it was still dark and snatch a prayer session. Also, the 'Strikers of the Fifth Year' (1905) also found themselves a center here. They would meet here on the Sabbath, set up an ‘exchange’ in the Bet HaMedrash premises, which was always full of worshipers, in front of the door on the pavement and not under surveillance by the authorities. The important thing --  it was here that the city hazzan, R’Shlomo Wismonsky, and his choir led services regularly. He was a modern cantor, who completed a cantorial school in Lodz, could read [musical] notes and would also teach the members of his choir to sing from notes.   True, the Rabbi who carried out his role fanatically, so that God forbid, no spark of frivolous abandon penetrate the shtetl – looked askance at this modern cantor from the outset, who by the way was religious and an observant Jew. The Rabbi could not oppose the balebatim who wanted this cantor. It was especially the Pendziukhas who wanted him, the butchers who were dying for a good cantor. So the Rabbi found a way to keep him at a distance, diminishing his prestige a bit: when the cantor went to the Rabbi to have his ‘kabala’ (diploma as a shokhet) certified, to permit him to perform ritual slaughter in the shtetl as was the usual custom of being a ‘hazzan-shokhet,’ the Rabbi disqualified him as shokhet: ‘His hands tremble a bit’ – despite the fact that the doctor did not confirm this... On Shabbat sheMevarkhim, Rosh Chodesh, Festivals (on the first day) the Hazzan would lead services with his choir, and the Bet HaMedrash was packed. Even the gentiles would come and stand under the windows to hear the Jewish melodies. On special Sabbath days, and on the second day of Festivals, the Hazzan was turned over to the Red Bet HaMedrash. The choir consisted of good voices brought in from the outside. Singers came to perform with him even from as far away as Odessa. A young singer by the name of Binyomkeleh earned quite a reputation. He had a beautiful alto voice, and all the girls in the shtetl would chase after him... later on, the Cantor obtained choir members from Zambrów itself, such as Myshkeh Reines, Mordechai Sokol and Abrahamkeh Rothberg.   The shammes of the Bet HaMedrash was R’ Nachman Granica, a handsome Jewish man, strong, tall, with a wide, white beard. He was in good, and had substantial relationships with all the worshipers, knew what sort of compliment to utter, and how to accord each person the proper respect, and would participate in all the happy celebrations that worshipers had, from a brit milah for a male child to a wedding, or a housewarming for a new dwelling. He knew whom it was appropriate to invite to such an affair, and whom not to invite. He had a metal-silver disposition, and I loved to hear him, especially on the High Holy Days, how he auctioned off the Torah honors, driving up the bidding as high as he could, doing it with goodness and understanding for the good of the Bet HaMedrash. Nachman the Shammes was a baker, and that is how he made a living. The congregation allocated a residence to him near the entrance of the Bet HaMedrash, to which a courtyard was built on. When the worshipers would leave the Bet HaMedrash before dawn to go to work or to a fair, the fine odor of fresh baked goods was already pervading the Bet HaMedrash. He would bake beautiful pletzl in the morning, sprinkled with onion and poppy seed or sugar. The craftsmen and workers would grab a piece for their ‘morning slice’ to satisfy their appetite, and the mothers would buy it for their children, to take with them to cheder. A few years later, when the children of Nachman the Shammes grew up a bit (all artistically gifted as artists and musicians), and the location became too crowded for him, he left and opened a bakery on the Łomża road. His former residence was given the name ‘Beyt Eytzim’  – a small premises that served the Bet HaMedrash around the year as a storage facility for wood, peat and kerosene to light up the interior, broken benches to be repaired, etc.   When the eve of Passover would arrive, or the eve of the High Holy Days, Jewish soldiers would arrive from the barracks, carrying out all of this stuff, washing, cleaning, whitewashing. and repairing it all for a minyan for the soldiers. Jewish soldiers who served in Zambrów in the two Russian divisions, Lodozhsky and Schliesburgsky, as well as those from the artillery brigade, would receive a ‘furlough leave’ during the Festival holidays, thanks to the efforts made by the Rabbi and the gabbaim, and they would come to worship here in the hundreds. They even had their own soldier-cantors and teachers who knew how to lead services. If it would happen that, at the end of summer the Russians would ‘detain the regiment’ and not allow the thousands of soldiers who served in Zambrów go on leave for ‘their six weeks’ – the soldiers' minyan would get crowded and take up the entire entryway and a part of the courtyard.   For many years, the gabbai of the White Bet HaMedrash was R’ Shmulka Wilimowsky, a handsome and wise Jewish man, one of the leading balebatim of Zambrów, who was for many years also the gabbai of the Chevra Kadisha and discharged the duties of his position with a firm hand. When he grew older, the balebatim demanded a younger man as gabbai, who should be a modern Jew, more representative of ‘today’s world.’ So once, on a Hol HaMoed Sukkos, R’ Itcheh Levinson, Kharlokova’s husband, was selected as  the new gabbai. Kharlokova’s first husband was named Greenwald. Itcheh Levinson was an enlightened man, had beautiful penmanship with which to write up notices for the worshipers both in Hebrew and in Yiddish, and knew a bit of Russian and Polish and because of this he could be a representative to the authorities when it was required, and the central point: he was fluent in the skill of bookkeeping, and every year at Sukkos time, he would hang out an impressive annual report in the Bet HaMedrash. It would detail all of the income and expenses of the Bet HaMedrash, all pledges and contributions (everyone could be found there), money for ‘status’ for the High Holy Days, heating and lighting, outlays for the cantor and the choir, the shammes, etc. This was a modern development in the shtetl. And for many years, in the competing Red Bet HaMedrash, this was not done.   So, R’ Itcheh noted that having only one shammes was insufficient for the congregation, especially on a Sabbath when two sets of services were conducted: a first minyan, and a second minyan. And the Bet HaMedrash needed to be kept clean. So he arranged for another shammes, a sou-shammes, R’ Henokh Portnowicz, the son of the old shammes of Zambrów, and the founder of the 'Kuczapa’ dynasty of shamashim. Previously, Henokh had been a Hebrew teacher in Szumowo, where he was supported by his father-in-law while he studied. A small house was built for him near the Bet HaMedrash with the same entrance, and he became the Torah reader for the Bet HaMedrash, the collector of all pledges and donations, the scheduling of all those who would lead services for the entire week, with a special ‘honorary position’ as the town crier, because of his strong penetrating voice: at dusk on Friday, before candle-lighting, he would come out of the bathhouse, properly switched with branches, dressed in his black Sabbath kapote, with boots, freshly shined with brine or wheel grease (later he ‘became more modern’ and polished them with ‘Glinsky’s Shoe Wax'). A tall silken hat (similar to a Russian furazha49) on his head, from which two freshly washed side locks would dangle. He would exit the bathhouse quickly. The sun had started to set behind the trees. The marketplace vendors had already taken their carts full of merchandise off the marketplace – vegetables, fruit, challahs, soap, kerchiefs, etc. The last contingent of laborers, tired out from their week’s work, craftsmen and small businessmen, had already gone in to the bathhouse, where one received a small whisk broom and a container for water. Through the small windows in the side of the bathhouse that face the outside, one can still hear the shouting of the Russian soldiers who are going out to the small side street leading to the brook, the shouting of the Russian soldiers who enjoy the Friday evening hot bath with us, and shout with glee: ‘paru davai, paru davai’ – meaning: pour more water on the hot stones, to make more steam, more vapor! And here, the penetrating blast of Henokh’s voice resounds, the Shammes of the White Bet HaMedrash, as he turns on the heels of his newly shined boots and shouts to the four corners of the world: ‘I-n–t-o the synagogue!’ The throng that is running late rushes to inaugurate the Sabbath with the last of its energies. Henokh the Shammes runs to his second station: the side street that is between the synagogue and marketplace, and then to a third station – on the ‘Pasek’ in the middle of the marketplace, further up on Koszar, at the beginning and the end of the street. He would then turn about and come out on the side street between the marketplace and the Bialystok Highway, and quickly run into the White Bet HaMedrash – to welcome the Sabbath [Queen].   Municipal gatherings would take place in the White Bet HaMedrash. Not only when the fence of the cemetery was broken, and the feldscher David Yudis’s (Rutkowsky) ‘held up the Torah reading’ and called a special meeting because of this. Not only with regard to religious issues, such as picking a hazzan, a shokhet, a shammes, or a dozor for the municipal leadership. Even political gatherings took place there. When the socialist party split in two to form the S. S. and the S. R., this split took place on a Saturday night in the Bet HaMedrash. If balebatim needed to be elected to the Duma – it was in the White Bet HaMedrash.   If new dozors needed to be picked out, needed to discuss ‘local taxes’ needed to fond a cooperative bank, needed to celebrate a national holiday (‘Galyubka’, or ‘Tabel’), it always took place in the White Bet HaMedrash. The Red Bet HaMedrash was free of all these things. Every day, between afternoon and evening prayers, and a good bit after evening prayers, a full table of Jews would be sitting at the table engaged in study. These were the laboring Jews, craftsmen such as tailors, shoemakers and wagon drivers, et al. Tuvia the Lamp Lighter, Skocenadek the good-natured scholar with his soft loving eyes, would lead the study of Mishna. He had effective communication skills and was a lost talent of being a Jewish educator for the adults. He would explain the text of the Mishna in such a good-humored and good-hearted way, with the commentary of Rabbi Ovadia of Bartenura49,  and the Tosafot Yom-Tov50. It was not only once that I would take a seat at the table and enjoy participating in study with them. Apart from them, young men would be standing at lecterns, genteel young folk, sons-in-law being supported while they study, etc., and with a small candle in the hand, they would sway back and forwards over the Gemara until late into the night.    As was mentioned, during a national holiday the little boys would not go to cheder. The children of the municipal Russian school and the cheder children would come together with their teachers in the White Bet HaMedrash. The Cantor would sing a verse from the Psalms, recite the ‘Mi SheBerakh’ and recite ‘HaNotayn Teshua’ for the Czar and his wife, his widowed mother and heir. After that, the Hazzan would lead the children in the singing of ‘Bozha sTsarov’ – that is, the Russian hymn – ‘God Save the Czar!’  We children would love to see how the entire cohort of officials, the Pristav, the Strashi-Strozhnik and the officer from the Uchastok would snap to attention (at the proclamation: ‘To your health!’) and would perform ‘chesty’ with their right hand on their sword. This showed respect for our Torah and our Bet HaMedrash – the children would say.   Approximately in the year 1908, a renovation was carried out in the Bet HaMedrash. The walls were painted with an oil-based paint, the benches were painted, the Holy Ark was decorated with two lions rampant holding the Ten Commandments and other forms of decoration. This turned the Bet HaMedrash into a beautiful place, which attracted worshipers. Apart from this, the gabbai, Itcheh Levinson, installed special lighting with gasoline52, which the shamashim would kindle with great effort, and would too often spoil the finery. The ‘municipal engineer,’ Binyomkeh Soliarz implemented the lighting at the beginning of the World War in 1914; the White Bet HaMedrash also became a club for periodicals and war news. The municipal newspaper distributor, Herschel Pachter, Yankl Burstein’s son-in-law, would also read Russian newspapers, and he knew what was going on between the lines, and what was being secretly discussed by the General Staff – even before Nikolai Nikolaevich53 himself knew.   Young people, who had returned from the yeshivas and been cut off [sic: from going back] because of the war, [from such places] as to Łomża, Volozhin, Mir, Telz, Novogrudok, etc., settled here. Hours were set aside for the study of the Talmud, an hour for a chapter of grammar and the Prophets, an hour to study Russian and French. A special group studied the poetry of Y. L. Gordon (called YALA”G). It was here that medical help for the refugees was organized, who had come in from the surrounding small towns: Jedwabne, Nowogród, Myszyniec, Ostrołęka, and others. Night groups were organized to attend the sick and provide them with help. A Jewish lady doctor, a lady feldscher, came to Zambrów, thanks to the intermediation of the union of Russian cities, and monies – to make it possible to open a kitchen for the Jewish homeless. The seat of all activities to render aid was here in the White Bet HaMedrash. When the time of the eve of Passover arrived in the year 1915, the ‘Beyt Eytzim’ was cleaned out, and it was made into a matzoh bakery for the homeless. The Help Committee provided flour and wood, and the entire youth of Zambrów – boy and girls, would come according to their assignment to help with the baking: some would roll the dough, make circles, put it into the oven, verify the kashrut, be someone to pour the water or a flour mixer, packaging, distribution, etc. This was a very nice idealistic and helpful undertaking, where the young people truly enjoyed themselves, but at the same time performed an act of charity and gave up many hours for the needy and the homeless. This work, the expansive work to provide help to our impoverished brethren, was done in the White Bet HaMedrash.   Since the year 1915, I have not seen the White Bet HaMedrash again...

 

The Red Bet HaMedrash     It was here that the Rabbi worshiped, and around him were gathered the Golombeks, who were the Rabbi’s ‘Cossacks’ and protected him in all of the disputes and incidents that occurred in the city. The gabbai was R’ Binyomkeh Golombek. He was a different type of person than R’ Itcheh Levinson of the White Bet HaMedrash – a contractor, a more practical Jewish man. At some location or another, Binyomkeh Golombek saw a beautifully carved Holy Ark, which caught his fancy, and he did not rest until he brought the Jewish craftsman, a carver, a diminutive Jew with crooked feet like the musical notes ‘Mercha-Tipkha54’, and a clean-shaven chin, slanting eyes, more suitable to a Japanese than a Jew, who loved a good drink – but was a real artisan, a drawer, carver, a man of great imagination. In the course of six to eight weeks, he made the beautiful Holy Ark, carved out all the animals and covered them in fine gold and silver leaf. Binyomkeh Golombek did everything he could to assure the Holy Ark would be finished on schedule. He paid the carver out of his own pocket, and also for the materials. At the time he was elected to be gabbai for an additional term on Shemini Atzeres, Binyomkeh sent for apples. It was a sack of beautiful red apples from his own garden, and they were distributed among the children and the worshipers.   The elderly shammes was R’ Israel David Zibelman, the municipal sexton who recorded the [social] events of the Jewish population for the authorities, such as weddings, births, and, God forbid, instances of death. His assistant was Shmulkeh Soliarz. However, they were the official municipal sextons. The community was served by the son of the previously mentioned elderly shammes – Ely’ Kuczapa. He was a clever little Jewish man, but naive. I remember once when he was holding forth to a clutch of Jews in the Bet HaMedrash, saying: the Messiah would have come a long time ago, but seeing how the Jews go about dressed in ‘German’ clothing (short coats) he spat upon us and does not want to come... to this R’ Zalman the Dayan, a smart Jewish Litvak, replied with a smile: R’ Elyeh, if the only sin of our Jewish people was to go around dressed in short coats, the Messiah would have come a long time ago. Regrettably, there are much more serious sins...   By contrast with the White Bet HaMedrash that often was like a beehive, the ‘Red Bet HaMedrash’ was a quiet refuge. In the morning after prayers, young people would be quietly looking over their page of the Gemara in study, until someone would arrive and call out: ‘Let’s go to eat.’ It was here that the two brothers-in-law, who were dayanim studied, these being Zalman the Dayan and Shepsel the Dayan, the sons-in-law of Yisroelkeh Shitzalel. It was here that the elderly shokhet, R’ Nahum Lejzor Ciwiak, would sit and study until noon. His sons-in-law would sit near him and study. Here, prayer was conducted quietly, silently and at an easy pace, without hurrying one’s self to go to the market fair. It was here that rabbinical courts took place, and arbitration among the balebatim. It was to here that children were taken to the ‘Jewish’ teacher in school, and couples were taken to the wedding canopy, and it was here that a cortege would pause as the deceased was being taken to burial. The board on which the deceased were purified often was stood by the door... it was here that the more observant Jews would pray – this was well-known, and therefore, when it was necessary for Psalms to be recited on behalf of someone who was sick, or when women would have to disrupt the Holy Ark in the middle of prayer, or after prayer, in order to pray themselves and cry out for succor on behalf of a Jewish woman, having a particularly difficult labor and delivery, or just someone who was plain sick.   Between afternoon and evening prayers, Yitzhak-Velvel Monusz’s (Golombek) would learn Gemara with a coterie of Jews, by the light of an electric lamp. It was here also that the Mishna was studied, the Shulkhan Arukh, Pentateuch with Rashi commentary, and even ‘Sefer Yosefon’ – that wondrous book, written in the Holy Tongue, using Rashi script, which tells Jewish history with folklore mixed in. There was a little old man, a paver, who during the day would repair pavement, plastering stones, and in the evenings he would surround himself with about ten to fifteen Jews, working people, porters, wagon drivers, and under the balustrade, by the light of a little lamp or a small candle, he would read them stories from the Yosefon, in the Holy Tongue and then translate it into a very rich understandable Yiddish. Not only once would I drop into the Red Bet HaMedrash at evening time, despite that my regular place was at the White Bet HaMedrash, to hear these little tales from the Yosefon. I have long ago forgotten his name. At that time, he was already a man in his eighties, but he stands before my eyes and his stories resonate in my ear to this day. Eliakim-Getzel, the rigorously observant maggid of Mussar, would also appear in the Red Bet HaMedrash.   Prayer was conducted there, just as in the White Bet HaMedrash, in accordance with the Ashkenazic tradition. Hasidim prayed according to the Sephardic tradition, but only in their own Hasidic shtibl. On the night of Shemini Atzeres – after eating, a few tens of the balebatim, Hasidim and Mitnagdim would get together and arrange for Hakafot. This was actually a night before the official Hakafot conducted on Simchas Torah. This was done out of respect for the Land of Israel, where Simchas Torah is celebrated simultaneously with Shemini Atzeres. R’ Berl Niegovtzer, R’ Leib Aryeh Rosing (who was called ‘Sefer Torah’ because of his piety and fanaticism), Alter the Maggid (the son-in-law of the artisan) and several of the prominent personalities among the working people, like Abraham the Tailor, Moshl the Carpenter, Shlomo Szerzug and just plain young sons-in-law, from small Hasidic towns, who had to be counted here for the entire year, in the camp of the Mitnagdim, under the aegis of their father-in-law at whose table they depended on, for their sustenance. All of these, indulged themselves in a bit of a dance, a kazatsky, or a komarinka, holding the Torah scroll in their hands. On the High Holy Days, straw would be spread on the floor so that it be easier to stand on one’s feet. This was done away with, in later years, because it created too much dust.   The women's prayer house also served as a premises for an elementary level yeshiva. One always found teachers learning together with children there. At night, women paupers would sleep here. At the entrance to the women’s prayer house, there was a corner with remnants of holy books (shamos): if someone had a worn out copy of the Gemara, a torn prayer book, loose pages from a small book, it was cast there (at the White Bet HaMedrash this was inside, under the Holy Ark). Worms and mice would be drawn there, and goats would come there to sleep at night. Across from the entrance to the Bet HaMedrash was a special room, which was called the ‘Kahal-Shtibl.’ Community meetings would take place here. It was here that donations were distributed, and Maot Khitim on the eve of Passover. It was here that Yankl Tross, a Hasid with a yellow beard, a clever and shrewd man, would arrange a large community tub, during the most severe cold times, where one could come and get warmed up and get a free glass of tea, or take a teapot full of warm water home. The Yeshiva boys would hole up in this ‘Kahal-Shtibl,’ together with the Rabbi’s children, and would rehearse a Purim play: ‘The Selling of Joseph’ or ‘David and Goliath.’ Also the meetings of the Chevra Kadisha and their gatherings would take place here.   On the last day of Passover and on Shemini Atzeres, when the Yizkor prayers were recited, all the members of the Chevra Kadisha would come together there to pray. In their honor, the cantor would sing for them, and the gabbai of the Chevra Kadisha, R’ Yaakov Moshe Blumrosen, or Binyomkeh Golombek, would sponsor a Kiddush for all the Chevra members.   The sadness and the quiet increased in the Red Bet HaMedrash when the synagogue beside it that had burned down, was rebuilt. In the final thirteen years of the community, the Rabbi and the Golombeks had a falling out. The Rabbi went off to worship at the White Bet HaMedrash, and threw in his lot with the progressive balebatim and the Zionists – even if he was not a Zionist sympathizer.      The Synagogue   The Synagogue   The Zambrów Synagogue burned down in the First Great Fire in the year 1895. The burned-down edifice stood that way for thirteen years: four tall walls, with holes for windows and doors. Inside, tall trees grew of their own accord, wild trees and fruit trees. Goats found this place to be their home all day long. The poor, and those who were down on their luck, would spend the day sitting there and doze off a bit. At night, the place became frightening: the residents, especially children, would be afraid to traverse the street by themselves, because it was bruited about that ‘the dead’ circulate there during the night, praying, reading a Sefer Torah, reciting Psalms, etc. And woe betide anyone passing through the burned out synagogue at night and hearing his name called to come up to the Torah. No one would emerge from that place again alive. And there were instances...   R’ Shlomo Szerzug60   After long meetings and fund-raising, it was decided that each homeowner, who had any ‘standing’ in the synagogue at some point in time before it burned down, is obligated to repurchase that ‘franchise’ in cash – and if not he will forfeit his claim, and someone else may be permitted to buy it. In a short amount of time, a couple of thousand rubles were collected. A committee was selected to direct the reconstruction of the synagogue: the Rabbi R’ Regensberg, Berl Golombek, Shlomo Szerzug, the clever tailor, Moshe-Aaron the Builder, my grandfather, R’ Nachman Yaakov Rothberg (he donated one hundred and fifty rubles for the balustrade with its supports all around, and his donation was indeed etched into the brass plate on the bimah) etc. The plan, it is understood, was made out by the government engineer from Łomża. R’ Moshe-Aaron the Builder (Biednowicz) was responsible for the construction. His right-hand man, and for practical purposes the principal project manager, was Józef the Builder – a comical gentile who spoke Yiddish like a Jew, and wagging tongues had it that he was a mamzer, sired by a Jewish father and born to a gentile woman...   In knocking down the old, burned out walls, the balebatim came upon a stratagem: instead of breaking them down brick by brick, which would entail a great deal of time and cost – it would be better to dig under the foundation, and by using balls, strike the walls, causing them to collapse. In this way, it will be easy to take away the debris and clean the site. Tens of balebatim and workers would give of their time at no charge as a donation to the synagogue. When a wall was brought down this way, and the street became full of debris – a group of Jews would set themselves to it, make a ‘chain’, clean up the street and pile up the bricks. Wagons full of bricks were carted in, and a ‘chain’ was formed again, and one would hand bricks to the next, until the bricks were laid out in a straight line, in order, ready for the building process. Then lime needed to be applied – so the Jews attacked this, poured water, mixed the calx with a special powder and saved the city several tens of rubles. But there were also, you understand, salaried workers. And here I recall a sad incident: one person, a poor boy whose name was Fyvkeh, with sick reddened eyes, worked illegally. On the eve of Shavuos, he was late to work. The rabbi who would register the workers early, did not want to take him on: it was the eve of a festival, and the workday would be short and on top of it, he was late. So he burst out crying: Rebbe, I need the money for holiday expenses for my mother... so the Rabbi took him on. That day a wall was undermined and was made to fall. Fyvkeh was one of those who were undermining the foundation. However, he was not quick in getting out of the way, and the wall fell on top of him. This was the first and only victim of the new synagogue. His funeral took place towards that evening, until such time that the police gave permission for him to be interred. His death made a very moving and emotional impression on us children. In the city, it was said that Fyvkeh was a sacrifice to expiate the sins of the city: the trees in the synagogue were cut down – and this was forbidden – they were to be uprooted and replanted elsewhere. We, the children, organized ourselves to carry bricks on a carrier on our backs, each according to their strength: five to ten bricks at a time. It was dangerous for small children to go about with heavy carriers up so many flights, above the gutters. Józef the builder arranged it for us and permitted us to go up and survey the entire vista from that height, reaching all the way to Breznica, and the entire Ostrów road and the river.   Jews would constantly be sitting on a bench near the synagogue, together with the Rabbi, holding the engineer’s plan in hand and trying to understand it in simple terms: what does the engineer mean by putting this box here, with this circle, with this underline, etc. All of these Jews, scholars with good heads, with and without eyeglasses, would discourse among themselves for so long, that the little tailor, Shlomo Szerzug, a lean little Jewish man, not particularly tall, constantly smiling, with a pair of all-knowing eyes in his head and a short pointed beard, would go over to them. Everyone would fall silent: Nu, R’ Shlomo, what do you say? And he, R’ Shlomo Szerzug, would put on his sewing spectacles. One earpiece was missing, and a thin strand tied the glasses to an ear. And R’ Shlomo takes a stand and explains to this gathering of scholars and intellectuals, what the plan means, measuring each line with his finger, and clarifies it for everyone. Now, it is as clear as day. And Berl Golombek who had a quick mind, immediately grasped it and immediately relayed the explanation to the Rabbi and the others. ‘Reb Sleima,’ the Rabbi says to the little tailor, you have the mind of a minister, and you should have been a rabbi, not a ‘shnayder (tailor).’55 So R’ Shlomo smiles and says: a tailor is also a human being56... and then Moshe-Aharon the Builder took the plan and went off to consult with his builder, Józef.   The synagogue was being built with deliberate speed, for the entire summer. In the end, Friday, on the Erev Shabbat of Nachamu, Józef the builder nailed in a rod to the zdromb (meaning: the joint where the walls meet the roof), covered it with leaves and flowers, and on the tip of the rod -- a large Star of David -- banged together from strips of molding. This was a sign that the synagogue was complete on the outside, and it will be possible to worship within during the [upcoming] High Holy Days.   Binyomekeh Schuster57 was designated as the first shammes of the synagogue (see a separate article about him). The synagogue attracted intelligent Jews from all over the city, and both of the Batei Medrashim, and became the official house of worship of the Zambrów community. The interior remained half-finished for a few more years, without a proper Holy Ark, [with] simple benches and poor lighting. A little at a time, step by step, the synagogue became improved and took its [proper] place in the city. It was here that gatherings were arranged, it was here that a kitchen for the needy was created, and during the First World War, it was here that the representatives of the powers that be came to show their respect for the Jewish religion, and it was here that the sermons of the famous maggidim would be given. In the final years before the Holocaust, the synagogue fell increasingly into disuse. The young people had moved away, and the elderly were afraid to go there at night. It was one of the first buildings to be burned down, which will never again be rebuilt...      The Shas Study Group   A Bet HaMedrash of scholars was established on the Koszarer Gasse, which also included some of the ‘modern-world’ balebatim, called Chevra Shas. It was a progressive Bet HaMedrash, a small one in a private house. Prayers were seldom said there, as was the case in the other Batei Medrashim. The Rabbi would not step over the threshold there. Here is what Mr. Leib Dunowicz writes about the Chevra Shas: ‘I remember the Chevra Shas, which was founded by my father, the late Menachem Dunowicz, of blessed memory, together with other balebatim who studied the Shas.   Despite the fact that this Chevra carries such an explicitly religious name, it was a progressive institution, and its members were even freethinkers, such as the pharmacist Szklovin, the photographer Gordon, and several of the leaders of the Zambrów labor community.   However, the dominating element in the Chevra was the religious one, among which could be found renown scholars. Here, I will mention only a few of them: Mordechai Jerusalimsky, Abba Frumkin, David Smolar, Yitzhak Greenberg (later on a cantor in America), Joseph Frumkin (Abba’s son, who was beloved by all of us for his gentleness, and his knowledge of Torah and wisdom, most recently a rabbi in America), et a. Up to the First World War, my father was the gabbai in this Chevra, but when he went off to do military service, this position was taken over by Yudl Ausman.   I can still recall those halcyon days of celebration, that we would arrange in the Chevra Shas, with all of the pomp and circumstance and full ardor. We would make these celebrations fit for royalty, with drink, fruit, baked goods. I do not know how it was that Jews suddenly became ‘artisans’ and made fully colored lanterns, which spun cleverly along with other fine decorations. It was with a special gusto that the holiday of all holidays – Simchas Torah – was celebrated. On that day, joy reached its zenith: Jews went and searched out – from whence I do not know – outsized hats, which they would wear sideways, tying up their beards with red kerchiefs, and in a feigned drunkenness, they would dance in the middle of the street. We, the little children, their junior partners, would hold onto their gartels58 and dance along with them – regardless of how much we did not want to irritate them, it was not a deterrent – this was our and their festival.   An entirely separate story were the High Holy Days. Along with my father, I would go to Selichot services at midnight. It was still all around. A gentle rain would often be falling. The awe, before the High Holy Days, before the Day of Judgment, coursed over everything. It seemed that even the fish in the water trembled before that awesome day. And here, we arrive at the Chevra Shas. Jews are standing about already, and waiting. R’ Motl Melsheinker, who conducts the Musaf service, also recites the Selichot prayers, each word accompanied by an ‘Oy!’ and a groan. And, before you know it, we are at Yom Kippur. R’ Motl Melsheinker has already recited the Hineni prayer – and the walls about us shuddered. The Yom Kippur candles and the boxes of sand also trembled and shed tears, hot tears. And we, the children, frightened, repentant, would turn the pages of the Mahzor, praying with conviction, with a broken heart before our Master of the Universe...’ One of the nicest people in Zambrów in general, and in the Chevra Shas in particular, was R’ Yaakov Kukowka, the Shoemaker (see the special write-up about him). He was a truly well-learned Jew, wise, progressive, at ease among the finest of the balebatim and the intelligentsia of the town, and was the right hand of Abba Rokowsky in community affairs, and was the main pillar of the Chevra Shas. The Chevra Shas met in a rented premises. Later on, the righteous woman, the chaste, elderly Mrs. Sokol, made a pledge that when she would build her own house, she will allocate space there, in perpetuity, to the Chevra Shas... and she fulfilled her pledge. It was not only the premises – she also assumed responsibility for its cleanliness. On the eve of every Sabbath and festival holiday, she and her daughters would ‘invade’ the Chevra Shas, washing the floors, cleaning the walls, the benches, the candelabras, and lamps, and everything glistened under her hands.   In the Chevra Shas, mutual aid was also organized: in the event that one of the worshipers was occasionally in need for a helping hand, or other forms of assistance – he got it.      The Hasidim Shtibl   There were no lack of Hasidim in Zambrów. The ritual slaughterers Yudl Yismakh and Benjamin Rosenbaum were Hasidim. Most of the more prominent balebatim, mostly those who had come here to live from elsewhere, or were sons-in-law from Hasidic towns, worshiped in the Hasidic shtibl. There were Hasidic ‘dynasties’ in the town, like the shoemaker from Gać, along with his sons and sons-in-law, each and everyone a zealous and fanatic Hasid, and had strong opinions. R’ Herschel Czeszliar and his fine sons, among them R’ Yehoshua the Melamed, were Hasidim. The Laundry Dyer and his children – fanatic Hasidim. And so were the millers and kasha makers, old man David Shlomo Bronack (Sokherzug), R’ Moshe Aharon Mulyar, R’ Itcheh Mulyar, R’ David Itch’eizeh’s with his sons, R’ Yankl Trum, R’ Yossl Konopiateh, the Zarembskis, the Bojmkolers, Sendaks, Pszisuskers, and many others. Previously, there were small Hasidic shtiblakh, split up and divided according to the rebbe they followed: Amszinow, Geer, Alexander, Tomaszow, and here and there a Hasid from Kotzk, Radzymin, etc.     The large Hasidic shtibl was finished being built in 1908, which took in all of the Hasidim in the shtetl and unified all the followers of the rebbes, and this created a sort of center for the Hasidim in Zambrów. The Hasidim shtibl, built out of wood, on a side street near the White Bet HaMedrash, became a magnet for many of the lively and observant Jews. The little street resonated with the chants of the Hasidim on a Friday night, both in solo and in group singing. At twilight on Saturday, at Shaleshudes time, the walls of the surrounding houses literally shook: there was dancing and singing, The Teachers and the Committee of the Jewish-Polish Volksschule. R’ Menachem Dunowicz, the Municipal Dozor, sits in the center. Torah lessons were given, there was drinking and eating, and people let themselves have a good time. The Saturday evening Melave Malkeh would stretch late into the night. Were a rebbe to visit, or a rebbe’s grandson, or just a plain ordinary member of the rebbe’s immediate court – the celebration in the shtetl that Sabbath was akin to that on Simchas Torah. Often, the Hasidim, while still wearing their prayer shawls and gartels, would go over to R’ Shlomo Sokherzug (Bronack) for Kiddush, or sometimes to someone else. The entire shtetl rocked with them. On Simchas Torah, the Hasidim would dine together at a collective feast. In a designated house, of one of the Hasidim, between four to five barrels would be set up, from the businesses with the boards. Each family would bring food, and pour [contents] into the general barrel: here fish, there soup, here tzimmes, and there meat. The Hasidim would eat from a common pot: all as equals, the important people, poor-rich, accomplished and simple, all prayed together from one prayer book to one God – and ate from one pot.. . Occasionally a ‘rebbe’ would come in connection with ‘business matters.’ He would lodge somewhere or another for the Sabbath – and there, he would set out his ‘tisch’ for a large audience. This was also done by the ‘agents’ who would sell ship tickets to America and would smuggle tens of immigrants over the border. They were called ‘Yendikehs,’ in a coded form of slang. Abraham Aharon Brizman, as it turns out, not a Hasid, had an ‘office’ with a large ship on a sign. Occasionally a ‘rebbe’ would would come for the Sabbath, and there would be much merriment. But the ‘rebbe’ was more business man and carried on business with ship companies...and in the Hasidim shtibl, weddings would sometime take place – either paid for or not.   Fundamentally, the city was a city of Mitnagdim, and the opinion of the Hasidim did not carry much weight. If it did – it was on account of the individual’s standing, and not because he was specifically a Hasid.   However, contrary to what was the case in other towns, there was not a great divide between the Hasidim and the Mitnagdim. The young people were of both schools of thought: Hasidim and Mitnagdim. But in this respect, the Hasidic youth was more distinguished.     The Rabbi's Handwriting     A Facsimile of a Letter, from Rabbi Dov-Menachem Regensberg of Zambrów to the Relief Committee in Chicago, in which he refutes the false rumors concerning ‘Centos.’              The Rabbis The First Rabbi of Zambrów (?) Older people (R’ Meir Zuckerowicz) related to me that the first rabbi in Zambrów was Rabbi Zundl. There is no longer anyone who knows, however, who he was, from whence he came, and how long he held his seat.   It was additionally told that: When R’ Lipa Chaim became the Rabbi of Łomża, the balebatim did not want to bring in a rabbi from a strange place. They approached R’ Abraham Zarembski, a wine merchant, proposing that he become the rabbi. R’ Abraham was a formidable scholar, was much loved in the shtetl, and had an ordination from distinguished rabbis. But he did not want to make a living from his Torah knowledge. When he was intensely lobbied, he finally agreed, but only on condition that he receive no salary from the city...   When R’ Lipa Chaim was not certified by the government to become the Rabbi of Łomża, he returned to Zambrów, and R’ Abraham immediately relinquished the rabbinical chair to him.      R’ Lipa Chaim   R’ Lipa Chaim, who strictly speaking was the second rabbi of Zambrów, was a personality – in Torah, wisdom, and good deeds. He was born in Tykocin. His father was the Rabbi of Krynki and was descended from rabbis and gaonim. At first, he was a merchant in Tykocin. [However] he devoted himself more to Torah study than to commerce. Accordingly, his businesses did not do so well, and he sought another way to make a living. The offer of the rabbinical seat in Zambrów was made to him. At that time, he was forty-five years old. He was a substantial open-hearted donor to charity. He would concern himself about the welfare of the poor and would personally go to find places for food and lodging on the Sabbath, for itinerant paupers and clergy. When, on one occasion, he put pressure on one wealthy man in Zambrów to take in a guest for the Sabbath, that rich man replied: Rebbe, I am not a scholar like you. When your business didn’t go so well – you became a rabbi, and what will I become, should my businesses not succeed?   When R’ Elyeh Chaim Maisel, the Rabbi of Łomża, became the Rabbi of Lodz, the balebatim of Łomża sent an offer letter for the rabbinate in their city to R’ Lipa Chaim. R’ Lipa Chaim was, however, the Rabbi in Łomża for only a short while: the Russian régime did not grant him certification to be the Rabbi, because he knew no Russian. R’ Lipa Chaim then returned to Zambrów. The Zambrów balebatim were happy with his return and took him back with open arms. In his last years, when he had already become old and weak, he spent his time in devising innovative interpretations of the Torah and effectively groomed his son-in-law Rabbi Regensberg, who actually became the Rabbi of Zambrów after his death.   R’ Israel Salanter – In Zambrów By Sholom-Abner Bernstein (New York)   The Remains of the Gravesite of  the Pharmacist  Szklovin in the Zambrów Cemetery The Workingmen of Zambrów, taking their leave of R’ Alter the Maggid, on the occasion of his departure for the United States of America. The Maggid can be seen at the center of the picture.   It was a Thursday, before daybreak, some time ago in the year 1883. The Jews were beginning to gather in the market place, to buy bargains for the Sabbath. A fishmonger had already opened his fish stand, and women and men had already gathered around him. A wagon drives up from Tyszowce, and an elderly Jew of imposing appearance, dressed well and enchantingly like a Lithuanian rabbi, with shined boots, holding a small valise in his hand, instructs the wagon driver to take the larger trunk into Mordechai-Aharon’s inn, and asks for the Bet HaMedrash, where the Zambrów Rabbi, R’ Lipa Chaim worships:   'During the week, he does not pray in the Bet HaMedrash,’ someone says to him, but rather in the community shtibl, where the ‘ten idlers’ pray, that is, the balebatim who learn a page of Gemara with the Rabbi before dawn, before prayers, and then another page of Gemara after prayers.   And so the guest smiled and replied: Good, let it be the community shtibl then! And so, a clutch of Jews gathered around the guest, greeted him with ‘Sholom Aleichem,’ and did not have the temerity to ask, ‘From where do you hail?’ This [is] because they trembled before the imposing appearance of the man. He was then led off to the rabbi, followed by a crowd of curious onlookers. When he came into the community shtibl, the elderly rabbi, R’ Lipa Chaim, rose like a soldier in front of an officer and offered the blessing: ‘Blessed be he that has offered from his wisdom to those who respect him.!’ [He] offered him the greeting ‘Sholom Aleichem, Rabbi Israel Wolf Salanter!’ Then all the other worshipers rose to their feet, and each in turn offered their greetings to the great guest. Not much was said, and they took to recitation of their prayers. When it came time to read the Torah, R’ Lipa Chaim went up to my father, R’ Israel-Zalman, the Holy Emissary, may he rest in peace, and said: ‘You are a Levite, and today you are due to have the second aliyah, because tomorrow, Friday, there is going to be a brit [milah] at your house. However, we must honor this great guest with this aliyah, because he too is a Levite. But because of this, God willing, tomorrow, R’ Israel Salanter will be the sandak for your youngest son..’ The newborn Jew, at his ritual circumcision, was given the name Sholom-Abner, and that was me...   R’ Israel Salanter, the founder of the renown ‘Mussar’ yeshivas in Lithuania – had planned to bring the Mussar movement also to Łomża, where he planned to found a large yeshiva. He traveled to Łomża about this, to his student, R’ Lejzor Szuliowicz, the future headmaster. Along the way, he stopped at Zambrów, took counsel about this with the wise old rabbi, R’ Lipa Chaim, who knew the area very well, and was himself a disciple of the Mussar movement, in opposition to the Hasidim.      The Holy Rabbi R’ Dov Menachem Regensberg59     R’ Dov Menachem Regensberg   He was born in Lithuania into a rabbinical family in the year 5612 (1852).   As a wife, he took the daughter of the Rabbi R’ Lipa Chaim, in Zambrów, in the year 5632 (1872).   He assumed the rabbinical chair in Zambrów after the passing of his father-in-law, in the year 5642 (1882). He died a martyr’s death at the hand of the Nazis, on 3 Elul, 5701 – August 26, 1941.   During a period of fifty-nine years he was the central figure of the Jewish community, set its boundaries, and personally injected himself into its troubles.   He represented that golden chain of Polish and Lithuanian rabbis, was a student of the Torah and a doer of good, practiced respectfulness and offered good deeds, was a staunch guardian in assuring that the glowing coal of Judaism not be extinguished and be permitted to expire.   He stood at the center of the community’s troubles, and its celebrations took part in its suffering and celebration. He was a living witness to its rise, and also, unfortunately, to its fall.   With his tragic death, the fall of the [Jewish] Zambrów community was ushered in. May their blood be avenged.   A Small City With A Great Rabbi Here is what a pupil of his, today a rabbi in America, writes about the Rabbi: Zambrów was a small shtetl and had a great rabbi, one of the best and most outstanding rabbis in all of Poland. While Zambrów still existed as a city, we did not recognize him as such. Now, after the destruction of that community, we see how great his personality really was and what sort of scholar and tzadik he really was. While still a Talmud Torah student, I already recognized his great love of Torah and his devotion to Jewish children. In the class that I was supposed to complete and then transfer to the Łomża Yeshiva, the Rabbi ordered us to learn twenty pages of the Gemara by heart, beginning with ‘Shnayim Okhazin,’ in ‘Baba Metzia.’ He listened to us like a loving father and picked out six students to go to the yeshiva. I was one of them. He rewarded us with a piece of honey cake and wine and gave each of us three zlotys. When we traveled to Łomża, he accompanied us to our hansom cab, giving us parcels of food, chocolate, and letters of recommendation to the headmaster of the yeshiva – that he should take good care of us, as good students. We came home for the holidays. The first order of business was to pay a call on the Rabbi. He was happy to see us, as if we were his own children. Approximately two quorums worth of yeshiva students would gather to pray with him at his home. When the shammes would come to call him to worship, because the congregation was waiting on him, he would try to get out of going and remain here among his own. After prayers, on the Sabbath and festivals, he would make Kiddush, treat us to a piece of honey cake, wine and fruit, and ask us to rehearse Torah for him, and then engage with us in a bit of a Torah dance. The Rabbi was a very substantial student, and by five o’clock in the morning he was already sitting in the White Bet HaMedrash learning. After worship, he would study until twelve noon or longer. He would then grab a bit of kichl to eat, and drink a bit of warm milk that he would bring with him in a thermos bottle. After the noon hour, he would sleep a bit and again sit down to learn some more. At dusk, he would learn a page of Gemara in the shtibl of the Ger Hasidim, despite the fact that he, personally, was a Mitnagid. When the ‘Committee of the Yeshivas’ was established to raise money in the towns for the yeshivas, the Rabbi was one of the first [of its members]. Paying no mind to his advanced age, he traveled from city to city: he held forth with lectures and collected money for the poor yeshiva students. On one occasion, a rather significant rabbinical court was empanelled in Łomża. The Rebbetzin did not want to permit him to travel there because he was weak. All the rabbis were beside themselves: such an elderly man is to travel so late at night? He had been told that R’ Elyeh the Shammes had hit a yeshiva student, because the latter had broken a window in the Red Bet HaMedrash. Accordingly, the Rabbi had the shammes summoned, levied a monetary fine on him, and prohibited him from ascending the bimah for two weeks. ‘When a yeshiva student causes damage, first come and tell me, and I will pay for it’ – he admonished the shammes. About a year before the Second World War, I came to receive my ordination from him. He drew me near and showed me how he adjudicates questions that have been posed, how he concerns himself with the city, works to further Judaism and maintains oversight to assure that the ‘Talmud Torah’ building is erected as quickly as possible at his expense: he had won five thousand zlotys in the lottery and had given it all to build the new Talmud Torah. Once he came to Łomża in connection with business for the Talmud Torah, and he encountered me at the home of the Rabbi, where I was ruling on a particularly difficult matter. The Łomża Rabbi had deferred to me, according me the honor of issuing the ruling, and the Zambrów Rabbi was very happy to see his student receive such a consideration. The losing side in the case attacked me: Is the young rabbi putting himself up opposite the elderly arbitrator R’ Naphtali Garbarsky? The Zambrów Rabbi quickly rose to his feet and said: You have insulted a formidable scholar – you must apologize to him and pay a monetary fine in favor of the Zambrów Talmud Torah. The remaining rabbis lowered their heads, because they did not react the same way he did. [During] Simchas Torah in Zambrów. I never saw the Rabbi so lively and full of joy. He danced around us, a group of young students, and shouted with all his might: you are, after all, living Torah scrolls! One time he fell sick, and the doctors forbade him to exert himself and speak. When he spied me, he demanded that I give a Torah talk on his behalf, No excuse helped, and I had to do it. A week later, when I came again to see him, the Rebbetzin bemoaned to me that she had stepped out to buy something at midday, and in his weakened condition [he] went off to Łomża for a major case between the Nowogród Rabbi and Shokhet... He was told that a new teacher had come to the city who was a freethinker, who was teaching the children, boys and girls together, to mock Judaism. The Rabbi burst into tears. A couple of days later, Abraham’l Golombek brought the Rabbi a torn mezuzah that a young yeshiva student had torn out of the teacher’s hands. The teacher wanted to burn the mezuzah. The Rabbi immediately called for a gathering in the White Bet HaMedrash and excommunicated the teacher, as well as those who send their children to him. So one woman stood to oppose him – so her daughter became ill and died, and the Rabbi was moved to tears: why is the child guilty, if her mother is the one who sinned? The teacher left the shtetl, went to Ostrołęka and died there. A vigorous battle was had with the owner of the movie theatres that were open on the Sabbath. They wanted to beat him, blocked his way, and for a week’s time did not let him into his own house. However, the Rabbi ultimately prevailed. [During] Hanukkah 1940, in the heat of the war, I came to take my leave of him, before my trip to Vilna. The shtetl was half-ruined and burned down. The synagogue and the Batei Medrashim were incinerated, as well as the new Talmud Torah, etc. I met with the Rabbi and the Rebbetzin in a tiny room, where they lived after their house and the entire library had been burned down. With tears in his eyes, the Rabbi told me how the bomb exploded in his house, and the Rebbetzin had to force him out of the house, literally seconds before the explosion. He was only able to save his tallis and tefillin and one small book. I went with him, to collect bread for the poor. He asked me to help him reconstitute the mikvah. Accordingly, I said to him: ‘At a time like this, Rebbe?’ So he says: ‘The house is on fire, and the clock is ticking’... I was compelled to leave the city and flee to Vilna, from which I was able to save myself. I said farewell to the Rabbi for the last time.   His Grandchildren Tell Here is what his two grandsons write about their grandfather, the Rabbi, these being the brothers David and Heschel Klepfish, the children of Sotshe.   David Writes: My grandfather, Rabbi David Menachem Regensberg, occupied the rabbinical seat in Zambrów for nearly sixty years, from the year 1882, when he was barely thirty years old, to the year 1941. When he became ninety years old he was still completely alert, he could still see with his eyes, and he was still fresh. However, the Nazis forced him to dig his own grave. When he became the Rabbi in Zambrów, it was still a small shtetl, with three hundred families, approximately. But since the Russian authorities decided to build barracks in Zambrów – the city began to prosper and grow. In a short time the population tripled in size, up to fifteen hundred Jewish families. There were approximately as many non-Jews. Together with the city, the functions of the Rabbi also grew. And the Rabbi loved his shtetl, and loved his position. And it didn’t come to him so easily. For many long years, he conducted a battle with the balebatim, with the government, and with the Kozioner Rabbiner. Rabbi Regensberg took over the position of his father-in-law, R’ Yom-Tov Lipman Chaim Kahana-Shapiro. The Rabbi was born in the year 1852, into a family of Lithuanian scholars. His father, R’ David, was the rabbi in a number of small Lithuanian towns and was a descendant of prominent rabbis, both on his father’s side and his mother’s side. I know little about his youth. However, my grandfather once told me that he studied in the yeshiva at Eishishok, together with his brother Ely’-Sholom, who later became the Rabbi in London. They studied there under deprived conditions and sustained themselves for an entire week on bread and cheese – except for the Sabbath, when they would eat at the table of one of the balebatim. He arrived in Zambrów in 1872, approximately. After being subsidized for a few years by his father-in-law, the Rabbi opened up a small food store, and for a number of years he was a storekeeper. That went on until R’ Lipa Chaim, the old rabbi, attracted him to his profession, and that he should help conduct the business of the rabbinate and adjudicate community issues, resolving questions, and preside over rabbinical courts.   The End of the Past Century In the year 1884, they began the building of the barracks, and as it was in those years in Russia, the contractors were Jewish. They brought a new stream of life into the city and exerted a very strong influence on the Jewish way of life. In those years, ‘Zionism’ also appeared on one side, and the Socialist Labor Movement, exemplified by the ‘Bund,’ the S. S., the S. R., and ‘Poaeli Zion' on the other side. The shtetl seethed and boiled. And the Rabbi opposed this, and as you can understand, fought all of them as elements that were harmful to the spirit of Judaism and the study of Torah. Consequently he made a lot of enemies. He had a second war going on with the government. The authorities insisted that the Rabbi be able to transact in Russian, and lead in Jewish civil matters. This was difficult for the Rabbi, who was actually quite fluent and knew Russian very well, but he had no heart for it, and for him it represented an inexcusable waste of time, to be taken away from Torah study in this manner. And at that time, he already had four children. When the authorities remained adamant in their demand, the decision was taken to emulate the practice that had arisen in other towns: in such an instance they retained another rabbi, a ‘government rabbi’ (Kozioner Rabbiner) who would speak Russian and manage municipal affairs. To do this, they brought in Rabbi Moshe David Gold for this purpose, who was also a recognized scholar and a fully ordained rabbi, a son-in-law to the Rabbi of Kopczewa. Now the real battle began: The Rabbi wanted to have control of weddings and ritual circumcisions. The Government rabbi argued that this belonged to him. The balebatim divided up into parties: one for the Rabbi, the other for the Kozioner Rabbiner. His supporters were the ones who worshiped at the Red Bet HaMedrash, with the Golombeks and the craftsmen. The opposition in the White Bet HaMedrash. This dispute between the rabbis reached the court in Łomża. The Łomża rabbinate involved itself in this, fearing that if the Government rabbi would win, then all the ‘spiritual rabbis’ would suffer a loss of prestige. This went on until Rabbi Gold was nominated to be the Rabbi of Nowogród, near Łomża, at which point peace returned to the shtetl. One way or another, Rabbi Regensberg got through the examination, studying a bit, offering a bit of bribery, and the government left him alone.     In His Later Years When the Rabbi became an old man, he became weak and traveled to Germany to ‘take the waters’ at the spas. My grandmother would travel with him, and occasionally one of his supporters, R’ Abraham Shlomo Dzenchill, who was called ‘Pracht’ (because of his use of German words, and especially for using the word ‘pracht60’ often). On occasion, he would also take along a grandchild. He loved his grandchildren immensely. When his oldest son R’ Yaakov-Aharon, the Rabbi of Wierzbnik passed away, he raised his children, two grandchildren. My grandfather told me about a frightening night that he lived through at the time when the Russians retreated in the year 1920, and the Poles came back. A group of Polish soldiers, who were beating and robbing Jews, came to the Rabbi, with the intent to ‘make merry.’ And at the Rabbi’s home, a number of Jewish men had gathered to discuss municipal matters. They broke in the door from the street side, but were overcome by fear on the steps, and the soldiers drew back.   His Scholarship My grandfather learned day and night. He had a large library. During the winter on a late Friday afternoon, he would study at the Red Bet HaMedrash, by the light of a gas lamp, until late at night. Once, when the lamp had begun to go out, he got up on the table and placed the Gemara up close to the lamp and finished his studying this way. Also, in his own home, in his court shtibl, he would study until later into the night, either alone or with a companion, Zalman the Dayan and others.   In the year 1903, he founded a yeshiva in Zambrów. However, in the year 1905, the year of the Russian Revolution, it was closed until the year 1917, when his son-in-law, my father, R’ Aharon-Yaakov Klepfish ז"ל reopened it.   In the year 1930, the Rabbi won a large prize in the Polish lottery. However, he donated all of the money for the construction of a new Talmud Torah, across from the Red Bet HaMedrash where the guest house formerly stood, and was the old house of the Rabbi. At the same time, he completed his two books: ‘Divrei Menachem,’ and ‘Minchat Menachem,’ which were his solace during his older years.   His Activities The Rabbi involved himself in all community affairs: in the ritual slaughter, charity, etc. He loved to do everything by himself, and not through any intermediary or representative. He personally would commit himself on the eve of Passover, to go out and collect support for the poor – ‘Maot Khitim’, and he would personally volunteer himself on behalf of the city after the fires. Incidentally, during both of the great city fires, his house was spared. During the First Fire – it is told – that the Rabbi ascended to the roof of his house, and gesturing with his hands recited a sacred incantation from the Kabbalah, and his house was spared.   In the years of peace, the Rabbi was always the representative of the city to the authorities. He concerned himself to see that Jewish soldiers were given furlough during the Jewish holidays and receive kosher meals at a Jewish table. Year in and year out he would swear in Jewish soldiers ‘on the spot,’ obtaining their oath to serve the Czar loyally, and later the Polish State. When the First World War broke out, at the end of the summer of 1914, the Rabbi was in [Bad] Kissingen, Germany, at a sanatorium. The Germans interned him as a Russian citizen. Nine months later, he was released and permitted to travel home by way of Sweden.   The front got closer to the city, and the harassment of Jewish citizens as spies grew in intensity. Jews were whipped, beaten, arrested, and exiled into faraway Russia.   The Rabbi needed to put up with a great deal and had to be constantly on guard. When the city filled up with the homeless, the Rabbi concerned himself with their plight, sought food, clothing, a place for them to live, and employment. The Rabbi and his ‘cossacks’ such as R’ Leibl Rosing, R’ Abraham Shlomo Pracht67, R’ Shia the Melamed, Yaakov-David the Shoemaker from Gać, Sholom Yaakov the Fruit Storekeeper , etc., set down a discipline that it should be a requirement to study and not violate the Sabbath. Even when the ‘Agudah’ brought down its agitators, the Rabbi was very watchful and watched with both eyes open, lest their intent be to do something else.   His Relationship to the Land of Israel Even though he was a member of the Agudah, he was always interested in the Land of Israel. On Tisha B’Av he would mourn intensely over the destruction of Jerusalem. He would receive fruit from the Land of Israel with great joy, on Tu B’Shevat, or olive oil, etc. In a like manner, his entire family was suffused with a ‘love of Zion.’ His brother took up residence in Jerusalem. The Rabbi, himself, looked after the fund-raising and allocation kollel of Suwalki-Łomża in the entire area, and would do a great deal for those who would travel to live out their final years in the Land of Israel. The Rabbi worked in this way, for all of his Jewish flock, until his last day.   In the year 1936, when I was on a pleasure trip in Poland, I met my grandfather when he was already eighty-five years of age, in Warsaw, together with Mr. Gottlieb. They had both come to raise support for the city. My grandfather had been Rabbi of the city, uninterrupted, for nearly sixty years. He went through everything with the Jews of his city, until his last day.   The Second Grandson, Heschel, Tells: My grandfather stood at the head of the Zambrów community for a full fifty-nine years. Actually, he was acting in this capacity even a few years prior to this, when his father-in-law, R’ Lipa Chaim, had grown old, and his son-in-law carried out the duties of his office. I would wonder when my grandfather would use the familiar ‘du’ in speaking to an elderly Jew with a gray beard. When I thought about this and realized that the Rabbi knew him when he was still a little boy, I understood it better. I recall the time when I had just become a bar mitzvah. My grandfather is sitting in the Bet HaMedrash, in his tallis and tefillin, and he is studying. I had already finished my prayers and was removing my tefillin. My grandfather says to me: Come, let us study a page of the Gemara together! I say: Grandpa, I am hungry. My grandfather says, in a stern voice: Why, am I not hungry? The balebatim knew my grandfather as a fanatic and someone who had a temper. Few, however, knew his gentleness, his good-heartedness, his naïveté and folksy nature. When the yeshiva boys would gather about him on festival days, my grandfather would dance with them and sing his particularly favored little song: Oh, you evil inclination, Keep on going, Turn and come back Go to your most beloved brethren! They will heed you they will hear you Whatever it is you Will want of them! Dear Hasidim, dear Mitnagdim, Dear Yerushalim students, Dear Bavli Students, They will not heed you And will not hear you, Whatever it is you Will want of them! My soul yearns for you, My flesh thirsts for you Yearns, yearns, yearns, yearns, Thirsts, thirsts, thirsts, thirsts, My soul yearns for you, My flesh thirsts for you! This is just an excerpt of the song, and possibly inaccurately rendered – but this is how I remember it! Perhaps someone will complete it, and turn it over to a collector of folklore? (See above page 130).   My grandfather was a man of the people and suffused with the ideals of the rabbis of his generation. It was not only once that he would burst into tears during one of his sermons, when he would speak about the bad conditions of the faith. In the year 1939, summer, he spoke before a Rabbinical Assembly in Vilna. He was the oldest rabbi at that assembly and shook everyone up with his words about the desecration of the Sabbath. The entire Assembly wept along with him.   He studied constantly. I was so used to seeing his house full of books, like my grandfather’s, that when I would travel somewhere else and did not find any books, I would wonder, how can this be? During the Second World War, a bomb exploded in his house and destroyed it, burning all of his books. It was only by a miracle that he personally was saved, but it did him no good. The Nazis murdered him. It is with his death, that the annihilation of Zambrów [Jewry] commenced.      The Rabbi’s House     A group of active members of ‘Poaeli Zion’ from the Łomża circle, in honor of Riva, the Rabbi’s daughter (center), with her husband (to the left), Moshe Erem. It is the eve of Passover 1929 – two days before the seder, and everything is almost finished, the fashionable Anglican shoes shined, and the beet borscht is strained. The Rebbetzin Mindl has come in immediately in the morning and presented herself to my mother with her borscht, like ‘nice wine,’ and stood to recite the morning prayer. And suddenly something happened, we found her unconscious – having suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. On the following morning, we laid the Rebbetzin Mindl, daughter of R’ Lipa Chaim זצ"ל to her eternal rest, She was a quiet person, constantly busy. She would avoid entering the shtibl of the Rabbinical court. In her old age, she was the one who raise two orphans: Lipa Chaim, and David-cheh – the children of her son Yaakov, who had died as a young man – the Rabbi of Wierzbnika. The holiday served to mitigate the bereavement, On the eve of Passover, the Rabbi dressed in his holiday finery and rode off to get the soldiers released for Passover. Surrounded by the family of his daughter Sotshe, he got through the first time. As was always his habit, shortly before Lag B’Omer the Rabbi began to make preparations to travel to his vacation place in Długosiodło. On the eve of Lag B’Omer, the shammes, Nachman, escorted him to Długosiodlo, and on the following morning returned quite early to inform us that the Rabbi had married a cousin of his, Rachel, a sister to Molya Cohen. She was a widow, a mother of two daughters (her older daughter Sarah’leh was the teacher in the Bet Yaakov School, and later married Molya). On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, they returned from Długosiodlo. The Rebbetzin Rachel was a middle-aged woman, very refined and intelligent, and highly suitable [to her position]. She applied herself to getting accustomed to her new home and established relationships with her neighbors. Shortly after Sukkos, on Friday morning, in getting ready for the Sabbath, she fell down and had a cerebral hemorrhage. On Sunday, she was laid to her final rest... this event left a very profound impression on the shtetl. On the eve of Purim, the Rabbi called me in and asked me to fill out checks for large sums, without dates. We immediately understood that this was connected with assuring widow’s pensions with the community. That same night, after reading the Megillah, the Rabbi entered into marriage with a woman from Kolno, a relative of R’ Mordechai Jerusalimsky, her name was Eiga. On the following day, she sat in the Rabbinical court shtibl, wearing a wide apron, and listened to the questions posed and other community issues. Eiga was killed together with the Rabbi.   From the Spark Emerged a Flame By Israel Levinsky (From my recollections about the dispute between the Kozioner Rabbiner, and the ‘Spiritual Leader’ in Zambrów.). After the death of R’ Lipa Chaim, his son-in-law, R’ David-Menachem Regensberg ז"ל became the Rabbi, who came from Lithuania, from a prominent rabbinical family. The new, young rabbi, was not so easily accepted in Zambrów. The old rabbi, R’ Lipa Chaim, was, apart from his formidable erudition, a loveable man, a great sage and showed affection for Jews even if they were not observant, and drew them near to him, and in general was very strongly committed to his flock. The young Rabbi, by contrast, was a formidable zealot, very observant and a fanatic. In his early years, he could not find that balance and began to stubbornly harass the irreligious, meaning all those who were going along with progress. You can appreciate that an opposition to the Rabbi formed immediately: all the balebatim sympathetic to Zionism, and people who generally were enlightened, did not want him as a rabbi. The city therefore divided itself into two camps: one consisted of the Rabbi’s opposition, who worshiped in the new (later called the ‘White’) Bet HaMedrash, and the second, were the Rabbi’s supporters, who worshiped in what later came to be called the ‘Red Bet HaMedrash.’ His opponents in the White Bet HaMedrash were: Abcheh Rokowsky, a well-known writer, a great scholar and a Zionist, Benjamin Kagan, a son of the Rabbi of Zabludów, also a scholar and ardent Zionist, Shlom’keh Blumrosen, the Burcziniaks, the writer of these columns, et al. In the second (Red) Bet HaMedrash, the aristocratic Jewish establishment family presided, the Golombeks, and they took the young Rabbi under their aegis. Since the young Zambrów Rabbi did not know Russian, the language of the land, the government could not designate him as the ‘rabbi of record' – according to the law – but only as the rabbi as a ‘spiritual leader,' who must confine his duties to internal matters of Jewish religion, such as adjudicating religious questions, and such. Civil matters pertaining to the Jewish community, such as managing the books of the community (recording Jewish births, weddings and deaths, matters pertaining to taxes, etc.) needed to be given over to a second rabbi, who was called the Kozioner Rabbiner. He did not have to be a scholar, and even did not have to be observant. All he needed was to be literate in Russian. His work was to conduct all Jewish administrative functions. In this connection, the opponents of the Rabbi made every effort to assure that the Kozioner Rabbiner was also a bona fide ordained rabbi, a scholar, in order that they be able to mount a contest with the spiritual Rabbi. And, indeed, it happened just this way. The community selected one R’ Moshe Gold, the son-in-law of the Rabbi of Kopczewa. He was a scholar, had a rabbinical ordination and knew Russian well. So it became rather lively in the shtetl. At first there was peace between the two rabbis, and they even studied together. But then, Rabbi Gold took note of the fact that he had the right, according to the law, to conduct ritual circumcisions, and especially to officiate at a wedding ceremony. However, Rabbi Regensberg did not want to accept this: after all, from time immemorial, the Rabbi was the sandak at a brit milah, as well as the officiant at weddings, and is recognized in this capacity everywhere. But Rabbi Gold didn’t want to concede this. Better said: the ‘White Bet HaMedrash’ didn’t want to concede this. So, if someone invited Rabbi Regensberg to a brit milah, then Rabbi Gold would refuse to record the details about the child in the books and did not prepare a birth certificate on his behalf. If someone requested the Rabbi to officiate at a wedding – the Kozioner Rabbiner didn’t want to recognize the wedding and did not issue a marriage certificate. If the Kozioner Rabbiner wanted to meet him halfway – give the Rabbi the honor at a brit milah or a wedding, but to retain the official side of the transaction, Rabbi Regensberg would, under no circumstances, agree to this, because this would have created a breach of rabbinical authority. Should someone want to invite both rabbis to the wedding of a son or daughter, it was impossible: ‘Two rabbis under the wedding canopy!’ There were instances, that after a wedding ceremony, the newlyweds had to appear before Rabbi Gold, and the groom needed to repeat the ritual formulation anew. After a brit milah, it was necessary for the mohel and two witnesses, and the father of the child, to come to get a certificate. Binyomkeh the Shoemaker’s eldest son, Abraham ז"ל, was not properly recorded for his entire life, had no birth certificate, and was never called for military service, etc. This was because Binyomkeh was one of the Rabbi’s men and did not want to offer recognition to the Kozioner Rabbiner. Accordingly, he didn’t get the birth of his son recorded... The following incident happened to me, personally: my father-in-law. R’ Nachman Yaakov Rothberg, was a very close friend of R’ Lipa Chaim ז"ל, and therefore also with his son-in-law, Rabbi Regensberg. He wanted to invite both rabbis to the wedding of his only daughter Tzipa, my wife ז"ל, to accord each of them proper respect. So each did not want to attend because the other would be there, and my father-in-law did not want the wedding to remain illegal. Also, I did not want to lower myself by having to repeat the wedding ritual twice. Attempts at sending intermediaries did not help – the rabbis would not give in. So one night, late in the evening, when the guests were hungry and impatient, a way out: I will perform my own wedding ceremony ( before the setting of the wedding contract conditions, the Zambrów scholars examined me and found that I was properly schooled and therefore qualified) and in the presence of two witnesses, that Rabbi Gold will send. And that is the way it was... this ‘stroke of genius’ was subsequently emulated also by others... So a worse matter takes place in the shtetl that involves a desecration as well. Herschel Burstein (Herschkeh) had no children. He wanted to leave behind a memorial to himself and wrote a fine Torah scroll. He was a supporter of Rabbi Gold. When the writing of the Torah scroll was finished by the elderly Zambrów scribe R’ Zelik’l, a festive occasion was arranged, and the Torah was taken to the White Bet HaMedrash under a wedding canopy. It is understood that Rabbi Gold led this event and gave the sermon in honor of the new scroll. After him, Abcheh Rokowsky spoke. A military orchestra played [music]. Everyone made merry. On the following morning, when Nachman the Shammes came to open the Bet HaMedrash, he noticed that the Holy Ark was open, and the new Torah scroll was missing... the supporters of Rabbi Regensberg had stolen it and tossed it somewhere, possibly into the water... the whole city was abuzz: such a scandalous act and desecration was unheard of. The Rabbi himself, Rabbi Regensberg, decried it, but nothing was of any avail: the opponents of the Kozioner Rabbiner were mad. It was possible for the Rabbi to excommunicate the thieves, if he had wanted to, and they would have brought the scroll back. But he did not do so, and the matter was turned over to the police. So the Zambrów and Łomża police searched for the scroll in the area synagogues and where prayer quorums gathered, going so far as to violate sacred places, but they did not find it... The tumult in the city became even greater. Observant Jews held with certainty that such an act of desecration must surely bring misfortune to the city. Rabbi Gold’s father-in-law, the elderly Rabbi of Kopczewa, who in his old age was living with his daughter in Zambrów, demanded that the city bring a sacrifice to expiate the sin, and if not the entire city will suffer. So, together with the help of children, he captured some young birds, and incinerated them in the oven of the White Bet HaMedrash, as a burnt offering to be entirely consumed61... but this did not help. The misfortune was visited upon the city, in the middle of a clear day. This was on a hot Friday summer’s day, at the beginning of the month of Ab 5655 (1895). The sun was burning hot, and there were few people in the streets, most of the men having gone to the baths in anticipation of the Sabbath. The womenfolk were occupied with preparing food and getting their cholent ready to be cooked. Suddenly, shouts were heard: Fire, help! The fire broke out in a smithy, near the river. It appears that there were also hot ashes. Accordingly, the straw-thatched roofs would catch fire, and burst into flames, baked by the sun, and they immediately became ignited by the sparks, and the city was engulfed in flames on all sides. There were no organized firefighters, and the few vessels that were available to extinguish fire were not in proper condition to be used. Until the firefighters arrived from Łomża and Ostrów, two hundred and seventy-five houses had been burned down, in the course of three to four hours. The synagogue and the Bet HaMedrash were also consumed. Among the discarded sacred documents in the attic of the Bet HaMedrash, the stolen Torah scroll was spotted, but it was no longer possible to save it, and it too was consumed...   At the Rabbi’s Table In the Zambrów Batei Medrashim, there were enough tables at which Jews would sit in groups and learn. Such a table was set up by the Rabbi himself, by himself and for himself in the Red Bet HaMedrash. Every evening, after Maariv, Jews who were studious would seat themselves at this table, such as Shammai-Lejzor the Messenger, Shlomo-Pracht, who was the Rabbi’s adjutant, Yitzhak the Dyer, Nahum-Hersch the Dyer, Cibuliak the Tailor, Abraham Shlomo the Tailor, Moshe-Leib the Miller’s son, Meir-Shlomka, Blumrosen’s son-in-law, Lejzor the Smith, and other individuals whose names I can no longer recall. The Rabbi would learn with them. It was during the occupation, in the years 1916-17. I had gotten ‘illegal work’ with the Germans – cleaning out the barracks and carrying water for the laundry for two-and-a-half marks a day. Tired, I would drop in at night into the Red Bet HaMedrash, to participate in the Maariv prayers. The dulcet tones of the study of Gemara, the light in the faces of those who were studying, who forget everything else at such a time when there is not enough to eat, when there is no work to be had and the political situation is unclear, and find their solace in a page of the Gemara – drew me to them. But I also studied the Gemara in cheder and enjoyed the reputation of being a good student. Accordingly, I would sit to the side and listen in. I did not have the nerve to go directly up to the table. Until, on one occasion, R’ Shammai-Lejzor said to me with is affable smile: Pinchas, why are you sitting over there like a stranger? Take a Gemara, sit beside the table and learn along with us! So I worked up my nerve, took a Gemara and learned along with them with satisfaction. From that time on, I studied every evening at the Rabbi’s table. I was the only one of the younger boys who did this.   Many years have passed since then. The times have changes, the Bet HaMedrash was destroyed, as was the entire Jewish component of the city. Nevertheless, the sing-song tune of the Gemara study from that time continues to echo in my ears to this day.   His Energy Itcheh Mailer’s son, tells of the Rabbi’s heroism and energy:   Near the Red Bet HaMedrash there was a small house that blocked the rays of the sun into the Bet HaMedrash. When the owner wanted to add a stable, the Rabbi did not permit it, since it would block the light of day even more within the Bet HaMedrash. Every time they began to build the stall, the Rabbi’s supporters knocked down the boards and stones. Some time later, a wagon driver bought the property, and for any price he wanted to construct a stable, and so he retained Christian workers to prepare to erect the stable immediately. And this is the way it was. But the Rabbi sent his men to knock the building down. The wagon driver angrily came running to the Rabbi. The Rabbi says: You didn’t have to start the construction because you knew what the outcome would be. And so the wagon driver went out and organized a wing, with Israelkeh the Glazier’s son at its head, to go and make a case to the Rabbi, on the premise that he would not consent to the construction. When Israelkeh entered the Rabbi’s premises forcibly, the Rabbi delivered two brisk slaps to both his cheeks, drove him out of the house, and the entire band dissolved. Israelkeh had to answer for these young upstarts: to start up with the Rabbi, and to raise a hand to him, will the entire city curse me for this?   When it became known that the barbers were working on the Sabbath, the Rabbi went into the barbershop, sat down on a stool and said: I also want a haircut! All of the customers then fled the scene. He did this for a number of Fridays, in all the barbershops, until they were compelled to close up their shops on Friday, all at the same time. The same was true of the cinema, when it was opened on the Sabbath too early.   The butchers trembled before him and did everything that he said.   One time, he was told that one of the balebatim, S., had slapped the shokhet, Y., because he declined to slaughter his fowl on the first day of a Festival holiday. The Rabbi summoned him immediately and levied a punishment: to pay a fine and to call out loudly during prayers every Monday and Thursday: I beg the forgiveness of the shokhet for raising my hand to him. Despite the fact that he was from ‘Agudas Israel’ – he gave me his blessing before I made aliyah to the Land of Israel, and even gave me a letter of recommendation to great rabbis in Jerusalem, asking them to extend their help to me in getting settled.   The Rabbi’s Prophecy Mr. Joseph Krolewietzki (Buenos Aires) recalls: During the first years of the Polish régime, the President, Wojciechowski, made a tour of the cities and towns of his country, and he also came to Zambrów – a city with a large military garrison. The city went all out. The Christians, on one side, the Jews on the other side, made preparations to receive the President of the country.   It is understood that the Rabbi stood at the head of the Jewish delegation. All dressed up in his splendid Rabbinical attire, the elderly Rabbi. in a shtrymel and white gloves, carried a Torah scroll in his arms while standing underneath a canopy. Beside him stood the most senior representative of the community, R’ Shlomkeh Blumrosen. When the President approached the Rabbi, the Rabbi became confused, and instead of saying ‘Witam Pana Prezydenta’! (I greet Mr. President), he said: ‘Witam Pana Referenta’! (I greet Mr. Clerk). The President, who was not friendly to the Jews, smiled sarcastically. The Rabbi immediately corrected himself: ‘Herr President!’ But his prophecy quickly came to pass. Not waiting very long, Pilsudski the Prime Minister, removed President Wojciechowski62 and made him a clerk, in a university, somewhere in Posen.   And the Rabbi of Zambrów Spoke... By Chaim Grade Rabbi Dov Menachem Regensberg, ז"ל     At the Rabbinical Assembly in Vilna Close to the time of the Second World War, a Rabbinical Assembly took place in Vilna, at the initiative of the ‘Chafetz Chaim,’ a gathering of rabbis from Lithuania and Poland, which was attended by the elderly Rabbi of Zambrów.   Despite the fact that Zambrów was not in Lithuania, the Rabbi was accorded considerable deference, because he was numbered among the oldest of the rabbis in Poland.   The talented Vilna writer and poet, Chaim Grade – who had married the Rabbi’s granddaughter Fruma-Libcheh, the daughter of R’ Aharon Yaakov Klepfish ז"ל, and Sotshe the Rabbi’s [daughter] – describes in his landmark work, ‘Der schulhof’ this very rabbinical conference, and the appearance of the Zambrów Rabbi:   The Zambrów Rabbi spoke as one of the greats, who sat close to the front, an old man approaching ninety, with a broad spread out beard, a bared chest, with his fringed garment tied on over his overcoat. He read without quoting references, or the Great Sages, but rather tore sighs out from within him, along with hunks of flesh, at the same time groaning out his pain and condemnation of the city where he was the rabbi for over fifty years:   Over a jubilee of years, he looked out of the window from his house and saw how Jewish children went to cheder, and how, when they were grown they would go to prayers. He saw how the younger generations were led to the wedding canopy, and the older generations to the cemetery. He knew the grandfathers, the fathers, the grandchildren and the great-grandchildren. But on one wintry Sabbath morning he looked out from his house, and the Rabbi no longer recognized Zambrów. He saw – woe unto his eyes, what he saw! – How an autobus, packed full of Jews from the surrounding towns, drove through Zambrów on the Sabbath. He was frozen in place beside his window, and also the elderly balebatim outside, who were on their way to worship, were also frozen in their places, remaining stuck in the snow up to their knees. So he began to rail against the desecration of the Sabbath in the Bet HaMedrash, in the marketplace and at meetings, crying and pleading that Zambrów not permit these buses that operate on the Sabbath to pass through its streets, packed full of Jews. It came to the point where the youth of Zambrów also began to ride on the Sabbath, using the same bus, but to go to Bialystok, Śniadowo, to Łomża, and to all of the surrounding towns, along the banks of the Bug and the Narew [Rivers]. Even the older Zambrów balebatim, the very ones who originally were shaken by the frightful desecration of the Sabbath, got used to this a little bit at a time. So he stopped looking out of the window. He had looked out the window for more than a jubilee of years, and now, no he no longer looks...   Holy Jews – the old Rabbi gestured with both of his trembling hands – none of us, who occupied a Rabbinical Seat will have any explanation for The One who occupies the Throne of Glory, when He will ask us: Why were you silent? We, the rabbis, were obligated to lay ourselves down in front of the wheels of the buses, so that they would not be able to ride through our cities on the Sabbath – the Old Man carries on in a loud and bitter weeping. The tears run down his face and beard, and over the gray hair of his revealed chest. His body trembles, his hands shake, and as if he was cut down he slumps back into his seat...       Rabbi Aharon Yaakov Klepfish ז"ל, the Rabbi’s Son-in-Law By Y. Meshuli R’ Aharon Yaakov Klepfish, the Rabbi’s Son-in-Law and his wife, Sotshe   R’ Aharon Yaakov, the Rabbi’s son-in-law, came from a large, well-branched and prominent family in Warsaw (his father was a cousin of the Chief Rabbi of Warsaw, R’ Shmuel Zeinvill). He was born in Szczuczyn in the year 1880. He was raised in the home of his maternal grandfather, Rabbi Yehoshua Heschel Shapiro, the Rabbi of Szczuczyn. When he was seven years old his father became a shokhet in Warsaw, and the family moved to Warsaw. Aharon Yaakov studied well at the yeshiva there and had a special teacher who instructed him in Russian, Polish, Hebrew and Arithmetic. When he was eighteen years old, a marriage contract was drawn up between him and Sotshe, the oldest daughter of the Rabbi of Zambrów. That Rabbi was also his uncle. Two-and-a half years after this contract was drawn up, the actual wedding took place. In the interim, the prospective bridegroom studied at the yeshiva in Mir and obtained his rabbinical ordination. After this he stood for military conscription and was let go. It was only at that time that he got married and was supported by his father-in-law for five years. Later on he opened a business in Zambrów, selling glassware, porcelain and ‘blue’ ware, that is to say, it was as if ‘he opened the business.’ In reality, it was his wife, Sotshe, who ran the business – he would be sitting in the study house and be learning or assisting the Rabbi in dealing with his issues. Someone asked him: Well, R’ Aharon Yaakov, how is it that you opened up a business selling glassware? The Gemara says that he who wishes to lose his money should buy glassware, to which R’ Aharon Yaakov replied: The Gemara says ‘who buys glassware,’ not ‘who sells glassware – and I am selling!’ When he told his rabbi, the headmaster of the Mir Yeshiva, R’ Eliyahu Baruch Kamai, that he had opened this business to sell glassware, he said to him that this was not for him, and it would not succeed. And that is how it was. In the large fire of 1910 his entire store burned down, and R’ Aharon Yaakov was left with nothing and was burdened with a great deal of debt. When he reestablished the store later, there still was insufficient income from it, and a few years afterwards he was forced to liquidate it. In the year 1913, he became the headmaster of the yeshiva in Slonim. He was very successful in this capacity and earned a very great name; however, the First World War broke out, and he was compelled to return to Zambrów. He did not rest. Together with his brother-in-law, the Rabbi’s son, Chaim David (today a rabbi in Chicago), he rejuvenated the yeshiva in Zambrów and invested the best of his energies for four years to its development in Torah study. He looked after paying the mashgiach and others, arranged for the yeshiva boys from faraway places to have a place to take ‘daily meals’ and lodging, while he personally earned nothing from doing this. In 1919, he became the Rabbi of Śniadowo – one of the oldest communities in the entire area, which had become impoverished over a period of time. He did not lack for tribulation here. The town was completely burned down at the beginning of the First World War by the Germans – but, a little at a time, the Jews began to return and to rebuild the ruined structures [of the town]. Rabbi Klepfish did a great deal for his congregation, seeing to it that it would receive foodstuffs from the Joint, as well as money, and he helped to found a credit bank, obtaining the means to rebuild the Bet HaMedrash (the famous ancient wooden synagogue of Śniadowo had been burned down during the war), and to found a Talmud Torah. In the year 1935, he and his wife arrive in the Land of Israel. For one year, he held the pulpit at Kfar Saba and was outside of the country for purposes of taking a cure. After that he traveled as an emissary to America to raise money for the yeshiva at Łomża, which had relocated itself to the Land of Israel in Petach Tikvah. In the year 1943 he took up residence in Jerusalem. Here he received a very honored position: he was nominated – at the recommendation of the Chief Rabbi, Rabbi Herzog ז"ל – as an expert colleague for the work on the: ‘Questions and Responses’ Encyclopedia. Approximately eighteen distinguished rabbis and scholars were to be selected from the great treasure of rabbinic writings, all of the rulings of law, during the span of approximately one thousand years. Such a work could only be carried out by a truly distinguished scholar who was thoroughly grounded in Shas and its commentators. And this was R’ Aharon Yaakov. He was counted among the senior editors, and he dedicated eighteen years of work and knowledge into it. His name became exceedingly well-known in rabbinical circles. He would also set aside time for his own personal study. He would rise each day before dawn for study. He would often engage in fasting. He would help others with a full heart. Not a few people benefitted from his personal largesse. He was a very modest, self-effacing man, and was possessed of a genteel character. Everyone held him in great esteem. When he lay ill in hospital, he was visited by Chief Rabbi Herzog, the Rabbi of Ger, and other great rabbis. He worked up to the last day of his life. On Friday, 22 Adar 5721 (March 10, 1961) as he was preparing to go to synagogue to welcome the Sabbath, he fell and passed away early that Saturday morning in the hospital. The funeral took place that Saturday evening, as is the custom in Jerusalem, and it attracted thousands of people. His daughter, Fruma Liebcheh, was the wife of the renown Yiddish writer and poet, Chaim Grade (in America). She was killed in Treblinka by the Nazis. His son, Moshe, was active in the Haganah, and served in the Jewish Brigade and fell as a hero in the War of Independence at the battle near ‘Bet Keshet,’ in the Lower Galilee. His wife and three sons live in Israel.     Translation of the Text: To the respected members of the Organization of Zambrów Émigrés in Israel, Your sacred undertaking, and the sacred objective that you have set for yourselves, to memorialize Jewish Zambrów and its martyrs, is lofty indeed; it is the right thing and good, and I wish you success in your undertaking. In this connection, I am sending along a few words about my father-in-law, may his memory be for a blessing, the last Rabbi of Zambrów, which was written by my son, Yehoshua (Heshl). The wonderful picture of the Rabbi is with us, and I will send it to you when you  require it. With great pleasure, I will answer all questions that you may need to ask me about Zambrów. I will also contribute to underwriting the expenses for the book, to the extent that you ask of me. With great respect, Rabbi Aharon Yaakov Klepfish Three sons of the Rabbi live in Chicago. I am sending you two addresses, and the address of the third, Israelcheh, is in the possession of Mr. Joseph Srebrowicz Above: Letter sent to the Zambrów Society in Israel by R’ Aharon Yaakov Klepfish, now residing in Jerusalem, expressing his warm feelings towards the idea of publishing the present memorial book and his readiness to help in the enterprise.      The Dayans 63     R’ Zalman Kaplan       Reb Zalman Kaplan, of blessed memory   He was the son-in-law of Israelkeh Shia-‘Tzaleleh’s and Liebeh [Rosenthal]. He came from a distinguished family, counting the Chafetz Chaim64, and R’ Yehuda HaLevi Epstein as his uncles. He was a formidable scholar, a Litvak, and one of the best of the young men from the yeshiva at Volozhin. His father, R’ Nahum Maggid, the author of ‘Nahamot Israel,’ made aliyah to Jerusalem in the year 1877.   It was to avoid military service that he came to Zambrów. He came to Zambrów as a twenty-one year-old young man, with a recommendation from his uncle, the ‘Chafetz Chaim.’ The [sic: Zambrów] Rabbi was very much taken by his knowledge of Torah, his wisdom and his resplendent appearance. He then called on Israelkeh Shia-‘Tzaleleh’s and said: I have here, a son-in-law, suitable for your daughter Mashkeh, he is a rare find, and you should grab him!' He pleased everyone, including his prospective father-in-law and prospective bride, because he was handsome, robust, tall, and possessed a pleasant demeanor.   At first, he was the Rabbi of Tyszowce. Because of a dispute that arose between the balebatim and the local clergy, he gave up the rabbinical seat and came back to Zambrów to become a dayan. He was a gentle man, never mixing into the community debates, was one who loved peace and did not follow in the direction of fanatics. He was a liberal man and would read newspapers and books. When his children grew somewhat older, and his salary proved insufficient, he was given a monopoly to sell candles for sacramental purposes. He died in the year 1937. He left a daughter in Argentina, and a son and daughter in Israel.   The Dayan, R’ Zalman Kaplan, with his wife, Mashkeh z”l, his son Pinchas, and his two daughters.   The Dayan, Shabtai (Shepsl) Kramarski         A handsome Jewish man, with a ‘Herzl beard’ and large, dreamy eyes. He came from a family of merchants from the Prussian border. He studied at yeshivas and clandestinely obtained a secular education. He married Rachel, the granddaughter of Shia-‘Tzaleleh’s and Liebeh Rosenthal. Together with his brother-in-law Zalman, they were the two dayanim of the community, and at the disposal of the Rabbi. He was a quiet and tranquil man from whom no one ever heard a loud word, and he would never get mixed up in municipal disputes. He would spend the entire day studying the Torah beside his father-in-law’s table. He was in harmony with his environment. He enjoyed reading the books of the Enlightenment, and as dayan, you will understand, he did not do so publicly. In later years, when his compensation proved to be inadequate, he would learn the Gemara with older students and even worked to prepare younger students to be candidates for ordination. He has children in Israel. Reb Shepsl Kramarski, of blessed memory.   Rabbi Abraham Goronczyk (Goren) זצ"ל       Rabbi Abraham Goronczyk-Goren, of blessed memory   He was the son-in-law of the senior shokhet, R’ Nahum Lejzor Tziviak. He was born in Ruzhany, Poland in 1888 and studied at the Greater Yeshiva of Makowa, later on at the yeshiva for young people in Warsaw where R’ Abraham Gruzhinsky was the headmaster. He received his ordination from R’ Chaim [sic: Soloveitchik] Brisker.   He married at the age of twenty to the daughter of the shokhet in Zambrów and became a Zambrów resident. At first, he became a teacher of Gemara for older boys.   During the First World War, he committed himself to provide a substantial amount of assistance to the homeless. Two years after the end of the war, he and his family moved to Warsaw. Immediately after the Balfour Declaration, he joined the ‘Jablon Hasidim’ to make aliyah to the Land of Israel and to build up the village of ‘Nakhalat Yaakov’ using their own personal energies, in the Jezereel Valley (today, it is called Kfar Hasidim). He made aliyah in 1924, along with the first who went, and he settled temporarily in Sheikh Avreik. A proposal was made to him to become the local rabbi.   He accepted it under the condition that he not be paid any salary, and otherwise to count him as another member of the community. He then proposed to give his own hard pioneering work to drying out the swamps that were a deterrent to the development of the village. With all the ardor of a Hasidic and pioneering spirit, he personally drained about seventeen kilometers of swamp. However, he fell sick from the tropical malaria, and together with his family was compelled to move to Jerusalem. At first, he became Headmaster of the ‘Torat Chaim’ Yeshiva. After this he took up residence in a park near Rehovot, because he was drawn to working the land and did not want to make his living from the study of Torah. During the unrest of 1929, he took up residence in Rehovot, and afterwards returned to Jerusalem and opened up an institute to prepare students for rabbinical ordination. Rabbi Kook drew him close, and in more or less all his correspondence, encouraged him and praised him for his work and the tens of his students who assumed rabbinical pulpits in the larger world.   In his final years, he dedicated himself to rabbinic literature and prepared the book, ‘Explanations Offered by the Vilna Gaon and the Rambam.’ He passed away after considerable suffering, on 14 Kislev 5720 (1959).   Rabbi Shlomo Goren, שליט'א Chief Rabbi of the IDF       He was born in Zambrów on 21 Shevat 5675, July 2, 1918 to his father, Rabbi Abraham Goronczyk-Goren (see above), and was the grandson of the eldest and beloved shokhet, R’ Nahum-Lejzor Tziviak. He came to Israel with his family in 1925 as an eight-year-old boy, first to ‘Kfar Hasidim,’ and afterwards to Jerusalem, first at the ‘Etz Chaim’ Yeshiva, and then finishing at the ‘Hebron’ Yeshiva, obtaining his rabbinical ordination at the age of seventeen. He pursued Jewish studies at the Jerusalem University. He pursued research in Talmudic studies and made significant contributions to research in the Jerusalem Talmud, and at his initiative, a scientifically well-edited version of the Jerusalem Talmud was published. He was the recipient of the first ever Rabbi Kook Prize, awarded by the Tel Aviv municipal administration (1943). He served in the ‘Haganah’ and the Israeli military, and was a role model for many young rabbis, and immediately upon the founding of the Israeli Army he was nominated as the first Chief Rabbi, which he occupies to this day with esteem and substance. Rabbi Goren is the most serious candidate to become the Chief Rabbi of Israel, after the passing of Rabbi Herzog ז"ל .   Rabbi Shlomo Goren   R’ Yudl Shokhet, הי"ד By Joseph Yismakh R’ Yudl Shokhet   Let us first pen several lines to serve as a memorial to a small corner of our little town which is our house.   We were five neighbors. We were five working neighbors, laborers from whom light emanated, along with tranquility and a love for work.   Yankl the Hat Maker with his five little children, worked hard from before dawn to well after dusk, and it was not only once that those little children went to bed hungry. Nevertheless, he was a man you could count on. He always worked while singing, singing while he worked – all manner of folk songs, bits of cantorial liturgy, and he hoped for better days.   Yaakov the Barrel Maker, a quiet and good Jewish man, worked from dawn until late into the night. His wife, Chaya Sarah, always helped the poor and was always at the ready to do a favor for someone else. They had fine children, a son, Sholom, and a daughter, Sarahcheh. Moshe’l the Carpenter – This third neighbor had golden hands. Much of the youth of Zambrów, among them not a few who went on to become Halutzim, were trained by him. And another neighbor was David the Painter. And the fifth neighbor was our family – Yudl the Shokhet. His family name was Yismakh. They were five residents there. They were all exterminated... However, let me stop here about one of these neighbors, who was the closest and most beloved by me. This is my father, Yudl the Shokhet ז"ל. In reality it would be appropriate to write about all of those who were shokhets in Zambrów, who made no small contribution to our town and were fine balebatim and prominent members of the clergy, such as R’ Nahum Lejzor Tziviak, the eldest of these shokhets among us, and the grandfather of our military Chief Rabbi, Major General Rabbi Shlomo Goren. After that came R’ Benjamin Shokhet (Rosenbaum). And my father Yudl Shokhet. Further, there are R’ Abraham Shmuel Fiontak, R’ Moshe Aharon Amsterdamsky, etc. To my sorrow, I possess only minimal facts about them, and I can only pen a few lines about my father.   As was the case in many small towns, my father carried out those functions that had a connection to his calling: a mohel, a leader of prayer services on the High Holy Days, blowing the shofar and also a Torah reader. It is understood that he did not receive any extra compensation for doing these things. He did this out of a sense of duty, in performing a mitzvah. Performing these mitzvot bound him and tied him to the other clergy in the town, the Rabbi and the dayanim, the gabbaim and the laity serving as parnass. My father was a Hasid and worshiped at the Hasidic shtibl all year-round. He made it his business to assure that his children abided by Hasidic standards in dress and in habit. I recall the instance when my brother Herschel ז"ל was studying at the yeshiva in Łomża, at which time word reached us that he had begun to favor the wearing of a white tie in the aristocratic fashion. This irritated my father, who immediately traveled to Łomża to determine if it was true and see if he could influence his son.   My father was one of the prominent balebatim in the Hasidic shtibl. A long beard added to his resplendent appearance. He was always an inspired teacher of the Hasidim. He was versed in Hasidic lore and was always telling historic episodes of the Hasidic movement. Because of this, he was loved everywhere and sought after. He was quite renown for his deft touch in performing ritual circumcisions on newborn Jewish male babies. He was well-versed in all the laws pertaining to treiboring65 and the examination of slaughtered animals, and not only once would he be called to Łomża and other cities to offer a ruling on a difficult question in this area. He was an accomplished leader of prayer services. The various houses of study competed fiercely with each other, to have him officiate as a cantor for the High Holy Days, until a compromise was reached: the first day of Rosh Hashanah at the White Synagogue, and the second day in the Red one. In the latter, he also blew the shofar. On Yom Kippur, he would conduct the Kol Nidre services, the Musaf and Ne‘ila services. After Kol Nidre services on Yom Kippur [sic: Eve], he would spend the entire night at the Hasidic shtibl, standing up on his feet, reciting Tehillim, and learning until the morning.   My mother, may she have a bright, illuminated Garden of Eden, was always there to help him, being occupied with receiving guests and to be available to help out the needy. If the need arose to spend the night and tend the indigent sick, she would cook soups for them. When she would get the ‘kashrut’ from the butchers, as was the town custom (the viscera from a slaughtered animal), she would first send packages to those who were keeping their needs secret, and afterwards to the indigent Jewish women.   My father was a shokhet in Zambrów for a little under sixty years. In his old age, he was bereft of energy. After he married off his daughter Chaykheh to R’ Benjamin Musicant – he permitted his son-in-law to come in and be his assistant and to take over the business, with the consent of the Rabbi. My dear sister and her husband regrettably were killed by the murdering Nazis, together with the Rabbi and other balebatim. May their memory remain for the good.   R’ Berel Nigubcer  זצ"ל He was a formidable scholar with few who were in the entire area like him. He was a self-effacing and honest man, without any personal pride, and did not want to assume the mantle of the rabbinate notwithstanding the fact that he was repeatedly offered such. He was a scion of the family of R’ Leibeleh Kovner, and the root of his family was in Karlin, near Pinsk, and he came to Zambrów from the village of Nigubcy. His wife, Genendel, a Woman of Valor, ran a store of woven goods in the city square, and he was the headmaster of the yeshiva at Lodz. He invested the money he earned as a Rabbi in woven goods in Lodz, and was an intermediator for his wife. He then moved to Zambrów and helped his wife in the business. He took part in the religious life of the city and was a confidante of the Rabbi’s. He was fanatic in matters of faith, but also perceptive and knew how to weigh a matter and not to impose anything on the community that would be unbearable. He was a joyous person, and his dancing on Simchas Torah tugged at the sympathies of the heart. He studied day and night, arising at one in the morning in order to study Torah. His oldest son, Yeshaya, was a scholar and a rabbi in one of the towns of the Minsk Province and was a son-in-law to the Rabbi of Myszinowka. He immigrated to the United States and was one of the leaders of the Rabbinical Council, appointed to oversee ‘kashrut’ in a number of large institutions that served food. He had the same insight as his father and was active in Torah institutions. Regarding his second son, Aharon-Leib and Yaakov – see further on, in the list of the Berl Mark, regarding three families. In his youth, R’ Yaakov was one of the heads of the Zionist movement in Zambrów, and the first leader of Keren Kayemet, when the ‘blue box’ reached the city. He is today in the United States and is a secretary to the Rabbinical Council.   Rabbi Leib Rosing       R' Leibl Rosing ז"ל   He was the son-in-law to Breineh-Pearl Finkelstein, born in Russia. He studied at the Slobodka Yeshiva and received his rabbinic ordination there. After his marriage he returned there for further study, for some additional time. His mother-in-law, Breineh-Pearl took great pride in him: "I bought a ‘Torah scroll’ for my daughter, because he is a holy man." And this nickname stayed with him,   He was one of the great Torah scholars in the city, responding to the needs of the community, establishing a Gemilut Hasadim organization. For all his days, he was the right-hand man of the Rabbi and assisted him in leading the city in his zealous struggles against outbreaks of opposition to the faith and its tradition. He served as a member of the Rabbinic Court of Justice, and because of this he was elected to the municipal council. He was beloved by all who knew him, for his honesty and the goodness of his heart. In the ghetto – when the Rabbi succumbed to weakness and exhaustion – he served in his place as the rabbi of the community. He was cremated in Auschwitz with his wife, Elkeh, four of his daughters, and two sons-in-law.   Cantors         We have no recollections of the first cantors of the city. The older folks still speak about R’ Pinchas, who was a cantor and a shokhet. He came from Lithuania and was a good friend to, or perhaps altogether a son-in-law to R’ Israel Szkoder, the renown cantor in Lithuania. Also, his wife, Shifra, was also musically talented. It is told that, the famous cantor, Yossele Rosenblatt, was a student of her father, and being in America at a very advanced age he would confer with her on matters pertaining to cantorial liturgy.   R’ Pinchas died before his time. It is told that he fell off the top seat in the bathhouse, was injured and died. The balebatim took care of the widow as follows: each week, she received a portion of the animal fat that the butchers took out of the slaughtered cattle. From this, she made a living. At an advanced age she immigrated to America to her children and grandchildren. One of her sons, Yitzhak (Itzik) was also a cantor. The Cantor’s wife, Shifra, and her son, Yitzhak, the Cantor. The second cantor in Zambrów, was R’ Shlomo Wismonski, from the Lithuanian shtetl of Dieveniskes66. He was a handsome man, and well-dressed, who wore a top hat and a black overcoat. He had a formal musical education and could read musical notation. He mastered all musical compositions and led a fine choir that consisted of the best voices in the city. In the first period, he would even import singers from faraway places, and the city financed the choir. He was a student of the cantorial school in Czestochowa that was founded by Abraham-Ber Birnbaum. The cantor was also a shokhet. Only the Rabbi was concerned about his slaughtering, because he had doubts about his piety. His permanent position was in the White Bet HaMedrash, and he would from time to time arrange a visit to the Red Bet HaMedrash and to the synagogue. Many, especially the craftsmen, would come to the Bet HaMedrash to hear how he led prayers and to listen to his music.                                         Reb Shlomo Wismonski He lacked for food in his last years because the city had become so impoverished that, together with his wife he was compelled to take up doing business in the marketplace. Later on, he went off to America to his children. He was the last cantor of the city. For a short time, Leib-Herschel, the youngest son of the melamed, Israel-Chaim, served in a cantorial capacity. He was mainly a hat maker, but he also had a pleasant tenor voice and had a bit of book-learning. Accordingly, he taught himself to be a shokhet and had been a singer for a while in the cantor’s choir, where he grasped the essence of what was needed and later on became a cantor somewhere in a small town not far from Zambrów.      Preachers   As was the case in all towns, from time to time an itinerant preacher [sic: a maggid] would come through and preach. The Rabbi would preach twice a year: on Shabbat HaGadol and on Shabbat Shuva. On all other Sabbath days and quite often in the hours between Mincha and Maariv services, itinerant preachers, who would often go on foot from one location to the next, would fill in with their own sermons. They would ascend the pulpit and leave a collection plate at the door into which each person would throw in a few kopecks. It was from these funds that such itinerant preachers would derive the funds to marry off daughters, build themselves a small house, and make a living. They were called ‘Piekhotna Maggidim’ – those who were pedestrians. A renown preacher would be invited to a repast with the gabbai or the Rabbi, where he was given some pointers on what to include in his message. His words would be filled with the legends of the Sages of old, parables, all delivered in a sweet, traditional sing-song, which would leave an impression on the city.   R’ Eliakim-Getzel Levitan       R’ Eliakim-Getzel Levitan   For a time, Zambrów had its own stable of preachers who were paid a weekly salary from the community treasury. R’ Eliakim-Getzel was one of the most renown of the preachers in all of Russia and Poland. He was a powerful orator, a fanatic who mesmerized his listeners with his words. He would always use his voice to thunder, with eyes closed, and accuse the people of transgressions and malign intentions. He came from Zaslov. His father was a renown teacher of the Gemara in Kaidanov, at the courtyard of the Rabbis, and later on in Stiubic. One of his students is the current President of Israel, Mr. Zalman Shazar, as he describes in his book, ‘The Star at Dawn.’ The father exacted a vow from his son, Eliakim-Getzel, that he would not become a preacher because it would tear him away from study. However, the rabbis saw that the [sic: younger] generation was falling away from yidishkeyt, and there was a need for an effective preacher that will awaken the flock to fulfillment of mitzvot, and to do good deeds – and so, they sent him to the tzadik of Grodno, R’ Nahumcheh, to annul the vow, and Eliakim-Getzel became a maggid. When his father heard this, he said: ‘He will now no longer be able to learn!’   In Zambrów, Eliakim-Getzel founded a youth group, ‘Tiferet Bakhurim,’ where the young workers and craftsmen could study Pentateuch with Rashi commentary in the evening, recite psalms, and become ‘Jews.’ Because of his fanaticism and his sharp tongue, the less observant element in the city hated him. During the dispute between the two shokhets, he took the same side as the Rabbi and excoriated those who ate the meat that came from the second shokhet, saying that it is ‘as if they were eating the flesh of swine.’ It was then conveyed to the provincial seat in Łomża, that Eliakim-Getzel is awakening unrest in the city, and is inciting the citizenry to conflict, one with another. The chairman of the provincial government then insisted that the dozors of the city vote on this. A vote was taken, with the majority finding against the maggid. Accordingly, he was compelled to leave Zambrów. On his last Sabbath, he saw fit to appear and curse the city: ‘A fire burns, and the city will be consumed by it.’ And indeed, shortly thereafter, in the year 1895, the city burned down.   As previously indicated, he was a great orator and had great influence among the uneducated masses. He would move men and women to tears, speaking of sins and about the punishment that awaited sinners in Hell. Later on, he was the maggid of Bialystok, Minsk, etc., and his name was famous throughout all of Russia and Poland.   In the year 1908, his son, a reverend from America, gave a sermon in the White Bet HaMedrash, not at all like the father. He was dressed in the short [sic: modern] style and spoke like a modern orator, not using his father’s sing-song style, and was a Zionist... accordingly, the listeners in the White Bet HaMedrash were disappointed.   The ruins of the cemetery in Zambrów   R’ Akiva Rabinovich (Poltaver) R’ Akiva was a son-in-law of R’ Elyeh Rosenberg. He was raised in Piotnica, where his father was the rabbi. However, he would often come to Zambrów, where he loved to preach.   When, later on, he became the rabbi in Piotnica after his father had passed away, he joined the Zionist movement and was one of the first rabbis who was a ‘Lover of Zion.’ Thanks to the initiative of the Rabbi of Bialystok, R’ Shmuel Mohilever, Akiva became the Rabbi of Poltava.   Because of an incident in which he was insulted, he became a great opponent of Zionism: at a ‘Hovevei-Zion’ conference in Warsaw, and a Rabbi Rabinovich was elected President. He thought that they meant it was him, and when he saw that he had made a mistake, he was deeply offended and became a protagonist. Once, after the second Zionist Congress, he was on a visit to Zambrów at his father-in-law Chona Tanenbaum and appeared according to his father-in-law to manifest a desire to preach. The Zionists then organized themselves and would not permit this under any circumstances, because he would speak out against Zionism. This persisted until he promised that he would not speak out against Zionism and the Land of Israel. A tumult ensued: Well, (they said), you mean that you won’t? He answered: Let me give you a parable: a person had to go to Łomża. He encounters a horse on the way. So he says: Little horse, little horse, take me to Łomża! So the horse replies: But I am going in the opposite direction, to Tyszowce! So he says: It doesn’t matter, take me on board, and I will ride to Tyszowce. When he already was sitting on the horse, he pulled on the reins and turned the horse around to Łomża, where he wanted to go... the analogy is: if I am already standing on the bimah, I can say what I please... and said: I will offer you yet another parable: a king had a beautiful daughter, and God forbid, not on you, she fell ill. No doctor or professor was able to save her. A pauper came along. dressed in torn clothing and offered that he could save the sick princess. The king saw that he had nothing to lose, because his daughter was in dire straits – so he agreed to let the pauper try and heal his daughter. When the sick princess saw the pauper standing beside her bed, she understood how great the misfortune was, and how dangerously ill she was, and that it was all the same as far as her father was concerned... the same is true with the sick ‘Mother, Zion’: when she sees who it is that is coming to cure her of her illness, she weeps and says: 'Zion-Zion, our Holy Land, how great is your misfortune, who will heal you...these Zionists?' You can appreciate that Akiva Poltaver never again preached in Zambrów, even though he had friends here and was later on to become famous as the editor of the anti-Zionist journal, ‘HaPeless.’ R’ Alter Maggid (R’ Moshe Zalman Urwicz) (son-in-law of the Lady Dyer) Alter the Maggid, or as he was called, the ‘Son-in-Law of the Lady Dyer,’ because he married the widow’s daughter from the house of Wierzba. He was a comely Jewish man with a wide black beard, attractive blue eyes, and would always dress neatly, wearing a wide Hasidic cap. He would speak softly, smilingly, exhibiting no sternness, even to those who opposed him, and would even try to be helpful in responding to those who abjured their faith. Nevertheless, he was a zealot, and he did what the Rabbi directed him to do in fighting every new thing that intruded on Jewish life. He would weave in all of the shortcomings of life in the city into his sermons, and he would severely reprove all those who did not adhere to the old ways. He abhorred the Zionists whom he would call ‘Tzio-nisht-en67.’ He could not countenance the socialists, and fought against the modern school for children, the parties, the library, etc.   His faithful listeners and students were the simple people, workers, craftsmen, and small-scale businessmen. The more urbane balebatim and youth would fight back against his preaching – but always respected him personally because of his good character. When the economic conditions worsened – the Zambrów Society in America assumed the burden of supporting him. In about 1924 he came to New York. All of his adherents escorted him with tears in their eyes and said their goodbyes to him. Zambrów, they said, will never again see such a maggid... (see above page 244).   In America, as well, he was a maggid. He would ‘preach’ in the other synagogues, but his chief means of support was from the Zambrów society, which greatly respected him. Later on he became a rabbi in the 'United Zembrover-Jedwabner Synagogue.’ He mellowed in America and understood that it was necessary to go with the flow rather than against it, yet he felt alone here and defeated. He no longer had his one-time ambience, his learning coterie, and the observant Jews. He passed away on 9 Shevat 5713 (1953) and the entire [sic: Zambrów] society attended his funeral, according him this last final measure of respect. A very substantial memorial service was also arranged by the society on February 21, and he was eulogized by Rabbi Yaakov Karlinsky and others. In the invitation to the service, it was written: "He was beloved by all for his good Jewish heart."   Shammai Lejzor He was a big-boned strong man and good-natured. He was a scholar and God-fearing, and he would derive his sustenance from his small bakery where his wife and daughters would bake bread, challahs, and put up cholent [sic: on Friday nights to be kept warm for the Saturday main meal]. Shammai-Lejzor would assist in this and quite often engage in the putting in and taking out the bread from the oven. What was special, however, is that he was something of a preacher. He would travel among the various cities and towns, collecting money for the ‘kessel kosher,’ this being the kitchen for the Jewish soldiers who did not want to eat from the ‘unkosher pot,’ as it were. He would hold forth on the virtues and the great mitzvah of observing the rules for a kosher kitchen. When he would stay in Zambrów, he would study a page of the Gemara with the Rabbi. Occasionally, he would assemble a coterie of young people and study with them. After the war, when Poland became independent, he became an emissary, and he would travel to raise money for the yeshiva. He never preached in Zambrów itself.   He was a man of the people, mixing easily with the erudite and the simple folk. He two sons-in-law, Mones Burakewicz and Yankl Prawda, were active ‘strikers’ in the year 1905.     Chaim Velvel Pav       R’ Chaim Velvel Pav   He was a special kind of a preacher to the masses. He was really a man of the people, living modestly, as if he were a lamed-vovnik, and would comment in a rather soft manner with regard to those who did not conduct themselves in a manner that was appropriate.   He was born in Ostrów Mazowiecka and took up residence in Jablonka, and as a young man he studied in the yeshivas and knew how to learn well. However, he did not want to derive his sustenance from Torah study and took to a trade as a hat maker, working very hard and often dozing off while at work because late into the night he would sit and be studying from the Gemara. On one occasion, a large fire broke out in the shtetl. His house and all of his possessions were consumed. When he went up into the attic to rescue his furs, the fire enveloped the ladder. It was necessary for him to jump down, as a result of which he was all banged up and his face was burned. The burn scars remained with him for the rest of his life.   Without a groschen to his name, and without bread for his children, he came to Zambrów but was no longer able to practice his trade. He took the advice his good friend, Alter the Maggid, and mastered a number of sermons because he knew how to learn, and he became a maggid himself. He would travel and go from town to town, and always obtained a couple of groschen for his sermon. He would never ‘orate’ in Zambrów. When his children gave him some help, and his son, R’ Louis Pav sent him the first twenty-five dollars from America, Chaim Velvel immediately abandoned his oratory and again began to live off of his own work: He leased an orchard with a partner, and from this, more or less, he made a living. He would lie in the orchard for the entire summer, with his Gemara in his hand.   During the German Occupation of the First World War, he went to break stones to avoid having to approach people for charity. Everyone respected him as a decent and good Jewish man. Shortly before the Second World War, in the year 1938, he died in Zambrów and was privileged to be interred in the Holy Land.   A Group of Teachers and Pupils      Women of Scholarly Repute    Zambrów Women Who Possessed Scholarly Expertise in Depth   In the past couple of decades, Jewish daughters in Zambrów studied: Pentateuch, Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian, Polish, and learned to write ‘Shura Gruss’, with the more skilled among them taught the writing of addresses in English, in the event that they should marry husbands that would immigrate to America, so they not be disadvantaged and be able to write out a mailing address without recourse to an ‘expert.’ They were taught by special teachers, such as the ‘Fly-Doctor’ Nosskeh the Melamed, Bercheh the Melamed, et al. Such [sic: girl pupils] sat on separate benches and were not intermixed with the boys. Later on, the ‘Szkola’ came along: [with them] the Russian-Yiddish teachers like Swiersky, Szczynko, Friedberg, Lev, and others, who would teach girls mostly in the Russian language. Afterwards, close to the time of the First World War, and later – a modernized [sic: reformed] school came along, and the schools of Fyvel Zukrowicz, Zerakh Kagan, [Yaakov] Tobiasz, the Yiddish school of N. Smoliar, Y. Domb, Lola Gordon, the Polish volksschule and others. It was here that the Jewish daughters obtained their education. However, in the days of yore, until the beginning of the twentieth century girls were not educated. Accordingly, it was by a miracle that there developed Jewish women who were righteous, who took upon themselves as a sacred mission to teach girls ‘Ivri,’ to read the ‘Teitch-Chumash'68, teach then how to properly kosher meat, to be able to recite a prayer of request to the Almighty, and to be able to participate in prayer at the Women’s Synagogue. I am desirous of writing about a number of these ‘educated women,’ to the extent that I can recall them, now nearly sixty years ago.    Chashkeh the Lady Carpenter The first among these women was Chashkeh, the wife of Moshe’l the Carpenter, who was a tiny shrunken old Jewish lady with weak eyes (who became blind in her old age). She knew how to read and write and how to recite incantations to ward off the ‘evil eye.’ She knew all of the prayers of beseeching the Almighty by heart, as well as all the weekly Torah portions, as they appeared in the Teitch-Chumash. She would take no fee from poor girls whom she taught. Her home was in the horse market, at the adjacent corner of the Łomża Street. In the city, she was characterized as a Righteous Woman. From time to time, she would walk through the streets, visiting all of the houses with a red handkerchief in her hand – to collect small coins for charity, and the mitzvah of dowering a bride who might be poor and orphaned, or for widows, for a woman whose husband had abandoned her to go to America, or for just plain people in need – there was Chashkeh. She was always respected and donations were given gracefully. If it happened that a woman bore a child with a great deal of difficulty, which compelled everyone to engage in the ritual of ‘tearing open the graves,’ that is to tear open the Holy Ark and to compel the Master of the Universe to bring this sick person back to health, and if it was necessary to inform a young woman of the rules pertaining to how she must now conduct her ablutions, etc. – one came to Chashkeh. She knew everything. Today, to conjure a ‘good eye,’ or to recite complete esoteric passages, and to then spit seven times in order to drive a disease away – this was Chaskeh. In her old age, she located a virtuous young girl, who was an eldest daughter, and the eldest granddaughter of an eldest daughter to whom she transmitted her secret incantations, teaching her all the right words to say, to thwart the ‘evil eye,’ and other such stratagems.   Fat Baylah ‘Die Grobbeh Bayl’tseh,’ as she was called [sic: in Yiddish] , was the director of the girl’s division of the cheders of Israel Chaim Fleischer – or as he was called: ‘Srol Chaim of the big backside.’ He was my first good rebbe, who taught me Hebrew, and I have much to be thankful to him for my understanding of yidishkeit. I recall: At noontime, the girls would start to arrive in cheders, mostly six to nine years of age (I was, at that time, barely five years old). They would mill around the door, helping the Rebbetzin to peel potatoes, and together carrying out the scoop pail full of peelings and pouring it out onto the side street that was behind the burned-down synagogue, helping to wash groats, making a herring, etc., until a tall stout Jewish lady would walk in, with a stern smile on her lips, her head covered in a colored babushka, girded around with a broad blue-checkered apron over a brown cotton and linen or velvet skirt, with a green-striped and a chintz-flowered little blouse. She would exclaim: ‘Children, go grab a bite!’ -- and then nothing would avail. R’ Israel Chaim was compelled to leave the student in the middle of poring over the siddur, smooth out his bunched-up fringed garment, scratch his beard on the right and left, take a deeply inhaled pinch of snuff, look at the side of stout Bayl’tseh and say: ‘Indeed, go grab a bite!” When the young boys left, came the time for the girls. Israel Chaim would then sit down to eat some radishes with sour cream, a green scallion, with bread dipped in salt. A plate of potatoes and kasha – with milk, and would occasionally wash this down with red borscht, together with the keg, or with a green shchav, whitened wither with the yolk or the white of an egg, and in the meantime, Baylah would don her metal-rimmed glasses and study Hebrew with the girls, holding a pointer in her hand. Later on, she would teach them how to recite a blessing. In taking the ritual portion of challah in preparing to bake challahs for the Sabbath, or bread, lighting candles – with the movement of her hands, showed them how to shut their eyes, and how the blessing was to be recited, etc. Not only once was she compelled to shoo me away: Go home, little boy, it is not nice to stare at girls while they are learning... The Rebbe would look askance at her – that she should take account of who I was: Nachman-Yankl’s grandson, and a son of the teacher... This was something of an affront to the Rebbe’s sister, or sister-in-law, because she would act as if she were in her own home. The girls would bring money for the new month, and occasionally a special gift: a rogovka, a piece of white-blue soap, sometimes small red turnips, or sometimes green ‘tshiftchukh.’ On the Sabbath, and on Festival holidays, especially on the High Holy Days – she served as a ‘zogerkeh’ in the Women’s Synagogue: with a clutch of women around her, with the ‘Korban- Mincha’ prayer books in hand, or the Shas supplications, repeating after her, word for word, using her melody and intonation. Mend’keh, Israel Shia-Tsale’leh’s and other wags, would mimic her and tell jokes about the women who would recite after her, who didn’t know what they were saying, and often making errors that were laughable. Yet, this is the way it was in many towns.   Henny Itkeh Henny Itkeh was a widow, the mother of Abraham-Herschel and Shlomo Burakewicz (the father of Shmuel-Lejzor’s son-in-law, the mailman during the German Occupation of the First World War). She would read the portion of the week in front of the women every Saturday, after the noon hour, from Tzena u’Re’ena, and would add her own commentaries and stories that related to the portion. She was called ‘The Lady Rabbi.’ It was told that she possessed the capacity for study just like a man and had at one time studied the Gemara – something that, at that time was barely believable... She would take no money for her learning with the women, so the women would send her gifts: a liver, a fish, a challah, eggs and honey for the High Holy Days. She was a ‘reciter’ in the White Bet HaMedrash. I remember how the people joked about her: ‘And Noah was a righteous man for his generations,’ she would translate as ‘Noah was an observant man (frumer mann) in his generation.’ The naive women would repeat, and say ‘fur mann’ instead of ‘frumer mann’ [sic: a wagon driver] with instead of in, his ‘tzoris’ ‘instead of ‘doyress.’   Bluma the Blind Lady I did not know her. She lived at the Koszaren and was blind in one eye, and she was a teacher. She was a tall Jewish lady, and healthy. She would teach girls the aleph-bet. She was a ‘reciter’ in the synagogue of the Chevra Shas.   Pesha Golombek She was the wife of Berl Velvel and the daughter-in-law of Manusz Golombek, was totally fluent in the Mahzor, and knew all of the prayers of beseeching by heart. It was told that she even created her own prayers of beseeching. On Yom Kippur Eve, she would assemble the women about her, many who were indigent, in the Red Bet HaMedrash, and read the prayers to them. She would also got to the homes of the poor to read confession with the sick, and to give them courage and not to be afraid: ‘One does not die from making confession,’ – [ she would say], and the righteous recite such a confession every night before they go to sleep. She would visit the poor women who lay ill – recite Tehilim and when necessary: would recite confession. ‘One does not die from reciting confession’ – she would raise the spirits of dying and bewildered women, the righteous recite confession every day... The time when she shone was during the High Holy Days. The prayer hall of the Red Bet HaMedrash would be packed with women. They came to pour out their hearts before the Master of the Universe, and their command of Hebrew is tenuous, and they can’t follow, repeating after the Hazzan... so she would sit herself on an elevated stool and direct the tens of women: now, my dear children, show your hearts, we are getting ready to say u’Nesaneh Tokef...’ You understand, of course, that she took no remuneration for this.   My Grandmother, Rivka Gittl My grandmother was also an ‘educated woman’ according to what that meant in those days. She had her own separate shelf with her books: a Teitch-Chumash, with many illustrations, a ‘Korban- Mincha’ siddur, a book of prayers for beseeching, Mahzors containing translations from Hebrew [sic: into Yiddish], booklets containing blessings for after meals, books on Mussar in Yiddish, a calendar with candle lighting times, a ‘Ma’aneh Lashon,’ etc. Women would be constantly coming to her with questions about the appropriate action, and what should be prepared for the ‘first seder,’ and what for the ‘other seder,’ what should be included in the cholent for ‘Shabbat Shira,’ or ‘Shabbat HaGadol,’ which may have come out on the eve of Passover itself. I remember very well, her ‘cultural work’ among the women, after the Saturday afternoon nap, during the day, and especially at Tisha b’Av at night. In the summer months, on Saturday after the nap, the lady neighbors would come to my grandmother, her daughter, and daughter-in-law, to recite ‘Perek69’ with Yiddish translation from the Hebrew, and to read the weekly portion in Tzena u’Re’ena. My grandmother would serve Jalowcowa beer as a refreshment, which she would make herself, or with a drink of cold water, which one of her sons or grandsons would bring from the brook. An elderly woman would come to my grandmother every Friday, would smear her head full of a mild soap, and shave her entire head with a straight razor. Immediately afterwards, she would don her Sabbath wig, woven from nice black hair, adorned with pins that were decorated with colored beads and flowers. Dressed in a black silk dress, with jewelry around her neck, on her breast and hands (part of her gold jewelry is under my care to this day), with a thin, woven Turkish shawl thrown about her shoulders, she would sit, with her feet on a footstool, and read to the women – from the portion of the week, or the appropriate section of Perek for that Sabbath. On the night of Tisha b’Av, she ‘observed mourning the destruction [of the Temple]:’ Sitting on kerchiefs, spread out on the floor, women would listen to how my grandmother would read from The Book of Lamentations in her Teitch-Chumash. In the house it was dark, except by my grandmother’s side there stood a brass candlestick (the Sabbath candlesticks were silver) with a large candle in it. My grandmother is reading, and the women weep and wail over the destruction [of the Temple]... Once, on Shabbat Shuva,70 after reading the Haftorah in Yiddish, my grandmother said a few words about the Day of Judgment which was drawing nigh, and the need to engage in repentance. Suddenly, she sang out: "HaYom, HaYom, HaYom71, vos helft dir dyn gevayn, Today, today, today, what good is your weeping, Az der Boyreh Oylem ruft, mooz men dokh gayn... If the Creator of the World beckons, one must go..." This ditty, with its melody, echoes in my ears to this day...   Chaya Zuckrowicz She was the widow of Nahum-Leib Zukrowicz, who was the uncle of Yankl and Meir Zukrowicz and father to the teacher Fyvel Zukrowicz. She was a clever, witty woman, who would make sport of the balebatim and unlettered people who tried to pass themselves off as scholars. On the little bridge before nightfall on Friday, she would tell stories abut the righteous, and by contrast about devils and spirits. She would serve as the master of ceremonies at large weddings. No one made a move without her. She would put together the menu, and where to have the reception, where the groom should stand, and where the bride should sit during the badeken, etc. She knew all the little details and would also serve as a reciter in the Women’s Synagogue of the White Bet HaMedrash. She would laugh at the women who had no facility with Hebrew, and all they could do was repeat. She was an alert woman, loving to tell stories and jokes and would prepare menus for lavish weddings, and would recite prayers and beseeching verses before the women. Not once would I subsequently overhear her joking with a Polish woman about how she would deliberately make errors and switch around lines in the prayer text. She once told the story of how a certain woman, wanting to demonstrate her fluency in prayer in reciting before the women, began the introduction to the ‘Shema’ as ‘El Melekh...’ and continued with ‘Katckeh Drelekh’ – which is nothing more than a child’s song.   Women Who Received a Pension Every Thursday, Shifra, the elderly wife of the Hazzan, would receive the ‘leavings’ from the slaughter, a portion of the cartilage and fat of the gut – as a pension, because her husband, Pinchas the Hazzan and shokhet, died before his time. She would bring this fat to her granddaughter, ‘Chana the Busy Body’ – Broder, and both of them would cut up onions, melt the fat [mix it together,] and sell it. She made a living from this, because the community was not able to pay her a special pension (see above p. 286). A second one was Malkunyeh. She was a heavy-set woman, with perpetually red and sickly eyes. Her husband was ‘Abraham Berl Klien’, the village idiot. She was well-regarded by the women, a member of the Chevra Kadisha, and at one time she was a functionary at the mikvah. She, or her former husband, had some kind of relationship with the butchers, and they would always give her the stomach and tripe at no cost, or at a nominally low price. So she would go to the river to wash the tripe and temporarily dirty up all of the water, The boys, who would go there to swim, would curse her for this, and sing after her: Malkunyeh with the lungs jumped into the garden... One time, when I was learning at Berszteh, who had his cheders near Yossl the oil maker at the edge of the river, we planned to accost her and insist that she wash the tripe at the pond near Pfeiffer’s burned-out mill. Well, Berszteh the teacher butted in, and it became evident that she was a relative of his, his aunt’s daughter, or a sister-in-law...   Malka Tzimbel She was a fiery sort of Jewish woman, whose husband was a porter for the Rothberg family, if I am not mistaken. She was a happy sort of woman and would cheer up the men and women at weddings and other happy occasions, singing folk songs, reciting jokes, etc. It was told that once when she was younger, she would dance at weddings and sing with a cymbal in hand, like Miriam the Prophetess had done when the children of Israel had crossed the Red Sea, and for this reason she was called Malka ‘Tzimbel.’ She had talented sons, one like the other: Elyeh, Abraham’keh and Itzl. Abraham’keh was the Zambrów songbird, singing for the Hazzan, and would sing beautifully along the promenade on the evenings when folk songs were sung.   Shayna Mindl She was the oldest daughter-in-law of Israel David Shammes. Her husband, Herschel, was a Jewish man of scholarly repute. He went off to America and caused his wife to wait for a long number of years. Together with her gifted daughter, Chana-Gittl (her husband was also in America), she made a living by selling illegal whiskey (okwiat). After prayers (she lived across the street from the synagogue), the Jews would stop in at her place for a quick snort and a bite of egg kichel or a piece of sugar. Not only once did the police come to perform a search to find whiskey. However, she was a very clever woman (she came from Goworowo), and when the police would discover that she had a flask of liquor, she would pour out large glasses of the stuff, set it up in front of these officers and say: good, first drink and freshen yourselves up; afterwards, you can carry out your procedures...and so they would drink themselves full, wipe off their moustaches, and go away. On one occasion, a new and unfamiliar police guard came along, so she grabbed the flask of whiskey and said: see what is here – this is after all only water – and poured it all out right in front of his eyes... and so he became verbally abusive for these ‘Jew tricks’ and was unable to do anything... She was a wit, and would tell spicy jokes for men from time to time, and would order the children to leave in those cases. She read ‘modern-day books’ and was thoroughly conversant with the novels of Shomer and Blastein, always being cheerful and full of humor. During Passover, Jewish soldiers would always get together and eat a good holiday meal at her place, and the house would be gay, and people from all over the city would come to stand under the windows, to hear the singing and small talk. She died in America. Scribes By Eliezer Pav Zambrów also had its own scribes. The creation of a Torah scroll was usually done in some other large city. However, smaller tasks, such as Torah scroll repair, preparing a set of phylacteries, a mezuzah – this would be done locally in the city here. We had an elderly scribe, a diminutive Jewish man – Zelikl the Scribe. He derived insufficient income from this, and accordingly sought a different craft: he would make cotton blankets, together with his wife. He had an only son – Isaac who was called Meizl. He wasn’t very capable, with crooked feet, and he was a conversation piece in the city. Fishl was a second scribe. He was somewhat hard of hearing, middling height and broad-boned. He was a good scribe and worked out the formats personally: He bought leather from a kosher animal, personally scratched off the fur, straightened it, whitened it and powdered it, and afterwards wrote on it. When economic conditions worsened, he opened a private little library and would deal in modern Hebrew and Yiddish books. He would astonish everyone with his knowledge of books and their authors. One could get a good book to read from him at a cost of a kopeck a week, and he would always consult with Benjamin Cohen, who was the principal representative of the books put out by ‘Toshia.’ R’ Fishl was the last scribe in the city. After him, no scribe was able to find a way to make a living in the city. Accordingly, mezuzahs, phylacteries, and handwritten Torah scrolls were purchased from outside sources... Education & Culture חינוך ותרבות זערציונג און קולטור   The Long-Serving Rebbe and Teacher, Bercheh Sokol, with Pupils      Yeshiva     Zambrów supported a yeshiva for all its years. This means that it was concerned with ensuring that older boys who wish to continue their studies beyond cheders would be afforded the opportunity to sit and learn. Good Jews, for the most part, craftsmen, would see to it that all the yeshiva boys from outside of the city would be allocated ‘days’ to take their meals, free lodging, and they also looked after ensuring that the various headmasters received their wages. When the Łomża Yeshiva was founded as an institute of higher learning for Talmud, its leadership decided that it would found small yeshivas in the smaller towns such as Makowa, Zambrów, Ostrów, Stawiski, etc. that would prepare students for the more advanced yeshiva in Łomża. The yeshiva at Zambrów was counted as one of the best, and even received support from Łomża. After the fire, R’ Yehuda Adaszko was Headmaster (he was killed by a lightning bolt), and then R’ Joshua Gorzholczany. The Rabbi directed the yeshiva and concerned himself for its survival, and under him – the entire city... among the first of the inspectors who provided oversight of the curriculum, and how the young students were being directed, was R’ Mishe-Michael, the son-in-law of Shmuel the Butcher: a tall and stern Jewish man who limped on one foot, and before whose walking stick the young little boys cringed. He would also run a lesson. A second such inspector was R’ Moshe Yaakov Slodek from Wysokie, etc. In the year 1916, during the German occupation, the Rabbi’s son-in-law, R’ Aharon Yaakov Klepfish, returned from Slonim, where for a period of time he had served as a yeshiva headmaster. Together with his brother-in-law, R’ Chaim-David, he planned to open a large yeshiva and make Zambrów a center for Torah study. At that time, the Łomża Yeshiva was in distress. The leader, R’ Lejzor, and his sons-in-law, went off to Russia by way of Siemiatycze and remained there. The sources of money were tapped out, and the severe years of hunger tore away many young boys from pursuing learning. It would be somewhat easier to support a yeshiva in a small shtetl. And indeed, in Radun, Volozhin, Novardok, Telz – you had small towns with large yeshivas. As an inspector, they attracted to themselves the son of the inspector of the Slobodka Yeshiva, R’ Shmuel Finkel, who by chance happened to be located in Łomża. Accordingly, Zambrów became a locus for Torah study. Apart from the children of Zambrów, talented children from all of the surrounding towns came, even from [as far away as] Bialystok, and among them a few scholars who could not travel back to the Lithuanian yeshivas. In time, additional resources arrived, such as the son-in-law of the Wizner Rabbi, Rabbi R’ Yehuda. A scholar from Bialystok, R’ Eisenstadt, and others. All of the Zambrów balebatim and craftsmen donated ‘days’ and also paid in a weekly stipend. R’ Shammai-Lejzor became an emissary and traveled to gather funds for the yeshiva from other cities. During the time of Polish sovereignty, the yeshiva again was sapped of its strength: part of the students went off to the military or had to emigrate, R’ Aharon-Yaakov became the Rabbi in Śniadowo, R’ Chaim-David married the daughter of the Rabbi of Łomża, and the yeshiva nearly fell apart. The Rabbi and the balebatim, such as Meir Zukrowicz, Abraham Shlomo Dzenchill, Leibl Rosing, etc., did not rest, and they restored a small yeshiva. The Rabbi and R’ Joshua gave lessons, and R’ Yankl-David the Shoemaker, the son of the shoemaker from Gać, stood at the head of those who looked after arranging ‘days’ and lodging for the young scholars. The yeshiva existed until the city went under (see above, page 218).      Cheders   As was the case in all other small towns, there existed in Zambrów three types of schools for children: 1. The cheders – Run by melamdim. 2. The cheders Metukan – The reformed cheders, which served as a transition to the third sort of educational institution. 3. The school. Of the cheders, let us here recollect three of the outstanding cheders, which were close to me: [sic: those of] Bercheh Sokol, Fishl Danielewicz, and Joshua Gorzholczany. There were many melamdim in the shtetl whose names continue to reverberate in my ear to this day, such as Chaim Reuven the elementary level teacher, Israel Chaim Fleischer with his son, Pesach the Melamed, Elyeh the Melamed, Shimon the Melamed, Pinia, Shepsl Kwiatek, Motya’s son-in-law – Mendl Alsheh, ‘Tzenerl’ the Melamed, Abba-Leib, Chaim Melamed, Avi-Ezer, Lipman, Fyvel Branever. Itzeleh Abraham’l the Melamed from Kuliaw, the one from Jablonka, Khamiszoszka’s son-in-law, Herschel Kooker, Chaim Hirsch Tzinowicz (a Gemara melamed), Shlomo Tzinowicz – his son. Meir Fyvel, Abraham Moshe, and others. However, the previously mentioned were the best in the city.   Bercheh Sokol80, a short person with a broad back, was the son of a prominent Jewish man who held the office of the gentry house, and was a Kohen, and because of this was called ‘The High Priest.’ Bercheh was a smart man and a first class pedagogue, even though he would hit the children (he was a Kohen, with a bad temper...). He always had a large cheder of up to sixty children of various ages. He would divide them up so that the older and better students would learn with the younger ones, and quiz them, so that Bercheh himself would just have to maintain control and oversight.   Invitation to the Memorial Meeting for the Late R’ Bercheh Sokol   These ‘assistants’ would keep track of which lines the students did not know on a note, which they would turn over to Bercheh, and afterwards he would quiz them on exactly those sentences. Despite the fact that he did not teach Hebrew in Hebrew (Ivrit b’Ivrit), his students knew the Tanakh and Hebrew well. They wrote compositions in Hebrew, descriptions, letters, etc. He subscribed to a weekly paper: ‘Olam Katan,’ and afterward ‘HaChaim v’HaTeva,’ ‘Perakhim,’ and others. He organized a small library in the cheders, and every Friday each student would receive a book to read at home. He also taught songs and sports. At his place, young boys and girls studied together. In the summertime, the children would enjoy the benefit of fresh air by going outside to study or taking a stroll in the forest, and not only on Lag B’Omer. He would go with the children to swim in the river, would do gymnastics, etc. Religious parents would not send their children to be taught by him. Bercheh was not any kind of observant individual and would involve himself in partisan politics and was a socialist, who once was a Bundist, and in his last years a member of ‘Poaeli Zion.’ His students knew the Poaeli Zion ‘oath’ by heart, in both Yiddish and Hebrew. As far back as 1905, he had organized evening courses for male and female working people, and was a Yiddishist more than an Hebraist. He was a melamed for over thirty years, until he went over to America to his children: Ruvkeh, Myshkeh, Shimon, and a daughter, approximately in the year 1918. There, his children set him up in an old age home, and he lived there to the marvelous old age of one hundred. He passed away in 1961, and his New York landslayt accorded him great honor.   Fishl the Melamed       Fishl the Melamed81 came from Śniadowo, married Zisl in Zambrów, who was a sister of Yirmiyahu Syeta. He was a good Hebraist and earned a reputation as an outstanding pedagogue. He taught Tanakh and Gemara. He taught a great deal of Hebrew and loved to read every day in class chapters from the Hebrew literature in front of the students,. He read stories from ‘Memories of the House of David,’ and would excite the imagination of the students and encourage them to do independent reading. He taught the laws and customs from the abridged ‘Shulkhan Arukh’ for students, prepared by Rabbi Y. B. Lavner (the editor of ‘Perakhim’ and the editor of the book ‘All the Folklore of Israel.’). He was disinclined to take on many students, as did Bercheh Sokol. He had two classes, which he would integrate frequently. He gave his students a very impressive national education. He was a genteel man, of mild manner, a Zionist and a lover of the Hebrew language.   He was one of the first Zionists of the shtetl. When Keren Kayemet L’Israel (Jewish National Fund) was established in 1902, and before the blue boxes reached Zambrów, Fishl the Melamed preempted the process, and together with is friend and comrade Rabbi Israel Levinsky, ordered one hundred boxes from Leibusz the metalworker on their own account, with the Star of David etched on them, and they distributed them among the Zionist households, going so far as to nail them on doors as charity collection boxes, until the official blue boxes reached us from Berlin a year later.  In his old age he went to America to his children, after spending about forty years in the inculcation of Torah in Zambrów. His eldest son Peretz is a rabbi in New York.   R’ Joshua (Yeshea) Gorzholczany       R’ Joshua Gorzholczany (Marmori)   A pleasant Jewish man with a black beard and black piercing eyes, a son of Herschel Tscheshliar – an alert man, full of zest. This Joshua taught only Gemara, and at infrequent intervals, also Tanakh. From time to time he served as a headmaster at a small yeshiva. His students had no difficulty in gaining admission to the yeshiva at Łomża. An intelligent and fine-looking Jewish man, he was well-loved in the city, was both a dozor and a Vice-Burgomaster for a time. He spoke Polish beautifully, and a bit of Russian. He had some knowledge of medicine, and even permitted himself the freedom to write ‘prescriptions,’ and visit sick people just like a doctor – understandably, without charging a fee. Women would come to him for blessings, and incantations to ward off plagues – as if they were coming to some holy man and rabbi. During the partisan struggle in Zambrów, R’ Joshua sided with ‘Agudas Israel,’ and even expressed his ardor for it. He made aliyah in 1936 from Kirov and settled in Petach Tikvah. There again he earned his reputation and the affection of the Haredim and the scholars. He would teach a ‘page’ of Gemara to the balebatim and even continued to give a lesson at the Łomża Yeshiva branch of Petach Tikvah. He died in Petach Tikvah in Israel in the year 1959 and was extensively honored at his passing. He was eulogized by Rabbi Katz, R’ Yekhiel Gordon – the Headmaster of the Łomża Yeshiva branch of Petach Tikvah and others.   All that Remains of the Jewish Community, of Blessed Memory, in Zambrów   Struck by a Lightning Bolt By Israel Levinsky   On the early evening of a summer Friday, a consultation took place between four teachers and myself at the home of the Gemara melamed R’ Yehuda Adaszko: R’ Yehuda, Yeshea [sic: Joshua] Gorzholczany, Fishl Danielewicz, and Bercheh Sokol. They decided that I should study Russian and arithmetic in their cheder,  instead of being instructed by the municipal Russian teacher Szczinka. Coming home, it suddenly became dark: a downpour ensued, accompanied by loud thunder and terrifying lightning. A loud clap of thunder, accompanied by a frightening bolt of lightning elicited a shudder from the entire town. It then became apparent that R’ Yehuda had been struck, together with his son. R’ Yehuda was standing on a table and was pouring oil into the hanging lamp, and the lightning bolt passed through the wire and entered R’ Yehuda’s body. The son was saved, but R’ Yehuda was dead. All manner of things were tried [to revive him], but to no avail. A gentile advised that he should be buried in a standing position, and to surround him with ewers of sour milk. Accordingly, on Friday towards nightfall, a pit was dug. With the consent of the Rabbi, and for the entire Sabbath, containers of sour milk were set out – Tehillim was recited without interruption – and none of this helped. The Holy Sabbath had already been disrupted in the shtetl. Traditional songs were not being sung. For the entire night, everyone stood at the pit that had been dug out and recited Tehillim. Two Jewish men were sent to Łomża to fetch a doctor, a specialist – but he was not effective... On Saturday night, he was taken out of the pit, the right thing was done by him, and a substantial funeral was arranged for him on Sunday, which included many eulogies. Before the funeral, the teachers decided among themselves how to deal with the sustenance of the unfortunate [surviving] family. It was decided that the widow would receive her share of the tuition paid by the students, which the teachers would earn, in taking the place of her husband. A specified sum of money was added to this, and many of the respected women of the town assumed the obligation to buy their necessities from the widow in the store that she would open. The funeral was attended by a large throng. The crying and wailing of the bereaved were heartrending. His friends eulogized him, and his grave site was considered one of the important ones in the town.   A Group of Yeshiva Scholars in Zambrów From the right: Zvi Ben-Joseph, Berl Paciner ז"ל, Menachem Wismonsky, and Shmuel, son of Rabbi Klepfish.   R’ Meir Fyvel Melamed By Chaim Bendor I was five years old when I arrived to learn at [the cheder of] R’ Meir Fyvel Zarembsky the Melamed. Before that, I had studied with Herschel the Melamed. It was a small cheder, with a low tuition fee. The breadwinner was his wife, Szprinza, who would bake honey cake and cookies, a lot of which she sold to children for small coins. On Friday nights she would bank the fires in her oven and take in the pots of cholent from the town to be kept warm. Immediately after Purim, the cheder room became transformed into a matzoh bakery. We, the children, helped the Rabbi oversee the kashrut and would sometimes be ‘flour shakers’ and ‘water pourers.’ His eldest and only son Alter was a culture activist in town, but sickly, suffering from tuberculosis. There is no doubt that this is the reason why he never married. He died during the First World War from his illness. I can still see in my mind’s eye, and hear in my ears, the bitter ‘weeping’ of all the family members when this beloved son was taken into the Russian army despite his ailment, but was immediately discharged. The Rebbe, Meir Fyvel, was constantly in good humor, with a smile on his lips, having no complaints to tender to anyone, despite the fact that he had no small amount of family troubles. Apart from his three daughters, he raised two other orphan girls and held them as if they were his own children. He was a Ger Hasid. He would lead services from the pulpit, he would call worshipers up to the Torah reading, would allocate Hakafot, and his fiery festive voice would bring in light and joy to everyone. About ten years ago, I undertook a trip with a daughter of Zambrów to visit other landslayt. On the way, we talked about the past personalities of the town who were no longer with us. How elated I was to encounter in the ‘subway,’ two ladies from Zambrów, my teacher, Meir Fyvel’s daughters...The elder of the two, widowed and without family, lived with the younger and her family. This encounter made an extraordinary impression on me. Since that time, I have met with them more times and concluded that they were in fact going in their father’s ways and display his good traits.   Chaim ben David [Chaim Bendor] (center) To his Right, Baumkoler, and To his Left, Yekhiel Prawda   R’ Israel Levinsky         He was born in the village of Kadzidło, near Ostrołęka, in the year 1871. He studied at the Łomża Yeshiva and from there went off to the Lithuanian yeshivas in Skidel, Orany, and came to Vilna, against the will of his parents – because they feared that in Vilna he would become ‘spoiled.’ He befriended a poor yeshiva student, Chaim Helfant, who later on became renown as the leader of the Bund. Levinsky was eager for a general education and did not content himself with the Gemara. Like other yeshiva students without means, he would go to the municipal gymnasium, wait for when the gymnasium students would be going home and try to spot a Jewish student in their ranks, to consummate a friendship, and ask for ‘help’ – that he, or one of his friends, teach him Russian... In this manner, he acquired the education of six classes of gymnasium in the span of two years.   He married in Zambrów and became a prominent citizen. Here is how he describes, in his memoir ‘Thorns and Flowers,’ how he became a teacher (see below):   He was one of the most active of the Zionist workers, one of the first who carried on with the work of Keren Kayemet, of selling shares in the Jewish Colonial Bank, and shepherded the introduction of the teaching of Hebrew in many of the cheders, and undertook leadership in the culture circles for the young people. In 1905, he drew closer to the work of the socialists and believed that a socialist Russia would give the Jews rights and their freedom. In 1909, he was engaged by Jedwabne to establish a Hebrew school there. As a good pedagogue and organizer, it was possible for him to establish this school and place it on a high level. However, the authorities did not grant him permission to be the director for the school, because the teachers there informed on him, accusing him of being a revolutionary. He was compelled to leave Jedwabne. A year later, he established such a school in Łomża, called ‘Torah VoDa’ath,’ and he stayed at its helm for twenty-five years until 1935, when he turned it over to his comrades and made aliyah to the Land of Israel. In Łomża, he was also active in the area of national education, and in working tirelessly for Keren Kayemet, HeHalutz, and other Zionist endeavors, and was in the leadership of those caring for orphans, was also a gabbai of the Great Synagogue, etc.   In Israel, he was the Honorary Chairman of the Łomża Society, devoting himself to literature, translating a number of scientific works in astronomy. He published more memoirs and children’s stories in the literature for the young, and in journals, and lastly produced a story ‘Gideon Travels to Cyprus’ – which enjoyed a great deal of success. He was lucid up to the last moment, reading, and taking an interest in everything that had a bearing on his people and humanity at large. He was survived by three sons, and one daughter in Israel. His last son, Yitzhak, was drowned in the Bug [River] in the year 1934, during an autobus accident. His son, Meir, who was an active member in HeHalutz, died in Israel.   From My Diary By R’ Israel Levinsky (From His Book, ‘Thorns and Flowers’)         After being discharged from the Russian military in Moscow, I returned home to my parents in the village of Kadzidło, which lies between Myszyniec and Ostrołęka. I very strongly wanted to travel back to Vilna, and advance my general education as far as the university. However, my parents stubbornly resisted: A young man, discharged from the military, must get married... and so, I was compelled to accept their proposal. I was married in Zambrów. My father-in-law, R’ Nachman Yankl Rothberg, the owner of wagons, promised me support to whatever extent I wanted. Accordingly, I took to study. My wife, Tzipa-Rachel, a beautiful woman and also educated – in accordance with the sense of this term in those times, could read and write Yiddish, read Russian and Polish (only the alphabet), knew a bit of arithmetic, agreed with my course of action. I obtained a good comrade with whom to learn: Benjamin Tanenbaum, son of Chona, and Mashkeh, the owner of the carriages. He was capable, knew how to learn languages and was prepared to graduate according to Russian standards. He had no friends in the Zambrów of that time, so we studied together. Above: The Teaching Certificate given to R’ Israel Levinsky by the Russian Pro-Gymnasium in Pultusk, in the year 1901. The first Great Fire broke out, and my house, along with the houses owned by my father-in-law were burned down, and I had to seek some way to make a living. I cashed in my wedding endowment, which was on deposit in Łomża earning interest – and loaned it out to my father-in-law, to enable him to build himself back up. As good fortune would have it, a wealthy Jew came to Zambrów, Yankelewsky, who was a building contractor for roads and bridges for the government. His daughter was a daughter-in-law to Grajewski the Miller. He was looking for a teacher for his three sons in Vonkhotzk, of the Radom Province, and I had been recommended there for this position. I became a teacher, a profession that I never left. The Cheders Metukan of Fyvel Zukrowicz The desire to give a Jewish child a traditional Jewish education, and along the way also inculcate general knowledge, and the central point: a knowledge of the Hebrew language and general Jewish history – gave birth to the ‘Cheders Metukan,’ which did not evolve out of the traditional cheder, and the more formal schools had not yet attained.     The concept of the Cheders Metukan, was an attempt to reform the [classic] cheders, and raise it to the level of a volksschule. In addition to learning Hebrew there, as well as Pentateuch with Rashi commentaries, arithmetic, history, geography, Tanakh and Hebrew, were also taught, along with the language of the country, etc. Fyvel Zukrowicz opened such a cheder, approximately in the year 1911. His cheder developed a little at a time, and later on became a religious Jewish volksschule. He was a well-informed man in many fields, (educated at the higher yeshivas in Lithuania), and in general Haskalah. He was influential among the enlightened circles in the city, and was redolent with a love of Zion. Reb Fyvel Zukrowicz   Fyvel Zukrowicz instituted a Zionist leaning in his school, despite the fact that the fanatically religious were opposed to it. For many years, his school was a bastion of Zionism and a place for support of Keren Kayemet, a place where Zionist committees met, and a place for worship by Zionists on the Sabbath and Festival days, which had moved over there from the home of Shlomo Blumrosen, and became a center of all manner of national endeavor. He surrounded himself with good teachers from the local intelligentsia, and from there he spread the use of the living Hebrew language into the city. R’ Zerakh Kagan opened a second Cheder Metukan, the son-in-law of Meiram and Miriam the ‘Wig Maker’ (Bursztein). Kagan instituted the teaching of Hebrew as the appropriate means of oral communication and was punctilious in his observation of correct grammar. The two assistants to Fyvel Zukrowicz, Shmulkeh Golombek, and Berel Kawior (the husband of Rachel, the daughter of Michael’ke Finkelstein) from Śniadowo, later on opened their own schools of this kind in Zambrów. In 1923, in Kirov, the Cheders Metukan of Mr. [Yaakov] Tobiasz of Novgorod was added. Tobiasz was active in the Tze‘irei Zion movement, one of the leading activists of the burgeoning Hebrew culture, and was a man of considerable influence in literary circles and an intensely loved and respected teacher. As regards the teacher Zukrowicz, his son, Chaim (a member of kibbutz ‘Ramat HaKoveysh’) tells: My father was the youngest son of Nahum and Chaya, who were among the enlightened folk of the city, and of the venerable educators of the prior generation. They raised a generation of scholars, of study, education, and set hundreds of students on the path of the study of Torah, knowledge, Judaism and personal character. He received his education in the yeshivas of Lithuania. There, he ‘strayed’ and began assiduously to study the Hebrew language, its literature, the national language, and general [sic: secular] knowledge. He opened the Cheders Metukan in Zambrów in 1910 in Kirov. He was subverted by fierce opposition from the Rabbi and several of the fanatic balebatim. The fanatics ripped off the notices from the walls of the synagogues that announced the establishment of his school, doing so even on a Festival holiday. And as soon as he opened the school, the foundations of the building were damaged. The Rabbi and the fanatics threatened the parents who would send their children to a place like this with excommunication. However, he was not intimidated by them. His approach to education, his attitude towards the children and the Torah that he taught them, helped him develop an admirable reputation in the city, and his school was always full of students, with no vacancies. He was a teacher and educator to parents [as well]. By being an ardent Zionist, being active and a worker in the Hovevei Zion movement, he would speak from time to time, at Zionist gatherings in the city that took place, as you can appreciate in secret – out of the maligned view of the constabulary. He instilled his ardor for Zionism in his students, and over time many of them made aliyah to the Land of Israel as Halutzim and pioneers. He gave his students a national [sic: sectarian] education, teaching them to walk erect, with a straight back, and to take pride in their Jewishness. He also conducted plays and sports at the school and supplemented them with promenades during the summer months, to the surrounding forests, Wondolk, Czyczurok, and even to Czorny Bor. And the students would frequently lead such walks with a blue and white flag at its head. On one occasion, a policeman wanted to seize the flag and tear it up, but Zukrowicz took the flag out of the boy’s hands and did not permit the policeman to touch him. Because of this, he was taken to court and paid a fine of several zlotys for disobedience and resistance shown to a policeman. He paid the fine willingly, but didn’t let the policeman touch our national flag. Every important event in the Jewish world, and especially the Zionist world and in the Land of Israel, was recognized and recorded in his school. On the day of the Balfour Declaration, he hung a large sign in school, proclaiming ‘Come, awaken, for your light has arrived,’ and on the day that the [sic: Hebrew] University opened in Jerusalem, he drew a huge sign saying: ‘For from Zion the Torah Shall Come Forth.’ During the Sabbath and Festival days, his school served as a gathering place, in which the Zionists entered to worship in their own special minyan. They spoke Hebrew among themselves, donating to Keren Kayemet (Jewish National Fund) if they were called to the Torah, or to Keren HaYesod, HeHalutz, and like causes. How his heart was pained, when in the second half of the 1930s he saw the spiritual decline among the ranks of the young. The general Polish school, the ‘Szkola Powszecna,’ sunk its talons deeply into the young people, and even a Polish gymnasium came into being in the city. These non-Jewish schools [ironically] became filled with Jewish students, from the ranks of the balebatim. The students there attended class even on the Sabbath, and in doing so not only desecrated the sanctity of the day, but any number of them grew apart from the Jewish experience, and for this reason their soul silently wept. In the last years before the Holocaust, his school declined, together with the rest of these Jewish schools in the city. Many parents adopted the custom of sending their children from their early childhood training directly to the Polish school and retained a melamed at home for several hours a week, to teach them Pentateuch with Rashi commentaries and a little bit of Gemara. At that time, my father was preparing to shut his school down and make aliyah in order to realize there all of his dreams from early on, and that he cherished forever. However, he delayed the schedule. On 27 Av 5699 (August 12, 1939), he passed away – after having served as an educator in Zambrów for about thirty years. He was privileged to see his two daughters and son Chaim, the writer of these lines, make aliyah and settle in the Holy Land.   A Teacher and Educator By Yaakov Tobiasz (Tzfat) (Memories)   Yaakov Tobiasz with his pupils I have faint recollections about Zambrów from my early childhood – but it was only in 1915 when we arrived in Zambrów, being homeless, after the expulsion from Novgorod where I was born, by the Russian army, at the peak of the First World War. Since that time, I have tied my life to Zambrów. We took up residence on the Uchastek. I studied Gemara with the Kolno teacher and director R’ Yaakov-Avigdor Brizman (Bryzman), also homeless (later on the Rabbi of Jedwabne). He once introduced me to the Zambrów Rabbi, R’ Regensberg ז"ל, who gave me a pinch on the cheek and wished for me that I not be ruined [sic: lose your way into secular culture]. I began to investigate the contents of Enlightenment books. One neighbor, a Russian surveyor, began to teach me arithmetic, and Khezki Mark, our neighbor who was a student, drew me nearer to the Enlightenment literature. My father died that very year, during the intermediate days of Passover in the Zambrów military hospital. The Kolno Rabbi and Director came to comfort us as the bereaved. I gave myself over to the study of the Talmud at the Bet HaMedrash, and even established a chapter of the youth group ‘Tiferet Bakhurim’ there – as a teaching guide for group study, and to maintain oversight of the books: their order, binding, and even acquisition..   The pupils in the school of Yaakov Tobiasz A Class in Public School with the teacher, Lola Gordon * * *   It was first only six years later, in 1921, that I returned as a teacher and director of a Hebrew school. I was recommended by the balebatim: Menachem Donowicz, Avcheh Frumkin, and Israel Kossowsky, as well as the members of Tze‘irei Zion, whom I knew from my time in the area, such as David Rosenthal, Yaakov Jakbowsky, who persuaded me to come to Zambrów. The Rabbi’s ‘Cossacks’ fought me vigorously. The owner of my school building, Prawda, became frightened and wanted to break the contract with me. However, the balebatim stood up for me, parents of my students such as: Fyvel Rosenthal, Leibl Karlinsky, and others, At first, only boys were students, the girls going to the local Polish government school, but little-by-little, the girls also captured a place on the benches. My school earned a good name, with its curriculum, presentations, children evenings, trips, a children’s journal, a children’s library, etc. The children loved me a great deal.   The School of Fyvel Zukrowicz In the middle, seated, are the teachers, Sh. Golombek, F. Zukrowicz, and Joshua Domb On Shavuos in 1922, when my mother came to me for a visit, she died suddenly. This upset me terribly. She was buried in Zambrów beside my father – and this tied me to the city forever. As a mourner, I would lead services in the White Bet HaMedrash. One time, when the Rabbi returned, extremely agitated with zealotry from the Agudas Israel conference in Vienna, he communicated an order from the conference, suddenly, between afternoon and evening services at the White Bet HaMedrash, bursting into tears, saying: Brothers, do you hear that in the Land of Israel there is a Dr. Mosensohn, let him be cursed, may his name be eradicated, who teaches his pupils to violate the Sabbath, and to write on the Sabbath, let us excommunicate him. Let us all say, ‘curse Dr. Mosensohn, and everyone answer, Amen! I took this as an insult, and I shouted out: ‘Enough, do you know what you are doing?’ And a tumult ensued about me, and when it died down I approached the pulpit to lead the evening service – the Rabbi shoved me aside and said: ‘Shaygetz, I hereby remove you from the pulpit, and you will get a slap in the face in short order... I left the pulpit, without reaction, out of respect for the Rabbi, who was a great Torah scholar, a tzadik and honest man. The Rabbi personally went to lead prayer from the pulpit [in my place]. On the following day, members of Tze‘irei Zion on whose head tefillin hadn’t lain for quite some time, accompanied me, on the chance that the Rabbi would once again not permit me to lead services. The Rabbi enveloped himself in his prayer shawl and let out a groan. I began to pray from the pulpit... In a short while, he sends someone to summon me to him: he wants me to teach Hebrew to his grandchild, Fruma-Liebcheh, the daughter of the Rabbi of Śniadowo, R’ A”Y Klepfish. I taught her for several months, Her husband later became the author and renown Yiddish writer in Vilna, Chaim Grade. She was exterminated.72 In that same year, my sister died, and I remained solitary and depressed. It is only thanks to my students, the dear children of Zambrów, that I was able to maintain my composure and continue with my work, and also thanks to the balebatim the parents of the children and my neighbors who kept an eye on me maintaining concern and seeing to my welfare. Among them was the family of A. Greenberg, the owner of an ironmongery, and especially his genteel wife, who were my good neighbors, looked after me. Not once did I hear her calling to her eldest daughter: Rachel, I think he hasn’t eaten anything yet today, he hasn’t drunk any milk, etc. And they would hurry, bursting in on me and taking care of all my needs.   * * *   I remained connected to Zambrów, even after I left it. At every opportunity, I would come for a visit. The Jews of the city were unique in their kind: all diligent, working people, people of action, and taking things into their own hands, far removed from assimilation. Zambrów, which lay on the crossroads between Ostrów and Bialystok – was suffused more that ‘Litvak’ Bialystok [with that tradition] and was a far distance from Ostrów, the Hasidic city. Before my eyes they stand and speak to my heart: Leah Zukrowicz, Dina Golombek, with her literary excerpts. Bracha Zukrowicz, Paula Wiezhbowicz, with her smile, who along with her father, Chona, the one who intoned ‘Mekhalkel Chaim’ so engagingly during the high Holy Day prayers at the White Bet HaMedrash, the hearty laugh of the ‘I don’t care’ Moshe’keh Gottlieb, in the library hall (in New York, he met me and asked me in a questioning and merry tone: And we never had a library!), the constantly questioning eyes of Abraham Krupinsky, and the juridical voice of David Rosenthal, Simcha Rosenbaum, always so sure of himself; Yaakov Donowicz, the pessimist who saw everything collapsing before him. Fishman, who would roll on the white snow after noon in the marketplace; Nathan Smoliar, the speedy one, with the good, and smiling eyes; the young midwife, Bikhubowska, so delicate and gentle; the young folk, Slodownik, and Matityahu Gorzholczany, and others — all these, the dear sons and daughters of Zambrów, who will remain in my memory forever for a blessing. And from among the shining balebatim of the city there were: R’ Abba Rakowsky, the eminent scholar, from whom I was privileged to receive his lore and to enjoy his illumination, when, late in his life he returned from Russia, an exhausted wanderer, without anything to his name. Avcheh Frumkin, the perceptive man with the broad heart, Moshe Blumrosen, with the appearance of a Tolstoy who worked in the municipal administration, an enlightened man who loved to listen and refrained from making others listen to him. R’ Shlomo Blumrosen, his brother, with his magnificent carriage, like the well known generous soul he was, knowing not to step on even a worm while waking, a man of great generosity when it came to Zionist undertakings, never seeking to avoid responsibility or make excuses. R’ Yaakov Zukrowicz, fluid in his step and dressed magnificently who followed the young generation and did not seek the spoils of following the fanatics, even though they held him in high esteem. Menachem Donowicz, the punctilious one, one step ahead and two steps back, the gabbai of the Chevra Shas, peering into books from the outside world and pursuing only the enlightenment of the daughters of the city. Mordechai Rivkov, who constantly dreamt of the Zionist Party first, and was the first to buy a raffle ticket from each and every endeavor. And there were many others whom it is difficult for me to recall after forty years and more. It is [now] more than forty years [that have gone by]. Zambrów, its youth, its fine library, into which I invested so much energy, its balebatim – scholars, ordinary workers, decent Jews – they all stand before my eyes alive, and I will never forget them. Before I left Poland for the Land of Israel in the year 1946, I also went back to Zambrów. I did not recognize it. Only the cemetery, with the sporadically visibly inscription of Po Nikbar [here lies buried].. Remain as witnesses, struck dumb, yet shout and scream to the heavens about what was done to the six million Jews, and the sacred community of Zambrów among them.    From the Words of Students    Naomi Blumrosen ...and the studies were interesting. The students were drawn to the curriculum. We spent most of the day between the walls of the school, because even after noon we returned for additional tasks: changing books at the school library, preparations for celebrations and promenades and like things. The many strolls we took in the nearby forests arranged by the school were interesting, each previously designed from the beginning to cover some subject in nature, or having to do with literature about Israel. The plays put on during Hanukkah, 20 Tammuz, and others – that the teacher Tobiasz wrote himself – met with success, and the revenues were dedicated to the school library. And here is a small episode that indicates the great commitment of the teacher to his school: One time, on Tu B’Shevat, we were occupied in making preparations for the celebration. The tables had been spread with fruits from the Holy Land, when a telegraph notice came to the teacher: his sister had fallen very ill and asks that he come to Warsaw immediately. The teacher lowered his head into the palms of his hands, was lost in thought and decided: he did not want to abort the joy of the children, nor did he want to put a stop to their creativity. He will travel the following day. The celebration went off successfully, and with joie de vivre. The Land of Israel stood before us that day, in the fullness of its splendor: in the fruit from there, and with the magical spirit found in the heart of a Jew. The teacher did not find his sister alive, and we mourned her together with him.   Aryeh Kossowsky I entered Y. Tobiasz’s school for study at the age of ten. I immediately felt a great change that had come into my life: the approach of the teacher to the student as a friend, no recourse to a switch or whip. And the course of study – Hebrew, taught in Hebrew. We also studied manners and etiquette: how to hold a spoon, fork and knife during eating, to say ‘thank you very much’ to our parents after a meal, to rise before someone older than you, to give alms to the poor, even if we have no extra money – to then share our piece of bread with them. The room was always well ventilated. The walls were covered in pictures about geographic subjects, nature, and the Homeland. After each hour, there was a brief recess to catch one’s breath. We even once surprised our teacher: on the third day of Hanukkah, which was his birthday, we secretly organized a celebration that involved a play with songs and palm trees... From time to time he would read to us from the literature of the Land of Israel, from fairy tales for the young, news from the newspaper, etc. We learned many chapters of the Tanakh by heart, and thanks to that, the Tanakh remains on my lips to this day. On once occasion, the writer Yakir Warshawsky visited us during class hours. He tested us in writing and orally, and found us instructed, knowledgeable in Torah and fluent in the grammar of the language, and also being attracted to the threshold of the Land of Israel. Years passed, and to this day in the Land of Israel, when I follow the plow or work in the barn, in the garden, or storehouse, I feel and value the Hebrew and national education that I absorbed in his school. As to my preparation for the Land of Israel, I received it directly from his mouth.   The Russian Public School At the end of the previous [sic: 19th] century, the Russian government founded a public school in Poland for Jewish children, in which the language of instruction was Russian. The objective was aimed more towards the Russification of Jewish masses and to distance them from Polish culture, rather than to inculcate culture and knowledge into Jewish children. The agenda consisted of one high school class at the border of a gymnasium class, the course of study three years. However, by and large, most of the graduates of this school did not even get to the level of the first grade in a gymnasium. One teacher taught all three of the classes. The dominant number of the students were girls. Boys were few and far between, mostly from among those who saw no ‘boon’ in attending cheder. There were also few who studied at the Russian school in the morning, and after noon went to cheder. The teachers placed an emphasis on knowledge of the ‘Motherland.’ When the ‘Inspector’ would arrive from Łomża – the beginning of his examination was: Do the children know the ‘title,’ that is: the proper honorific with which to address the Czar, his Queen, his widowed mother, the Crown Prince, his heir, and his uncle, the Grand Duke. [They needed to know] when do the holidays of the kingdom fall (the Galiubka, or Prazdnik); the day of the coronation of the Czar, his birthday, the date of birth of the Crown Prince and Heir, etc. It was this knowledge that the Inspector looked for at the outset, even from the students who attended cheder, whom he came to test for their knowledge of the Russian language. During the Sabbath and Jewish Festival Holidays, the school was not open. Teachers, with some feeling of spirit, would sneak in a bit of ‘Zakon Buzhi’ religious instruction in the school, and would tell the older students stories from scripture and about the portion for the holiday. From among the teachers I recall the following: Shapiro (an urbane Jew, and knowledgeable in Hebrew – who didn’t think much of my work), Sawirsky (from Vilna), Szaczynko (from Rygrod) – an Enlightened man, drawn to Zionism, beloved by the city but not the régime, because of his progressive ideas. His oldest son, Leib, was the pride of the Russian gymnasium in Łomża, and his young son, Yitzhak, studied in Germany at a agricultural school for purposes of preparing to make aliyah to the Land of Israel. After him – the teacher Friedberg, a negative sort of person, who did not endear himself to the people because of his love of money. He worshiped at the White Bet HaMedrash, and on once occasion, on a Sabbath, after Passover, he ascended the bimah and announced: If Russian lessons were not given in the cheders, he will begin to eat bareheaded and without washing his hands... The threat succeeded on his part, because the melamdim were afraid of him, fearing that he would send the Inspector to them and disqualify their cheder. After him came Leib, the son of a bookseller from Łomża: lean, tall, and blond, he was more of a Russian official than an educator of Jewish children. With the outbreak of the war he went over to Russia, as was the case with all appointees of the crown. From that time on, the Russian school ceased to operate, and in its place, as we shall see, came a Yiddish school, and after that, under government pressure, a Polish ‘Szkola Powszecna.’ The Yiddish Public School In the year 1916, during the time of the German occupation, a network of Yiddish schools began to be opened in Poland. The German authorities viewed this with favor because they saw ‘Yiddish’ as being close to German and also a barrier against Polish assimilation on one side, and against the influence of Zionism on the other. In Zambrów, those who stood at the head of the battle for such a school, namely, that Yiddish be the language of instruction and a firm national tendency toward it, were: Joshua Domb and Nathan Smoliar. Domb was an idealist and a gentle soul, possessing a very broad amount of Russian Enlightenment tha he had acquired in Odessa, and he was also educated in Judaism and Hebrew culture. He was fluent in Hebrew. He was drawn to Poaeli Zion and had a leftist outlook. His comrade in this was Nathan Smoliar, a pedagogue from Dolfuss and educated in the Zambrów cheder [system], a graduate of the municipal school in Ciechanowiec and the Teachers’ Institute in Vilna, and was also an ardent member of Poaeli Zion, to the left, together with Lola Gordon – a graduate of the Russian gymnasium in Łomża, who was drawn to the ordinary Jewish folk, even though she was distant from them [sic: in outlook] since the time of her education. It was these who successfully opened the Yiddish public school in the city. Rachel Mark, a teacher possessed of kindness, also joined up with them afterwards to teach general studies. The school was set up in premises within the house of Sziniak, on the Bialystok road, and its principal was Nathan Smoliar, to who other teachers were added and changed. among them: Nadler, [and] Gutman.     After a while, in which the Poles rotated in their government, they changed this school into a government school but the language of teaching was Polish instead of Yiddish. Nathan Smoliar did not agree to remain on as principal in this school, and establishes a new Yiddish school, called ‘Borokhov,’ as an extension of TzYShO (Tzentrale Yiddishe Shul Organizatzia, Warsaw). His place, as the principal of the previously mentioned school, which was transformed by the ‘benefactors’ of the régime, into a ‘Szkola Powszecna,’ was taken by Lola Gordon – a teacher of tradition to the Jewish children, a good and talented educator – but subordinated to the A Class in Public School with the teacher, Lola Gordon demands for Polonization by the régime. After her, her sister led the Polish school – Nuta Gordon-Wilimowsky (today in Israel). After a while, when the reputation of Nathan Smoliar spread as a successful teacher and an experienced pedagogue, a trained principal, and a talented organizer – he was taken away honorably to Warsaw, to be the principal of a ‘Borokhov’ school there, also by the left-leaning Poaeli Zion, and here too,  he was outstandingly successful, to the point that he was considered as one of the best of the Jewish pedagogical resources in Warsaw.   The Volksschule Named for Borokhov in Zambrów The "Borokhov" School   The Yiddish volksschule, named for Ber Borokhov, was founded with great difficulty in the year 1921 by the Poaeli Zion, with the help of parents and friends: The school was located on the ‘Platz’ (going to the Koszaren), at the house of Moshe-Lejzor Sokol. It opened with only two classes. Most of the students (boys and girls) were the children of working-class parents, and even though they should have paid tuition, which they only were able to obtain with difficulty, nevertheless they sent their children to the school with a great deal of commitment. The school provided a Jewish-worldly education. Much room was made there for Jewish literature, for the classic Jewish history, etc. A love for Jewish traditions was also implanted into the children. At each Jewish Festival holiday, the teachers and the children prepared their lovely presentations, using scenery created by themselves, including recitations, song and dance. These presentations, in which the children were transformed into birds, angels, little trees, and snowflakes, had a great success in the shtetl. The firefighters hall, where these presentations were held, would be filled to overflowing. Primarily, the school had a reputation for its children’s choir, which would sing many beautiful children’s songs in three or four voices, and also pieces from classical music, Beethoven, Chopin, Haydn, and excerpts from operas. The Yiddish volksschule was a second home for the children, and for others literally their only home; because this was where they were able to forget all of the troubles and worries that beset their real homes. The relationship of the teachers to the children was extraordinarily of a full heart. The teachers worked under their difficult material circumstances, barely making a living, but despite this they were dedicated to their work with all of their heart. They were paid with the love and loyalty of the children. The teachers used to be engaged with the students even after classes; they would lead discussions, explain matters to them about social life, about the struggle between classes. During the summer and on Saturday mornings when the weather was good, they would organize expeditions to places within the vicinity of the city. An important event was the publication of a journal by the children, written and edited by the children themselves, containing poems, stories, characteristically about educated people, and reviews of books by Yiddish writers. Those circles, comprised of religious fanatics, looked with disfavor on the Yiddish volksschule. They held that the children were being give too liberal an education. They went so far as to have one of the teachers excommunicated. The volksschule existed for barely six years. During that time, it demonstrated the capacity to rally all the progressive elements of the shtetl around itself. In the school there also existed evening courses for workers. Speakers came from Warsaw, who gave interesting lectures. But this was not in accordance with what the official authorities wanted. And so, on a nice day in May 1927, a policeman entered the school and advised that the school was being closed. This was a terrible blow to the children. They were being deprived of the very thing that they valued and treasured the most. Those few students, who are still alive, recall with sorrow, their dear school and their teachers who are etched into their memory forever. Let us show respect to our exterminated teachers and fellow students.   Kindergarten Here is a group of former girl students, who are living in Paris today: Chana Sokol-Zilberberg, Faygl Stupnik-Astrinsky, Zlatkeh Sosnowiec-Rothstein, Esther Smoliar-Szlewin, Belcheh Stupnik-Kwiat.   The Yiddish-Polish Volksschule  Class in the Yiddish-Polish School - I   The Polish authorities laid an eye on the Yiddish volksschule, which in its view was a revolutionary fortress, and on one fine morning closed the school that had been in existence for six years, and in its place opened a Polish-Yiddish volksschule. Its objective was to polonize the Jewish children, tear them away from Jewish culture, and implant a love of Polish into them. At the beginning, a special teacher taught them ‘Jewish religion’ two to three times a week. Later on this too was discontinued. The ‘Szkola Powszecna.’ openly applauded assimilation and an opposition to oppose a Jewish national upbringing. In its ranks there worked not a few clandestine communists who held themselves equal to the Poles, with their hatred for yidishkeit and national education. Of the twenty cheders in Zambrów during the time of the Russians, barely three to four remained in those last years before the Holocaust. This is because the ‘Szkola Powszecna’ swallowed up the children after the authorities compelled the children to attend this school, and a little at a time closed the cheders. Also, the Yiddish-Hebrew schools could not continue to exist because of harassment by the authorities, and also because of the bad economic circumstances of the Jews in the city. The Polish school was free of charge, depending on taxes, while the rest of the schools required that tuition be paid. A small part of the parents would send the small boys from the Polish school to an afternoon cheders, or an evening cheder...   Before the Holocaust A Class in the Yiddish-Polish School - II   In those last years, a religious school for girls was also founded, ‘Bais Yaakov,’ under the aegis of the Rabbi. The head teacher was the Rabbi’s step-daughter. The school was in the ‘wood house’ of the White Bet HaMedrash. The ‘Centos,’ which was concerned with the welfare of the poor and weak children, turned over the food allocations for the schools and the cheders to ‘Bais Yaakov.’ The fanatic Jews, who a half-generation before fought every reform in national-religious school and harassed the teachers for their ‘liberal’ view of education, now bowed their heads for the assimilated-gentile school... During the short Russian occupation in the last [sic: Second World] War, a sort of permission was granted to found a Yiddish volksschule in Zambrów along with a Jewish gymnasium. But in a short time, the Russians pulled back and left the city to the Germans. The Spinoza of Zambrów     A Class in the Yiddish-Polish School - III   In 1938, there was a frightful winter. There were immense frosts, couples with childhood illnesses. Accordingly, a search began for transgressions in the city: who is the cause of such intense suffering in the city? And they discovered that the teacher of the Yiddish school from the TzYShO network (the Central Jewish School Organization) was teaching the children to be against yidishkeit, telling them they should write on the Sabbath. People observed how he would tear off the mezuzahs that were on doorposts and trample on them with his feet... and it was then left to the Rabbi and his followers to make an end to these troubles and place the teacher in excommunication. So Binyomkeh the Shammes ran and brought the sinning teacher to the Rabbi: a skinny and tall young man, pale, dressed in a thin coat, shivering from the cold. The doors were sealed. The Rabbi lit two black candles. and one person blew the shofar: Tekia, Shevarim, Teruah. And the Rabbi turned to him, asking him nothing: ‘Be advised that we are excising you from the body of the Jewish people! May you be cursed both in your coming and going! And may he be cursed, who will come in contact with you, or have anything to do with you!...’ And so the Rabbi finished, and the door was pried open, and the accursed Jewish teacher, as pale as the wall, even scrawnier than before and taller than before, silently shuffled out, barely able to stand on his feet...   The Polish Gymnasium in Zambrów By Zvi Zamir (Herschel Slowik)     In 1918, with the new independence of Poland, a Polish gymnasium was established in Zambrów. Quite a number of Jewish children were students there. They had to put up with anti-Semitism, and having their parents harassed by the Rabbi ז"ל and several of the balebatim who looked at the school where the children were compelled to write on Saturday, as if it were an apostasy. And so, a few of the parents became fearful of the Rabbi’s threats and took their children out of there. The Rabbi especially took issue with Berl Golombek, who was a prominent member of the balebatim, among his people in the Red Bet HaMedrash -- threatening to excommunicate him if he does not take his daughter out of the gymnasium. All the Golombeks were upset by this, and came out against the Rabbi. The Rabbi was compelled to transfer over to the White Bet HaMedrash. Studies at the gymnasium were on a high level. The director, Mayewski, a well-known pedagogue and an educated man, did not like Jews and referred to the Jewish students as ‘foreigners who speak Polish only in school’ – yet, despite this, he would often hold up Jewish students as role models in contrast to the gentile ones, noting their understanding and style, understanding and diligence. As to the Jewish students, part of them were inclined to assimilation and saw their future in the new Poland. The larger portion, however was Zionist in its orientation from all parts of the spectrum. For example: M. Baumkolar, a talented and outstanding student in school, was an ardent Marxist outside of school and was a member of the leftist Poaeli Zion Youth and founded a student group for the laboring classes in the Land of Israel. He invested a great deal of his strength and energy into this group, and thanks to him many Jewish students who were diligent in their study of Polish literature, were saved from a spiritual assimilation and gave themselves over to the concept of our national rebirth, studying Jewish history, reading Hebrew and Yiddish literature, and taking an interest in everything that transpired in the Land of Israel. As a result, no small number of them ended up coming to Israel, some sooner, others later. Apart from the Polish gymnasium in Zambrów, no small number attended the Yiddish-Polish gymnasium of Dr. Sh. Goldlust in Łomża. Others pursued study in Bialystok and Warsaw. Of these, some did so in the ‘Takhkemoni’ middle school and in other schools. Together, they brought credit to Zambrów youth and brought culture into its ranks. The gymnasium, even though it was anti-Semitic in its cast, was for us, the children of cheder and Gemara, a ray of light and education.   Alter Rothberg       Alter Rothberg   He was a gifted child, the only son of his father, R’ David, the Wagon Driver (born in the year 1896). The melamdim constantly spoke highly of him. At the age of about thirteen, he traveled off to study at the yeshiva in Łomża. He studied there for about three years and then transferred to study at the yeshiva in Telz, which enjoyed a high reputation for its scholars. There he ‘went astray:’ He began to diligently study subjects outside the Gemara, Tanakh, grammar and Russian, read pamphlets by Enlightenment authors, and became active in Zionist endeavors. When the First World War broke out, he returned to Zambrów but he was a different person by then. His father had already given up on the idea that his son might become a rabbi. He continued to acquire an education. He made his debut as a teacher in the school of his uncle, his mother’s brother, Fyvel Zukrowicz. During the establishment of the Polish Republic, he became a teacher in Bialystok. There he married a genteel woman, Rivka Halle, and built a Jewish national house and relentlessly taught himself worldly subject matter. Later on he became a teacher in the Jewish gymnasium in Suwalki and became one of the principal intellectual forces there. He then returned to Bialystok, settled down there, and later on became a teacher in the Yiddish-Polish gymnasium. During the vacation months, he sat for the government examinations and earned a Polish diploma as a Polish gymnasium teacher, preparing himself for an academic title, and afterwards – to go to the Land of Israel. In this time, his three children grew up. For this entire time, Alter was active in Bialystok on the National-Cultural front. He was beloved by everyone for his merriment and joie de vivre. He was reckoned as one of the best pedagogues in the city, and he was killed with his entire family in the Bialystok ghetto on that Black Friday (August 20, 1943).   Kindergarten in Zambrów   The Teachers’ Committee of the Borokhov School Standing: Moshe Eitzer, Lindenheim, Shimon Rubinstein Sitting: G. Fishman, (Rachel) Mark, N. Smoliar, Sarniewicz, Yudl Rubinstein Evening courses for workmen 10 June 1921 A Class in the Volksschule - I   A Class in the Volksschule -II   A Class in the Volksschule - III   A Class in the Volksschule - IV, Nathan Smoliar, Head Teacher (center) A Class in the Volksschule - V, Lindenheim, the Teacher (center)      The Library   Before the First World War, Zambrów has a small Zionist library, consisting of Hebrew and Yiddish books, and it was called ‘Toshia,’ named after the prominent publishing house in Warsaw, whose agent in Zambrów and its vicinity was Benjamin Kagan. The library was located in the house of Yochanan Feinzilber, a member of the Zionist organization. All three of the brothers, Yochanan, Chaim and Joseph, along with their sister Rachel (now Lewanda, in Israel) committed themselves to the library and would trade books. You understand that this was done on a voluntary basis. A second library, of Yiddish books, could be found at the home of Meir-Fyvel the Melamed and baker of honey cakes. His son, Alter Zorembsky, a very aware older boy, an old-time labor activist, committed himself to this library with heart and soul. Alter had spent some time in Bialystok, and there familiarized himself with labor doctrine, and brought it back with him to Zambrów. He would be able to attract working young people to the book, explain to them what they should read, introduce the author and his work, and later after reading carry on discussions with them. He was sickly, suffering from a lung disorder, but despite this he committed himself to the education of workers and encouraged them to read. The library later was transferred to Mr. Pszysusker, a gentle and educated young man from Pultusk, who, together with his well-educated wife from the Kuppermintz family, ran a paper business, commencing on Kościelna Gasse.   A Workers’ Education Group Sitting: Chana Wiezhbowicz, Alter Garfinkel, Pinia Baumkuler The circle of readers grew larger, despite the fact that the Rabbi and his fanatic accomplices engaged in attempts to place the library under excommunication. An attempt was even made to set it on fire. The library eventually acquired its own premises, expanded the number of books with Hebrew, Yiddish, and Polish books. When the circle of readers was large and the reading room unused, the library management would arrange literary evenings, putting on informative lectures, discussion evenings, etc. During the German occupation in the First World War, the library was under the influence of the ‘Bund.’ When the ‘Poaeli Zion,’ and the Tze‘irei Zion grew strong, they undertook to spread their wings and obtain control over the library. After lengthy discussions and fights, the library passed over to the control of the Zionist workers. It was formally decided that the library should be non-partisan. Elyeh-Motl, the son of Yaakov Schaja (today in Argentina), was nominated as a neutral party to be the librarian, and let us remember him here for that, favorably. He was very much committed to his position (you understand, without financial compensation), and even during the fairs held on market days, he would leave his store full of gentiles and run off to fulfill his obligation in the library, exchanging books, and advising the young people on what to read. While the library was neutral [sic: non-partisan], the friction did not cease. Each side suspected the other of a biased approach to the acquisition of books. This continued until a certain evening during which a referendum was passed with a large majority, deciding that the library should pass to the control of the Zionists under the name of ‘HaTekhiya.’ This name, which came from legal Zionist societies, protected the library from undue suspicion that there were communist elements within. The government attempted to close the library more than once, thinking that here is a nest of ant-government parties. The library struggled and existed for close to three decades, spreading knowledge and culture among the masses until the Nazi fire consumed it. In speaking of the library in each Bet HaMedrash, in the Chevra Shas, and the Hasidim shtibl, a ‘library of religious books’ could be found. Small groups of ‘book-buyers’ were organized in each house of worship. People would pledge sums of money, donate their own books or books they inherited from their father. Children would often commit to saving a set sum of money from their pocket change they used to buy candy, in order to buy a set of the Shas for the Bet HaMedrash, a set of the Pentateuch, Haggadic (The Prophets and Ketubim) and similar initiatives. These religious libraries also were consumed and went up in the smoke, together with those who were the ones who perused their books.      Drama Circles     The Keren Kayemet L’ Israel Drama Circle The ‘Bund’ Drama Circle Even before the first Great Fire, a theatre was set up in Zambrów. The interested young people of that time had put on the play, ‘The Selling of Joseph’ on Purim in the Women’s Synagogue, with the female parts also being played by men... Despite this [accommodation], the local actors were roundly cursed. On Purim, the yeshiva students would often ‘perform’ [the play of] ‘David and Goliath,’ ‘The Selling of Joseph,’ etc. Fyvkeh the Shoemaker with others of his friends, poor working people with good Jewish hearts, once put on a Purimspiel, an Ahasuerus spiel, for the benefit of raising dowry funds for indigent brides. In the last seven to eight years before the First World War, the young people would get together and study a [sic: theatrical] piece, such as ‘Shulamis’ by Goldfaden, ‘The Sacrifice of Isaac’ and would prepare to put on a performance at the firefighters’ headquarters on a Saturday night, or after a Festival holiday, for the benefit of some worthwhile cause. From time to time they would have to put up with a great deal of trouble from the Rabbi and his adherents. And not once did they have to deal with intervention by the Russian authorities, who took a certain amount of glee in disrupting an evening arranged by Jewish youth... In the final years before the First World War, in the year 1912 approximately, the Zambrów amateurs put on ‘Tzu zayt un tzu shprayt’, a drama in three acts, by Sholem Aleichem, which portrays the conflict between children and their parents. Outstanding performances were turned in by Ephraim Wiliamowsky, Abraham’keh Rothberg, and others. [There was] a drama circle in Zambrów, that put on 'Chasia the Orphan Girl’ – for the benefit of the ‘Ladies Society,’ This was a non-partisan circle, including Bundists and Zionists together. However, in 1919, party loyalists emerged victorious, and in 1919 the Bund created its own drama circle, and the Tze‘irei Zion its own drama circle... Theatrical pieces were often performed in Zambrów, with fragmented resources and with minimal revenues. In the year 1924, Feinzilber’s son-in-law, Lewando (today in Israel) returned from Russia, who was formerly a professional performer, and he was able to set up a non-partisan drama studio in Zambrów. [He advertised that] anyone who demonstrated any talent for the stage, whether from the right or left, Bund or Poaeli Zion, should present themselves. With great success, and with appropriate artistic talent, they produced the operetta, ‘Liovka Molodets’ twice. And so, they got themselves ready to put on added pieces... the drama circle of the Poaeli Zion put on ‘The Village Youth,’ which was successful. Small drama circles also existed in the synagogues. From time to time, Hanukkah and Purim, at the end of the school year, these small artistic groups would invigorate the audience and hope was placed in that little boy or that little girl, that they might grow up to be ‘stars’ of the Zambrów theatre. The teachers encouraged the children, feeding them high hopes for when they would grow older...   Maccabi        This was one of the brightest and most beloved institutions in Zambrów, and it served as a model for the entire region.   In 1916, at the time when Jewish Poland was able to breathe free a bit, Jewish sports clubs began to be established. Zambrów did not miss this opportunity either. The Germans, who occupied Poland at that time, did not prevent this from happening. At that time in Zambrów, Mr. Hurwicz was designated as the representative of a society for providing wood for industrial purposes. As a sportsman, he could not abide seeing the Zambrów youth without sports. He therefore called for a meeting of several young people, with Leibchak Golombek at their head, and he clarified the goals of the Maccabi sport club for them, of which he was then a member in Warsaw. His plan appealed to the listeners and the Maccabi organization was temporarily set up. The group developed vigorously, and it grew from week to week. The principal virtue lay in that the club, from its outset, was non-partisan politically, and it accepted each young person, whether he   Sh. Gutman was a Zionist or a Bundist. The language of discourse was Hebrew, in accordance with the orders from the central authority in Warsaw. Of particular note was the celebration of the ‘dedication of the flag’ in honor of the new standard, which was indeed tall and very appropriate – more beautiful than the flags of the surrounding towns. Every month, tens of new members joined up, men and women, and all stood out with their white and blue hats and their sports clothing. Drills and exercises were held in the location of the ‘Gorlin’ brick works, which belonged to Shlomkeh Blumrosen. The gentiles viewed this Jewish military [sic: cadre] sternly, and even suspected it of harboring evil intent towards the Polish state. However, they could do nothing. The commandant of Maccabi, for this entire time was Leibchak Golombek, a tall and skilled sportsman who was committed to Maccabi with his life and soul, and he defended its interests with pride. Later on, the chair was taken over by the lawyer Czerniawsky. Maccabi demonstrated its power and discipline not only once in the city. Maccabi received the Cantor Sirota, with fanfare, and celebrated the holiday of the Balfour Declaration -- everyone completely decked out in full uniform with the banner held high, in a stiff cadence, standing erect, with heads held high, they marched through the streets of Zambrów with song and rhythm.   Gymnastic Exercises - I The gentiles kept shouting: ‘Zydowsky Wojesko’ – Jewish Military... So clouds closed in over Maccabi. The mobilization of the best of the youth into the Polish military, the majority of the Maccabi membership literally ruined its ranks. Apart from this, the Polish authorities looked askance at this Jewish sports club and robbed it of its rights. Many immigrated – to the Land of Israel, Argentina, the United States, etc. Not a few contested the internal political frictions; at that time in Poland, there already existed sports clubs on the right and on the left, from the Bund and Poaeli Zion. The authorities did not permit the use of the name ‘Maccabi’ that was a symbol of Jewish rebellion, but rather the ‘Jewish Sport Club.’ The last leaders of the club were Beinusz Tykoczinsky and Hillel-Herschel Sziniak.   A. Shmuel Gutman/ Maccabi In the year 1916, the Germans employed no small number of Jewish workers in the barracks, Jewish recruits, and the officers in the German army would treat us especially well. There was a German-Jewish officer who helped us to organize the sport activity, apart from the good instructor from Łomża. I will never forget the big tour festival, very early on Sunday morning, with our blue-white banners, when we marched through the streets to the Uchastok. The Christians looked at us askance. The young toughs would shout ‘Zyduzy do Palestiny!’ "Maccabi" and "Maccabi Youth" then secured the Jewish street, and thanks to this the political parties began to organize themselves, right and left, religious and secular.   A Maccabi Group   Gymnastic Exercises   ‘HaPoel’ Workers’ Sport Organization   'HaPoel' -- The Section of Young Girls   ‘HaPoel' --  The Section of Workingmen’s Sport   Maccabeans on an Excursion   A Group of Girls In Athletic Exercises ******   Folklore   Grandmother Shafran with her Grandchildren and Great-Grandson, Joe Zukrowicz   At A Banquet Standing (from right to left): Baruch Surawicz, Elazar Williamowsky, Simcha Rosenbaum, Chaim Kaufman, Aviezer Kaplan, Zerakh Gottleib, Ephraim Williamowsky, Yudl Tykoczinsky   Sitting: Elia Cybulkin, Fishman, Yitzhak Gorodzinsky, Max Tykoczinsky --- Chaim Gorodzinsky, Itzek Cybulkin   From My Childhood World By Yom-Tov Levinsky   A. Words, Songs and Folk Expressions Here, in alphabetical order,74 I bring only a part of the expressions, words and bits of songs that I heard during my ten childhood years in Zambrów, approximately between 1901 and 1911. The larger part of these I have never heard in any other place. A part of these I have indeed heard elsewhere, but often with a different meaning, with a verbal explanation giving it an opposite meaning. I present this material as I heard it, and the way it was articulated in Zambrów. *** Ot Azoy Nart Men Op a Khosn! Many times, a prospective bridegroom was promised a dowry and financial support – and after the wedding, he was given nothing, because there was nothing to give. The newly married husband would then go about insulted and angry, with his head lowered. Groups of people would then sing along: Ot Azoy, Ot Azoy, Nahrt Men Arayn a Khosn! M’Zogt im tzu, a sakh nadn Un m’Git im nisht kein groschen!   In this way, in this way, A bridegroom is taken in! He is promised a large dowry And not a groschen is given him! Iberrufekhitz [Nicknames] Here I record only a few of the names that used to be appended, when the people in question were called to mind: Abraham Berel Klin (A Village Idiot) – Nemt dem Tukhes un Loyf Ahin!75 ‘Agter’ – Alter Shpalter Kryzl Killeh,                Makh a Brokheh Ibber der Mekhileh!76 ‘Moshe’ – Moshe – Tshysheh, Tshimtsham, Tshaysheh.                 козак молодчна!77 (The second half has its roots in a Russian tune, where a Cossack of low rank is encountered). ‘Abraham’ – Abraham = Kopovrom – Lokshn Drovrom!78 ‘Baylah’ – Grobbeh Baylitseh!79 ‘Mendl’ – Mendl-Fendl!80 Along with the sobriquet: Hayst er Mendl – Meg Men Essn fun Zayn Fendl Hayst er Nissl –   Meg Men Essn fun Zayn Shissl81). ‘Berel’ –         Berel-Shmeryl, Boncheh-Tzitzeh!                       Makh a Brokheh Ibber der Metzitzeh!82 ‘Yankl’ –       Yankeleh, bankeleh,                       Flesheleh bronfn, bul-bul-bul!83 Itcheh Meir An added name for a Jewish man who is a Hasid, and who has no means of making a living, a sobriquet especially popular among Mitnagdim in Poland. Among the Ger Hasidim, this name was utilized very extensively, after the Ger Rebbe R’ Itcheh Meir ז"ל. ‘In Bod Arayn!’ This would be called out in the streets by someone when the baths were being heated (see further on ‘Montik in Bod Arayn’). Aynlaygn di Velt Do whatever is possible in order to salvage or carry out anything that is difficult to accomplish. ‘In Shul Arayn!’ The shammes would call this out every Friday at candlelighting time, in the middle of the street, so that Jews [should]hurry up to participate in the welcoming of the Sabbath. Alef-Beyz Children would sing the following, when they began to learn the alphabet: ‘Alef–Beyz, Alef-Beyz, Kokh mir op a topp flaysh! Nisht kein sakh, nisht kein bissl, Nor a fulleh shissl’!   ‘Alef–Beyz, Alef-–Beyz, Cook a large pot of meat for me! Not a lot, not a little, Just a full bowl! This song also comes from Lithuania, where the poem is known as: ‘Alef-Beyz – A Teppl Flaysh.’ Amol iz Geven a Mayseh When telling stories to little children, if one wanted to gull them and thereby amuse them, one would say: Amol iz geven a myseh, Mit a kelbeleh a vyseh, Mit a ki’eleh a roiteh – Du bist a groiser shoyteh!   Once there was a story, With a white calf, With a little red cow – You are a big fool! Amol Hot Er Gefiert In the fifth year (1905) the revolutionaries (‘strikers’) would tell of the well-connected nature of the capitalists in Russia, the newly rich, the Governor General, and like persons, as follows: Amol hot er gefiert a vegeleh mit mist Haynt iz er gevoren Der grester capitalist… Oy vey – Долойй полицеи! Долой самодержцеи России!  Amol hot er gefiert A vegeleh mit koyln, Haynt iz er gevorn Der hersher ibber Poyln. . Oy vey – Долойй полицеи, etc. Amol iz er gevezn An Opgerissener Nahr, Haynt is er in Russland Nikolai der Tsar Etc.   Once, he wheeled around a small wagon with excrement. Today he has become The greatest capitalist... Oy vey –down with the police! Down with the autocrats of Russia! Once, he carried around A small wagon with coal, Today he has become The ruler over Poland. At one time, he was A complete fool, Today, in Russia, he is Nicholas the Czar   Children would sing it differently, ‘Oy vey – Dalai Politsei – Lokshn mit farfl ohn an ei!’84   Chaim Shmuli’s Covered Wagon with Passengers A Painting by Zeidenstat, Łomża, Poland Omar Abaye Children would make fun of the boys who studied the Gemara, and using the sing-song of Gemara study, they would say85: Omar R’ Meir – Hot Er Tzebrokhn di Eier! Omar R’Eliezer – Tzebrokhn di Glezer! Omar Abaye – Hot Men Gekoyft Nyeh!   R’ Meir said – He broke the eggs! R’Eliezer said – He broke the glasses! Abaye said – They then bought new ones! Onbysen The first cooked meal in the morning. At about eleven or twelve in the morning, the cheder children would go home to eat their ‘onbysen.’ The morning food and drink, on an empty stomach, was called: ‘Ibberbysen,’ and the evening meal – ‘Vechereh.86’ Osobeh A beautiful, tall woman who had an attractive figure. From the Polish, osoba. Rarely was this term used to describe a handsome man (see Parshayn): ‘Zi hot genumen a mann an osobeh.87’ Opgenart! If someone was deceived, the entire group would leap to its feet singing: ‘Opgenart, kishkeh-nart, Moshe Yokhes, kish mir in tokhes…88’ Opgesukhniet Made scrawny and dried out, from the Polish word suchy – meaning dry. One would hurl an imprecation: ‘Opgedart, opgesuchniet zolst du verrn.’ (May you become dried out and scrawny). Akvit – Whiskey, from the Latin, ‘Aqua vita’. Okravkehs Referring to very young children before they reach cheder age, from the Polish okrawki—bits and pieces, cut off? Bazolyet Wet. When a child wakes up wet from [being asleep in] bed. Bozhetsa A golyuba (a royal holiday) in which all the cheder children would be assembled in the Bet HaMedrash, and later, when there was a Russian school for Jewish children – the students of that school [as well]. The hazzan would sing the Russian National Anthem with them on the bimah, [beginning with] ‘Боже, царя храни! ’ – God Watch Over the Czar.’ The children, as well as the adults would shorten this to ‘Bozhetsa.’ The ‘Bozhetsa’ was also sung when there was a reception for a governor or a general. At the singing of this piece, the ‘страший-старший’ (most senior police officer) would always bear witness, and he would perform ‘честъ’. This means: he would stand at attention, and with sword in hand, he would place his right hand on the right side, in salute, by his ear. Batronchik (or Patronchik) This is an added name for a yeshiva student studying away from home, and who requires support in the form of daily meals. It is derived from the word ‘patron’ – indicating the need for a sponsor, or ombudsman: such a dependent yeshiva student would retain the child of balebatim for a specific salary, to be his ‘patron.’ – to impart to him acceptable forms of religious observance and behavior, and to study a page of the Gemara with him. One would sing: ‘Az Okh und Vey Tsum Batronchik’s Yorn/As Er Darf Fun der Haym Avekforn/ Oy Vey, m’Vert Farlorn/ Shoyn Besser Az m’Iz Nisht Geborrn…89 and so forth – following the alphabet. I no longer remember the remaining verses. Botchan A stork (in Polish, bocian). When the bocian would come flying in spring and settle on the roof to build a nest – the children would sing: ‘Kalleh, der bocian vet kinder brengen.90’ [The sentiment comes from] the folk superstition that a stork augurs the coming of children. However, this too was modified: ‘Kalleh der bocian – Kinder brengen…’ from [Isaac Bashevis] Singer’s book, ‘A World that No Longer Exists’ (p. 215), he documents another version: ‘Bocian HaMelech – Di Nest Brennt!’ Bolbot Someone who talks too much, from the Russian ‘bolbotukha.’ ‘Er iz a Bolbot. Di moyl farmacht er nisht.91’ A woman is a ‘bolbotukheh.’ One would engage in the witticism: Ven er iz a ‘Baal Bitokhn,’ (saying little and trusting in God), then she is a bolbotukheh….’ Banumenish A comic description of a small gentile child: ‘A banumenish, nokh nisht fun dr’erd oyfgevoksn!92’ The term ‘banumenish’ was often applied to the Devil, or any one of his emissaries, not wanting to utter his real name. Bankeh A small closed copper vessel with a small opening on top, with ears by which it could be held. It was used only for preparing tea. From the Russian ‘banka,’ – a tin can. Bakn Bagel… If you wanted to curse someone, one said: ‘go to hell and bake bagels!’ This is derived from what a bereaved person ate upon returning from a funeral: bagels. Barshbier Bavarian Beer, a type of beer that was obtained from the beer brewer in bottles. Borsht mit kartoshkehs Zambrów children would line themselves up like soldiers, go out into the street, imitating and singing like the Russian soldiers as they used to march through the streets. Once would sing: Ay sil, zakusil! (I have eaten and stuffed myself). The others would respond in chorus: Borsht mit kartoshkehs! Bashventslen A comic expression referring to the Christian rite of sprinkling holy water, considerably altered from the Polish, uświęcić. Burkeh A kiosk in the marketplace where soda water was sold. Bulbeh An ink stain on the paper. Also, a ‘bulbeh’ was a potato, as in Lithuania, where it became known in the folksong, ‘Zuntig bulbehs, Montig bulbehs…etc. Baym Vant Un In Mittn Children would fight over who would sleep up against the wall, and who in the middle. So it was said: Ver es ligt bei der vand Vet hobn a goldeneh land! Ver es ligt in mitn – Vet hobn a goldeneh shlittn! Ver es ligt beim eck Vet hobn a shissl mitt...[dreck].   Whoever sleeps against the wall Will have a golden land! Whoever sleeps in the middle -- Will have a golden sleigh! Whoever lies at the edge Will have a bowl full of...[shit]. Ba’agalah uVizman Kariv   Oyb ba’agalah – it is then a wagon93 Iz bizman koriv – a sleigh! Bekker A liar, because he is always ‘baking up’ fresh lies. ‘He managed to bake up this lie on a cold oven.’ Brudero A gentile brother, with the Hebrew suffix ‘ra’ – someone who is wicked. ‘Di shikseh hot a brudera– iz er ehrger far ihr. Zol em die erd araynnemen un tsen mol aroysvarfn94.’ Boruch Ata! If someone began to recite a blessing, but could not proceed, people would reply: ‘Fiddl Data.’ Gut Morgn Korev!... A deaf Jewish man, who sold dairy produce was traveling confidently from the village to the city to sell butter and cheese, [while] at the time his wife had given birth to a baby boy. Another person encounters him and says: ‘Gut Morgn Korev! The deaf man replies: I am traveling into the city! – Is it far from the city? – He replies: My wife had a baby boy! – Will you give me a good price? He replies: Three gulden a pound. Gimzhet A light rain is falling. An Outing on Tisha B’Av – Notice the covered heads, which serve as a protection against the age-old custom of youngsters throwing prickly nettles into the girls' hair on that day.   Glokn-Lidl! The [sic: Jewish] Zambrów children suffered the greatest trouble from the priest and his servants, who would incite the gentile hooligans, and would sic their dogs on the Jewish children. If a Jewish child should happen to draw near the priest’s woods, he could not be sure of his life. The fat-bellied priest would seize the child, pull on his ear, and often knock off his hat. As a result: when the [church] bells would ring, for a holiday or a gentile funeral, the Jewish children would take revenge by saying, in time with the pealing of the bells: A kraynk, a kraynk, zoll lygn, zoll laygn, dem galakh, dem galakh, in ponch (belly) arayn!95 Glugleh A foolish girl, from the Old German ‘Gluka –‘ a cackling chicken, that sits on her eggs! ‘Zi iz a groyseh gluka, farshtayt nisht fun danen biz ahin.96’ ‘Gelkhl’ Literally: the yolk of an egg. In the shtetl, however, it was a term applied to a blond Jewish man. Geleh Tshatch A blonde girl. Rarely, this term might also be applied to a blond boy. This comes from the Russian ‘tchetcho’ – a doll, a sensitive child, or from the Polish, caca-cacko! Geshmadeteh Haldz A nickname for a glutton, who cannot control himself and eats everything – ‘Zyn haldz is geshmadet!97’ Gerirt di Meryneh Insulted someone. It is an alteration of ‘morenu.’ Once there was a ‘morenu’ who did not have the honorific title of a ‘scholar.’ When he was called to the Torah, he was not accorded the courtesy of being called ‘Morenu haRav…’ – so it was said that his ‘morenu dignity had been touched.’ Also, with irony, it might be said of an individual who is unworthy of the formal courtesy extended to him: ‘A shayneh meryna!’ It is from this, that the children’s song is derived: ‘Shayneh-Meryneh Ketzeleh: Bak Mir Op a Pletzeleh! Shayneh-Meryneh Kotz, Bak Mir Op a Platz!’   ‘Pretty little honorable kitten: Bake me a small flatbread! Pretty honorable [big] cat, Bake me a full-sized flatbread!’ Geshmoltsener Shtern Someone with an inflated opinion of himself. It is possible that this is derived from the ancient practice of anointing the King or the High Priest with oil. Accordingly, their forehead was ‘lubricated.' Grobbeh Kopchekheh A nickname for a woman or a man who is thick-headed and cannot grasp what is being discussed. This name, in the city, was applied to a specific lady cook, a widow. It is possible that it was her husband, who was called the ‘Grobber Kop!98’ Gramzhet He is eating without an appetite. He chews and chews, but does not swallow. Griner Shavuos Used to describe someone who looked bad, and was green and yellow. On Shavuos, the house would be decorated with all manner of greens. Gesirkheh (Gesrokheh) A bad odor, bad behavior that denigrates a person. ‘A kind on a mann Iz a groyseh gesirkheh, Hot zi farshemt Di gantseh mishpokheh!’   '[To bear] a child without a husband Is to make a big stink, She brought shame upon The entire family!’ (From a folk song, which was sung in Zambrów about fifty to sixty years ago, quite possibly when such an incident occurred). Gret Dirty underwear. ‘Mann vasht gret.’ Grekhecheh A ‘gragger,’ used on Purim to smite Haman, which the children would fashion out of metal or wood. The older children would make a sort of rifle out of thread spools, or make a shingle gun out of a roof shingle. Didkeh (Ditkeh) Three kopecks, from the Latin duodecem = twelve. This means twelve half-groschen, which would make six whole groschen, or three kopecks. The poor people in town would receive a half-groschen as alms. However, half-groschens were in short supply, so the balebatim would buy a 'didkeh’ from the gabbai out of the tzedaka – this would be twelve chits for six groschen, with the stamp of the community affixed on them, along with the writing: ‘Half of a Large,’ meaning a half-groschen. The poor person would collect these chits, and exchange these ‘didkehs’ for six real groschen. In time, the six groschen piece also became known as a ‘didkeh.' Girls would say to the musicians: ‘Have a didkeh, and give me a dance.’ Direh Gelt This is rent, which also was paid in Zambrów. Not once did poor Jewish people have trouble with the landlord for not paying rent. Because of this, children would sing: ‘Kumt arayn der baleboss Mit der groyser khaliapeh, Git men em nisht kayn direh gelt, Shtelt er aroys di kanapeh!’   The landlord comes in With his big mouth, If he is not given the rent, He sets the couch outside! And then the entire cheder of little boys would chime in: ‘Oy direh gelt dem baleboss, Direh gelt dem часовой (Watchman) Oy direh gelt, oy, Боже мой (My God) Oy, oy, oy, oy oy!   Oh, pay the rent to the landlord, [Pay] the rent to the watchman Oh, the rent, oh my God’ Oh,oh,oh,oh, oh! This is a phrase from a well-known folk song, which comes in different variations. In Łomża, instead of saying ‘khaliapeh’ ( big mouth), they would say ‘shliapeh,’ from the Russian, шляпа (hat). Dreibeh (Dribkeh) The leftover parts of a bird, which the poor would buy for the Sabbath meal: the head, the guts, wings and feet, or a small scrawny diminutive chicken. This is what the Russians called the Polish eagle, which to them looked like a sawed-off scrawny chicken, when compared to the double-headed Russian eagle. It is from here that the ‘Litvak’ pejorative is derived, used to belittle the dignity of a Polish Jew: ‘Poylisheh Dribkeh!’ Drengenish A special descriptor for diarrhea. Halb-Shulzeit The recess in the Bet HaMedrash, between Shakharit and Musaf services, especially on the High Holy Days. Women, who would go to synagogue to pray on the Sabbath or Festivals, would take their Halb-Shulzeit break when the reading of the Torah was commenced, and they would go home to feed the little children. Hakn To gorge, to eat quickly, by taking large bites: ‘Er hot arayngehakt a ganzen lebl brayt.’ ‘Moishe und Ahar’n zitsn baym tish, hakn bulkehs, essn fish.99’ (From a Yiddish-Russian folksong). Haktsehs und Broktsehs Cut him up and break him into pieces. When someone has stubbornly refused to give in on a matter, one said: ‘khotch haktsehs und broktsehs,’ meaning that if you cut him up and broke him up into pieces, he would still not go along. Haynt ayns, morgn tsen… Gentiles would stop to make a mockery of a Jewish funeral procession, when everyone else was crying and wailing. Because of this, Jewish children would retaliate. At a gentile funeral, the Jewish children would say: Haynt aynem – morgn tsen Alleh teg – zoll men ess zehen!   Today one – tomorrow ten May we see this – every day! Avadeh iz gevehn a vasserfirer… If someone said, among other things, ‘Avadeh is er gevehn!’ -- then the rejoinder would be: ‘Avadeh iz gevehn a vasserfirer100 (a play on the Polish word woda – meaning water). Vu – Voss – Vehn? a. If one of the children would interrupt a conversation and ask: ‘Vu?’ Where? He was answered by: In tokhes bay der ku!’   ‘In the cow’s ass! This would cause him to fall silent. b. If another boy would ask ‘Vehn?’ When? The answer returned was: ‘Der tateh hot dir geshmissen, Kh’hob alayn gezehen!’   ‘Your father whipped you, I saw it myself!’ c. If the question was ‘Voss?’ What? The reply was: ‘Voz iz a gandz.’ (Russian-Polish)   ‘Voz’ is a goose. d. If one said ‘Mali-Voss?’ The reply that came back was: ‘Malyi voz’ is a small wagon (Russian-Polish). Vi Azoy? One would ask: ‘Vi Azoy?’ The answer returned: Lamcheh derei! Gei in kutseh101 – Lay an egg. Haynt ayns, morgn tsvey, Un farbeiss mit a gomulkeh shnei!   Today one, tomorrow two, And have a snack of a ball of snow! Ver vil? When a group of children would be asked: Ver vill? -- they were all supposed to remain silent. The one who blurted out and said ‘Ikh,’ caused all the children to mock him with the refrain: ‘Ikh? Gay in kikh, Farbren di shikh, Ikh vell essn lokshn mit mikh (milkh), Und du vest essn proshakehs mit khazer.   I? Go to the kitchen, Get your shoes burned, I will eat noodles and milk, And you will eat baking powder with pig. Wojtek The name of a simple gentile, and often used to describe a young boy attending cheder who does not want to learn. Fun would be made of an ignoramus, who in reading the Shema, would say: ‘veAkhalta veSawojtek’ instead of veAkhalta veSavahta.’ Vyser Polk This was the way the dead were referred to, because they were all dressed in white shrouds, as if in uniform, like soldiers. ‘Er iz gegangen in vysen polk arayn,102’ indicates that the individual being referred to has died. Zokhn Tribulations. A Jew is sick, or a gentile perpetrates ‘zokhn,’ or ‘he is sick.’ When a wealthy person falls ill, and distributes tzedakah, so as to earn some consideration in heaven, it would be said in the shtetl: ‘Az der noggid toot kranken und zokhn, Hot der oriman voss tsu kokhn!’   When the rich man suffers illness and tribulation,  The poor man has something to cook! ‘Zokhenish’   A satirical reference to a daughter. Especially a gentile daughter. "May his ‘zokhenish’ be the redemption. She is already twelve years old." Zoress Shpiln The trumpeting of the military guard in the barracks at night, as a signal that it is time to go to bed, and also before dawn, that it is time to get up (from the Russian заря – reveille, tattoo). The reverberation of the trumpets at night would serve as a timepiece for the Jews: a signal when to go to sleep. The pious would rise in the morning with these signals to attend the first morning prayer minyan, or go to open up shop. Zunero A little gentile son, with the suffix ‘reh’, meaning wicked (in Yiddish ‘ro’), is the way all the members would be counted out in the family of a wicked gentile: der tatero (or fottero), di mamero, der shvoggero, der brudero, di shvestero, di shviggreo, etc. Zyreh see Yayreh. Zhomb A frost. ‘S’hott gekhapt a frestl, und shpetter gevorn a zhomb.103’ Zellner Gehen... There were three brothers. One had affected eyes, so the doctors ordered him not to rub them. The second had an elflock,104 and so he was forbidden to scratch himself. The third has polyps, and he was not allows to pick his nose. One time, soldiers were going by. The first then remarked, rubbing his affected eyes: soldiers are going by! The second then asks, scratching his head: Where? Where? The third then answered, picking his nose, right and left: There! There! Khaliapeh A big mouth, ‘Er hot ge’efent di khalipeh un ongehoybn shiltn.’ See above: ‘Direh Gelt dem Baleboss.’ Khalaytsehs (Khalaytsehs) Large bread loaves made from white flour (challah flour), often four-sided like a long brick. This would be sold to the gentiles when they would come for a fair or a market, or be going to church on Sunday. The name comes from the Yiddish, ‘challah.’ If the challahs in the oven didn’t come out right, one would say: ‘those are khalaytsehs, not challahs.’ Khashliero The wedding of a wicked gentile, having the suffix ‘reh’ appended, and intended to reflect the sound of ‘khaleria’ [sic: cholera](see tatero, mamero, shvestero, brudero). Khalleh-Bandeh A small challah, which would be baked either on Fridays, or before Festival holidays, for children. This would also be shortened as ‘bandeh.’ It comes from the Latin root, ‘bon dia’ meaning ‘good day, i.e. Yom Tov – a Festival holiday. In the shtetl, it also served as an ‘added name.’ There was a woman, a seller in the market, who was called by this name (see: ‘Matzoh Zu!’). ‘Khatzi-Gadol’ A half groschen, in the parlance of the charity organization (see Didkeh). Tatero A gentile father, with the suffix ‘reh’ meaning he was wicked. Similarly: Mamero. Tokhtero See Tatero, Zunero, etc. Tatulu Mamulu Winter, during the nights of Christmas (Boźe Narodzenie), the observant gentiles would blow small trumpets at night. The Jewish children would then sing along with the same tune and cadence: ‘Tatulu, Mamulu, ess dem kugelu!’ Tomer Iz Geven a Yiddeneh! If someone expressed doubt by saying, for example: ‘Tomer vet er nisht velln?’105 Another person might wittily reply: Tomer (Tamar) was a Jewish lady! Tantz- Klass In the Zambrów dance class, the dance master would admonish the boys and the girls who were not dancing well, and said to them in the tune and cadence of a waltz: ‘Herrn und damen, a klog tzu eikh! Goyishe keplakh vaksn auf eikh!’    Ladies and gentlemen, woe unto you!  You are developing gentile intelligence! The girls would then retort, using the same melody: ‘Hot nisht faribl, mir gehen nisht gikh, Vyl mir hodn tserisseneh shikh!’   Please don’t blame us for not moving spritely, Because we have torn shoes! (Heard from my mother.). Di Maydlakh Gehen Tantzen… Once in a while, a significant amount of time would go by until the girls would save up money, [to pay] for the musicians, and they wanted to go dancing. A short dance cost a ditkeh – three kopecks. Occasionally it would happen that the girls barely made it to get the money together, and the musicians would suddenly vanish. So they would say: ‘Di Maydlakh Gehen Tantzen – Geht der Klezmer fi…106 (See tzvantzig kopekehs). This would also be used in the Bet HaMedrash, when the congregation was already present, and the person supposing to lead the service, or the maggid, went off elsewhere… Topp Tsimmes Flieht! A ‘recognition game’ used to be played. Each one would lean a finger against the hip of the leader. The leader would ask various questions. What flies – or not. He would raise his finger at each question. The players, however, needed to remain alert: ‘A little bird flies!’ – pick up the finger; a stork flies – pick it up: An air balloon flies! – pick up the finger. A pot of tsimmes flies – do not pick up the finger. Some, however, would raise their finger also, when they were not supposed to, and would be fined with ‘pitkehs’ (a sort of penalty [see below]). Torakh Someone who tears things. Someone who quickly tears a garment or a shoe, ‘Er is a groyser torakh.’107 Toyber Yash A nickname for someone who is half deaf, who can hear a little, but doesn’t quite hear it all. It is derived from the name Tuvia, which in Polish is Tobiasz, which was then modified into ‘Toyb-Yash’ – ‘Toyber Yash.’ Tifleh A cloister. A parody of the Hebrew tefilah [sic: prayer]. Tifleh is from the Hebrew – meaning something unseemly (Job 1:22). Tshamzayger An epithet for a fool. There was a foolish young man in the shtetl who was given that nickname, because instead of a ‘vant zayger’ [i.e. a wall clock] he would say ‘tshamzayger.’ On that basis, other fools were called by that name as well. Tshukhchak A diminutive and scrawny little boy, who is not qualified to be a soldier. It appears to be a word that comes from the Russian barracks108. Tshifshukh – Szczypior (Pol.: A Green Onion) The green leaves of onions, which were sold at the beginning of the summer, from which a sort of salad was made to be served with meat (with vinegar, sugar, and hard-boiled eggs). Children would make flute-like whistles from the ‘tshifshukh.’ Chelyemok A deranged fool. ‘Er is a chelyemok!’ ‘Mok’ by itself was also used by the Galician Jews in an expression: ‘Kyreh Mok,’ where ‘KYRH’ is the acronym in Hebrew for ‘Keysar YaRim Hodo’ [The emperor, may his glory be exalted]109. ‘Yavnik’ Someone who is cunning, who does not let himself be deceived, but leads others around by the nose.110 ‘Yoloss’ A clumsy, ungainly young man, especially a tall over-nourished [sic: fat] young man, who is a grobber yung, a zhlub.111 Yaleshkeh Equivalent to a calf, which matures quickly into a young cow. In the shtetl, however, this is what a cello was called, the large bass fiddle of the musicians, because in Polish, ‘czelo’ is the same as ‘czelica’ – a calf, a yaleshkeh. Yaireh Signifying Jewish children, a modification from ‘Ihreh = Ayereh’ [sic: yours], in contrast to gentile children, who were called ‘Zyreh’ – modified from ‘Zeyereh’ [sic: theirs]: Three ‘Yaireh’ went for a stroll outside the city, and they were assaulted by four ‘Zyreh,’ with dogs and clubs. Yengalkehs Wild-growing small pears, that grow in the forest or near the road and become ripe to eat at around Sukkos time. The gentiles would sell them by the sack. The same name was derisively applied to the gangs of laborers, who during Hol HaMoed, would come down from the nearby villages and towns to look for work and hire themselves out for a period of time. Yendikehs Equivalent to ‘Endikehs.’112 In secret code language, used in the shtetl, this was used to identify immigrants attempting to get to America illegally, without government passports. Agents from ship companies, or ‘makhers,’ would conduct them over the border into Prussia. There, they would acquire a ships ticket to travel on further, as far as Hamburg, Bremen, Antwerp, etc., to the [sic: trans-Atlantic] ship. ‘Der Yosseml’ Children used to sing a song about a little orphan, who suffers tribulation at the hands of a stepmother: ‘Shikt zi em nokh mehl – zogt zi es iz gehl;’ ‘Shikt zi em nokh tsuker – zogt zi es is bitter,113’ etc. A cradle-song was popular, about a baby orphan, that mothers would often sing beside the cradle, to cause their babies to go to sleep: ‘The mother lies on the ground, Her feet already splayed out, The little orphan lies in the cradle With eyes all cried out. There is no more mother, There is no solace! Who, my child, Will smear butter on your bread, Who, my child, Will take you to cheder? There is no more mother, There is no solace! Who my child, Will polish and adorn you, Who, my child, Will lead you to the wedding canopy? There is no more mother, There is no solace! Etc. Kalleh, der Botchan See ‘Botchan’ above. ‘Kalleh’leh, Kalleh’leh, Vayn, Vayn’! Children would twist the word and mimic the ‘badkhan’ at weddings and say, using the same tune that he would use to sing to the bride: ‘Kalleh’leh, Kalleh’leh, Vayn, Vayn, Der Khossn vet dir shikn a teppeleh khrayn. Vest du farrotzn dyneh yoongeh tsayn…’   Bride, Bride, cry, cry, The Groom will send you a small pot of horseradish. And you will redden your youthful teeth...’ When a girl would burst into tears, passersby or neighbors would sing this to her, but instead of ‘Kalleh’leh’ they would substitute her name. Kholyen Sleeping, especially applied to a gentile or general to a ne’er-do-well: ‘Er kholyet a ganzen tog, und toot gornisht.114’ See ‘Poffn.’ Khlayen Drinking hurriedly, and in large amounts. ‘ A Yid trinkt, a Goy khlayet.115’ Kapporeh-nik, Kapporeh-nitseh A gentile youth, or gentile young woman. It is derived from: ‘Mayn kapporeh zol er zayn!’ ‘Er hot geshikt zayn kapporenik koyfn mel116.’ Lahd – Disorder – ‘Bay mir iz a groyser lahd, nokh haynt di shtub nisht farkehrt.117’ Lokshnbrettl118 A collar that was called a ‘hertzl,’ starched and hard-pressed, which was worn around the throat, instead of an outside shirt. ‘Lieb dir dayn gast!’ This was the wish extended to people who were obligated to host a guest for the Sabbath or a Festival holiday, such as: a daughter’s prospective bridegroom, an in-law, etc. Usually, a child was sent with a small bottle of wine, beer, or soda water, to a friend, or neighbor for the Sabbath, after the traditional nap, and the child was instructed to say: My mother sent this along and said ‘Lieb eikh eyer gast!’   On the Riverside Livereh A kaluźa (paddle) of water, modified from riviera – a water (or as it was said in Zambrów: ‘Lirn’ instead of ‘Rirn.’ ‘A fliask,’ instead of ‘a frask.’) Leibtsunak – leibsudak, leibtsudek119 A word equivalent to the ‘arba kanfot’ tzitzit garment, called a ‘tallis katan.’ Likhtl A euphemistic description for someone with a runny nose, like the frozen drops of water that hang down from the roofs and eaves of a window. [Literally: a small candle]. Lyekken Drab singing of no taste. ‘A Yid zingt zmirehs, un a Goy lyekket.120’ Mordeven – Meisterven This would be said in connection with someone who doesn’t have mastery of a skill, or about a youngster who was trying very hard to fix something: ‘Er mordevet shoyn a gantsen tog, unt’gornisht farricht.121’ Mazhgolehs Sort of a large potato that cooks up quickly, but does not taste good. It would sometimes be said of a fat young woman, ‘Zi is a mazhgoleh.’ Mazhen, mazhgen Being sloppy. Not writing either cleanly or legibly. Mazhepeh An ugliness. One would say of a particularly unattractive girl: ‘Zi is dokh a mazhepeh!’ This is derived from the name of a Cossack 122 in the time of Chmielnicki123 or Gonta124, who was known as a hater of Jews, and had an ugly face. Matchek (pol. Maciek) A popular name for a gentile. This also served as a synonym for a dissolute youth, who was not observant, and does not want to study (see further on). If one did not believe someone, one would say: ‘Motchek zoll azoy lebn, vi s’iz emess!125’ Matchek’s Gram An ill-formed rhyme or song, like a gentile (‘Motchek’) trying to speak Yiddish. ‘S’hot a za taam, vi Motchkeh’s gram!126’ was a retort, when someone gave an inappropriate or inadequate reply. ‘Motchkeh Tepper’ The name of an unfamiliar person in the shtetl: ‘Ba Motchkeh Teppern oyf der khasseneh’ – meaning: it never will happen. It appears that there was once a tepper127, an old bachelor, who never got married. Mokhchak A young, impoverished youth, someone straitened, who would go around [soliciting alms] from house-to-house. His mother would be called a ‘Mokhchekheh’ and the entire family – ‘De mokhchekhehs.’ It is from this that the expression is derived for those who have been abandoned, who walk about in tatters: ‘Er zeht oys vi a mokhchak128.’ Makhn an ‘ahver’ Fetid air. From the Hebrew ‘avir’ -- air. If one desired to identify which boy in the cheder had passed wind, they would walk around and tap on the ‘lamp’ (the ear lobe), and stop at the one whose lamp was ‘lit (or was hot),’ which was cause to pull hard on his ear. ‘Makhraam’ (The Hebrew ?מכוערת) An ugly girl, and it would be applied sometimes extra specially to a gook-looking girl, so she not fall victim to the ‘evil eye.’ Mamero See Tatero, Zunero, etc. Montik in Bodd Arayn! Occasionally, a special messenger would be sent out to announce in the streets: ‘In bodd arayn!’, at those times when the baths would be heated up in the middle of the week. When the revolutionaries would end there singing with the refrain: ‘Mutik un mutik in kampf arayn!’ The little boys would sing afterwards: ‘Montik un montik in bodd arayn!   Into the battle with spirits high! Into the baths on Monday, and Monday! Mashgareh A mask, which was especially applied to a mask worn at Purim time, which was made by the cheder children themselves. Sometimes the word would be transferred to describe an ugly face: ‘S’iz dokha miuskeit, a mashgara129’. ‘Mayvin kol Dibbur’ A gentile, who understands Yiddish, comes into the store, causing one person to warn the other, in folk-Hebrew, not to blurt out anything derogatory: ‘Der orel is a ‘mayvin al dibbur, kol oyss!130’. ‘Ma Nishtanah?’ ‘Mah’ – why. Children would wittily translate the Hagaddah as follows: Farvoss, ikh bin gevehn oyfn groz, Iz gekummen a hoz, Un mir opgebissn dem noz Un kh’vayss nit farvenn un farvoss?’   ‘Why, I was on the grass, Along came a rabbit, And bit off my nose, And I have no idea why?’ ‘Makhar Tamuss’ ‘You will die tomorrow.’ When impolite youths would encounter a wicked peasant working in the field, they would jokingly wish him: ‘Dai Bozhe, makhar tamuss,’ instead of ‘Dai Bozhe, na pomoc.’ May God help you! Uncomprehending, the peasant would reply, as was customary: ‘Pan Bog Zaplac’ – may God repay you in kind. The better type children would not engage in this sort of attempted banter. Miuskeit A euphemism for a small mouse, not wanting to call it by name, while eating.. A Myshev From the word ‘moshav.’ Not rhymed in, ‘Bay im in shtub iz a myshev.’ One would joke: In the Pentateuch, it is already written that Jews have a myshev: ‘And the time the Jews dwelt...’ (Exodus 12:40). Mishimonkeh A ‘sumatokha’ or a tumult. ‘He cooked up a kasha and made a whole mishimonkeh out of it.’ One would also say, relating to the water in a running brook which was sandy and had not been allowed to stand: There is, after all, a mishimonkeh in the quart [bottle]. Malka Meirkeh A special name for a Jewish lady who talks a great deal, and it is impossible to get rid of her [incessant] tongue. It is possible that there was a woman of this sort, who had that name. Meskeh A dead person. Plural is ‘meskehs.’ Children would tell: ‘Meskehs’ would come into the wreckage of the burned down synagogue to pray. When they read from the ‘Torah’ they also call the living to an ‘aliyah’ from among those passing by in the street. Children believed that such an individual, once called, did not emerge alive again from their midst. Matzoh Zu When this was recited in the Hagaddah, and especially on Shabbat HaGadol, one would respond: ‘Khalyibondes koo!’ (see Khalleh Bondeh). M’ryneh Modified from ‘morenu.’ (See ‘Gerirt di M’ryneh’). ‘Mnogie lieta’ [многие лета] (Traditional Russian birthday song) On official government holidays (‘Goliubka’) when the representatives of the Jews would have to assemble in synagogue to extend respect to the Russian authorities, and children had to sing the Russian anthem along with the Hazzan, the ‘Mnogi lieta’ was also sung from time to time. That is, ‘многие лета, многие лета, православни цар’ (Many years, many years, Russian Czar of the True Faithful.). Using the same tune, the children would add the following verse: ‘Moshe mit Aharon’en zitsn beim tish, hakn bulkehs, un essn fish! ’‘Alleh Yiddn in Yerushalayim, essn lekakh, trinkn L’Chaim!’   Moses and Aaron are sitting at the table, gorging rolls and eating fish! All the Jews in Jerusalem are eating honey cake and toasting L’Chaim! Nu – Nu If someone said ‘Na!’ the rejoinder was: Na-The-Na! If someone said ‘Nu!’ the reply would be: ‘Make a motzki!’ This was because whoever had washed his hands and wanted to make a motzi and found no bread on the table, would shout at his wife, ‘Nu!’ – not wanting to break the discipline of uttering a word that was not in the Holy Tongue. It was because of this, that he was answered in this way. Svorakh A runny cheese, from the Russian ‘творог’ (curds). Svarbeh An elision of the Hebrew words, ‘Esrim v’Arba’ (twenty four), referring to the twenty-four books of the Tanakh. ‘He is studying Svarbeh already – he is studying The Prophets. The implication is that he is in an upper class, having completed his study of the Pentateuch. Stinkehs Little fish, which was bought mainly during the winter, chopping them up and making ‘halkehs’ from them. They were also cooked whole, without heads, in sweet and sour. They would make fun of a cross-eyed woman by saying: She looks at pike fish, and buys stinkehs. A skinny and small man would be called ‘stinkeh.’ Siskehs Elided from ‘shishkehs,’ which were prickly fruits that had thorns131, which on Tisha B’Av would be thrown at the heads of girls and into the beards of the older men. It was also called ‘berelakh.’ ‘Smoleh Kop!’ A shoemaker who would butt into everything was called a ‘smoleh kop132,’ because the cobbler’s thread was treated with pitch at the tip, so that it would be able to negotiate through the hole that he made with his awl. Podvereh – Podwórek A backyard. In the folk argot, the expression: ‘B’kitsur haDovor – a podvereh a myseh133! Poczantek The beginning, the start (Polish). If one bought or sold something on a Saturday night, which brought a substantial profit, it was called: ‘Makhn a gutn poczhantek.’ This was considered a good omen for income to be earned during the rest of the week. In Lithuania, they used to say ‘poczatek.’ In Polish, this would also be elided to ‘pierwszy poczatek134’. Ponts A folk descriptor for a big belly, from the Italian ‘pancho.’ ‘Er hot bakummen a ponts.’ (See: ‘A Kraynk dem Galakh.’)135 Poncewkeh A stomach ache. In the summer, when one would stuff oneself with unripe cucumbers, one got a ‘poncewkeh.’ – stomach cramps, which was very similar to dysentery. Poplon A big ‘pletzl’ [sic: a boardlike bread] made from whole wheat flour, with onion shaken over it, which was baked over an open flame fire when the oven was being heated to bake bread. From the Polish – podp»omyk. Poffn A vulgar way to express the act of sleeping too much. ‘He sleeps until the day is half over, and does nothing.’ See ‘Kholyen.’ Poppehs A folk or children’s expression for small potatoes, approximately the same as ‘bulbehs’ in Lithuania. Pakn Tsitrinen To shiver from the cold. ‘Tsitrin’ from the [Yiddish] word ‘tsiteren’ to shiver. Farvorfen To have died. It is an expression used when a wicked gentile dies. ‘Der orel is farvorfen gevorrn136.’ Fort a Khossidl tsum Rebb’n Children of Mitnagdim would make fun of a Hasid who travels to his rebbe, leaving his wife and children without anything to eat: ‘Fort der Khossid tsum Rebb’n – Nishtduh di kinder broyt tsu gebbn, Fort er mit aleh khassidokehs Lozt der vyb un kinder – makkess!’   And so the Hasid travels to the Rebbe – There is no bread to give the children, He travels with all his Hasidic claque Leaving his wife and children – plagues! The gentile toughs would sing: Jeszcze Chasyd do Rabina Dzieci krzycz� ni ma! Oj-Oj co to jest, Czy to Chasyd Czy to pies?   Again a Hasid to a Rabbi Children yell: there’s not! Oy, Oy, what is there, Is it a Hasid, Or is it a dog? Farsarget – Farpachket, Farflekt: Soiled. ‘Di hoyzn zynen farsarget mit blotteh.137’ Fartsoygn138 Speaking Yiddish in a Polish accent, in contrast to the Zambrów Litvak-Yiddish: ‘She is from Pultusk, so she speaks with the vowels stretched out.’ ‘Ni kim shoyn,’ gai shoyn, levooneh, ekh, etc, instead of: Nu kum shayn, gay shayn, levoneh, ikh, Farfelneh Hittl A Barashkov winter hat that looks like it had farfel shaken over it. ‘Parshayn’ a. A passenger in a wagon. The wagon drivers would say thus: ‘In der boyd forn 13 parshayn.139’ The root for this is the word ‘person.’ b. A handsome man. ‘Er iz a parshayn, shayn vi di velt!’ Poshliadkehs Small plump pletzls, baked from a cheap, dark flour, which was called ‘poszlienda.’ In the shtetl, there was a renown elementary school melamed, who was also my rebbe, R’ Israel Chaim Fleischer, who was called: ‘Yisroel Chaim mit di podliashkehs,’ apparently because he was fond of eating them. ‘Pitkehs’ These were blows that children would administer to those who lost a game. A handkerchief was rolled up in the form of a ‘nagaika140’ and then used to hit the victim. ‘Pitch-Potch’ An expression used to belittle someone’s doing. In folk argot: ‘Pitch-potch umafli la’assot.’ This was as good as: ‘Hot opgetohn, gevashn di hent, gezogy, ‘Asher Yotzar,’ un poter141.’ ‘Faygl’ A Russian ruble, a kerbl. This is how we talked among ourselves, so that gentiles would not understand us: it is worth ‘a faygl,’ a ‘half-faygl.’ There was a Russian eagle printed on the Ruble note: a faygl. Faynbroyt This was how a loaf of bread was called if it was half-black. A Flok Arayn... Children would overhear a variety of old-wives' tales in the Bet HaMedrash, between the afternoon and evening prayers or in the street, in the evenings, while they were playing. After the story was told, one of them would get up and say: ‘A fleck goes in – a fleck goes out – the story is finished!’ Floyderzak142 Someone who prattles incessantly, or someone who can’t keep a secret. (See Bolbet). Fliokh – Fliokendreh A female busybody, who runs around and does not sit at home. Prukhneh The powder from rotten wood [sawdust?], which is used at the time of a ritual circumcision, to stem any bleeding from the cut. The shammes would bring prukhneh to the home where a brit milah was to take place. Psharniyeh A kennel for dogs. During winter, when it would be intensely cold in the house, one might say: it is as cold as a psharniyeh. ‘Fichmoomkeh’ (Pitchmoomkeh?) An expression applied to a woman who feigns piety and goodness, but in truth she is being false...possibly from Hungarian? Tsalafut A scatterbrain that does something hurriedly, or words uttered that were not properly thought out. Tsushteln a Benkeleh To tell to a father that his son is going in a bad direction, so that he will lay him across a bench and spank him: ‘Ikh vell dir shoyn tsushteln a benkeleh farn tatn!143’ or, ‘Farn Rebbn!’ Children would tremble upon hearing this. On occasions when when the father, or the Rebbe, did put down a child on a bench and strap him, the children would stand around and sing: ‘Geshmissener tokhes Oyf dray brokhes! Fun oybn a latteh, Fun untn a shmatteh, Dos benkeleh shtayt, Der rut shmeisst! Der tokhes reist!’   ‘The spanked rear end should be for a triple blessing! A patch on top,  rag underneath, The little bench stands, The switch whips! The rear end hurts!’ Tsigeleh Migeleh – We would sing... Tsigeleh Migeleh, veks in krigeleh Roiteh pomerantzen! Az der tateh shlogt der mamen Geyen di kinder tantzen! As der tateh fort avek, Geyt di mameh aryn in bet. Az der tateh kumt tsu forn, Vert di mameh a kimpetorn. Khapt der tateh a fyertop, Un makht der mameh a lokh in kop! Veynen di kinderlach: oy–vey! Shrayt der tateh: s’iz gut azay!   Baby goat, wax in a jar Red oranges! When the father beats the mother The children go off to dance! Should the father travel away, The mother takes to the bed. When the father travels back, The mother becomes with child. The father grabs a coal scuttle, And makes the mother a hole in the head! Should the children then cry out: oy-vey! he father shouts: it’s good this way! Tsaylomkeh A quill that had a cross-shape at its tip and wrote well. Other quills were: a ‘shiflkeh’ in the shape of a ship, a ‘lamed-feder’’ in the form of the letter ‘lamed,’ etc. Tsaylenish With every game they played, the children used to count who was to go find the hidden people, who has to locate a place to stand, etc. Accordingly, there were different ways to count: 1. Using a line from the prayers, in which the one ‘tagged’ with the last word goes free. 2. Using another line from the prayers, in which the one ‘tagged’ with the last word goes free. 3. The coppersmith: each player puts a finger on the hip of one person, and another person counts: ‘Once there was a coppersmith, who had a kettle to hammer out, and he did not know how many nails to drive in. He hammers in one, hammers in two, hammers in three – go out free. And the one on whom the last word falls, indeed goes free. 4. ‘Enneh-Menneh, Kuri Fenneh, Otvo Drotvo, Kuripotvo ik Pan – Bobek Frets.’ The one who was designated with ‘Frets’ went free. 5. Pulling on knots. We used to bring together the four corners of a handkerchief, making a knot on one of them. The one who drew the corner with the knot– was the one to play, or goes looking. Tsimmes – I told you and told you and told you: Az khassidimlakh firrn zikh b’nimess: A gantseh vokh, arbeitn zey dokh, Un Shabbes essn zey dem tsimmes!   When Hasidim comport themselves appropriately: They work for the entire week, though, And eat their tsimmes on the Shabbat! (From a song of the Mitnagdim about Hasidim) Kozholkehs Turning somersaults, or cartwheels (head over heels). Kozheleh Baran ‘Er makht fun ihm Kozheleh Baran,’ He is making sport of him. Taken from a Slavic folk tale. Kotcherehs mit Lopetehs If someone writes, using large and ungainly letters, it would be noted that: ‘Er schreibt Kotcherehs mit Lopetehs!’ These are two implements used by bakers. The first is used to shovel out the ashes from the oven, and the second  to seat the bread dough in the oven and to remove it when it is baked. Katchkeh Drelekh When someone would begin reciting ‘El Melekh’ – the children would rejoin with: ‘katchkeh drelekh Mir ohn epply, dir a makkeh in keppl.144’ [Isaac Bashevis] Singer records another variant: ‘El Melech, katchkeh drelekh, mir ohn broyt, dir a makkeh in boykh...145’ (from ‘A World That No Longer Exists,’ p. 180). Kolats This was how one referred to a collapsed and not risen loaf of bread or challah. ‘Kolats’ also refers to oil seeds from which the oil had been pressed out, and had been pressed into bricks, and sold as cattle feed. Kopvaytik A special type of flower or leaf, which is drunk, and is steeped in hot water to get ‘rumianek146’ – a cure used to rinse out eyes that didn’t feel well, and especially to drink when one has a ‘kopvaytik’.(a headache). Kapintl A chapter of Tanakh, instead of ‘kapitl.’ Kutchkeh Baran Carrying a child on one’s back, in the manner that one would carry a ‘baran’ (a ram) to be sold. There was also a child’s game by this name. Koykeh’ A woven basket similar to a trough in which the fisherman would hold fish for sale. ‘KuKeriku!’ What does the little chicken say when she crows at daybreak? She recites song! She says: ‘Eier layg ikh, borvess gay ikh, kukeriku!’ ‘I lay eggs, I go barefoot, kukeriku!’ Kliatch An epithet for a fat girl147, from ‘klacz’ – Polish for a mare. Klyt, Klytl, also Krom Kreml (from the Russian клет). In Łomża, this was called a ‘boodl.’148 Kliepak A coin, worn down from rubbing, which the children would play with. Kesslgrub149 A deep depression in a river from which water flows. It is dangerous to swim near a kesslgrub. ‘The kesslgub near Shimsheleh, every summer, attracts a living thing – therefore, at the beginning of the summer, the custom was to drown a cat or a dog there, so that it would be possible to bathe in that vicinity.’ Kessl-Kosher Kosher food provided for the Jewish soldiers to eat, who were on duty in the shtetl, so they would not have to eat ‘trayf’ ‘from the kessl.’ Special emissaries were sent to nearby and distant towns, such as R’ Shamehlejzor (Shammai-Eliezer), to gather money to underwrite ‘Kessl-Kosher.’ Kesslpoyk A large kettle drum in an orchestra. Ketzlmameh This was the name given to a woman who loved cats, and who devoted herself to them, as if they were little children. Krok From Polish, meaning ‘a step.’ It was used to describe the fly on a pair of pants that is closed with buttons. ‘Your fly is open, button yourself up!’ Kroshkeven To crawl around on your hands and feet. Small children ‘kroshkeveh,’ before they are able to stand up and walk. ‘Royeh Zayn’ To keep an eye on the gentile, lest he snatch something away from the store. ‘Zay royeh aufn orel!150’ – one would say, so that he not comprehend what is meant (see above: ‘Mavin kol Dibbur’) ‘Roiter Kollner’ Refers to a Russian policeman, a стражник, who wore red stripes at their collar. He was also called a ‘schmirrer’ from the word ‘shomer,’ ‘shmirah,151’ and ‘ornament.’ Reiback – Reibekhts A doughy concoction. A grated potato baked in a tin form, the way either kichel or challah is baked. Reibekehs Small dumplings made from grated potatoes, that are cooked in water, soup, or milk. ‘Reibn’ – Araynreibn To consume, with gusto. ‘A bit of bread was left over – so the children consumed it with gusto in the dark’ (from a folk song, about a stepmother). Shvestero A wicked gentile sister. See tatero, brudero. ‘Schuster-Kvass’ The water in which feet were soaked, that became brown and acquired a bad odor. This was called ‘Schuster-kvass.’ The wives of the shoemakers, whose husbands were not making a living, would say to their husbands angrily: ‘Schuster-Kvass, Zoll dir lign a Khalass! Schuster-Broyt – Zoll di lign tsum toyt!   Shoemaker’s soda Let it lie in your ??? Shoemaker’s bread – Let it lie with you till death! Shurdeh Burdeh Killeh... [A game] played with circles and stripes. Two long lines were scored into the ground, and two other lines were drawn perpendicular to them, crossing them. One side would defend the area, not letting others through to reach the marked area. Should someone get through, his partner would make three circles in all three corners, and he would then lose. He would be called ‘shurdeh’ (for the first circle), ‘burdeh’ for the second, and ‘killeh’ – for the third. If he loses a second time: he is called: ‘Kil-noyeh, Kil-yoyeh, bembereh!’ – An elision from the Hagaddah of ‘Ki lo naeh, ki lo yaeh – bimhera beyamenu.’ It would also be used in other games. Shtulkats Elided from shturkats. A burning little package that would be carried while singing, leading a bride and groom to the wedding canopy, or on Simchas Torah at night, when one would go to the Hakafot. ‘Shtumeh Lielyeh’ This was said of someone who did not know how to offer a reply. ‘Shtunkfass’ A young cheder boy, who was not yet toilet-trained. In the plural it is ‘shtunkfasses.’ ‘Chaim Reuven the Melamed had a cheder filled with shtunkfasses.’ A Shtroff... Our rebbe would tell us that in olden times, children would receive severe punishment from the rebbe. The victim’s pants would be pulled down, revealing the private parts, with grain sprinkled over them, and the little chickens called in to pick at the grains on those parts. The little boy would be held down by the others, not permitting him to move! When the children would act up, the rebbe would threaten us by saying: ‘Remember, I will call on the little chickens shortly, and then woe unto you!’ ‘Shtryker’ (Striker) A socialist. This is how the organized socialist-workers were called in Zambrów, in the ‘fifth year’ (1905), because of the strikes that the workers would often call for. In folk talk: ‘Stryger.’ Shitkovaneh Broyt A special half-white bread, baked out of sifted roseate flour. In other places (Łomża) it was referred to as ‘half-satin bread,’ because the flour was sifted through a sieve made of satin thread. Sholom Aleichem! Sholom Aleichem would be the initial greeting when encountering a stranger, followed by the question: ‘And where might this Jewish person come from?’ Children would sing as follows: ‘Sholom Aleichem, foon vanen a Yid? (Or, Sholom Aleichem? A guter Yid!) Halber tokhes obgebrieht!   ‘Sholom Aleichem, from where is the Jew? (Or Sholom Aleichem? A good Jew!) With half his behind scalded! Shmadalnik A person ‘acting like an apostate.’ Meaning that he does not wash before eating, does not pray, and even violates the Sabbath. Shmadpust A derisory term, derived from the the Polish word, ‘odpust,’ which refers to a Catholic procession, especially on summer Sundays.152 Shmontseh-Dlonieh Trivia, ‘Doss un Yents,’ ‘He bought a shmontseh and a dlonieh, and ended up paying a lot of money for it’ (heard from elderly Jews). Shmektum Someone who is a snoop, who goes about sniffing into everything to see if there is something not in order. There was a chorister with the Hazzan, one of the first members of the chorus, which he had brought in from Odessa, and he was called this, because of the way he behaved. Shimshn HaGibber If someone would say: ‘He is a strong as Samson (‘Shimshn HaGibber’), the other party would make a joke of it and say: mittn lekhl ariber’ (over the hole). 20 Kopikehs Kost a Sherl Boys and girls, at a wedding, would dance the ‘Sher’ (a shereleh) and pay the musicians twenty kopecks for playing it. Little boys, from underneath the window, would sing: Tsvantsik kopikehs kost a sherl Doss iz dokh gantz tyer! Az a bokher tantst mit a maedel Brennt in ihm a fyer!   The Sher costs twenty kopecks This is rather expensive! [But]when a boy dances with a girl A fire burns inside of him! Schmeisser A wagon driver’s assistant, an apprentice, who is learning how to handle a horse and wagon. In other cities153, this was the term used to describe a Jewish person who would do a ‘deal’ with a train conductor, paying him a specified sum in place of buying train tickets, which cost a great deal more. Shkyakh . An elision of ‘Yasher Koach,’ being a means of expressing thanks. When a kohen would descend from the bimah after performing the Dukhan (priestly blessing), it was customary to say: ‘Shkyakh Kohen!’, to which he would angrily reply: ‘Brekh a beyn!’ (break a bone) or ‘Brokh tihiyeh’ (may a calamity befall you), in place of ‘Baruch tihiyeh’ (may you be blessed)154. ‘Tehillim Zogn’ Those more liberal sorts, who would afflict themselves by not eating or sleeping in order to lose weight, would call the nights they did this ‘Tehillim Zogn.’   B. The Jewish Agricultural Calendar in Zambrów Group of Young Girls   A Sewing Circle, Operated by a Group of Young Girls   When we were driven from our homeland and became scattered and spread out across the world, we also lost our relationship to Mother Earth. In the lands of the Diaspora, we no longer committed ourselves to working the land. However, a little bit at a time, we acclimatized ourselves to the climate of our surroundings, and together with the Torah portion of the week and the Festivals we fashioned a ‘green calendar,’ meaning: the vegetables and fruits of the season became woven into the Jewish calendar and Jewish customs. I will here recall that ‘green calendar,’ from my little shtetl of Zambrów, in the first decade of the twentieth century. A. The Month of Nissan. Observant Jews go out into the fields to bestow a blessing on the trees that are beginning to bloom. B. The Parsha of Shemini. When the parsha of Shemini is read, the stork comes flying in from warmer climates. This was a sign to the огородникй155 to conclude their negotiations with the nobility and with the priest concerning the maintenance and care of the garden or orchard. At the same time, a Jewish man from deep inside Russia would come to negotiate in the Zambrów gardens. Accordingly, he was called ‘The Stork.’ C. Karpas. So we would begin to consult with one another what to use for karpas at the seder – which green vegetable is most appropriate of the Passover at hand – parsley, a baby carrot, or a small potato altogether? D. Pepper. The Zambrów Rabbi forbade the use of pepper during Passover, because the pepper merchants would adulterate the pepper with flour to add weight... but how can you eat fish without pepper? What kind of taste would that have? So we got clever: We brought pepper from Łomża, bearing a Hekhsher from the Łomża Rabbi, because the Łomża Rabbi permitted the use of pepper on Passover: Moshe Aharon Hefner, the big-time colonial merchant would bring pepper and personally have it ground. E. On the First Day of Passover, the wagon drivers and other owners of horses would send their horses out onto the field to pasture after the winter days. So it was said: On the First Day of Passover, ‘Az m’Bencht Tal – Fihr aroys dem pferd fun shtall156.’ In the days before Passover Eve, a type of sour grass would sprout in the fields, that the gentiles called ‘Hallelujah’ – following the song from their Easter prayers. F. Rosh Chodesh Radishes. After Passover, the small radishes begin to ripen, either red or white. They were called ‘Rosh Chodesh radishes’ or ‘riebelakh’ – because they become ripe at the beginning of the month. The children of the gardeners would bring the first bunch of radishes, as a gift for their rebbe in cheder. G. Lag B’Omer. The children would say ‘Lakh-Boymer’ because the trees laugh and are happy when they grow. The teachers would go for a stroll into the forest with their students and have a good time there. H. The Parsha of Emor. This weekly portion that comes out before Shavuos, always comes when the Jews were shearing wool off of the sheep that they would lease from the nobility. The first of the wool would be used to spin ritual fringes (tzitzit), saying: ‘Parshat Emor (Emmer) – shert men di lemmer.157’ I. Shavuos. A Festival Holiday of Greens: On the eve of the holiday, we would go to tear up ivy with which to decorate the windows, and to spread out on the floor. Bread was even baked over ivy instead of spreading coal out underneath. A pale girl, a ‘grinzukh’ was called a ‘griner Shavues’ in Zambrów. J. Akdamot. The ‘poktchorehs’ from the surrounding villages would provide Jewish Zambrów with butter, sour cream and cheese for Shavuos. It was not necessary to buy from a gentile. Those who had goats for milk would tether them near the synagogue or Bet HaMedrash, on Shavuos in the morning, so they could hear the recitation of ‘Akdamot,’ this being considered a good luck charm leading to the production of much milk... K. The Parsha of Korakh. It is summertime. The first fruit appears in the city. On this week, the blackberries come up in the woods. One would say: Today, the earth swallowed up Korakh, and has in turn given us berries. Children would ‘make juice:’ They would pour berries into a small bottle, with a little bit of sugar, squash it all up with a small piece of wood, licking it, and thereby coloring their mouths and cheeks black. At the time of the reading of this weekly portion, the following would also appear: red cherries and the horseradishes to be used for khrayn. And it was, therefore, said: these three mentioned items, are the acronym (in Hebrew) of the portion, ‘Korakh.’ L. The Wheat for Shmura Matzoh. At this time a report was received that the wheat in the fields was ripe for harvest. Accordingly, the observant Jews would organize themselves, travel out into the fields of the gentiles, buy up parcels of land that had wheat growing on them, and they would dry it out and polish it for Shmura Matzoh for Passover. The Golombeks, who had their own fields, would provide wheat for Shmura Matzoh for a not insignificant number of Jews, and this was their mitzvah. M. Tisha B’Av. And here comes Tisha B’Av. The children would, towards evening, in time for the recitation of ‘Kinot,’ go to the cemetery, picking the prickly growth from the bushes for the purpose of throwing them that evening into the hair of girls and into the beards of the Jewish men. Accordingly, on Tisha B’Av, the girls would go about with their hair tied up in kerchiefs, and the bearded Jewish men would be watchful about their beards. N. Little Diaspora Apples. The black ‘Golshe-Eppelekh’ ripen by Shabbat Nahamu, from whose juice ink is made for writing Torah Scrolls. We would call them ‘Goluss-Eppelekh’ (Little Diaspora Apples) – and this was appropriate for Shabbat Nahamu, when we are comforted with words to emerge from the blackness of exile. O. Apples. The best offer of hospitality was a small apple. ‘Shabbes-oybst’ – would mean to be honored with a juicy apple. Sour apples were called ‘the apples of Sodom,’ and the little apples that grew wild alongside the roads, and on the cemeteries, were called ‘Kvoress eppelakh’ (Apples of the Cemetery). A lout would be ejected from the Bet HaMedrash as if he were a sour apple. P. Rosh Hashanah Apples. Red, juicy apples would be stored until Rosh Hashanah, over which the Second Night blessing of ‘SheHekheyanu’ would be recited, after which slices of apple would be dipped in honey. In the later years, green grapes and red watermelons would be brought in from Warsaw and Bialystok. Q. Small Kol Nidre Pears. The gentiles would sell sacks of miniature pears that grew wild in the woods at the end of the summer. The poor Jews would dine on these. That is why they were called ‘Kol Nidre pears.’ Between Yom Kippur and Sukkos, they would be spread out on a bed of straw up in the attic, and permit them to age. They would turn brown and were not particularly good to eat, at which point they were called ‘yengalkehs.’ R. Skhakh. The branches of pine trees would serve as skhakh for the sukkah. Accordingly, these trees were called ‘skhakh’ all year round. By contrast, without drawing a parallel, during Christmas, when the gentiles would decorate these trees with all manner of tiny lights and colored paper, it was then called an ‘Idol-Tree’ making reference to the gentile deity. S. ‘Zydkowska Wisznia.’ The sukkah would also be decorated with the skhakh of the kolina. This was a special variety that had kolinas as large as cherries. The gentiles would bring this for sale at Sukkos time and call it ‘Jewish Cherries.’ T. Hoshanot. During Hol HaMoed Passover, the children would make whistles out of the leaves of the willow tree (the tree of Hoshanot). The wood would be carefully pulled out of the twig and make a flute out of the soft core. One the eve of Hoshana Rabba, groups of children would go off into the distant fields, near the swamps, cut off the twigs and small branches from the willows, and bring them into the city to sell them as Hoshanot. U. A Small Garden of Eden Apple. This is what the gentiles called an etrog. Fyv’keh the Shoemaker would carry around the community etrog throughout the holiday, from house to house, so that the womenfolk would be able to ‘bless the etrog’ in the morning, and then grab something to eat. He watched it like a hawk (with seven eyes as it were) – so that no pregnant woman accidentally bite off the tip before Hoshana Rabba. V. Simchas Torah. During Hol HaMoed Sukkos, the new gabbaim were selected by the various study houses. The new gabbai would then treat the congregants with wine-flavored apples for the Hakafot. W. The Parsha of Noah. We would begin storing up fruit and wood for the winter. The double windows were installed, cellars were filled with potatoes, carrots, beets, and the small windows were plugged up with rags and straw, so that the fruit should not freeze. X. Putting Up the Kraut. The gentiles would bring wagons full of cabbage for preservation. For this purpose, neighboring ladies and members of the family would get together to help cut up the cabbage for soaking in a large barrel. So we would eat and cook sauerkraut for the entire winter and half the summer. The women would not permit the children to eat the ‘cores’ from the piles of cabbage, believing that it dulls the senses for purposes of learning. Y. The Parsha of Miketz. Very cold frosts. The children, however, would think about the warm fields of Egypt, where the Pharaoh’s fat and lean cows took their pasture, In cheder, the children would make a translated ditty out of ‘Miketz’: Maczek kup’ Czapkeh’ – [sic: from Polish], meaning, Maczek, buy a hat because it is cold. This always falls out a Hanukkah time, and the children would further expand the acronym to be: ‘Melamdim Kummen Tsum Hoyz,’ – meaning that the students [melamdim] from the villages, who would return to their homes in honor of Shabbat Hanukkah. The tsimmes would be made from parsnips. Z. Nuts from the Land of Israel. At about the same time, ‘nuts from the Land of Israel’ would appear in the stores, also called pistachios – because they are mentioned in the portion of the week. Jacob told his sons to take this and bring it as a gift to the ruler of Egypt, who is selling them grain. Children would say that these nuts grew on the cemetery, and when such a nut is opened, you see the head of a Jewish man. AA. ‘Little Hanukkah Candles.’ Under the eaves of a roof, and on windows, little stalactites of ice would form. The children would call them ‘little Hanukkah candles.’ AB. Hanukkah Cheese. During Hanukkah, especially hard cheese was sold, which was salted, peppered, and covered with coriander. So we called it ‘Hanukkah Cheese,’ which Judith gave to Holofernes to eat. AC. A Special Entreaty for Trees. On the Sabbath when blessings were recited to usher in the new month of Shevat, a special entreaty was recited for trees, that they grow and blossom in the Land of Israel, and that they not be harmed by the frost. AD. Shabbat Shira. Buckwheat groats were scattered under the windows for the little birds as a memorial to the manna that fell in the desert, as is read in that week’s portion. AE. Khrayn for Passover. In the same portion, one reads the words ‘tishlakh kharonkha’ [sic: send thy wrath], which served as a reminder to bury the horseradish in the sand, so that it be ready and good for use on Passover for the seder. AF. Perlkasheh Cholent. On that same Shabbat Shira, pearl groats [kasha] would be put into the cholent. Immediately after this Sabbath, one would begin to air out and gather the shmura-wheat, pouring it into pristine white linen receptacles, and hang it up on blocks from the ceiling until after Purim. AG. Fruits of the Fifteenth. This was the name given to such fruits as bokser (carob pods), figs, dates and raisins, which were bought in honor of the fifteenth day of Shevat [Tu B’Shvat]. The fruits themselves were called khamishosser [elided ‘fifteen’]: ‘git mir far a kopikeh khamishosser158.’ AH. Aaron’s Cane. Children believe that this was the week in which Aaron’s cane bloomed in the desert and gave forth almonds. In the Land of Israel, this is actually the time when the almond tree does bloom. AI. Goat-Bokser. On the fifteenth day of Shevat, the nanny goat becomes a celebrity in the Land of Israel, because ‘Goat-Bokser’ is eaten there. We would sing: ‘Lamnatsayakh Mizor Shir – Kozheneh Bokser Essn Mir.159’ In the cradle song, one also sang: ‘Di tsigeleh iz gegangen handlen – Rozhinkehs mit Mandlen.’ AJ. An Etrog Prayer. The Hasidim would go out into the woods on Tu B’Shvat and offer a prayer there on behalf of the etrog, asking that it grow well, for the rest of the season, and that we be privileged to have a good etrog become available on the following Sukkos. AK. The Very Intense Cold Frosts. The most intensely cold frosts would come during Shevat, and therefore it would be said: ‘Shevat nie Brat’ – ‘Shevat is no Brother – It is cold. Also, it was said: ‘Shevat halt dem PR”T: Frest, Regen, Tuman [Frost, Rain and Fog] – three good icons of the month. AL. Shabbat Khazak. ‘Parshat of Vayakhayl-Pekuday – Makht men a Seudeh,160’ in cheder, because this is the time of year when the young boys stop studying at night. In the Bet HaMedrash, when the Reader would conclude the Pentateuch, the reading in the Torah, with the words, ‘Khazak, Khazak!’ all the children would respond: ‘Kazak, khazak, a shissl pasternak!161’ Indeed, on that Shabbat, a parsnip tsimmes would be made. * With the arrival of the month of Adar, the ‘green calendar’ of my birth shtetl comes to an end – a place that to our everlasting sorrow, is no longer green.   C. Purim in the Shtetl With the arrival of Purim, everyone in the shtetl began to disguise themselves -- old and young, the important people in the town from ‘Hakhnosas Orkhim’ or ‘Hakhnosas Kalleh’ would disguise themselves literally as if they were generals: long red trousers with a wide blue belt over them, as long as the external garment, and a red jacket with gold epaulettes and shiny buttons. A mask on the face, and a tall hat on the head, with a sword at the side. Dressed in this royal garb, they would go from house to house in order to collect monies for the benefit of brides from poor families or for other poor Jewish people. After Purim they would donate these clothes to ‘Hakhnosas Orkhim,’ where the shammes, Binyomkeh Schuster, or the gabbai Hershl Tukhman (Hershl Pokczar) would lock them up in a bureau until Purim of the following year. When ‘strikers’ would appear in the shtetl, who wanted to dethrone Nicholas II, the ‘страший-старжник’ (most senior police officer) Bomishov162 suspected that these people in costume, with their swords, were in earnest and want to become generals and admirals. He therefore issued a prohibition against costuming. Accordingly, the Rabbi took responsibility and locked up the costume wearer in his own home in the shtibl of the Bet-Din. The children would [also] dress up in costumes on Purim. They would tear our a double quarter from a ‘koyet’ mostly the colored outer pages; they would fold the lower half into a mask to put under their chin, making two small holes above for the eyes, a triangular cutout in the middle for the nose, and a small wide cut for the mouth. Anyone who could draw would add a couple of eyebrows and a moustache. Others would paste on some cotton or make torches, a beard and side locks – and lo – it became a mask. In the parlance of the shtetl, this was a ‘mashgara,’ which comes from an Italian word that is as good as mask – ‘mascara.’ Italian street players who used to entertain at the fairs in Poland, brought this word [into the country]. Accordingly, the children would put on the mashgara, and go from house to house, singing: ‘Haynt iz Purim, Morgn iz oys, Git mir a groschen Un varft mir aroys...’   ‘Today is Purim, Tomorrow it is over, Give me a groschen And throw me out...’ The Purim actors (purimshpieler) injected a special form of joy into the shtetl. The women in our courtyard would tell us how at one time, a group of boys and girls got together and decided to perform on Purim, in the Women’s Synagogue of the White Bet HaMedrash, by putting on the play, ‘The Selling of Joseph.’ The proceeds would be for the benefit of the poor. The men played all the female parts. All the women did was prepare the costumes and the scenery. The singing of the artists reverberated through the shtetl for a long, long time. My mother, may she rest in peace, would sing along the words of Joseph the Tzadik, at the time that his father came to him in Egypt: ‘Kh’bin gekummen kein Mitzrayim a boymeleh flanzen, Kum tateh Yaakov, lomir baydeh tanzen’...    ‘I have come to Egypt to plant a tree,  Come father Jacob, let us both dance’... However, the women would add, it is not permitted to put on a theatrical performance in a holy place like the Women’s Synagogue. Because of this, all the performers were punished. Some of them even died prematurely, and Hershl Tukhman’s wife, who sewed the clothes for the costumes, was punished in that she was unable to bear children... I recall that on Purim of the year 1905, when a revolution reigned in Russia, the yeshiva students decided to put on the play, ‘David and Goliath’ in the Rabbi’s large salon, as usual without his knowledge. His son, Chaim-David (today Rabbi and Yeshiva Headmaster in Chicago), took out the special costume clothing from the bureau, in order to dress themselves up as Philistines. At that time, I was six years old. I was barely able to squeeze myself into the premises and saw the first ever play of my life. After the songs of the Jews and the Philistines, King Saul emerges, wearing a golden crown, sits down on the royal throne and sings: ‘Ich bin der Koenig Shaul, Har fun der Velt, ‘ Ihr zent mayne yoiatsim, ir zent far mir geshtellt.’   I am King Saul, ruler of the world, You are my advisers, you stand before me.’ And then a large, tall gentile emerges, costumed and moves like Józef the Shabbos-Goy, who lodges in the bathhouse and heats it up on Friday, living the entire week off the proceeds of earth and clay pot lids, heating them up in the bathhouse oven, and on the Sabbath, going from house to house, heating ovens, and getting at each location a bit of challah and a shot of whiskey, the first glass of tea, and on Sunday a kopeck as well. And so, Goliath the Philistine stands there and sings in front of the Jewish soldiers: Ich bin Golyass, gor der groyser held, Ikh bin der shtarkster fun der gantser velt,, Ver s’vet gayn mit mir milkhomeh haltn, Dem vell ikh dem kop tsushpaltn, Dem vell ikh in dr’erd farbaltn.’    I am Goliath, a truly great hero, I am the strongest in the world Whoever chooses to do battle with me, I will split his head [open], And hide him away deep in the ground.’ A deathly fear possesses everyone: who is it that will [dare to] challenge such a great hero? A little boy appears, wearing the cap of a Hasid, with curled side locks and a small black kapote, holding a shepherd’s sack and walking stick, and shouts into Goliath’s ear: You, Goliath, you Goliath. I will do battle with you, I will split your head, and I will hide you deep in the ground. A shiver runs through everyone’s bones: This diminutive David – is he going to assault such a large gentile? So the hero Goliath entreats him going up to him like Józef the drunkard: 'Klayn Dovidl, klayn Dovidl, avek fun mir, Kh’gib dir a potch – fliestu tsum tir.’   ‘‘Little David, little David, get away from me, I’ll give you a slap – you’ll fly to the door.’ And here, Goliath adds a line, unique to Zambrów: ‘Ikh gib dir a potch – fliestu kayn Gać – because Gać is a small shtetl near Zambrów. Goliath has not yet indicated that he has finished his song, and a stone has already smitten and entered his head. He falls down. David beheads him, meaning his mask, and the Jews are victorious. Saul was at war and wanted the witch to raise Samuel from his grave. The witch is made up as a ‘ketzlmameh’ – a Jewish woman in the shtetl without a husband, who would raise a house full of cats. It was said of her that she was a witch and had dealings with devils, and in this instance she was called ‘Martiszka’ ( this is how a monkey is called in Russian). She raises the Prophet Samuel, who comes out of a barrel, all in white... After the play, one went around from one to the next, with hat in hand, and asked for payment for the play: ‘please make a charitable contribution, make a charitable contribution, don’t embarrass yourselves in front of fine people – take out a twenty-fiver, we can give you change.’ The following day, the police came to the Rabbi’s residence to investigate who here had put on ‘revolutionary’ theatre. It had the appearance that they were informed by David Yudes’ the son of the elderly midwife, who was a feldscher and a barber, who was in cahoots with the police and even legally carried a revolver with him.   D. The Fifth Year (1905) Three Reputable Workingmen: Shlomo Pekarewicz (a butcher), David Podruzhnik (a house painter) and Chaim Burstein (a tailor). The children are not identified. It was the Sunday of the Parsha of Noah. I was being taught at Bercheh the Melamed, and I was six years old. News had arrived that the Czar had signed the constitution [sic: into law], and that a demonstration was to take place on the Ostrów Road. Secretly it was also passed along that Yossl Mazik (a son of Meir-Yankl Mordikamen) is making a flag on which will be drawn the head of a pig, over which will be the Russian crown... Bercheh the Melamed was, indeed, the spiritual leader of the strikers, the Jewish revolutionaries in Zambrów. He therefore sent out all the children from his cheder, to go run and tell all the other melamdim that cheder should be canceled for the day: when the Czar has signed the constitution, that certainly is a time of festival celebration, and one should not be learning in school. I ran along with several other young boys, with Ruvkeh, Bercheh’s oldest son, to Pinia the Melamed. Pinia rained down a murrain on our heads. His son, however, who was also grabbed up in this event and sympathized with the revolutionaries, dismissed his father’s cheder and told the little children to go tell their fathers and mothers that redemption had come, that – Thank God – we have a constitution.163 The streets are redolent with revolution. So we, the little boys, went running to the Ostrów Road, through the swamps, near the bridge, to see how the constitution is being received. The road was black with children covering it, workers, young and old. It was already dusk. A cold wind was blowing. Our teeth were chattering, but I held on fast: I remained to see what was going to take place here. Suddenly, Itzl Rosenberg arrives, the older son of Malka Cymbel, a shoemaker, and he takes out a red handkerchief from under his jacket, ties it to a stick, raises up this standard on high, and shouts out: ‘Tsar daloy!’ – the equivalent of ‘Down with the Czar,’ we don’t need him any longer, after all, he, Malka Cymbel’s son, knows better. Everyone responds with the shout: ‘Hurrah, Hurrah!’ Another person adds the shout: ‘Tsan Kedoshim!’ and the throng again responds with ‘Hurrah, Hurrah!’ The wooden bridge literally swayed. It was as if from under the ground, the ‘Oviezdner’ sprouted, the most senior police officer, Bomishov, a squat rotund gentile, who was given the appellation: ‘kelberner zodek164’ with a red chin and the nose of a drunkard, holding one hand at the hilt of his sword, and the other on his revolver, and orders the crowd to disperse. He does not know how to deal with this situation: to disperse this illegal demonstration doesn’t seem quite right, after all, the Czar has signed the constitution. However, not to disperse it, is also difficult to digest: where is his prestige and might? Meanwhile, a group decided that they would pick up the police senior, and one of them shouted: ‘kelberner zodek!,’ to which the entire throng responded with, ‘Hurrah, Hurrah!’...   The Split into S. S. and S.R. It was Saturday towards nighttime, and in the White Bet HaMedrash the Maariv prayers were being recited and people were getting themselves ready to go outside and bless the new moon. At this moment, a claque of revolutionaries came into the Bet HaMedrash: Bercheh the Melamed, Mot Shafran’s son, Israel-David, the son of the shammes, a son of Aharon Luks, Yankl Prawda, his father-in-law Moness, and more and more. A group of them went up to the podium, disrupted the prayer service, banged on the table and called out, "Whoever belongs to the S. S. should go over to one side, and those left, of the S.R., should go to the other side..." They did this in the Bet HaMedrash during worship in order that the police not seize them. We, the children, did not understand the difference between these two “world-parties” and we believed that one was a command to eat (ess-ess!), and the second says: he should eat (ess-ehr!). The two parties differentiated themselves in the street: S.R.165 wore a blue shirt over a white band that served as a belt, and the S.R. with a red shirt.166   Incidents in the Cheder of Bercheh the Melamed Each evening, workers, both boys and girls, would come to learn how to write in Yiddish from Bercheh the Melamed, and also learn to read Yiddish, while simultaneously prepare themselves for the great revolution. On one occasion, a group of secret agents came and inspected all of the books of the White Bet HaMedrash to see if they had been [properly] censored. They found a few books, especially with religious content, without an indication of censorship, and they absorbed the cost by permitting the books to be tuned over, thereby causing the responsible parties to be set free. Butchers Get a Beating Once on a Saturday night at the onset of winter, a bloody fight broke out between the strikers and the butchers, the so-called penzhikhehs. The situation was as follows: when the hazzan sang, and the butchers listened to him sweetly, Bercheh was carrying on a conversation behind the bimah with his revolutionaries, loitering around the Bet HaMedrash, here and there. The butchers therefore gave Bercheh a slap for disrupting the davening. His followers could not accept this, since it would have impaired their prestige, and because of this they fell upon the butchers Saturday night, whose custom it was to gather on Saturday nights to settle their accounts. Blood was spilt, the strikers were splitting heads...the entire city came running... A couple of days later, Shlomchik the Butcher came to Bercheh in his cheder, with his head bandaged, and asked for Bercheh to forgive him for the insult. Peace then returned to the land.   The “Prom" In those years, the government was building a new wooden bridge. The blocks were hammered into the earth, in the water using a baba – a heavy piece of iron, which was used to strike down on a [butcher] block. In working on bridges, a movable bridge, a “prom” was hammered in this way, so that people and wagons could ford the river. The strikers would requisition this “prom” each evening and would go swimming in the river, as far as Pfeiffer’s water mill, singing revolutionary songs.   E. The Dance of the Angry This happened in the year 1905. My grandmother, Rivka-Gitt’l, was at odds with her elderly makhatenista, Chaya Zukrowicz. She was not pleased with the arranged marriage of her youngest son, Berl, with Chaya’s granddaughter, Nechama, even though Nechama was also her grandchild, but it was to no avail. During the wedding of Berl to Nechama, the two grandmothers were supposed to make up with each other, and they made up with each other through the b’Roygez-Tantz, the Dance of the Angry, which they danced before the bride was formally covered with her veil (the badeken ceremony). My grandmother, Rivka-Gitt’l, a somewhat stout little Jewish lady, held herself with great pride. The other grandmother, Chaya, was a tall woman, thin, and had a delicate tread. And so the gathering stood around in a dance circle. Rivka-Gitt’l stood at one side, full of herself, with her head cast down. The second, Chaya, dances toward her, floating, with a smile on her lips. The surrounding onlookers sing, along with the music: “Farvoss binst du b’roygez, “Why are you angry, Ikh vays dokh nisht farvoss? I really don’t know why? Gayst arum ongeblozn, You go about full of yourself, Aropgelozt dem noz?” With your nose let down?” Rivka-Gitt’l does not raise her head, but rather draws a bit further away, going over to the other side. Chaya, however, chases after her, floating like a little feather towards Rivka-Gitt’l, with her little smile. The gathering continues to sing. Chaya extends her hand. Grandma Rivka-Gitt’l withdraws hers, not wanting to make up. So Chaya dances further, approaching from the other side. This causes Rivka-Gitt’l to soften a bit, and she places her hand over her heart and dances a little, from the other side towards Chaya. So Chaya again stretches out her hand, and Grandma Rivka-Gitt’l shakes her head to signal, “no,” and dances back. The gathering becomes more enthused and begins to sing, accompanied by the musicians: At the Grave of the Mother Known as the "Son of Goldechkeh," a skilled musician and barber, one of the circle of intellectuals among working men, [in Zambrów], standing beside his mother's tombstone.   “Lomir zikh ibberbettn, ibberbettn, “Let us make up, make up with one another, Di velt is dokh a kholem,  The World is but a dream,   Lomir zikh ibberbettn, Let us make up,   Lomir makh sholem!” Let us make peace!”   And so Grandma Rivka-Gitt’l dances again, forward, towards Chaya, and Chaya towards her. By this time, both are extending their hands to each other: The throng sings: zikh ibberbettn, zikh ibberbettn, and the musicians let themselves go: “ibberbettn, ibberbettn,” and so the two sets of hands become intertwined, and each takes the other in their arms, exchanging kisses.   And the throng does not hold back, singing vigorously, and clapping with their hands: “Lomir zikh ibberbettn, ibberbettn!” The fiddle of a musician from Tyktin helps out with a sibilant sigh: “ibberbettn, ibberbettn,” and Goldechkeh’s son picks up the refrain on his violin. The “yaleshkeh” from Chaya’s husband that was banged uncontrollably, and Shimon the drummer drums along: “zikh ibberbettn, ibberbettn...”   By now the two makhatenistas have broken out into a dance, each with a hand on the other’s shoulder... until their two husbands arrive. The groom places the veil over the head of the bride, and Sonya the Badkhan (Merrymaker) from Bialystok, gets up on a bench, and serenades the bride, accompanied by the musicians.   The Exceptional and Challenged Each shtetl had its “poor souls.” These were people with some defect, crippled, mentally disturbed, etc. for whom fate had decreed that they would not possess all of the human capacities and prerogatives. The shtetl would support them, look after them, and sometimes also abandon them... part of them would become imbedded in the panorama of the shtetl, as for example, “the town lunatic,” like “khelbana” at one time, became an expression for a bad odor. However, without it, the High Priest in the Temple was not able to formulate and present the ketoret sacrifice167. I am now going to describe a number of these poor souls, from my memory, so that they too, are memorialized in this Pinkas of the city. I also ask their forgiveness for instances where I may have caused any of them embarrassment, which was not my intent.   Alter Koty On one fine morning, a cripple crawled into the Red Bet HaMedrash, leaning on his crutch. He looked like a pig on two feet, feigning human appearance. He immediately elicited a sense of compassion from everyone, and God-fearing Jews brought him something to eat. Children immediately sensed that they had for themselves an object of derision, and from their side began to toy with him. His name was Alter, and he was born to his parents after several children died prematurely after birth. He was born frail in the village of Koty, not terribly far from Zambrów168. His parents died, and he was left alone. Good people would give him a sack with bread pieces, an onion, a bit of sugar, sat him in a gentile wagon that made the trip to Zambrów, to the market, and the asked of the gentile that he be let off at the Bozhnitza, meaning the Red Bet HaMedrash. The gentile took pity on the cripple and brought him up to the entrance. And from that time on, Alter Koty became a Zambrów citizen, looked after by the Bet HaMedrash, and was even counted towards a minyan at every session of prayer. He was a whisperer and would clam up when a conversation would ensue. However, he was intelligent and spoke directly to the point. Children would aggravate him. When he would limp along, leaning on his crutch with his round belly protruding ahead of him, the children would shout at him from all sides: Koty, Koty! He would then fall into a foul mood, raise his crutch, wave it about, wanting to hit them hard. However, he never succeeded at this, since there is no way he could chase [the children with their] swift, sure feet, and so he would take out his anger on innocent passersby, and give one or another of them a whack with his stick. Sometimes he would burst into tears, and out loud would proclaim in the middle of the street: “Was I born from a stone? Was I not had by a mother? Why do you torture me, why is it my fault that I was born, not like all other people? Why do I deserve this – seeing as my father and mother have abandoned me?” [At times like this] women would shed a tear, seek to calm him down, bring him out a white shirt so he could change, a pair of knitted socks to cover his bare feet, a plate of warm food, a small glass of tea with a piece of bread, etc. And did he have a mouth! He would curse by hurling such imprecations that only could be created in the fantasy of a writer. When he was calmed down and children did not bother him, he would be in a good mood and would relate what had happened to him, about his family, or just plain tales that he had heard. His home primarily was in the Hakhnasat Orkhim. He was then sidelined there, because he could not keep himself clean, and this was a place where other guests would lodge for the night. So, during the summer, he made himself a night resting place under the steps of the Women’s Synagogue, inside the Red Bet HaMedrash, over the shamos169. During the winter, good people would give him a corner where he could sleep, or he would bed down in the Bet HaMedrash beside the oven. During the First World War, the Germans took him out of the city and shot him, ridding themselves of a cripple and freeing up a bread [ration] card. It was as if the Red Bet HaMedrash had become orphaned – it was as if the permanent worshiper was missing. A tree had been cut down and out of the panorama of the shtetl...   Abraham Berl Klein He was of middling height, went barefoot, sometimes having his feet wrapped in rags like the peasants would do, wrapped in a sack with a rope tied around the hips, a head of gray hair with a roundish gray beard. He would sit at the entrance to the White Bet HaMedrash and tell stories to the children, wonderful stories, about himself, about robbers and demons, and always full of humor. One had to have a literary soul in order to conceive of such stories. He would not rest at night. He had an eccentric sense of humor. He would transfer clothing that hung in one yard over to a second street and hang it up there to dry. He would take and transfer boards that a homeowner might have bought to construct a sukkah, to some far, distant yard. He would switch the signs of one craftsman or storekeeper, for that of another, etc. He always carried around lumps of coal beneath his bosom. And before dawn, just as it began to get light and there was nobody to stop him, he would draw pictures of animals and people on the walls, small horses, dogs, cats and goats, and who knows what sort of story he was attempting to illustrate? Who knows what sort of artistic talent had lost its way inside this crazy person? He would sit tranquilly and smile, sing, or be telling a tale. Only if someone, somewhere, would shout out: “Abraham Berl Klein” would he get up filled with a murderous disposition, and would run to hit or throw a stone. At a tranquil moment, according to what he would tell, he was a recorder for people who would undertake road construction, and he would record the size of the gravel that the people who smashed up rock, needed to produce. In order to determine how much to pay for their work, he would measure their pile of gravel with a triangle. As a result, he caught any number of people who at night would steal from the piles that had already been measured and transfer it to a new [sic: unmeasured] pile. So he caught and penalized the stone smashers, for which they threw a sack over his head and beat him so badly that he lost his mind... He wife was someone called Malkunya, whom the children would call “Malkunya the Slapper.” She divorced him. He was close to the butchers, and they would give him something to eat, and the change of a short, it appears – he was a family friend of the Pendzhukhehs. Children would run after him and tease him by saying: “Abraham Berl Klein “ Abraham Berl Klein Nem dem tukhes – un loyf ahin!” Grab your ass – and run over there!” This would make him go totally berserk. Summertime, during the intense heat of Tammuz, he would manifest his insanity: he would chase after people, throw stones, cause damage, and it was dangerous to be in his presence. R’ Sender Sechkowicz tells of one time that he was working with his father, Itcheh Mulyar, at the premises of Lejzor the Baker, where there was a need to clean off a muddy area. So Abraham Bereleh was summoned to do the work. So he says: First, give me something to eat! So the wife of the baker gave him something to eat. Now, he says, I want something to drink! So he was given some sweet tea to drink. He then vanished. He had gone up into the attic, laid down and fell asleep. This caused Lejzor the Baker to exclaim: “You nut, is this the way one is supposed to behave?” You are, indeed, crazy, he replied, I conduct myself just like the refined gentry: having finished eating and drinking, you lay down for a nap... Stories circulated around the shtetl about him, just like the ones about Hershel Ostropoler170. One time, he tricked a gentile, in the mikvah, into emptying his sack of chopped-up straw there. When the gentile became severely angry and began to curse all Jews, he was reproached: “Abraham Berl, why did you do this? He replied, I wanted for this gentile also to immerse himself in the dirty mikvah... He either died naturally, or perhaps the Germans also shot him in the First World War? What were Jewish children to do without Abraham Berl Klein?   Myshl the Cripple He had a large head of black hair, with deep, knowing eyes, a good grasp of things and a sharp mind, and spoke Russian and Polish. He had the body of a child with no feet. He was the son of a poor melamed. This was a very fine, but poor family. The father immigrated to America but did not acquire any significant wealth there. The wife remained alone with a houseful of children, intellectually endowed sons and daughters. But what was to be done with Myshl the Cripple? He made the decision that he should be placed sitting at the vacant location, on the road to Łomża, where he would sing, and the officers, soldiers, gentiles and Jews, who would be passing by will give him some sort of a donation. He would normally beg only from the gentiles, and especially from Russian officers: “Daitye kopiechku biednomu kalyiku!” Please give a bit of a kopeck to a poor cripple! He would sit there for years on end. He knew everyone, even if they had passed through that street only once. Children could be found sitting around him all the time listening to his stories, his witticisms. His brothers and sisters loved him body and soul. If it started to rain, they would run to him, regardless of where they happened to be, to take him home, or [to give him] some sort of umbrella to keep him covered.   A time came when an older son in America sent ship tickets for everyone. They did not want to make the trip, because how would it be possible to leave Mysheleh alone? After all, he would not be allowed to come into America. In the end, a means to get around this was found: to have him admitted to an institution for invalids in Bialystok for a specified sum of money. In that location, he fell sick out of a longing for his own family and his home town, and he died. Others told: In Bialystok, they wanted to have him put into a circus, to show the world this sort of phenomenon. With is sharp memory and intellect, his singing, his storytelling, he died of emotional aggravation.   Bayrakh the Mute There were several mutes in Zambrów, [and] one was the son of a carpenter – a handsome lad, with black, knowing eyes that projected sadness. One, a daughter of Podalczuk the Butcher – a picture [of a] beautiful and intelligent girl. So the father returned from America with money and made a match for his daughter with Khizok’s grandson, a boy without means, and took them all back with him to America. Bayrakh the Mute was a porter. He was a strong man who had grown tall, with a broad back and a dark blond beard, a broad visage, with a pair of understanding eyes. A smile was always “pouring out” over his face, and a consistently pleasant disposition along with that. He understood everything. He would come to worship in the White Bet HaMedrash, just like someone who could speak normally. Not having any trade skill, and being as healthy as a horse, he became a porter. He would transport the heaviest loads and boxes. And his house grew: a home full of children, daughters and sons – good-looking and capable, but poverty exacted its toll: how could a porter support such a family? In the city, he was treated with respect. He understood how to comport himself. He observed the mitzvot, the Sabbath and Festival holidays. In the Bet HaMedrash he would sway back and forth, with his tallis over his head, just like everyone else. He would typically be accorded the honor of Hagbah, and he would pick up and raise the Torah scroll high into the air, look carefully at the lettering on the parchment, and turn with it to the left and right with a great deal of satisfaction. I can recall one time when the shammes approached him and called him to the Torah. The reader, a short man, a Jewish fellow who was enlightened, who would lean on the tips of his fingers and do a little bit of a dance while he read (he was therefore called “the dancer”), called out: “Ya’amod R’Bayrakh, br’ Jekuthiel... and the mute man was joyous. With great pride and happiness, he touched the edge of his tallis to the scroll, gave it a kiss, and mumbled: Mu – hu – hu – hu. The Reader then recited the blessing, and the mute man mumbled after him... everyone felt that the gabbai had done a tremendous thing, a beautiful gesture... On time, towards Saturday evening, he dozed off in the Bet HaMedrash, with his mouth open. A bunch of inconsiderate pranksters shook some tobacco snuff into his mouth. He awoke with a start, and with damp eyes he mumbled: Mu – hu – hu – hu, as if one were to say: Why did you do this to me? I am exhausted from a whole week, and I grabbed a nap, is this a reason for you to embarrass me? The balebatim took his side, apprehended the pranksters, and began to beat them. Good-naturedly, he waved them off with his hand, as if to say: let them go, they are just kids, and what do they understand... After much wandering, one of his youngest sons finally came to Israel.   “Katchkeh” There was quite a character in the city: somewhat taller than average height, with a large head, his face overgrown with a sparse beard, intelligent, penetrating eyes, [who] would go walking to the left and the right, like a duck (“katchkeh”). That is why he was given the name “Katchkeh.” He was something of a shlimazl in his life, constantly at work, exerting himself, from which he derived nothing and had no talent for anything. His father, Chaim Shmuleh Levinsky, a decent wagon driver, lived at the Rabbi’s house, over the “Hakhnasat Orkhim,” across from the Red Bet HaMedrash. First off, Chaim Shmuleh had a covered wagon, and after that he ran a passenger carriage on the Czyżew Tract171. Chaim Shmuleh was a quiet man, always having a good-natured smile on his face, he would give to charity and would often transport the clergy and religious personnel, such as maggidim, distinguished guests – all without charge, and dreamt of traveling to the Land of Israel to die there... His oldest son, Yossl, was killed in the First World War, on Yom Kippur of 1914, at the battlefields near Narew and Łomża. He had other fine children.   “Katchkeh” however, was an exception. His mouth kept going like a turning screw, and he would verbally abuse and curse everything in the world, and his mouth would get full of foam. Nevertheless, he was good-natured and would immediately commence to smile. Swearing was his sole ammunition to use against the difficult people who exploited or made fun of him. He would constantly be found mingling about among the wagon drivers, giving the horses drink and cleaning up after them. Occasionally he would be trusted to be the driver and convey passengers. Very early before dawn, his voice could be heard being carried about, when he would go wake passengers for their journey, telling the wagon drivers when was the highest time to travel with the passengers. Not to miss the “mail bag” that goes from Czyżew to Warsaw or Bialystok, and from Czorny Bor. Later on, he became the “expediter” of the soda-bottles, which he would distribute to businesses and private homes. When he was in a good mood, it would be possible to confer with him for advice and take his opinion seriously. He was a decent sort and would share his meager pennies with the poor.    The City’s Daughter-in-Law By Meir Zukrowicz     It was summer, and the year was 1893.   God’s wrath poured itself out over our Zambrów when cholera ran through Russia and Poland. Accordingly, we didn’t sit by idly: we engaged in repentance, we arranged for cessations of work, recited Tehillim for the entire day – and none of this helped.   We began to explore alternative means: we created a “massage committee,” [consisting] of healthy young men, who would rub down the sick with spirits, with hot water, and ply the sick with whiskey, etc. If it helped, then it was good.  Meir Zukrowicz If it didn’t help, and the illness became more aggravated, the sick person was transferred to Moshe Schribner’s windmill on the Ostrów Road. A sort of hospital was set up here for those who were seriously ill, and mostly for those who would never come back again. Apart from this, the kettle in the “Hakhnasat Orkhim” was heated continuously throughout the day, and hot water, along with spirits and whiskey were always ready at hand, as well as other medicaments that had been procured at no cost. It did not seem to affect the “massage committee”, even though their wives wept bitterly, fearing that their men would become infected. On Yom Kippur, the Rabbi authorized an announcement in all places of worship: whosoever feels weak may eat. Also, it was represented that one should not sit shiva for a deceased person – one also should not go to comfort the bereaved. No minyan should assemble in the home of the deceased, etc.   When we young people saw that none of this was helping and people were falling like flies, we decided to carry out an important act: on foot at night, they went off to Sendzewa and silently attacked the water mill, tore up the weir, permitting the water to flow vigorously, and they said: with this flood of water, let the cholera be driven away! They took along the door to the weir, returned to Zambrów in the middle of the night, and buried it in the cemetery... This too did not help, and the cholera ran rampant through the city.   Accordingly, stronger measures were then employed: all the discarded remnants from prayer books (shamos) were collected from the various houses of worship and study and from private houses. They were packed into containers, and a big funeral was organized to take these shamos and bury them in the cemetery. Israel David the Shammes led the funeral cortege. We went at night with wax candles to the cemetery. Everyone tore kriya and wept. One person recited the “Kaddish” when the shamos were buried. Charity was donated, and still it didn’t help. At this point, we ran to embrace a new approach on how to combat the cholera in the city: there was a pauper girl in Zambrów, an orphan, who was crippled, by the name of Chana Yenta. It was decided to marry her off to an older bachelor, also some sort of a cripple, who lisped, by the name of Velvel. He would beg from door-to-door. And so, a wedding match was arranged between the two. At the community's expense, they were both decked out in the best finery172: new clothing, new shoes, a small residence was rented for them, completely furnished. The most dignified of the balabustas organized the wedding, baking rolls with oil challah, cooking fish and meat, and the wedding canopy was set up in the cemetery. The throng was lively and energetic, and they danced on their way back from the cemetery and made merry for the bride and groom, just as it is supposed to be. And so God saw our distress and caused the plague to desist. This lightened the heart. From that time on, Chana Yenta was called the city’s “daughter-in-law.” The community decided to give them a permanent post from which they could make a living: she became the municipal water carrier, and he obtained a concession to go from house to house for solicitations, without being interfered with – for one hundred and twenty years. Chana Yenta, the city’s "daughter-in-law," was thought of for many years in the shtetl and was considered as one of the “religious people” among us. She was always spoken of with respect, because many believed that she did something substantive in deterring the plague... She herself often enlarged her own reputation and traversed the houses with the feeling that the city has something for which to be grateful to her.   A Story About A Convert By Israel Levinsky Ay, Ay, Ay, Ay – Myshekeh is Going Away... Moshe Granitsa (Nachman Shammes’ son) takes leave of his friends, as he goes off to military service (during the time of the Russians) to serve in the Czar’s army. Near my home, in the house of my father-in-law, there lived R’ Yitzhak Leib Ozdoba, with his wife Chaya Itkeh. R’ Yitzhak Leib was a grain merchant, a very decent Jewish man, one who would accommodate guests in his home. Each and every Sabbath would find guests taking a meal at his table. His wife, Chaya Itkeh, was tall in stature and thin, with a nose like that of a little bird. She was R’ Yitzhak Leib’s second wife. A son, an only son from her first husband, was called Fishl Chaya Itkeh’s. When a distinguished guest would happen to come to town, a rabbi or a distinguished speaker, such a guest would take meals for the Sabbath at the home of R’ Yitzhak Leib, who was punctilious in his observance of the mitzvah of Hakhnasat Orkhim, and did not let a Sabbath go by without one or two such guests.   One time, a young man of gentile appearance was noticed in the Red Bet HaMedrash, who spoke a broken Yiddish like a gentile. He said that he had been born a Christian to wealthy parents, but convinced himself that the Jewish faith is the better one, and he became a Jew. So his father threw him out. Since then, he wanders about, learning what he can about being a Jew. He was given food and drink, and righteous women brought him a white shirt, a pair of socks, and he would sit in the Bet HaMedrash, observing how Jews behave. Well, you can appreciate that when the Sabbath arrived, this guest was honored with a place for the Sabbath at the home of R’ Yitzhak Leib Ozdoba. He was given the best and finest of everything. On the second Sabbath he again came to eat at the home of R’ Yitzhak Leib. During the week, the balebatim and young folk drew close to the convert, teaching him the [Hebrew] alphabet, laws, and they even insisted on making an attempt to have him called to the Torah for an aliyah. On that Sabbath morning, when all were at worship, only I sat and read, because I would always pray before dawn with the first minyan. I heard some sort of a sound on the other side of the wall. Initially, this was not clear to me, but later on I thought it to be either a cat or a goat. When we returned from synagogue, Chaya Itkeh shouted out: Gevalt! I have been reduced to destitution! The armoire had been torn open: linens, jewelry, utensils and money, two hundred and fifty rubles had been taken out...   Suspicion first fell on the female gentile house servant who tended the house on the Sabbath, and later we became aware that the convert had vanished... we later found out that this convert was a well-known thief, being sought by the police. Having been among Jews, he had learned a little Yiddish and also Jewish customs and ways, and [he] played the role of a convert...   Kometz Aleph – Aw! By Mendl Cybelman (Describing his Teachers in the Zambrów of Yore)     The Brokker Melamed was my first rebbe. He lived at the horse market, near the houses of Lubin on one side and Moshe-Shmuel Golombek on the other side. Itcheh Kossowsky was a student along with me. The family of the rebbe was refined. He had a son who was a revolutionary and was one of the founders of the S. S. in Zambrów. He would hold forth with fiery speeches in the forest. Suddenly, he vanished off to somewhere: he married and acquired some face in the process... Three Elderly Ladies Reading from “Tzena U-Re-ena173” Abba Leib who lived directly across from the White Bet HaMedrash was my second rebbe. He also had an intelligent son who took up residence, I think in Finland, where he served in the military. Abba Leib was a well-prepared teacher, who also taught Hebrew from a pamphlet, and the children loved him.   Abraham’eleh Melamed was my third rebbe. His cheder was behind the Red Bet HaMedrash, by the Łomża Road. He was good-natured, a scholarly Jew, and God-fearing. He had talented children among them, Myshl the Cripple (who is described elsewhere). His wife was named Elkeh’leh and was well-known in the shtetl. In order to make a living, Abraham’eleh went off to America. Klutsky was my fourth rebbe. He was observant and spoke only in Hebrew on the Sabbath. He would teach us using humor: “So you think he is Myshl the Shoemaker, no, he is Moses our Teacher! So you thought he was Ahar’eleh Nozhlak, Ahar’eleh Frontz, No – he was Aaron the High Priest!”  His cheder was located on the premises of Lejzor Zaks. R’ Sender Seczkowsky describes his teachers of yore, over sixty years ago (transcribed by R’ Israel Levinsky): My first melamed was Abraham Moshe the Gravedigger. He would bury the dead. But the most significant influence on we children was his dealing with stillborn babies. He had a special board, as large as a tray, on which he would lay down the little body, wrapping it in burial shrouds and then carrying it through back alleys, directly to the cemetery. And we, the children, would be sitting in the cheder, without the rebbe, carrying on or annoying him, as he was carrying the tiny deceased child. Abraham Moshe was of middling height but broad-boned with a pointed gray beard and heavy eyebrows. From time to time he would instill fear in us, and in grownups, despite the fact that he was not a bad person and did not hit anyone. The balebatim accorded him respect, perhaps because they knew that, sooner or later, they would fall into his hands... I studied for several school periods [sic: semesters] under his tutelage. This was against my will, because my father, Itcheh Mulyar, lived not far from the street where the synagogues and study houses were, and Abraham Moshe the Gravedigger lived across from the Red Bet HaMedrash, in the large courtyard where the “Hakhnasat Orkhim” could be found. Not once did I run away from cheder, heading to wherever my eyes looked – and the rebbe, who was in the city more times than in the cheder, caught me not only once, either grabbing me by the collar and dragging me like he was dragging a corpse, back to cheder. He never hit.   One time I became sick and was bedridden for several weeks. After getting out of my sick bed, I finally took stock and went off to a different cheder, to the son-in-law of Motya, R’ Mendl Olsha, who was known to be a good teacher and was beloved by the children, and his students truly were able to learn proficiently. Mendl Olsha gave me a pat on the cheek and said to me: your father didn’t discuss your situation with me, but if you want to learn here, then sit yourself down, and in the meantime audit what it is that the other children are learning. So I sat and repeated what all the other children were saying. Suddenly, I felt a hard, hairy hand had grabbed me by the collar, [which] had picked me up, dragged me off the bench and out of the cheder. I struggled like a fish out of water, but it was to no avail. The new rebbe went ashen and didn’t utter a word. All the children fell silent. This was my rebbe, Abraham Moshe. He also didn’t say a word, but just kept dragging me... This was the story: when he had returned from a funeral, after burial, the little boys told him with relish that Sender, Itcheh Mulyar’s [son], is no longer a student with him. He already is attending the cheder of Motya’s son-in-law. Well, he became enraged, such a disgrace, such a betrayal! He went off and brought me back, looking at the other children with a look of triumph, and he said to me: “You will remain here and not go off to any unfamiliar teachers!” To this day, a shudder runs through me when I recall that scene. [I remained there] until God came to my aid and my father relocated to another street, and in the coming semester he enrolled me in another cheder. The new rebbe lisped, and he would stutter whenever he would explain something. But he was a good teacher. In his class, boys and girls studied together. He taught us Svarbeh, meaning the twenty-four books – the Prophets. Also, a teacher came in to teach us Russian for an hour a day. Because I had a good grasp and learned quickly, the rebbe gave me a “Nograda,” a mark of distinction: I was to rock his two baby daughters, twins, who would always be crying out that they wanted to be rocked. So I once rocked them so vigorously that I overturned the cradle with the children. So an outcry ensued, and the sound of running feet was heard, and “the boy isn’t there," – I had fled from the cheder out of fear and never came back. After many years had gone by, when I came to visit my father in Jerusalem, he told me that this very same rebbe is living in Jerusalem with his two daughters, the twins. It appears that they survived the episode of the upended cradle. My third rebbe was Herschel Kooker. It was with him that I began to study Gemara. However, a gentile interfered in this and disrupted my study. A gentile named Kowicki lived in the same house, who made coffins. He knew Yiddish as if he were Jewish, and even knew blessings by heart. When he would get liquored up, he would grab children and put them in a coffin that was decorated with crosses and prevented them from getting out. The children would cry and writhe in fear, and he would roll with laughter. So I transferred to learn in the elementary school yeshiva of R’ Yehoshua Gorzalczany. He was a good rebbe, a wise Jewish man, and he could project his influence with merely a glance. Later on, I was taught by a melamed from Wysokie Mazowieckie and the Overseer was R’ Moshe-Michael, a tall, handsome Jewish man who was strict, and who oversaw the study of the yeshiva students with a cane in his hand. Once he dozed off at the lectern, and his long beard got tangled in the lectern. So we grabbed sealing wax, warmed it up, and poured it onto his beard. He took out his anger on all of us. His long cane flew over our heads, without pity. In the last stage, I went off to study at the yeshiva in Łomża. I would get a package every week from home: underwear, socks, kichl, etc. But then the “fifth year” arrived. In the yeshiva a strike broke out against the leadership which disbursed too meager a “weekly stipend” to the young men of the province. One time when the headmasters came to give a lesson, they were refused admission, but instead shouts were made to their faces: you take away the best and the most attractive for yourselves, and all you do is throw the bones to us! They became frightened and summoned the police. The yeshiva was then shut down. Accordingly, the out-of-town youth from the province dispersed, each to their own home. My father then saw that I had no particularly strong affinity for study, so he said to me: Well, you won’t become a rabbi – but at least be a decent and honest working man...   The Political Parties     The Active Workers of the Keren Kayemet, Organizing the 6th Bazaar of 5696 [1917]      The Zionist Movement     The Executive Committee of Keren HaYesod   A. Before the First World War An illegal Zionist organization existed in Zambrów, even before the First Zionist Congress. In the first year of selling raffles, approximately sixty to seventy raffles were sold in Zambrów. Also, the “aktsiehs” of the Colonial Bank, which cost ten rubles apiece (over sixty years ago), more than a few were sold in Zambrów. R’ Shlomo Blumrosen stood at the head of the Zionist endeavor. With him were: Benjamin Kagan, Abcheh Rokowsky, Israel Levinsky, Fishl Danilewicz, Yaakov and Meir Zukrowicz, Yaakov Shyeh Kahn, Hona Tanenbaum, Ephraim Surowicz, Yitzhak Levinson, Greenberg (a leather merchant), David Smoliar, Jaluka, Yom Tov Herman, Fishl Chaya Itkeh’s (Ozdoba), Meir Meisner, Yaakov Shlomo Kukawa, the brothers, Itcheh Fyvel and Lipa Blumrosen et al. Young people also were drawn to Zionism: the brothers, Berl and Abba Finkelstein, Alter Greenwald, Fyvel Zukrowicz, Yaakov Karlinsky, Yaakov Hershel Zukrowicz, Ziskind Sokol, Benjamin Tanenbaum, the brothers Yochanan and Chaim Feinzilber, Chaim Skocinadek, Fyvel Rosenthal, Yeshaya Rekant, the brothers Pinchas and Zelig Bronack, Shlomkeh Golombek, Leibl Slowik, Israel Rokowsky, Bezalel Rosenbaum, Mordechai Jerusalimsky, Herschel Adashko, Abba and Noah Graewsky, Zusha Brzezinsky et al.   Twice a year, gatherings would take place at the homes of Shlomkeh Blumrosen and Benjamin Kagan, work was done for Keren Kayemet (Jewish National Fund), etc. When the Fifth Zionist Congress in the year 1902 decided to establish Keren Kayemet (Jewish National Fund) and to distribute charity boxes [sic: pushkas] into the houses of active Zionists, R’ Israel Levinsky, and R’ Fishl Danilewicz the Melamed, could not wait for the pushkas to arrive, which were supposed to come to Zambrów from Berlin by way of Odessa, so for their own account they commissioned Leibusz Garfinkel the tinsmith (who was himself a Zionist) to make one hundred pushkas, with a Jewish Star of David etched into the side, and [he] nailed them up in Zionist homes and took care to see that they were periodically emptied until the original blue pushkas arrived – after two years – that were then turned over to that dedicated Zionist, Yaakov Karlinsky, to deal with their distribution. Young people would come together on the Sabbath for study sessions under the supervision of Mr. Israel Levinsky, [in] Hebrew literature and knowledge, reading journals, etc. We would affix Keren Kayemet (Jewish National Fund)stamps to our letters. On being called for an aliyah to the Torah in the White Bet HaMedrash, pledges were made of donations for the benefit of the Yishuv in the Land of Israel. On the Eve of Yom Kippur, pairs of members were sent out in tens to all synagogues and houses of study, also to the women's prayer rooms, to set out “platters” near the entranceway at the time of the afternoon [sic: Mincha] prayers “for the benefit of the Yishuv in the Land of Israel.” A national celebration was organized in the White Bet HaMedrash at Hanukkah time with the participation of the Hazzan and the Tykocin musicians, and sometimes also a military orchestra. In the cheders, the teaching of Hebrew, using principles of grammar was instituted, and also the writing of articles for the Hebrew children’s periodicals. In Bialystok, Alter Greenwald learned how to do the “Hatikvah Dance,” and it was agreed that he should teach this to others, so they could dance it at weddings. Activity continued with full vigor. There were even instances of people from Zambrów traveling to the Land of Israel, and this help to raise the level of enthusiasm further. This went on until the dark clouds of 1914 drew nigh. Then World War broke out. Part of the group was mobilized. Political party activity was disrupted and halted.   B. Zionist Endeavor Renews Itself The Youth Committee of Keren HaYesod Standing:  Aliza Weinberg, Shlomo Rosenthal, Chaya-Sarah Jablonsky, Mikhl Jabkowsky Sitting:  Esther-Matt’l Golombek, Zvi Slowik, Chaim-Yossl Shafran   Hol HaMoed Passover 1926      The “Keren HaYesod” Committee of Zambrów   During the German occupation, in 1916, the Polish Zionist Central Committee was born in Warsaw – after Polish Zionism had been dependent previously on Odessa, the Russian center. Zambrów was one of the first of the towns that affiliated itself with the Warsaw Central Committee. It was accomplished with the support of the staff member of “Haynt,” Mr. Goldberg, who would come to Zambrów to visit his elderly father from the homeless of Brisk. The first meeting – at [the house of] Shlomkeh Blumrosen, was attended by Benjamin Kagan, the brothers Aharon Leibl and Yaakov Karlinsky, Fyvel Zukrowicz, Chaim Skocinadek, Fishl Chaya Itkeh’s, David Smoliar, the brothers Yochanan and Chaim Feinzilber, etc. The young people were represented by: Yitzhak Gorodzinsky (Chava’s son), Leibchak Golombek, and Abraham Baumkuler. The work for Keren Kayemet, the sale of raffles, collecting membership dues and land taxes, etc., was renewed. However, the young people were sparingly involved. Then the teacher Obkewicz from Warsaw arrived, the husband of Esther Kagan, and he founded the “Tze’irei Tzion” group, manned by these very young people. The first interim [leadership] committee consisted of Leibchak Golombek (Chairman), A. Baumkuler, Yaakov Jabkowsky, Israel Konopiota, Tuvia Tennenbaum (Secretary) and Mates Gorzelczany. Gatherings usually occurred in the school of Fyvel Zukrowicz, which was open for every form of Zionist endeavor. Later on, it went over into its own premises in a cellar at the house of Shlomo Tuvia Sziniak. They established a cooperative under the direction of Israel Konopiota made up of the active members. During the Bolshevik invasion in the year 1920, the Poles plundered the cooperative. Tze’irei Tzion played an important role in Zionist activity and was the central source of all the Zionist undertakings in the city. [It encompassed] the Halutzim movement, cultural endeavors, [worked on behalf of] the library, national demonstrations, sport and theatre. During the time of the Bolshevik invasion, several of the Tze’irei Tzion members “insinuated themselves” into the municipal action committees to try and rescue something and to stand guard. L[eibchak] Golombek, the Chairman of Tze’irei Tzion, and of the sport club, “Maccabi” assumed the mandate of acting as the chief of police in Zambrów.174  The Tze’irei Tzion movement elicited much sympathy in the circles of Zionist youth.  Tens of young people who went to Israel can be attributed to it, and thereby saved themselves...   Youth Parties By Shmuel Gutman   A. Poaeli Zion  [This organization] once existed in Zambrów in the “fifth” year [sic: 1905]. Now it had renewed itself. At its head stood the enlightened and educated Yehoshua Domb (today in Israel). Domb was a Hebrew teacher, a good orator, a man of the people, well-educated and intelligent. With him [were] the teacher, Nathan Smoliar, Pini Baumkuler, Garfinkel, the son of the tinsmith, [and] among the first of the Poaeli Zion from the year 1905, Sarniewicz, Zabludowsky, Bercheh Sokol. Among the female members: Shifra Lifschitz, Elka Guterman, Tila Sarniewicz, Menukhakeh Sokol (today in Israel) and others. The debates that took place in their club were attended by large crowds. They would also invite in prominent speakers, such as Zerubabel, Moshe Erem175 and others. They established a youth labor organization called “Jugend” with the help of students and former yeshiva students, among them: Mendl Baumkuler, Herschel Smoliar, Israel Herman, Shmuel Gutman, Yitzhak Saraczkewicz, and others. Later on, they were joined by: Nahum Sokol, Chaya-Sarah Rekant, Rachel Greenberg, Peshkeh Smoliar, Moshe Heitzer, Lifschitz (Shifra’s sister), Faygeleh Friedman, Chana Burstein, Chaya Zeitman and others. The senior members, such as Y. Domb, N. Smoliar and P. Baumkuler, enhanced our level of awareness and directed [educational] courses and a drama studio. We put on a performance of “Dorf’s Jung” in which Sarah Sokol and Herschel Smoliar gave outstanding performances. After the performance, the entire leadership committee went up on the stage and gave Sarah Sokol a kiss and a present – a book.   B. Tze’irei Tzion   A group of Tze’irei Tzion with their chairman, David Rosenthal, in the middle. They occupied an important place in the city. Mostly they came from the ranks of the families of balebatim, who had a proletarian world-view. At their head stood: Leibchak Golombek, Abraham Baumkuler, the brothers Yitzhak and Chaim Gorodzinsky, David Rosenthal, Yankl Jabkowsky, the Gottliebs, Shafran, Zukrowicz, Kaplan, and others. Their opponents, the Bund and Poaeli Zion, would attack them often: how can this be a proletarian party that has no workers in its ranks... this was a strong argument on their part. That is, until God came to their rescue, and my brother Mordechai, a needle trades worker, and Simcha Stern, a miller, who worked in his father’s mill joined their ranks... Out of there ranks, there emerged: “B’nai Tzion,” “Pirkhei Tzion,” and later on, “HeHalutz,” the latter being responsible for carrying out a very practical and important work on behalf of the Land of Israel. They are to be thanked for the tens of olim who were saved by having come to Israel in the difficult years. Among these young people, the following stood out: Zvi Zamir-Slowik, Benjamin Kszisusker, Feciner, Michael Jabkowsky, Noah Zukrowicz, and others. With all the partisan conflicts, and often sharp attacks of one upon the other, we would nevertheless live peacefully with one another and would undertake specific Zionist endeavors jointly.   C. The Bund176         The Zionist-Socialist Organization (Tz. S.) (1926)           The Bund also existed at one time in Zambrów, in the year 1905. Now it [too] had renewed itself: at its head, stood Herschel Sendak, a former yeshiva student; the husband of Pyeh Sziniak; the pharmacist, Szklovin, who was tragically and murderously killed by the Poles and others. The Bund would stand guard, combating clericalism, fighting against assimilation, but most vigorously fighting against Zionism in all of its forms, both left-wing and right-wing. At times, we would engage in discussions, on the eve of the First of May, during a union action, and other such events, but by and large we would be antagonistic and strongly fight one against the other. The drama studio under Bund auspices was fully developed, and was in possession of very good talent. They demonstrated the ability to expend a great deal of work in connection with the Yiddish library, which was forcibly taken out of their hands...   D. Communism A communist party function illegally here as well. At its head was a certain Fishman, who worked for Kaufman the pharmacist and became his son-in-law. Fishman was very circumspect for a long time, and the police were unable to catch him [red-handed], that is, until the cord was torn... The principal communist activity was being carried out by a few of the gymnasium students, of which Herschel Smoliar stood out, who was studying at Goldlust’s gymnasium, and who was transformed from being a young Poaeli Zion member into a fiery communist with a substantial reputation in the entire Bialystok Voievode. He spent a number of years in the Łomża Prison (Czerwoniak)177. Later on, he went off to Byelorussia, where he served with partisan units, being wounded a number of times. He is today the Chairman of the Central Committee of Polish Jews.      The “Bund” Labor Party     A Group of Young Workers, with S. Gutman in the Center     The Active Members of “Poaeli Zion”   A Group of Amateur Theatre Players In the “fifth year”, meaning in the year 1905, labor youth in Zambrów had differentiated itself into the S. S. and S.R. and into the “Bund” and “Poaeli Zion.” Additionally, “anarchists” could be found in Zambrów, and ironically among placid young men, who were pleased with anarchy, with the disorder that was to be brought into the country by the military, the police, and others, as a means to remove the monarch [Czar] Nicholas [II] from the throne. Who were these Bundists of the year 1905 in Zambrów? To this day, it is difficult to remember. Back then, it was said that the revolutionary parties had certain symbols: a black shirt with a blue sash with blue epaulettes -- a second party would be one party: a black sash with black epaulettes –  a second party; one side lock, the left or the right, slightly longer, like a side-whisker – that would be a third party, etc. If one party gathered with the priest in the woods, the other would “take over” a Bet HaMedrash and, sorry to say, force the pious Jews to listen to them conduct their meetings. Because of this, the police could never apprehend them. And so, a third party would “co-opt” the “prom”, a moveable wooden bridge on the water, which would serve as a link with Ostrów, Szumowo, and other places on the other side of the river, while a new bridge was being constructed. What they would do is feign a “sports-outing” – however, what they really did was to transport their party comrades, male and female, to some field for a discussion, to engage in song and perhaps just to keep each other company until late into the night... The general name applied to all these parties was “striker,” because even if they engaged in conflict with one another, carried on discussions, and sometimes threw each other’s transgressions at one another – to the outside world they were united and took up a defense of the interests of workers wholeheartedly. The principal tool of operation was the “strike.” This would continue to such a time that they would make Nicholas a head and years shorter, for which purpose they would call for a strike, by the boot maker, tailor and shoemaker unions, by the bakers. On one occasion, they wanted to organize a strike by the water-carriers. So Reikhl, the lady water-carrier did not carry water for a day, and her husband, Meir “the revolutionary,” sat in the Bet HaMedrash and recited Tehillim. The balebatim of Zambrów then did without Reikhl, and personally went down to the creek with a bucket in hand... on the following morning, Reikhl again carried water, for the same price: two buckets for a three-piece. A few gave her a raise: two buckets for a four-piece... The principal “strikers” were the Bundists. They identified with the present plight of the workers. From time to time, they would invite speakers from Bialystok, Łomża, and even Warsaw. Several young people from Zambrów worked in Warsaw and would come home, decked out for a holiday, bringing with them an air of life and enthusiasm, bringing new songs with them, and in the evening, teaching them during a promenade on the roads. I remember one particularly well, because his mother lived over the cheder of Bercheh Sokol, where I studied, and his brother Abraham’keh was my friend who would teach me his brother’s new song – that was Shmuel-Nissl (or Shimon-Nissl) Lifschitz: a needle trades worker, picture perfect in handsomeness and all decked out in his black jacket and his black hard hat and his lacquered cane in hand. One of his feet was a bit shorter than the other, and for this he wore an elevated shoe. Girls who did tailoring were seamstresses, sewed socks, and ordinary girls around the house would impatiently await the Sabbath or the Festival, when Shimi-Nissl would arrive from Warsaw. It was said that it was in the home of Mordechai Lifschitz the wagon-driver that the Bund Committee assembled for its meetings, and the leaders were: his daughter (also who walked with a limp), an enlightened girl who read books and made a living from making cigarettes (her son, a pious young man – came from Russia, and is now in Israel), a son of Aharon Luks, a fiery young man, with black eyes, elegantly clothed, [who] loved to make jokes. As best as I can recall, the leader of the Bund (I was only six or seven years old at the time) was “The Gypsy Warrior”, a broad-boned healthy young man with black gleaming eyes, a full broad face, and long black locks. He was a harness maker who made saddles, halters and reins for horses. He came from some Hasidic shtetl or another and didn’t wants to remove his Hasidic cap. He loved to make jokes and had a great influence on the working youth, which is why he was given the nickname of a “warrior.” However, since he was as swarthy as a gypsy, he was also called a “warrior of the Gypsies”... I remember several times, the police conducted a search at his location, arrested him, but afterwards let him go. They would gather at the location of Bercheh the Melamed in the evenings, to learn, read, and write, reading literature and take care of the labor-oriented brochures... With the failure of the Russian Revolution, the “strikers” dispersed and fled. Part of them married somewhere in an [obscure] shtetl and carried on a normal life without the revolution. The larger part fled to America. Arranging the trip was not particularly difficult. “Agents” would transport the “Yedinkehs” [sic: Edinkehs], (the illegal travelers), across the border to Prostken178, the first German town, and would get ship tickets – either bought or sent by a relative, and then transit through Hamburg, Antwerp or Bremen, to America. A small part of them later returned, finding themselves longing for home. The larger part of them put down roots either in Brooklyn or Chicago, in Philadelphia or the Bronx, and they laid the foundation for the Zambrów branch of the Workmen’s Circle, of a Help Committee for the poor back in the Old Country – even before the First World War... up to recent years. It was [important] to them that every new immigrant from Zambrów would come, and he was helped like a brother, with employment, with a residence, with the acquisition of citizenship papers, etc.   A. The Rejuvenated Bund   A Group of Left-Wing Workers Being Addressed by Herschel Smoliar   Young Men’s Socialist Movement   A Group of Left-Wing Poaeli Zion Members In the years of the German occupation, 1916-1917, the “Bund” reconstituted itself in Zambrów. A member of the “Groser-Klub” arrived from Warsaw, called together a group of workers and members of the intelligentsia, among them the previously mentioned Shimi-Nissl, the pharmacist Zalman Szklovin, Herschel Sendak, and his wife, Paya, the lawyer, Czerniawsky (from the Maccabi leadership), Joseph Savetsky, the three talented brothers: Eli, Abrahamkeh and Itzl Rothberg, Szepsl Lifschitz, Elkhanah Lifschitz (today in Argentina), Yitzhak Strocz, Zelik Bakshir, and others. These immediately subscribed to the periodical “Lebens-Fragen,” received brochures authored by Medem179, and rented premises for their “Zukunft” Club in the house of Abcheh Rokowsky. They were very exacting and carried out the labor program with which they were tasked. The primary initiative was cultural, to educate the masses. Accordingly, [what] they had was very exacting in evening courses for workers, in the Yiddish school, and especially the [sic: Yiddish] library, into which they put in no small part of their heart and soul. Later on, the library was transferred to the Tze’irei Tzion, who had become a majority in the shtetl. The Bund had a youth group called “Zukunft,” which would educate the children of the working class, by teaching them, imbuing them with the spirit of the party, and enlightening them. Apart from this, a drama club prospered under Bund auspices for a time. From time to time they would put on a play – with success, both in morale and financial terms. The principal activists of the drama section were again, the previously mentioned Shimi-Nissl Lifschitz, Joseph Savetsky and others. The party gatherings, discussions, and literary evenings would attract a respectable audience. During the elections to the Polish Sejm, the Municipal Council, the community leadership, in professional or social unions, or social institutions – the Bund would garner a meaningful share of the votes and had a solid position in the shtetl. Polish harassment, military obligations, unemployment, need and isolation all conspired to disperse the Bund, just like all the other parties were dispersed. What little youth there had fled. Whoever could, saved themselves by going to Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and other locations. Very few were ably to directly reach the United States. The nationally inspired young people chomped at the bit to get to the Land of Israel. All of these linked themselves to the chain of the Zambrów Help Committee activities and continue to carry on with this sacred work of assistance, as we saw on the eve of the [Second World] War, and after The Catastrophe. A significant part, the largest of all members of these parties together, tragically met their end before their time: in the battlefields, in the ranks of the partisans, in the ghettos and in the gas-ovens of Oświęcim...   The Labor Movement  The Poaeli Zion Movement By Pinchas Broder   A Group of Poaeli Zion Members, with Yehoshua Domb, their leader, at center     Young People (not identified)   A Group of Young Workers Standing: Herschel Smoliar, Sokol, Sarniewica, Gutman Sitting:  Sokol, Mordechai Baumkuler, Menucha Sokol During the time of the German occupation, in the year 1917 approximately, the Poaeli Zion party founded itself in Zambrów, first as a general party that consisted of workers and intelligentsia; later it split into a right and left-wing entity, as was the case in all of Poland. The left-wing Poaeli Zion party dominated, at the head of which stood Yehoshua Domb-Zucker (today in Israel), who was a Hebrew-Yiddish teacher, Zabludowsky the Barber, Nathan Smoliar the Polish-Yiddish teacher (martyred in the Warsaw Ghetto), Pini Baumkuler, Gorfinkel, the son of the tinsmith, Sarniewicz, and others. The Poaeli Zion party did much to enlighten its membership, dedicating itself to education and bringing them up, providing substantial explanation of the political and partisan situation, and affording the member an opportunity for development, to find a good social milieu, and to be able to spend every evening, Sabbath and holiday in a very homey atmosphere of comradeship, having a glass of tea, which the lady member Shifra Lifschitz would prepare. We would forget all of our economic needs when we would get together there. Under the direction of Bercheh Sokol, the spiritual leader and teacher of folklore, the young workers learned to write Yiddish correctly, Yiddish history, geography, etc. From time to time discussions would take place with other parties, like the Bund, etc. The members would actively participate and would always learn something. From time to time we would also organize “live news events,” speakers, parties, literary evenings, in which the membership found a great deal of interest. Quite often we would be visited by members of the Central Committee, such as Gershon Dua, A. Sh. Uris, Taubenschlag, Kroll, and later on Mr. Moshe Medem, and others. Members from Łomża would come often, as well and from Wysokie Mazowieckie.  One time, before Passover, Mr. Zerubabel was to come and give a literary presentation. For this we rented the firefighters' premises, printed up placards, sold all of the tickets in advance, and we all prepared to receive him very heartily. The entire city awaited him with anticipation, and... in the end, a telegram arrived from Warsaw: Comrade Zerubabel will not come. This news struck us like a thunderbolt. It subsequently became known that Polish hooligans had assaulted him in Warsaw at the train station and wanted to cut off his handsome beard. He refused to let them do this and fought with them. They beat him badly, and he was unable to travel. Zerubabel, however, kept his word, and later on, he did come to us and had a colossal success. Our party took part in the municipal elections, and the elections to the [Polish] Sejm, as well as to the Jewish Community [Leadership]. It always was successful and was substantively represented at open gatherings and meetings. We worked a great deal on the professional front – explaining things to the worker, fighting for his rights at work, and for a better salary and working conditions. The Poaeli Zion party founded a professional union and indeed appointed me to publicize it and engage in worker registration. I was compelled to leave Zambrów in 1919 because of the Polish military mobilization, when it blundered into conflict with the Bolsheviks, and I went off to America.   An Addendum By Sh. Gutman  At the initiative of the Poaeli Zion party, the organization “Jugend” was founded in Zambrów with the help of a group of students and former yeshiva students, in which the following took part: Mendl Baumkuler, Herschel Smoliar, Israel Herman, Shmuel Gutman, Yitzhak Saraczkewicz, and later, the following joined: Nahum Sokol, Shlomo Scheinkopf, Sarah Sokol, Chaya-Sarah Rekant, Racheleh Greenberg, Peshka Smoliar, Moshe Heitzer, Lifschitz (Shifra’s little sister), Faygleh Friedman, Chana Burstein, Chaya Zeitman, and others. A level of cultural activity was thus initiated among the young workers with the more senior members of the Poaeli Zion intelligentsia overseeing this activity, such as: Domb, Pini Baumkuler, and N. Smoliar, who themselves were teachers and were generally involved with education in the city in the form of the very familiar evening courses. A drama studio also existed among the Poaeli Zion youth, which would put on small presentations, quite frequently one-act plays, and would organize literary evening get-togethers. On one occasion, they put on [the play] “Dorf’s Jung,” with great success. Sarah Sokol and Herschel Smoliar stood out in this regard. The Poaeli Zion party, together with “Jugend,” had a very nice headquarters location with a warm ambience.   The Zionist Youth Movement By Zvi Zamir (Slowik)   Pirkhei Tzion     Committee of the United Poaeli Zion It is 1917, the year of the Balfour Declaration. The Polish Jewish community is full of excitement by the promise of our own national homeland. The belief in the salvation of the people enveloped masses of people – the hope that the Jewish people would be able to build its homeland as a free nation, among the peoples of the earth, penetrated into all sectors of the populace. In Zambrów, a huge public assembly was convened in the synagogue. Throngs of the aroused marched to that premises – and on the bimah inside, there stood the Messrs. Abraham Mizrach from Łomża, Fanusz from Kolno, with great emotion and trembling that spoke of the people’s future. A fund-raising for the redemption of the people was announced. The donations were profuse. Women took off their jewelry and donated it to this fund. Little boys and girls brought their meager savings and donated them to the fund. Zionist fervor enveloped almost all of the residents of the city. Youth organizations were opened, such as “Poaeli Zion,” in the home of Hona the Butcher, “Tze’irei Tzion” – in the home of Aryeh Golombek180, and others. I was a lad at the time. I was studying in the cheder of R’ Yehoshua. From morning to evening, we swam in the sea of the Talmud, but the atmosphere of Zion penetrated even to us, the young students. Aged twelve we began to visit the Zionist meetings in the city – we felt that it was incumbent upon us to become partners in this national endeavor to achieve the redemption. A wondrous idea grew in the hearts of many of the young people: let us raise up an institution of young Zionists. A meeting was called, and the “Pirkhei Tzion” group was established, primarily of twelve to thirteen year-olds. The children of the balebatim streamed to this organization, which etched on its banner the ideal of effort on behalf of Zion. A young people’s library was established for both Hebrew and Yiddish. Lectures, meetings and parties were held, and from time to time a Questions and Answers meeting. During their study of the Talmud, the students of R’ Yehoshua began to sing Zionist songs, and they even brought Hebrew books into the cheder. There was an extensive sense of awakening. The temerity of these young people aroused the ire of the ultra-orthodox ranks, most of whom were “opponents of Zion.” A battle ensued. Parents were summoned to the Rabbi, and to all the “Institutional Clergy” according to their station, in order to exert influence leading to the dispersal of this group. It was R’ Alter the Maggid who was tasked to do this, and during his sermon that Sabbath day, he spoke in the following language: whether you are Zionists, or non-Zionists – whether you are Pirkhei Tzion, do not be those who befoul Zion – this was directed in opposition to desecration of the Sabbath, promenades, and gatherings of young people. However, all of these attempts at opposition were in vain, and day by day membership in the organization grew.   Herzteliya           The Adult Members of “HeHalutz,” 1926 in Zambrów, In Honor of a Pending Aliyah The second event that drove our hearts into a storm was the Russian Revolution. The reverberations of the Revolution encouraged the youth of the city who held a faith in the liberation of the working classes. A schism took place among the ranks of the young people: the dominant majority went over to ‘Jugend’ and “Poaeli Zion,” and part to the communists. They concentrated a substantial number of the working class youth. The young people’s library was transferred to them. We continued with the work of institutionalizing Zionist youth, without adding anything to our agenda. Our “Pirkhei Tzion” organization continued to function for two years. At the end of 1919, before Simchas Torah, the name was changed from “Pirkhei Tzion” to “Herzteliya,” and, in so doing we affiliated ourselves with the central Jewish youth group in Poland by that name. We established a connection to the center in Warsaw. Our movement continued to grow again. We would join in efforts under the aegis of “Tze’irei Tzion,” and they dedicated considerable energies and attention to the direction and management of the young people. Yitzhak Gorodzinsky and Aryeh Golombek would lecture us, as well as many others. A drama group was organized. Many members of the group began to study Hebrew under the tutelage of the teacher, Alter Rothberg  – already beginning to think even then of making aliyah to The Land, to settle there and live. Our “Zionism” was non-partisan. We especially established our base on the educated youth. In the year 1920 we sent a representative to the Third Conclave of Herzteliya, in the person of Mr. P. Bovarsky from Kolno. We also organized the young people of the area around us. In the name of our branch, I went to Wysokie Mazowieckie, and after an effort of three days, a “Herzteliya” group was organized there. After the Bolshevik conquest, Aryeh Golombek, Yitzhak Gorodzinsky, and several other members of Tze’irei Tzion, made aliyah. The letters from Yitzhak Gorodzinsky were full of ardor, in his description of the ambience in The Land, and [they] were passed from hand-to-hand among the ranks of the young people, and bolstered our faith in Zion. I will relate here an incident that occurred involving me, at a memorial service held in memory of Dr. Benjamin Herzl in 1921 on the eve of 20 Tammuz,  [Tuesday, July 26]. We were standing in the street: Chaim Shafran, Shmuel Golombek, Aryeh Levinsky and others, and we were selling tickets to cover the cost of the memorial event. Suddenly, a police officer, Plawczuk, attacked us from the side, seized the tickets and forbade us to sell them, accusing us of communist activity. Everyone was let go, except me, because I assumed all of the responsibility for this activity. He threw all sorts of serious accusations in my face for this communist initiative. I was all of fourteen years old at the time. All of my explanations were to no avail in trying to convince him otherwise.  “A young communist,” is what he called me, and with the escort of a policeman, I was taken like a person who was a danger to the public, to Łomża. I sat for three days in a police jail cell, along with other people who had been accused of communist “transgression,” until I was brought before the judge. After explaining to him, and proving that in Łomża such an organization also existed, I was released. They returned all of the confiscated materials to us. My arrest did not instill fear in my comrades, and the work did not cease. We participated in all of the initiatives of the adults, in Keren Kayemet L’Israel (Jewish National Fund), and especially in the activities relating to the national education of the Jewish child. We participated in putting on a show for Hanukkah, in the school of Yaakov Tobiasz, at the Golombek home, on the day of December 25, 1921, in which children appeared to sing songs, offer declamations, and readings and presentations on the purity of the Hebrew language. This show left a very strong impression on the young people and spurred us on to continue our endeavors. We participated in the work of Keren HaYesod, in donations and collecting donations, and we even set up a youth committee to deal with this matter within the youth group, into which the following joined: the writer of these lines, Malka Greenberg, Chaim Shafran, Rivka Zilberstein, and my brother. We held youth group gatherings, and we distributed explanatory information around the houses. Mr. Tobiasz traveled as a representative to the Keren HaYesod Committee in Warsaw, in the year 1922, who, together with Ravikov and Meir Zukrowicz, stood at the head of that committee in the city. Our work for Keren Kayemet (Jewish National Fund) was one of the central activities among the others. Our Keren Kayemet “corner” was decorated and arranged with all manner of good things, and there was a permanent exhibit there, and in it you could see the progress of the KK"L, its land acquisitions, tables showing its income and activities. A special place was allocated for tables that displayed the competitions that were periodically organized between the various groups, in connection with increasing the income of the KK"L. Each and every evening, when I entered the branch premises, I would go over to this board that displayed the competitions, to see which group was leading in generating revenue for the KK"L. We were able to take first place in this activity to raise money for the KK"L for many years in the size of our revenue generation, ahead of all other youth groups, and we took great pride in this. All of this is the legacy of a past day. These things reflected the life in the Diaspora and foretold a degeneration and a finality, but none of us could foresee that our sense of the future would be realized so rapidly, and with a cruelty so fundamental.   The Tz. S. Youth Organization   Delegates of the Łomża District, to a “Herzteliya” convention held in Zambrów The schism in Tze’irei Tzion into a right and left wing, had an influence on the sentiment of the young people. Various attempts at definition and explanation of ideas were initiated, difficult conversations – the concept of the liberation of the human being, the synthesis of Zionist-Socialism. Reverberations from what was going on reached us, as to what was going on in the ranks of the labor movement in Israel – the founding of “Akhdut HaAvodah.” We decided, in a stormy meeting in Sziniak’s garden (on the Bialystok Road), based on a compelling majority, after a very difficult conversation among the responsible parties, to implement a change in our movement, with me at the head, and among those following this tack – to set up a Tz. S. Youth Organization (in its first year, it was called “Herut”). The minority continues for a time with “Herzteliya,” until it fell apart. A new era was initiated for the group. New concepts penetrated our midst: socialism – a Zionist-Socialism, a working Land of Israel, a labor movement in The Land. Working youth joined us – needle trades and workers from different professions. We ceased being a movement drawn from the balebatim. These new ideas did not weaken the ardor that we had for work on behalf of the Land of Israel. Publicity was distributed about our group among the Tz. S. youth movement in Poland, as was clarified in the first national conference (November 10, 1922) in the central hall (on 11 Dzika Street) in Warsaw, in which I participated as a representative selected by the Zambrów branch. As our movement grew, we rented a headquarters. The list of our supporters grew: David Rosenthal, Krupinsky, and others, and we exerted ourselves to organize walks, performances, celebrations, and gatherings for questions and answers. We participated in the elections to the organizing assembly in Poland with great vigor. We organized a Hebrew corner, where Moshe Burstein was, as one of the leading workers. The objective of this corner was: Hebrew conversation, Hebrew song, and Hebrew reading. We subscribed to “HaTzefira,” and “HaYom”, – the Hebrew newspapers. An unfamiliar area of endeavor entered our ambit of concern: professional organization. Our members were selected into professional sections. Let us remember here, Mikhl Jabkowsky, who invested both his blood and energy into the work of the organization as its representative to the municipal library.  On May 1, 1923, the First of May celebration took place, with the joint participation of all the socialist organizations: Bund, Tz. S., Tze’irei Tzion, Poaeli Zion, and communists – in a forest outside of the city. When news of the severe economic depression in The Land reached us: hunger, unemployment, the abandonment of The Land by people from our city, and immigration to America – having two of our city scions go insane in The Land – we reacted by being aghast. We walked about with a sense of oppression – had The Abrogator ascended over our dreams? We intensified our work on behalf of the funds for The Land of Israel – the gathering of working tools for the labor fund, and Yaakov Jabkowsky stood at the head of this initiative, and we gathered one hundred and eighty thousand marks.   HeHalutz   Zambrów Halutzim at the Agricultural camp “Simcha,” near Szczuczyn We read about the experience in the training by HeHalutz in Łomża – and also in the midst of our comrades, the recognition matured, of the need for such training prior to making aliyah. At that time I was a student at the gymnasium. At a meeting of the four friends: Joseph Slowik, Joseph Srebrowicz, Yehuda Szklovin, and the writer of these lines, on 29 Sivan 5684 (1924), we founded HeHalutz, in our home, beside the flour mill. We publicized the sign-up. Young people, among them many who before they participated in public life signed up full of the zeal and will to prepare themselves for life in the Land of Israel. We brought all of these who stood for membership into a general meeting, and selected a HeHalutz leadership. I was selected as the Chair, and Noah Zukrowicz – as the secretary. We got in contact with the central HeHalutz organization, with the HeHalutz branch in Łomża, and we commenced activity. By and large, the parents were not in concert with the idea that their children would transform themselves into agricultural workers in the Land of Israel, but in the end, they did agree, especially in face of the strong stand of their own children. We held the first public meeting of HeHalutz in the library assembly hall. Pinchas Rashish came as a representative of the central organization – today, he is the head of the town of Petach Tikvah. On a Friday, in the depths of a frost and cold, was when Mr. Rashish arrived in a wagon full of wood from Czyżew. His presentation attracted a large crowd – young people and old alike. After his speech, additional members signed up from various walks of life. My room was transformed into an office of the branch. Evening upon evening the members would come for discussion, clarification, song and dance. The Christians who passed by would stand bewildered: what are they so happy about, and what facilitated these sorts of meetings? We had evenings of song, Oneg Shabbat parties, discussions about Hebrew literature, history, experiences in The Land, on kibbutzim and collective community life. Most of the participants did not know Hebrew. We dedicated ourselves to the study of the language. We participated in Keren Kayemet (Jewish National Fund) and Keren HaYesod, and in the Committee for Aliyah to the Land of Israel, in the League of Labor in The Land of Israel, and others.   Training The city residents divided themselves into two camps in regard to their attitude and relationship towards us. One group was a group that was supportive, believing in our mission, and being respectful – and another group that was derisive of the tribulations of those, believing – that we would quickly return from the difficult labor we found in The Land. Mordechai Jaffa from Ginegar, who had a beard, came to visit us. At a gathering of the membership, he spoke about The Land, the relationship to the Arabs, and the future of the movement. Mr. Jaffa’s personality left a strong impression on all the members. We organized “HeHalutz HaTza’ir” headed by Mr. Aryeh Ratszowicz, and its offspring – “HeHalutz HeKatan.” [It was for] little children who wanted to associate with us and work with HeHalutz, like: Nahum Srebrowicz, Moshe Jabkowsky, Noah Zamir, and others. The work of indoctrination proceeded with full vigor under the guidance of tens of volunteer members. From the central organization in The Land of Israel, we received the newspapers and the important publicity materials, and we would immerse ourselves into the pioneering and labor movement in the Land of Israel. In 1925 training facilities were established on property belonging to people in the Szczuczyn area, Dolong, Tarki, and others. Our branch received notification on the taking of our members for training. We knew that this was the corridor in which they would be trained to become pioneers in the Land of Israel. The following were signed up for training: Ahuva Greenberg, Noah Zukrowicz, Isser Jablonka, Moshe Burstein, Joseph Slowik, Gabriel Marmari, Daniel Kozhol, and others. Among the Zambrów residents, a major upheaval in sentiment took place. The derision toward [manual] labor ended. The future of the sons was seen to be in The Land of Israel – this was the talk that dominated the street. It was not only once that I heard the sounds of laughter on the occasion of departure for training. There were escorts with song and dance. When I visited the training camps, I found our members tanned, working from the break of dawn to sunset. They lived in inhospitable dwellings, the food was bad, and despite this the spirit was good, and there were many cultural activities that they engaged in after work.   Implementation   A Tze’irei Tzion Group at a Farewell Party for their Member, Tzivan, Immigrating to Argentina. In the year 1925 the first of the Halutzim were fortunate enough to make aliyah to The Land. [These were: Aliza Weinberg, and her brother Yekhezkiel]. We put on a party at our premise, with the participation of all members of the branch, the organization, parents and friends. We drank toasts of L’Chaim, danced, and escorted them with their parents and a sizeable portion of the city residents to the train station. From there they traveled to Czyżew. In 1926, our members returned from their training and were also fortunate enough to make aliyah in that same year, going to the working kibbutz at Petach Tikvah. Our work was not in vain. The majority lived off the land, was tied to it, and was faithful to the tenets of the movement. Others passed on. Since that time, forty years have gone by, and I am pleased to be able to bring closure to a specific chapter in our lives, that is, the era of the youth, of yearning and vision. Even after we made aliyah to The Land, HeHalutz continued its work in Zambrów. However, the economic depression in The Land took its toll. The movement was choked off, and only a few loners carried on. At the head of HeHalutz stood Zvi Goren. Chaim Zilberstein and Abraham Ratszowicz led and directed the effort. The work of HeHalutz and HeHalutz HaTza’ir did not cease for a single day. Nahum Srebrowicz, Moshe Rokowsky and others continued with this endeavor up to the day the Nazi scourge entered the city.      The Founding of the First HaShomer HaTza’ir   This was at the end of the German occupation, more or less in 1917. Nathan Smoliar, the ingratiating and enthusiastic teacher, put on [the play] “The Little Hasmoneans,” by K. L. Silman. I provided no small amount of help. The lead part of “Judah Maccabi” was played with great success by his younger brother Herschel. This very Herschel, of warm disposition, energetic and spicy, came to me after a while on a Saturday afternoon, together with a friend, who was a youth of the same age as him: they wanted to discuss something important with me. I had not yet finished the main Sabbath meal yet, and my father sat and was still chanting the Sabbath zemirot. They waited a short while. When I finally turned to them, the young Herschel conveyed to me with great ardor: In the entire country, a major movement is coming to life... young people are organizing themselves, it has been committed to doing missions...and also with us: it is a bit of Maccabi, a bit of library work – and then it ceased... The older group and the mature members of the community are sitting on their hands... it is necessary to get ourselves organized, and there is work to do: we must organize a “HaShomer HaTza’ir.” I was far from HaShomer HaTza’ir at that time, and this was before it took on its left-wing character. However, I could not withstand Herschel Smoliar’s enthusiasm, and so we founded HaShomer HaTza’ir, the first in our city.   Seven Wise Men ... By Ben-Zion Sendak (At the Founding of HeHalutz HaTza’ir) They were seven youngsters, almost children... on one Saturday afternoon on 15 Iyyar 5688 (May 5, 1928), at a time when all the young people were passing the respite of the Sabbath in walking, play or sleep – seven young people girded themselves, leaving the table of their fathers and mothers, after the zemirot, and went out into the field, over the bridge, beside the priest’s woods. They were preceded by three adults from the ranks of HeHalutz: A. Raczowicz, P. Kaplan, and Z. Gorzalczany. At their destination, the youngsters sat down on the grass, and they were: Y. Golombek, B. Zaltzberg, Kh. Tobiasz, Noah Slowik, Ben-Zion Sendak, Kh. Kalsznik, and A. Kagan. Stormy exchanges had been taking place among these for several days now. On of the members from Bialystok, Heilperin, wanted, with all deliberate speed, to establish a branch of “HaShomer Leumi” here. We took the upper hand, and in the end we set down a foundation for HeHalutz Hatza’ir. Witness to this were the waters of the Jablonka River that flowed languidly, and the trees in the woods that nodded with their heads. It was then that we made the covenant with those working by the sweat of their brow in the fields of Israel. Not much time passed, and we went off to training at Gorkhova to Klosowo. Our comrades were not in their fields of expertise: one – a gymnasium student, one a student at the trade school in Bialystok, on a student of “Takhkemoni” and one dyer, one worked in agriculture, and two helped out their parents. However, there was a common concept that had captured their imagination: to get out of here quickly – to be able to create, to fulfill one’s self, to the Land of Israel!   Productive Work Year after year, this was a neglected and overlooked place. Garbage was thrown there, and rags and remnants were scattered about, the pigs and dogs took over the place, and they rooted about and uncovered bones. The place was malodorous and reeked. We, the members of “HeHalutz Hatza’ir”, decided to demonstrate our capacity in the city, our desire to transform a wasteland into a flowering garden. And so we descended on this repulsive parcel – we removed all of the stones, cleaned it up, whitewashed it, and cut rows into the ground side-by-side. We planted flowers and vegetable seeds. We drove poles into the ground and put a fence around it. We befriended the gardeners from the Bialystok Street, and he gave us direction. As it turned out, this was the first example of our productive work. The garden yielded produce: carrots, beets, radishes, onions, lettuce and cabbage. And so, the organization of “HeHalutz HaTza’ir” arose in the city. Even those who opposed us, respected us, and even more our intent. Let us go up and forward and succeed.   The Events of 5689 (1929) By Aryeh Kossowsky   A Group of Working Youth of “The Banner of Youth” Organization Zionist Zambrów was steeped in mourning. One news bulletin came on top of the other: Haifa was destroyed, Tel Aviv was under siege, in Jerusalem there were dead, etc., etc. “The Opponents of Zion” raise their heads: they want to emigrate away from here – after all, America is open, and what will they attain in The Land of Israel? Can they stand up to and face millions of Arabs? A memorial service is being arranged in the White Bet HaMedrash. It is in memory of those who fell, being killed in The Land of Israel. The congregation weeps. The Hazzan, wrapped in his tallis, reads from the verses of the tehillim. He recites the Kaddish, choked with tears. Bereavement settled on the place. However, from behind the bimah, suddenly a powerful voice is heard: “Tekhezakna yedei kol akheinu, hamekhonenim   “Strengthen the hands of our brothers, renewing Afarot artzeinu ba’asher heym sham!"181  The soil of our land, being there.” HeHalutz, the Zionist youth [group] did not cry and did not give up. Its hand was made even stronger. And the blacksmith from the Ostrów Road raises his coal-blackened hands and shouts: Come, let us make aliyah, let us travel to The Land of Israel. We will make war in the gates, and if we fall we will know what it is we fought for, and where we gave battle!   The “HaShomer Hatza’ir” Chapter By Yehuda Srebrowicz-Kaspi     Members of the HaSneh Brigade of Betar (Brit Trumpeldor), at the time of the aliyah of Abraham, 1936.   The Trumpeldor Branch of HeHalutz HaTza’ir     The Adult Committee of HeHalutz HaTza’ir in Zambrów (1926)   A Group of Young People Standing: Rivka Zilberstein, Chaim Joseph Shafran Sitting: Zvi Zamir, Zehava Kahn, Malka Greenberg   Young People   A Group of People from Zambrów in Israel Standing: Noah Zukrowicz, Feldman, Moshe Burstein, Mikhl Jabkowsky, Zvi Zamir Sitting: Berger, Yekhezkiel Zamir, Kawior, Gabriel Marmari, Tova Jabkowsky, Stepner   In a city of approximately five thousand Jews, no less than five hundred young people were organized in youth movements, with about one hundred and fifty in HaShomer HaTza’ir. The atmosphere of The Homeland pervaded everything in the life of this HaShomer chapter. Beginning with the songs of The Land, and the greeting of “Khazak v’Ematz,” and ending with a basic study of the origins of the workers movement and the geography of the Land of Israel. For the young people who studied in the schools run by the Polish government, the various highways and byways of the Land of Israel were more familiar than Polish geography. The more relevant content to us was the “Chapter”: its songs, dances, and the discussions we would have about life in The Land and what we studied about it. Everything else – life at home and in school were excess baggage. It is no surprise that we neglected our studies. We saw no utility in them. The central thing was to get out to receive training for aliyah, and afterwards to get to The Land and to live on a kibbutz. The opposition of parents was to no avail. Harassment by the officials of the school had no influence. The attraction of the “nest” was more powerful than all of them. In three tiny rooms, about one hundred and twenty of us children were crowded in. And the sounds of joy and the happiness of youth would suffuse the otherwise stultified air in the vicinity. In the largest of the room, a stormy Hora dance would break out, involving a chain of tens of young boys and girls, dancing with an unbridled enthusiasm, and not stopping for hours on end. At the same time, different groups would enter the other rooms, along with their leaders, to discuss life in The Land, life on a kibbutz, or activities in connection with preparing fro a celebration, play productions, or a trip to the camps. The camps were the good days in our lives: preparations began many months before going out to the camp. First and foremost was the battle that took place at home: the worried complaints of the parents were a constant din: this isn’t the right time, the spread of anti-Semitism intensifies with every period, incidents of attacks on Jews, and even very serious assaults, and acts of murder, almost as a daily occurrence. Every time we asked permission to go out to the camp, in the village, without “adults,” our parents would get all shook up. And after these miseries, the preparations began: laying in a full inventory, a HaShomer shirt, a scarf, eating plates, a knife, sacks, tents for each group, basins, etc. For many of us, hunger was a permanent guest in our homes, and it was not easy to get a hold of the few coins needed to fund the camp expenses. We donated here to the cooperative funds that were established for this purpose. Each child made a donation in accordance with his/her means, and in this way needs were provided for in accordance with the requirement. The will was strong among all, and it overcame all obstacles. Commonly, one hundred percent of the entire group would go out to the camp. And the weeks that we spent at the camp were like one long holiday. The order of the day was replete with walks, team games, sports, discussions, study, and swimming in the river, followed by evenings of song, and parties dedicated to various subjects having to do with life in The Land, the Labor Movement, and the Zionist Movement. The spiritual nourishment, and the experience that suffused us, gave us momentum for the rest of the days of the year and kept us on our chosen path.   Torah v’Avodah By Zvi Khanit Several students from the yeshiva in Łomża enlisted in the Zionist effort, and Betar, and they founded a religious Halutz-oriented organization, "Torah v'Avodah," in the summer of 1934. On Hol Hamoed Sukkos of 5695, the adherents of this movement entered the movie house of Gedalia Tykoczinsky, together with the members of the central office in Warsaw and announced their initiative among young people, to create souls for a religious pioneering movement, and to take the young people out from under the influence of the left-wing Halutzim. Thanks to "Torah v'Avodah," a national religious initiative was undertaken in the city, with young people going out for training, and a number of them were even privileged to make aliyah to the Land of Israel. To our sorrow, many remained behind, such as Joel and Rivka Kowior, Aryeh Satran, and others, who were lost in the Holocaust.   Zionists By Yaakov Garbass   People from Zambrów, in 1922, who Made Aliyah to Israel First Row:       A. Golombek, Abraham Baumkuler, Meir Epstein, Noah Tykoczinsky, Joseph Golombek, Yehoshua Golombek, Joseph Wrazhbowicz-Waxman, Davis Blumrosen. Second Row:   Yitzhak Gorodzinsky, Malka Golombek, Zlatkeh, Zahava Blumrosen, the wife of D. Blumrosen. Third Row:      David Blumrosen, Israel Konopiata, Shmuel Gutman, Mr. Gutman, Abraham Paciner.   The “HeHalutz” Pioneer Group in the Year 1932 I am moved to recollect the following from the Zionist gallery: Mordechai Rowikow – A dry goods storekeeper in the marketplace (the storekeeper from Brisk). He was sunk into Zionist work from morning to late at night. Nothing happened without him. Every meeting, gathering, consultation, banquet [depended on him]. He was especially punctilious with regard to the elections to the Zionist Congress, to the Polish Sejm, and the municipal government. Yaakov Kawior – An educated man who was self-effacing in his manner. Everyone respected him, and many availed themselves of the opportunity to pour our the bitterness from their hearts to him. With his refined bearing and wise words, he would draw not a few to the Zionist cause. Zaydl Rudnik – He had a leather business at the Kuszaren. He was learned, both in Torah and secular studies, and advocated Zionism to the common people who would come to buy in his business. He embodied both Torah and decency within himself. He was one of the best theoretical Zionists in the shtetl. Zalkind – Devoted to Zionism with his mind, flesh and life. He allocated part of his home – the second storey – to be used by the Zionist Society. That was where the Zionist prayer quorum met as well. He was the principal activist for Keren HaYesod, and the living breath of all Zionist undertakings. Yehuda Koczior – A talented public speaker. He would travel around to the cities and towns at the behest of the Zionist Organization and would give fiery speeches in support of building up the Land of Israel. It was sufficient to indicate on a publicity poster that Yehuda Koczior would be opening a meeting, or would alone be speaking at the Bet HaMedrash, assuring that the location would be full. Many of the olim to Israel from Zambrów have him to thank, directly or indirectly. Gershon Henokh Tenenbaum – He was one of the leaders of Mizrahi in the shtetl. He was one of the founders of “HeHalutz HaMizrahi.” He worked diligently in this capacity and was privileged to come to the Land of Israel. Zundl Taubman – A son of the Mashgiach of the Talmud Torah in Łomża, and a son-in-law of Sendak. He was a dedicated worker for Zionism, and a role model for his members. Yehuda Rubinstein – A man full of the vibrancy of life, and a stalwart fighter for Yiddish and a strong supporter of Hebrew. He was highly visible in [community] life. Yehuda Slowik – The dedicated adherent of Keren Kayemet (Jewish National Fund) and Keren HaYesod. Yekhiel Ravinson – He was “married to Zionism.” He would perform all the duties: agitation, distributing lottery tickets, distributing brochures, putting up placards, delivering letters, sending invitations, etc. He did all of this with his complete heart and soul.   The Tree Cut Down in its Prime     He was the son of Sarah Zorembsky (Zarembski). He was raised without a father, but was nevertheless very capable. He was a man of many virtues, both spiritual and physical: he was tall, imposing, refined in his appearance – handsome and clever. He was educated and was fluent in several languages, speaking perfect Polish, German, etc. He was a talented athlete, a good speaker and lecturer, and he was beloved both in Jewish society in all political circles, and in the non-Jewish world. He completed the volksschule in Ostrów and gymnasium in Zambrów. He read extensively and engaged in self-study, until he became a teacher in the Zambrów military school, where he prepared junior officers for their qualifying examinations. He was one of the first of the leading members of “HeHalutz HaTza’ir” and later was a commandant of Betar. In 1934, he completed a course, with distinction, for senior instructors in Zielanka near Warsaw and returned as a prominent specialist in military matters. Isaac Sukharewitz (Sucharewicz)182 He read a great deal in more languages, literally swallowing up books. He would speak beautifully, always citing metaphors and excerpts from the world literature. He was expert in all matters pertaining to sport. He was the principal spokesman at many political and literary gatherings. He did not believe that the World War was so imminent and did not take advantage of the means at his disposal to flee Poland. This went on until the Soviet authorities in Zambrów arrested him as a formerly active Zionist, and when they retreated they did not release him. The Nazis then “liberated” him and later had him killed in Auschwitz.   Levi Poziner By Aryeh Kossowsky A tailor’s son from a working family who was an elder in “HeHalutz.” He was ardent and committed to the ideal and was a master tailor. He sat and sewed, teaching the young people, incidentally, his sewing from being in “HeHalutz,” what was it – realization. He fought in the battles for “HeHalutz,” knowing what to say to the older generation and the left-wing youth with an eye set on Moscow. During the events of 5689 [1929] they entered the woods of the priest to take counsel and to make a decision: what awaits us further? And here is Levi Poziner, taking the right to speak, and with his entire might, he lights the flame of heroism, guarding the flame of The Homeland, so that it never goes out – and all of us, apostles of that hope, break out into an enthusiastic Hora. In the year 1930, when the aliyot to the Land of Israel came to a halt, and the ranks of “HeHalutz” turned politically leftward – he asked that the archive of “HeHalutz” be turned over to him – I, he said, will not sway from this path. I will guard this glowing ember. He facilitated many hearts this way, but himself was not privileged to make aliyah.   A Group of Pioneers   Abraham Hershel Kagan By M. Burstein He was born in Zambrów in the year 1915 to his parents: Bilhah (from the Burstein family) and Yaakov-Zerakh Kagan. He received his first education in the “cheder” of his father (his father, R’ Yaakov-Zerakh, was the school principal, studied Torah for his entire life, was an enlightened man, knew Hebrew as it was supposed to be and was thoroughly versed in both religious and secular literature, as well as being suffused through and through with a deep nationalistic pride. In connection with these values, he educated generations of students, suffused with Zionist awareness, many of them privileged to attain completion [sic: through aliyah] going to the Land, and participated in the building of the State of Israel.). He studied at the Zambrów Yeshiva, transferring to the “Takhkemoni” school in Bialystok, but after two years was compelled to return to Zambrów, where he was accepted in the local Polish gymnasium. His dedication to community endeavors in the youth movement prevented him from completing his course of study, and he left the gymnasium after completing the seventh grade, despite the fact that he was an excellent student. He ran afoul of the anti-Semitic spirit in the gymnasium and attempted to fight it with all his might. On one occasion, an attempt was made to collect funds from the students for a Polish institution called “Bratnia Pomoc183.” He refused to contribute, and to the question posed by the principal (a Polish priest) as to the reason for the refusal, he simply let it be known that his father does not want him to support an anti-Semitic organization. This knowledge created a stir: the principal threatened him with expulsion from school, invited his parents, because in this he perceived a blatant incitement and an attempt to malign a very distinguished institution. The parents appeared before the principal, and in their concurrence with an article that appeared in a Zionist newspaper in Warsaw, written in Polish in which the objectives of the organization were discussed, for which the purposes of the fund raising among the students was described, they explained their refusal. The principal was dismayed to hear these things, and he chose to excuse the contents of the article, arguing that it was the product of a misunderstanding...The issue was dropped and the threat of expulsion withdrawn. At the same time, he was engaged in indoctrination work among the Jewish students and organized a group of students named “HeHalutz HaKatan,” which engaged in raising funds for, and the explanation of the goals of the KK"L. He was one of the principal activists for “HaShomer HaTza'ir” in Vilna, and it was those [sic: in Vilna] who did not permit him to make aliyah to the Land of Israel – because of the important Diaspora-based work that had been entrusted to him. He dedicated himself to the work in the “HaShomer HaTza’ir” movement, for which he was one of the founders of the branch in the city, and saw in it the realization of his soul, dedicating the best part of his energies and time to it, and stood at its head to his last days – the days of the Holocaust, that befell the People of Israel there.   Mikhl Jabkowsky By Tz. Z.       Mikhl Jabkowsky   He was the son of R’ Shlomo Eivnik of Wodna Gasse, recognized as one of the pious of the town. He was born into a family without great means, burdened with many children, but into a home that was suffused with spirit of yidishkeyt, Torah, faith in God and man, and love for the People and The Land, as well as a love of work. The children learned the carpenter’s trade, helping their parents to make a living. Mikhl entered the trade of carpentry at an early age with the intent of making a living from it in the Land of Israel, together with his brother Yaakov, to be separated for long life, striving diligently with his brother in working for the Zionist-Socialist movement in the city. He made aliyah to the Land of Israel in 1925. He worked hard and bitterly, often finding himself unemployed, but always satisfied and loyal to the standard of Labor.  Even under duress, he remained dedicated and committed to “Akhdut  HaAvoda” and its institutions.   He worked in a variety of sectors, in construction, road building, and whatever came his way – never complaining, not growing bitter, accepting everything amicably. In 1929 he relocated to Petach Tikvah and started a family. He later moved to “Kfar Azhar,” and worked very hard, together with his wife Sarah, to establish their business. He fell ill, and after a difficult struggle, he passed away in a sanatorium in Hadera in 1940. He was eulogized by many at his funeral who told of his many virtues in his voyage from Wodna Gasse in Zambrów to the burial ground in Petach Tikvah.      Noah Zukrowicz     Noah, the son of Meir Zukrowicz, was born in 1907 in Zambrów. He received his education at the cheder Metukan, and it was there that he imbibed his knowledge of Tanakh and Hebrew language, also studying Talmud. At an early age, he joined the Zionist-Socialist movement and entered the ranks of HeHalutz in the town. He made aliyah to The Land towards the end of the summer of 1926 as a nineteen-year-old. He went over to Petach Tikvah to work. He assumed the rather difficult circumstances that he encountered at work, from a Jewish orchard manager who was unsympathetic to Jewish labor, and was content with his lot. In 1929 he was a twenty-two-year- old. He enlisted in the Haganah. During the day he worked at hard labor, and at night training with armaments, battle tactics, both underground and out in the open. In 1936, assaults against the Jews broke out. At night, Noah stood watch, in addition to his hard day’s work. Noah Zukrowicz He was lucky in being able to get his sister and parents into The Land. He exerted himself to try and extract other members of his family, though in vain. He worked at “Nir” and established a distinguished family in Israel. Together with his wife, Sarah, from the Berlin family, may she be separated  for a long life, he mastered one step after another during his life in Kfar Ganim, beside Petach Tikvah, educating his children with a love for The Homeland, and the full range of the culture and its tradition. From “Nir” he moved to Malvina, where he was one of the outstanding workers: he reached a quota of making one thousand bricks in a single day – he worked three normal days, and one day as a contractor. After twenty-five years of backbreaking labor, and he was forty-four years old – his close friends saw fit to have him transferred to a managerial position to the office of tax revenue, and here as well he rooted himself quickly into the scene and was a wonderful role model to all the staff with his pleasant demeanor. His aged father, a scion of a noble family in Zambrów, a man of the Torah and good deeds, was blessed in this son of his, who went in his ways, the ways of righteousness and honesty, working by the strength of his hands with an innocent heart. When he reached his fiftieth birthday in the year 1957, his friends at work from the office put on a party for friends and neighbors that was full of heart, during which everyone tried to emphasize his genial nature, his love of humanity, his affection for The Homeland, his commitment to the nation, the modesty that he showed during his life, as well as his other virtues. He possessed a good heart, loved to sprinkle humor into his speech, utilizing some pleasant parable taken from the wisdom of The Sages, literature and life itself. His fate was suddenly cut short. He fell victim to an incurable disease and passed away on 4 Shevat 5718 [January 25, 1958], and he was only fifty-one years old.      Yekhezkiel Zamir (Son of Aryeh Slowik)   Landslayt in Tel Aviv meet Mr. Zelig Warszawczyk from the U.S.A.   Scions of Zambrów in Israel He was one of the original members of HeHalutz HaTza’ir. He carried out all of the duties that surrounded this movement – organization, recruiting, disseminating publicity, distribution of “HeAtid,” expressing [the mission of] HeHalutz, etc. He was the first to make practical realization of aliyah, in the year 1925. Frail and solitary, he arrived in The Land and immediately threw himself into every sort of work that he found, choosing rather from among the difficult ones: smelting, building, carpentry, paving, and his letters were full of encouragement and zest for life, even if he was suffering to no small extent. When I made aliyah, a year later, I found him to be solid, radiant, participating in the “renaissance of socialism” and in the meetings of the Histadrut. During the Depression, he went over to Ness Tziona, where he was an agricultural worker, and afterwards as a director of the work in the orchards of the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association.. He excelled at his work. After a number of years he returned to Tel Aviv and established a family there in the midst of the Jewish community. When work camps were established in the Negev, he moved there from the standpoint of participating as part of the “security” arrangements. However, the British suspected him and released him from this duty. He arranged for himself to obtain a position with the Histadrut, and with the rise of the nation, in the communications office. He became much loved by all of his friends both at work and in the community. However, a malignant disease struck him suddenly, and after an inhuman amount of suffering and struggle, he succumbed and fell, on 21 Iyyar 5721 [May 7, 1961].      Noah Zamir     He was a dreamer from his childhood on. He was an independent laborer and worked for others. He read and practiced a great deal. He probed deeply into socialist and national issues. He joined HeHalutz HaTza’ir. He was full of the stuff of life: he wrote poetry in Hebrew and Yiddish, also he drew, loved the surroundings of nature, and would imbue himself with The Land of Israel. For some days, he gave up on the idea of the redemption of the Jewish people and immersed himself in the idea of the redemption of all mankind, and it was here that he got involved with the concept of communism, and he committed himself to it with all of his soul. He was the chairman of the communist sports organization “Gviozdo,” and on one occasion, he was seized and sent to prison for two years in Łomża. After suffering through this, he was released and returned to the communist movement. With the invasion of the Red Army184, he became one of the leaders of the city. With their departure, he attached himself to them, but was murdered en route.      The Ratuszewicz Brothers           Abraham and Aryeh came from proletarian stock, were raised in poverty and want, but developed beautifully into the ways of Torah and good character, because they thirsted for the lore of the Torah, read, practiced, and learned on their own and from their friends. Abraham studied at yeshiva and Aryeh at cheder. They affiliated themselves to the Israel Labor Movement at an early age and oriented themselves to train for aliyah. Abraham married a woman from Radziłów, settled down there and continued his Zionist work. Aryeh suffered until he reached The Land to live in it and to rebuild it. He was unable to find a suitable companion. He was alone all his life. He was shy by nature and did not stand out. In the end he managed to get himself a position as an army officer, but he was consumed by bitterness and was lonely. He constantly longed for the joyous youthful life he had in Zambrów. And one day, the news reached us that he had died -- alone, friendless, without a single comrade or confidant.   Aryeh Ratuszewicz      Chaim Zilberstein   He was the son of R’ Yaakov the Hasid of Radzymin. From his childhood on he absorbed both Hasidism and Torah. He studied Talmud extensively in yeshiva, and along with this, he began to delve deeply into the realm of spiritual knowledge: the writings of Zhitlovsk, Serkin, and others. In the process of researching sociological questions, he arrived at the ideals of Zionism and Labor. He committed himself to the work of the KK"L, to the point where the joke went around that he was “married” to the KK"L. His orations and discussions drew an audience of listeners, and there was always something new to be heard in them, and he always sought to base his words on something drawn from science and research. He was in a household of suffering and bitterness because his parents constantly objected to his chosen path, wanting him rather to be settled and become a family man, as was the “way of the world.” In time he married a woman from Ostrów Mazowiecka and settled down there, but even here he continued with the same ardor in his soul for national work. He prepared himself to make aliyah because his soul yearned for The Land of Israel – but he fell into the hands of the Unclean Ones, and did not realize this...   Pesia Furmanowicz By Tz. Z.   A Group of Activists in the Israeli Labor Movement 185 Standing:  Ratuszewicz, Yitzhak Jakula Sitting:  Joseph Slowik, Chaim Zilberstein, Yankl Jabkowsky, Chaim Pinchas Golombek She was born into a Zionist family to working parents (her father, a glazier, her mother, a seamstress), in the year 1919. As a ten-year-old, she affiliated with HeHalutz HaTza’ir. For lack of means, her parents could not continue to educate her. She was a joyful person, full of life. She did not have the opportunity to prepare for aliyah, because her oldest sister, a teacher, was there already, and her parents did not want to be separated from her. As a seventeen-year-old, she entered the HeHalutz HaTza’ir Seminary, and after this she joined the Kibbutz Tel-Chai that was in Bialystok. Her parents severed their connections with her. She suffered, bit by bit, [but] she got back on a normal path. In 1938, she was fortunate enough to make aliyah, but she asked to be able to do so with her friend Monik, who was active in the movement in Krakow, traveling there to him, but returning after side travel to Warsaw to the fighting Jewish organization, in the combat division of “Dror.” In September 1942, she was sent with a seventy-man partisan unit from the “Dror” combat battalion to the forests of Hrubieszow, and from there she never returned.   Families   Towards the House of Prayer   A Betar Group in Zambrów (Bottom): Members of Maccabi; First on the Right: Shepsl Lifschitz. First on the Left (Below): Joseph Savetsky     Brothers in Maccabi     Mashkeh of Korytk and Her Son, Benjamin Tenenbaum  By Israel Levinsky When a family is called after the woman of the house, it is indicative that she is a Woman of Valor. Mashkeh had a very impressive pedigree: on her mother’s side – a grandchild of the Łomża Rabbi, Rabbi Benjamin Diskin, and the son of a sister to the Brisk-born rabbi, R’ Yehoshua Leib Diskin, the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. Mashkeh would correspond with “Sonya the Rebbetzin” of Jerusalem, who at that time led the entire Jerusalem orthodox community around by the nose... On her father’s side, she was a grandchild of the great scholar and merchant, R’ Elyeh Rosenbaum, who lived in Warsaw. Mashkeh married a genteel young man from Kielce, Hona Tenenbaum. As a dowry, her grandfather gave her a parcel in the village of Korytk. However, they could not accommodate themselves to the “aristocratic country life,” so they sold off this treasure and relocated themselves to Zambrów. Hona Tenenbaum acquired a concession for selling petrol from his friend, the Russian petrol king, Chaim Cohen, together with [storage] cisterns, from which barrels could be filled with petrol in Czorny Bor. He needed to put up with a strong competitor in R’ Abba Rakowsky, who also had a petrol concession from another firm. Their house became a central point for charity-giving and social help: the sick, poor brides, orphans, and just plain needy people would make their way to Mashkeh for help. They had three daughters and a son, the latter being talented, Benjamin Tenenbaum. He studied Talmud and secular studies in Warsaw with his grandfather. He was a Hebrew-Yiddish writer and an editor of the small periodical, “Die Kopikeh.” The publisher, Sh. Y. Yatzkon, later founded the Warsaw-based “Haynt,” and ejected the editor Benjamin. So Benjamin opened his own announcement bureau, which was very popular in Warsaw. Benjamin Tenenbaum married Zelda, the Rabbi’s daughter. Despite the fact that the Rabbi was strenuously opposed to the match, because the groom was a non-believer, Mashkeh’s oldest daughter, Toyba, married Yom-Tov Herman, a retail clothing store owner. At the beginning of the First World War, the Russians exiled him to Poltava because he shared a confidence with his good friend, the commander of the gendarmes, that he was hoarding coins at the time when there was a shortage of them in the marketplace. The gendarme immediately detained him, and he was judged to be a “provocateur.” Herman never came back again. Mashkeh’s second daughter, Miriam, was killed in Berlin, and the third [daughter] Liebcheh, lives in Israel.   A Group of Young People     A Chronicle of Three Families By Berl Mark (From “An Oak in the Storm”)   Between Radziłówo and Zambrów               Professor Berl Mark   I was born in Łomża, as well as my older brother Aharon. My oldest brother Yitzhak (Itchkeh), had seen the worlds in Zambrów, where my mother Rachel-Leah came from, as well as my father Hirsch, who spent his initial years there while he was being supported. There were two traditions in our Łomża family: one was derived from Radziłówo, a ‘puddle’ of a shtetl amidst a sea of peasantry; the second was from Zambrów. My father was born in a settlement outside of Radziłówo. Thanks to that, I had my old Russian documents recorded: ‘сословие крестьянски’ – of peasant stock. This ‘privilege’ stood me in good stead in a variety of circumstances. The Radziłówo tradition was a weak one, hanging in the air. My grandfather, Isser-Azriel, came from very far away, almost from Courland. He was an orphan and married in a settlement outside of Radziłówo, transporting goods to Danzig, and not far from the little shtetl he had a small works with fields, cows and horses. He was half a merchant, a quarter landed gentleman, and a quarter estate manager. He had some sort of connection with the Polish Uprising of 1863-1864. A nobleman from the rebels hid out in his barn, and my grandfather misdirected the Cossacks in order to save the life of the revolutionary. After this, my grandmother was killed with a daughter in a fire. The number of Jews in this settlement dwindled, and there was a pull to have a Bet HaMedrash, upon which R’ Isser-Azriel Mark picked himself up, and with the entire family, two sons, and two daughters, went off to the city that had a substantial Jewish population – Łomża. When he would weigh these two traditions, even while I was still a boy, I would see: The family on my father’s side goes back to, but abruptly ends with my grandfather, and earlier than that is a blank, having never heard of a Mark that was a great-grandfather. And R’ Isser-Azriel himself was an admixture of strict observance and a good-natured humanity. However, on the outside, he was very, very traditional, always wearing a long kapote, always with a gartl, and a colored, usually red handkerchief, observant to the highest degree, and in his time managed to survive the inevitable conflict of fathers and sons, when his two sons, Alter and Herschel, would hide Russian, German and Haskalah books in the lecterns on which they studied Gemara. Over the two rooms of my Łomża grandfather’s residence, there hovered the spirit of a strict Mitnaged, with a modest amount of Lubavitch Hasid mixed in. On his shelves, he had only Talmudic and Hasidic literary works.   My Grandfather Abraham Moshe Blumrosen & My Grandmother Brein’cheh       Our Zambrów family looked entirely different, especially my grandfather and grandmother on my mother’s side. First of all, this was a broad set of roots, with rich, intertwined roots and branches. The Radziłów-Łomża tradition was much like a frail only child. The Zambrów tradition – like an oak that stands up strong and fast among the people and reaches deeply into the past. It was first here, in Zambrów, that I would sense my connectedness to the multi-generational extent of Polish Jewry. There was a R’ Abraham-Moshe and R’ Shmuel and a R’ Aharon, a Mrs. Brein’cheh and a R’ Mosh’keh and a R’ Shmulieh-Ber – there was a grandfather and grandmother, a great-grandfather and a great-great-grandfather, and a great-grandmother Zisl and so forth, going back further, and deeper – I personally having once counted back ten generations. Today the side branches, the Sholokehs, Mordechai-Aharons, Abraham-Elyehs, the side branches to the left and right. And these were earthy Jewish people, substantial and folksy, with a lively manner of speech, speaking Polish to the peasants, observant but not fanatically so, strictly religious but also progressive in an enlightened manner. The very start of the row of books in my grandfather Abraham-Moshe Blumrosen’s book armoire was taken up by a set of Graetz, and a good novel by Sholem Asch was a welcome guest.   R’ Abraham-Moshe Blumrosen In the center, stood my diminutive, beautiful grandmother, Breincheh– with black burning eyes, and humorous eyes. A remarkably active person despite her various infirmities, clean and well-dressed, even if in her decency and goodness alone. By contrast to her, my grandfather was tall and straight, like a pine tree, with blond hair, clean to a fault and perfect in detail, tranquil and at peace, a typical synthesis of genuine observance and Enlightenment, a mixture of the forest Jew and someone who had book knowledge, someone who knew languages and was skilled in bookkeeping and an admirer of the finer Polish people in the shtetl, and in the corridors of the local municipal building. His Polish penmanship enjoyed a reputation in the area. Between the two of them – Abraham-Moshe and Breincheh – and arduous love affair was carried on for their entire lives. They would eat from the same plate, drink tea (and the Zambrów folk could drink tea!) Using the same piece of hard sugar, not God Forbid, out of some want or deprivation, but rather out of a sense of physical and spiritual closeness. My grandfather was chronically ill for a long time and passed away. He accepted the decree of death tranquilly and under control, in the same tranquility that he conducted his life. After this blow, my grandmother stayed with us for a while. Her weeping seemed to have no end. One time, she swept me a secret: ‘Bereleh’ oy, oh was I in love with him. and I cannot forget him.’ My grandmother was not privileged to have so tranquil a death. She needed to survive a war with all of its tribulations. She was surrounded with love and care from those of her children who remained in Zambrów – the Blumrosens and Karlinskys. Her son Yitzhak and Chayacheh and her son-in-law Aharon-Leib and Sarahkeh. Her son Yitzhak, and son-in-law Aharon Leib, carried her frail and sickly form on their backs, carrying her through fire and bomb explosions. For the time being, she was saved. Were it not for the war, even with all her problems, she would have lived a long time. In a certain sense, she was a victim of the cruel war. She went out like a candle. surrounded by her daughter, son, and son-in-law, a daughter-in-law and grandchild. who she was not privileged to see live for much longer. Those of her children, who went off to America, Chaya-Freida, Yankl, and Velvel. and her youngest, David, who made aliyah to the Land of Israel she no longer saw.   A Visit to Zambrów     The thread to Radzilów was sundered quickly. Two relatives of my father’s mother remained there, two Milkewiczs, one a prosperous manufacturer-merchant, and the second a man without means. At the same time, the base of our family in Zambrów broadened itself. My father’s older brother, R’ Alter, took up residence there together with his family. The took up residence on the ‘aristocratic’ Uczastek, opening a store and a ‘hotel.’ My mother’s cousin, Abraham-Elyeh Meisner, lived across from him, a portly and good-natured Jewish man, possessed of sympathy, along with his daughter. In short: when we, the young folk, would come as guests to Zambrów, we were literally torn apart between the market, where the Blumrosens, Karlinskys and Meisners lived (all from my mother’s family), and the Uczastek. Snatching a breather in Zambrów, for us children from Łomża, was revitalizing, a bit of present escape along with the real world pleasures that were connected with it. R’ Shlomo Blumrosen First of all was the ride itself. We would ride in a wagon or a coach. The air is fresh, and it is either Hol HaMoed Passover or summertime. Field stretch away all around us. and the Zambrów wagon driver is totally different from those who come from Łomża. The latter is a crude oaf, but the one from Zambrów is better mannered, friendlier. He is tied into all of our family issues, loves a good conversation, speaks Hebrew, knows Scripture, and remembers my mother when she was still a girl. Apart from this, he is a sort of Jewish post office, bringing letters from grandmother every other day, conveying prescriptions, and dropping in to grab a glass of tea with us. And secondly – the ride to Zambrów is tied up with extraordinary events. Here, on the one hand, we have to get off the wagon and have to go on foot. There is the forest of Czorny Bor, and a Gypsy wagon is passing by. And then here is the elderly Rabbi of Zambrów, traveling with us, and we have to interrupt the ride because he has to recite the Mincha prayer service. And lo, a deer runs by, and freight slabs driven by wagon drivers are moving along, with whom a word is exchanged in passing, with a witticism, a whip across the horses – it is a whole world, it is invigorating. When you enter the shtetl, you get the first ‘Sholom Aleichem’ from great-uncle R’ Mordechai-Aharon Meisner, who sits on the ‘little bridge’ in front of his saloon, sniffing tobacco snuff and smiling at you through his good and handsome cherry-like eyes. This is the brother of grandmother Breincheh, and they are very close to one another. Further on, in the doorway, stand great-aunt Sarahkeh, and uncle Aharon-Leibl (the son of Ber’l Niegowcer), with their daughters, Zissehleh and Racheleh, and son, Shmulik (the youngest, Bereleh, had not yet been born) – all as beautiful as gold, happy and full of life; on the second side of the marketplace – Uncle Yitzhak, great-aunt Chaycheh and the daughters, like pine trees – Zlatkeh, Zisseleh, and Dina – with their only son, and youngest, Mordechai. And here, grandmother is already busying herself, setting out something to eat, and grandfather is humming a contented tune. Wherever one goes or stands there are relatives, and relatives of relatives, and phrases like, ‘how is your father?’ and ‘how is your mother?’ and ‘Katyn ayin horreh, you have grown into a fine young man,’ abound in the air.’ To us, Zambrów meant a sort of rural respite, as well as an opportunity for a lively get-together with young boys and girls. The entire shtetl emanated a sense of being an island of liveliness, enlightenment and warmth.   My Mother, Rachel-Leah This was the kind of family one could truly love from the heart. There was warmth and full -heartedness – this was its principal characteristic. It was these traits that my mother, Rachel-Leah, brought along with her, coming from Zambrów to Łomża. My mother had a dreamy nature and was prone to pouring out her soul, expressed in the singing of songs. The songs were redolent with the air of Zambrów. She would sing in Yiddish, Russian and in Polish. She would sing about nature, work, spring, and the swallow. She knew all the songs of a Jewish national character. She also sang songs of a ‘moral’ character, about the human condition and the journey from cradle to grave. She would sing quietly, mostly in the twilight hours, when no one except myself was in the house. She would hold my head in her lap, curling my hair and sang. In this way, she would find a path by which to return to her own girlhood years, to the roads of Zambrów, where a row of girls would promenade, in poverty, in those romantic evenings, and sang in the choir those popular songs that had such a strong emotional social content. What I remember best of all is her song about the bomb that was thrown at the Czarist Starop Plewe: Let not the katzap think That this is the last blow, Yet another bomb will be thrown at him. Plewe the anti-Semite Hated the Jew, His body was blown to smithereens. He held himself greater than the world, Japan then stood to oppose him, Against Fonyeh , that ‘Great Hero,’ Did the entire sympathy of the world stand. How such a terrorist song came to my delicate and sensitive mother, I do not know to this day. However it came from Zambrów, where the stormy events of 1905 also had strong reverberations. When our Zambrów great-aunt Sarahkeh or uncle Yitzhak would come to be our guests, it was also possible that they would sit down with my mother and sing songs together. In our home on the old marketplace, there would be a strong echo off the walls of the melodic verses: Chto ti spisz muzhichok, Or: ‘Srulikl, wake up!' My mother’s soprano voice would blend in with great-aunt Sarahkeh’s alto and uncle Yitzhak’s tenor, and when my brother Aaron’s strong lyrical tenor voice was joined with them it became a genuine choir, from which not only one of our neighbors derived pleasure. All three of those siblings, along with their personas, went off in their late youth. However, such moments were, regrettably, very few. Only my mother maintained this singing tradition well into advanced old age.   Great-Aunt Sarahkeh and Uncle Aharon-Leib We children, were very proud of our great-aunt Sarahkeh – first and foremost about her extraordinary beauty. ‘I was a lad, and also grew old, ’ and I have traveled many lands, and I have not ever seen such an harmonious beauty as in our Sarahkeh. She combined physical beauty with an unbounded goodness and gentleness that was poured out all over her visage. A sort of magical grace that was not disturbing, but rather it drew you to it – that was my great-aunt Sarahkeh. And no taint of coquetry, not a trace of haughtiness, but rather the opposite – a hard-working and faithful individual exceeding the bounds of her heart, a loyal and good soul, ready to make every sacrifice for her near ones. If I am portraying an ideal of a Jewish woman, ‘from the depths of our people,' this is Sarahkeh. She was very close to my mother, who was the oldest of her siblings, to the point that they were literally one soul. This sort of love and dedication could only arise between two people of boundless good will. Her husband, Aharon-Leibl Karlinsky, was the very embodiment of masculine handsomeness. Were he a gentile, he would have been a great one to capture and break the hearts of women, or a Hollywood actor, and most certainly a senior officer – that is the way I perceived him through my childhood eyes as a young boy. I loved to hear his stories of the First World War – he was a Russian soldier, and during the course of several years, he wandered through fronts and faraway cities. Even if, from time to time he would put on the appearance of being severe, it was evident that it was only a show, because this was the body of a strong man with the heart of a dove. He traced his ancestry to a scholarly and learned family, but he personally was a democratic man through and through, with a great interest in practical political problems, and an ardent and active Zionist. Like the rest of our family, such as my grandfather, my father, uncle Yitzhak, he was not good in mercantile commerce. And as I recall him, I remember him always to have difficulties in making a living. Despite this, he held himself with pride. I think that he had a romantic nature, and in this way he was much like many of the Blumrosens. With his imagination, he entered into the stormy past and often floated along in dreams and plans. And it was because of this in later life, when I became more aware and encountered him under other circumstances, in Warsaw and Bialystok, I was especially close to him. I do not like people with dry spirits, and he had about him what is called a pleasant sort of human fantasy. Sarahkeh and Aharon-Leib were a couple blessed by God,  if only for the physical beauty and spiritual warmth that radiated from them. They fanatically loved their children, taking great pride in them, and dreamed of a good future outcome for them. And the children would anticipate coming to be guests in Łomża. In my parents, they felt these were the people closest to them. We, the Łomża children, had great respect for Aharon-Leibl’s brother R’ Yaakov Karlinsky (today a rabbi in America). I must note here that our home in Łomża was the central point for the entire Zambrów family, and within that also Yaakov Karlinsky. We, young people, were impressed by his knowledge of foreign languages. He would go to bed holding a French dictionary on one side, and a German one on the other side. I would sit up until a late hour of the night and watch how he turned a page in the French book, peered into the dictionary, and then a page on further. This was a refined, up-to-date, and well-raised young man. He exercised better self-control than his older brother, but was also a dreamer of dreams.   My Uncle Yitzhak Blumrosen I believe that the greatest dreamer, in the best sense of that word, was my uncle, Yitzhak Blumrosen. But his principal characteristic was goodness. This was a man ‘without a gall bladder [so to speak],’ being decent all the way down to the deepest corner of his soul. A man possessed of formidable inner warmth, a man with whom you were compelled to draw close and become familiar with, after your first discourse with him. Despite the bitter tribulations of life, he was always of good temper, effusive with witticisms and novel ideas, possessing an unfathomable repository of stories about the war years when he was flung off into the faraway depths of Russia, in Kozlow or Tambou. Stories that we children listened to with great curiosity, just like the heroic memories of the Nikolaevski soldier, Aharon-Leib. His fate was shared to the end by great-Aunt Chayacheh, who descended from a well-known wealthy family. Uncle Yitzhak and great-Aunt Chayacheh were not engaged in political issues, but the task of sending off all their children to the Land of Israel was carried out with quiet pride, despite the fact that the sundering of bonds was painful. They personally dreamed of being reunited with their children. This dream, just like with many others, regrettably did not come to pass. Great-Aunt Chayacheh once said to my mother: ‘When I lie down in bed, wanting to go to sleep, I think of the children, then I fall asleep peacefully.’   My Uncle Alter Mark And when we entered the house of my Uncle Alter Mark on the Uczastek, we fell into a completely other world. My uncle Alter belonged to the cream of the Zambrów community. Why – I have no idea myself. Perhaps this showed the influence of great-Aunt Sarah-Feiga, who descended from the well-connected Drozdowsky family. And perhaps the ‘big’ business on the Uczastek, where there were resonating bells at the entrance, like in the best of the stores in big cities; the clientele consisted of prominent Christians and officers. Or perhaps – the two-room very tidy little hotel, which they maintained on the upstairs of their stone constructed little house. In the factory of the blonde Sarah-Feiga, R’ Alter’s wife, an air of nobility exuded: it was redolent with the smell of the village, in the small but well-kept little orchard, with fresh milk from the red heifer in the tidy little stall, while simultaneously manifesting a festive air of holiday time, which was reflected from the silver-looking, grand and ever-present...cold samovar in the dining room. It was here that my brothers Yitzhak (Itchkeh) and Aharon and I would come from Łomża in the summertime, or during Hol HaMoed, as guests, eating fresh apples, and drinking bubbly-warm milk right from the milk-pot. But that time – during the decade of the twenties – a peculiarly distressed mood reigned at Alter’s and Sarah-Feiga’s, as well as a quiet somberness. Not one of their children had remained in the shtetl. The little bird, of their own volition, had flown from the nest. The oldest daughter, Etya, married early, with a prosperous lumber merchant from Riga, Max Meisel (they have been living for many years now in London). Their second daughter, Rachel, studied to be a teacher in Warsaw. The oldest son, Chaim, went off to Bialystok, and married there. And the youngest, Khezki... It is here that the family tragedy starts, with my deeply religious uncle, R’ Alter. Yekhezkiel (Khezki) Mark was stuck in Russia during the Russian March and October Revolutions. He was a student at the Polytechnicum, and as a result of the war could not come home. And it is also possible that he no longer wanted to do so. In my father’s house – close to the decidedly Yiddish-Hebrew culture and Gemara intonations – as was the case in many houses, a second culture was present – the Polish one (in the decade of the twenties). At the home of my uncle and great-aunt, this second culture remained the Russian one – even during the Polish era. The second language of the eldest daughter remained Russian. And Khezki was studying at a Russian high school. To this day, I cannot understand how my uncle, who was in general a traditional Jew and less of a maskil than my father and my great-Aunt, who was a practical woman – did not impel their children to such income-producing professions such as medicine or pharmacy, but rather permitted Racheleh to study to be a teacher, and Khezki to be an engineer, a profession that in those days was not particularly well-favored among Jews. Because of this, I think, that even as far back as childhood the four children divided themselves up in accordance with their character and concept: the oldest daughter and Chaim, despite both being educated and intelligent, went off in practical, entrepreneurial directions, during the time when Rachel and Khezki were idealists, inspired by social ideals and striving, both romantic and revolutionary personalities, and it was strictly the circumstances that caused one of them to be led onto the path of revolution, while the second, ultimately capitulated and remained a wife and mother, as happened with many of her kind.   Khezki Mark Rachel and Khezki had untrammeled characters, with a surfeit of soul. He – a typical revolutionary student, a typical member of the Russian intelligentsia of the period on the Eve of the Revolution; she – a typical taker of courses, and both – the very essence of goodness. They were very much tied up with the Russian democratic culture, despite the fact that both knew Hebrew perfectly. They also adopted the additional names: he assuming the name Emanuel, and she Rekhil. As a student, Khezki joined the Russian revolutionary movement, became a Social-Democrat of the Bolshevist variety, and took an active role in the Revolution. Into my childhood memory an image was etched of Khezki in the uniform of a student. In later fantasies I saw him on the Kharkov barricades. Fragmentary news about Khezki in the Revolution, about Khezki as a Chairman of the revolutionary tribunal, I think in Yekaterinoslav (Dnepopetrovsk), of Khezki the loyal servant of the revolution – would be brought back by Zambrów and Łomża Jews who returned from those places. The greetings they brought were both sad and uplifting. they They were sad because unfortrunately it was said what sort of a future can he have;’ and uplifting – ‘That’s no small thing, a son of Alter Mark, has become a real big shot.’ These messages caused my uncle’s face to become more lined, and my great-aunt’s back to bend over even more. But we young people, my brother Aharon, Rachel and her friends, being sympathetic to the Revolution, in our case, our faces lit up – our family too, has a part in this great social upheaval. During the substantial interregnum between the two world wars, one oppressive and all-encompassing pall hung over the Mark residence on the Uczastek: Khezki. From the side of the eldest daughter and the oldest son, there were no worries. Things proceeded normally as was expected in the home of balebatim: making a living, grandchildren, good news. Great-Aunt Sarah-Feiga did not make a big to-do about the inner world of the finely sensitive Rachel. With a firm dictatorial hand, she tore Rachel away from her studies, nailed her down to the shtetl, tore our the feelings for friends from her heart and mind, of which not only one sought her hand in marriage; she did not permit herself to be moved by her girl’s tears, forcibly marrying her to a former small-town yeshiva student, Yehuda Koczor, who subsequently revealed himself to be a Zionist activist, a good speaker, and instructor for Keren HaYesod. Pure Rachel then committed her entire warm heart to her own children, and the little Moshes and Rachelehs of the Zambrów school and remained in their grateful memories as ‘Teacher Mark.’ The one unrest that gnawed at Sarah-Feiga’s soul was Khezki. And the further he was distanced because of hermetically sealed borders, the more hopeless the prospect became for family reunification, and this caused the fanatical love of the mother for her son to become that much more inflamed, the chronic yearning became as holes of pain. All corners of the now vacated house called out: Khezki! And the tears with which R’ Alter moistened the pages of his Gemara, and the sighing at night – all of this came to pass because of the son who had gone away. His name was not always brought up. After the year 1920, Khezki became a name to be feared among the police of the Polish government. It is not know where the whispered rumors originated -- that he was actually here in Poland, that he secretly visits Zambrów, that he is on a secret mission here. We children were forbidden to mention his name. In the meantime, Khezki rose there. Here, he was already called to Moscow. Here he was working in a senior position in Energy. Here he becomes Ordzhonikidze’s right-hand man, and he makes an official trip out of the country. He travels through Poland and cannot contain himself (because he too is lonesome), and one night, incognito, he sneaks off to see his parents in the shtetl. For a while, a completely different spirit seems to imbue the elderly couple. But the joy is merely a small crumb that is blown away by the slightest breeze. A Christian neighbor noticed something and immediately informs those who need to be informed. In the middle of the night, Khezki must leap from a window and flee that ‘Dark Egypt,’ thanks to the sedulous watchfulness of his brother Chaim. And once again they are separated and torn apart. And once again there is boundless sorrow and hopeless longing. Khezki is drafted into the Red Army. Emanuel Mark becomes a Kompolk, Okombrig, a Brigadier General. I see his photograph as a general standing before me, with medals across his chest. He is honest, committed without any limits, active and skilled. As a general, he participates in military engineering in the famous battles with the Japanese, and he distinguishes himself at Khalin-Gol. Under his directions, fortifications are built in the Far East. He is loyal to the party, and he participates in the fight against Trotsky and other factions. He also begins to build a home. At a festive get-together in Moscow, he makes the acquaintance of a Russian girl. She is a member of the Komsomol, from a venerable family of the Russian intelligentsia. They get married. He lets the family in Poland know. Our great-Aunt is somewhat shaken. It was not this sort of wedding, and the implied relationship that she had dreamed of for her youngest child. Our uncle was beside himself, retreating even further into religious observance. And the vigilant brother, Chaim, waves it off with his hand – well, so what if it is a shiksa. This too shall pass. But a son is born to the Mark family in Moscow. Khezki shares the glad news about the new grandson with his parents. R’ Alter demands that he circumcise the child. For this he will forgive him for all of his transgressions. Khezki answers in gentle, but firm words: he will not violate the precepts of his ideology. A sorrow descended on the house at the Zambrów Uczastek. R’ Alter rent his garments in mourning and sat shiva, there no longer being a son, torn out from his heart, God having given him, and the Devil having taken him. This was my uncle’s first and greatest grudge against his wife and Chaim, who did not wish to recognize his rending of garments and sitting of shiva. And here, in this tiny Zambrów house, a drama of Shakespearean quality played itself out. With one of the residents, Khezki was dead – but behind his back, Sarah-Feiga and Chaim conspired with Khezki, and later on even met with him. My father, despite his own pious observance – as I understand it – reached deeper than his older brother, and in this case was in solidarity with Sarah-Feiga. A Jewish soul is not refuse, and it is forbidden to resign oneself from it. And we, the young people – Khezki grew into a hero, to a legend, and how fortunate we were when we briefly were able to see our hero for a short quarter of an hour with our own eyes.   Khezki Is Sent to the Far East I no longer remember which year it was, perhaps 1935, perhaps 1936, on an autumn day – I had already been living in Warsaw for about ten years, and my brother Aharon in Vilna – we obtain a quiet notification that Khezki has to travel through Bialystok on his way to Berlin, where he has been designated as a member of a delegation representing the Soviet Union. Without the knowledge of Uncle Alter, all of us gathered at the Bialystok train station. Khezki jumped down from the train, wearing a heavy, unpleasing overcoat, meeting with everyone, exchanging kisses and snatching a brief conversation. I recall how dissatisfied we are with a question that was posed by Chaim. Touching Khezki’s overcoat (Chaim was a manufacturer-merchant), he said: ‘Is it worth giving up everything for this sort of impoverished life? Or are you actually quite fortunate?’ – I recollect how the tranquil and feeling fortunate because of the encounter, Khezki, was ignited: ‘People like you cannot grasp this. The good fortune of people cannot be found in fine clothing. I am fortunate in being able to do my part in freeing humanity from oppression and obloquy. I am ten times more fortunate than you with you possessions.’ A different person stood before me. Not that mild, soft Khezki, but rather a revolutionary who had become hardened through the Revolution and civil war, an altruist of the highest order. A ball of dust blown away – the meeting was over in the blink of an eye. The train went off, and left the bent-over Sarah-Feiga with her hot tears. We never saw Khezki again. The storm of war hurled me, my wife, my mother Rachel-Leah and my brother Itchkeh to Bialystok in October 1939. Together with Chaim, we began to try and find some trace of Khezki. His last letter to Chaim was at the beginning of 1937. After that the mails remained silent and uncommunicative. Fragmentary rumors reached us that were not favorable. Emanuel Mark had been sent somewhere. Why, where, when – was hard to find out. The trying war years, with their tribulations and hopes, diverted my eye and ear to other [sic: more pressing] problems. We managed to survive treks that took us over distances of more than a thousand kilometers, through ravines and steppes, until reaching Kuybishev and Moscow, to the Jewish anti-Fascist Committee, and the union of Polish patriots, sinking heart and soul into help for the front, for victory over the malevolent Hitlerian Beast, for the Jewish-Polish refugees, those scattered over this huge land, chained to the ever-present freezing imminence of mass extermination and heroic struggle of our nearest and dearest in occupied Poland – in such a roiling and disturbed atmosphere of day-to-day existence, the concern for our cousin Khezki was pushed to into the shadows, and his image even faded away, which before this had lived in the depths of our heart.   On Khezki’s Trail In the year 1944,when the victory over Hitler Germany was a certain thing, and cadres of the future People’s Republic of Poland were being put together in Moscow – at the intervention of the Polish author Wanda Wasilewska – an initiate was started to gradually liberate Polish communists who were exiled by Yezhov and his minions in the years of 1937 and 1938. Those who were liberated were required to travel back to Poland. In the year 1945 the number of people so liberated, increased. They were at the gates of Warsaw, and it was there that they quickly traveled to. Among those set free was an elderly Jewish-communist activist, Julek Majsky (Zimmerman), with whom I was friendly. Because of his frail health situation, he detained himself in Moscow somewhat longer. And so we were sitting one evening at my hotel, and suddenly he leaps up. – Mark... Mark... Oh, my! For several years, I was interred together with a certain Emanuel Mark. Majsky had been exiled to Magadan, near Bukhta Nagayeva, at the furthest point in the Far East. He shared the same barracks with Khezki, sleeping in one bunk bed beside the other, having conversed for hundreds of nights. sharing thoughts and bread. Emanuel’s ‘srok’ (time of arrest) – Majsky says – has ended, but he is not permitted to travel out of Magadan. My joyful dispatch immediately went off to the Magadan camp. And immediately a telegram came back from him, from Khezki, and afterwards long and very moving,letters. My food packages, especially those rich in vitamins, helped him a great deal. My efforts, through Wanda Wasilewska, attempted to get him recognition as a Polish communist, so he could benefit from the right to be liberated and to come to Poland. It was possible to see from his letters that he placed great hope in our efforts, but at the same time he lodged a request with the Soviet régime that he be mobilized for the front. He wanted to personally participate in the battle against the fascist enemy. And, at that time, he was well over fifty years of age. One fine day, I receive a dispatch from him: at such-and-such a street in Moscow, number so-and-so, is my wife’s sister. I immediately went off there. There I encountered an elderly woman in the uniform of a railroad employee. I showed her the telegram and my documents. She called together the family, and both heart and mouth opened up and a fresh tragedy unfolded before me: The blow was unanticipated, when Khezki enjoyed the highest degree of confidence in the Ministry of Energy. Despite the fact that he had no connection to Polish communists, he was swept up in the wave. Maligning informers were to be found, who began spreading rumors: Emanuel Mark had secretly been in Poland, carried on correspondence with relatives in this land of fascists, and he had been to Berlin, and also were the fortifications he had built in the Far East any good? And Yezhov’s extermination machine, as later was the case with that of Beria , operated pitilessly against the loyal innocent people and pitilessly against its own country. One day, Khezki noticed that less and less people were around him, even friends keeping their distance from him. His put off his normal mood, his smile, and his patience. He fell into a black fear. His fate was sealed. On a certain night, he was taken away. He was so badly broken that he did not even attempt to defend himself. The broken-voiced telling of his sister-in-law falls into the tone of a complaint. Why did he not want to say even a word in his own defense? When his wife saw him for the first and only time after his arrest, she came back in a completely shaken state: this is not the same Khezki! But her love for him did not diminish even by a hair. She and their child remained in Moscow. She obtained work in a factory. She was not bothered. It was only in the second year of the war that Beria’s agents first sent her off to a camp, as they did with other wives of people sent away, also in the Far East. It was on the pretense that she had expressed dissatisfaction with the factory. Her request that she be sent to Magadan, where her husband was, was summarily ignored. Their only son was mobilized [sic: into the army], and he was killed in battle. And Khezki has no knowledge of his wife’s plight, and she knows nothing of him. With a spasmodic weeping, the discussion with Khezki’s sister-in-law came to an end. I took the photographs, and I went off to my redoubled efforts to free Khezki. Everything was already lined up, and suddenly, the laconic notification came from the camp in Magadan, that hit me like a thunderbolt out of a clear blue sky: Emanuel Mark had fallen ill with typhu and had died. He died on the threshold of freedom. My Khezki had died, the one I had longed for. Only one trace of him remained: the photograph of the Brigadier, that smiling portrait of the fallen son, with the clear eyes of the Marks of Zambrów, the photograph of the young Moscow girl, the wife and mother. Where is she? What has happened to her? Having coursed away over endless snows together with her broken spirit. When Khezki died in the camp hospital,. his father and mother were no longer alive. nor his dear Rachel with her husband and children, not that wise and perceptive Chaim, with his wife and two little sons. My mother, Rachel-Leah, had already given up the ghost of her tender soul, during the great expulsion from Bialystok in August 1943. My eternally vibrant brother Itchkeh, with his wife Rachel and two children (Isser and Ruth) were no longer alive. My Vilna sister-in-law, Fanya, Aharon’s wife, had already been cut down, in the death camp of Schütthof, and their young lives having been sacrificed in Estonia (my father, R’ Zvi-Hirsch, and my brother Aharon died before the war). It was by the brutal Nazis, and their accomplices, that the many-branched families of the Blumrosens, Karlinskys, and Meisners of Zambrów were exterminated. From these three, through the golden threads of families bound together in life – Mark, Blumrosen, Karlinsky – a new large root remained from the latter two, in the newly erected State of Israel. With their own ten fingers, with hard labor and expenditure of energy, they constructed new homes and put down new roots. But out of the Mark family – whether from Łomża or Zambrów – I am the only one left that carries that [family] name. There was no heir who remained, no one to act as a redeemer to Yitzhak, Aharon, Chaim and Khezki. It is in a cruel way that the root of a family is cut off. Good Jewish People, Field People & Farmers to the Death By Yehoshua Golombek On the surface – it was a city like all other cities. But anyone who recognizes Zambrów in its glory did not once get the unforgettable impression within the ambience of Polish Jewry: a broadly-branched family of Jewish agriculture. We are not speaking here of those people who managed a fruit orchard that wither the nobleman or the priest chose to cultivate, or a vegetable garden that the Polish owner of a land parcel sowed and grew, and the Jew was at the ready: harvesting the crop and selling it, picking the fruit, and plucking the vegetables for business and profit. There were [Jews] of this type in Zambrów as well, as was the case in every city and town. Rather, here, we are speaking of genuine farmers. In Zambrów there were families upon families that coalesced into one large family... that owned fields and gardens. The people of these families went out on a daily basis to work their fields, just like the Christian farmers, from the morning until the stars came out. But these [Jews] did not comport themselves like the gentiles. With the rising of the sun, with a minyan of the elderly, the Jewish farmers would come to pray, and from there they parted, each to his own field, which bordered on an array of villages, such as: Wandolok, Czyczurak, Dloguboroz, Pruntnik, and the like. These were sturdy Jews, with straight backs, sunburned and broad-shouldered. The Golombek family of the city stood out in this respect, these being the scions of an extensive family that was among the founders of the city from its inception. Who did not know Getzel Golombek, Eli, Berl (my father and mentor), Yossl, Meir-Yankl, Chaim-Pinchas, Leibacz, Binyomkeh, Abraham’keh, Leibl. Gedalia Tykoczinsky, Beinusz and Yudl Tykoczinsky, others, and others. Who was not familiar with Shimsheleh the vegetable grower and other Jewish farmers of his ilk. Early in the morning after prayers, these men would go out into the fields, following their wagons to work at plowing, with a scythe and sickle in its planting and harvesting. All day they would be in the fields, towards evening back to the house of worship for afternoon and evening prayers to study a page of the Gemara and a chapter of the Mishna. During the hot summer days when harvest time would begin in the fields, the entire family would go out into the field, including the children. Some cut, others bound sheaves, and others yet gathered the bound sheaves up, one by one for the pile. Their work was hard even in the other days of the year: to fertilize, to plow, to make rows, and to plant. After the harvest – threshing and winnowing, ensiling the grain, guarding the produce, and selling it off to grain merchants – all of this required energy and alertness. Agricultural machinery had not yet appeared in the country, and all of this work was literally done by hand, and in a primitive fashion. Despite this these people were not blessed with riches. All year long they would make a living off of their potatoes that had been gathered from the fields and put into special underground caches out in the fields, for this purpose, and from the sacks of grain that they would personally bring to be ground into flour. Leftovers from their earnings were unknown to them. They dressed simply, as was the case with all those who worked the land. They raised fowl at home, had a cow for milk, most of which was sold off to their neighbors, and a bit of vegetables that they permitted themselves in a corner of the field. they They baked their own bread, and they did so at home, every week, this being a loaf of coarse-meal bread. They lived in wooden houses, within the town. In instances, the floor was not paved over – it was dirt, and on the Sabbath and Festival Holidays was decorated with a yellow sand to make it look festive. And these people lived among their folk, among the rest of the town residents – diligent merchants, craftsmen, middlemen on market days, and the like. Today it is difficult to believe that Jewish farm families like this lived in towns in Poland: they were Jewish in every respect, taking positions in the municipality, who engaged in Torah study and prayer, in observing the commandments, and they participated in the leadership of the community and engaged in providing for the common welfare and deeds of charity. And they were farmers in every respect, engaging in every type of work in the fields, going out each and every day with horse and wagon to their work, with their primitive implements in their hands. There were scholars among them as well, people knowledgeable in Torah, and wise in the ways of the world, not like the Polish farmers and landowners, who were generally ignorant, not knowing how to read and write, and also removed at a distance from the life of the group and community. The blessed and widely branched Golombek family also raised its children, the young generation, in this spirit, and educated them to continue in this tradition: Be a good Jew and a reliable farmer. The Golombek family – its roots are in Khoyna. In the middle of the last century [sic: 19th] R’ Leibl Khoyner reached Zambrów. His two sons, Monusz and Yehoshua Bezalel, continued in their father’s occupation: outstanding farming, and model Jewishness. The two brothers sired generations of splendor, sons and daughters, grandsons and granddaughters, who along with their wives, sons-in-law, and brides went in these ways. And let me also set a marker for my father Berl ז"ל. My father, Berl, the son of Monusz, was in the last years the head of the community in Zambrów, and a member of the town governance. He was a committed public servant for his entire life. He provided aid for the general welfare and shielded his Jewish brethren from the police and the régime. He earned part of his living in the grain trade, but he was a substantial ‘expert’ in the building of houses, and in matters of contracting for house construction. He would provision the Russian army in the city with wood and beams for building, and would, from time to tim get a contract from them to erect a building, summer sheds from the summer camps of the army in Gonsirowa, and similar things. He personally was a soldier in the Russian army, and suffered no small amount. Being a healthy sort and sound of body, the authorities did not spare him and was always drafted into participating in maneuvers, regular service, and even battle. It was from here that he developed his commitment to be of assistance to the Jewish soldiers in the city. He expended no small amount of effort to arrange for kosher meals during the week (kessel kosher), but especially so on Sabbath days, he looked after finding balebatim to host soldiers for a Sabbath meal or on a Festival, and worked for the benefit of the soldiers’ kitchen during Passover, and the arrangement of a community seder for the soldiers in the community hall beside the Bet HaMedrash or in some specific home or a community premises. He could not remain silent upon seeing the synagogue burned down for many years, inside of whose ruins scrub trees were growing, and one could uncover the lairs of dogs and cats. He did not rest or remain silent until a community committee was formed to restore the synagogue, with my father at its head. He concerned himself not only with the financial side, as with the collection of donations, the selling of ‘places’ and the revival of ‘places’ in the synagogue, but also the donation of thousands of bricks [from] the brick manufacturers, like R’ Shlomo Blumrosen, the Brzezinsky family and others – but also undertook on his own the implementation of the plan. He was able to find loyal helpers, with the good tailor R’ Shlomo Szerzug, the shoemaker, R’ Binyomkeh Schuster, and others. My father assumed responsibility for the plan, talked to all the balebatim, with the builder R’ Moshe Aharon Bednowitz at their head, and his assistant, Józef the Christian, of whom it was said that his widower father was Jewish. My father sunk his attention into the project for many months, even to the point of neglecting his own affairs. And when the building was finally erected and dedicated, they found no one else more suitable to be the gabbai of the synagogue than my father, and he faithfully discharged his obligations in this capacity. at the same time that Binyomkeh Schuster filled the position of shammes.   The Golombek Family Is it a coincidence? In Zambrów there were people with the Polish family name of birds, such as: Dzenchill – a vulture, which in Yiddish is called ‘fickholz,’ Sokol – an osprey, Kukułka Slowik – a swallow or cuckoo, Kuropatwa Pawe – a peacock. This is a theme for research, to determine where it originated, for was it not the case that Jews were torn away from nature? But rather, let us pause at the most formidable of Zambrów families, which was tied and bound to half the city, if not more, the Golombeks. Golombek in Polish, is a dove, and Jews at one time were considered to be like doves. Approximately one hundred and fifty years ago, two brothers arrived in Zambrów, Leibl and Itzl. from the village of Khonya, near Lodz, and [they] bought property for farming. They were looked upon with wonder: Jews are investing money in a business, a manufacturing operation, a small factory, a building, but to buy land for plowing, seeding, fertilizing fields, and later to go harvest like the gentiles? And so they went and bought a parcel of land of about a thousand dunams, such that the synagogue, the Red Bet HaMedrash, the cemetery and, to make a distinction, Pfeiffer’s mill were all located on their property. Who were they? In line with their appearance – tall, lean, dark-eyed, with eagle-like hook noses – were they descended from Spanish Jews who had come to settle in Poland? The family name ‘Columb.’ ‘Columbus’ – which is just as good as Golombek – is to this day familiar among Sephardic Jews. Incidentally, another point to note: the elders of the family, in signing their names on Yiddish documents and letters would sign ‘aBen Yisrael’ – a son of Israel, or was it ‘Evven Yisrael, a rock of Israel'? What ever happened to Itzl Golombek – we do not know. Leibleh Khonyer (his grave could be found yet in the old cemetery, until the city was destroyed) had two sons: Yehoshua Bezalel, or as he was called ‘Shitzalel,’ and Monusz. Shitzalel died young and left four sons and three daughters: Moshe-Shmuel, Meir-Yankl, Monusz-Yudl, and Leibl, and: Sarah, Rachel, Dina and Liebeh. Monusz had five sons and three daughters: Yitzhak-Velvel, Berl, Leibl, Eli and Getzel, and: Liebeh-Mirkeh, Faygl, Reizl. These fifteen children established fifteen families, and their children about fifty families, and grandchildren, etc. In this way, the Golombeks became the dominant part of the city. All of them possessed landed assets – fields and gardens, houses and cattle, barns and silos, potato storage cellars, and stands of hay. They lived like peasants, working the fields like peasants from morning to night, observed the rainy season and the good weather, knew, and perhaps better than most when the fields need to be fertilized and when one needs to plow, what to sow and when to sow it. You would have to look far and wide all over Poland to find another family like this, among the mercantile and trading Jews. And in addition to this: God-fearing people, not coarse Jews, who knew how to study, were familiar with laws, involved themselves in community affairs, were gabbaim in the synagogues, gabbaim in the Chevra Kadisha, dozors in the municipal government, founders and leaders of charitable institutions, etc. Before dawn, together with the folks who went to market, they would attend the first minyan, to pray then so they could be in the fields early to begin work. They were loyal to one another. During the dispute between the rabbis – the Golombeks were on the side of Rabbi Regensberg and prevailed. Thanks to them, the Rabbi retained his privileges. About twenty-five years later, the Rabbi wanted to excommunicate Berl Golombek because he was sending his daughter to the Polish gymnasium, where they write on the Sabbath. All of the Golombeks rose as one against the Rabbi. The Rabbi was compelled to give up his foray against the parents of gymnasium students and needed to vacate his old ‘fortress,’ the Red Bet HaMedrash, and move to the more liberal White Bet HaMedrash, which he had previously routinely attacked. Let us here recollect a few of the Golombeks, whose visibility in the city was prominent: Yitzhak-Velvel -- lean, with a small beard, a land expert, a scholar, and an engineer who had not received his diploma. He would give advice to everyone: in the matter of building a house, in the management of a business, paying taxes, and family matters. He dressed simply. His joke would be retold: he doesn’t have a new pair of pants made because new pants would require a jacket, and a jacket would require a dresser, and a dresser would then demand a larger house, and how am I going to be able to afford that? He would study Mishna with a coterie of Jewish men in the Red Bet HaMedrash every day, between Mincha and Maariv. His children immigrated to Argentina, and one of his grandsons is a renown chess player in London . Moshe-Shmuel -- Led a measured bourgeois life. He lived like a nobleman in a villa on the horse market. He had a lucrative asset in the Colonia ‘Hotel’ held jointly with Yitzhak David Modrikom. He was skilled at business undertakings, always living, however frugally, but not stinting on community needs and charity. He died in 1914. He was survived by two talented sons: Yossl and Eizik, and five daughters: Sarah-Dina, Leah, Rivka, Reizl and Shifra. The oldest daughter married Leibl Slowik, a son of David Rotkaszer. Leibl’s children came to Israel as Halutzim, and the eldest of them, Herschel (Zvi Zamir), is the Chairman of the Zambrów Society in Israel, and for a longer period of time was the Burgomaster of Magdiel.   Leibl Golombek -- was a beloved leader of prayer, especially during the High Holy Days. Berl Golombek – An ardent public servant, gabbai in the synagogue, and a head of the community (see a separate write-up about him). Binyomkeh Golombek -- someone who undertook responsibilities, a leader of big businesses, and was a major contractor for the Russians, an ombudsman, a gabbai, and a man of weighty opinions. His son, Leib’chak was a sportsman, and in Israel is among the pioneers of the tiling and paving industry.   Berl Golombek Gedalia Tykoczinsky -- a grandson of Shia-‘Tzaleleh, an entrepreneur, landowner, and later on an owner of the cinema with his son Beinusz. He allowed his businesses to be liquidated, sold off all his assets and went to take up residence in the Land of Israel. However, he died before his time. His son, Meir (Max) died in Israel. His son, Noah, was among the first of those who made aliyah to Israel and was a policeman for the [British] Mandate, and served Jewish interests. Leibac Golombek -- A landowner and entrepreneur. He managed substantial businesses. His children are in America. His oldest daughter, Shayntcheh and her husband, Baumkuler are in Israel. Getzel Golombek -- An accomplished landowner. He was a decent Jewish man, educated, and served his God with love, and also loved to do good things. He had two daughters, Dvosheh and Tzirl. Dvosheh was scholarly, just like a boy might be, knowing parts of the Tanakh by heart, and is in America with her husband, the well-known and scholarly Rabbi, Matityahu Cohen. Yossl, Moshe Shmuel’s -- A tall person, smart, and a very honest landowner, who was good-mannered. He was well thought of in the area and had many good friends, even among the Poles. David Rosenthal -- a son of Mendkeh ‘of the short hand,’ a great-grandson of Shia-‘Tzalel, husband of Reizl Tykoczinsky, Golda’s daughter. His father Mendkeh, an invalid, was a Jewish man full of humor, a lost talent of a writer and poet. He would tell jokes, compose songs about the Zambrów balebatim and their wives, made a living from a meager food store, on whose sign was written, as it was told: ‘Niema Nitz’ – There is nothing here... His son David, who was talented, and had red cheeks and friendly small eyes, studied at the Łomża Yeshiva and was among the better students, and later on committed himself to Zionist-Socialist endeavors, was a founder and chairman of Tze‘irei Tzion, a stalwart in his undertakings, reading lectures about Marxism and political economics. Meir Yankl Golombek -- A landowner, with a house full of children, he had a pressing factory for making olive oil and lived frugally. One of his grandchildren, from his oldest daughter Hinde, saved herself from the Holocaust and today lives in Israel.   Chaim Golombek     He was a son of Meir-Yankl. He was inclined to work, and he helped his father with field work, studied, read, and was suffused with Zionism through and through. He strove to immigrate to the Land of Israel and to work the land there. He was active in the Israeli Labor Movement. Fate would have it that he settled in Mexico, and together with his cousin Shifra built a model Jewish-national family. He was very active and a representative in the Poaeli Zion movement. He was elected, by a consensus as the President of the Poaeli Zion Organization in Mexico. He was beloved in all circles. He died before his time in the year 1961. All the Jews in Mexico mourned his passing.   Many other families were connected to the Golombeks: Yankl Zukrowicz – the son-in-law of Shia-‘Tzalel, Meir Zukrowicz – Monusz’s son-in-law, the Cynawicz family, the Bursteins, the Baumkulers, and many, many more.   Chaim Golombek   My Father’s House By Zvi Zamir My father, Leibl Slowik, a son of David Rokaczer, was born in Zambrów. My grandfather, a big fanatic, fought against every new thing that appeared in the city that, in his opinion, carried with it the threat of causing a falling away from yidishkeyt. My father, raised on Talmud and Poskim, strove to get an education, but had to put up with a great deal of trouble from his strict and religiously observant father. He therefore decided to run away from home into the large expanse of Russia, get an education, and decide on a career. In order to obtain the right to live in Russia (provozhitelstvo) he needed to be a merchant of substance, of the First Guild, or a graduate craftsman with a diploma. He therefore learned shoemaking from Binyomkeh Schuster, took an examination in Łomża, and got his shoemaker’s diploma... he spent somewhat less than a half year in Minsk and other cities and was compelled to come home, got two slaps in the face from my grandfather, and remained at home. My father was a sentimental person and carried on a love affair with the pretty daughter of Yossl Moshe Shmuel’s for seven years... [he then] married her and built a beautiful national [sic: Jewish] home. He would read a great deal, constantly holding a copy of ‘HaTzefira,’ wrote a beautiful Hebrew, was a Zionist, and engaged in the doing of good deeds. He was a decent sort, following the straight and narrow, never departing from it. During the First World War, when people hungered, he opened sacks of flour and distributed it to near and far. When ‘HeHalutz’ came on the scene, he opened the gates of his home to it, and all of its meetings and socials were held, and guests and instructors would lodge at home with us. When I decided to leave the Polish gymnasium and immigrate to the Land of Israel, he first wanted to persuade me to complete my studies at the gymnasium, seeing that with this I would bring more value to my people. However, seeing that I stood by my intent, he gave me his blessing and wished me a successful future. During the first days of crisis, he offered me encouragement in his letters. He had a complete faith in our ultimate victory in the Land of Israel. He so yearned also to come and settle there, to be able to embrace and kiss his grandchildren, and was on the verge of coming – and everything was disrupted, and my father, my mother Sarah-Dina, my brothers Noah and Moshe, my four sisters: Ada, Masha, Yenta and Chava – were exterminated.   R’ Yaakov (Zvi) Zukrowicz ה"יד  By Joseph Srebowicz      Sara-Rachel Zukrowicz   Yaakov (Yankl) Zukrowicz He was the son of Yehuda Leib and Henya, born in the year 1867 in Ikirov. He was a scholar and also Enlightened, ‘the Mecenas’ of the city, philanthropic and exceedingly patient, full of the love of Zion, and very straight. He was one of the gabbaim of the Chevra Kadisha. He was a merchant [by trade]. He would buy grain stuffs from the nobles in the vicinity and transport it to Warsaw and outside the country. He also was a merchant that dealt in forest lumber products. Several families earned their living alongside him, as his steady employees, such as: Eliezer Zarmowsky and Berl Goldberg ה"יד, and others, and also there were non-steady employees as well. His house was full all week long – Jews of all classes would come in to drink tea, to read the newspaper, and to discuss issues of the day. Regular visitors to our house included: his brother, R’ Meir Zukrowicz (who was privileged to make aliyah to The Land with his wife Reizl, and they passed away there), R’ Mordechai Shafran, R’ Benjamin Kagan, R’ Yitzhak Levinson, the gabbai of the ‘White Bet HaMedrash,’ R’ Zalman Kaplan, the teacher of the tenets of the faith, R’ Bunim Domb, his brother-in-law, husband of his sister, the owner of the ‘mangle iron’ used to press laundry. On the morning of the Sabbath, before prayers, many people would gather at his home to drink coffee with milk, incidentally for the taste of biscuits, and to discuss politics. His was a two-story house on the market street, Rynek 2. He lived on the second floor, and on the first floor was the residence and clothing store of the family of R’ Shabtai Kwiat. His wife, Sarah Rachel, the daughter of R’ Yehoshua Bezalel Golombek, from the family of the Jewish farmers (her brother R’ Meir Yaakov made a living from farming and self-employment on his own land, to his very last day), stood out for her honesty, charity, and in the measure of her capacity to act as hostess to guests, in parallel with her husband, and thanks to her good mood the house became renown. On the Sabbath, they would always have guests at their table to their meals, who were invited from the Bet HaMedrash, and during the weekdays, they would provide meals to yeshiva students. They had three daughters (a son died shortly after birth): Jocheved (Khevczi), who married Mr. Gershon Srebowicz, Dina who married Menachem Berman, and moved to Warsaw. and Bracha, who married Israel Regensberg, the son of the local rabbi. The daughters received both a secular and Hebrew education, knew Hebrew and several languages. The correspondence of the household was conducted entirely in Hebrew. It was the hope of Sarah Rachel, the mother, to yet be able to make aliyah to the Land of Israel. She was wont to say: ‘Just as I was privileged to fulfill my desire to [sic: sponsor] write a Sefer Torah, similarly, I hope to be able to make aliyah to the Land of Israel.’ However, he did not fulfill her desire, and she passed away before the Holocaust. Fate was not kind to R’ Yaakov towards the end of his days. He was negatively impacted as a result of the Polish government economic regulations against the Jews. In 1938, being well over seventy years old, he was assaulted and cut down by Polish thugs, who attacked him on the stairs of his home when he was on the way down to participate in morning prayers at the Bet HaMedrash on a Sunday. In September 1939, when The Scourge invaded [Poland], he was taken, along with most of the Jews of the city, to a camp in East Prussia. He survived long enough to return to Zambrów after the Russians entered, but he fell grievously ill from all of the tribulations that he had undergone while in the camp, and he passed away after several weeks. His daughter Jocheved, with her husband and half of their children who remained in Poland, her bride and grandson, as well as his daughter Dina along with her younger child, were all exterminated by The Scourge.   R’ Yankl Zukrowicz He was among the most refined and idealistic of the balebatim in the shtetl. He was a gabbai of the Chevra Kadisha, among the first of the Hovevei Tzion, had a good heart, donated to charity, and helped everyone. Also, his wife, Sarah-Rachel, the daughter of Shia-’Tzalel Golombek, was an exceptional woman, giving to charity, and apart from this would be every at the ready to invite in guests, and having a table of food prepared for yeshiva students. Yankl Zukrowicz dealt in grain and forest products. Several families, such as that of Lejzor Zarembsky and Berl Goldberg, would make a living from him, apart from being intermediaries. His house was always full of people, during the week and on the Sabbath, who would come to to read a paper, have a warm drink, or just plain to catch up on news. The Gemilut Hasadim would make their annual dinner here, at R’ Yankl Zukrowicz’s expense. He had three daughters. The oldest, Chavacheh married Gershon Srebrowicz, the second, Dina – with Menachem Berman in Warsaw, and the third, Bracha, married Israelcheh, the Rabbi’s son. Yankl Zukrowicz dreamed of settling in the Land of Israel. In the year 1938, Polish hooligans beat him up severely, and he was bedridden because of this for a while. In 1939, the Germans dragged him off to Prussia. He returned when the Russians were already in the city, and he fell ill and died. His two daughters, with their husbands and children, were exterminated by the Nazis.   The Family of Gershon Srebrowicz     Mr. Gershon Srebrowicz ה"יד, the son of R’ Joseph and Miriam, was born in Vienna in 1880, to a family of learned folk. He was enlightened and a maskil. He knew [several] languages, and was a Zionist and a very honest man. He came to Zambrów in 1905 and married Jocheved (Khevczi) the daughter of Yaakov and Sarah Rachel Zukrowicz. He dealt in wholesale and forest products, and afterwards went into a manufacturing line of work. Together with Mr. Berusz Krida and other partners, he founded the first ‘Polosz’ – a textile factory and a facility for the dyeing of wool. This operation (as well as the second one that was built in its place after the First World War by the Prawda brothers) still made use of central steam power before there was electricity in Zambrów.   Gershon Srebrowicz When the First World War broke out, Mr. Gershon was separated from his family and remained in Russia until the end of the war. There, he also engaged in commerce and also in exploiting the sale of coal. When the war ended, he returned to Zambrów, and after the Bolshevik invasion of 1920, Mr. Gershon was seized by rioting Polish soldiers, along with other Jewish balebatim, and severely beaten. They were rescued from them by a miracle and remained alive. At that same time, the Pharmacist Szklovin was murdered by them. He joined the second ‘Polosz’, after it was rebuilt anew by the Prawda brothers ה"יד, one of whom, Sholom Eizik, was one of the workers at the first ‘Polosz.’ Mr. Gershon engaged in community affairs faithfully and earned the community’s recognition, being elected to serve as the head of the community, and for a period of time also served as the deputy to the head of the city, while permission was still being given for a Jew to do this (without salary). He was the Chairman of the OZEH institution that maintained oversight regarding the health of poor children. His wife, Jocheved ה"יד was thoroughly versed in the Tanakh and the general Hebrew literature, knew languages, and was active in the ladies social help organization called ‘Frauen Verein.’ Her house was a Zionist one, and her children were educated in the spirit of The People, its tradition, and the Hebrew language was constantly to be found on their lips. Three of their sons, Joseph, Nahum and Yehuda made aliyah to The Land of Israel. However, fortune soured for the parents and the remainder of the members of the family. Gershon and his wife were incinerated at Auschwitz, along with most of the Jews of Zambrów. Their youngest son, Meir also met his end there, who was seventeen years old and so yearned to make aliyah to The Land. Their daughter Zippora, a sister who was a graduate, was murdered by The Scourge at a place of religious persecution beside the village of Szumowo. Their son Moshe (very well schooled and a man of spirit, who was first a Zionist and then a communist), together with his wife Chasha, the daughter of the teacher R’ Zerakh, as was their little daughter Racheleh, were exterminated in the Bialystok ghetto.   R’ Shmuel’keh Wilimowsky R’ Shmuel’keh Wilimowsky stands before my eyes, as he did close to six decades ago: He was among the first of the builders of the city and the community. He was a man of middling height and handsome presence. He had a long white patriarchal beard that covered his broad girth, large black penetrating eyes, shielded by heavy white eyebrows. He was always dressed well, and very clean in appearance, striding with a measured step to the White Bet HaMedrash, accompanied by his loyal only son, Abraham-Yossl – a tall, rangy, dark-colored young man, along with his grandchildren. He was a gabbai for many years, of the White Bet HaMedrash which was the redoubt of the more modern element in the city, until he reached a wondrously old age. For many years, R’ Shmuelkeh was a dozor in the municipal government. He was also the president of the Chevra Kadisha in the city, an ombudsman of the good of the Jews in the city and its environs. His house was the first Jewish house built of cement in the city. Army officers would lodge at his home in the time before the barracks were constructed – representing the government, because there was not another home as pleasant or clean like it in the city. Among his guests was the son of Baron Horacy Ginsberg from Petersburg, who served as an officer in the Russian army. He ran a saloon, as many others did, because Zambrów had become a center for many tracts. When R’ Shmuelkeh was already deeply advanced in age, a ‘revolution’ broke out in the White Bet HaMedrash: the younger generation demanded a younger gabbai. As a result there was an upheaval: shall we, after all these years, remove – in his old age – this perennially dedicated gabbai? The young revolutionaries emerged victorious, because R’ Shmuelkeh himself no longer wanted to be elected gabbai – being of such advanced age... Accordingly, the Chairman of the youth group, R’ Itcheh Levinson was elected, ‘Harlakova’s’ (Greenwald) husband, as gabbai. His only soon, [Abraham]-Joseph Wilimowsky followed in his footsteps, though he had no taste for getting involved in community matters, despite the fact that he was quite prominent in his tobacco business, in which Jewish folk would sit around discussing world politics. Yet he too was a gabbai of the Chevra Kadisha, and one of the dignitaries of the community. His grandson, Moshe Williams, worked in the printing business in the United States, but later on went into farming, raising fowl on his own property. He was talented with a pen, and one of his poems ‘Ich shreib a briv’, is published in this book. Ephraim had artistic talents and was a printer in Łomża and was exterminated along with his entire family. The only one surviving from this entire family – Elazar Wilimowsky, is in Hadar Yosef beside Tel Aviv.   The Home of the Kuszarers (Levinsky)     Pesach Jerusalimsky   Avrem’l Levinsky – Kuszarer Five generations ago a person named Moshe or Joseph Levinsky lived in Zambrów. He had three sons: Leibusz, Herschel, and Yitzhak. Leibusz had five sons and four daughters: Yoss’keh, Ber’keh, Gershon, Moshe, Chaim Velvel (Bialystok), Malka (America), Rivka, Fradl (the wife of Elyeh Rudniker-Goren) and Itkeh. Herschel had four daughters: Sarah Gefner, of these, the wife of Binyom’keh Golombek, Reizl Meisner, Golda Weinberg, and one son. Itcheh had three sons and three daughters: Moshe, Zelig, Abraham’l Reina Brizman (Bryzman), Sarah Czerwonigurer, and one other, the three brothers Leibusz, Herschel and Itcheh bought a large parcel from Shlomkeh the butcher, where later on, the barracks were built, called ‘Kuszaren.’ This is the origin of their [family name] ‘Kuszarer’. Abraham’l Kuszarer, my grandfather, ran a saloon in Zambrów. He liquidated it in 1921. He sold his land property and came to Israel. Here he fell ill and died in Tel Aviv and was interred in the old cemetery. Before he died, he gave over three hundred pounds sterling to his relative Leibchak Golombek, to endow a home for the aged on Allenby Street, which was then in the process of being built. The oldest of the Kuszarers is today in America, Yitzhak Levinsky in Florida.   The Jerusalimsky Family (Yerushalmi)     R’ Elyeh-Zalman Jerusalimsky (The Winemaker)   Mordechai Jerusalimsky and his wife   My grandfather, Elyeh Zalman, the winemaker, settled in Zambrów in the year 1875, who came from Szczuczyn and was engaged in making raisin wine. Because of harassment by the authorities, he began to make denatured spirits for use in polishes and also did some smuggling of whisky for human consumption. He wanted to go to the Land of Israel, however the Rebbe of Ger did not give him permission to do so. It was only after the Rebbe passed away that my grandfather came to the [sic: new] young rebbe and asked for his blessing in connection with making aliyah to Israel. My grandfather had three sons: 1. Mordechai, who at the age of fifteen, married a daughter of Abraham’l Kuszarer, and took up residence in the Land of Israel in 1936, traveled to Poland before the outbreak of the war there, and was exterminated there. 2. Velvel, who received Rabbinic ordination in Minsk and was a leader of the Mizrahi in Myszyniec. 3. Pesach studied in Navahardok, received his Rabbinic ordination in Volozhin, married there, and came to the Land of Israel before the First World War, was a teacher, and taught at the Bezalel Fine Arts Academy, and returned to Poland. My grandfather and grandmother came to the Land of Israel in 1909 and took up residence in Mea Shearim in Jerusalem, and made raisin wine. He invested his money, five hundred rubles, in an unsuccessful loan for a yeshiva and an old age home. They went bankrupt, and my grandfather was left unwillingly living from handouts and returned to Zambrów.   R’ Abraham Shlomo Dzenchill (Pracht) By Israel Levinsky       It is not without an inner trembling in my heart that I approach the task of setting down my memories of R’ Abraham Shlomo Dzenchill. To begin with, this was a simple Jewish man, a son of butchers, who owned a market store and various trifles priced at a penny: the inventory in his store never amounted to more than a few rubles (during the rule of the Russians), and most of this was not his own, since he would take the goods on consignment from wholesalers, who would consign to him a sack of flour, a cask of oil, a few liters of sugar, on condition that he repay his outstanding loan when he would come to procure fresh inventory on consignment. R’ Abraham Shlomo Dzenchill (Pracht) And how he would stand out, for example, on market days, when the farmers would bring their produce [for sale], and it was possible to purchase some grain for a passing wagon driver, a sack of potatoes, or even a stand of wheat and corn, in order to sell it at a profit to the steam-powered flour mill – and the poor, with longing and bulging eyes,  coming out to do something, with pockets empty, and there is not one penny to put next to another. On Thursday and Friday, when his steady customers, the women, would come to by their Sabbath needs, one buying flour, yeast and other grains for challah, another oil, sugar, candles – the shelves empty, and he still doesn’t have the requisite sum in hand that he needs to pay for the credit extended to him the prior week, and the same suffering returns, and the same running around. And this was the way this man lived for all the years that I knew him, but never once did I hear a complaint from his lips. A gentle laugh and a smile always flitted on his lips. There was no shadow of worry on his face. Quite the opposite, he knew how to joke with his customers, using beautiful funny stories and sayings that would provoke laughter, sharp retorts, and it was with this that he attracted customers. He would stand in his store, despite the straitened circumstances, and was more concerned with his customers on the outside, that is to say: those that didn’t come to buy because of poverty, and it was necessary to provide them with a clandestine gift, to help them with their Sabbath needs. [He worried about] yeshiva students, or some guest for whom it was necessary to find a place to take a Sabbath meal, and similar sorts of concerns. What should he do first: Himself or these others? An intense internal struggle seethed within him, and yet suddenly he would turn to his dear wife, who was as good as he was, and say: Etkeh, my love, I am obliged to approach a wholesaler in order to provide for a certain individual. With permission from his wife, he was then released to do freely what he wanted to for a quarter of an hour. On his way, he would turn off and pay a visit to someone who was sick, a poor laborer who had become bedridden. In the process of inquiring about his well-being, he looks at the medicine jars, and with his sharp eye he discerns the straitened circumstances of the family: the house is empty, the children are pale and depressed, they sit dumbly in a corner, not making a sound. The woman of the house is already exhausted, her legs are giving out from her need to tend the sick one, and from walking around the house. R’ Abraham Shlomo offers encouragement to the sick person, encourages the wif, and sends the children to play outside, wishes the sick person a complete recovery, and runs quickly to the gabbai of the ‘Bikur Kholim,’ rousing him to send this family aid. From there he strides purposefully to the ‘Guardians of the Sick,’ and orders that two people be sent as watchmen for overnight surveillance, to lighten the burden on the woman of the house so she can rest at night. In passing, he alerts the ear of those women, who have means, that there is a need to bring her some chicken soup, a spoon full of sauce in order to help restore the sick person’s disposition. And it is only then that he reminds himself that he has more than used up the time that his wife had allocated to him, and he quickly goes to the wholesalers, standing like the proverbial pauper at the doorway, until such time that the individual in question will turn to him and lend him that which he is missing. And here he is back in his store, showing Etkehleh what he brought, in order to appease her and engage her approval of the fact that he had spent so much time outside. He takes off his shabby kapote, and with the fringes of his tallis-katan, longer in length that several hand breadths, over his knees, he takes his place behind the table and sends his wife home. But the needs of the people are many, and the assaults on his time are huge. Here comes a woman with a babe in her arms, unceasingly wailing – an ‘evil eye’ has impacted him, according to his mother – and R’ Abraham Shlomo knew how to calm her down. A second woman [arrives] with a swelling that has appeared on her leg, and to whom else is there to turn but to R’ Abraham Shlomo, to make the swelling go down. And this goes on all day, this one leaves and another comes in to take her place, and R’ Abraham Shlomo receives all of them with courtesy, knowing their need and does whatever is in his power and to whatever extent his capacity extends ‘to heal the broken-hearted and to dress the wounds of their souls.’ And it is not only that he dedicates his time to the welfare of others, he even puts his own life in danger to save his customers from death. Here was the case of the outbreak of a cholera epidemic in the town. Healthy and vigorous people were dropping like flies. An outcry and wailing breaks out all over the town. Several men have already died – the plague is spreading. The gabbaim of the city have decided to stand in the breach and to come to the aid of those who succumb to this illness. They set up a process whereby, all day, boiling water will be at hand at specified places, so that hot soaks can be made available to those touched by the plague. There will be bottles of spirit and alcohol vinegar that will be given at no charge to anyone who asks. And R’ Abraham Shlomo, who was among those who arranged for these previously mentioned things, leaves his store entirely and commits himself totally to those who become infected. He and other men like him of robust constitution volunteer to be among those who provide hot soaks. When the hands and feet of the stricken person become weak, cold and stiff, he rolls up his sleeves and uses the hot water and clean spirits to wash down the stricken person, warming them up a bit, and thereby saving them from death. And he has work to do. All day long he rushes from one sick person to the next, literally risking his own life. But it is not possible to save all those who are stricken, and the plague spreads without any apparent power to stop it. It was then that the dignitaries of the city decide to marry two orphans at the cemetery – a boon that has been proven among us to interdict the Angel of Death. And here, R’ Abraham Shlomo runs, looking for an orphan boy and an orphan girl, urging on women to get together some bit of a dowry, a smattering of clothing, charges the rich with supporting the couple, some for a week, others for a month – and the wedding is conducted at night, at the cemetery, accompanied by the sounds of the musicians, and the head Mekhutan is R’ Abraham Shlomo, coming out in a dance, and bringing joy to the groom and the bride, and if the Angel of Death was halted and turned away , history is silent. R’ Abraham Shlomo does not fear bringing an infectious disease into his own home. Here, a yeshiva student, a young man, was a guest who had stayed behind in Zambrów for a set time, suddenly fell sick with speckled typhus, and there is no one who will give the young man a place, and there is no hospital in the city – what is to be done? To leave the sick one out in the street – that is impossible. And here, R’ Abraham Shlomo makes a place for him in his room, bringing the sick one inside, who was known subsequently as Abraham Mizrach from Łomża. He tended him as if he were his own son whom he was trying to return to good health. And who can tell of all the acts of charity and kindness that this man, R’ Abraham Shlomo, does day in and day out, week in and week out. R’ Abraham Shlomo was also a God-fearing man, rigorously observant, and a keeper of mitzvot, and does not overlook even the most insignificant mitzvah. On the Sabbath, he does not engage in conversation that is best left to the rest of the week. He also sets aside time for Torah [study], even if he does not have great adeptness for it. He was given the nickname ‘Pracht,’ because to everything, he would say, ‘Yoh dos iz pracht !’ At the outset, he was something of an unbeliever – he read novels, wore the short clothing favored by the more modern. But this period of being a disbeliever only lasted for a few years, and he became transformed, it was said, into something of a returning prodigal. Some spirit passed over him that altered his direction, and nobody knows what, but from the time that this change came over him, he wanted to atone for the transgressions of his youth and dedicated himself to work for the common good, to engage in mitzvot and good deeds, and also to set time aside for Torah study. From the beginning, he would study a chapter of the Mishna, Chayei Adam, which came to him only with difficulty and a great deal of enervation, and he would have to depend on others to explain it to him. However, with diligence and speed, he reached the Mishna and the Gemara. And when the local rabbi volunteered to teach a periodic Talmud class, R’ Abraham Shlomo became one of his students, and great supporters, even though, prior to that, he was not one of his followers. He had no sons. It is possible that this fact also served as a brake on his community endeavors. As I have already mentioned, his wife too was also was a very honest woman, good-hearted and of giving spirit, and she did not stand in her husband’s shadow, and did not object to to all that he did, or if he brought several guests home for the Sabbath, after not being able to find a place for them to eat with other balebatim, even if she was not predisposed towards them. In the final years of his life, he dedicated himself entirely to the Yeshiva and its students and was one of the ‘Cossacks’ of the Rabbi: He would accompany him even outside the country, on his trip to a sanatorium. He became a zealot and opposed all things that were progressive.     The Jewish Ladies Society for Social Help   The Pride of the City By Yom Tov Levinsky Abraham Abba (Abcheh) Rakowsky     Abraham Abba (Abcheh) Rakowsky   R’ Azriel-Leib Rakowsky (Abcheh’s Father) The Zambrów community went on to become distinguished by its pleasant grooms, because of the desire of the balebatim of the time to procure a groom for their daughters who was exceptional, well-connected by pedigree, and a man of accomplishment. One such among the balebatim was Muszka Burstein, who was called ‘Muszka Poritz,’ because he was wealthy, a property owner, who owned large herds of horses and saloons, and who rode around in a carriage fit for Polish nobility, with three pairs of horses harnessed to it, and a wagon driver, a gentile, sitting behind it. With money, he ‘bought’ a magnificent groom for his daughter, the son of R’ Azriel Leib Rakowsky – Abraham Abba. R’ Azriel Leib, the groom’s father, had a reputation as one of the great rabbis of Poland and occupied the rabbinical seat of Stawiski, transferring after honor, to serve as the Rabbi of Płock, the provincial seat, and from there, to Mstsislaw, the city of the historian Simon Dubnow, a very important congregation of that time, and also famous for the blood libel that occurred there. His final post was in Mariampol – an aristocratic congregation, replete with scholars and wise men. He died there, on Yom Kippur in the year 5654 (1894), at the age of seventy-five. This ‘yahrzeit’ was observed for many years among the scions of Zambrów, even though the Rabbi R’ Azriel Leib was not known there personally – because his son, Abraham Abba would lead Ne‘ila services on the yahrzeit of his late father, and his prayer would leave a deep impression on all the worshipers. Abraham Abba did not have a pleasant voice, as did the others who led services during the High Holy Days, but his personal style of prayer was unique and was not favored by the cantors of the time. He had an ‘enlightened’ approach to the recitation of the poetry of Selichot and The Holy Day. He exhibited special outpouring of the soul regarding the handiwork of The Holy One, Blessed Be He: ‘You set humanity apart from the outset, recognizing that it would stand before you.’ And also in the entreaties: ‘Your people have many needs, but their understanding is limited,’ and also longing for Zion: ‘As I see every city on its hillock, fully built, and the City of God is plunged down to the utter depths,’ etc., etc. The White Bet HaMedrash would fill up at Ne‘ila until there was no more room because, from all of the surrounding houses of worship – they came to hear Abcheh’s Ne‘ila, that being Abraham Abba. Abraham-Abba had a special privilege, they would say, on reciting this prayer, as the great-grandson of the Gaon, author of ‘Zera Berekh,’ R’ Yitzhak Eizik, one of the children of the Saintly SHaLo”H (R’ Yeshaya Hurwicz, the Gaon and Kabbalist, and author of the book, ‘The Two Tablets of the Covenant’ 1558), may his worthiness serve as a shield over us...and whose pedigree extends back all the way to King David. Abraham Abba was born in Mariampol in the year 1854 in Kirov, studied at the Yeshiva of Płock and others, and was renown for his genius in the whole vicinity. While yet at an early age he "bossomed and was captivated"; he made friends at the Płock yeshiva with one – Nahum Sokolov (now Sokołów Podlaski), and together with him began an intensive study in secular studies: languages and the sciences of mathematics, nature, history and literature. As Nahum Sokolov (now Sokołów Podlaski) recalls from his own memories, the core of his studies lay in languages. How is it that R’ Abraham Abba learned languages? He had no teacher, and he was first attracted to French. What did he do? He inherited a large dictionary in this language, and he memorized it in alphabetical order. As you can surmise, without being able to properly pronounce the words according to the principles of French grammar, and without the capacity to leave out even a single letter, adhering to what was written in the dictionary... and after this he learned the Polish language – a language derided by the Jewish intelligentsia in Poland because it was difficult to ‘make any career’ out of it, in the face of Russian, which was the language of the ruling conquerors that pervaded all walks of life in Poland. Abraham Abba went so far as to even translate an assortment of works from the Polish literature into Hebrew, especially from the writings of Eliza Orzeszkowa: ‘Mirtala,’ ‘On Alien Soil’ and others. Afterwards he learned German – the language that opened gates to the lore of Israel, which was mostly written in this language, and went so far as to even translate a number of books into Hebrew, such as ‘Killed Without a Trial’ – a novel by Philipson about The Maharam [Meir ben Baruch] of Rothenburg, who died in prison in city of Kolonia, not wanting his brethren to ransom him for the exorbitant sum that the authorities demanded for him. He translated ‘The Dispersed of Israel,’ ‘The Revenge,’ and many others. When he reached the discipline of the English language, Abraham Abba mastered it by the use of a dictionary, learning it by heart and then by translating, as is understood into Hebrew, several choice gems from the literature, like: ‘The Shoot From the Stem of Jesse,’ or ‘David Alro’ee,’ – the famous book of the Zionist, Lord Beaconsfield, Disraeli (given a prize, in his time by the subscribers of ‘HaTzefira’) and others. As early as 1872, while still young, he began to publish in ‘HaMagid,’ and a glimpse came to light of his writings on science and linguistic innovations, and was an assistant to R’ Chaim Zelig Slonimsky (ChaZa”S), the owner of HaTzefira, and frequently published essays on Torah, wisdom, nature, and current events, and afterwards became the right-hand man to his friend Nahum Sokolov (now Sokołów Podlaski), the editor-in-chief of HaTzefira, and to the anthologists assembling literary-scientific works, in the collection ‘HeAssif.’ The sage ChaZa”S exchanged letters with Abraham Abba all the days of his life, and not only once tried to encourage him to leave his town and come to Warsaw and dedicate himself to science and literature. However, a number of obstacles stood in his way, and he remained among his ‘folk’ in Zambrów. In the world of commerce and manufacture, Abraham Abba made a reputation for himself with his book ‘The Tractate on Notes,’ which to this day is one of the most valued books in our literature. With the acuity of one of the original Amoraites, and with a Talmudic nuance that is wondrously clear, he revealed to the Jewish student who, by and large, was one of the denizens of the Bet HaMedrash, with this idiom intrinsic to his mouth, all of the ways in which commerce is conducted and its intricacies, the rules governing borrower and lender according to the laws of the land, the rules of banking, the laws of charging interest, bankruptcy, and issues involving financial documents, etc. He did not sign this with his proper name, but rather as ‘Loh Saifa v’Loh Safra ’ – so he would not be a target of religious fanatics. In this book he took the blinders off the eyes of thousands among Polish Jewry who had taken their hand and energy to commerce without knowledge of how it was conducted, nor of the laws of the land. The ultra-religious and fanatics looked upon him with an angry eye, because they saw in this a sort of desecration of the Talmud, because it was written with great skill and understanding, similar to the Gemara. and there were even fanatics who wanted him excommunicated. When the Chief Rabbi of Łomża, R’ Malkhiel Tanenbaum ז"ל passed away, several of the enlightened balebatim put forward the name of Abraham Abba, as a candidate for the rabbinical seat of the city. However the zealots and Hasidim organized protest gatherings: the author of ‘The Tractate of Notes,’ Abcheh the Apostate. He is to be our rabbi and Bet-Din senior – oh, what a shame that will be!...And they were compelled to withdraw his name from consideration. He was among the first of the Zionists in Poland and gave much of his soul to this concept in his writing, and speaking, and discourses, in Hebrew and several other languages. In 1904, when the news of the passing of Dr. Benjamin Ze’ev [sic: Theodore] Herzl made the rounds in Zambrów, they turned, naturally to Abcheh, to eulogize the Zionist leader. The rabbi of the city – a fierce opponent of Zionism, as was the case with the rabbis of that day – oversaw the locking of all gates to houses of worship, in order that this ‘apostate’ not be mourned. However, the Zionist camp prevailed, and especially the ‘satin youth’ – the enlightened sons-in-law of Zambrów who had come from various other towns, headed by my father, R’ Israel, the enlightened teacher in the town, and they broke open the doors of the White Bet HaMedrash, which was a bastion of the progressive element. R’ Abraham Abba, was carried aloft on their hands to the bimah, and he stood there, wrapped in a tallis as if he was one of the religious preachers, and he eulogized Dr. Herzl. As part of a trenchant analysis in Zionist principles and the work of the founder of ‘The Jewish State,’ he offered a chapter from ‘Khibat Tzion,’ and in his attempt to hasten independence for The Land of Israel he described Herzl’s agonies, his tribulations and journeys that took a toll on his health, etc. When he came to the conventional conclusion of all preachers, ‘And may the Redeemer Come to Zion, and Thy Will Be Done, Speedily in Our Days, Amen!,’ the entire gathering joined in crying along with him, and the Mourners of Zion, together with all other mourners, in the recitation of a Kaddish D’Rabanan Kaddish... For this Kaddish D’Rabanan Kaddish, after the eulogy to the ‘apostate’ Herzl, the Rabbi and the fanatic Jews could not forgive him for many years... R’ Abba did not use his schooling and education to make a living, but made a respectable living in the selling of oil and appurtenances for those who work with steel. He received a ‘concession’ to bring barrels of oil from Baku to Chranibory – the railroad station closest to Zambrów – and there transfer it to casks. Several families made a living from this. He had a sharp competitor in this business, Mr. Benjamin Tanenbaum, who also had received a concession from his wife’s relatives, owners of the famous ‘Cohen’ oil company of Petersburg. In the year 1905, during the time of the upheaval and revolutionary movement in Russia, the ‘strikers’ – the Jewish revolutionaries in Zambrów, members of the Bund and the S. S. – came to Abcheh Rakowsky with the entreaty that he stand on their side and help them in communication, and even more with his money. As an ardent Zionist he did not succumb to them and did not have a favorable view of the Jewish participation in the Russian Revolution. In those days, Abcheh was highly respected and well-received in the regional courts of law run by the government, because he knew all of the laws of the country by heart, and therefore the influential judges and similarly the lawyers relied on him for advice and direction. Because of this he received permission to be a defense attorney in the court, even though he had no formal training in the legal aspects of jurisprudence. This sort of an individual was designated as a ‘civilian trustee.’ It can be understood that for these reasons, Abraham Abba could not throw his hand in with the revolutionaries. The latter became angry with him, because they knew: If Abcheh were on their side, all of the balebatim would follow in his footsteps. Accordingly, they sent people from the P. P. S., the Polish Socialists, to try and influence him. When they did not succeed, they began to threaten him with ‘terror’ and ‘expropriation.’ as was common in those days. Abcheh was not moved by any of this. On one day, this was early on a Friday, the news spread in the city that the Jewish and Polish revolutionaries had that night broken into the oil storage facilities of Abcheh, opened all the casks, and turned them upside down. The oil ran out all night into the Zambrów river... in the morning when the news spread, the children of the poor, especially Poles, ran to the river to skim off the top layers of the river because the oil, which is lighter than water, was floating on the top and covered a well-defined part of the surface of the river. This incident provoked a great deal of anger in the entire city, and on the Sabbath it was a subject of the day for conversation in all the houses of worship. Many young boys from poor families would come to dine at the table of Abraham Abba on a daily basis, who were students at the yeshiva, and his wife would personally serve the prepared foods, despite the fact that she always had helpers and cooks. Abraham Abba represented the Jewish community to the régime, even at a time when there was an administrative rabbi (Kozioner Rabbiner) in Zambrów, Rabbi Gold, and even after Rabbi Regensberg received this title. If trouble visited the city, through informing, arrest, breaking the law, the levying of taxes, decrees on participating in paving the roads, etc., etc. – Abraham Abba would travel to Łomża to appear before the governor, and to either have the decree nullified or have it lightened. On the eve of Festivals or holidays, when the city wanted to have the Jewish soldiers released from the barracks and to host them in Jewish homes during the holiday, a coach was hitched up for Abcheh, and he in his cylindrical top hat, wearing a black Sabbath cloak, shod in white spats, would ride off to the military commander who was in the city – to ask for a furlough for the Jewish soldiers, and to even turn over the ‘proviant’ the food rations for the Jewish soldiers, to the community, in order that the community, or the committee dealing with the soldiers, would be able to procure kosher food in accordance with Jewish law and custom. When a contingent of raw recruits would arrive at the city barracks, at the beginning of the Fall, and it was necessary to swear them in – it was Abcheh who went, along with the Rabbi of the city, who was not conversant in Russian, to ‘swear in’ the Jewish soldiers, who numbered in the many hundreds, and to make a ‘patriotic’ speech to them in Russian. This responsibility was placed on Abcheh. In his talk before the Jewish soldiers, who for the most part didn’t understand the language in which he spoke, the national language, it was Abcheh’s intent to grab the intention of the Russian officers and commanders with regard to the Jewish question and the dilemmas faced by a Jewish soldier, who continues in the tradition of his forbears regarding kashrut, Sabbath observance, prayer, and the like, and that there is no contradiction in terms between this and loyalty to the Homeland. One time, a new Provincial Governor was appointed in Łomża. The latter came to Zambrów in order to become familiar with the extent of his domain. This, as it happens, turned out to be on Rosh Hashanah. The community rabbi, and the heads of the community who went out to greet him on this Day of Judgment bearing bread and salt, invited him into the White Bet HaMedrash, which glistened at that time with the cleanliness within, after the gabbai, R’ Itcheh Levinson, gave it a facelift, replastered, decorated and carved a new Holy Ark, and installed new gas candelabras, etc. As understood, Abcheh was the principal greeter, from the standpoint of the congregation and all the worshipers. The Rabbi of the city also put in an appearance, who routinely side-stepped the White Bet HaMedrash – because most of those who opposed and harassed him worshiped here, and it was here that the Zionist leadership also gathered itself, such as Benjamin Kagan, Shlomo Blumrosen, the Burstein family, Kossowsky, Levinson, Levinsky and others. All of the arriving government guests went up onto the bimah, with the Governor at their head, accompanied by his entourage: officers, heads of the police, military commanders, and others. It was a festive occasion full that made a big impression. The hazzan and his choir opened with the Russian national anthem in honor of the Czar: ‘многая лета,’ after which R’ Abba Rakowsky held forth for about an hour in a fluent Russian, comparable to one of the distinguished residents of the capitol in Petersburg, and he was merely a citizen of a little town who doesn’t even have anyone with whom to speak Russian extensively. The speech he gave continues to reverberate in my ears to this day, on the importance of Rosh Hashanah to the Jews, the Day of Judgment, the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar, the beginning of the New Year, and more importantly than all of them, ‘The Day of Remembrance’ in which the King of the Universe remembers us, and makes an accounting of all countries and all living things. The king of a country is like a reflected eye of the King of the Universe, and he also recalls all of its citizenry favorably, making no distinction between one root of origin or another, or between one faith or another, and we, the Jewish citizenry, enter here, and we bless the king in our prayers, especially in the prayer ‘Hanotayn Teshua LiMlakhim,'219 and he recalled the Czar, the Czarina, the widowed Queen Mother, and the Czarevich. The entire entourage stood by dumbly, as if ossified. After the singing of ъоже, царя храни by the hazzan and the choir, and the entire congregation – everyone exited extremely satisfied, and with comments of gratitude. The whisper passed from mouth to ear: Abcheh sanctified The Name! He explained to the ruler what Judaism was and what it was worth; he brought out in relief the nature of Hebrew nationalism that had been exiled from its homeland, and yet continues to anticipate the coming of The Messiah, to ‘the confidantes of the Czar,’ etc. And yet, they also told from mouth to ear that at the time of the singing of ъоже, царя храни, a group gathered around R’ Israel Levinsky (the father of this writer, who at that time had been seized as a ‘revolutionary’ Zionist and supported the Poaeli Zion) and this group sang the ‘Hatikvah’ –‘ and the two sets of voices intermingled with each other... The elections to the national Duma did not pass by without the oversight of Abcheh. In large gatherings that took place in the White Bet HaMedrash, the community was given a lesson in citizenship, in which he explained and taught the obligations of citizenship to the government, and the obligations of the government to the citizen, and he stressed the national link that the enlightened Zionists of the time in Poland loathed, and for whom ‘HaTzefira’ was their platform. At that time, Abraham Abba went so far as to have several articles published in HaTzefira regarding the new Russian Constitution, and what the expectations of Polish Jewry might be under this franchise. These were civics lessons that were denied to the Jewish community, who were deprived of their rights as citizens and left to the mercy and whim of every policeman and official. In fact, Abcheh was selected by the régime as one of the overseers responsible for the conduct of the Duma elections in the Łomża District. After the Second Fire in Zambrów, the city declined. Those that received insurance funds began to build and erect their houses anew, on a more esthetic and grandiose scale. However, funds were lacking to complete the building. Additionally, craftsmen needed to fall back on loans, both large and small, to upgrade their workshops, buy new sewing machines, packing material, and the like. And it was at this juncture that R’ Abcheh called for a community gathering, on a Saturday night in the White Bet HaMedrash. He proposed to establish a bank for craftsmen and merchants in need of funding. It would be a source of loans and current savings. ‘If I am not for myself – then who is for me?' – R’ Abba issued his words like a fire. Those with means would deposit their monies and savings in the bank. Those in need of funds would receive loans of short tenor, guaranteed by two balebatim. Everyone would be encourage to take advantage for himself, and neighbors, and the benefits would accrue to the city as a whole. His loyal student, R’ Yaakov Shlomo Kukawka, the shoemaker, took it upon himself to ‘raise funds,’ meaning that he went from house-to-house, to engage in negotiation that asked of people to deposit money in the bank, which would serve as a capital base for the needed loans. The bank developed quite nicely, sanctioned by the Head of the Czarist Treasury, and continued its work until the First World War in the year 1914, when the government froze all deposits and transferred them to Russia. On one of those days, he received a Jewish delegation from London, with a proposal that he accept the rabbinical seat of their congregation. The idea of being the Chief Rabbi of London was very enticing to R’ Abba, but family matters kept him from accepting – and the offer was postponed. Abraham Abba also had enlightened sons who were educated. And the same of his daughters, for whom he exerted himself to provide them with teachers who would lead them onto an enlightened and progressive path. He, however, did not derive parental satisfaction from his sons. One son, Mendl, was riding on a bicycle (the first bicycle in the city, at the end of the nineteenth century!), crashed into a tree, suffered a fatal blow, and died afterwards while suffering terribly. His son, Alter, was an ordained rabbi, was enlightened and capable. He died in Leningrad in 1939 and left a family behind. After Alter, six daughters were born to him, and then a son, in his old age, Israel. The daughters were: Chaycheh (is in Russia with a nameless family), Chana, the wife of Horodowsky, who returned to Zambrów, Mircheh (who lived in Lucyn with her family, the Baums, and was lost in the Bialystok ghetto), Tzipka (died in Russia before the war: Her husband Dimschitz was a mathematics professor and a famous chess player in Russia), Pua (Pycheh, wife of the well-known artist Yosseleh Kolodny of Pinsk) died in Zambrów, and Lyuba (lives with a family in Russia). All the daughters were educated, spoke French as their native language, and even knew Hebrew and the Talmud. It was not only once that vigorous discussions ensued on Talmudic subjects between these daughters and the yeshiva students who came to have their meals at R’ Abcheh’s table, both on the Sabbath and during the week. His youngest son, Israelkeh, was the most talented of his sons, and I remember him as being handsome from the days of my early childhood. He was possessed of an earthy sense of humor and was given to writing. He wrote stories about life in the town, in the style of Sholem Aleichem. During gatherings of the youth in Zambrów, and in a number of nearby locations, Israelkeh would read from his works. He would occasionally condemn the wealthy of the city and spice up his subject matter with portraits of typical personalities of the town, using expressions and rhymes about the simple folk, and the entire audience would roll with laughter. I can still hear the echoes of a refrain of parody, from one of his songs, which all the listeners would sing and spread throughout the city: this came after a dispute between two competing clothing store merchants: Gottleib and Shepsl Kwaitak, who raised their hands, one to the other, in the midst of a heated exchange: One picked up a rod, and his counterpart took off the belt from his pants and whipped with it. The entire city was in a boiling state. At that time, Israelkeh sang in the manner of how the common folk sing: ‘Hoi shepsl mittn ridl, Gottleib mittn pas, shpilt zhe mir a lidl oyfn Zembrover Gasse.’ (Oh, Shepsl with the rod, and Gottleib with the belt, play me a song on the Zambrów street). Israelkeh took gymnasium exams in Odessa, and close to the onset of the First World War was accepted for study at the Montefiore Polytechnicum in Liege in Belgium to study chemistry. The World War broke out. A contingent of students, who had come from Russia were drafted to guard the fort at Liege against the German invasion. The entire group, with he amongst them, retreated afterwards to France, together with the Belgian Army. After a number of trials he came to Paris, where he completed his studies at the university and worked as a chemist at a number of substantial manufacturing facilities. He was an active participant in Jewish culture and sunk his entire energy into helping emigrating Jews, in getting their children settled into summer camps and schools. His schoolmate, Nowomaysky, invited him to come and work in the exploitation of the Dead Sea – however, for whatever reason, the matter did not come to fruition. Close to the Second World War, he returned to Zambrów, harried and disappointed, and he was exterminated along with all the other [sic: Jewish] residents of the city.   Let us return to Abraham Abba. As the First World War intensified, [and] Abraham Abba and his family moved into the interior of Russia. He suffered all of the terror of the Revolution, his assets were foreclosed on, his money confiscated, and he was left naked and without anything, ending up as a retailer, selling soap in the marketplace in order to be able to eat a slice of proletarian bread. When the repatriation treaty between Soviet Russia and Poland was concluded, Abraham Abba also returned to Poland, to Zambrów, an old man, bent, weary from being on the run and oppressed. With what was left of his strength, he began the process of trying to rebuild his house anew. Engineer Yisraelkeh Rakowsky The sense of ‘and there arose a new king [in Egypt] that knew not Joseph’ assaulted him in an awful manner. With great difficulty, and after tribulations with it, the Poles reinstated his privileges. All of the officials and the Starosta did not take cognizance of him, and did not properly estimate the man. Nevertheless, they were amazed at the old Jewish man, literally dressed in taters, a refugee from Russia, speaking the Polish language with clarity even better than the Polish magnates. These same people were surprised to hear from his mouth, that which they were obligated to do, in support of the national and international law, to recognize his rights as a citizen, and his ownership of his property, etc. The father of the author of these columns, who occasionally lived with Abraham Abba and was his friend for many years, fell into trouble with the office of the Starosta in Łomża, on the matter of the issuance of a permit of some kind, and resided for a short while beside Abcheh, and didn’t recognize him. This exhausted old man no longer recognized my father. And here, the bailiff announces from the corridor: ‘citizen Abraham Abba Rakowsky, is requested to enter the office!’ It is not possible to describe the emotion that passed between them, when each recognized the other after a separation of about ten years. Abraham Abba fell on my father’s neck and fainted... this was the last time that they met, because a short while after this he fell sick with the spotted or intestinal typhus that was wreaking havoc at that time in Poland, and Abraham Abba took to bed, from which he did not arise. And yet, he had managed, since his return from Russia, to sit for the external Polish law examinations, and was awarded the right too act as a [local] defense attorney in the courts (Obroñca Sadowy)) and in those days was even able to successfully defend a Jewish soldier that killed a Christian who insulted him on Yom Kippur. His name, which was held up for praise in the days of Kh. Z. Slonimsky and Nahum Sokolov (now Sokołów Podlaski) as one of the outstanding figures of Polish Jewry, was forgotten and disappeared from the hearts of the younger generation. His place in literature, and as a man of science, a Torah scholar, historian and translator, a researcher and occasional writer for the press, all vanished from the annals of the Hebrew literature. The memory of him as a brilliant Zionist, as one of the pillars of the aristocratic Zionist élite in Poland, all declined like a setting sun in the new Poland. Despite this, the citizens of Zambrów, scions of the city, will remember him all their lives as the man who raised the good name of the city, an educator who educated multiple generations in Torah and the wisdom of Israel, with love of the general nation and an orientation towards an unfettered and free life for a citizen in his homeland – a land for which he always raised his expectations of spirit, and to which only his grandchildren were privileged to reach, to build it, and to themselves develop within it. Let us here recollect his grandson, the son of his daughter Chana, Menachem Horodowsky, he is a railroad man who made aliyah to The Land after several mishaps and falling into traps, in the year 1941, and he is serving, from the beginning of 1954, as the general manager of the Israeli Railroad System. Rabbi Matityahu Kagan, a scion of the city, the Rabbi of Corona (Long Island, New York ), saw the will of Abraham-Abba, which he lodged in the twilight of his years with his relative, Abcheh Frumkin ז"ל. He cut one of his daughters out of any inheritance, because word had reached him that she profaned the sanctity of the Sabbath. He ordered that one of the heirs of a merchant in Warsaw be located, with whom he was engaged with in commerce before the war, to repay a debt that he had outstanding with his father. ‘In accordance with the Law of the Shulkhan-Arukh, Khoshen Mishpat, Chapter... Section... I am obligated to repay this loan – However, the Eminent Mister R’ Joseph Caro erred in articulating his view, with all respect to him, and it is my obligation to repay the debt, as it says in the Gemara...” He also left behind a marvelous handwritten item with the previously mentioned Mr. Frumkin ז"ל: It was a scientific composition, in the spirit of the Sages of Israel, about the Parsha of the Week. After Rakowsky’s death, Mr. Frumkin put it into the hands of the Rabbi. The fate of this composition is unknown. The Rabbi recalled this piece of writing, several times in a good way.   Bibliography of the Writings of A. A. Rakowsky 1. From the notes of Kehillat Yaakov in Warsaw (according to the minutes that were printed in the local language, HaAsif, A, 5645, pp. 142-146). 2. Died without being tried, or Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg. The source is from the stories of Dr. L. Philipson, copied by A. A. Rakowsky (HaAsif, A, 5645, Volume 3, pp. 1-17) 3. The night that the Passover was ushered in – A story about something that took place (ibid, pp. 22-??) 4. Secrets of the Microscope – A ?? Story (ibid, pp 22-26) 5. Money – An Essay on National Economics (HaAsif, Year 2, pp. 742-749). 6. Amendments to the rules of the Castilian Communities, from the year 1432, arranged by Prof. Isidore Lab, Secretary of All Israel Friends in France, translated from the handwritten account of the writer, A. A. Rakowsky (HaAsif, 3, pp. 133-147). 7. ‘J’Accuse,’ written by Émile Zola, published in ‘HaTzefira’ at the time of the Dreyfus trial. 8. The Word of Our Lord Will Stand Forever – Eleven essays in connection with research of the peoples of the past: a) Testimony in Jacob. b) God revealed in Judah. 3) Lebanon Di Be'er. 4) Ammon and Moab. 5) The remnant of the Philistines. 6) the History of Edom. 7) The Story of Nineveh, Babylon. 8) The Story of Zor. 9) The twilight. 10) The Story of Egypt. 11) The House of the Rekabites222 (HaAsif 5647, pp. 359 - 390). 9. An Old Man and a Boy (a story in the style of the Polish writer Okonsky) (ibid, pp. 658-660). 10. In an Alien Land (a long story taken from the lives of the Jews of Rome, from the Polish lady author Aliza Orzhekowa, copied into Hebrew by Abraham Abba Rakowsky (HaAsif 6, 5655, pp. 1-135). 11. An Anthology of Notes (Laws of finance, and the national economy), 1894, Warsaw, Signed as: ‘Loh Saifa veLoh Safra.’ 12. A Shoot from the stem of Jesse, or David Alroee, according to Sir Benjamin Beaconsfield Disraeli, translated from the original, a prize to ‘HaTzefira’ subscribers. The translator signed himself ‘Abarbanel.’ 13. Jews Driven to the Margin – according to the stories of Dr. Philipson (Warsaw, 1875). 14. Additionally, he published many tens of essays, matters of criticism, feuilletons, and novel concepts in Torah study and science, under his correct name, and the name ‘Abarbanel’ – this being an acronym for Abraham Rakowsky, ben Aryeh Leib (started in Radkinson’s ‘KaKol,’ in the literary supplement ‘Asefat Khakhamim,’ published by Ben-Netz in the years 1876 - 1879. In a like manner, he would sign his name as A. A. R. in HaTzefira and other periodicals). For a period of time, he also published in ‘HaModia,’ anonymously, these being philosophical essays, and world nationality, in the style of a Talmudic give-and-take. In the end, his previously mentioned writings on the portions of the week, were written during the malevolent Russian Revolution, from memory, because he was left without so much as a Tanakh in his hands.   My Parents, the Martyrs of Hebron By Shmuel Gutman     My parents, Asher Moshe and Chava, came to Zambrów from Jablonka, after it had been put to the torch by the Russians during their retreat from Poland in 1915, approximately. My father was a tailor, but very well schooled and a substantial donor to charity. He would set aside time for study every day, before prayers, that being a page of the Gemara, and between afternoon and evening prayers – a chapter of the Mishna with a study group. He was very much drawn to giving charity anonymously. R’ Asher Moshe Gutman and his wife Chava, who were martyred in Hebron by the Arabs, during the period of unrest of Ab, 5689 (1929) Our home was always full of vegetables, fruit and grain, because on our own we rented fields and planted them, and my father would also get ‘concessions’ from peasants. When my father went to pray for the afternoon and evening services, he would lecture us: do you see these sacks of produce, the farmer has assured me he would divide it up in accordance with the accompanying list. Take the sacks and put them by the door, but do it in a way that the resident is unaware and cannot see you doing it. If you are caught doing this, you should reply that you don’t know anything... And this is the way we would go about it, using the wagon for hours on end, looking for the Jews in questio, and taking advantage of the opportunity not to be spotted. We would come home tired but satisfied, because we had discharged an important mitzvah, as partners to our good father. After this, my parents left for the Land of Israel and took up residence in the holy city of Hebron. Here, my father sat and studied the whole day through. The bloodthirsty Arabs, however, did not spare them in the Great Slaughter of Hebron, in the days of 17-18 Ab, 5789 [23-24 August 1929] ה"יד. My mother, Chava, may she rest in peace, was also one to distribute charity. She would always assist my father in his eleemosynary undertakings. On her own she would also go about to uncover needy, hungry families, and would send small pots of food, bread, vegetables, potatoes and eggs. She would exude joy when she was given an opportunity to make an anonymous gift.   From Home By Ahuva Greenberg                     Avigdor and Alta Greenberg Ahuva Greenberg My father, R’ Avigdor, was a merchant who dealt in building materials and ironware. This vocation had been passed down in the family for generations. He was the son of R’ Sholom Greenberg of Wyszków, grandson of R’ Shmuel Greenberg of Makow, well-schooled in Torah and possessor of extensive assets, an owner of forest land, a man of means and a great philanthropist. In the family it was told that R’ Shmuel died at an advanced old age, not in his home city but rather while traveling in his coach to his rebbe: ‘Such that even The Angel of Death would not be so lucky as to get to him in the city of his birth’ ... He raised his ten children to be Torah knowledgeable and to do good deeds. Most of them were Hasidim of the Ger sect – honest, spiritually complete, and satisfied with their lot. Our father, a scion of R’ Shmuel and a son of R’ Sholom, was also an ordained rabbi like most of his brothers, but made a living from commerce. My father was a handsome man, tall with finely chiseled features, black hair patted down on his head, and a brown round beard around his chin, alert, brown eyes, and a constant smile on his lips. Even though his day was taken up with his business, he always set time aside for his children. A particular inclination that he had was to always find time to help around the house. When he would return from his travels, from Warsaw, we would sit around him, take off his shoes, and we would go draw a warm drink for him from the stove, and our smiling father would kiss us, caress us, and in a mischievous way bring out the presents. He knew what was needed or desired by each one of us, and my mother would thunder at his profligacy. We had a large family in Warsaw and its environs, a nephew and sisters of my father, and he would constantly be telling us about the big city, the school inside of it, and the Zionism that was at that time on the rise, and similar things. With sadness, he would note the absence of a high school in Zambrów, in which there was no instruction on the Sabbath. It is a source of wonder in my eyes to this day: how could he belong to a Hasidim shtibl with these kinds of liberal outlooks? Whenever he had a spare hour, he would be hunched over the Tanakh, a page of the Gemara, and he would chant in a subdued, sorrowful tone. The rhythm of this intonation became suffused in us during our childhood, and accompanied us into maturity. On the snowy winter nights, he would while away many hours in the shtibl, in study and in philosophizing. He was inter alia, a gabbai of the shtibl, a member of its ‘Matzoh Shmura’ committee and treasurer. We recall his High Holy Day melodies, with a serious expression on his face, getting up early, to be among the first of the worshipers. Before he left the house he would bless us in order of our age: the oldest in their order, and the youngest in theirs. A holy tremor would course through my body when he would place his spread hands on my head with the quiet prayer in his mouth: ‘May God make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.’ By putting pieces of paper in the mahzor, he would indicate to us what we should recite in prayer and when, but at no time did he ever want to leave us open to confusion, and did not ask ‘have you prayed?’ He sensed that we were ‘progressive’ and grasped the sense of our spirit, despite the fact that never did he ever give us any indication of this through parental admonition. During festival celebrations we always had a liveliness in our home that was expansive or became expansive: On Tu B’Shevat, on Hanukkah, Shavuos and Simchas Torah, or on the celebration day of the Rebbe of Ger, banquets took place at hour home. My father, who only had to taste the wine, immediately would have his eyes sparkle with good fortune, as if he had never once known of any concern for the support of his large family or from the sorrows of raising children. He would say: Each man is obligated to be content with his lot, to bless the God that gave him the strength to withstand to temptations of the Evil Inclination, and is able to live honestly on whatever it is that his own hands are able to generate, to give charity anonymously, because giving charity publicly is connected with a demonstration of pride, and this is a bad trait. On Simchas Torah, all the worshipers of the shtibl would come out in dance into the streets, with a Torah scroll, their eyes shut tight and their legs in a wondrous light dance, giving the impression they were floating on air and not touching the ground; their heads are turned heavenward. In these moments of abandonment, of neglect of reality, of sanctity and spiritual elevation, the world appears to be all good, and it was as if The Holy One Blessed be He, were looking sown upon us, enjoying it, and paying attention. I would stand on the balcony of our home, enchanted, and watching. How I loved watching my father from the side, from the other room, when he was bent over a leather-bound book, containing a mass of pages that appeared to me like the waves of the ocean that transport you to endless distances. I loved to inhale the odor of the two glass-fronted bookcases full of books, and I would especially search for the volume of the Mishna, on whose frontispiece was inscribed to the date of birth of each child. He would join us in reading and tell us about writers and journalists, and we knew them all by heart. On the eve of Sabbath, out table was always set, even to include a guest, and if there was no Sabbath guest from the shtibl my mother would urge him to go look in the White Bet HaMedrash, or the Red one, on the chance he might find someone there to invite. My mother was a loyal helpmeet beside him. She was a pleasant woman, tall, pale, with a small nose, a high forehead and long blonde hair. She was an only daughter to her parents. Her father, R’ Leib Zelazo, was an ordained rabbi, a scion of a scholarly and rabbinic family, who did not rely on their Torah education for a living, but engaged in commerce with forest products and wood. When I made aliyah as a young woman, she whispered in my ear, before I got into the wagon: ‘Remember, my daughter, as the descendant of a family that has more than thirty rabbis, do not put them to shame.’ She lost her father at an early age, and until she married lived with her mother in Jablonka. She would get up before sunrise, bathe herself, mostly in cold water, even in the wintertime, dress carefully and pray. After this she turned her attention to waking up the children, to feeding them and sending them off to school. She gave birth to nine children, and up to the war there were only six of us. Two of the brothers came in old age, and I left them in Poland being before bar mitzvah age. From their letters, I could tell they were gifted with intelligence. My mother was the one who stayed around the house: she was perpetually surrounded by a klatsch of women, and she found some way to help out each of them, left abandoned because their husbands had immigrated to America, the Golden Land. They were forgotten and received no indication of being alive, and she would write letters in her beautiful and poetic style. Her letters were always answered. We lived on the market square (Rynek) as neighbors of the Rabbi. Later on, we moved to a different house, beside Zukrowicz, while the store remained in Tykoczinsky’s house. My father never once wanted to buy merchandise. My parents moved to live in Zambrów after they were married. The old-timers in the town knew very little about them, but my parents quickly engaged themselves in the life of the community. My mother was a member of the Ladies Society in Zambrów. Their meetings frequently took place in our house, under the direction of Mrs. Gordon and Mrs. Mark. She was cognizant of all the needy: On the Hubar Street, there was a needy widow, and on the Yatkowa Street there was a populous family without so much as a slice of bread and the like. My mother knew of and remembered them all. On Fridays, several baskets were readied for purposed of distribution. How I loved those missions! I carried this out following all of my mother’s directions: before you enter the house, knock on the door to see if there is anyone in the house, ask on my behalf, and tell that you are leaving this basket, and that your mother will come by to pick it up, and you know my daughter – it is forbidden to shame another person, especially in front of others. Yeshiva students would eat ‘days’ at our home. On Mondays and Thursdays they would eat in groups of eight to ten boys. While still early in the morning, my mother would set the table. I will not be embarrassed to say that I envied them, those yeshiva students. For the midday meal she would prepare a package for each of them, for their evening meal, since they would not be returning for that third meal of the day. Her reputation spread among the yeshiva students – the table of Alta Greenberg was famous. My parents lived modestly, without aggrandizement, a characteristic of a large, well-branched out family, doing good deeds in anonymity. As we grew up, we also rebelled. However, in the depths of our hearts, we respected them. Zambrów was a small town in the Diaspora, and on first glance, was not very different from many towns in Poland. However, as a scion of that town, after I had resided in The Land for longer than I had resided there, it remained with me as it was then at the time that I left it, having not changed over time, of been altered by destiny. The life of the city and that of its people, its environs, roads, the natural scenery that changed with the seasons, remain pleasant within us and live on in our hearts, and fill certain aspects of emotion that are understood only to us. These are aspects of wealth and poverty, of culture and pitfalls, images of both shame and honor. The higher-storied houses on its principal streets hid behind them, the small houses that were at risk of falling dawn, the workshops, the working people, and the children of the majority of the houses that during snow and freezing days would go about in small shoes on their feet, and large items of clothing wrapped around their bodies, but that they absorbed love and warmth from their homes. And who does not remember our helper, the water carrier with his pails, who in summer and winter would fill the heavy earthenware casks? Who does not recall Dvora Hilda who was twelve years old, with her outstretched hand? She did this on a scheduled basis: On Tuesday she would receive only wood, by on Thursday – only potatoes. The wash women at the side of the river with hands reddened and swollen from the freezing cold. The large rocks in the marketplace could tell stories that could not be counted. Stories of the biweekly market days that were to provide sustenance for the entire Jewish populace for the other days of the week, amidst their struggles among themselves and with the gentiles. The days of mud and snow during which no one left the city, and no one came in. Days of explanation on our historical homeland that were required before the young minds would grasp their meaning. The melodies of ‘Between the Tigris and Euphrates’ and ‘Tekhezakna.’ Like in a dream, I can remember the two large tears streaming from my mother’s eyes when she learned of the opening of the university on Mount Scopus. That very evening our father told us about the Land of Israel, about the Balfour Declaration. Two years then went by. On one evening, when he had returned from a trip to Warsaw, he told me that one of the sons of my uncle, whom I did not know, had gone off to engage in training to become a pioneer and make aliyah to the Land of Israel. I did not sleep that night. In my imagination, I saw myself so near to that esthetic story that I had heard from my father, and simultaneously felt so far from it. From that day on, I could find no peace for myself. On one occasion I got up the nerve and revealed to my parents that I was going off to find out if we had a chapter of ‘HeHalutz’ near us. In passing, I asked: ‘What is a Halutz?’ And so my father took out his Tanakh, bound in brown leather, and showed what was written in Joshua 6:13: ‘The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets of rams horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew the trumpets; and the armed men went before them...’ It is hard today, to explain to myself what a change and transformation took place in my young mind after reading this chapter. We always had a teacher for Hebrew and Tanakh. But I have the impression that their explanation of the fall of the walls of Jericho became clarified in all its splendor on that evening. Nowadays, when I analyze the meaning of ‘HeHalutz’ in my mind, I am struck by how close this concept is to Hasidism, how aligned the lofty idea of both were, to overcome many obstacles. Our house was suffused with Zionist ideals, such that on the same day, I felt them to be an organic part of me, and it was then that the transformation came that brought me to Zvi Zamir on the morrow, confused and embarrassed, with the question in my mouth: ‘Do we have a HeHalutz among us?’ But I knew, and replete with confidence, I was able to cite the entire chapter by heart. I received spiritual nourishment at home – it was always open before us: a place for sittings and meetings. I integrated myself from that time on into the community life and their movements in the city, especially – in the HeHalutz movement. By any measure, Zambrów was a small city, but it had movements from all spectra of the rainbow, as if it were a metropolitan city. Accordingly, all the initiatives would overlap one onto another, taking in an active youth who knew how to get things done, motivate others, how to divide up and how to unite. Many of the initiatives were on behalf of the Land of Israel. This was done by means of communication, and hard, burdensome work, by means of going door-to-door to gather money by all means, and even on the Eve of Yom Kippur, by placing a collection plate in either the White or the Red Bet HaMedrash. I loved sitting in the White Bet HaMedrash. It was my impression that the worshipers there were more Zionist than those in the Red Bet HaMedrash. In the former, they were more interested and attentive, despite the fact that in both people were always in a hurry, and there was no time to listen. It is possible that I had this impression because my mother prayed at the White Bet HaMedrash. Movie days and party evenings, days when emissaries would come from the capitol, from the HeHalutz central office, from the Israel Fund. One fund-raiser would come on the heals of another fund-raiser, and there were many preparations to be made, with our house being like a busy hive for the preparation of refreshments, the baking of rolls, and all this was done with the consent of our parents and their support, which seemed to us to be in a different world. My mother, my sister Malka and I would oversee, and the little ones in the house would act as our helpers. In the organization of our beautiful library, there was no bound to our endeavors: the creation of lists, invitations, the creation and organizing of catalogues, etc. Every new delivery of books, before they were delivered to the library, brought about competition, to read them until daylight broke, or until our father or mother would come into the room and extinguish the light. My parents knew that I was planning to make aliyah, but when I decided to go for training, I fell victim, this for the first time, to a very strong opposition. My father said – you are putting me to shame, and I will not be able to raise my eyes in the shtibl. Their pain caused me considerable sorrow and pain, but in the end they agreed, and upon arriving in Szczuczyn ( the training camp was at the village of Dluga near the German border) I learned that our Rabbi and Rebbetzin, who was a loyal friend of my mother, wrote a letter to the Rabbi of Szczuczyn, with the request to ‘keep an eye on her.’ I never expected that, with my aliyah to The Land, I would never again see my parents, who were in the prime of life, and my younger brothers, so skilled and handsome. Our entire well-branched family was exterminated. Just my uncles and their sons numbered about two hundred people. I was the first to make aliyah and was able to bring my sister Malka, and we both brought our little sister Rivka. The oldest, Rachel, reached The Land with her two children, Sholom and Leah (named for my grandfather and grandmother) after the tribulations of the Holocaust, when her husband Shimon Rubin was murdered at the hand of the Poles, on the day of the liberation of Poland, by the Russians...   The Aliyah of R’ Joshua Benjamin Baumkuler (Recorded by Israel Levinsky from the description given by his son)   When my father, R’ Joshua Benjamin Baumkuler ז״ל, decided to go to the Land of Israel, he came to the Bet HaMedrash on the Sabbath, ascended the bimah, and announced: I am taking my leave of you, after the forty years during which I have lived amongst you. I will be traveling to take up residence in the Land of Israel. If I owe anyone anything, let him come to me, and I will pay him off. He made this same announcement in all the houses of study and the synagogue.   On the following day, in the morning, Nachman the Shammes came and called my father to the Rabbi. What is the matter? Abcheh Frumkin has a complaint: He helped my father to sell his house and he is owed a commission, even though he was not present at the sale. The Rabbi made a compromise, and my father made the payment [required]. Other small claims materialized. One person came and claimed: it was because of my father that he had to pay a fine because of unsanitary conditions. The Rabbi ruled: if you want to travel to the Land of Israel, without any encumbrances – pay! And so forth. My mother then mixed herself in: what are you doing, you will be left without so much as a groschen to make a journey to such a faraway place! However, he did not heed her. On one occasion he deposited his golden watch with the Rabbi. When he did not have the ready resources to make a payment, and one time he even came back from the Rabbi, on a cold day without his fur coat, he had left it with the Rabbi as security.   In the end, he paid out all the people to whom he owed money, and everyone went along to escort my father and mother on their journey to the Land of Israel. He would say that it is better to be in Jerusalem on a Festival Day, when he radiated out of joy, than to be in Zambrów in a formidable building with a store full of clothing merchandise.   Benjamin Kagan   He was the son of the Rabbi of Zabłudów who married Shlomo Tuvia Sziniak’s sister in Zambrów, and took up residence in Zambrów. He was a refined young man, a scholar, and knowledgeable in worldly education.    He was an ardent Zionist, and illegal Zionist meetings would take place in his house, and he would fight against the fanaticism of the Rabbi and the Hasidim. He was a salt merchant.   He immigrated to America in 1924, to Brooklyn, to his children, Hona, Yankl-David, and Michael. His family was exterminated.   His granddaughter Penina Hildebrand, saved herself and came to the Land of Israel, she being the daughter of Esther Abkewicz, who had left Warsaw in 1939 and arrived in Israel after extensive wandering, being in Bet-Shemen, and then moving together with her husband to Kibbutz Kiryat-Yearim, in the Jerusalem corridor.   Benjamin Kagan     Yaakov Shyeh Cohen   A scion of Tiktin, enlightened, and a man of broad acquaintance with the Talmud, knowing the Tanakh, grammar and the language, also knowing Russian, and a man of good deeds. He ran his own business – an ironmongery, in a sensible way, and successfully. His wife – Malya from Courland, was a relative of the Rabbi, and she too was enlightened, to the extent that it was difficult to find a peer to her in the entire area. She was fluent in German literature, read books of poetry and song her entire life, floating in aristocratic circles, and could not acclimate herself to the provincials in the town. Yaakov Shyeh was respected in the community, his words were heeded, and he was even selected more than once to serve as the head of the community.   He had two sons: Eli-Mott’l and Asher. Eli-Mott’l was a philanthropic man, studied in yeshivas, and also absorbed the precepts of Enlightenment, helped his father in the store, in the ironmongery, but  he also worked with the progressive element of the young people. He was dedicated with his entire heart to the public library, which made available the concepts of the Enlightenment to the masses. He was its librarian for a number of years, and it was not to receive any prize, and everyone praised him. He married a woman who was the daughter of his uncle and immigrated to Argentina. Asher died in Poland before his time.   The Cynowicz Family   By Rachel Salutsky-Rosenblum My father’s grandfather, R’ Chaim-Hirsch Cynowicz ז״ל, was a righteous man and a scholar. He was engaged in Torah study day and night. After several hours of study in the morning, when he was enfolded in his tallis and tefillin, he would take out shards of pottery from a crack in the ceiling and put them over his eyes in order to bring one’s day of death to mind. He fasted for intervals and ate usually after the afternoon prayer. For a while he studied at the yeshiva in Zambrów. From much stress, his body was broken, and he died before his time. His wife assumed the burden of making a living for all her life in the business of manufacturing.   He had four sons: (A.) R’ Shlomo, a wondrous scholar, who spent all his days in Torah study. His son Nachman, who was taken in the bloom of life, was intellectually exceptional, and one of the best of the students at the Łomża Yeshiva. (B.) R’ Joseph-Abraham, who was the headmaster in Ostrów for twenty years, and for the next thirty-five years in Łomża, a rabbi, well-schooled, wise and good-hearted, one of the first of the Zionist rabbis in Poland, devoted to constant study, enlightened and progressive. (C.) Noah – A merchant and creator of bleach for washing, lived in Brok and then returned to Zambrów. (D.) Mott’l – An enlightened scholarly individual, energetic and lively, a writer of ‘requests’ and an expert in the law. The farmers of the vicinity would throng to his door and ask his advice, as if he were a lawyer. He liked to tell the legends of Rabbi Bar Bar-Hana, and was a man of humor.   Lipman Slowik   By Kh. B.   Six- and seven-year-old boys, and even older ones, studied in the cheder of Meir Fyvel. From all of the children who were members of this class, one image stands out in my memory, like a contrast to a dark cloud, a boy always chosen by all of the children to be ‘the king’ of the class. He was a pale, tall boy, who stood straight. His name was Lipman Slowik, the son of David Rokaczer. In remembering him and talking about him, the power of his influence over all of his classmates rises in my mind. It never occurred to anyone to contest his orders, much less what he had to say. It never occurred to anyone to propose anyone else to be ‘the king.’ I do not recall the source of his influence: his penetrating eyes, his age, his height? – No, and no! It was precisely children of this type who they liked to ostracize and call names. But not Lipman: he did not intimidate with his frail body, and he did not instill fear with a strong hand. His voice was low, and he spoke gently. He was moderate and composed. A pernicious disease subverted his health from early childhood onwards, and it was as if he sensed that he had no time for the distractions of childhood and therefore behaved like an adult. When he grew up, he learned the art of photography from Gordon. However, death claimed him in the bloom of youth.   Baruch Sorawicz [He was the] son of Ephraim and Fradl, a grandson of Mikhul’keh Finkelstein. He was enlightened, and a modest, taciturn man, son of R’ Baruch of Tiktin, who gave his children a secular education, in generous quantity. Baruch studied in a number of cheders, and afterwards, in 1912 approximately, entered the high school of  M. Krinsky in Warsaw. He did not see any reward from his studies, even though he was an intelligent person. He returned to Zambrów and was one of the leaders of the progressive young people. He possessed a good mood, was alert and prone to action. He had a family home that was exemplary. At the time that all the Jews were taken to Auschwitz, he could have escaped and remained alive, but he went after his child, who had been taken from him to be killed, and he too was lost. He was forty-two years old when he died.   Abraham Rosen He owned a store of woven goods and a house on the marketplace of the city. His origins were from the vicinity of Ostrołęka, because he was called ‘Krup,’ this being the name of the farmers who are there. He was the son-in-law of Shlomo Tuvia Sziniak, and brother-in-law of Benjamin Kagan, He had three enlightened daughters. He was a loner and tended to keep hidden, and he didn’t pay much attention, leading to him being branded as a miser. But people erred in this assessment. He was a wondrous scholar, enlightened, completely fluent in modern literature, astronomy and mathematics – but he didn’t want to be visible, and only few of his closest relatives knew his real worth. The books that he had in his bookcase, among the volumes of the Shas and Poskim, among the books of the Enlightenment and science – could be found to be full of ideas and explanations and references to other sources. And all this became known...after he died. His young daughter, Sarah, being of good intellect and also enlightened, was active in Tze‘irei Tzion, a member of its Committee, and dreamt of going to Israel her entire life.   Elyeh Rudniker-Goren No personal community initiative ever took place in which he did not have a hand, and in which he wasn’t one of those putting in an effort. He came from the Rudnik territory, where his father Ber’cheh came from, who was the land agent. Elyeh was tall, handsome, an enlightened man and a man of ideas. If a dispute erupted between partners, of a family quarrel that came to light or like matters, Elyeh Rudniker was the one who intervened and restored the peace. He was the only arbitrator in court cases and disputes, and was successful in finding a compromise and a way of preserving the honor and tranquility of the opposing parties. He loved to visit the sick and fill them with good tidings, and occasionally with deeds. When the cholera epidemic erupted in the city, and the flour mill of Moshe Schribner was configured to be a hospital for those infected with the disease, Elyeh Rudniker was among the leading organizers of first aid. He was among the excellent masseurs who took his life into his hands in order to perform massages, and the delivery of all manner of help to the sick, paying no mind to the possibility that he might personally contract the disease and be laid low. He was the firstborn son of a firstborn, and he know the secret of ‘whispering,’ and because of this he was summoned to the ill, especially children who appeared to have been struck by the "evil eye" – to remove all sickness from them. He had a difficult time making a living in a partnership in a factory that produced soda water and kvass, and he was an agent for ship tickets to the United States, for those traveling illegally, meaning those who were compelled to leave the borders of Russia because of political harassment, compulsory military service, etc.  Because of this, he was once seized and was punished by the régime by being ‘exiled’ to the town of Sokolov (now Sokołów Podlaski). But even there he didn’t hide his hand, and he engaged faithfully in community affairs. After the First World War, he returned to Zambrów, and during the time of Polish hegemony once again immersed himself in community affairs. There was a Gemilut Hasadim Bank in Zambrów, which supported the granting of small loans to small-scale merchants, craftsmen, in order to enable them to buy merchandise or work materials, and to sell their goods on fair days and in the markets. However, the bank was perpetually short of funds, because of the plethora of loans that the needy required, and Elyeh Rudniker would literally pass over all of the doors of those that had the means to gather donations, both small and large, for the benefit of the Gemilut Hasadim Bank. And on Saturday night, once again, the needy would enter his home, to begin with the wish for ‘a good week,’ and Elyeh would allocate the small loans, take in notes, and turn a blind eye on those occasions when their were loans due according to their notes, in order to ‘aid to the poor.’ And he had yet another endearing quality: he was concerned about the Jewish soldiers and arranged to have them accepted into Jewish homes during Festivals, or to organize a separate kitchen for them.   He was assisted in this work by Yankl-David the Hasid, the son of the Gać shoemaker.   He was a lover of Zion and a member of ‘Mizrahi.’ He urged the young people to make aliyah to the Land. He did not permit his son, David, to travel to his brothers in Argentina. He waited and said to him, "Your time will come to make aliyah to the Land of Israel, and you will build there, and make aliyah with me." In the last years, his fortunes declined. He was one of those who worked on automotive transportation between Ostrów and Bialystok, by way of Zambrów, Rutki, or by way of Wysokie Mazowieckie, Sokoly. However, the Polish authorities confiscated the rolling stock and transferred it to the P. K. P. (the railroad authority), and Elyeh and his partners were left with no way to earn a living. His son, Dov, made aliyah to the Land of Israel during Aliyah Bet. However, he was unable to get his father there along with him. Together with the holy Rabbi, he too was taken, at a time when he was over seventy and taken away to an unknown place in a freight truck, from which he never returned... He was killed in the aktion near Szumowo together with the Rabbi.     Dr. Joseph Feinzilber     He was the youngest of the three brothers: Yochanan, Chaim and Joseph.    He ran away from home, with the help of his teacher, R’ Israel Levinsky ז״ל, to Odessa, and he worked and studied there.   He was not particularly gifted, but he had a strong will to learn.   He struggled in Odessa for many years, until he got his diploma in university study of medicine. He completed his studies during the First World War, at the time that the Germans occupied the Ukraine – returning to Zambrów, and practiced there as a Doctor of Medicine.   He fell ill with typhus, and his weakened body succumbed.   Berl Ptaszewicz, and his wife, who were buried alive by the Nazis in the village of Szumowo, in August 1941.     Lighting Candles of the Spirit   By Chaya Kossowsky At this time, let me light several candles of the spirit for my parents, my sister, also my brother and friends, all who dreamed of reaching the Land, whether living at home or in the process of training, some in the military and others in battle along with the partisans. They dreamed and fought, dreamed and fought, about the enchanted land that they did not reach. They dreamed, and are no more...   My grandfather Zalman Kossowsky, was one of the founding elders of the city. His building, made of concrete in the center of the square, contained the police station, stores, and residences. His manufacturing store was known in the entire area.   My father Israel, his firstborn son, was not drawn to commerce. Rather, he showed talent for the law and was expert in the law and its regulations. People would come from near and far to seek his counsel, to clarify issues concerning inheritance, commercial transactions, matters of distress, overstepping, etc., etc. In a number of instances, when there were land disputes between villagers, my father would travel, do measurements and set boundaries, and all the interested parties heeded him and accepted his judgment. People streamed to him for the preparation of applications on their behalf to the ruling official, or the head of government, the supreme court and the like, and in many cases for lack of ability – he did not want to take a fee for his effort. His penmanship was exemplary in its beauty, and he was a Zionist – but did not believe in the concept of a Halutz. He was opposed to my brother Aryeh making aliyah to the Land. He found it difficult when I left, the daughter he loved most. ‘If you are making aliyah to The Land,’ he said – ‘it is a sign that I also will follow you there.’ My father was beloved by all of the people in the city – no one dared to challenge my father: they accorded him the respect due to a learned Jewish man. During the last Russian occupation, he worked as a financial auditor.   My mother, Esther, was a scion of Lithuania, the daughter of a wealthy family, aristocratic, a refined soul, and indulged. She acclimated herself to her constrained life, and educated me to be independent and to be oriented towards work. She was knowledgeable in Hebrew and urge me to affiliate with a youth movement.   I am indebted to my brother Yitzhak for being able to make aliyah to the Land. It was he who influenced my father to send his little sister to receive training and then make aliyah. He was both active and alert to the concerns of the kibbutz, and worked a lot for HeHalutz. He studied a lot of Hebrew and also general knowledge, and was a living, walking encyclopedia – to the point that the Polish students and officers would stand amazed and unmoving before his extensive knowledge. He wanted to make aliyah but could not because of military reasons. The movement itself also detained him: they needed him.   At the outbreak of the war, he was in the Polish army. From the time he returned home, after the retreat of the army,  he too worked in the accounting administration under the oversight of the Russian authorities. After this, he went over to the partisans... and was lost.   My brother Moshe, was a revolutionary in his ways. He studied at the Polish gymnasium and excelled. However, as a consequence of the open anti-Semitism, he decided to abandon his studies and to study carpentry. My father objected with all his might and wanted him to complete his gymnasium studies, but he held his ground. He joined ‘HeHalutz HaTza‘ir,’ and he was the light of the group. He moved to Warsaw. He wanted to travel to Bolivia, and from there to the Land of Israel. The household members opposed him, and he remained in Poland. He entered the Polish army, suffered for being a Jew, and was severely punished for his resistance and rebellion against anti-Semitism. Despite all this he excelled in the army, and even received promotions. He attempted to leave Poland -- my uncle in America undertook to send him an invitation – but the war broke out, and he remained stuck in the ghetto. He fled that location and hid himself as a Christian. Riding on a horse, and having grown a mustache, he would steal into the ghetto and bring sacks of food for his relatives. However, it appears he was killed by Poles... My sister Yenta was the oldest in the house. She assisted my mother and us. She was educated and loved to do community work. She loved literature, music, and dreamed of making aliyah to the Land, and to change her name...   My brother Zalman belonged to HeHalutz HaTza‘ir. He studied a trade at a place that was considered enlightened, which our father had already consented to – times had changed. In the year 1938, he wanted to make aliyah as part of Aliyah Bet. It is perhaps my fault that he did not come at that time: I wrote home – to shed some light on the difficult events that had overtaken me and my brother Aryeh at Bet-Shemen – indicating that this younger brother should continue to stay with parents and concentrate on his studies, and then the war broke out. During the way, he was among the partisans and rose to be the head of a division. He knew no fear, and not once [did he] put his life in danger, and [he] prevailed. He was full of confidence that he would stay alive. When the city and its environs were destroyed, he saw himself as the last of the Jews. He was able to joke, even while being in the shadow of death: After the war, [he said], they will put me in a museum – a survivor. He was captured and taken to Auschwitz. He died of dysentery due to malnutrition and unsanitary food. Koszczawa, a scion of our city, was with him up to the last minute, and he even was able to convey his last words to me..   Let me put a limit to what I have to say... this concluded the tribute to our family.   Let me now light a number of candles to the memory of friends.   Male and female friends. Who will count them?   My female friends of the neighborhood: Feiga Sosnowiec, Lieb’cheh Granica, Zvi Tykoczinsky, Chaya-Faygl Dzenchill, others, and others...   My male and female friends of the movement: Kanowicz, Litewka, Raszutszewicz, Lakhovar, Stupnik, Ukrainczyk, Zisk, Krulik, Chaimson, others and others...   My male and female classmates: Peszka Furmanowicz, Rothberg, Kozacky, Gittl Zisk, Shayn’tzeh, others and others...young and good, pursuers of what is good and just, [taken] before they could taste life, enveloped in hope for the future.   Chaya-Faygl Dzenchill – was planning to make aliyah after training in Czestochowa. Peszka Furmanowicz, came of age in the Bialystok kibbutz and was among the first of the fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto.   All held out much promise to their people, their families, They were exemplars of a budding younger generation, who pass by the camp and offer a salute. All were prematurely cut down...   May my words serve as a memorial candle to glorify their souls.     Work & Industry Small-Scale Industry in Zambrów     Isaac Koziol the baker   Moshe-Aharon Biednowitch the builder     Abraham Moshe, the mortician, with wife and grandchildren, Chaim ben-Dor Today [after the Holocaust] the Poles pride themselves on the level of industrialization in Zambrów. The barracks have been transformed into a large kerchief factory. It was here that hundreds of kerchief-weaving machines were dragged from the Jewish kerchief industry in Bialystok, and in bringing them built up an enormous kerchief factory employing hundreds of workers. The new train line, Czernowy-Bor – Zambrów conveys raw materials and takes away finished goods.   At one time, without the involvement of the government, and with their own primitive methods often with the resistance of the authorities, a small-scale Jewish industry grew in Zambrów.   The Jewish steam mills purchased grain from the peasantry and distributed sacks of flour to the surrounding cities. Jewish windmills on both borders of the city, on the Ostrów Road (Moshe Schribner) and on the Bialystok-Czeczark Road (Leib’keh Millner, Abraham Schwartzbard), would turn in the wind and grind the grain for the peasants.   Jewish kasha mills, smaller ones, larger ones, would bang away in the early morning hours grinding kasha, buckwheat, oats, tillage produce, etc. The kasha would go from Moshe Kashemakher from Abraham Tzedek, to the train, to Tyszowce and from there further on. Jewish oil makers pressed and squeezed oil from flax seeds for the entire vicinity. Shmulkeh Cohn squeezed oil, Hona Wierzbowicz fabricated oil, as did Joel Gerszunowicz, Meir Yankl’s son-in-law, and Yossl Cohen.    Yoss’l Cohen would also ‘burn’ pitch. Every summer, gypsy caravans would come from Hungary and buy up the pitch.   Kvass and soda-water were fabricated by Chaim Velvel Tyszkewicz with Dov’cheheh Smoliar, Leibusz, and later Leibusz’icheh Levinsky, and others.   Years ago the Jews distilled whiskey and dealt with the spirit merchants of Czeczork and other nearby villages. Jews of Zambrów fabricated bricks, and to this end Shlomkeh Blumrosen and Danziger built a large brick works in Gardlin on the road to Bialystok. Abraham Schwartzbard also built himself a brick kiln on the Czeczork Road. Everyone around then built their houses out of these Jewish bricks.   The dyeing plants in Zambrów were a substantial undertaking. It was the Jewish dyeing houses who would do the dyeing for the peasants.   And so, Jews, with Berish Kreda at their head, built a dyeing plant – the Polusz, beside the river, not far from the bridge. There, machines clanked away, and there was a constant stream of raw materials coming in with wool, etc. Gershon Srebrowicz, Koczak from Jablonka and others [were involved]. After the First World War, it passed to the Prawda brothers – these were nouveau riches and very diligent people. The gentiles from all sides would bring their skeins of linen to be combed and dyed.   The Zambrów shoemakers would provide between seventy to eighty percent of the boots for the entire area. More than twenty shoemakers would sew cheap and military grade boots. The same was true of tailors and hat makers. Chaim Yagoda, the Smith, with his brother Chone-Leibel and sisters Frume and Rachel, over mother's tombstone     The Three Flour Mills                                                  A. Meir Zelig Grajewski Grajewski was one of the ones who enabled the expansion of the limits of the city and the growth of the Jewish community. R’ Meir Zelig hailed from Grajewo. He came to Zambrów full of vigor and ambition. He surveyed the market days and the fairs in the city, and he found that the farmers bring a surfeit of grain, wheat and rye, and that there is a way to exploit this it the best of all ways: to built a modern flour mill near the city, which will accept this surfeit of grains to be milled, and then to supply the entire vicinity with flour. Flour came here from far distances, and there was the potential for a local flour mill to capture the flour market. Windmills, called ‘wietraken’, ground small amounts of flour, and it was coarse and not properly sifted of rough particulates. When the notion of the construction of such a steam-driven flour mill ripened in his mind, Grajewski looked around the area and found the Ostrów Road on the right, over the river, suitable to his purpose.   A man of action, imbued with a good commercial sense, he succeeded in organizing funds that were derived from cash on hand, and the remainder through loans of varying tenor, and he constructed a steam-driven mill  that was pleasant in appearance and whose millstones pounded away day and night. The farmers inundated the market with grains, and tens of Jews, family men, found a handsome living from this: they bought sacks of grain from the farmer, returned and brought them at a small profit to the flour mill, and Grajewski paid them handsomely in cash and notes, and from a number of merchants he even did this on contingent payment.   B. Ze’ev Goldin When the Jews saw that Grajewski had created a gold mine, they grew jealous of him. And one, Ze’ev Goldin, from Ostrów Mazowiecka or some other city, came to Zambrów with a sum of money in hand, and he set up a mill right across from Grajewski on the left side of the road, this being a steam-driven flour mill that was even more modern, with newer machinery imported from Germany, with an electrical transformer, etc., etc. The competition was great. The number of grain merchants in the city grew, and their income became even more secure: whatever Grajewski would not buy, Goldin would, and vice versa. Farmers from quite a distance, close to Łomża or Ostrów, planned to delay their travel to reach the Zambrów market day, because they knew they could sell their grain easily and for a good price. Grajewski and his three sons: Shaul (Saul), Noah and Abba. could not withstand the competition and the shortfalls grew and debts got larger. Grajewski married off his eldest son Shaul to the daughter of a very rich man from Radom, R’ Yankelewsky, who invested his large and substantial dowry into the business, but it didn’t help much. This persisted until one day on a Friday toward sunset, when Grajewski was out of the city, a fire broke out and his mill was entirely consumed in flames. Grajewski got the insurance money from two Russian companies and from a third French company and emerged unscathed from the business, and he was left with yet a substantial sum of money...   Goldin’s flour mill stayed in business for some time. ‘Goldin’s Mill’ had quite a reputation in the city. From time to time, Goldin expanded his facilities: he put up one building after another, improved and renovated, and lived well in the residence that he constructed beside the mill. Tens of families made their living thanks to the flour mill, and about twenty Jewish employees worked inside it.   For a while, a competitive shadow, in the form of a German gentile whose name was Pfeiffer, stood in his way as we shall see later on. But Pfeiffer’s mill burned down one night at the end of the summer, and once again Goldin remained again as the only one in business, and he dominated it with force.   As Goldin grew old, and his sons did not want to continue in his business, he sold the mill to Meir ben Mordechai Aharon Meizner. Meizner, a handsome Jewish man of good disposition, progressive, even though he was no big expert, sold off his clothing store, which he had owned on the corner of  the ‘Wadna’ Gasse, beside the marketplace of Mr. Gottlieb. He took on several junior partners, and among them one of the managers of the workplace, the son-in-law of Alter Somowicz, and they made some renovations and improvements to the mill, paved the road that connects the mill to the Royal Highway, and the flour developed quite a reputation throughout the length and breadth of Poland. During the course of several years, the mill passed through a number of hands, and its partners changed. However, the revenue stream from it was very steady, and it was always a source of income to residents of the city.   C. Pfeiffer’s Mill Pfeiffer was a German gentile, who, it appears, was sent here by his government as a spy. He started out with a modern Prussian bakery, run by machinery, which he first put up on [ulica] Kościelna  beside the house of R’ Mendl Rubin. When the revenues and the farmers increased during market days, the number of people coming to buy bread from him would grow as well – as a result of this, he set up a large flour mill, run by water. To accomplish this, he was able to acquire a parcel of land outside the city quite cheaply near the horse market, where the Zambrów River comes to an end. He brought in an engineer and an expert from Germany, and that one planned to raise the level of the river and put a large and wide dam across it. The surplus of water trapped behind the dam would course through the channels of the dam and noisily descend like a waterfall, and their force would turn the millstones. The dam was called ‘Der Stav.’ Using water power, Pfeiffer was able to eliminate the costs of oil, and he was able to compete in the market in the sale of flour. His operation was also a clean one, and his flour of the finest. Pfeiffer was an old bachelor and enjoyed wiling his time away in pleasures, keeping company with the Jews, and he had an open hand when it came to assisting the indigent. In several fund-raising initiatives by the community, he too would participate, and not only once did he donate sacks of flour to charitable institutions.   The business manager was someone named Kaspar. He also was a German by birth, handsome, tall, and he had the face of a Teutonic Knight. Kaspar ran the flour mill and also led the bakery and the sale of bread. He took part in the general community life and was the Vice Chairman of the Firefighters (the Chairman was his neighbor, Skarzynski, the Polish pharmacist). Since Pfeiffer had no heirs, the flour mill and the bakery passed into the hands of Kaspar. A short time later, on one of the nights of Tishri or Heshvan, a fire broke out, and even though the flour mill stood beside water it was totally consumed. The dam continued to do its work for many years afterwards – beside the burned and destroyed flour mill – and the water continued to flow and fall with force and loud sound. When the First World War broke out, Kaspar was suspected of espionage on behalf of Germany, and together with a number of other German families in the vicinity, like Kaufman, the Dog Killer (Koyfman der Rocker) and others, were exiled to the interior of Russia.   D. The Windmills (Wietraken) For many years several windmills turned on the Ostrów and Bialystok Roads, whose four huge sails, in the form of a cross, would move for periods of time. They were owned by Jews, and they were: Moshe Schribner, on the Ostrów Road, and Zelig Miller on the Bialystok Road. These mills served for decades in providing both coarse and fine flour to the farmers, and also served as way stations and a place of shade to strollers on the Sabbath, we went out of the city to get a breath of fresh air. During the time of the cholera epidemic, the mill of Moshe Schribner was converted to a first aid station. The sick were brought there, and here they got help, and from here the dead were brought to their burial.   Craftsmen                                                                It is interesting to note the place occupied by craftsmen starting from the beginnings of the city. Among the gabbaim in the synagogue was Chaim the Tailor, from the Kosziuszko Gasse. Among the prominent gabbaim of the Chevra Kadisha was Mendl Rubin the Hatmaker, and Moshe-Zelik the Hatmaker. The Torah reader in the synagogue was Binyom’keh Schuster. Later on, his son Alter performed this role. Among those who led services were: in the synagogue, Alter the Smith; in the White Bet HaMedrash – David the Wagon Driver, Moshe Zelik the Hatmaker, and Chaim Kalman the Butcher; in the Red Bet HaMedrash –  Fyv’keh the Shoemaker and Abraham Schneider. Among the cantor’s choir singers – tailors and shoemakers. Yudl Shokhet has two such singers on the High Holy Days: Yankl Hittlmakher, and Jekuthiel Katzav. The Shoemaker from Gać and his sons, all shoemakers, were the leaders of the Hasidim of Sokolov (now Sokołów Podlaski). One of them, Yankl David the Shoemaker, was the ombudsman and provider for all the yeshiva students. On the Yatkowa Gasse was Ber’cheh’s wooden house, where the schuster Rabbi R’ Abraham Shlomo lived. He was a shoemaker for his entire life, a scholar and an observant Jew. Among the gabbaim in the Hasidim shtibl were Herschel Tscheslior, the father of  Yeshea the Melamed, Moshe Aharon Mulyar, Mysh’keh Fischer, and others. In charitable institutions, and later on in political parties, the craftsmen took the lead.   Opinions about the cantor, an interpretation of a preacher’s sermon, an idea about the study that took place in the Bet HaMedrash, was offered only by the working class Jews, the craftsmen. Every day, you could hear the stirring in the street: the rising of these decent manual laborers to say their morning prayers, to get in a ‘day’s worth’ of Psalms, and sometimes also a page of the Gemara. Between afternoon and evening prayers, they would fill up the long tables in the Bet HaMedrash and engage in study.   The Jewish Proletariat in Zambrów                                                                 By Lejzor Pav (New York)                                                                 Meeting of the Zembrover Society in New York. In the center -- Mr. Louis Pav, President.   Zambrów had no factories. There was only one steam-driven flour mill in operation, and it employed about ten Jewish and gentile workers, and later on the dyeing plant. From time to time a small oil processing facility would arise, from which a blind horse and an oil worker and a couple of workers would derive their sustenance. There were several small kvass and soda water factories, where an owner and his wife and children, together with a couple of relatively cheap extra hired hands, worked during the season in the hot summer months.   Despite this, Zambrów had a fine working class. On Saturday, before nightfall, the ‘Pasek’ was full – this was the center of promenade in Zambrów – the Ostrów Road, this way, until the iron bridge on one side, and the Bialystok Road – literally as far as the brick works on the other side: Jewish workers, the mature and the students, masters and apprentices, dressed in their Sabbath finery with their wives and children, with their loved ones and friends, walked about in a pleasant manner and inhaled the fresh air of the Sabbath day of rest.   There was no lack of women workers: tailors and seamstresses, stocking makers, wig makers, ‘salesladies’ in the stores, cooks, servant girls who would meet with their young men, who were makers of galoshes, apprentice tailors and shoemakers, drivers and smiths, bakers and cabinetmakers, and they would get together to heartily pass the time together on the nice and one free day of the week.   In time, all of these ‘proletarians’ and ‘lamplighters’ united and organized themselves into professional unions, strengthened their economic positions, declared themselves to be professional and socially oriented, with each affiliating with a political party, began to read books, a newspaper, signed up for workers education courses and participating in partisan discussions.   It was in this manner that a nice Jewish proletarian class lived and developed in the little shtetl of Zambrów, which had no factories and didn’t mass produce anything. If a speaker arrived from somewhere or another, the hall was packed with hangers on, with party members on one side, and the opposition on the other side. In the shtetl, there was roiling and tumult – by Jewish Zambrów it was tranquil...   The communists in Poland today boast of the fact that Zambrów is an industrial center where thousands of workers are employed in textile factories, which had been liquidated in the former Jewish towns around Bialystok, and their machinery was transplanted in Zambrów. Machines clank away on the grounds of the former barracks, with smoke and soot belching from factory chimneys, and the song of workers are carried – but not ours! The voice of the Jewish workers from the quiet, non-industrialized Zambrów was cut off and permanently silenced. Their heirs, not local people, often times with blood on their hands, now make a living in Zambrów.     R’ Tuvia Skocandek (The Candle Maker) A scion of Jedwabne, he married the daughter of  R’ Moshe Hersh Cohn Slowo. He inherited the name ‘Candle Maker’ from his father-in-law who engaged in candle making, especially yahrzeit candles from inedible fat. He was short in stature, self-effacing in his demeanor, entirely holy, being always at one with his Creator. He did not engage in making a living – this was the work of his wife. He sunk his entire being into the study of Torah, and was not distracted into conversations about secular matters. He was a handsome man, with curly side locks and sunk in his own thoughts. The synagogue was his steady place to be. Early in the morning, upon arising, he would study at home. His sweet voice captivated souls. The sing-song of Gemara study broke from his house into the heart of the night and carried for distances. His second station was the synagogue itself. Prayer went on for hours, and when he returned he would eat a piece of bread in the manner of a Righteous Saint. Those who were ill would turn to him to remove ‘the evil eye’ from them. In the evenings at the White Bet HaMedrash, he would sit with tens of the balebatim and craftsmen at the side of a table, with a copy of the Mishna in their hands, and he would teach them and explain a chapter, utilizing all the commentaries. Complete silence reigned around the table. His explanations enchanted the soul and attracted listeners. He was held in esteem by all his students, by virtue of his integrity, the goodness of his heart, and the faith that was attached to it. He did not engage in politics. It was even difficult to engage him within his own family. It was only the give-and-take of Talmudic casuistry and argument that would bring him out of his reverie. He was fastidious in all his manners. In the wintertime, he would go to the river, and in the most extreme cold he would immerse his body and bathe in the water. In the year 1930, when I came home for a visit from the Land of Israel, the entire family gathered in my grandfather’s home. I sang songs from the Land, and he sat for the entire time, focused and listening, and his entire being was suffused with joy and his face shone. He communicated his desire to make aliyah and took an interest in the condition of religious observance there. He joined the supporters of the Mizrahi and contributed to them.   However, the righteous R’ Tuvia, the man of integrity and modesty, was not privileged to achieve the ambit of his desire. He even did not have the privilege of dying a natural death. He was one of the first of the martyrs of Zambrów.                                                                        Elinka         Elinka was one of the more attractive personalities who became endeared to the community. He originally came from Jablonka. He dressed as one of the simple folk, with a large tallis katan under his kaftan, and a broad hat of velvet on his head. He constantly had a small sack thrown over his shoulder. He was of average height, a split white beard, with pleasant, dreamy eyes. I never once saw him get angry, and never once saw him idle. He would cover all of the villages on a daily basis to sell needles. The farmers saw his countenance as that of a man of God, and they would entreat him: Rabbin Elinka, go and tread on our fields and may you leave God’s blessing there, because every place that you walk becomes a holy place! He would always walk alone, lost in his own thoughts, with his lips whispering from the Psalms which he knew by heart. He would rise early, pray ‘Vatikin’224, study a chapter of the Mishna, come home for a morning repast, and set out to the villages. Periodically, he would return from there with a quarter of corn grain over his shoulder that one of the farmers would have sold to him cheaply, or compensated him in kind for his merchandise. In the city, he was regarded as one of the ‘Lamed-Vov’ righteous men. It would be said of him – ‘He is a secret Righteous Man.’ He would fast at intervals during the Ten Days of Repentance, sitting in fast until evening. He was a reliable man, and once his wife made an error and poured fuel oil into a plate of potatoes that was on the table, instead of edible oil. ‘There is nothing bad in this,’ he said: ‘whoever said that edible oil is to impart a good taste, he will also say this to the fuel oil, and if The Holy One, Blessed Be He wants it to be so, I most certainly will not come to any harm! He then proceeded to eat it, and nothing happened to him. He educated his sons in Torah, to work, and to perform acts of charity. In old age, he resided with his son-in-law, Abraham’l ben David Velvel Golombek. His daughter, Chaya Elinka, looked after him with great love, and his son-in-law showed him great respect. So long as Elinka will be with us, the simple folk would say, no evil will befall us.   My Father R’ Moshe Aharon the Builder (Mulyar/Bednowicz) By Chaim Bender It is appropriate, in my view, to begin with a few lines concerning the origins and childhood of my father ז״ל, not only as a firmament for describing his personality, but also as an extension to the description of the life of Jews in the towns of that time.   My father ז״ל, was born, according to my calculation, in the year 1850 in Wysokie Mazowieckie – close to Zambrów or in its vicinity in a village or on an estate, to his father Baruch Yitzhak, who had leased a brick works from which he derived only a meager living. My father was the youngest of the family. I knew of two of my father’s brothers, the older – Israel Hirsch, who also lived in Zambrów during my days there, and was the overseer of the firing of the bricks at the brick works of R’ Shlomo Blumrosen; the second – Issachar, who was a ritual slaughterer and meat inspector in Wysokie, an ardent Jew of pleasant disposition; and a sister, Miriam Mindl, who it seems was the oldest. I know only a little about the childhood and youth of my father, and even this little I happened to overhear by chance and garnered from snippets of conversation.     Chaim Bender It was in this way that I once heard from him that his brother-in-law used to carry him as a child to the city, to cheder, in a sack thrown over his shoulder, especially on the cold winter days. This was an indication that his father did not have the means to send him in a separate wagon from the village where they lived to the city. On one Saturday night, a conversation ensued among us about birdcalls. My father told me about the various birdcalls that he heard while walking through the thick forest all night. He came to this forest after his bar mitzvah year, when he had left the home of his parents and ‘exiled' himself’ to a place of Torah study (I think it was Biala). With one shirt, and one meal in his left hand, and a staff he carved by himself in his right, he went the entire long distance on foot, a walk that took several days to reach the destination of his choosing. How many years did he spend in this Torah study place, and in other such Torah study places? How did he support himself there, and when did he return home? – I do not know.   He took a wife from a good family in Sokolov (now Sokołów Podlaski), near Siedlce, she being my mother ע״ה Sima (in his letters to her, when he was outside of the city, he wrote her name as Sima, but also sometimes as Cima) of the Tanenbaum family (she died on 11 Tevet 5692 [December 21, 1931], after having a life of sixty-two years with my father). My mother’s father, Shimon Tanenbaum, leased a fish pond. Also regarding this family, all I know is that it was related to the Rebbe, R’ Elimelech of Sokolov (now Sokołów Podlaski). Both my mother’s brother in Sokolov (now Sokołów Podlaski) and her brother in Wysokie have sons named Elimelech (Melech). It is possible that among the four brothers I had, who died before I was born, there was also one with this name, but it was not the custom to speak of those whose lives ended before their time (of the twelve children that my mother bore for my father, my mother ע״ה, would occasionally recollect her son ‘Berish’l,’ her favorite, who died in his bar mitzvah year. At times like this, my father would look into her face with his soft eyes, both threatening and pleading at the same time, as if to say: ‘Don’t you know that one does not speak of sons that God has given and God has taken away, and do not open your mouth...’ Immediately, my mother would fall silent, with a deep sigh).   After they married, my parents lived in Wysokie, and my father attempted to engage in commerce. On one occasion he lost all that he possessed as a result of a bad event. He had invested his capital in goods that were transported to him in a hired wagon. On the way the wagon-driver was ‘attacked’ and they ‘took’ all the merchandise from him, without leaving so much as a trace. When this bad news reached him, he traveled to Łomża, the provincial capital, to see if it might be possible to salvage ‘something,’ but he returned empty-handed just as he had come there. On his return by way of the Wysokie-Zambrów road, the wagon driver stopped to rest and feed his horse. This pause took place on the street of the synagogue that leads to the way to get to the horse market. Across from them, near the place where in our time,\ there stood the house of Czybulkin (that is, after the First Great Fire in the town), a large wooden house that was built at that time. Mt father, ז״ל stood there, with a heavy heart, looking at the house being built there. The owner walked over to him, this being one of the founders of the city, R’ Shmuel Wilimowsky, faced him [and said]: 'Why are you standing and just looking, are you perhaps a brick maker, and you are thinking of setting up your ovens here?’ ‘Yes’ the answer fell from the mouth of my father, as if it was forced out of him against his will, and he immediately regretted it. The homeowner would not let him go and worked on him over and over again to quote his price, and my father was embarrassed to reveal the truth and attempted to change the subject, but to no avail – having no way out, my father quoted him a price, by prevailing standards, and the latter immediately consented (it later became evident that the price drove my father to this goal). In the meantime the wagon-driver came up to them and started to bug my father, because the hour of departure had arrived. And so my father parted company from the homeowner, and the latter reminds him that in a few more weeks the house will become the center for the work of ovens. When he returned to his city, he told his father that he did not have any luck in trying to salvage anything of his assets, and he continued by adding: ‘I really don’t know what’s going on with me. As I went through Zambrów, I fell victim to an incurable disease, and I am ashamed of it even for myself,’ and my father went on to explain the incident in Zambrów. My grandfather proceeded to comfort him: ‘What’s all the worry? Did you cause anyone harm, God forbid? On the contrary, maybe something will come of it?’ On the following day, once again his talk returned to this issue, and to the issue of making a living in general: ‘If I had any idea of some sort about building, I would return to Zambrów and ‘set up’ such ovens there.’ Grandfather opened by saying: ‘And what are your thoughts about this? That you think this is so sort of profound skill! Involving esoteric concepts? Take up a hammer in your hand, and a little at a time, take apart the oven in my house – after all, it is summer now – and you will gain an understanding of this great wisdom.’ Together, they began to dismantle the oven, one brick after another, and my father learned and understood what went on in the interior and began to restore it to its original condition. In the proper time, he returned to Zambrów and completed his work with great success. Immediately, his reputation as a consummate craftsmen spread, and work was offered to him from all sides. And it was in this way that he came to take up permanent residence in Zambrów. It is known that after the First Great Fire they rebuilt the entire city almost entirely out of brick, in contrast to the remaining towns in the vicinity where homes were largely constructed of wood. Several times I heard my mother add to my father’s words: that her father in Sokolov (now Sokołów Podlaski) did not know about this ‘transformation’ for a long time. One time he came to visit them. Immediately upon entering, he said: ‘It is almost an hour that I am looking for your house. Every Jewish person I encountered said: ‘We do not know any Moshe Aharon, a merchant, but we do know Moshe Aharon the Builder,” and showed me his residence, and my eyes now tell me they were right.' Upon hearing this, my mother burst into intense weeping, and he (her father) calmed her with the words: ‘Why are you crying, my daughter? Had I heard them refer to Moshe Aharon the Thief, or Moshe Aharon the Swindler, you would then have cause to be ashamed and cry, but Moshe Aharon is making a living from the work of his own hands, and he is therefore an honor and not an object of shame.”   His reputation as a ‘master builder’ also spread outside of our town. He received from the government – I don’t know exactly when, or on what basis – this previously mentioned ‘title’ and all that comes with it. He was invited not only to build government buildings, but also to pave bridges with brick stones. I remember the construction of a large bridge of this kind, and the work got delayed to such an extent that it did not stop even during the cold winter days. The mortar that used to warm him was frozen in his hands. More difficult than this was the provision of kosher food for the Jewish workers who worked with him and were received as guests in the homes of the farmers in the nearby village. I remember my oldest brother, Nachman Ze’ev, one of my father’s sons who learned the building trade from him would oversee the food provisioning, me and the hosting. They would come home every Friday. In the construction of one bridge, my father and the supervising architect who was overseeing the work had a difference of opinion over reading the plans for the bridge. On the plans that had come to them from the Ministry of Railroads in Petersburg, the two overpasses of the bridge, relative to the two roads it was supposed to go over, had not been specifically marked. My father refused to accept the opinion of the architect until the chief engineer arrived who was responsible for the drawings, and he ruled as my father had indicated.   In general, all of the architects in the provincial capitol (as his workers of the same faith, and not the same faith, all his acquaintances and friends) treated him with great respect ( his patriarchal appearance also commanded respect. I recall those days when my father would come to visit me during those days when I was studying at the Yeshiva of ‘Breinsk’, and my classmates would ask me after seeing us walking together outside: ‘Who was that Jewish man of such height and magnificent appearance that we saw outside?’). The architects would depend on him and would always carry out his notations and modifications that he would enter on their plans. When they came to our city, they would visit at our house, sit with my father, and immerse themselves in details, and at the same time would enjoy the ‘repast’ provided them. As a testament to my father’s expertise and the respect that was accorded him by his peers, let me cite an additional fact and conclude with that. During the days of the First World War, almost all construction work came to a standstill: new buildings were not built at all, and the builders, as was the case with the members of other trades, suffered from lack of work. My father suffered from the lack of work more than his employees who had learned their craft from him, because those were generally invited to do repair work rather than my father, because no one had the nerve to offer him such petty jobs to do.   During these ‘difficult’ times, we received a visit from the Chief Builder –  Kablan from Czyżew, near our city. Because of the ‘war’ and the various ‘fires’ that ensued in its wake, many houses were burned down and ruined, among them also the ‘Bet HaMedrash.’ Having no alternative, the balebatim decided to minimally rebuild their house of study and gave the contract to this builder. The good fortune was indescribable. Here, the Chief Builder comes to us and proposes to my father that he consent to be a partner in this construction project. On one occasion I asked the builder to explain to me the reason and thinking behind his offer to take on my father ז״ל as a partner, at a time when work was so hard to come by. That very builder, Kablan, replied and said: ‘How can I explain this to you? Believe me that from my part, I could have done without R’ Moshe Aharon touching a brick or a building tool, because it would be sufficient for him to show up once or twice a day for less than an hour to the construction site and simply cast a eye about, to share his opinion, because what R’ Moshe Aharon can grasp in one glance, other distinguished experts couldn’t fathom in many days.”   As I mentioned previously, my father ז״ל was not in the habit of saying much about his family and origins, only at infrequent intervals, mostly during the nights after the Sabbath when his relatives in the city would come to our house, like his oldest brother R’ Israel Hirsch, his sons and grandchildren, Nathan the Dyer and his family, and others. A number of workers from Wysokie would sometimes come to our city to work for my father, and they would live in our house (at our location they learned the building trade, and he educated a ‘generation’ of Jewish brick makers. They started as unskilled laborers, and those among them who acquired the skills were gradually selected for the skilled work with, understandably, my father’s encouragement. These too would come and join the Saturday night festivities, and it then fell to these ‘guests’ to preserved stories that he told about his origins... And a number of details became known to me also from the tales told by these previously mentioned working men: it was not only the art of building, but all that he had learned he had done on his own.  One time during the years as I studied the Gemara, he reproached me for neglecting my studies of Holy Writing. I tried to defend myself by saying that in the cheder they minimize the study of Tanakh (and in the two years before my bar mitzvah, they didn’t cover it at all). He said to me: And you have to wait for your teacher’s instruction and depend on him? At your age, I would regularly read ten to fifteen chapters of Tanakh before morning repast, yes – even before morning prayers... but, as I said, he did not spend much time talking about himself, and during my youth I did not have to temerity to approach him with questions of this sort. It appeared to me, at that time, that this was not the proper thing to do and did not constitute respect. When I went off to centers of Torah scholarship – the yeshivas ‘Breinsk’ and ‘Slobodka’ – and we would be frequently exchanging correspondence, I refrained from being bold enough to ask such questions. After I had grown up, I once made a request of him, in a letter, that he make an effort to put down in writing some of his origins and past, about his forbears and their predecessors. In his answer, he replied to me: ‘As it happens right now, it is hard for me to write because my hands tremble and spasm from old age,’ and after this, I did not have the temerity to remind him of this, or attempt to persuade him, and I lost the hour. In the process, I missed out on asking him why it is that he does not read from the Torah, notwithstanding the fact that he had a ‘franchise’ to read from the Torah, in the prayer house, only after the morning service of Rosh Hashanah.   When he was free of his business activities on Sabbaths, Festivals, etc., or on winter days during which building activity came to a halt, he would always sit down to study the Gemara. In the bookcase that was in our house, apart from the Babylonian Shas (as well as a Shas in a miniature format with small print in a heavy binding and suitable for use when going on a trip), there were many other books: The Zohar, Commentaries, the books of God-fearing men, and of ‘Hasidim,’ etc. Ponderous prayer books of various kinds (such as the prayer book of the AR”I, of the YAAV”TZ [R’ Yaakov Emden]), and others, and he would look into these while eating, upon retiring to bed, and at whatever opportune hour. Ordinary study for him was restricted to the Gemara and its Commentators. It is understood that every Friday, he would read through the portion of the week, 'twice in Hebrew, once in Targum (Onkelos).’ Before each Festival holiday he would set time aside to review the rules and regulations of that holiday festival, especially in the ‘Shulkhan Arukh,’ of the ‘Rav’ (R’ Schneur Zalman Schneerson, the progenitor of Chabad Hasidism). Mostly when there were no people in the house to disturb him, he would study at home. However, before dawn, and even in the dark of the night in the long winter nights, he would arrive early at the Bet HaMedrash (the Red one), to study there. When he would wake up, in order to get out of bed before the doors of the Bet HaMedrash would be opened, he would read the ‘day’s worth’ of Psalms and various chant verses, sotto voce, and occasionally when I was awake in bed I would listen to the pleading voice of his. I especially remember the impression made upon me on one occasion, when I was listening to him ‘sing’ in his plaintive voice, as if he were imposing himself on his Father in Heaven: ‘Yedid Nefesh, Av HaRakhaman...’ returning again, and again to the opening refrain of this famous chant, which had been included into a number of prayer books, to be recited before the start of the morning service.   He prayed in accordance with the Sephardic tradition. On Sabbaths and Festival holidays, when the time of morning prayer arrived for the ‘Ger Hasidim,’ he would leave the Bet HaMedrash and go to their prayer house (the Ger shtibl) to pray, because he was one of the Ger Hasidim. By and large, he did not travel to Ger, as was the custom of the Hasidim. In my days, I did not hear anyone ask him why this was the case, and he himself did not speak of it. When the Rebbe of Ger passed away, Yehuda Aryeh Leib, who was called ‘Sfat-Emet’ after the name of the book he wrote, my father would look into the book on occasions between the afternoon and evening prayers and during other periods of recess in the Ger shtibl. On one occasion of the first day of Rosh Hashanah, when the Hasidim would gather to go to Tashlikh, he was reading this very book, as was his custom. On the way to the river he would say to those walking alongside him: Our Sages, of Blessed Memory, were correct when they said: The righteous become greater in death than they were in life. When they looked at him with questioning eyes, asking for an explanation of what he said, he added: ‘It is now possible to recognize, through his book more than through his life, the Rebbe, of blessed memory, because he could grasp what it was that his soul relied on!’ He would go to see nearly every rebbe of Hasidim who would come as guests to our city, taking me as well to hear the lore they dispensed at their Sabbath repasts, and after the Sabbath I would escort him to the Rebbe ‘to receive a blessing’ from him. I remember the Rebbe from Novo-Minsk, and especially the many visits we made to the Rebbe Nahum of Bialystok, who was the sandak when I was entered into the Covenant of our Father, Abraham. Always, as I was taking leave of him, he would slip me a coin in order that it bestow a blessing on me from him. On one summer day when my father was busy and could not go see him during work days, he sent me to receive a blessing on his behalf. The Rebbe gave me wine to drink from his cup, asked about my studies in cheder, gave me a coin, blessed me, and then expounded effusively to his gabbai in praise of my father.   During periods of recess, the Hasidim in their prayer house would engage in conversation about worldly matters, and not in ‘Hasidic talk.’ The house buzzed like a hive especially on later Friday afternoon between the afternoon service and the evening service to welcome the Sabbath. At this time, amidst a deafening noise, my father would sit and immerse himself in a book. His fellow group members and people who knew him were accustomed to this ‘peculiarity’ and did not pay him any attention. Never did he complain about the secular din before the welcoming prayers for the Sabbath, and he never criticized anyone because of the common discourse taking place in a sanctuary on a holy day. And even on the evenings of Simchas Torah, before the concluding evening prayer ending the Festival when the dancing ‘burned’ with passionate fire, he would sit and peer into his book. From time to time he was pulled into a circle dance, and he would go around for a few minutes, get out of the way and immediately return to his book; ‘after all,’ he was no big dancer and singer, it would seem for all of his days, but why did he refrained from participating in the secular discourses during recesses? Was it only because of his ‘thirst’ for the book? Many times, on the second night of a Festival, and especially before the Hakafot on the nights of Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah, on the night of Simchas Torah, my heart went out to the fortunate members of the shtibl, to their dances, the ??? of the inflamed Hasidim, and there I would sit practically expiring, waiting for my father to shut his Gemara and to go with me to the Maariv service because where would I find the nerve to urge him to do so? ‘Why is he different from all his Hasidic friends?’ – I would ask myself, and the thought of not waiting for him and going by myself never entered my mind at all at that time. On one occasion, when I reminded him that it was time to go, instead of saying: ‘Immediately, right now, in a little bit, we will go,’ he said to me: it will be good to wait about another hour, because it isn’t proper to leave your mother at home alone in the house, and it was in this way that yet another facet of his behavior was revealed to me, a facet that would not have come to my attention in the normal ambience of our day-to-day living.   His Conduct Toward His Sons I am only able to tell about his conduct towards me when I was the youngest in the family, and younger by many years than my two brothers, Nachman-Ze’ev and Eliyahu, who went off to America when I was six, and he practically never hollered at me and never raised a hand to me, much less rebuke me in public, as most fathers would do during prayer, Torah reading, and similar situations. And he never even criticized me in front of members of his household because, as I came to understand as I grew up, that in everything that he did and intrinsic to his conduct, there was a reason and this included sparing the rod. Apparently, he did not believe in the utility of hollering, rebuking, striking and hitting, and throughout my childhood and youth he would often speak to me on intimate terms. He made an attempt to influence and leave an impression, but refrained from explicit moralizing, and to this end he constantly strove to inculcate me in the mitzvot, without providing an apparent reason, in order that I not attribute to specific an intent in the matter. From childhood onward, even before I began to attend cheder, ( I began to study at age three-and-a-half) he would turn to me – mostly during our feasting on the Sabbath or on a Festival – asking me to hand him one book or another that was on the table, giving me a sign as to which one or tell me where in the bookcase they were (in the same room, adjacent to the table where we sat), and if I made a mistake he identified my error, despite the fact that the bookcase was beside the table. And I recollect on one night when he was sitting in the sukkah, which literally stood abutting our house and was engaged in a discussion about halakhah with a young scholar, I nearly collapsed under the weight of the large Gemara volumes, whose names I was able to read only by a sheer miracle, and by signs that he had given me to look for (their thickness, their order in sequence, etc.) that I would bring and convey from the house to the sukkah, and from the sukkah back to the house. He had a special affection for young scholars and the ‘bachelors’, with whom he would socialize at every opportune hour, and it appeared that they in turn reciprocated this search for friendship with him.      Before Passover and before Sukkos, I would, at his order, take all the books outside to clean the dust off of them and to air them out. Afterwards he would direct me to order them and arrange them on the shelves of the bookcase: those that he had more frequent use for were put in a place that could be easily accessed, and after that the others, in accordance with a set arrangement, in order that he could remember the location of each and every book.   On the Eve of Passover, I would accompany him – as was the custom – to burn the leavened bread, to stand beside him as he koshered the ‘vessels’ [and utensils], etc. After the noon hour, I would go with him to the wine seller, and he would ask me to taste all of the wines and offer my opinion on their taste. Our sukkah was built under the roof of our house, with an opening into the foyer. From the day that I could think for myself, I helped open up the heavy roof (the edge to the sukkah), and to remove the ‘skhakh’ that had been resting on the sukkah for all year, to shake off the dust that was on it, and to cover it anew in accordance with proscribed ritual. Understandably there was a bit of danger in climbing up on top of the sukkah, especially for a little boy, but more than helping him I disturbed his tranquility, and at his work, but my father did not ‘pass up’ my ‘assistance.’ After I grew up a bit, it happened that I had gone off to the edge of the river to play, and because of the over-enthusiasm of the players I was late in getting home. I will not forget his keening voice, simultaneously being self-justifying, with which he greeted me, and his soft look (maybe he was concerned for my well-being): 'You are late today my son, and here I was waiting in anticipation that you would come to help me in the preparation of the sukkah, and in the end I was compelled to go ahead and do it myself. Oh, dear, what a shame that you were late.’ From that time on there was never an instance when I was late, until I learned to do the work by myself, and there was no longer a need for my father to leave a construction site, since a significant loss was tied up in his absence from the workplace.   Customs pertaining to education such as these, I suspect, were carried out in many Jewish homes. Most of all I want to underscore especially two such fundamental customs, two tasks that were allocated to me for each Friday evening when I was a very little boy, before my cheder years (when I had ‘grown up’ and was six years old, I would go out to play with my friends, and I began to neglect these tasks until they were forgotten), and these were: a.) to clean my father’s Sabbath shoes, and b.) to sharpen the knife that my father used to slice the Sabbath challah. Understandably, at that tender age, I was not able to carry out those two tasks properly.  On short days my sisters who were occupied with preparations for the Sabbath would sometimes want to relieve me of my tasks, and I would steadfastly resist them regarding my ‘franchise:’ ‘these are my tasks,’ I would argue. I was not terribly aware at that tender age, as to how these two customs came into being, and to this day I have not heard of such a custom in other Jewish homes. Because of this, my heart tells me that my father’s hand was in this as well: to inculcate in me two fundamental mitzvot, that of honoring one’s father and showing respect for the sanctity of the Sabbath. When I grew to be a youth, I began to suspect that my participation in local tasks was not because my father needed the help, but because of a need to ‘educate a lad.’ [Here is] another example: In my bar mitzvah year, or slightly before then, I was studying Torah with the Baumkuler brothers, Pinchas הי״ד, and Abraham, of the first of those of our city who made aliyah at the end of the First World War, from the mouth of R’ Abraham Shmuel – the son-in-law of R’ Nahum Lejzor the Shokhet, who was a very learned man, having received rabbinic ordination and took over the duties of shokhet in place of his father-in-law. We learned together in the prayer house of the Ger Hasidim, and as was the custom at that time, kinfolk would be taken in as guests who were knocking about, had been burned out, and for like reasons. The worshipers there, in the middle of the week, would collect a sum of money and these guests would then be on their way. The matter was dependent on the donor who was willing to accept the obligation of the mitzvah, and on the number of such worshipers, and regarding the amount in respect to the capacity of the participants. And here the idea took root of introducing some sort of order and protocol to the process. Accordingly: all the worshipers will contribute a number of pennies per week, according to their means, and this would go into a ‘box’ prepared for this purpose, to be available at an hour of need. They turned to me to be the ‘gabbai’ of the box. And why ‘me’, the youngest of the three pupils? This question entered my mind, because all that happens is natural and simple to a boy and youth, and there are no questions. Because of this, it never occurred to me to say anything about this responsibility at home, and because during the week my father did not go to the shtibl to pray, I didn’t ask him to donate his share, just as we did not solicit such donations from all those who came there only to worship on Sabbaths (those that could and wanted to, donated their funds in a lump sum once). And it happened that one of the ‘Hasidim’ fell ill with a lingering disease (from which he eventually died), and in a short period of time was left without food or medicines. It was decided that all of the donors would add something special for this purpose only, for the benefit of the sick one, until he could get up from his sickbed. Understandably, it happened that a number of the donors did not provide their part of the donation they were obligated to give. I asked among the worshipers what to do about these laggards, and they responded by saying that it was up to me to remind, and return and remind again, those who were obligated. ‘And what if this doesn’t help?’ [They answered] ‘Well hide their prayer shawls that they were in the habit of leaving behind in the ‘shtibl,’ and you will delay their prayers.’ I took this advice seriously, and I hid the prayer shawl of one of these laggards. He wanted to don a borrowed prayer shawl, and I began to argue with him. The latter did not get angry, God forbid, but rather the opposite, it appears that he took some pleasure in how serious I was and began to complain for others to hear: ‘ Look at this, he is not permitting me to pray. Would you not permit a Jew to say his prayers? Here, I have a good proposal, give me my prayer shawl, and immediately after the service I will return it to you. And we will continue to do this each day until I pay off my obligation.’ This idea found favor in my eyes, and I related the incident at home, and when I left the house in order to return to my studies my father told me to wait a minute, and we left together. Once outside, he began to inquire about the status of the sick person, because of the extent to which he was busy during the days of summer, he knew nothing about it – and afterwards, he took out a sum from his pocket that to me looked large and requested that I take it to the home of the sick person and to turn over the money to his wife. And I, despite the fact that I frequently made trips to the home of the sick person with funds from the ‘kupa,’ was embarrassed to be a bearer of ‘charity’ offered by a single individual, and I demurred. ‘What shall I say to her? – I asked. ‘Nothing,’ he replied. ‘Say: my father offers his blessing to the sick person for a complete recovery, and give her the money.’ When I refused, he said in a plaintive and soft voice: ‘Why would you be embarrassed? Don’t you see that I am very busy, and that I simply do not have the opportunity to visit the sick in person?’ I continued to attempt to evade the task: ‘Perhaps you should send the money, not in one lump sum, but rather to the ‘kupa?’ He replied: ‘Why are you acting this way? Better that it does not become public knowledge, and the sick one will have an added sum of money.’ After many years, it became clear to me that my father really didn’t need my help, but rather he wanted to give me a lesson in ‘tzedakah’ and in anonymous giving.   While his own father was still alive (he passed away when I was about eight), my father would travel to Wysokie several times a year to see him. Always, almost without exception, he took me along to receive a blessing from him. This was especially for a blessing for long life, since my grandfather was then a frail man, and I always found him bedridden because of advanced age. It is clear to me now that it was not for this blessing that he took me out of cheder for a full day (excepting Hol HaMoed), but rather to inculcate me with the commandment ‘Honor thy Father and Mother.’ And I recall one occasion, when he went out from my grandfather’s house, tears began to fall from his eyes. I was taken aback to see my father cry on a time other than Yom Kippur. And when his brothers asked him to explain his crying, he answered while sighing: ‘It is for my sins that I have been exiled from the city of my birth, and I fulfill the mitzvah of honoring my father, as it should be done. And I have transgressed against The Lord all the days (in his idiom – ich farzindik zik myneh yorn).   The impact of his words will not ever be erased from my memory for my entire life.   My Father, Itcheh Mulyar  (Recorded by R’ Israel Levinsky ז״ל, as told by his son, Sender) My father, R’ Yitzhak Szickowicky (known by the name Itcheh Mulyar), was a simple working man. He was noted for his integrity, his generous heart, his love for performing acts of charity and helping those needy who approached him. For his entire life he worked and earned his living with the effort of his own hands, and when he succeeded in his endeavors, and with his manual skills earning a formidable reputation among his craft peers, these same would come to solicit his advice and assistance.   My father learned his trade from Moshe-Aharon the Builder after he returned from the army. He grasped the skill and went on to round out his capability in his profession, and his reputation went before him, and he became renown in the entire area as a great expert in the construction of baking ovens, which he would construct in the barracks of the army located in our city, and also in its summer encampments. And who was it that effected repairs at the bathhouse, upgraded the transient lodging, put a fence around the cemetery, and other communal construction projects, if not Itcheh Mulyar, the Builder?  As regarding his fee, they arrived at an agreement easily. He would pay laborers out of his own pocket. He would say: Zvi and Yitzhak Ze’ev Golombek, respectable people of standing, come each and every day and put in an effort on behalf of the community. They brought bricks and mortar and clay, not for purposes of receiving remuneration, so it is therefore permissible for Itcheh the Builder to work together with his sons, without pay. If a landlord was being perverse and did not want to repair a broken oven on behalf of his less well-off neighbor, and he and his family are getting frozen by the cold, my father ז״ל would run and do the repair and arrange for peace to be made between the landlord and his neighbor. Because, who was it that wanted to start up a quarrel with R’ Itcheh? For this reason, all the city residents loved him, and when he fell sick, all would come to inquire as to his well-being and to pray on his behalf. A dear man such as this, they would argue, must continue to live, in order that he continue to do his good deeds on behalf of everyone.   Over time he managed to accumulate a sum of money, and to buy in partnership with Israel Sokol a parcel on the ulica Kościelna that had previously been entirely in Christian hands, and the Jews purchased one parcel after another from them and built houses on them. The parcel that my father bought remained vacant for many years: its Christian owner did not want to sell it, however, once when handling a large beam by himself that he had brought from the forest, he was killed, and his widow sold the parcel at a not very dear price. My father himself planned the building himself, which was built with the help of Jewish builders from Wysokie. It was a stone house that was beautiful, not particularly large, but well-appointed. It was then that he left the street with the synagogue and the transient lodging facility, his previous residence, and moved over to live in the new building. Whomever had need of R’ Itcheh was able to find him there as well. However, on the Sabbath he would go to worship at his regular place in the Red Bet HaMedrash, where the Rabbi worshiped. After the Second Great Fire, when he upgraded the house, he set aside a place there for the Chevra Shas, without charging rent, which became a place of prayer and study. He also served as its shammes, and took care of the oven there, together with Yudl Husman and Menachem Dunowicz. Thanks to them, important balebatim came to worship with the Chevra Shas. On the High Holy Days, R’ Yitzhak Greenberg led the Musaf services, and after him, R’ Mot’l the Miller.   My father operated in the following way: He stood by every man in his hour of need, and if someone needed a person to vouch for them, they came to R’ Itcheh, and he never turned anyone away empty-handed. He would lend money without charging interest or taking security. My complaints to him were of no avail: ‘How can you do this?’ He could not resist tears or sighing. I remember once, his neighbor, Abraham the Tailor, a diligent and honest man, but one who was poor and impoverished, burdened with children and unable to pay rent, took in a village lad from Szumowo for the purpose of teaching him how to sew a pair of trousers over the course of three months, and for this the lad received fifteen rubles from my father. But the young fellow was not talented in this respect and could not acquire the skill in so short a time. The Jew from the village, an arrogant man, didn’t want to accept this and took him to court for twenty rubles and other court costs. However, my father ז״ל implored the village Jew to relent, because the tailor was a poor man, and he, personally, gets no rent from him – but it was in vain. They came to a public sale of the tailor’s furniture. This was on a Friday. The wife of the tailor and his children sat and wept, because they expected that very shortly the entire contents of their house would be emptied out. And she had brothers in the city, Zvi the Dairyman and Motl the Smith, but they did not come to help her. Nevertheless, my father arrived with a packet of money in hand and bought all of the furniture and left them in place for the tailor. All of the Christians there left bewildered: they thought they would get a bargain at the expense of a Jewish family. They paid off the rich man from the village his money, with the addition of curses from the neighbors.   I could not understand my father’s deeds: how is it that a person spreads around his money at a time when he has little sons at home, and the previously mentioned tailor never ever settled his debt.    He never took security, because he lent without such security. He would give away his last penny, leaving himself with nothing, giving the excuse: I receive funds on credit, and the public does not. During the winter, when there was no [construction] work going on, we would scrimp and deny ourselves, but in the summer when the work would start up he would pay off all of his debts. There was an instance when people came from a nearby city to ask for a favor, because whatever Itcheh the Builder gives, succeeds, and they paid him with counterfeit gold coins – my father hushed the matter up and did not seek legal redress.   After the Second Great Fire, a dispute arose between my father and another man, involving a sum of one hundred rubles. The Rabbi ruled that my father needed to take an oath and then receive the sum, but my father did not wish to swear, even if it was the truth, and lost the loan.    He had a substantial income because there was always work to do, and he would be paid the amount he requested because they feared that otherwise, he might not want to take on the job. When my brother Zelig, who lived in Jerusalem, sent him a proposal to come and live there, many balebatim rushed to break their ovens in order to give my father the work to build them anew, out of a suspicion that they would not be able to find a skilled builder like him should he choose to leave the city.   Abba Frumkin was the contractor for providing flour to the barracks, and my father did the building of the large bakery ovens in Zambrów and afterwards at the summer camps in Gunsirowa. When the provisioning franchise was turned over to a certain ethnic Russian who had rented a residence from Moshe Finkelstein, he also turned to my father, ז״ל. When he saw that my father had hired himself out for a hundred rubles one week, it aroused envy in him, and when he was obliged to set up an additional oven at a summer camp, he came to my father and said that he would not pay the previously set fee, but rather quite a bit less. My father said: ‘On the contrary, I want more, because on the outside I have larger expenses. The Russian ‘katzap’ became incensed, uttered a Russian oath, slammed the door and fled. He gave to work to a gentile builder. It turned out that the work was quite lucrative, and there was a requirement to do work on public facilities: In the bathhouse, the transient inn, etc., as usual without compensation. When I asked him why he had demanded more money, he replied to me that he was certain the ‘katzap’ would revert to him because he would not be able to find a craftsman comparable to him. And as it happened, after three weeks, the Russian returned with a smile on his lips and said: ‘So, do you still want the set price that you quoted, so much money? ‘Well, have you done the work already?’ my father asks. ‘No, I have not done it, and I am compelled to give you what you want, and I will convey you (myself and my father) on my wagon, and all your room and board will be at my expense.’ Astonished at this miraculous change in attitude, we came to Gunsirowa during the night, to the summer military camp. He brought us to a Jewish lodging facility and ordered that we receive the best of everything of what we asked for. We arose to pray, and the Russian departed. I heard the children talking among themselves and saying to their mother that we were Jews, and that it was necessary to tell us what is going on here. The woman begins to tell us what had happened, and implores us to leave and not to work because the builder who had constructed the oven, a well-known Christian craftsman was killed in an attempt to take out the internal support boards that served as a sort of closing, and nobody wants to work there because demon spirits abide, it was said. This mater had already cost the Russian a considerable amount of money, and she advised my father to leave the place. I whispered to my father that we should get out of here. But my father said: ‘I have to see this demon for myself first.’ In the meantime, the Russian came back and says: 'So, let’s get to work!’ With a pounding heart I followed my father, and we saw the broken oven with blood stains on the bricks. ‘What is this?’ – my father asked – ‘Why did you deceive me?’ The Russian said: ‘You refused, demanding a large sum, and it was on me to build this oven. Now you are getting more, so just do it.’ To my amazement, I saw my father go over to begin working, bringing workers to clear away the debris, and he finished the oven in the course of two days time because the foundation of the oven had remained from the part that had fallen. People came from all over town to watch how my father was going to take out the support boards. The Russian advised that they be burned out, in order not to ruin the oven, and the boards were brand new. My father sent him out of the house, and I remained to help my father while my heart pounded inside of me out of fear and terror. My father pulled the boards out intact, and in good condition, and I hauled them outside with glee. The Russian entered. He saw that all of the support boards had been removed from the oven, and he fell upon my father’s neck and began to kiss him and paid him twenty rubles for the boards. They came from all sides to see this magician of a Jew, who miraculously can drive out demons, My father was an expert at this. It was for this reason that my father hired himself out at a handsome rate, and others also derived satisfaction and learned from him.   R’ Nachman Yaakov (Rothberg) – The Wagon Driver   By Israel Levinsky The town of Zambrów sits in the middle of paved road that lies between Łomża and the Warsaw-Petersburg railroad station at Czyżew. The rail network, during the time of the Czar, was limited and did not have branches. On almost the entire right side region of the Vistula, there were practically no other rail lines except for the one I just mentioned. Connections were haphazard and not orderly. The merchants, storekeepers and just plain ordinary folks in need of transportation to Warsaw were exposed to all of the difficult vicissitudes of travel associated with the large freight trains that served as the means of connection between the cities. Zambrów, sitting between the two cities of Łomża and Czyżew, served at that time as a sort of transfer station for passengers and freight from Warsaw to Łomża and its surrounding towns, and from Łomża and its environs to Warsaw. The result of this was a proliferation of wagon drivers in this town who found a means of making a living this way, and in better cases among the more successful, they even became wealthy. There appeared to be a sort of agreement among them to divide up the day driving and the night driving. The day drivers had the mission to convey passengers and freight that arrived early on the morning train from Czyżew – from Zambrów to Łomża, and the night drivers would transport the passengers who came at night from Łomża to Zambrów, and further on to Czyżew. In Zambrów the travelers would transfer from wagon to wagon, stretch out and straighten their limbs from having sat in cramped quarters in the train car. They would pray, eat a quickly snatched meal in a restaurant, and transfer to a new wagon that would convey them to the district to which they were going. Each of the day drivers had a designated night driver to whom he turned over his ‘people,’ and not to any other. This was also the case the other way: the same night driver would turn over his ‘people’ to his [designated] day driver. This custom was set and kept properly, and no man sought to disturb it or have the nerve to undermine it. Even in regard to the time of day, this was carefully monitored, observing each individual franchise, meaning that a day driver would be careful to drive during the day and not at night. And the night driver knew that it was his place to drive at night, and not to compete with the day drivers.   The Zambrów wagon drivers were not better than all the other drivers in the Jewish Pale of Settlement in Russia. There means, conduct, and relationship to passengers are well-documented in the works of our great literary personae, like Mendele, YALA”G186, and others. They too, would cram in their ‘people’ like salted fish in a barrel, one on top of the other, and if the sitting board was knocked out of its place by pushing and shoving, one fell on top of the other. Also, in the way they spoke there was no great difference in their mode of speech: it was laced with cursing, awful imprecations, insults, shameful remarks, and quite gross and salty expressions. The renown among them were:  Ziskind-Itzi Malicky, Chaim Shmuel Levinsky, Berl Levinsky, Mordechai Lifschitz, Leibusz Levinsky, Issachar Jablonka, and Nachman Yaakov Rothberg and his sons, about whom I am devoting special attention because if he was indeed a wagon driver, he was not an adherent to their customs and behavior. On the contrary, he could easily serve as a wonderful example to others and to fulfill the expression, that it is not the occupation that debases the man, but the opposite, it is the man who debases the occupation. Shoemaking and wagon driving became stained with a bad reputation and thought of poorly because, in the main, it attracted boors, people of no substance and flighty types. R’ Nachman Yaakov Rothberg (earned the honorific R’) was a respected and worthy man, well-attuned to his surroundings, loyal and honest, and a competent businessman. R’ Nachman Yaakov was short in stature with broad shoulders. He came from a well-connected family in Śniadowo, an  enlightened man, a respected businessman, a doer of good deeds and an official of the town. Also, his son, R’ Nachman Yaakov, was a Torah scholar and would study Mishna and Ein Yaakov on a daily basis with the ‘Torah Scholars,’ and he would look into the books of the pious, such as ‘Sheyvet Musar,’ ‘Menorot HaMaor,’ and others. He had a not insubstantial Torah-oriented library of his own, and he would guard these beautifully bound books with great care.   Nachman Yaakov was orphaned while still young, and because of this he was unable to attend a yeshiva and was compelled to find himself an occupation. When he was seventeen years old he married Rivka Gittl Levinsky of Zambrów, the daughter of a respected and important man who had given a beautiful education to his daughter in the spirit of those times, and she knew how to read the Teitch-Chumash, prayers and tekhines187 and the like. As it evolved, R’ Yaakov had no profession, and by chance after the wedding he became a wagon driver in Zambrów. He bought a wagon and horses, and he hired a person to drive them and traveled from Zambrów to Łomża. Quickly he acquired the reputation of an honest man of loyal spirit, and he earned the trust of the merchants and storekeepers of Łomża, and they would exclusively give only him their loads to be conveyed from the railroad station at Czyżew. It was in his hands that they would transfer substantial amounts of money in order to release goods that had been received on security, and the Zambrów storekeepers would send money with him to pay off their notes at private and government banks, or to receive a bill for new goods and the like. His honesty was renown. On one occasion a package of valuable knitted goods was either lost or stolen from his wagon – and he did not wait to be summoned to a religious trial or a court of law, rather out of his own good will he approached the merchant and persuaded him to allow him to pay for all the damages in question. And yet on another occasion, one of his sons found a large package of money that had been lost by a Christian passenger upon transferring from one wagon to another that was traveling to Czyżew. When the Christian returned the next day to inquire if the package of money had been found in the wagon, he did not tarry an instant and returned the lost item to its owner, not swayed by the temptations of one’s inclination, refusing even to accept a reward from the person who had lost the package. The Christian, who was a wealthy merchant, donated a sum of money to a Jewish charity in recognition for the loss that was returned to him.   Because of his loyalty and honesty, the rebels of the 1863 Polish uprising also placed their trust in him. He served as a liaison and communications vehicle between them and would provide food and provisions to their soldiers who would be hidden in the thick forests between Łomża and Zambrów, such as the ‘Red Forest,’ which was well known. He was once seized by Cossacks, according to what he told me, because his wagon was full of food, casks of strong drink and other supplies. The Cossacks detained him and cast suspicion on him, that he had some connection to the rebels, and they brought him to their command. There they buffeted him about and beat him cruelly, to get him to reveal the place where the rebels were hiding out, but he took the beating and told them nothing. He argued that he was innocent of any wrongdoing and was simply conveying merchandise to Łomża. He fell sick from the beating he received and was bedridden for about a month. The nobility knew to value his loyalty and supported him during his illness, and they also gave him a set amount of money with which to feed his family. As he then continued to tell, only he, who was hale and strong, survived the beating by his torturers – from where no one else emerged alive.   All of the balebatim in the city respected him and welcomed him. He would come and go to the residence of R’ Lipa Chaim ז״ל, and also the home of his son-in-law, the young rabbi, R’ David Menachem Regensberg ז״ל.   As to his four sons: David, Yehoshua, Yitzhak and Berl, he gave a traditional education and did not spare any money in putting them into the hands of good teachers. All of them committed themselves to the same occupation as their father. All were loyal and honest like their father. Sums of money were turned over to them that had not been counted, and never did they ever put their hand on assets that did not belong to them.   R’ Nachman Yaakov invested all of his love into his only daughter, Zippora, who was pretty, and as was not usual in those times was literate, and had studies Hebrew with the well-known teacher Ber’cheh Sokol, read Yiddish literature, knew how to read a little Russian and Polish, and excelled in handicrafts, sewing and weaving.   When the time came for her to marry, R’ Nachman Yaakov sought a yeshiva student for her hand from a prominent family, promising a substantial dowry, food and lodging in one of his houses. When the author of these lines was proposed to him as a potential groom, he took the two sons-in-law of his sister from Śniadowo and traveled to assess me. It was only after such an assessment that he decided to engage the parents of the groom in regards to a union, and the conditions attached.   He passed away at a ripe old age, with a good name, in the year 1915.   Goldwasser, the Shoemaker from Gać [He was] one of the unique personality types in Zambrów, and among Polish Jewry in general. A father with sons, a dynasty of shoemakers, used merchandise sellers who fabricated simple, crude shoes for the peasantry and would travel to market fairs to sell them.   The father, however, was an educated Jewish person and stood at the head of the fanatics of the city. He was a Hasid who set the tone for the Hasidic world. The sons worked for the father, and later went on their own, and were, like their father, very ardent Hasidim, living from their craft. They were all poor, barely able to make a living, but full-hearted Jews with a warm heart inclined to help the other person, and they served God with their entire heart and soul. But they were intense fanatics: they fought against every new development, believing that they were doing this for their God and His Torah. If someone opened a school, whether he was an observant teacher or not, whether he taught Hebrew or Yiddish, boys and girls together, or separately, it was not satisfactory to them: they immediately went off to the Rabbi, raised a fuss and mobilized forces to combat the school, to threaten parents who send their children there, etc. If a speaker would come to town, a group would make an evening event out of it with a presentation, or if a library was opened, the Shoemaker from Gać and his sons no longer rested, as if the entire fault for this had fallen on their heads. Also, the Shoemaker from Gać was among the daily contributors in the ranks of the Hasidim, and his opinion was taken into account. Few cities could take pride in having this type of an individual. Frequently, he would be called ‘The Rabbi’s Hetman,’ meaning: an officer of the Rabbi’s ‘Cossacks,’ referring to all the fanatics who grouped themselves around the Rabbi.   The entire family -- this means the sons and grandchildren -- were decent, honest people and loved to do a favor, engage in a charitable act, involved themselves in community affairs with a good and pure intention. He married his only daughter to a poor scion of a shoemaking family who worked for him, a son of the ‘City’s daughter-in-law’ (see the write-up of Meir Zukrowicz), despite the fact that he could have done a ‘good’ match, because of what the Gemara says, he would say: When your daughter comes of age, set your servant free and giver her to him as a wife.   This fervent and multi-branched family was entirely wiped out... only one remained.   Kukawka the Shoemaker                                             Yaakov Shlomo ben Moshe-Leib Kukawka, a shoemaker by trade, was a tall, strongly built person and was typical of the community activists of the city. In his youth, he studied in yeshivas, and knew how to learn a page of the Gemara. He was a Jew who had awareness, was enlightened and progressive. He made his living from shoes, and like the other shoemakers he would make up cheap boots, fit for ‘second-hand’ sale, travel to fairs in the nearby towns to market them, unlike his older brother Abraham Zvi, who was a master craftsman at shoemaking. He was of quiet temperament, contenting himself with less, and did not overindulge when it came to food and drink. One time, it is told, he had returned from a fair and was hungry and tired, at an hour late at night. His wife had prepared food for him – something cooked in a pot, in the oven, and laid down to sleep. However, in the darkness, he made a mistake and took out the wrong pot, in which water was being warmed to wash out the burned residue of a cholent, in which there were twigs for seasoning. Mistaking this for food, he drank these fatty waters, chewed on the twigs until he ate it up, satisfying his hunger, and nearly choked himself... He had access to the houses of the enlightened and the revered of the city. He was a member of Abba Rakowsky’s household and learned much from him. He was a Zionist and partook in the work of Zionist gatherings that, in those days, took place at the home of Benjamin Kagan, or Shlomkeh Blumrosen. Once a year he had the job of amusing the children on Simchas Torah. Perennially, he would, on that day, dress up in rabbinical garb, put on a broad rabbinical hat, put a belt on his trousers, and canvass the houses of the wealthy to gather candy, apples, nuts and the like on behalf of the children – Jewish children from all over the city.   He would traverse the streets of the Jewish section and attract tens of children about him. Suddenly, he would shout out in a weird voice, half-hoarse: ‘Holy Flock.’ And the children would respond to him: ‘Mehh, mehh!’ And then he would take out all manner of goodies from his trouser pockets that he had gathered for the children, and rain it down upon them. The children would fall on the candy and the fruit, and he would stand there and smile, stand there, and derive pleasure from watching them. He was among the first to establish the secured lending bank, which was under the presidency of Abba Rakowsky. He would come to the bank frequently, check the accounts, arrange notes, and even direct the younger people in doing the calculations in accordance with the charts of accounts that needed to be reconciled. Everyone loved him and trusted him. He was one of the outstanding members of the fire brigade, and even the gentiles accorded him respect, because when a fire would break out in the villages, he would be the first one to put his own life in danger to rescue others, with all the gentiles after him.   Binyomkeh Schuster the Shoemaker He was a good shoemaker, literally an orthopedist. However, you had to tear up two pairs of shoes running to get to him because he was constantly involved in doing community work. He came from Goniądz, beside the German border. He served in Zambrów as a musician, fell in love with a Zambrów girl, Shayna, and subsequently remained here after his military service. He lived across from the Red Bet HaMedrash, where the Rabbi had once lived. He was the shammes and the overseer of Hakhnasat Orkhim, which came along with his residence, and he was a Torah Reader in the Red Bet HaMedrash, and later became the shammes and Torah Reader at the synagogue. He would look after poor people and arrange plates on the Sabbath for poor folks and ‘days’ for yeshiva students. There was not a community issue that Binyomkeh Schuster (his family name was also Schuster) would not be involved in. In his last years, he also was a gravedigger for the Chevra Kadisha. Today, it is possible to understand the fate of a pair of shoes that someone left with him. He had two talented sons. The older, Abraham, studied at the yeshiva in Łomża and received rabbinic ordination, and for a short while he was a secretary to the Rabbi and went off to Berlin to study with R’ Chaim Heller. Later on, he was the Rabbiner of Zopot, a community near Danzig. He was killed by the Nazis, who had, at first, extended him privileges. His second son, Alter, today is found in South America.   Moshe Joseph the Street Paver By Sender Seczkowsky (As Transcribed by Israel Levinsky) He was a powerful Jewish man who himself did not know the extent of his own strength. He paved the streets of the city and its environs to the satisfaction of the régime. He was a taciturn Jewish man, sitting in the Bet HaMedrash during evenings, studying a chapter of the Mishna and reading Psalms.   Yet, a strange and unusual thing happened to him once. A nobleman from one of the villages, who had been born in Zambrów, took him to his estate to pave the roads. He received a fee for each square foot and also food: dairy products, eggs, bread, vegetables and fruit. Being the only Jew in that location, after work he would walk a distance of several kilometers on foot to a Jewish inn that stood beside the road, turn over the foodstuffs to the woman there for her to cook him his supper, and he would lodge there. One time on an autumn day, after a hard day’s work before the rains came, he came back to the inn exhausted and laid down to sleep. At that same time, two Russian soldiers came into the tavern asking for food and drink. The lady tavern keeper brought it to them. They asked for more and then more, and at the end of the matter having stuffed themselves and drunk to excess, they did not want to pay. Being suitably confused, they even started a ruckus – capsizing tables, breaking vessels, and began to curse the Jews as suckers of Christian blood, and they had the nerve to even physically assault the woman. She raised a hue and cry because her husband was not in the house, and even the children began to cry. The paver was awakened from his sleep in the adjacent room, and he entered the place where the noise was coming from, grabbed one of the soldiers who had raised his hand to the woman and punched him a number of times with his fists. The soldier collapsed onto the floor, with no sign of life in him. The second fled, as if fleeing from death itself. The paver ran after him in the dark, but his spoor vanished. To his great fear, and the fear of the lady tavern keeper, the fallen soldier did not rise again because his soul had departed. What to do? If this became known he would be arrested, along with the lady tavern keeper, and who knows what would be done with them? But the paver remained in control, and he ordered the woman to keep silent, not to ask too many questions, and he grabbed the body of the soldier, put it on his shoulders and vanished into the darkness of the night. The paver carried him, not on the usual footways as you understand, for about eight kilometers, until he reached the railroad lines in the vicinity of Czorny-Bor, and he laid the soldier down on the tracks... harassed and spent, he then returned to the tavern. However, he could not lie down and go back to sleep, fearing that the matter would be discovered. Early in the morning the woman found the soldier’s cap in the hallway, in which his name was inscribed, and his division number. The paver was quick to throw the hat into the flames of the oven. The woman returned trembling to her work, and the paver arose to say his prayers. After some time a detachment of military police arrived to look for the soldier, and with them was the drunken second soldier. The paver explained: yes, indeed, he was here, did not want to pay for what he ate, and even had begun to hit the lady of the house and me. When I returned the blow he fled along with his drunken comrade, and we locked the door after them. They looked around and found nothing suspicious, and even the second soldier did not deny that they ate without paying, and that they had even begun to hit the lady of the house, and he was the first to flee... the police searched other nearby houses and then went out to search the forest. The paver was uncomfortable to remain here, and even to return to his work for the nobleman. He forfeited the money he had earned for his work to date, in the courtyard of the nobleman, and returned empty-handed to Zambrów.   After a few weeks, he returned to the nobleman, but by then the work had been completed by a different paver, and the nobleman did not want to pay him, because he had abandoned his work in the middle, and as a punishment he sicced his dogs on him. After a quarrel and exchange of words in which the paver justified his action by claiming that he had suddenly taken sick and was compelled to return home and take to a sick bed, the nobleman paid his share. And from that time on the paver said, I swore not to raise a hand against anyone, or to test my strength...   Nosskeh (Nathan) the Painter On the Łomża Road, opposite Munkasz’s smithy, there was to be found a large wooden house with a large courtyard belonging to Nosskeh Wiezba. Nosskeh enjoyed a reputation in the area as a good painter, and more importantly as a painter of carriages. He had very beautiful daughters, all committed to one another, and diligent workers. His only son, Israel’keh, left for Argentina years back. Several of his daughters also got out to America and Argentina. In the Holocaust, Nosskeh Wiezba and his wife Liebeh were killed, along with their beautiful and talented daughters: Dvorakeh, Faygl, Laytcheh and Sheva.   Here is a short excerpt from Faygl’s last letter to her brothers and sisters in Argentina:                                                                  Zambrów, 22 August 1939 ...we received your letter today, and I will indeed immediately respond because we simply do not know what tomorrow will bring. We are like guests at a wedding, waiting for the groom. Every minute is decreed, and we anticipate being made homeless. The important thing  is that the situation is so tense that one does not know what is happening to the other. Please do not be confused, because whatever will happen to all Jews will also happen to us. If our fate is to remain alive, then we will remain alive. At this point I am so indifferent, because having survived one war, it is no big deal for me to face a second war, so let what will be, be. It is not possible to think about America, no papers are being issued, and one has no idea of which world one is living in. May God help so that things will change for the good, and that we will have only suffered a fright, in which case we will sell the house and all three of us will set out into the larger world, but in what direction we do not know: [we assume] it will be in the direction that is easiest to procure papers. Sheva is asking me to come to her for Sukkos. Who knows where we might yet end up before Sukkos. People rush about as if they knew what was going to happen... Zambrów has become like a ghost town. I hope for it to remain still, and that we will be here to receive an answer to my letter. We cook, and mother is good, she does not hear... she does not understand, all she does is ask why we are engaged in so much conversation? Father sits constantly at the home of Domek Proszensky listening to the radio. If you go out into our yard, it looks like after a war – the shire has disintegrated and the roof has fallen down. But who, at this time, is concerned abut such things?   Israel’keh Poyker (The Drummer) By Yaakov Grabs   He was a short Jewish man with a small gray beard, perpetually self-confident and good-humored. He lived on the Kosciuszko Street and dealt in fruits and vegetables.: he had a table [for this] at the marketplace. On Hol HaMoed Passover and Sukkos, he would place himself at the marketplace, near the pump, with a sack of nuts. Children would put in a kopeck and take out a number. One out of five or ten would win a plate of nuts with which to play.   By trade he was a ‘musician,’ a drummer. He learned this skill from the drafted soldiers when he did military service. At every wedding, whether musicians were brought from Tiktin or Łomża, or if a local ensemble played, it was Israel’keh who was the drummer, and [he] strode with pride to the wedding canopy beside Gurfinkel the barber, who was the fiddler, or Goldeh’chkeh’s son with the viola.   On Friday if there was a wedding ceremony in town, Israel’keh Poyker would hurriedly liquidate the merchandise on his table at the market, run to the baths, wash himself,  put on his Sabbath finery and go off to escort the bride and groom to the wedding canopy.   During the time of the Russian régime, Israel’keh Poyker also played an important role in the shtetl. During the time of fairs and market days, important official announcements were read out loud for the merchants and peasants: information concerning someone who had lost a piglet, or a calf, someone who had found something, government notices about taxes, the senior military, etc. At that time, Israel’keh would place himself in the middle of the market and drum. When a crowd would assemble, the appointed individual would then call out what he had to, and Israel’keh would add a ‘bombardment’ on his drum, and then move on to the next corner.   At one time, he was also in the orchestra of the fire brigade, and also at May Day celebrations and other musical undertakings in which Israel’keh would participate with his drum, dressed in a black worn cap.                                                            ‘Oneg Shabbes’ The name given to a merry Jewish man with a small yellow beard, who had only one eye. He was called ‘Eyn oyg Shabbes,188’ which sounded like ‘Oneg Shabbes.’ He was not a particularly observant Jew. He was dressed like a pauper, but was always full of life and never complained. He never had any time.   Even on the Sabbath, he would come to pray at the first minyan, and then run off home. During the summer, he would deal with orchards and gardens. He would take hold of all the good orchards in the vicinity, and every summer he would occupy such an orchard with his children in a booth. In the winter, he dealt in whatever he could: fish for the Sabbath, a small keg of herring, eggs, fruit – so long as he could make a living from it.   Baylah the Dairy Lady By Aryeh Kossowsky She was tall and lean, and there were always two pitchers of milk in her hands. For many years, she delivered milk to the houses. Early in the morning she would distribute milk, and so as not to awaken anyone in the house she would enter by a rear door and quietly would take out the milk container in the kitchen, fill it with milk and quietly steal out like a cat, [being careful] not to awaken the children who were still asleep. Poor families, who no longer had the means to pay would ask her to stop bringing milk, to which she said with a smile: And is it because of this that small children shall be left without milk? When you get any [money], then you will pay me.   One time she didn’t come, and so my grandmother sent me to inquire as to what might have happened. I found her in bed. She had overexerted herself carrying the heavy cans for an entire day. In her house, hungry pale children loitered about without a drop of milk. [I asked] Why do your children not drink any milk? They are not worse than any of our other children?... [She replied] If I give them milk, who will give me money for bread? My children can make do without milk as well...   Shlomkeh-Zerakh and Zundl Shlomkeh-Zerakh was short, with one foot shorter than the other, and he walked as if he were dancing. He had wise, sharp eyes, and a goatee of a beard, and a downward Russian-curled mustache. His deaf wife would ‘speak’ with him with special sorts of sounds, and he could understand her and would answer her in mameloshn, and she would understand. He was a sort of ‘Fishkeh the Storekeeper’, one of Mendele’s characters. He would call on all the houses, and everywhere was treated like a member of the family. He would recount news, tell jokes. If someone in town died, he would be asked: who, god forbid, was it? With a broken-hearted voice, he would then convey the identity of the deceased, and when the funeral would take place. On the Eve of Passover he would clean kitchens in Jewish homes, and thereby earn money for holiday expenses.   'Crazy’ Zundl actually was quite sane. However, he was constantly lost in thought and plagued by misfortune. He lived in the White Bet HaMedrash. He was always dressed in torn clothing and would sustain himself from those groschen he could gather from charity. He was talkative. Both children and adults would listen to his stories and always get a laugh.   These are isolated personalities from our town whose memory I have been able to dredge up. Indeed, it is a sorrow that so many of them went on to be exterminated without leaving behind any name or trace of memory.   May their memory be for a blessing.   And These, I Recall By Zvi Khanit A. R’ Yehuda Honya’s, my father and mentor, returned from the First World War as a worn-out Russian soldier, spent and unable to recover his strength. He died in 1921. He left a widow, my mother Heni-Rachel, and three orphans: Shayna, ten years old, me – age seven, and a little brother, Moshe, aged three. An uncle in America supported us. I studied at the yeshiva in Zambrów and afterwards in Łomża. In 1933, I entered the Mizrahi Halutz training program. In 1936, I made aliyah to the Land. My brother Moshe, after random wanderings, returned from the Red Army and made aliyah with a shipload of refugees.   B. R’ Alter Dobrowicz, the master of the mikvah. He was an honest, loyal Jewish man to his Maker and his people. He suffered a great deal in his life: His three sons: Moshe, Chaim, and another were plucked in the bloom of life, and he accepted it with grace, saying: God had trusted these precious pearls into my hands and has taken them back – let His Name be blessed...   C. Eli Portnowicz and his family. He was a shammes and a gravedigger for the Red Bet HaMedrash. He was a simple Jewish man, dedicated to his people. He wept at all funerals, and his heart never hardened in all the years of his life, being a gravedigger. Each Rosh Hashanah, he was deeply moved during the recitation of ‘u’Nesaneh Tokef’ – ‘Who shall live, and who shall die,’ because every death touched his heart.   D. Chaim Stalmokh and his family. A man of ‘the people.’ He observed the commandments and gave of his money to charity. He was attentive in listening to each sermon giver, and he also donated to these from his own funds. He was a lover of Zion and supported the Keren Kayemet L’Israel (Jewish National Fund).   E. Myshel Stoliar (The Carpenter). He worked to a remarkable old age and did not want to derive anything from others. He donated benches and tables, his own handiwork, to the Bet HaMedrash. He permitted his wife, Chashkeh, to engage in community endeavors, in charity work, and in dealing with the needs of the poor and the sick.   F. The family of Kawior the Melamed. An honest and upright man, involved in Torah study, and led young people into doing the right sorts of things. He was a warm-hearted Jew, committed to doing God’s work. His son, Joel, spent a number of years in Halutz training camp and waited for a certificate [to immigrate]... until he was lost in the Holocaust. He has one surviving son in the Land.   G. R’ Yudl the Headmaster. He was immersed in his Talmud day and night. He withdrew in an ascetic manner and distanced himself from the everyday world. No event in the town could take him away from his study. He died with his Talmud in his hands.   H. Yitzhak Rothstein the Tailor. He would traverse the villages and return with work: the sewing of garments for farmers. He was paid with village produce. He was an honest and wholesome Jewish man. He was lost, along with his entire family [sic: in the Holocaust].   I. The Family of  Levitan the Smith. These were smiths who had a reputation [for their work]. Honest and straight. They made their living by the labor of their hands and gave to the poor from their own bread and also to charitable causes.   J. Zundl the Pauper. He would go over to all door entrances to gather donations. However, all of his neighbors knew that he lived in strained circumstances, ever hungry for bread, and the money that he gathered he divided to charitable institutions and sent food and money to poor people and the sick, crippled people who were unable to provide for themselves.   K. Yankl David the Shoemaker184, son of the Shoemaker from Gać. He retained a journeyman to do the work, while he personally went about days on end to gather money for the Yeshiva, ‘days’ for the students, and lodging places to spend the night. He would spend his evenings in study.   My Zambrów People By Mendl Zibelman   Yudl Cossack Approximately in the year 1900, a watchmaker named Yudl Cossack lived on the Kościelna Gasse in the building of Berl Leibl Finkelstein, across from the drugstore. He repaired watches and occasionally would sell a watch as well, a finger ring, or just plain jewelry for a bride. He went off to America because he didn’t make much of a living, and he settled in Chicago. Here too, he opened a small kiosk for repairing watches. Knowing that in America there was no great love for Cossacks, he changed his family name to Ritholtz. When he had saved a couple of thousand dollars and learned the native language and the mindset of American business people, he fell upon the idea of how to become rich: many people need to wear glasses, but they don’t change their reading glasses because of the time and expense, or just plain laziness in taking the time to find an optician after work. So he went and presented himself to a variety of large newspaper publishers who have millions of readers, indicating that he would mail reading glasses for a rather minimal price. All that is required is to send him the number, or to send the prescription from the doctor. Tens of thousands of requests began to arrive. He joined up with a factory that provided him with the reading glasses for a very low price, because it was worth their while for the thousands of orders. Orders grew to the extent that the factory no longer could keep up, because it could not produce at that level. So our Yudl opened his own factory for reading glasses, and he became a millionaire. Today, his five sons run this well-branched company all over the country, and no one is able to compete with them...     Herman Yagoda Yankl Yagoda, a Jew from Zambrów, took up his wandering staff after the First Great Fire and went off to America. He was constantly missing his family in Zambrów, and he traveled back six times. This went on until the year 1914. He understood that there was no longer any purpose in staying in Zambrów, and in the end he decided to take over his family to America and permanently remain there. In the very week that the war broke out, he arrived in New York with his family: a wife and four children. One of his children, five-year-old Herschel, or Herman, came to school a year later and excelled there, and he also completed middle school. His father did not have the financial resources to enable him to attend university. Accordingly, Herman worked during the day, in a shop, and during the evening he studied, until he completed the course of study to become an engineer. He threw himself into researching what was current in this sphere. As a man of science with in the American Air Force, where he has already served for fifteen years, it was his privilege to be able to participate in important discoveries in this area, the latest being the successful launch of a military-based ‘satellite’ into the stratosphere, and its successful return to earth, full of much data about the upper atmosphere, which is very important. Yagoda today is the pride of the American scientists, and most recently he was sent to Russia to give lectures about his findings in the stratosphere.   Herman Yagoda     Senior Justice Markowitz He was born in Zambrów with the family name Markhevka (Markhewka) and came to America as a nine year-old boy and changed his name to Markowitz. He studied for, and completed preparation as a lawyer, excelled as a judge and became a judge in the highest court of New York City.   He was close to his kinfolk. Immediately after the First World War, he organized a committee of landslayt to help needy brethren in the ‘alter heym.’ To this end, the Zambrów Help Committee bought a thousand tickets to a theatre performance and sold them to landslayt and relatives for a higher price. During the performance, when the hall was full of people from Zambrów, Justice Markowitz went up to the stage, who had just returned from a visit to Europe, and especially his home city of Zambrów. In a very emotional way, he portrayed the plight of our kinfolk, the burgeoning anti-Semitism, the incident of how the Poles had cruelly murdered the pharmacist Szklovin and other Jews. His words had the intended effect and awakened hearts, prompting them to offer help...     Bezalel He was as gifted as the first Bezalel in the Pentateuch. Whatever he undertook to do with his hands resulted in a success. He was a natural-born carpenter, having acquired the skill without instruction. He could repair watches, etch writings, carve flowers out of wood, make a Holy Ark, carve creatures, arabesques. He could draw, outline with dyes and pens and could sculpt. And all of this he never saw at the home of his observant father, nor could he learn this from the artisans of Zambrów. His parents never took any joy from him and constantly expressed their consternation: he has no head for the study of the Gemara, and they could not grasp how a young man like this could play around like this for days on end: drawing, making statues from clay and gypsum, taking apart and putting watches back together again, mechanical things, in short, [he] does everything in order not to study. If his parents would have understood him, or if the good community or a wealthy patron discovered his talents, he would have become a world-class artist. However, he was not given any encouragement. On one occasion, a director of the Wahlberg Technical Institute in Warsaw took an interest in him, and it required Bezalel to learn some additional mathematics, physics and chemistry. They wanted to admit him into the Technical Institute without taking an [entrance] examination, and without any recommendation for six gymnasium classes as was required. But his observant father and other good and religious people butted in, that is to say: Bezalel will go about without a head covering among gentiles? Many Jews studied in Wahlberg’s school, and it had been founded by the very rich Jewish man, Wahlberg, with the objective of uncovering and developing technical skills and talents among Jews and non-Jews alike. Later on, for a nominal price, Bezalel could have purchased the machines and equipment for the liquidated manual trades school in Łomża, which had been run by the Jewish-Russian Society to propagate manual craftsmanship among Jews, but he lacked the requisite money...   And so Bezalel was left with his dreams and artistic striving to become a master artist... he married, and then divorced... embittered and disappointed in life, resigned from human ideals, he immigrated to America after long bitter years, became a peddler, ‘found himself,’ and together with is Negro wife, got a place somewhere to set up a kiosk in a market to sell small combs, pins, thread, socks and handkerchiefs. For a long time, he broke off contact with his family in Zambrów, and with landslayt in America. His aging, fanatic father constantly mourned his talented eldest son, and nobody knew if he was alive or dead. This writer once ran into him in the market after a long, long search in a variety of address bureaus of the populace, beginning with his first address of many years back.   He was dressed simply and somewhat disheveled. He tried not to be recognized and replied that he was not a Jew and not the person that was being sought, even when told that his father lay on his deathbed and would like to hear something from him, as to whether he was still alive...   It was first only later, when his black wife walked away, that he broke out in tears and revealed himself...   After that, he vanished yet again, along with his kiosk, apparently traveling away to some other town on the marketplace...   Community Social Assistance By L. Yom Tov   In writing about the institutions that offered community social assistance in Zambrów, it is not possible to pass over mentioning the institutions and people such as: Bikur Kholim, Linat HaTzedek, Gemilut Hasadim, and Hakhnasat Orkhim.   At the head of Hakhnasat Orkhim stood Zvi Tukhman (Herschel Fokczar), from the Yatkowa Gasse, who had a dairy store and who fulfilled this mitzvah with his entire person and his money. He dedicated over fifty years to Hakhnasat Orkhim. He would look after poor people, assuring that they would have a place to lodge and would allocate ‘plates’ for the Sabbath, making sure everyone had a place to eat for the day. All itinerant paupers could find a place under his roof. An important guest, such as an itinerant preacher or a rabbi, he would billet in his own home. If a half-groschen for a pauper could not be had, he would give out a paper half-groschen with the stamp of Hakhnasat Orkhim on one side, and the words ‘half a big one’ on the other side.   Mones’keh was the most active worker on behalf of the indigent sick. He was the gabbai of Linat Tzedek and Bikur Kholim. His house on the Yatkowa Gasse was full of poor people who had come to beg for assistance. He would personally run about to find people who could stay up nights with the sick.   Bunim Domb, a Hasidic Jew,  was the head of the Gemilut Hasadim. The office was in his house on the Szwetokszyska Gasse, and he would be directing its efforts for days at a time, taking no compensation for his effort in doing so. Whether there was money in the treasury or not, every needy person left his presence comforted and encouraged.   Hakhnasat Orkhim This was a venerable municipal institution, and at one time shared the Rabbi’s residence. The Rabbi lived upstairs, across from the Red Bet HaMedrash, and Hakhnasat Orkhim [which] was downstairs, together with the residence and workplace of Binyomkeh Schuster. Binyomkeh was the shammes of Hakhnasat Orkhim. It consisted of two large rooms, with about six to eight sleeping beds and tables, with hay mattresses and blankets. Poor people, itinerant preachers and ordinary guests who were poor would be able to get a place to sleep there. Every guest passing through would receive a note from the gabbai,  Herschel Tukhman, or someone else, and was given a place to lodge on the strength of it.   Cleanliness was less than ideal since this was not a consideration in those times. The important thing was, a guest was passing through, or an itinerant preacher was coming – he then gets a bed on which to sleep when he brings a pass from the gabbai, Herschel Tukhman. Binyomkeh Schuster occupied the two lower rooms, one which was for sleeping, and the other for his work.   Hakhnasat Orkhim often served as a ‘second home’ for worship, on the High Holy Days, Simchas Torah, and regular Festivals or special Sabbaths. The Hakhnasat Orkhim was cleaned up, arranged for the guests to go to a host house early on, put the large table in the center of the room, covering it with a white tablecloth and – presto – a minyan.   We, the young folk, had our eye on something else there: there was a special closet there kept under lock and key, in which hung the colored uniforms of ‘officials,’ such as Hussars, Cossacks, generals and admirals, with blue trousers, and red stripes; with French Hussar Caps, swords, and boot spurs, and a drawer full of masquerade paraphernalia, meaning masks, woven from a fine fabric, with beards, with outsize (oversized?) noses and red cheeks.   When a wedding would take place in the city, and the bride and groom were escorted through the streets to the synagogue, designated people dressed in these costumes would be stationed to amuse the passersby. The young people who masqueraded in this way did it to fulfill the mitzvah of gladdening the bride and groom. Yet the parents would pay the group that did this a fee, called ‘Hakhnasat Kallah,’ which was set aside for brides without means [or dowry]. Those so designated would proudly march in front of the bride, clanging their spurs and waving their swords like real generals. They would never speak, so that they could not readily be recognized. They would signal each other by codes, which they would whistle to one another. This was why they were also called the ‘pranksters.’ The costumes and masks, however, belonged to ‘Hakhnasat Orkhim,’ and  Binyomkeh Schuster was the one responsible for their safekeeping. These costumes were borrowed from Hakhnasat Orkhim for a variety of festive occasions for a fee that was applied to other charitable purposes.   Purim was the day for these appointed young folks, special workers, who would come to act, to traverse the houses with a gabbai or two gabbaim, to gather donations for charity: Hakhnasat Kallah, Hakhnasat Orkhim, poor mothers, lying in confinement, orphans, and the like. For this purpose, the costumes would be rented from Hakhnasat Orkhim for a fee that was then applied for other charitable purposes.     Medical Help Everyone knew a bit of the healing arts back in the alter haym. If one caught a cold, and a soreness developed in the throat, the feldscher swabbed the throat. One called special ‘old crones,’ who applied bonkes. Everyone knew how to apply compresses on their own. As well as similar thingsm [such as] massaging one’s self with oil, with French turpentine. If ‘bloodletting’ was required, or incised bonkes to allow the bad, black blood to be drained off, this was done on Friday towards evening at the bathhouse. And Jews regained their health, thank God. If someone experienced stomach pains, one obtained a helping of ‘ponzuvkeh’ – in the summer, when the fresh cucumbers came into season, then one made an enema, drank digestive leaves, and quite often took a small glass of castor oil. And thank God, one got better. For headaches, one had ‘rumanik,’ (the little rumanik flowers were therefore called ‘headache’). For an eye ache, one used kvassborneh, or a strong extract from tea. To protect little children from an eye ache, the eyes would be rubbed with a fresh, just-laid egg. If a finger hurt, or a foot became swollen, God forbid, almost every home had an onion flowerpot from which the leaves of the onion was torn off and plastered in a way to allow its sap to exude and then applied it to the bump or swelling. If one became hoarse, one made a guggle-muggle,[1] sucked on a sugared candy, or just drank plain warm milk, freshly milked from the nanny goat. Medicines were obtained from David Itczyzeh in his store, or from Shlomo Pracht, etc. If that was not possible, one then went to the pharmacist. It is told that the oldest drug store was on the Czyżew Gasse. The pharmacist was named Baszensky, a Russian. His premises were not very orderly.   Medicines were not recorded, and neither was the name affixed to the container, nor the name of the patient. Sometimes as a result, very bad things happened. My mother, of blessed memory, when she was still a small girl, had her prescription switched and was given eye drops instead of an internal medicine. Because of this, she nearly departed this world. Later on, the pharmacy was moved to Khaczynsky’s house, where Benjamin Kagan lived afterwards. Later still, it was moved to the house of Yankl Bursztein. Also the ownership of the pharmacy changed hands, until a young gentile from Breznica took it over, Skarzynski, a man of means, who had studied at the Warsaw School of Pharmacy. He bought Khoniowsky’s house on the Koszaren, and he set up his pharmacy there, which stood for many years. He was no great friend of the Jewish people. He did, however, act courteously, and was tolerant because his entire income was derived from Jews. For years, he was the commandant of the Zambrów Fire Brigade. It was only, close to the First World War, that a Jewish ‘sklad apteczni[2]’ arrived, Mr. Kaufman, who came from the Lithuanian shtetl of Vasiliski, and the Jewish pharmacist Mr. Szklovin. Both of these Jewish pharmacists and their families introduced progress to the Jewish community of Zambrów.   Feldschers Among the oldest of the feldschers in Zambrów, one remembers the gentile, Wyszynskie. He was a specialist in maiming Jewish and gentile young men, in order to have them rejected by the military draft. He would make ‘leeches’ in the ears, induce ruptures in the abdomen, bend fingers out of shape, and extract teeth and similar things, so as to avoid having to serve the Czar. A gentile once informed on him: he had taken five rubles, inflicted a sort of rupture on his son, and ‘Fonyeh[3]’ took him any way. Accordingly, Wyszynski fled the country, and his lovely house on the horse market was bought up by Moshe Shmuel Golombek.   A Jewish feldscher once lived behind Alter Brievtreger’s[4] house, on the Ostrów Road. He was a good friend of the nobleman Sokolewski, to whom he would apply bonkes, let blood, cut his hair, and give him massages – and thanks to this nobleman, this feldscher began to deal in forest products and grain, which the nobleman made available to him. He became wealthy and abandoned his medical practice.   A second feldscher arrived, Yozhombek, a clever and good-natured gentile who made a nice living from the Jews and lived like a nobleman in a beautiful villa on the ‘Powszwanta.’  When his wife died at an early age, many Jews came to the Roman Catholic church to pay their respects and to follow her funeral cortège. Jews had a better opinion of Yozhombek’s medical treatment than that of a doctor. He was a specialist in surgery, would operate, open wounds, and truly sew them up very well.   At the same time, a Jew named David ‘Yudises’ also took on the practice of a feldscher, whose family name was Rutkowsky, because he came from Rutki. His mother, Yehudis, was the well-known midwife of old Zambrów who delivered almost all of the newborns there.   David ‘Yudises' was a hygiene officer in the Russian army, [who] taught himself to speak Russian, play cards, and tend to the sick. He opened a ‘shaving parlor’ in Zambrów, and with an assistant, later on with his son, Chaim, he would give haircuts and beard trims to the Jews and shave the faces of gentiles during fairs and market days. However, he would also go to apply bonkes, swab sore throats, cut [ingrown?] toenails, and rub the sick with turpentine, that is to say, give them a massage. David held himself as a great person, even though he was not much loved in the shtetl, because he was, so to speak, assimilated and associated with the gendarmes and the police. In the fifth year (1905) he was suspected of being an informer, and that he informed on Jewish strikers (revolutionaries). Accordingly, Jewish young people, on one dark night, beat the daylights out of him. Because of this, the authorities gave him permission to carry a revolver. One time on Purim, during an instance when noise was being made to assault Haman in the White Bet HaMedrash where he worshiped, he whipped out his revolver and shot into the air, making a hole in the ceiling.   From that time on, people were afraid to start up with him. A short time later, the Rabbi excommunicated him because of a suspicion. In time he left Zambrów and went to Warsaw. I recall two things about him that I personally saw: that on one occasion, the Warsaw Governor General, Skolon, came on a visit to Zambrów to inspect the military area. A gate of honor was erected in honor of his visit, close to the barracks, and the Zambrów Rabbi, accompanied by several of the prominent balebatim rode out in a carriage to greet him with bread and salt. Beside them, David Rutkowsky also rode in a carriage, dressed in a black coat with white gloves, with a cylindrical top hat. He looked like a count because he was a handsome, tall figure of a man. Accordingly, the Governor General took him to be the representative of the Jews and shook his hand. The Rabbi and the balebatim, without white gloves, were shunted to the side, and the Governor General did not receive them. Well, this gave the shtetl something to talk about...   On a second occasion, I recall it was on the Sabbath, and David Rutkowsky ascended the bimah in the White Bet HaMedrash and held up the Torah reading, not permitting the reading to continue. What was this all about? Early that Saturday morning, he had gone to apply bonkes, or leeches, to a gentile who lived behind the cemetery. There he spied dogs rifling graves and dragging out bones. He raised a hue and cry to cause a higher fence to be erected for the cemetery. The public was aroused and gave him justification: the Chevra Kadisha extracts so much money from the dead and the living, and there is no money for a fence. This went on until the old gabbai of the Chevra Kadisha, of long standing, R’ Shmulkeh Wilimowsky, agreed to call a special meeting that Saturday night to enable a fence to be built around the cemetery. The fence was constructed. And it was for this reason that David ‘Yudises was always recalled favorably.   *** A feldscher, who had a graduate diploma, used to live at Yankl Bursztein’s house. This was at the expense of the Jewish community, who had an interest in having a Jewish ‘doctor’ in the city. The Jewish feldschers did not last long: if a feldscher was good, he would be grabbed up by a larger city, and a bad one would be driven out. In the land there was a feldscher (whose name I have forgotten), who had a large nose. His son, who also had such a nose, was raised and married in Zambrów. He was a barber.   Doctors There were two Jewish doctors in Zambrów in those years. One [was] Gordon, a good doctor, who rapidly became beloved in the city. So he was grabbed away by Ciechanowiec – a larger city. The second, Dr. Hendel, was a card player and didn’t last very long. . Among the gentile doctors at one time, there was Mikhailowski, who later became renown in Łomża as a gynecologist, and Czaplicki.   Czaplicki was a good and popular doctor. He lived on the Bialystok Road, in a nice villa, near Brzezinsky’s house. Jews had respect for him. After many years of a good practice, he went off to Ostrów or some other city. In his place, Dr. Dombrowsky came, who [was descended] from a peasant family of one of the nearby villages. At first he was not well thought of, and experienced women understood medicine better than he did. A little at a time he developed a practice and remained in Zambrów for a long time. However, he never earned any great trust. Because of this, several families would get together, who had members that were sick, and brought in  Dr. Landinsky from Łomża, a convert, or Dr. Katzenellebogen, Dr. Mikhailowski and occasionally an especially famous doctor from Warsaw. Many of the sick would gather together in one location, and that house assumed the appearance of a polyclinic. Often times, the outside doctor would be paired with a local doctor for a consultation. The feldscher would play the role of assistant or hygienist. On occasions, the sick might be taken to Łomża, to the doctor, or to the hospital.   It was rare to use the military doctors, who allowed themselves to be well paid. During the First World War, the ‘wojenny[5]’ doctors would render medical assistance free of charge.   The ‘Hekdesh’ Near the bathhouse was a small house maintained by the Jewish community, and it was called the ‘Hekdesh.’ There the poor who were sick were hospitalized, who had no place where they could be accommodated, people with infectious diseases, so they not infect their other family members, itinerant paupers, and those Jewish soldiers who had become critically ill, and wanted to die among Jews – they were brought to the ‘Hekdesh.’  The ‘Hekdesh’ played an important role in the shtetl, even though the premises was always not clean, and [it] became a part of the expressive folklore as: ‘dirty as a Hekdesh,’ or ‘from the bath to the Hekdesh.’   The Society of Brotherly Love By Israel Levinsky In the year 1899, a street paver came to Zambrów from Ciechanowiec and took up residence in the shtetl. Seeing the difficult plight of the laborers and craftsmen when they need medical help, he called a meeting of about fifteen to twenty balebatim and put before them a proposal to establish an aid society, called ‘Ahavat Akhim’ (Brotherly Love), which would help those in need while they were ill. I remember a number of those founders: Yom-Tov Herman, who had a tailor shop, Abraham Shlomo Dzenchill, the community activist, Ephraim Surowicz, the son-in-law of Michael Finkelstein, Bercheh Sokol the Melamed, and the writer of these lines. The burden of creating the statutes was placed upon me, involving the twenty points that a member needed to fulfill, such as paying membership dues, staying up nights with the sick, looking after the medicinal requirements of the sick, etc. With the first of the funds, rubber bonkes were bought in Warsaw for our use, [as well as] ice bags, thermometers, baths, and salves for rubbing on, castor oil, Burrow’s Solution,[6] English salt, carbolic acid for disinfection, enemas, etc. Yom-Tov Herman was elected as president, and also as quartermaster. In my cellar, shelves were built in, and a small pharmacy was set up. Against a pledged security, each member received whatever it was that they required. Non-members had to bring a note from the management and paid a small usage fee, along with pledging security in case the item in question was broken while in his possession. I kept the security pledges in a special drawer for a number of years, and a portion of them remain unresolved to this day... when the pharmacy got larger, and the number of sick grew larger, God forbid it should happen to you – I turned over this function to R’Abraham Shlomo Dzenchill, who, together with his wife, Et’keh, devoted themselves to the assistance of the sick among the itinerant poor. In the year 1905, approximately six years into the existence of the society, a delegation of ‘strikers’ came into my home, meaning they were organized labor revolutionaries, and demanded that I turn over the old medical instruments to them – for their ‘patients’ inventory.’ I did not agree to this because I possessed only one individual opinion, and after all, there was a committee that should decide this despite the fact that in my heart I felt their request was justified, since they were fighting for a better tomorrow and have a greater need for this assistance. In short, they came every day, in the evening after work, and confronted me with all manner of troubles – that they would suffer if they would not receive this aid. The committee did not meet for a variety of reasons, and each of them managed to squirm out of it, pointing to me. This went on until I was able to extract a minimal agreement from the principal activists in the group, and one time on a summer’s evening, several of the strikers came to me with boxes under the direction of one of them, a man named Herschel from Śniadowo, a wheelwright (a distant relative of mine) and the ‘Gypsy Tough Guy’, a harness maker (I have forgotten his name) and took out the entire pharmacy of the group and transferred it to some other location.     Help for the Homeless When the First World War broke out in the years 1914-1915, Zambrów was transformed into a central point for homeless Jews. Truly, it was located between two strategic points: Czorny Bor and Czyżew. In itself, it was not strategic, and the shtetl lay to the side at a distance from the front and was generally secure from German air attack. There was only one occasion when a German plane was downed, onto a field near Kaufman the Coat Maker, in which the pilot showed himself to be able to set fire to his craft. At that time, Zambrów was full of homeless people from Jedwabne and Nowogród, Myszyniec and Ostrołęka. When the Germans later bombed Łomża, tens of families from Łomża fled to Zambrów. The young people organized themselves, together with the delegation from the ‘Society of Russian Cities,’ who sent a lady doctor here, a lady feldscher, and also foodstuffs with which to provision a free kitchen, medicines, etc.   Among the organizers were the student Zusmanowicz from Łomża, the student Gutman from Łomża, Khezki Mark, Yehoshua Domb, Eliezer Wilimowsky, Shimon Sokol, Alter Rothberg, the writer of these lines, and others. At night, young people would be hanging around the unpaved Łomża-Zambrów road, with ‘permissions’ in hand, because one was not permitted to be out in the streets at night, to receive newly arriving homeless people and giving them a night’s lodging and something warm to drink. The free kitchen in the school building would distribute about three hundred midday meals a day. In the bakery, beside the White Bet HaMedrash (at one time Nachman the Baker and Shammes used to live there), matzos were baked for the homeless and the poor, and all of the Zambrów youth would come together there. The work was allocated, and everyone participated: pouring waters, flour mixers, dough rollers, oven heaters, etc. We would go to lodge at the home of the sick at night, carry out disinfections among the homeless, who lived under terrible crowded conditions, several families to a single room.   The entire cadre of young people worked for the needy, giving help to the homeless.                                 ‘Linat Tzedek’   The sick who should have gone to a hospital needed to remain at home for lack of a hospital in the shtetl. In order to alleviate the distress of the family that had to attend to the sick person day and night, or the difficulties imposed on a craftsman or laborer who needed to sleep the night and could not maintain watch at a sickbed – ‘Linat Tzedek’ came to offer help.   Its members were largely laborers – craftsmen who worked a long, hard day, and spent the night with the sick. ‘Linat HaTzedek’ had a storage facility with medicines, medical instruments, and was connected to doctors, pharmacists, feldschers, et al.   Anyone who needed help got it, without any difficulties. The Zambrów Aid Society in Chicago and New York would regularly contribute their help for this.   The Annual Balance Sheet for ‘Linat Tzedek’ for the Year 1937. R’ Yehoshua the Melamed stood at the head of ‘Linat Tzedek.’ During the last ten years or more, its president and leader was R’ Shlomo Dzenchill, and he was committed to the undertaking. From an accounting of the year 1938 we read: 1270 instances of illness. 2340 medical instruments were distributed, medicinal help in the amount of 5,179.47 zlotys was given out. Medical instruments that were valued at 815.11 zlotys were purchased.   Shlomo’keh Dzenchill He was one of the nicest sorts of person in the city, serving as a bridge between the common man and the intelligentsia. He was the son of Lejzor the Butcher and Taiba-Shayna. Handsome, of middling height, he was a man full of humor. By trade, he was a carpenter, a carver – a student of Berl and Myshel Stoliar. Together with his father and brother David Leibl, he provisioned the Russian barracks with meat. He was an accomplished man, being versed in accountancy, a firefighter and an active member in a number of organizations. As a principal activity he committed himself to ‘Linat Tzedek,’ for which his home became the office of the organization. Everyone came to him for help, and he was tireless in extending such help to everyone. He stayed in contact with the Zembrover Aid Society in Chicago, and almost every month he would receive a set sum of dollars from them at his address, in the mail for ‘Linat Tzedek’ and other groups. He earned the greatest trust from everyone.   He had a food store on Wilson Gasse in the last years.   The Ladies Auxiliary Society     Entrance to the Photographer’s Studio, used mostly for the taking of pictures that were to be sent to sons and husbands in America. During the first days of the German occupation, the shortage of foodstuffs intensified. Prices rose from minute to minute. The Germans confiscated all things required for sustenance, grains, flour, dried corn, woven goods, hides, potatoes, oil, honey, meat, etc. Hunger in the city intensified. Active women organized themselves, who in their undertakings had provided help to the needy even back under the Russian régime, and they devised means by which such assistance could be rendered. They provided aid to the sick, poor women who lay in confinement, poor brides, and provided for orphans, et al. In the meantime, the occupation administration brought cohorts of refugees from the areas around Pinsk, Brisk, Telekhany, and Baranovich. They billeted them in the barracks previously used by the Russian army that had been displaced from their residence. [These women] would organize ‘flower days,’ concerts, theatre presentations by local amateurs and from outside, whose revenues would be applied to their worthy purposes. Their watchword was: ‘Let there be no one among us who goes hungry and suffers.’   After the war their work became further branched out. The Society remained active until the Holocaust, and even in the Holocaust years it spread its protective wing over the city, organizing help and standing on the watch. The ladies, Esther Gordon, mother of Lula and Nuta, Sarah Mark, Jocheved Srebrowicz, Mrs. Szklovin, wife of the pharmacist and others, were the dedicated workers of the Society and dedicated days and nights to their sacred undertaking.   They were in constant contact with our brethren in America, who consistently sent funds and showed an understanding about their work.   Excerpts of Correspondence     Here we record excerpts from a number of letters from Zambrów to America, during the last year of its existence...     February 10, 1938 To the Zembrover Help Committee in Chicago A List of the Needy   We are sending over to you a list of those needy people whom we have been able to assist each month, with your help: Yaakov K. A young man under nursing care, ten zlotys. Shimon R. For the ride to Łomża to the hospital, ten zlotys. Fy’cheh B. A sickly young woman, under nursing care, ten zlotys. Shakhna P. Under nursing care, five zlotys. Pearl G. Under nursing care, five zlotys. Rivka K. Convalescence, ten zlotys. Chana Ts. Sent to the Warsaw Hospital, twenty zlotys. Freida G. An operation in Bialystok, twenty zlotys. David G. Under nursing care, fifteen zlotys. etc. A list of thirty additional brothers and sisters who were ill. It is signed by the Chair, Esther Gordon, the Secretary Rachel Gottlieb, Treasurer, N. Finkelstein.                                                                                                                                             October 11, 1938  ... it disturbs me that we are always writing to you about want and those who are sick. What can we do? When the dear summer arrives, we must care for a part of those who are sick, to send them to a dacha in Czerwony-Bur, and when winter arrives, we have to be concerned for nursing care, wood, coal and clothing, the need is great and we are accosted on a daily basis by those in need, sick, or sapped of strength. What can we do, since the government provides us with no support, and we have to do everything for ourselves. Please forgive us, and understand us. You are the one and only hope of the sick – first there is God, and after that, you brothers and sisters from Zambrów in America. Signed, Esther Gordon, Chair.                           December 20, 1938  ...We received the seventy-eight zlotys through Mr. Shmuel Finkelstein. We are moved by this donation, which was provided by the wife and children of my unforgettable brother-in-law Shlomo Zalman Goldman ז"ל, which has been given for our impoverished here in Zambrów. On the Saturday night of the parsha of Vayigash, all of the aid institutions will gather in the Bet HaMedrash, and we will mourn and eulogize him at a memorial.   We were unable to have this memorial earlier because of Hanukkah.   With consideration, his sister-in-law, Sarah Mark, Vice-Chair.     Esther Gordon       Stamp of the Ladies Auxiliary Society of Zambrów   A Support Fund at the Handworkers’ Union In the last years the fund of the Handworkers’ Union was active, while it is true that the ‘Savings & Loan Bank’ existed, where one could go to borrow money to purchase goods and materials, etc. But this was a bank, and it had to be run like a bank, with notes, guarantees, interest, discounts, etc. The working man could not always easily or quickly receive the necessary required assistance. The Support Fund therefore came to him with help sent from America and could offer him the loan and thereby help him.   Here we bring excerpts from correspondence that clarify the nature of its activity.   The Support Fund at the Handworkers’ Union in the name of the Chicago Landslayt   January 2, 1938 [To] Our Best Friends and Landslayt in Chicago, We are sending you the balance [sheet] of our Support Fund, which records what we have done with the money that you have sent us. From the central office (Warsaw) we have received, in accordance with your instructions, two hundred and fifty zlotys. On the spot, we collected 78.50 zlotys from the following twenty-one people: Leibl Gorodzinsky (Watchmaker), Moshe Stupnik (President), Baruch Szturman (Miller), Abraham Naimark (Locksmith), Chaim Rothstein (Watchmaker), Herschel Sosnowiec (Treasurer), David Miszkowsky (Committee Member), David Kadzidło (Baker), Yaakov Granica (Merchant), Chaim Golombek (Merchant), Chaim Bursztein (Tailor), E. Bonenfeld (Tailor), Abraham Rothberg (Tailor), Eli Rothberg (Tailor), Mordechai Freedman (Baker), Abraham Krupinsky (Bootmaker), Nathan Krupinsky (Baker), Yaakov Yellin Manes (Boot Maker), Yehuda Lakhower (Bootmaker), Yitzhak Blumowicz (Secretary),Yitzhak Leib Dzenchill (Carpenter).   Up to January 1, 1938, we have received from you 576.35 zlotys, and our seed capital is now 879.85 zlotys. In this past year, we have given out seventy-four loans, each at the rate of twenty-five zlotys. Every week, the [borrowing] members bring back to the fund a small sum, without interest, and in this manner we help get them on their feet and literally save their lives. Please send us funds in zlotys, because we have great difficulty if the funds come in dollars...  Signed by: M. Stupnik – Chair,  Sosnowiec – Treasurer, Abraham Rothberg – Committee Member, Y. Blumowicz – Secretary.                                                                                                                                                 Dark Waves Pursue Us Relentlessly              The Eve of Rosh Hashanah, 5699 [7].                                                                                                    Dear friends, your money, [in the amount of] ten dollars, has arrived and was immediately distributed: two loans were given to needy people. We are closing the old year with oppressed spirits, feeling abandoned, and in need, hungry, and under confiscation, and a deficit in life itself. What will come with the new year? We live in fear of the very present, with a fear of death – that might come tomorrow. Dark waves pursue us relentlessly, assaulting us from all sides, and we like poor lambs stand by and simply watch, waiting to see what they will do to us. One ray of light shines into our field of view – the help of our brethren in America, [Because of this] we do not feel so abandoned... a new year is approaching, and we wish you a year of blessing, success, and may you be inscribed and sealed  for a good year, and may our Union be a sacrifice for you, and our suffering an expiation for our loyal landslayt.   Moshe Stupnik, Hersch Sosnowiec, Y. Blumowicz.     The Stamp of the Relief Branch of the Handworkers’ Union       Z. Yelen   Isaac Golombek     Kaplan the Shoemaker and wife, at the Mother's Tombstone.   Who Knows What Will Become of Us...   1939 We thank you for the 79.50 zlotys. At our general assembly, with the participation of one hundred and two members, we accepted a resolution of gratitude to the Chicago Help Committee. During the assembly, we listened to the memorial for the Zambrów philanthropist, R’ Zalman Goldman, and thanked his wife and children for their contribution benefitting our treasury. The audience was so inspired, that one of them, a member, leapt to his feet and recited the Kaddish in memory of the deceased. New decrees keep on coming, ervents taking in place in Germany do not augur well for us. Our situation becomes more and more grave with each passing day and weaves a catastrophe over our heads with an increasingly rapid tempo. [Dear] brethren, see to it that we are not left to abandonment like prickly thorns in some corner of desolation. All of us suffer hunger. Jews, who were balebatim, come and beseech us for a loan to buy bread for their children...                                                                  "Centos" (Care of orphans, protection of children and the young) In accordance with the initiative of a few community activists, teachers, doctors and ladies, the head leadership in Bialystok decided to establish a branch in Zambrów. [This was done] in December 1936, aimed at rescuing tens of Jewish children from the ravages of tuberculosis and other diseases. Until July 1, the food center provided nourishment to one hundred and thirty Zambrów children, and disbursed 763.75 zlotys. The extra money required was generated by Jews of Zambrów. In July, the head office in Bialystok was supporting two hundred Zambrów children for fresh air, and provided a subsidy of 1,750 zlotys. In November, a fund-raiser for shoes was held, raising two hundred zlotys, etc.   Here, we include excerpts for the letters of the Zambrów ‘Centos’ to the Help Committee in Chicago, which shed light on its work, for the benefit of the children of Zambrów in the final years before the Holocaust.   To the Zembrover Friendship Society of Chicago                                                                                                         November 26, 1937   We have received the forty dollars that you sent us, at the rate of ten dollars per month. What have we done with the money? And, what are we doing in general?   First we organized a colony for half the summer for two hundred poor children, who are exhausted and hungry. They received good food, fresh air, and were under the supervision of competent pedagogues. This cost us close to five thousand zlotys. Accordingly, we were left with a deficit of five hundred and five zlotys. We covered this through our own efforts, and partly with the help you provided to us.   We are implementing for the second winter an initiative to feed one hundred and twenty poor school children and cheder students. In the morning, they get a warm breakfast, which cost us two hundred and twenty five zlotys a month. We receive one hundred zlotys from the head office of ‘Centos’ in Poland, and 52.5 zlotys from your society. The remaining seventy zlotys we cover on our own. This is hard for us: the Jews of Zambrów hunger, and do not have enough to buy bread for themselves, so how can they support us?   We are now embarking on creating a day home for forty young children, up to the age of seven, and rescue them from certain oblivion. Well, then, how are we to take money for this?   This week we carried out a fund drive for clothing and made thirty new pair of shoes for barefoot school children, and over the winter this came to two hundred and fifteen zlotys. We write little, but do a great deal...   For information purposes, we wish to record for you the names of those of our active members: Chair – the teacher A. Dan, former President of the Cooperative-Bank, Dr. Zarkhi, Dr. Fakhucky the dentist, Rothman of the town council, Mrs. M. Regensberg, the Rebbetzin, Mrs. Jocheved Srebrowicz, wife of the community president, and the daughter of Yankl Zukrowicz, Mrs. Koczor, a teacher, and daughter of Alter Mark, Albert Glicksman, a merchant and very capable community activist, Mrs. Kolodny, the daughter of Avcheh Rakowsky. Moshe Rosen, a merchant, a member of the community leadership, and of the bank leadership, etc. The Secretary is M. Khodorowsky, a grandchild of Avcheh Rakowsky.                August 2, 1938   We have received the two hundred and sixty-five zlotys. This year we have also organized a half-summer colony for one hundred and seventy-nine children for four weeks duration, being unable to do more. It cost us eighty zlotys a day. On September 1, we are organizing a children’s home for indigent orphans, who will be able to receive three meals a day there. This has to cost us five hundred zlotys a month. If we could receive at least twenty-five dollars from our brethren in Chicago, New York, etc., we could come up with the rest on our own. Secretary, A. Glicksman (See pp. 110-111 above).                            Resentful Tongues...   There were resentful tongues to be found, who informed in America about the ‘Centos’ Help Committee. ‘Centos’ defended itself [citing that]: it was under the strict control of the central committee in Bialystok. Every month, they send a rigorous accounting for every penny that comes in and goes out. The Chicago committee then demanded that the ‘Ladies Auxiliary’ and the ‘Linat HaTzedek’ become part of the ‘Centos’ leadership – however both sides did not agree: each works in its own sphere... and as a result, suspicion grew even stronger, and as a result, the Rabbi of Zambrów wrote personally to the Help Committee:                                                                                                  "Seeing that it was shared with me, that many complaints have arrived [to you] about the local ‘Centos,’ I must write to tell you that this consists only of malign rumors, perpetrated by those who wish to take over the leadership themselves for reasons that I do not know, whether for the prestige of the position or something else. It is for this reason that I am writing, as I am not in the ‘Centos’ leadership myself; I personally pay dues every month, and what I write is what I see with my own eyes. Like the ‘Bais Yaakov’ [School] here by us, for Jewish girls, there is the White Bet HaMedrash, which had previously been called ‘Bet HaEytzim’ – there more than one hundred girls are students there, and there is a teacher and also an assistant; it was also arranged there to bring for all the school children, rolls, milk and bread every day. I saw this with my own eyes, and it is self-understood that they give the same thing that is given in the public schools, for all students, [especially] the poor. Accordingly, I ask you to ignore rumor mongering and like correspondence, which is incorrect. Accordingly, I ask that you donate, since this is a great mitzvah done for hungry children, and because of this good deed may we all be privileged to witness a speedy redemption in our times, Amen."                                                                                             Signed, Dov Menachem Regensberg The Bet-Din Senior of the Sacred Congregation of Zambrów (Stamp) (Image of the Original is on Page 240) The Bialystok central office also received an inquiry from America, from the Help Committee, about the ‘Centos’ activities, and they replied that one can have the fullest confidence in ‘Centos,’ and its work is solely for the benefit of hungry and frail Jewish children.   The malign rumors did not have the desired effect. Quite the opposite – on July 30, 1939, a sum of money arrived from Sh. Dzenchill, for the four institutions: Linat HaTzedek, the Manual Trades Union, and Ladies Auxiliary in the sum of eighty zlotys each, and for ‘Centos’ – three hundred and sixty zlotys, a support for the half-summer colony.   The last letter from ‘Centos’ was from March 10, 1939: a thank you for the funds to feed eighty children, We ask for clothing for the naked and the barefoot for Passover. Evidence was shown they were getting ready to organize a summer colony, one way or another. It was immediately disrupted...   The Germans killed the little children.   The Gemilut Hesed Fund (From a letter to the Zembrover Help Committee in Chicago)                                                                                                                            December 31, 1937                                           photo, left: Receipt for a donation from a member. photo, above: Stamp of the Loan Society in Zambrów.       A Group of Members of the Bund in Zambrów       Yekhezkiel Zamir   Abraham Herschel Kagan As is known to you, the Joint has established a network of Gemilut Hasadim funds throughout Poland, among them, including Zambrów. We are literally providing life sustenance to craftsmen, small businessmen, et al. At this time the Joint is demanding that you become a partner with us, and that each of you should donate one dollar a year. Other landslayt are doing so. We have also been told that it is possible that the Joint may have to suspend its assistance, the Polish government having allocated 7.5 million zlotys to help the small businessman – but not Jews. The anti-Semitic press is demanding that the Gemilut Hasadim funds be shut down entirely, and that the Joint, which is undergirding Jewish workers and small businessmen, be liquidated entirely throughout Poland. We are hoping that you will not abandon us, but rather follow the example of Kolno, whose landslayt have created a capital base for their fund in the amount of five hundred dollars.   Signed: President – – – Secretary: Moshe Levinsky, Committee Members: Hersh Sosnowiec, Elyeh Rothberg, Leib Rosing, Chaim Bursztein.   My Father and the ‘Gemilut Hasadim’ Society By Chaim Ben-David     This society was apparently the product of my father’s initiative (I do not know if he was also one of the founders and among those who established it). From the day I became aware of my surroundings, two things stand out in my memory about this society, and they are: the Pinkas of the society was always in our book closet and was taken out of our house only for the society’s annual meeting; and the society’s annual Sabbath feast (or Kiddush), and the meeting on that same Saturday night. A) The Pinkas, oh, the Pinkas!  It was as thick as three volumes of the Gemara, in the format of a Gemara that was printed in Lublin, covered in a shaded leather with large gold letters on the spine of the binding and the front of the Pinkas. I could not remove and lift this Pinkas until I reached the age of seven, but when it had been lain on our table, I never grew tired of turning its pages, nor of sating my eyes and heart with its splendor. And what was in the Pinkas? Pages of thick paper, bright and as strong as parchment. The first page, the frontispiece – truly a gate. There were two lions on top of the two columns of the frontispiece, and in the gateway, was the name of the society, etc. And all of these were in different colors, bright and pleasant to the eye, and the faces of the lions – gold, this being my father’s handiwork. After the frontispiece – on several of the following pages – the by-laws and regulations of the society, written in large letters by a religious scribe, using the script normally reserved for a Torah scroll. There were forty-seven such by-laws in the Pinkas, the numerology being equivalent to the Hebrew word ‘Ki Tov’[It is Good]. Honest – only forty-seven by-laws. The last section, designated with the number ‘ki tov – ’ contained, in place of an actual by-law, a list and summary of the history of the society, about the first Pinkas of the society, and those assets that were consumed in the “First Great Fire’ and its subsequent renewal of activity after a number of years of inaction.   The by-laws were written in a pure linguistic style of the Prophets – as was the custom – and the spirit of a lyric song sang through each and every by-law. Each by-law ended with the word ‘Hesed’ or ‘haHesed,’ or ‘Hasadim,’ in large letters. In those places where the context did not make it easy to finish off the sentence with one of these words, a natural ending was appended, comprised of several words like: ‘Kakha yihyeh mishpat osey haHesed[8],’ or ‘veHaya shalem ma’aseh ha Hesed.[9]’ And years later, when I asked my father who had written these by-laws in such a beautiful style, he paused slightly as if sunk in his own memories and answered with effacing satisfaction, but not without satisfaction that the style of the writing had found favor in my eyes: I was the one who composed these by-laws, and they were found pleasing also to R’ Abba Rakowsky (a scribe, and a scholar of the Enlightenment period, a resident of our city), who praised him exceedingly. After the by-laws – a second frontispiece, and after it, pages and pages of the names of the members of the society. For each name – the name of the member, and the name of his father, but for his secular family name, there is a separate page. The name is rendered in very large letters of print, using magnificent colors and in differing styles, the products of my father’s imagination. Each page differs from that of its companions both in color and style. On both sides of the name there are decorations of all sorts of flowers, rendered in all the colors of the rainbow. These decorated names were the handiwork of my father. During the cold winter days when he was free of his usual work, during the long nights when he was too tired to sleep, he would sit and invest a great deal of time, enormous amounts of patience, and a great deal of imagination into this sacred undertaking. And despite the fact that he would engage in this work after many long hours of tiring study, it is certain that he would not let his time simply idle away, following the dictum of ‘glorifying the mitzvah.’   Many times, when I would sit and page through this Pinkas, deriving pleasure from its beauty and from the spirit of holiness that hovered over it, his friends from days gone by, especially the ‘craftsmen’ from Wysokie who lived in our house, as recalled previously would say to me: ‘You haven’t seen anything, and it is a shame that you never saw the previous Pinkas that went up in flames, because had you seen it, you would understand what beauty really is.’ When my father had passed away and I was in America, a great worry arose in me about this Pinkas, and I commented on this concern in a letter to his friends, and those who respected him who would come and go into and out of my father’s house in the last years of his life, indicating that his books should be willed to his son. R’ Sholom Rothbart, owner of a confectionary store (this R’ Sholom was present when my father died, and in a letter described to me the ‘death kiss’ of my father: on the morning of his death, R’ Sh. came to visit him. The man who had spent the night with my father told him that my father had not slept normally, and therefore returned home after morning prayers to his home, laid down and dozed off. R’ Sh. sat beside his bed and waited. When he awoke, R. Sh. wanted to serve him a glass of warm milk, but my father said to him: 'I just had a good, sweet sleep, and I cannot recall such a sweet sleep ever in my life, and I didn’t want it to stop. Please allow me to doze off a little longer,’ upon which he closed his eyes and ceased to breathe). In my letter, I asked that the Pinkas be looked after and treated as a surviving artifact of folk art. And it was my advice to send it for permanent archiving at the National Library in Jerusalem or to the Jewish Museum in Vilna. R’ Sh. answered me in his letter that were my father still alive, he would be grieved by the proposition of sending the Pinkas to ‘places like those,’ seeing that the Gemilut Hasadim Society still exists, and the Pinkas is the property of the Society (and in this he was right). Was the Pinkas saved from the extermination and annihilation of our community among all the other ancient sacred Jewish communities? Can it yet be found in the hands of some non-Jew who knows how to appreciate it and recognize it as a memorial to a Jewish community, to sense its beauty and the dedication to the mitzvah of good works of its martyred Jews?   The Sabbath of the Society On every Sabbath of the parsha, Mishpatim, there is a line that reads: ‘If it is money you will lend to my people...’[10] and it was this way it was explicitly written down in the Pinkas – all the members of the society would gather at a spacious home (usually the home of the philanthropist R’ Yaakov Zukrowicz (but I can recall at least one Sabbath at the home of R’ Yeshaya Henokh, the son-in-law of R’ Yudl Czerwonigury) for the Shacharit and Musaf service.    Each and every one would be called up to the Torah and pledge a donation (mostly two or three silver rubles). From this income and a comparable sum when a new member was initiated into the society – initiation dues, secured loans were made without interest.   After services a blessing was made over some suitable beverage, ‘lekakh’ was eaten, and each person went off to their home. My father and mother engaged in the preparations of the feast. While I was still a young child and afterwards as an older boy, and I was allowed to go from one premises to another (as my father explained to me), I would be given the great and important task of bringing the cake and drink, and also my father’s prayer shawl, etc. (the Torah scroll was brought by the shammes on the Eve before the Sabbath) to the place of worship. There is no doubt that even in this, it was my father’s intent to inculcate in me and educate me about the mitzvah, because otherwise, how would you explain why he would take me on Saturday night as well to the follow-on meeting?   It is worth documenting a ‘terrible incident’ that once happened in connection with the ‘feast:’ Guests who came to our home would also attend the prayer services and the following repast. One time, after the meal, the lady of the house, the wife of R’ Yaakov Zukrowicz, let it be known that a silver goblet from off the table had disappeared. The gabbaim of the Society, who had not yet returned to their homes, manifested worry and sorrow. Understandably they suspected a pauper who had participated in the feast. After the feast this pauper had gone off to the home of a wealthy man to take the Sabbath meal. They went off to the house of that person and told him that the goblet had disappeared, and it was decided to search the clothing and pockets of all those who had participated in the feast. The latter responded: in a pleading voice, ‘here is my jacket, hung before you, and please search in my pockets and those of the others.’ When they performed the search and found nothing, they asked the guest to permit them to search his pockets as well. The guest refused, protesting vigorously. He argued that it was always the poor who were suspected, etc., and he took it that they searched the coat and pockets of the master of the house only as a formality. Understandably this raised the suspicion even higher, and they began to feel his pockets forcibly against his will, and here a clanking was heard in a small sack in his pocket. They took the small sack out of his pocket, but immediately threw it from their hands, because it was full of copper and silver coins, but the goblet was not to be found in his pocket. They asked him why it is that a Jewish man with a white beard like him would be carrying around money on the Sabbath? Why is it that he hadn’t left the money, on the eve of the Sabbath, in the hands of the overseer of Hakhnasat Orkhim? He answered that he didn’t trust him. Well then, they asked, why didn’t you put the money in the hands of the Rabbi, as was the practice of many other guests?  He responded that he did not trust any man. As you can understand, they did not return the small sack to him on the Sabbath, because it was considered to be ‘muktza.’[11] and the guest was ashamed, it seems because of this, to demand his money back. On the following day he left the city and did not come to demand his money, which most certainly would have been returned to him, seeing that the ‘stolen goods’ were not found to be with him. The small sack with money was placed in the society treasury for safekeeping. Before Passover of that year the goblet was found in a corner under the sofa in the house of the hostess in which the prayer had been conducted. My father was deeply troubled (and certainly the other gabbaim were also grieved) that the feast had led to such a debacle, to cast suspicion upon and then embarrass a man innocent of any wrongdoing, etc. My father, who never was appointed as a gabbai of the society because he never accepted a formal nomination, made no attempt to shuck the responsibility for this ‘terrible incident.’ He waited a long time for the return of that visitor, to return the money to him, and to beg for his forgiveness, The end of this ‘incident’ is not known to me to this day.   On the Saturday night of the society they would gather for the purpose of electing new gabbaim: who will evaluate the worth of presented security, and decide on whether or not to extend the loan that was sought, and in whose home the ‘money box’ of the society will be lodged (an iron box). The first would issue a note to authorize the loan, and the one in whose house the strongbox was kept would place the security and the note in the box, disburse the funds to be loaned, and make an entry in a separate ledger. Also, on the First Day of the new month of Heshvan (accountants/auditors, in Hebrew, are called ‘Ro’ay Heshbon,’ and hence the play on words). And all of this was done for a heavenly cause, to please the senses of The Divine, to demonstrate that his sons we providing an eternal continuity to His honor, and His Torah.   This recognition brought to light yet another discussion, for the sake of heaven, which my father would bring up on Shemini Atzeres, in the shtibl:   According to the Shulkhan Arukh, one begins the recitation of ‘Mashiv HaRuakh uMorid HaGashem’ during the Shmoneh Esray prayer of Musaf. It was the shammes who would announce this prior to the commencement of recitation of the Shmoneh Esray. Well, it appears that in a few congregations, and perhaps limited to those places of worship of the Hasidim, they were not in the custom of making this announcement, and the congregation would begin to recite ‘Mashiv HaRuakh’ at the Mincha service of Shemini Atzeres. My father, as related above, who was in the habit of studying the rules of the holiday before each holiday, was of the opinion it would seem, that in the place where there was no man (that meaning a shammes), the responsibility the devolved on one of the worshipers to make the ‘Geshem’ announcement, and this is what he did. Having no alternative, all of the worshipers would then begin to say the ‘Mashiv HaRuakh’ prayer in their own silent prayer. There were those who protested, arguing: ‘By us, we do not follow such a custom, etc.’ And my father [would answer]: ‘How can you have a custom that does not follow the law? Even ‘The Rav’ in the Shulkhan Arukh  rules otherwise. And who is a greater authority in the customs of the Hasidim?’ Almost every year, year-in and year-out, this discussion would go on for a long time after Musaf, and this ‘recalcitrance’ on the part of my father, who as a matter of course did not like to participate in conversation, was done out of respect for the holiday, to enliven and make joyful his participation in a conversation of heavenly purpose. It is possible that either knowingly, or unknowingly, his so-called ‘protagonists’ sensed this as well, since they also would engage in a very lively and animated repartee in honor of making joy on the holiday.   My Mother, Alta Sokolikheh Who in our city did not know the charitable woman, Alta Sokolikheh? And who does not recall her deeds? When she built her house, she made a vow that she would dedicate space in it for the Chevra Shas. She honored this vow, and together with her daughters became the house servant: without any pay, you understand, but only because it was a mitzvah! With the growth of those attending, the filth also increased, since people spit on the floor, threw candles stubs, cigarette butts, and like behavior. On the eve of every Sabbath or Festival Holiday, together with our mother, we would draw water from the well, wash the floors, clean the walls, tables and benches, and shine the lamps and candlesticks. We would work hard, not in keeping with our age. But our mother would be satisfied and say with a smile: ‘Let it be for a mitzvah!’   It was also our lot to become the permanent cleaners for a neighbor, who sewed clothing, but was not particularly well off. Well, his wife would go to give birth, and as luck would have it, every year right at Passover time, so my mother, every year with our help, would go there and get the residence prepared for Passover, cleaning and decorating it for the holiday. If people had to come for a brit mila there, they would enter the house of the sewer as if it were a palace and didn’t even recognize his house. Our mother ran our father’s store. However, her [heart and] soul was dedicated to helping the sick and the needy. She could never eat only for herself. Having before her a complete list of poor people who were sick, and in need of some cooked food, she knew which of the sick needed a bit of chicken soup, a piece of meat, which poor woman, lying in confinement had a yearning for a bit of soup, a glass of ‘ladies brandy’ with which to fortify herself. Diapers and receiving blankets, little shirts and body coverings for the newborn – everything was her concern.   [In running our father’s business], she always kept the needs of the suffering and the needy in mind. Here she would extend credit to one person, and there lend money for a period of time, and for a third provide a guarantee at the bank. Once she pawned her golden chain to help someone, and being afraid of our father she bought another one which was not gold, but just gilded... and our father noticed this on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, and was actually pleased... We would constantly be running around with small pots of food and packages of foodstuffs to be distributed to the poor. If a girl from poor circumstances needed to have a wedding made for her, my mother simply knew no rest. She would make everything for the bride from a dress to shoes. On one occasion, when I went to the clothes bureau to put on my Sabbath clothing – I no longer found it there – my mother had given it away to a poor bride to use as her wedding gown. However, I became cross with her: what am I to do now? She then says to me: you are a socialist, well, show your socialism now!...     An Outing in the Czeczork Woods   Moshe Klepfish     Moshe Klepfish, the grandson of the Rabbi. Was born March 20, 1915 to his parents, Aharon-Yaakov and Sarah. He received a traditional education from his father the Rabbi, Aharon-Yaakov Klepfish, in cheders, and at the yeshivas of Łomża and Kleck. He later devoted himself to general studies and also completed a course in Halutz training in the Vilna vicinity, in agricultural management (his brother-in-law, the famous Yiddish writer, Chaim Grade, separated for long life, recalls him many times in his book, ‘Sabbaths at My Mother’s,’ as an idealist, a man with a broad heart and other good traits, as an idealistic young man). In 1935, he came to the Land of Israel. He becomes a military guard in Jerusalem, serving to protect Jewish lives in dangerous places. He also prepared himself for the entrance examinations to the University of Jerusalem. However, when the war broke out, as a pacifist he could no longer remain this way. Untitled Photo, presumed to be  Moshe Klepfish.  When the gruesome details of the destruction of Polish Jewry arrived, he was impatient to join the battle against the Fascists and the Nazis. As soon as the Jewish military formation was established, he volunteered for the Jewish Brigade, despite the fact that he was discharged several times because of his poor eyesight. When he was at the front he committed himself to Jewish education in the war zones. After the war, he settled in Menachemya and devoted himself with full diligence to research work in agriculture. He actively participated in the Jewish War of Independence. On 27 Nisan 5708 (May 6, 1948) he fell at Mount Tabor in the reprisal actions launched against the Arab bands that had murdered seven young Jews in Bet-Keshet (among them the son of the President [Yitzhak] Ben-Zvi ה"ע, Eli Ben-Zvi). (Cited in accordance with the compendium of the fallen heroes ‘Gvilei-Aysh’, First Volume.)     Chava Sokol-Almog By Z. Zamir     She was the talented daughter of the leather merchant, R’Israel Sokol. She was one of the best students at the Polish gymnasium in Zambrów. Her knowledge of the Polish language and literature was an example for the gentile students. However, she joined the Halutz movement and came to the Land of Israel in 1926. She worked in Petach Tikvah and later was a student of Rachel Yanait, the wife of President Ben-Zvi ה"ע, in her school of agriculture. She married Yehuda Almog in 1933 and worked in Ramat-Rachel, and during the Second World War she served in the women’s division, A. T. S. After three years of service, she returned home to Kfar Gileadi. She was an ardent idealist, with a real feel for the work of the kibbutz movement. A tragic incident cut short her life on 4 Adar II, 5722 (March 10, 1962).                                             Golda Zarembsky Rutkewicz                      Golda, the daughter of R’ Lejzor Zarembsky, joined the Land of Israel Labor Movement at an early age. After her father passed away, when the family suffered want, she declined the promise of her friends to help her travel to America, but rather she chose to travel to the Land of Israel as a Halutz.   She married Yaakov Rutkewicz, a member of the Jugend, and settled in Petach Tikvah, and built a beautiful home there.   A serious illness robbed her from us in the prime of life. Golda Zarembsky Rutkewicz     The Smoking Embers, Rescued from the Fire As is the case in similar instances, this list has been realphabetized in English, with a number indicated for its place in the original Yiddish/Hebrew text.   Last Name First Name Description Row   Alsha Israel Son of the melamed, Alsha 3   Alsha Chana Wife 3   Alsha Leah Daughter 3   Alsha Reizl Daughter 3   Appelbaum Simcha A butcher's Son 2   Arlinsky Menachem   1   Arlinsky Chaim   1   Barenstein Sarah Berl's Daughter 5   Blumrosen   An Orphan Girl -- Father  name was Friedman 7   Blumstein Sholom Shayna Bayl'keh's Grandson 6   Bursztein Eizik Chaim Schneider's Son 4   Domb Yenta The Pickle Maker's Daughter 18   Domb   Husband of Yenta 18   Finkelstein Gershon (Poland) 44   Friedman Moshe Ephraim the Hatmaker's Son 45   Furmanowicz Rikl Daughter of the Glazier 43   Furmanowicz Rachel Daughter of the Glazier 43   Gerszunowicz Moshe Grandson of Meir-Yankl (in Israel) 14   Givner Khatzkel Son of Chaim Hersch 11   Golda Aharon Boxmaker's Child 13   Golda Itcheh Boxmaker's Child 13   Golda Chaya Boxmaker's Child 13   Goldberg Dvora Zabikower 17   Golombek Yitzhak Son of Joseph Golombek 9   Golombek Wife of Yitzhak 9   Golombek Zalman Son of the melamed 10   Golombek Chaim Reuven   15   Grumazen Maness   16   Gutfarb Pesha Polotka's Daughter 8   Gutfarb Child of Pesha 8   Jerusalimsky Moshe Son of the Turner 24   Kalesznik Chaya Daughter of the Boot Maker 50   Kalesznik Sarah Daughter of the Boot Maker 50   Kalino Anna The Sour Cream Maker's Daughter 49   Kaplan Kadish Son of 'Oneg Shabbos' 51   Karlinsky Shmuel Son of Aharon Leibl 53   Kasztewo Moshe Aharon   52   Kaufman Chaim Son of the Pharmacist (Killed in Germany) 46   Kaufman Chay'keh (Died in Israel) 47   Kaufman Child 1 Chay'keh's child 47   Kaufman Child 2 Chay'keh's child 47   Kawior Itcheh   48   Lehrman Shlomo Grandson of Eizik Sepper 25   Levinsky Moshe In Israel 27   Levinsky Wife Of Moshe 27   Lichtenstein Israel The Son of the Cloth Storekeeper from Rutki 26   Lifschitz Lejzor Ber   28   Lifschitz Wife of Lejzor Ber 28   Nagurka S. Son of Chaim Nagurka, Bootmaker  (Grandson of Shammai Lejzor) 29   Pekarewicz Shlomo Hona the Butcher's Son 40   Pekarewicz Shlomo Yossl the Butcher's Son 41   Planczuk Chana Daughter of Yehoshua the Melamed 42   Regensberg Wife Grandchild of the Rabbi 57   Regensberg Child Grandchild of the Rabbi 57   Remblanska Regina   55   Rosenberg Joseph   58   Rosenberg Wife Daughter of Joseph Piontek, shokhet 58   Rosenberg Child   58   Rothberg Rivka Of the Bislystok Gasse 54   Rothberg Husband of Rivka 54   Rothbart Reizl Daughter of Abraham the Sour Cream Msker 59   Rothbart Husband Of Reizl 59   Rubin Rachel Daughter of Avigdor the Ironmonger (In Israel) 56   Rubin Sholom Child of Rachel  (In Israel) 56   Rubin Leah Child of Rachel  (In Israel) 56   Schuster Abraham   60   Schuster Miriam   60   Schuster Moshe   60   Schuster Mordechai   60   Sendak Ahar'keh Grandson of the Cloth Storekeeper 36   Smoliar Herschel (In Warsaw) 37   Smoliar Esther Herschel's Sister (Paris) 37   Sokol Esther Shayna Israel'keh Sokol's from Pliac 38   Sokol Chana Sister of Esther Shayna 38   Sokol Dina Sister of Esther Shayna 38   Sokol Menucha (Israel) 39   Sokol Mordechai (Paris) 39   Sosnowiec Bendet Herschel Blekher's son 32   Sosnowiec   Brother of Bendet 32   Spivak Alta Daughter of Yankl Bursztein 30   Spivak Daughter of Alta 30   Srebnik Mendl Grandson of the Yenzhever 33   Stupnik Yaakov Son of the Brezhnitzer 31   Stupnik Yitzhak Son of the Brezhnitzer 31   Stupnik Moshe Son of the Brezhnitzer 31   Stupnik Yankl Motl's son 34   Sukharewicz Sarah Daughter of the Zaramber 35   Szklovin Mir'keh   61   Szklovin Rat'keh   61   Szklovin Husband Of Rat'keh 61   Tabak Gershon Grandson of the Tavern Keeper 12   Tukhman Zulcheh Son of Abram the Smith 22   Tukhman Mordechai Brother of Zulcheh 22   Tykoczinsky (Tykócinski) Max Gedal'keh's son (died in Israel) 22   Tykoczinsky (Tykócinski) Child 1   22   Tykoczinsky (Tykócinski) Child 2   22   Wallach Ruzha The Contractor's Daughter 19   Warszawczyk Henokh Son of Abraham 20   Wilimowsky Elazar   21   Wilimowsky Lola Wife of Elazar; Daughter of Gordon 21   Yismach Pearl Daughter of Yudl Shokhet 23   Yismach   Child   23       Chaim Joseph Rudnik, Representative of the Łomża-Zambrów Society of Buenos Aires, Argentina, standing at the ‘Red Mogen David’ Ambulance donated by the Society to the city of Tel Aviv.     Zambrów Diaspora; Landslayt in the World Our Brethren in The United States The Zembrover Branch No. 149, in the ‘Arbeter Ring (Workmen's Circle)’ Mendl Zibelman Tells:   After the First Great Fire in Zambrów, in the nineties of the past [sic: nineteenth] century, there were fifteen hundred landslayt from Zambrów to be found in New York City, and nearly the same number in all other American cities combined. During the first twenty years of the Zambrów immigration, landslayt came here to get a leg up: to work, save a bit of money, and then travel back to Zambrów to build themselves a house, open a store or a shop. Accordingly, they were not organized in America, despite the fact that for support they came to one another, whether for morale or substance. The synagogue was the place where they would get together. The small towns of the Łomża Guberniya united here, and founded a small synagogue: Łomża-Gać, Zambrów-Rutki, Zambrów-Łomża, etc. It was here that they would meet one another, gladden themselves on the Sabbath and Festivals, at a Kiddush, a folksy wedding, or some other happy occasion. It was here that the newly arrived Zambrów immigrant would come, the ‘greenhorn,’ to meet with landslayt and obtain the assistance that he needed.   After the ‘fifth year’ (1905), following the first Russian Revolution, Zambrów revolutionaries began to stream to America. These were coming to stay, to become citizens of the country. Accordingly, the question arose about getting organized and joining an ‘Arbeter Ring (Workmen's Circle).’ Most of the Zambrów landslayt found work in the needle trades, meaning in the so-called ‘sweat shops,’ in accordance with the sweat shop system of the times that prevailed in the garment industry of those times. The work was broken up into all manner of branches: designers, basters, pants pressers, jacket pressers, makers of buttonholes, button sewers, finishers, ‘examiners,’ and others. Landslayt would accordingly be bringing new ‘greenhorns’ into the shop and providing him with work. This engendered a fight among the trade unions, which competed for the unorganized workers, which depressed the wages and stood outside those positions, on the job that had been unionized. But this is a chapter unto itself. A bit at a time, the landslayt from Zambrów joined the Arbeter Ring, the order that brought security and that accepted Jewish workers of all trades. It was only in the year 1909, after two years of effort and the influence of active members, that the Zambrów branch with its sixty members auspiciously came into being. In a short time, the membership came to four hundred members and became one of the most influential branches in the Arbeter Ring.   The first leaders of the branch were: Yankl, the son of Notkeh Kaplan (he died while young); the brothers Benjamin and Shlomo (Sol) Bornstein, the sons of the Poritz from Koritka. It is understood that many of the founders are no longer alive.   The current leaders are: Zelig Dzenchill, son of Moshe-Leibl and a grandson of Lejzor the Butcher, and Nachman Pluczenko, son of Fukhaler, who had a ‘tea house’ on the Uczastek.   Three generations         Hershel Zibelman, son Moishe and grandson Berl (Son, Grandson and Great Grandson, respectively of Israel David the Shammes ז״ל   In the year 1941, when the ‘United Zembrover Society’ began to collect money for the benefit of refugees from Zambrów who were expected to arrive after the war, the Zembrover Progressive Branch 149 appointed five of its members to work alongside the society: M. Horowitz, M. Orschutz, B. Bernstein, H. Shayna, and Y. Goldberg. The Chair was: A. Lev; Treasurer: N. Pravda; Recording Secretary: B. Bernstein; Corresponding Secretary: Y. Walters; Loan Secretary: M. Plavsky; Hospitaler for Brooklyn: M. Horowitz; Hospitaler for The Bronx: Y. Goldberg.   In the last years there was only about ten percent of the landslayt from Zambrów in the branch. The Zembrover founders passed away, and new members were decidedly few.           50th Year Jubilee Arrangements Committee of the Zembrover Progressive Branch 149, Workmen’s Circle, New York, October 17, 1939 in the auditorium of the Central Plaza. First Row (From the Right): M. Plafsky, B. Miller, G. Padnick, B. Bernstein, V. Goldstein, and H. Bernstein. Second Row: B. Cohen, Goldberg, S. Brody, Hofnagel, N. Brody and M. Levin. Third Row: V. Zinowicz, B. Epstein, B. Goldberg, and G. Rubinstein.   Mrs. Malinovich, one of the old-time Zembrovites in the United States of America.      The Zembrover Help Committee in Chicago   In Chicago there was a meaningful center for Zambrów landslayt. They would meet frequently, receiving wishes from home and sending help to relatives in Zambrów. Immediately after the First World War, they organized themselves into a special Zembrover Help Committee and continuously sent over money, clothing, packages of food, and even ship passenger tickets to needy landslayt. At first, they called themselves the ‘Friendship Union.’ A few years later, when life returned more or less to normal and the Joint Distribution Committee enfolded all of the needy shtetl locations within its ambit, the Zembrover Help Committee gradually dissolved.   Approximately in 1936, alarming letters began to arrive from the ‘alte haym,’ reporting danger to life and limb – and a protracted decline. The brothers in Chicago then awakened themselves and organized the dispatch of speedy help anew.   A crisis meeting was called. The call for help from the ‘alte haym’ united the brethren. The Help Society was renewed. The following landslayt joined the Committee: Hyman Eisenman, a son-in-law from Zambrów, originally from Tyszowce; Oscar (Alter) Meisner, son of Shmuel Ber – Treasurer; Mendl Zibelman, son of Israel David – Recording Secretary; Mendl Stone (identical with Mendl Finkelstein) son of David, Breineh-Pearl’s – Financial Secretary (he was the one who carried out the principal work and stayed in contact with Zambrów); Shmuel Bloom, a member of the Kwiatek family; Yitzhak Appel, originally from Jablonka; John Karpin; Ralph Monkarzh, son of Leibl Monkarzh, the ‘Colony Smith’ at the horse market. The Monkarzh family is very prominent here, and today lives in California. Later on, Mrs. Stone became active in committee work, the wife of Max Stone, in the role of Recording Secretary.   The Committee accomplished a great deal. It sent a regular monthly stipend of money to the needy Zambrów institutions (see above pp. 109-116).   When the terrifying war broke out, and Poland was cut off from the surrounding world, the committee once again dissolved.   The History of the Zembrover Society in the United States By Yitzhak (Itcheh) Rosen                     Chairman Yitzhak Rosen is Speaking A society of Zembrovers in New York has existed for over seventy years and is tied up and bound to the General Professional Movement of the Jewish street, in the capitol city of the United States. This was at the end of the prior [sic: 19th] century. Jewish workers were generally minimally represented among the ranks of the those engaged in metal production or other technical and mechanical fields of endeavor. All were drawn to the needle trades. The Jewish workers in tailoring, as well as all workers in other branches of the needle trades, were by and large concentrated on the East Side of New York. Working conditions in those days were rather hard, perhaps the hardest that we now are capable of imagining. A ‘trade union’ for the needle trade workers as yet did not exist. One worked for starvation wages from early in the morning until late into the night, in a manner as depicted in Morris Rosenfeld’s ‘(Sweat)shop Songs:’ ‘I have a little son...but seldom, seldom do I see him.’ The worker-immigrant could not get himself educated after work. He was exhausted and out of his meager wages. He had a need to save some to send back home to support his wife, his aged parents, sisters and brothers, until he would finally be able to bring them over to himself. The worker had no awareness of social or community interests. The environment about him was alien, the whole American way of life, the language.   The typical Zambrów worker would meet with his fellow countrymen in the ‘market’ (e.g. the place of work), or at a celebration held at the home of a senior landsman, who had become something of a citizen already, and one engaged in a discourse [as follows]: It is necessary to create a society comprised of people from Zambrów, so that it would be possible to get together, to enjoy company among one’s own kind both on the Sabbath and Sunday, provide help to newly arrived brothers and enabling them to stand on their own two feet on this foreign soil. The foundation for such a society could only be religious, because those from Zambrów, like the majority of other Jewish immigrants of that time were ‘synagogue Jews,’ as they are called here, having come to New York with their tallis and tefillin. So, at first, a Zambrów synagogue was established. It was to this place that one came for prayers, and it was here that one could listen to a service being led by someone using the familiar prayer chants of the alte haym, as well as being able to receive regards from back there. It was here that the ‘green’ immigrants from Zambrów would first come, who needed help and support – spiritual and material. Should it have happened that bad news would come from Zambrów, about a kinsman who was impoverished or sick, for example, a collection was taken up right on the spot, and several dollars were immediately sent off to Zambrów. If a misfortune befell someone in New York, the news immediately reached the synagogue or to the President, and action was immediately taken, whatever it was that was necessary to do: visiting the sick, providing for a bed at a hospital, arranging for a call by a physician, coming to the assistance of a family in need, and God forbid, arranging for a traditional funeral if required, etc.   After the First World War, when the level of immigration increased, the landsmanshaftn became more and more sophisticated and undertook more of a communal character. Life in America changed for the better: the working man fought for and achieved a shorter work day and higher wages. Evening classes were opened for the study of English and for general education. The heavens grew lighter for the Jewish working man. The new wave of immigration from Poland and Lithuania brought with it a better trained element. From Zambrów as well, more educated workers came, members of the ‘Bund,’ ‘Poaeli Zion,’ ‘Tze‘irei Tzion,’ and they injected a new spirit of progress and community concern into the Zambrów union or ‘society.’ Also, the assistance rendered to our brethren and sisters in the alte haym was put on a more solid institutional foundation: constructive help was offered through organized bodies, instead of help by individuals, systematic organized help, not accidental or incidental. This continued until the outbreak of the Second World War, which wiped our alte haym off the map.   Even then, both alarmed and shocked, we the landslayt of Zambrów proclaimed and implemented the speedy assistance rendered to those surviving brethren in the camps and did not permit them to be neglected or suffer from want. As much as possible, we sent packages, money, and connected them with friends, sent them ship’s tickets, papers, brought them to America, helping those who had elected to go to the Land of Israel. The Zembrover Society excelled in its help rendered to its own (see above in this book).   With the establishment of the State of Israel, the society awakened to a new endeavor, work on behalf of the new Jewish State of Israel. Extending its generosity, the Zembrover Society bought ‘Israel Bonds,’ and this work continues [to this day]. The Zambrów landslayt in America are an important force in the community life of American Jewry. On the Saturday night of Hanukkah, December 15, 1953, a very hearty and historic celebration took place in honor of the sixtieth anniversary of the 'United Zembrover Society.’ Chronologically, the celebration was a little bit late. The banquet, under the direction of the writer of these lines, was carried out with great solemnity and spiritual uplifting. We shared memories and wished each other the privilege of attending many more such anniversaries. The years flew by quickly, and we carried out with even greater emotional uplift, the seventieth anniversary of the active functioning of our society.   After the Sabbath, December 17, 1960 on the night of the fifth candle of Hanukkah, at the ‘Clinton Plaza’ hall (Clinton Street, New York), we celebrated the seventieth anniversary of the Zembrover Society. Our great joy, however, was tempered with the admixture of joy and sorrow: the 'Mother, Zambrów’ no longer existed!...   A Jewish Woman in Her Sabbath Finery (Yitzhak Rosen’s Grandmother) Occasionally ships would still bring us news from the living from that place – and then none. We find yet one solace in our heart: spiritual Zambrów continues to live among us. We carry it around with pride in our Zambrów pedigree, having something to remember and something of which we can be proud.   And another thing: To memorialize the mass immigration of the end of the nineteenth century and the first two decades of the twentieth century, part of Zambrów [Jewry] was saved in America. To memorialize the wide-ranging Zionist work of both young and old, and especially the significant number of youth groups, hundreds of young people managed to save themselves by going to the Land of Israel. We take great pride in them, and we consider ourselves fortunate that our landslayt, the children of Zambrów, helped with the rebuilding of the Land of Israel with their sweat and blood. Also, our society had taken a significant role in this endeavor: we have, to date, bought ‘bonds’ that are worth thirteen thousand dollars. At various opportunities, we have also donated up to twenty-five thousand dollars. Together with Łomża landslayt, we have donate five thousand dollars to underwrite the construction of a volksschule in the Negev. We have donated up to ten thousand to the United Jewish Appeal, having also donated many times to the Histadrut, the Haganah, the building of houses, and more and more. Our hearts and our hands remain always open for the building of our homeland.   Paging Through The Book of Minutes For the Years 1943 - 1950 By L. Yom Tov                            Zambrów Ladies in the U.S. celebrating the 12th Independence Day of The State of Israel, with Mrs. Savetsky at the center.   Paging through the thick book of minutes for eight years of work on behalf of the Zembrover Society in New York, I sensed the brush of the bright rays of light that emanated toward me from this blessed work.   A. Community Functions The society carried out functions that really belonged to an independent community. Here we are talking about a synagogue and hazzan about the High Holy Days, about providing the congregation with an etrog for Sukkos, about a Kiddush for Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah, about a Kiddush for the Chevra Kadisha on the final day of Passover, about providing the needy with Maot Khitim for Passover in the old-fashioned manner of home: to give or to take. They even concerned themselves with assuring that prayer conducted in the Zambrów synagogue followed to old tradition as it was in the Zambrów of old, not as it was done in ‘progressive’ Jewish America. If anyone thought about shutting down the synagogue because of the high expenses, President Waxman would say: the synagogues in Zambrów have been burned down -- let this synagogue, at the very least, remain as a memorial. And [consequently] the Zambrów synagogue continued its existence...   B. Chevra Kadisha The Chevra Kadisha here functions on a very moving basis. Our landsman, Morris Borenstein, who was called Mysh’l Bursztein, the frail old-age baby of Yankl Bursztein ז״ל, is dedicated to the Chevra Kadisha with his life and limb. For many times he was elected as the President of the society, and for the entire time he was the funeral director. At every committee meeting, at every general meeting, he would present with sorrow: so-and-so passed away on such-and-such a day, according to the Jewish calendar, in order to designate the yahrzeit date, as well as the date on the secular calendar. Everyone then rises to show respect for the deceased, and as gabbai of the Chevra Kadisha, he says a few words as an expression of sorrow on behalf of the landsman who had left us. The funeral director looks after the funeral, the grave, the gravestone, and proposes a committee to assume responsibility for preparing and carrying out the unveiling of the headstone. He looks after this, and the approach to the cemetery, whether it is at ‘Beth David’, ‘Mount Hebron’ or ‘Washington' Cemetery, that it be plastered and maintained as it is fit to be. He sees to it that the deceased is accorded the proper rights and given final homage. He takes it seriously not to permit the cemetery workers to rush their work and not wait for all of the brother-landslayt to gather for the funeral. He takes responsibility for the decision that the Chevra Kadisha has no right to move the body from its place without the express permission of the funeral director. He is the one who gets aggravated and angry if too few people come to the funeral or to the unveiling.   He alerts and reminds everyone at each gathering that one should anticipate the need for substantial fund raising, once the terrifying war comes to an end. He causes a rebirth of the ‘Ladies Auxiliary’, getting them to be ready to send substantial and immediate help to our brothers and sisters who will have saved themselves.   C. Caring for the Sick As had been the case once in the shtetl, where Jews looked after the impoverished sick to see that they would have access to a doctor, medicines, visiting the sick, looking after their recovery, this also was the practice in the society. At each meeting there was always presented: so-and-so was sick. At that time, a brother was designated to visit the sick patient and come back with a report. The committee had special emissaries to be sent to a number of hospitals. In this regard, Louis Zedeck and Willy Rosenblum were the designees, whose job it was to arrange for hospital care in Brooklyn hospitals; Benny Cooper, and afterwards Asher (Oscar) Shark and Nathan Jainchill (Noah Dzenchill) – in the hospitals of Manhattan and the Bronx. And at each meeting a report was heard about the state of health of the patient. When the sick person leaves the hospital, he presents the committee with a statement from the hospital and obtains his sick benefit, which he is entitled to. If one of the brothers falls ill and is unable to go to work, he presents a certification from a doctor and gets an unemployment benefit.   D. Fraternity If a happy occasion occurs in a brother’s family: a wedding of a child, a brit milah, or a bar mitzvah, he comes to a meeting and ‘requests a committee.’ Accordingly, a number of members are sent to the happy affair in order to convey best wishes, in the name of the society, to the celebrant, and they bring a gift of ten dollars or more for the wedding couple or the bar mitzvah.   When a member reaches the age of fifty, sixty or seventy years, he is honored with a banquet and he is also given a handsome gift. It was in this way that the seventieth and seventy-fifth birthday of Brother Sholom-Abner Bornstein was warmly celebrated.   If a brother became financially stressed, he would often be able to obtain help through a loan, which he would get from the ‘Loan Fund’ (The Gemilut Hasadim Bank) for which Joseph Savetsky served as the ‘manager’ for a long time.   Older members and war invalids were excused from paying dues. If it occurs that a landsman is left alone in his older years, a place is arranged for him at an old age home, and landslayt do not neglect the obligation to come and visit him. When R’ Alter the Maggid became old, the ‘Ladies Auxiliary’ created a pension for him. Prominent landslayt, such as R’ Alter the Maggid, Reverend [Simcha] Maslow[3], or R’ Yaakov Karlinsky would eulogize those who passed away. During committee meetings and [general] meetings, a celebrant would always bring refreshments. The brothers permit themselves to indulge in a snort of schnapps and some tasty foods.   E. The Preparations After The War The brethren did not rest while the war was going on: what is going to happen once the war is over? The Chair, Morris Borenstein, once flamboyantly declared: "Brothers, one miracle has already occurred – America has won the war in Europe. We are now waiting for the second miracle. When we will subjugate the uncivilized Asiatic ‘Jap,’ we will have a huge victory banquet for all the members – and we will make merry until the wee hours of the morning..." But he almost immediately became sad and added with sorrow: "But who knows whether we will still have our old and beautiful Zambrów? Who knows what Hitler has done to our brothers and sisters?"  And like Borenstein, so did brother Itcheh Rosen, Moshe Eitzer and others say likewise. They did not permit anyone to slack off: it is necessary for us now, while the war is still on, to organize help, generate funds, packages, etc. for the brethren in the alte haym. All the landslayt need to be organized, and we must find out their addresses, launch ‘drives,’ collect and collect, to be ready to help as soon as the hour arrives.  It was decided to create ‘honor rolls’, with the names of the sons and daughters who fell during the war.   F. Relationships The society maintained relationships with all Jewish institutions, working with and supporting them: It bought shares or ‘bonds’ for the Haganah, Histadrut, medicines for Russia (during the war), participating in Zionist meetings, meetings for Birobidzhan, inscribed the writer Stefan Zweig in the Golden Book on the occasion of his seventieth birthday, supported HIAS, the Joint, ORT, The Federation of Jewish Charities, the Yiddish theatre, Yiddish culture and art, and joined the Union of Polish Jewry.   G. The Annual Purim Package Event This is carried out with special warmth and feeling. Everyone comes, and everyone takes part. The ‘Package Event’ raises substantial sums of money for the benefit of the support work of the society.   In October 1945, no sooner than the arrival of the first heart-breaking news from residents of Zambrów who had saved themselves, the first ten packages were immediately dispatched: five to Zambrów, two to Minsk, two to Paris, and one to Warsaw. Since that time, the stream of packages has not ceased. Joseph Savetsky and others, answered each and every letter, responded to all requests, and immediately dispatched a package with needed foodstuffs or clothing and medicines.   H. The Active Workers   From among the most active of the workers, documented in the book of minutes, we are obligated to recall the brother, Nathan Burg, who in Zambrów was known as Nehemiah Golombek. The son of Yossl Moshe-Shmuels. He was one of the finest and [most] beloved of the brethren. He would install all of the newly elected members of the committee with humor and great tact, always finding a good word to say about everyone, whether it was for the incoming or outgoing members of the committee. He was loyally committed to the society, had an open hand, and gave the initial contribution for the ‘Old Age Fund’ for the support of the senior brothers. He fell ill and died young; his younger son, Walter took his place.   Nathan Burg (Nehemiah Golombek) Among the loyal members, according to the book of minutes, it is necessary to recall David Stein, who was the treasurer for many years, Friedman, Furman, who was the loyal Recording-Secretary for thirty-two years. He began his work with eighty-five members and seven hundred dollars in the treasury, and ended with three hundred members and fifteen thousand dollars in the treasury.   I. The Zambrów Pinkas According to the book of minutes, brother Yitzhak Gorodzinsky, the son of David and Chava, when he returned from a visit to Israel, at the meeting of December 13, 1947, he related that Dr. Yom-Tov Levinsky (son of the teacher R’ Israel, and a grandson of Nachman Yankls) was planning to publish a Zambrów Pinkas, which will include the history of the city – the congregation, institutions, balebatim, workers, culture, economic life, parties, sports, theatre, etc. The landslayt in Israel took up this proposal enthusiastically. However, a lot of money is needed to carry out this plan. It is understood that the brothers in America are inclined to see this implemented.   Since that time practically nothing was done, despite the fact that the editor, Dr. Levinsky, did not relent from his work of gathering material. It was out brother, Mr. Chaim Ben-David, who strongly refreshed the interest in this work and popularized the idea among the brethren.   In the last years, after the visit of brother Eizik Malinowicz to Israel, the matter of the book again became real. The society sent over a larger sum of money for this purpose, and in this manner underwrote the principal costs involved, and the book was published. This is one of the most important accomplishments of the Zembrover Society. The President at that time, Itcheh Rosen, sent out a call for a special gathering of the brethren about participating in the publication of this book, and about paying in their share.     The Ladies Auxiliary of the United Zembrover Society, Celebrating the 13th Independence Day of Israel.   J. A List of the Brothers in Leadership for the eight years 1943-1950 According to the Book of Minutes: Presidents: Nathan Berg, Morris Borenstein, Joseph Waxman, Dave Stein, Joseph Savetsky. Vice Presidents: Sholom-Abner Bornstein, Louis Zedeck, Benny Cooper, Harry Stein, Tshol Kotz. Treasurer: Dave Stein.       Funeral Director:  Morris Borenstein. Hospitaler: Louis Zedeck, Willy Rosenblum, Asher Shark, Noah Jainchill. Loan Fund (Gemilut Hasadim): Joseph Savetsky, Dave Stein, Louis Zedeck. Board of Directors: The three brothers, Shmuel, Dave and Hersh Stein, Joseph Shafran, Counsel Cohen, Sam Stern, Asher Rosen, Abraham David Goldstein, Berl Feinberg, Isidore Rosen, Pesach Pensky, Benny Rosen, Meir Zarembsky. Recording-Secretary: Eliyahu Forman, Y. Koziol. In the last years, the following were active as presidents: Louis Pav, Yitzhak Rosen.     The United Zambrów Relief Committee By Moshe Eitzer   A division that dealt with relief has always existed as part of the United Zembrover Society, itself over seventy years old. There was always a fund for assistance, and the brothers always stood ready to help their other brethren in the United States, and most certainly the brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors and Jews in general from the alte haym. During this last gruesome war, Zambrów, as all of Poland, was cut off and sundered from us, and you can appreciate that it was with the utmost urgency that we were motivated to provide every kind of help.   With bated breath and a trembling heart, we all awaited the day when the news would be communicated to us that Hitler had fallen and Europe was liberated. At that time, will we again be able to renew our connection with our home town, a connection that had been sundered for so long?   In January 1944[13], after the victory of the Red Army at Stalingrad, we knew then that the day of Hitler’s downfall was nigh.   At that time, a man and his wife came to a meeting of the United Zembrover Society and asked to speak. President Stein gave them the floor. They called out to us and said: Seeing that the Red Army is drawing close to Zambrów, it is now high time for us to rouse ourselves and begin a fast-moving help initiative for those of our brothers and sisters who remained alive. At that time we did not yet know of the extent of our great catastrophe. We did understand that terrible trouble had descended upon the heads of our Zambrów landslayt, and there were not a small number among them who had fallen as victims of the war. We still hoped to come to the aid of our shtetl, and come to help it as quickly as possible. The sharp call of these guests from Zambrów touched all hearts. It did not take long, and the United Zembrover Relief Committee was organized, for all cohorts of Zambrów brethren in  New York. The Women’s Division of the Relief Committee also came into existence, as part of the ‘Ladies Auxiliary.’   The help initiative undertook initial action a little at a time. However, at this point, there had been no news from a living person that had been received from Zambrów.   Finally, the first such live news, sad enough, came from one of the brothers, Stupnik (son of the shoemaker from Brezhnitz). It was terrifying news, indicating that Jewish Zambrów no longer existed. However, a significant number of people from Zambrów are aimlessly wandering about the ruins of Eastern Europe: those who had run away from the gas chambers and death camps, those left from the ones exiled to Russia, lone individuals who fought as partisans, those sheltered by gentiles in forests and pits in the ground. It was only now that we first grasped the extent of how great the disaster was, and how swiftly help must be made available from our end. In a short time we began to hear from other people from Zambrów, those that had been left in the wake of fire and sword, hunger, forced labor, and from the gas ovens. Every one asked: who remained alive? Where are their friends and relatives? Who will help them with an item of clothing, a pair of shoes, with food, with medicines, with a pack of cigarettes, with a groschen of money? And everyone also asks: What will the future bring? Where are they to travel, to whom should they go, and using what means?   An initiative was begun to answer letters and to write letters – hundreds, hundreds every month. A fevered initiative was undertaken to send packages. No sooner had an address been received from a Zambrów landsman, than we began to send money – through the mail. through the bank, through emissaries. Thousands of dollars were sent over to groups of people, to individuals – in Lodz, in Bialystok, in Zambrów, in Germany, Italy, France, and any place from which we received word from a landsman in distress.   The work, truth be told, was done by individuals. We must give recognition to the Relief-Secretary, Yossl Savetsky, along with his wife, who tirelessly stood by this work for its entire duration. The following also participated in this work, with real commitment: President Nathan Burg, Joseph Waxman, Sholom-Abner Bornstein, Yitzhak Rosen, Dov Stein, A. Zedeck, M. Bursztein, Noah Jainchill, Harry Stein, Sam Stern, B. Feinberg, Moshe Eitzer – the writer of these lines. In the ‘Ladies Auxiliary’ the following sisters were active: Pauline Zarembsky (President), Silvia Berkowitz (Vice-President), Pauline Zedeck (Finance-Secretary), Esther Bernstein (Treasurer), Esther Stein, Leah’cheh Savetsky, and D. Greenberg.   The hundreds of letters that arrived, the heart-rending and emotionally oppressing replies from those brethren in need, the few words of encouragement that came to them from us – this was our reward, which calmed our spirits. In January 1947, the first bulletin of the United Zembrover Relief appeared, in which the memorial service was discussed that was to take place on January 26, along with a short write-up of our relief activities. And there was a list of the survivors with whom the committee had corresponded (see above, pp. 579-580).   Remarks    In actuality, it is very difficult to differentiate between the Relief Committee and the United Zembrover Society. Almost all the same people worked in both places.   But the United Zembrover Society did not encompass all the ranks of people from Zambrów. Apart from this, the principal objective of the united society was to provide local fraternal assistance: medical help, a hospital, a burial plot after one hundred and twenty years, a headstone, employment, a synagogue with a hazzan, and things of that sort. The Relief Committee devoted itself entirely to providing help to those of the brethren who had survived [the war].   At each committee meeting, a report was given as to how many letters had been answered. According to the minutes, in one month one hundred and fifteen letters were written to Europe, in a second month two hundred and sixty, etc. At every meeting, an accounting was given as to how many thousands of dollars had already been sent, and how many families had been searched for and members reunited. And even when the refugees were already on solid footing in a place like Israel or Canada, the support was not discontinued. The refugees, who took up residence in Israel and settled there, kept receiving relief packages and money, for a long, long time afterwards.   Money was sent (two hundred and five hundred dollars) to the Magen David Adom in Israel. Many good books in Yiddish and Hebrew were collected and sent over to Poland for the Jewish Peoples’ Library, named for the destroyed Peoples’ Library in Zambrów. An initiative was undertaken to begin assembling material for the ‘Yizkor Book’ which sadly, was not crowned with much success. Few responded to the request to write for the ‘Yizkor Book.’   At each meeting proposals were made on how to increase the amounts of money being gathered. And it was Moshe Eitzer who often was the one who made the proposals. It was in this fashion that a proposal to systematically provide aid to our brethren in Israel was made. For example, Moshe Eitzer would propose that ten hospital beds be supported in the name of Zambrów, etc.   This relief is an expression of the fraternal help forthcoming from the people of Zambrów that is transcribed onto an honorable page in the history of ‘Zambrów’ that was in America.     Zembrovers in Mexico By Yitzhak Rothberg   In general, Mexico was never a focal point for Jewish immigration.   In the sixteenth century, Marranos fled the Spanish Inquisition, and a little at a time found sanctuary in ‘New Spain,’ meaning the newly discovered lands of South America that were under Spanish rule. It was very difficult for them to get to Mexico legally, because here, the Edict of Castille of 1511 was in force here: Jews, or Marranos, were forbidden to set foot on the Holy Mexican soil. The ancient history of Mexico also has something to tell about Jews, who were killed in the bonfire plazas of the Inquisition in Mexico.   Despite this, tens of Marrano families managed to survive here in secret, and in time when the Inquisition was discontinued, laid the foundations of a Sephardic Jewish community that has survived to this day. There were very few Ashkenazi Jews.   Zambrów Landslayt in Mexico City First Row (Standing from the Right): Shifra Golombek, her husband Chaim Golombek ז״ל, Shayna-Chana and Chaim Gorodzinsky. Second Row (sitting):  Yitzhak and Nechama Rothberg, Bracha Lavsky It was only at the beginning of the twentieth century that we first see a bit of a rise in the immigration of Eastern European Jews, and an Ashkenazi Jewish community also arose.   But we will return to our people from Zambrów. The honor of being the first of those from Zambrów to immigrate to Mexico belongs to our Avreml Zaltzberg, arriving there in approximately 1927. A few years later, a number of additional people from Zambrów began to appear, but who do not believe they will remain here, but rather are waiting for the first opportunity to go to North America, in the United States. At this time there are about seven Zambrów families that are found in Mexico City, and may they multiply! I will enumerate them alphabetically [in Hebrew]: Golombek, Gorodzinsky, Zaltzberg, Lavsky, Slowik, Pekarewicz, Rothberg.   The head of the Golombek family, Chaim, was our pride – the leader of the Poaeli Zion party, both  prominent and well-liked in local Jewish society. Regrettably, he died before his time, and we felt the loss severely and with great pain. (His picture is above, on p. 485).   There is no Zembrover society to be found here, but we maintain fraternal relationships, getting together quite often on joyous occasions, or just simply to spend time together and to share our memories of the alte haym. We also stay close to the landslayt from Łomża and to other neighboring landslayt, and often put on a social function together.   In a material sense, all of the Zambrów landslayt in Mexico are more-or-less well-established. They take part in the general social life of the local Jewish community, are especially active in the Zionist movement, and generally occupy a respected position in the society.   Zembrowers in the Landslayt Union of Łomża, Zambrów & Vicinity Buenos Aires, Argentina  By Boaz Chmiel (General-Secretary)    Landslayt from Zambrów occupy a very respected place in the Jewish life of Argentina. They stand out because of their active role in work for Yiddish culture, Jewish creativity, for the synagogue, education and fund-raising campaigns.   From a societal point of view, they linked their work and relief assistance with their brethren from Łomża, whose  numbers in Argentina are quite significant, and a little at a time with other small towns that found themselves to be neighboring one-time Zambrów in the alte haym, which to our great sorrow no longer exists.   And so it was in this fashion that the large and imposing Jewish-Argentinean fraternal institution, called the ‘Union of Łomża, Zambrów & Vicinity Landslayt’ was created.   The Union was founded one pleasant Thursday, on August 26, 1926 (15 Elul 5686) and the basis was laid down by the community -- cultural, and economic conditions of the newly arrived immigrants to the country. But it was an instance of illness of a landsman without means that brought the Union to life: It was necessary to bring both material help and help with morale to the stricken brother, with utmost speed. A provisional committee was immediately formed, which did everything possible to lighten the need. However, since that time, the committee never disbanded. On the contrary, it became bigger and stronger, developed added branches, and became increasingly active day by day.     From that day on, every ‘green’ arrival from the Łomża-Zambrów vicinity knew that here, one could receive suitable fraternal support and a place of work would be procured for him, in a shop or at home. He has a place where he can meet with familiar faces from home and be able to spend an evening together, Sabbath, and a Festival Holiday, until...until he himself acclimatizes himself as a local citizen, and is both willing and able to do the same for other newly arrived immigrants.   Because of the meaningful number of people from Zambrów, and their very active participation in the Union, the name was later changed, and it is now known as the ‘Łomża-Zambrów Union.’  Boaz Chmiel The people from Zambrów, throughout this entire period, were among the very active members in the Union, and we should carefully note here and give recognition to the name of the Zambrów family of Herschel and Sarah Kuropatwa. Herschel came to Buenos Aires in the year 1923; his wife came a year later, Their home became a sort of welcoming house for people from Zambrów; or as it was called the 'Zambrów Embassy.’ Any number of landslayt found a place at the table here, to restore their hearts with nourishment, find a bed to sleep in and a roof over their head. Truly a homey roof at that, until they could get up on their own two feet. The lady of the family, Sarah Kuropatwa, passed away on 24 Heshvan 5722 (November 2, 1961) and an exceptionally large audience turned out to escort her to her eternal rest.   The Credit Bank of the Union was founded in the year 1940, having legal powers, under the name ‘Casa de Credita Flores Sud.’ This is a legalized (formalized?) Gemilut Hasadim Bank, built on a solid financial foundation, loyal to its name, as was the intent of its founding. It always comes to the landsman with constructive help, offered in a gracious manner. No landsman has yet come with any complaint against the way the Credit Bank conducts itself. The ‘bank’ is always correct, if only the brother in question does not violate the laws of the land, which the bank is obligated to uphold. The Women’s Committee of the Argentina Society of Łomża-Zambrów & Vicinity With the growth and broadening of the Union, and the addition of ‘Zambrów’ to its name, an effort was made to leave the old premises, which by now had grown crowded, and to create a new home. A house was purchased for our use, with a foyer, at 4467-69 Bartloma Mitra. This was the first time in Argentina that landslayt would take the initiative to buy a house. And we had the good fortune that, by chance on November 29, 1947 (Saturday night 16 Kislev 5708), on the very day that the State of Israel was proclaimed, it fell out that we celebrated the inauguration of our own new Łomża-Zambrów home.   Our small homey celebration was amalgamated into the larger pan-Jewish celebration, and this will always remain etched deeply in our memory.   Since that time, our home has become a center of culture, alongside all of our other community endeavors. On Saturday and Sunday, there are speeches, lectures, literary evenings, and artistic presentations held as a matter of course. Also, other landsmanshaftn and institutions find our auditorium open for their community events.   We have put out two volumes of ‘Lomzer Stimme’ containing much material, pictures and information, a collective work of our landslayt. We possess a rich library named for Simon Dubnow ז״ל, with a very large collection of Yiddish books. The income from our events is exclusively dedicated to a variety of support activities, especially Israel. We have sent an ambulance to the Magen David Adom in Israel, which bears our name, and we also support ‘Tormei Or.’      A Group of Landslayt, with Herschel Kuropatwa standing to the right, and his wife, Sarah, standing to the left.   In the year 1961, we had a very extensive celebration of the thirty-fifth jubilee year of our society. The hall was overflowing with landslayt and their families. The writer of these lines, as secretary of the society, made a proposal as part of his report and overview of the history of the society, which now has four hundred members, to other landsmanshaftn, and also to our landslayt in Israel and in the United States, that they should bring together all of the neighboring towns into a single organization, on the model of the Łomża-Zambrów Society, and in this manner develop an intensive initiative on behalf of the landslayt, Israel, and all Jewish-oriented institutions. The President, Chaim-Joseph Rudnik ז״ל, greeted all of the assembled landslayt, portraying the alte haym, with its laudable Jewish qualities, with its elevated spiritual ideals and expressed the wish and hope that here as well, in an alien place, that we should continue the tradition of the alte haym. The following also spoke: Moshe Leib Wisznia, an old-time active participant, David Domowicz, from among to one-time party activists, Zalman Hirschfeld, Joseph Rosen, Mordechai Rubinstein, Sarah Crystal.   The Ladies Committee of the society was established in April 1947. Our lady members and sisters gather together quite frequently and assist with the work of the society in the rendering of aid, also sponsor evening events and managing discussions about literary, political, social, and other types of questions.   And this is how we progress from one endeavor to the next, and the Łomża-Zambrów Society & Vicinity occupies a very important place in the Jewish community life in Argentina.   Scions of Zambrów in Argentina  (Among the Organization of the Scions of Łomża-Zambrów & Vicinity) The scions of Zambrów occupy a respected place in Argentinean Jewry. In the communal sense, they organized themselves with the scions of Łomża and the vicinity, and are working together for several years.   In August 1926 (5686), the Organization of the Scions of Łomża came about by happenstance: one of them fell sick, and it became necessary to provide him with help. From that time on they slowly organized themselves and appropriated several noble institutions to themselves. In time the name was broadened: The Organization of the Scions of Łomża, Zambrów & Vicinity. Among the Zambrów scions, the couple of Herschel and Sarah Kuropatwa were active. Their home was transformed into a Zambrów ‘embassy.’ Everyone of the newcomers from the city found a home and a roof over their head with them – until they got themselves settled. Sarah passed away, with a good name, on 24 Heshvan 5722 (November 2, 1961).   In the year 1940 a loan society was established, a form of a Gemilut Hasadim, for the scions of the city, with real functions, and whose rules were approved by the government. Every one of the city sons was able to receive constructive assistance, if all he did was satisfy the conditions that were set out by the government.   In the year 1947 a house was bought on Bartoloma-Mitra Street 4467-69. This was the first instance of such a sort, done by a landslayt organization. The house was transformed into a place for education, culture, public gatherings, and lectures, for use by other organizations as well.   The dedication of these premises took place by fortunate happenstance, on the same evening that the representatives of the United Nations decided to approve the establishment of the State of Israel. The joy was great, and doubled, a celebration within a celebration.   In the year 1961, the thirty-fifth anniversary of the establishment was celebrated with great fanfare. The festivities were opened by Boaz Chmiel, the Chief Secretary and Chair of the organization, and Chaim-Joseph Rudnik.   The organization nurtured a large library named for Simon Dubnow, and produced two volumes ‘Lomzer Stimme,’ also organizing the ladies who were scions of the city, who come and perform all the work that makes social support possible, and in that capacity also participates at set occasions in lectures and discussions concerning matters that are literary and of national interest.   The Committee and Active Members of Łomża-Zambrów & Vicinity Landslayt, in Buenos Aires.  First Row (Right to Left): Wisznia, Czerwonka, Dunowicz, Rudnik, Chmiel, Borenstein, Mlinarsky. Second Row: Kuropatwa, Slassky, Ossowsky, Chaim Nadworna, Mendelson, Schwarzbord, Jewka, Levinsky. Third Row: Markowicz, Crystal, Chmiel.   A Group of Active Ladies in the organization of Łomża-Zambrów & Vicinity in Buenos Aires.   Chaim-Joseph Rudnik ז״ל   He was born in the shtetl of Gać, near Łomża-Zambrów, in the year 1898. He came to Argentina in the year 1923. He was the nerve center for the landslayt society and for many years, its Honorary President. He was active in Jewish education and cultural activities. He gave much of his time, in the organization of workers in tailoring, into professional unions, and was active in the IFT and other such organizations.                                       However, his central activity was exhibited in working with landslayt. When the Łomża Society was founded, he did not rest until he had organized all of the Zambrów folks, and it was his doing and achievement that the name, ‘Zambrów’, was officially added to the original name of the society.   It is barely possible to reduce to writing how much energy this man gave on behalf of his brethren, how much he allowed it to cost him out of his own money, how many thousands of dollars that he collected for the brothers who had been saved from the Nazis.   The thought of buying a house of their own was his, and the value of this to the society cannot be overestimated. It was he who was the first to manifest concern for Israel, carrying out collections and fund-raising for the Magen David Adom, such as sending them an ambulance. Upon his arrival in Israel as a delegate to the Congress of Polish Jews, he encountered a great deal of recognition on the part of Łomża and Zambrów landslayt, and they honored him with festive reception. He was intensely enthusiastic about the Zambrów [Yizkor] Book and took on personal responsibility to send over a significant sum of money to cover the costs of printing the book. As was his way, he kept his word. Regrettably, however, he was not privileged to see the book: he suddenly collapsed. His death is certainly a great loss, which plunged all of us into a deep sorrow. All of us sense his absence, and there is no equal to him. Hundreds, hundreds escorted his remains and mourned him. He was eulogized at the society house by: Moshe-Leib Wisznia, his long-time friend and co-worker, and Sarah Crystal, the President of the Ladies Division of the society. At the Tablada Cemetery, he was further eulogized by the learned scholar from Łomża, Joseph Rosen, former President Mordechai Rubinstein, and David Rosenfarb – in the name of the Tailors Union. Honor his memory!     The Three Stupnik Brothers in Argentina, Yitzhak, Moshe, Yaakov       A Group of Active Landslayt, scions of the city and its vicinity, in Buenos Aires   The Organization of the Émigrés from Zambrów in Israel By Zvi Zamir Before the [First] World War, only odd individuals made aliyah to Israel, and a bit is told about them in this book (see pages 99-102). After the War the Third Aliyah began in 1920-2, in which a number of Zionists made aliyah, to build the land and live in it. However, to our sorrow, a number of them didn’t take hold, and they regressed [to the Diaspora]. Among the few that remained and even tried their hand at the opening of a factory, was Lipa Blumrosen ז"ל, who was among the first to make aliyah, with the members of his family, settling in Tel Aviv and engaging in the manufacture of floor tiles. After him, the sons of his brother Itcheh-Fyvel, and then his brother. In 1926, Aryeh (Leibczuk) Golombek made aliyah, and [also] engaged in tile manufacturing, Noah Tykoczinsky, Yekhezkiel Zamir ז"ל, Aliza Weinberg and her family, Rubinstein and Moshe Zusman ז"ל; after a time, the families of the Seczkowsky (the sons of Itcheh Mulyar), Benjamin Pszisusker and his brothers. With the Zambrów HeHalutz organization, the first of the Halutzim made aliyah in 1925: Mikhl Yabkowsky, Abraham Baumkuler, and Shmuel Gutman.   Lipa Blumrosen In 1926, the following members of HeHalutz made aliyah after their ‘training': Moshe Bursztein, Noah Zukrowicz  ז"ל, Mordechai Gabriel, Daniel Koziol, Chaya Sarah Jablonka, Chana Dunowicz, and Herschel Slowik (Zvi Zamir). With their arrival, the need for an organization of city landslayt grew stronger. These people organized themselves a little bit at a time, and in 1928 the first party took place in the hall on LaSalle Street. The meeting of the old-timers with the new olim left a deep impression, and from that time forward the group has existed ever since: The Sons of Zambrów. After this, several other meetings took place in Petach Tikvah, a place where a number of our city scions took up residence, and in Tel Aviv.   The Second World War cut off the Zambrów olim from their ancestral home, and like all of World Jewry, they waited in fearful trepidation, in anticipation of what was coming – until the bitter truth was learned that the entire community had been wiped out to the last person. In January 1946 a crowded meeting took place in the store of Noah Tykoczinsky , and they decided to hold a memorial service in memory of the martyrs, in the month of Shevat, in the health center named for Nathan Strauss, to be held on the last day of Shevat, that being the yahrzeit of the last Zambrów group exterminated at Auschwitz. A standing committee was selected at that time that continued its work for several years: Zvi Ben-Joseph (Secretary), Zvi Zamir (Chair), the sisters, Malka and Ahuva Greenberg, Tova and Yaakov Yabkowsky, Yom-Tov Levinsky, Menachem Sabidur, Joseph Srebrowicz (Finance) and others.     A Committee of Zambrów Landslayt in Israel   From Right to Left, First Row: Malka Portugali, Ahuva Greenberg.                                     Second Row:   Dr. Yom-Tov Levinsky, Y. Yabkowsky, Zvi Zamir,  Aryeh Golombek.    Third Row:  M. Bursztein – Tova Stepner-Yabkowsky, Zvi Ben-Joseph, Pinchas Kaplan, Yabkowsky, Joseph Srebrowicz At one of the meetings, it was decided to publish a Memorial Book of the Zambrów community, in keeping with the proposal of Dr. Yom-Tov Levinsky. This proposal continued on and was brought into being with the help of our brethren overseas – in the United States, and in part also from Argentina – and became a reality.   From that time onwards, it has been the custom to have an annual memorial meeting to recall our city that no longer exists – and to this meeting come the scions of the city from all ends of the country. The El Moleh Rachamim prayer is recited, and we say Kaddish and shed a tear in the gloom. The organization of the city landslayt helped the refugees from Zambrów, in no small way, to get themselves settled and acclimated.     The organization maintains very tight ties with other organizations of city scions outside of The Land, and also with individuals. Every new arrival, every tourist who is a landsman, is received graciously by us. We organize a formal welcome, mostly in the home of the sisters Greenberg-Portugali, who excel in the pleasant way they do receptions for guests. Meetings of this sort were arranged in honor of Yitzhak Gorodzinsky, and also his brother Chaim from Mexico, Zelig Warshawczyk, Mordechai Schwartzbort, Joseph Waxman, Isaac Ravenson, Joseph Scharfman, Chaim Ben-Dor, Eliezer Pav, Isaac Malinowicz, Bezalel Yellin, David Tzivan, Esther Rosing, Elkanah Shulsinger, Max Finkelstein and his sisters, Yehudit Finkelstein, Mary Golombek, Rabbi Mattityahu Kagan, and his wife Dvosh’keh Golombek, Esther Smoliar (Paris) and others. In the Holocaust Grotto on Mount Zion we have erected a memorial stone in memory of our city, [which sits] among the other memorial stones erected there for the cities and the ‘mothers’ of Jewry that were brought low. Pessia Furmanowicz (See above pp. 453-454). In the year 1960, the committee was refreshed. Anew, the following were selected: the Messrs. Zamir (Chair), Ben-Joseph (Secretary), Malka Portugali (Treasurer), Ahuva Greenberg, Yaakov Yabkowsky (Haifa), Tova Yabkowsky-Stepner (who just recently passed away), Moshe Yabkowsky, Menachem Sabidur-Khodorowsky, Moshe Bursztein, Sarah Jablonka, Naomi Wax-Blumrosen, Aryeh Golombek, Pinchas Kaplan, Joseph Srebrowicz, and Dr. Yom-Tov Levinsky. It is proper to offer a citation of praise to Mr. Zvi Ben-Joseph (Konopiatwa) who was the secretary, the focal point, the catalyst and living spirit in our midst, and the loyal and dedicated liaison of our scions in Israel to those outside the land – may his hand be strengthened!   [Original Location of Supporters List, Now Moved to the Front of the Book]   Yisgadal veYiskadash Shmey Rabah...   '[We intone the Kaddish prayer in memory of] the souls of our sanctified Zambrów community הי"ד, who died a martyrs and heroes death, before their time, tortured, murdered, buried alive, gassed, and incinerated by the foul and depraved Nazis, and their [all too willing] accomplices. Those who we are able to recall and inscribe their names, and those who regrettably cannot recall and so inscribe their names – all, all will be eternally recorded for posterity in this book about our community, and may their souls hover among us and be bound up with us, the living, who mourn their loss and the destruction of our home city.'           Plaque Commemorating the Community of Zambrów on Mount Zion in the Grotto of the Holocaust, Jerusalem   Significant Dates to Remember in the City’s History Set up landmarks! Put up road signs! Remember the highway, the road on which you traveled. Come back, my dear people Israel, come back to your cities.                                                                                                                                  – Jeremiah 31:20   Date Event 1828 – 5585 The Zambrów community is founded. The old cemetery is opened in that same year.   Parsha of Balak, 5655, in July 1895 The First Great Fire breaks out on Friday. Approximately four hundred houses are burned down.   10 Iyyar 5669, May 1, 1909 The second Great Fire breaks out on a Saturday night. Approximately five hundred houses are burned down.   22 Sivan 5701, June 21, 1941 The Nazis take over the town for the second time. Decrees against the Jews and murdering of Jews begins.   26 Av 5701, August 19, 1941 Black Tuesday. Approximately fifteen hundred Jews from Zambrów are exterminated in the Szumowo vicinity.   12 Elul 5701, September 4, 1941 Close to nine hundred residents of the city, along with six hundred residents of Rutki, are buried alive in the Kosaki Forest.   14 Tishri 5702, September 5, 1941 Confined to the Ghetto on the Eve of Sukkos. Tammuz, 5702, July 1942 Approximately two thousand residents of the city, along with residents of Łomża and others, are confined to the barracks.   19 Tevet 5703, December 27, 1942 Two hundred old and sick people are poisoned and euthanized with Venerol, in the barracks.   Morning of 10 Shevat 5703, January 16, 1943 The final journey of the last of the Zambrów landslayt, on Friday evening: the remains incinerated in the crematoria at Auschwitz on Saturday night.     Necrology - יזכור      1 In memory of my mother, Hinde-Dina, of the Golombek Family, my brothers, Shlomo & Yaakov, my sister Zlatkeh (Liba), who were murdered in the Holocaust. Raphael Gershunowicz, Tel Aviv Moshe Gershunowicz, USA   2 In memory of by dear parents Chana & Yitzhak, my brothers Yaakov & Chaim Pinchas, my sister Rachel and sister-in-law Miriam Bursztein. Moshe (Avital) Paciner, Hadera   3 In memory of our parents and brothers Gershon & Miriam, Yaakov, Nehemiah and Henya Jablonka. Chaya-Sarah Rubinstein-Jablonka Esther Jablonka-Yenczman Kfar Az”r – Tel Aviv   4 In memory of our brother Shmuel, his wife, Nechama, their son, Moshe Finkelstein, and their sister-in-law Tzip’keh Rabinowicz.                               Esther, Leah of the Finkelstein Family -- Tel Aviv, Kfar Atta   5 In memory of my dear mother Chana, my sister, Miriam-Rachel and her husband Eliyahu Pikarewicz and their sons. Yitzhak Sosnowiec & Family, Tel Aviv   6 In memory of my father Moshe Kalman Pikarewicz, my sisters and brothers, Rachel, Bash’keh, Chanan,  Joseph, Zayd’keh and their families, and all family relatives. Pessia Schreier-Pikarewicz, Petach Tikvah   A Picture of the Dzenchill Family (See Item 33 in the Necrology) Rachel Pszepszawicz     Herschel Stupnik and his Wife   The Greenberg Family (See Necrology # 32)       Kossowsky Family (See Necrology #37)   Moshe Hersh and Faygl Pszepszawicz

7   In memory of our dear parents and family members, who were murdered in the Holocaust, Sarah Meiram and Meiram Bursztein, Baylah & Yaakov Zerakh Kagan and the sons: Abraham Zvi, Chash’keh (of the Srebrowicz family) their daughters Sarah, Rivka, Reikhl, Ethel, Pessia, Shlomit, Moshe Aharon, Leah. The sons, and family members David-Aryeh, Zvi-Yaakov, Moshe Bursztein, & their families, Tel Aviv, Kfar Sirkin

8   In memory of my dear friends Gedalia Rekant and his family (Ostrów Mazowiecka, Chaim-Joseph Shafran and his family (Antwerp,Belgium), who were murdered by the Nazis ימ"ש Zvi Zamir-Slowik, Magdiel

9   In memory of my parents Alta and Israel, my sister Sarah and her daughter Losha, my brother Berl who were exterminated by the Nazis, and my sister Chava, who passed away in Israel. Menucha Sokol-Kramer, Haifa

10 In memory of my dear parents, Chaim Joseph & Chaya, my brothers Yitzhak, Reuven and Shlomo Rudnik. Ida Rudnik-Zukerman, Hulta

11 In memory of my beloved parents, Chana Taiba & Abraham, my sisters, Chava, Sarah & Zippora, the daughter of my sister Leah, and the sons of my brother Reuven-Yaakov and Chaim, who were exterminated in the Holocaust. Malka Warszawsky (Ratoszwicz) Miriam Levinger (Ratoszwicz), Ramot Rama”z beside Haifa

12 To the memory of ur parents, Chana-Chaya and Joseph Konopiata, our brothers Shmuel & Leibl. Zvi Ben-Joseph (Israel), Israel and Esther Konopiata-Cohen, Sam Cohen,(Cleveland, OH, USA)

13 In memory of my aunt Leah, bat Aharon Zaremsky, and uncle Moshe Gedalia and his wife Sarah-Pearl and the daughters Szifra, Gittl & Zelda. Zvi Ben-Joseph, Tel Aviv Israel Cohen-Konopiata, [Cleveland] Esther Cohen-Konopiata, Cleveland

14 In memory of the souls of our parents. Rabbi Aryeh-Dov (ben Abraham u’Miriam Esther) Kavior and Guta (bat Mordechai v’Rachel Soliarz). Our brothers and sisters, Shmuel, Baylah-Rivka, Joel & Rachel. Aharon Kavior, Bnei Brak

15 In memory of our dear parents Faygl & Joseph Benjamin (son of Moshe Shmuel) Golombek Nehemiah (Berg) – died in the United States (see his picture in the book) Chava – died in Israel, Moshe, Sara & Rachel, Israel & Yaakov – who were killed in the Holocaust. Aryeh Golombek & Family Yitzhak Golombek & Family

16 In memory of our beloved uncles and their families, Meir & Rivka Bronack, Isaac Golombek, his Wife & Children, who were killed by the Nazis. Zvi Zamir Joseph Zamir

17 In memory of our dear uncles and their families, Yehuda & Nech’a and Moshe Rubinstein, Chaya and members of their family, Eliyahu, Sarah Yarmolkowsky, Dina & Leah, Joseph, Sarah Slowik and the children – who were killed in the Holocaust. Joseph Zamir & Family, Tel Aviv Zvi Zamir & Family, Magdiel Tova Katz & Family, Haifa

Leah Zarembsky (See Necrology # 13)

(Family of) Chana-Chaya & Joseph Konopiata (See Necrology #12)

Shimon Rubin  (See Necrology #30)		The Family of Aryeh Zamir (See Necrology # 18)
The Zamir-Rubinstein Family (See Necrology #17)
18 To the memory of our dear parents, R’ Yitzhak Aryeh ben R’ David Slowik and Sarah-Dina bat R’ Moshe-Shmuel Golombek, our brothers and sisters, Noah, Ada, Chava, Masheh, Yenta, Moshe – who died a martyr’s death in Zambrów and in Auschwitz. Zvi Zamir & Family, Magdiel Joseph Zamir & Family, Tel Aviv   19 In memory of our dear parents Dov & Sarah, our brother Yehuda and our sister Pessia, who were exterminated in the Holocaust. Rivka, Mira and Rachel Furmanowicz   20 In memory of my dear parents Nahum & Rachel and my brother Joseph, who were killed in the Holocaust. Israel Lichtenstein, Holon   21 In memory of our dear mother Henya Rachel, our sister Shayna Khanit, our uncle and aunt Yitzhak & Liba, cousins Yaakov & Breineh Rothstein. Zvi & Moshe Khanit, Ramat Gan   22 In memory of my dear parents Sarah & Shmuel-Leib, my brothers and sisters, Yitzhak-Eliyahu, Leah, Chaya Chash’keh & Moshe. Gershon Rosenblum, Holon   23 In memory of my daughter and our sister, Fruma Lieb’cheh Grade-Klepfish murdered by the Nazis in Lithuania. The Rebbetzin Sarah Klepfish The brothers: Meshuli, Heshl, Pales David, Shmeryl   24 In memory of my dear parents Ephraim & Rivka Friedman, brothers and sisters Et’keh, Gittl Faygl, Shimon, Motl & Gershon. Moshe Friedman, Holon   25 In memory of my father and mother, Joseph Chaim & Dvora Nagurka, my brothers and sisters, Sholom, Esther, Szifra & Tzila. Abraham Nagurka, Kibbutz Ein Dor   26 In memory of our sister and brother-in-law Liba & Abraham Zukerman, who were killed in the Holocaust. Yaakov Yabkowsky & Family, Haifa Moshe Yabkowsky & Family, Petach Tikvah Sarah-Rachel Melamed-Yabkowsky & Family Tova Stepner   27 In memory of our parents Aryeh & Alt’keh Rosing, my sisters Chay’cheh, Blum’cheh, Brein’cheh. Fruma Mandelbrot, Jerusalem Esther & Joseph, United States   28 In memory of friend Reiz’keh Kaplan-Goldberg, her husband David and their children, who were exterminated in the Holocaust. Nachman Scharfman, Buenos Aires, Argentina   29 In memory of my dear parents Baruch-Zvi & Liba, my sisters Reizl, Esther & Rachel’eh. Eliezer Koszcowa, Haifa   30 In memory of my husband and our father Shimon Rubin, who was murdered in Zambrów. Rachel Greenberg-Rubin Daughter Leah Son Sholom   31 In memory of our parents Jocheved & Gershon Farbowicz, grandfather R’ Yaakov Zukrowicz, who died after being tortured in a Nazi camp, and his wife Sarah Rachel, our brothers, Moshe & Meir, his sister-in-law Nash’keh and her daughter Sarah Rachel, our uncle Menachem, our aunt Dina and their son Yitzhak, who were exterminated in the Holocaust. Joseph, Nahum & Yehuda Srebrowiz-Kaspi & Their Families, Tel Aviv, Ganigar, Ein Dor [See their pictures on pp. 487-489.]     The Stupnik Family   The Family of Reiz’keh Kaplan-Goldberg (See Necrology #28)   The Gershunowicz Family (See Necrology #1)   Chaim Ze’ev Krulewiecky (See Necrology #39) The Family of Joseph Golombek (See Necrology # 15) 32 In memory of our dear parents Alt’keh & Avigdor Greenberg, our brothers Sholom & David. Rachel, Malka, Ahuva, Rivka, & Families in Israel   33 In memory of my parents Yitzhak Leib & Sarah Esther, my sister Malka and my brother Jekuthiel, who were exterminated in the Holocaust. Leah Dzenchill-Eisenberg, Shfayim   34 Dedicated to the eternal memory of our dear parents Yehoshua & Rivka Rothberg. Moshe Rothberg, Buenos-Aires Yitzhak & Nechama Rothberg, Mexico City   35 To the memory of our dear uncles, aunts and cousins, who were exterminated during the Holocaust in Zambrów and in the Bialystok ghetto: David & Sarah Rothberg, with their sons: Alter & his wife Rivka and their children (Izzie, Yekhezkiel & Hadassah), Chaim, Tzip’keh & Rivka’leh. Yehoshua & Rivka Rothberg Yitzhak & Frieda Rothberg and their children: Sarah, Abraham, Taiba-Zissl, Moshe. Berl & Nechama Rothberg and their children: Chaim Reuven, Nachman-Yaakov, Faygl, & Sarah-Leah. Zissl & Isaac Malinowicz, USA Tzippora Binkin & Family, Yitzhak & Nechama Rothberg, Mexico Moshe Rothberg, Yom-Tov, Zvi & Nachman Levinsky, Henya Matzman & Their Families   36 In memory of our parents and our uncles Yitzhak-Velvel, Getzel, Eliyahu & Berl Golombek and their families.   37 To the eternal memory of our beloved martyrs and innocents: our parents Israel & Esther, our sister Yenta and our brothers Yitzhak, Moshe & Zalman.                            Chaya Ben-Zvi, Moshe Kossowsky   38 To the memory of our dear fellow city residents, Abraham Zukrowicz and the members of his family, Yaakov-Hersh Zukrowicz & his wife Chaya of the Shafran family, their sister, Pessia Zukrowicz and her family, who were exterminated by the Nazis in Antwerp (Belgium).   39 A memorial marker to my brother R’ Chaim Zev ben R' Yitzhak Menachem Krulewiecky, born in Biablonki 13 Sivan 5666 (June 6, 1906), his wife Pessia Kahanowicz, his daughters Freida, Henya & Duba and his son Eliyahu David, who were exterminated in the Bialystok ghetto in 1942. תנצב"ה Joseph Krulewiecky & Family, Buenos-Aires   40 Our dear parents: Abraham & Henya Schwartzbart, brother Yaakov & wife children, Berl Lejzor & Eli, sisters: Gutka, Szifra, Chana’cheh, along with their husbands and children. Chaim Mordechai Schwartzbart Zelka Schwartzbart   41 My dear grandfather & grandmother: Shlomo & Mattl Pekarewicz Gedalia Levin   42 Father & Mother Zelik & Chana Kuropatwa, brother Nissl with his wife Basha-Reiz’eh and children, mother-in-law Chana Leah Kopczinsky Herschel Kuropatwa, Basha Fuchs, Rivka Kuropatwa, Faygl Sosnowsky, Gittl Sosnowsky & Husband, Zeitl Lifschitz   43 Our unforgettable mother & sisters: Dvora Zlateh Wisznia, Leah, Gittl with husbands and children. Moshe Wisznia & Family     The Family of Aryeh Rosing (See Necrology #27)   Fruma Lieb’cheh (See Necrology #23)   Koszczowa Family (See Necrology #29)

44 Our dear parents: David Shlomo & Chava Leah Levinsky, brother Lejzor with wife & children, sisters: Etkeh with husband & children, Rivka with husband & children, Esther with husband & children.                                      Herschel Levinsky & Family

45 Our dear parents: Velvel Baruch & Sarah Monkarz, brothers Naphtali, David Isaac, sisters: Baylah & her children, Chava Itka & her children. Yaakov Monkarz & Family

46 Our dear parents: Sender, Shayna-Feiga Edem, Sisters: Mindl, Rachel, Hendl, Esther & their families. Brothers: Abraham Yaakov, Moshe Aharon, Eli-Leib, Chaim Lejzor & families, all our relatives, and others who were exterminated. Dan, Sarah, Yaakov, Bluma Edem

47 Our beloved martyrs: Father Chaim Meir Wisznia, sisters: Masha, Sarah’keh and their families, brother-in-law Itcheh and his wife Chana Niewiadomsky Moshe Leib & Dob’keh Wisznia, Herschel Ber & wife Miriam Esther & Family Mirl Wisznia, Khatzkel Wisznia & Family

48 Our dear parents Sender & Shayna Feiga Edem. sisters: Mindl, Rachel, Hendl, Esther & their families, brothers: Abraham Yaakov, Moshe Aharon, Eli-Leib, Chaim Lejzor and their families. Hersh Mikhl, Sarah, Esther, Yaakov & Abraham Sender Edem

49 To the Sanctified memory – of our martyrs from the Warsaw Ghetto: Mother: Sarah Rosenblum, brother David Rosenblum, sisters: Leah, Aydl, Bluma & their families. Hadassah, Boaz, Frieda & Masha Chmiel

50 We mourn our martyrs: Parents: Shmuel & Dvora Rothberg, Brothers: Yitzhak, Bendet & their families, Shlomo Rothberg, Meir & his family. Sisters: Tzipa and her husband, mother-in-law Breineh Applebaum, brother-in-law Moshe Applebaum & family, Sisters-in-law: Luba Greenberg, Bayl’keh Applebaum & families. Zelik Rothberg, Rasa & Maria, Elka Rothberg

51 To the eternal memory of our family: Yitzhak Rubinstock, Leib Zdaleker, Nahum Mendelewicz, Mendl Goldstein. uncles, aunts, with their families, from Zambrów and Łomża. Rivka Czikelewicz da Geluda

52 To memorialize our Houseman family from Zambrów. Noss’keh & Matt’keh Houseman

53 Those unforgettable to me: Wife Reiz’eh Tzivan & child, Abraham Shlomo’leh. David Tzivan

54 Our dear parents and Family. Parents: Chaim Reuven & Basha Tzivan, sisters, Dvora’keh, Chava-Hinde, with their husbands and children, Sarah’keh and her children. Pesh’keh with her husband & children,  N. America David & Meir Yitzhak Tzivan

Faygl & Sarah Leah Rothberg (See Necrology #33)		Nechama Rothberg & Her Son (See Necrology #35)
The Family of Lejzor Levinsky (See Necrology # 44)		Rivka Rothberg & Her Children (See Necrology # 35 on page 338)

Jocheved Srebrowicz & Her Son, Meir (See Necrology # 31)

Abraham Jabkowsky & Liba Zukerman (See Necrology # 26)

Zippora Srebrowicz
 

Family of Moshe & Nash’keh Srebrowicz  (See Necrology # 31)		Moshe Garbass & His Family

55 Our dear parents Chaim & Sarah Rachel Bursztein, brother Abraham’cheh with his wife and children, sister Basha with her husband and children, brother-in-law Herschel Dzewko. Moshe, Chan’cheh Dzewko & children

56 Our dear mother Chaya Friedman, brother Yitzhak Friedman & family, Uncle Ephraim Friedman & family. Faygl Friedman

57 Dear mother and sister Dvorah Zlata Wisznia, Leah Gittl with husband and children. Moshe Wisznia & Family

58 I will always remember you: My father Yaakov-Yeshaya HaKohen, uncle Asher Joseph Cahn & family, uncle and sitting Rabbi, Rabbi Dov Menachem Regensberg & family. Eliyahu Mordechai Cohen

59 To the eternal memory of my wife Dvorah’keh Pekarewicz, my daughter Chaya Pekarewicz Shlomo Pekarewicz

60 Our beloved mother Rachel Leah Golombek-Zaltzman Yaakov & Aryeh Zaltzman

61 Our dear brother Chaim, wife Toba Kuropatwa and three children, sister Gittl Kuropatwa & children. Shmuel Kuropatwa & Family

62 We will carry the memory forever: Mother Malka Brom, brother Yitzhak & wife Ban’cheh Brom & child, of the Granica Family: brother Yaakov Herschel & children, sister Chaya-Faygl with her husband Israel Yitzhak Jonkac & children, Masha-Leah & husband Fyvel Zukrowicz & children, Golda Rivka with her husband Getzl, Rachel & children. Mikhl Granica & Family

**

In memory of Chaya (Chay’cheh) Tykoczinsky of the Golombek Family, my good and modest sister, who died in the prime of life, 12 Elul 5720 (4 September 1960). You were [sic: like] an only daughter to us, beloved and precious. In the thirties, you left your father’s home, broke your connections with the Diaspora and made aliyah to The Land, with the love of your life, at a time when the Hebrew language flowed fluently from your mouth. I, the sole survivor of our family, was privileged to see you yet again, for a short time on the Land of our Birth. With your passing, a pillar of radiance was extinguished from our widely-branched family. Yitzhak Golombek

Chaya (Chay’cheh) Tykoczinsky   of the Golombek Family

 

Tova Stepner-Jabkowsky ז"ל

She was the daughter of Shlomkeh the yeast merchant, who from childhood onwards was educated in Torah and taught to work. From her early youth, she was active in the Land of Israel Labor Movement. She made aliyah in 1926 and from that time on she was active in organizing the scions of the town, dealing with newly-arrived olim, to the point that she got the nickname: mother of the scions of Zambrów. She proved herself in all manner of hard work, on the roads and in factories, and [she] found a place for herself in later years in the dairy firm of ‘Tenuvah.’ She was vibrant and respected even at her place of work. Her premature passing cast sorrow on everyone.

The Ratowicz Family (See Necrology # 11)

The Finkelstein Family (See Necrology # 4)

The Pacziner Family
(See Necrology # 2)