Mein Shtetl Postov

by Yisrael Raichel

Privately published in Israel in 1977

Blurb on back cover:

Israel Raichel was born in Postov, in [what was then] the Vilna gubernia [= province]. He arrived in Eretz Yisrael as a halutz [Zionist pioneer] in 1923 and became a member of the G'dud Ha'avoda* in Jerusalem. He studied for two years in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1929 he went to Montreal to continue his studies. There he became one of the leaders of the Zionist-Revisionist Party and wrote articles in the "Canadian Adler". In 1934 he moved to the United States where he became active in the Revisionist movement and took part in the well-known "Baltimore Conference".* He has been residing in Israel since 11971.

*Short descriptions of items marked with an asterisk can usually be found in most Jewish encyclopedias. However, if you don't have such an encyclopedia, I can copy out the entries from the one that I have (The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia, Cecil Roth and Geoffrey Wigoder, eds.).

Foreword [pages 7–9]

I decided to write this book in Yiddish because I am more than sure that all the Postov Jews, who are dispersed throughout the world, can read Yiddish, but not all can read Hebrew.

This book is not only about ghetto life and, ultimately, death, as are the countless "memory books". My purpose was to write about the life of the Jews in Postov before this period of time. I wanted to determine when Jews began to settle in Postov and from where they came, and their sources of livelihood. Unfortunately, in my research I was unable to find any written materials that could help me in locating reliable information about events and facts other than official accounts.

Postov is a small town, and the significant historical events that occurred during the political, cultural and social development of the region were not recorded. No writers, thinkers or scholars wrote about Postov, and the town doesn't even appear on large-scale maps. But the Jews of Postov loved their shtetl, and they maintained a active and varied, Jewish way of life in the more distant past, and especially during the years between the two world wars.

Most of what is written in this book is based on memories, personal experiences and information gathered from various individuals. I was also helped by books about the wars of the last hundred years, written memories of Jewish life in Lithuania in general, and encyclopedias in several languages.

I have not written dry facts and episodes. All of the events are accompanied by shorter or longer discourses about the political changes, and the cultural, economic and social developments that affected the ongoing events. For clarity it was necessary to include short historical episodes from the more recent past in Lithuania, especially in the Vilna district.

I have written in Litvisheh [Lithuanian] Yiddish, although I am not sure that I have been grammatically consistent in my writing. Fifty years of wandering in various different lands have undoubtedly affected my Yiddish writing. I hope that my dear readers will forgive me that some of the chapters contain personal anecdotes. It was not my intention to relate my own biography, but the short biographical sketches throw light on the Zeitgeist in that small point on the map, Postov, as well as on my own personal life history.

Shachne Achiasaf (Tseplovitz) **, helped me with his knowledge of publishing, Alexander Ben-Hur (Manfil), Rachel Borovsky, Abba Weiner, Fima Wexler, Meir Tadress, Yaakov Feigel, Hanoch Reuveni (Rabinovitch), Zalman Rachman, Sh'muel Shteingold, Chava Shteingold and Arieyeh Sheftl, and my wife Miriam, all helped with their encouragement and patience.

I have, to my regret, been constrained to shorten the length of the book, and am not able to acknowledge many of those financial and moral support have helped to make this book, nor all of the sources I used for the story of Postov that appears in it. I was also unable to include photographs from institutions, organizations and individuals who were forthcoming with information and reminiscences about Jewish life in my little shteteleh Postov.

* Shachne Achiasaf (Tseplovitz), who died in 2004 at the age of 97, was my maternal Aunt Bunia's husband. Various members of the family were in publishing in Lithuania/Belarus, and Shachne established a small but well-known publishing company in Palestine in 1937, which is still operating under his son Matan's ownership and management.

Translator's Note

In the summer of 2005, I began to translate my Uncle Israel Raichel's Mayn Shtetl Postov from Yiddish into English. More than thirty years have passed since it was published, and there are now very few people who can read this book in Yiddish. Of those who lived in Postov, I am not aware of any alive today, but they have left many descendants. I myself wanted to read the book, despite my very limited understanding of the language and a complete ignorance of its grammar. A very non-intensive course in Yiddish, and the very extensive use of Uriel Weinreich's Modern Yiddish-English Dictionary, together with considerable experience in Hebrew-to-English translation, has made it possible for me to read the book, and to translate it. In addition, I dipped, rather than immersed myself, into the history of Eastern Europe in general. Although I already had a fairly broad knowledge of Jewish history there and in Europe in general, I was fairly ignorant of general Eastern European history.

As a final touch to this background, and while still in the middle of the translation, I visited Lithuania in the autumn of 2005. Although I was unable to get to Postov itself, due to likely border problems at the Lithuania-Belarus border, I got close enough – twenty kilometers to the west of Postov – to become acquainted with the natural scenery of the area and the atmosphere, the aromas and the light in the fall of the year, of a small town, Adutishkis (formerly Hydotzishok) and a larger town, Svencian (Svenciyonis), both of which are mentioned in Israel Raichel's book. Indeed, after his marriage, Israel's paternal uncle Reb Shimon Raichel lived in Adutishkis, where he established a brick-making factory, which was one of the Raichel/Reichel family trades and sources of livelihood.

My Shtetl Postov (pp. 10–12)

Postov is located on the border between Lithuania and Belarus, or White Russia, half-way between Vilna [Vilnius] and Palatzk. Prior to World War I Postov was under Russian dominance. One hundred years ago (i.e., about 1870-1880) Lithuania dominated Postov and even beyond it, deep into Russia.

During World War I Postov was on the front-line between Russia and Germany and was completely destroyed. For two years after this war the town was a battleground between the Bolsheviks and Poland. The Bolsheviks finally had several victories and reached Warsaw. Being in a generous mood, or for political reasons, Russia returned to Lithuania part of the Vilna gubernia, up to Postov. The Miadlekeh River, which flows thorough Postov, was the border, so that half of the town was under Russian rule and half under Lithuanian control.

This did not last long. On 19 October 1920, the Polish General Zeligovski made a surprise attack on Lithuania and occupied part the Vilna gubernia of Lithuania and almost to Globok. Postov remained under Polish control until 17 September 1939 when, as per an agreement with Hitler's Germany, Russia took over the entire region. On 21 June 1941 Germany attacked Russia, following which Postov remained under German rule until the Russians repulsed the German attack.

Postov's topography is remarkably beautiful. The town is surrounded by rivers and lakes, hills and valleys, great pine forests and fields. The Miadlekeh River, which flows through the town, emanates from Lake Naratzer, which lies between the Miadlekeh and the Naratzer forests; it was to these forests that the partisans fled from the ghettos and from them they carried out their activities of sabotage during almost the entire duration of the Nazi occupation. Cut timber was floated down the Miadlekeh River to the Disenkeh River, which flows into the Dvina and thus found its way to the Baltic Sea. In this way, the lumber reached Riga and then Germany.

Under almost two decades of Polish rule [after WW I – October 1920 to September 1939] Postov grew. The entire town was paved with cobblestones and was therefore much less muddy than other towns in the area. Postov had four main streets and several smaller side-streets. Vilna Street was the town's crown. Both sides of the street were bordered with large, tall trees and the military barracks. The great white palace, and its surrounding large park, and the Zamarik woods, made Vilna Street majestically beautiful and an attractive location for strolling.

The beautiful buildings all around Market Place, and many other buildings in the town, as well as large areas of open land around the town, had once belonged to Count Yozef Psedzhevski. Many old Jewish houses stood near the bathhouses, which officially, but not de facto, belonged to Goyim, this because according to the old Russian laws, Jews were not allowed to own their own bathhouses. After the First World War several goyim wanted to take over the Jewish houses that stood on "their" bathhouses. Their demands were not legally recognized.

Prior to the Second World War there were about 2,500 Jews in Postov. The other residents were White Russians, Poles and a few Moslem families. The Jews spoke a "half" Litvisheh Yiddish, the goyim spoke Russian, White-Russian, Polish and, after the First World War, Lithuanian as well.

When Did Jews Settle in Postov? (pp. 13–14)

I was not successful in finding information that could verify a definitive date for when Jews first began to settle in Postov. The Great Russian Encyclopedia of 1916 notes that in 1847 there were 551 Jews, and in 1897 there were already 1310, while the entire population was estimated as 2,397. Other encyclopedias report the same numbers.

According to my memory, there was a tombstone in Postov's [Jewish] cemetery [Beis Olam] from the 17th century. According to a map that appeared in the first volume of "Lithuanian Jewry", [Yahadut Litta/Lithuanian Jewry], which was published in Tel Aviv in 1959, Jews were already living in towns and villages in Lithuania in the 15th century. The Jewish settlements were marked on this map by the Lithuanian government as centers for tax-collection from Jews. As of the 15th century Jews were living in Polotzk, Drissa, Driya, Globok, Smargon and Oshmeneh, which also appeared on the map; one can therefore safely assume [fuller zicherkeit – complete certainty] that Jews were also to be found in Postov at that time.

From where did the Jews come to Lithuania and Postov? As a result of recurrent persecutions and pogroms Jews were forced to wander from land to land. Kiev was a gathering point of Jews. Well-known historians are of the opinion that the Jews that arrived in Kiev already in the eighth century were Kuzari survivors, or remnants. In the 12th century Jews fleeing the Crusades arrived from Germany, and Jews migrated [eingevandert– "wandered in"?] from other countries as well. Thus, about 800 years ago, when Jews were forced to seek new homes, they came to Lithuania, and to Postov as well. The believers in Christianity and the Catholic ministers had no influence in Lithuania [at that time] and Jews found a safe place to settle down for a period of time that lasted until the Second World War.

The Railway (p. 15)

Before the First World War, Postov was on a small railway branch-line between Ponevezys and Berezvesht, which was one station after Globok. To travel to Vilna, one had to transfer at Novo-Svencionys to a second, wider-gauge railway line to Vilna, through which the train route between St. Petersberg and Warsaw passed.

During World War I the Germans built a wide-gauge railway line from Novo- Svencionys to the front-line in Postov. This line made it possible to transport war materiel directly from Germany to the front-line. The Bolsheviks extended this line to the Russian rail hubs.

After the war, Postov shopkeepers and tradesmen therefore had a better connection with Vilna, where the more important wholesalers were located. This direct connection helped to improve business in Postov.

The Market Place (pp. 16–17)

The Market Place in Postov was recognized as the most beautiful in the entire region. Four main streets led into the market. Many years earlier, on Court [Artikker] Street and all around Market Place, large and beautiful white-washed buildings were erected, all according to a well worked-out master plan. The larger shops were located in the nicer buildings, the smaller ones in similarly-constructed small wooden booths, and all lined up in small street-like formations according to an overall plan. A certain part of the market was set aside for traders who sold their wares [s'khoireh – goods and/or produce] from wagons.

In the southern part of the Market there was a large building, also white-washed, that resembled a fortress. It may actually have been built, many years earlier, for defensive purposes. In the center of this building, entered through two large doors, there was a large courtyard into which horses and wagons could be driven. There were more shops, both in this courtyard and outside the "fortress". The police commissioner and the police officers were quartered in another large building, as was the jail. Two Protestant churches, one of either side of Market Place, "protected" it. Downhill from the Market, near the river, stood Postov's aesthetically beautiful Catholic cloister. The Miadlekeh River wound around three sides of the cloister and an abbey [g'lakhs hoiz ; glakh, from Hebrew, is "shaved" (heads)ebre, is shav], forming a true peninsula.

Monday was the market day, and a lot of trading went on. Almost all of the businesses were in Jewish hands. Traders from near and far bought grain, animals, fur and leather pelts, flax, pigs' hair, fruit, eggs and butter from the peasant farmers [poyyerim]. The farmers were able to purchase all of their needs, from thread and a needle to a ready-made outfit [costume]. Traders began coming from further areas already on Sunday in order to be in the market as early as possible on the morn of the next day. For the Jews, the in-flow of so many Jews [from elsewhere] created a holiday atmosphere in the town.

The "Blind" River and Napoleon's Treasure (p. 18)

The Blind River wasn't actually really a river, but a small lake, about a vierst long and vierst across. Where the name "Blind River" came from is unknown. No one was even interested. Perhaps because of the black baths [bad'n - or pools] all around it, the water was as black as coffee, and this may be the reason behind the name "Blind River". There were only a small amount of very small okeness [?] in the lake, which also had a dark appearance.

People believed that it was healthy to bathe in the dark water of the lake. The water was very still and therefore froze earlier than it did elsewhere, and so people began to ice-skate there sooner.

The black mud around the "Blind River" was overgrown with large blackberry bushes, which were called "pianitzes". During the months of Av and Elul [August and September] the whole town went out to pick blackberries.

There was a widely-known legend that Napoleon had left a great treasure in the lake, and that it comes out of the water from time to time. To the present day, no one has been able to catch the treasure. No one was even able to see it, because it disappears very quickly. The legend also tells that if someone will give it a whack with a shoe, it will remain standing in place.

To this day, no one has been able to do this – probably because it takes too long to take off a shoe.

The Military Barracks (pp. 19–21)

At the end of the 19th century, the topography of Postov and the surrounding area drew the attention of the military headquarters in St. Petersburg. Military experts came to the area and determined that it was a suitable place for a training camp. For this purpose, a large building, which could hold 2000 people, was constructed at the end of Vilner Street. Behind this large building, in the forest that reached as far as the river below, small barracks were built for the soldiers who served [? or served under] the officers who lived in the large building, as well as stables for the horses, and various other buildings needed for such a large military post.

In the large open area in front of the large building there was a large podium made of berovezeh [?broad; ?smooth] planks. Here, on some evenings during the summer months, when officers from all over Russia came here for annual training and maneuvers, a brass band of about one hundred soldiers used to give concerts. On the right side of the barracks there were several tennis courts where the officers played tennis to the sound of the music.

Avenues bordered by tall trees lined both sides of Vilner Street, up to the count's palace, which stood not far from the barracks. The entire aspect of the street was that of a "promenade". Along the avenue, there were long benches, and during the concerts these were always filled with residents of Postov. People from the surrounding areas also used to come to listen to the concerts.

A short distance away from the center of the town, on the right side of Vilner Street, there were barracks for the soldiers who remained in Postov throughout the entire year. They maintained the entire base, and took care of the dogs, the foxes and the deer that the officers needed for their hunting games.

A bit further, on the left side of the street, a large high building stood, where the military musicians lived. A large number of these musicians were young boys, apparently the bastard sons of the officers, whom the army had adopted. This building stood at the edge of the Zamarik forest, where town's youths used to in the summer months.

In a large pine forest, seven viersts beyond the count's palace, the army had erected an arena for sports and races, with various high and low obstacles, over which, as part of their training, the officers used to teach their horses to jump. Sometimes a horse took fright from an obstacle and shied or ran sideways, thus throwing its rider.

There were longer and shorter races over hills and valleys, rivers and swamps, and these too were very interesting. They participants rode in groups, and each officer was free to ride however he thought was the best way to cover the distance in the shortest amount of time. Along the way, however, they had to go past certain known points, so that they couldn't shorten the predetermined distance. There were also clock-timed individual races. The rider had to come back to the point form which he set out, without missing any of the control points.

The chases after foxes and deer were also very popular. The animals were released, and during the chase were either caught alive as they ran or wounded with a sword. Shooting was not permitted. These games went on throughout the entire summer. The officers and soldiers used to come by train, with their horses, from St. Petersburg. Many of Postov's residents wouldn't miss the arrival of the officers and soldiers and their wild horses, the unloading of which used to take a whole day.

The local children used to play various different soldier games, and would even make epaulettes, like those of ordinary soldiers, officers and even of the general. The "general" was chosen by casting lots.

During the First World War the barracks were destroyed by the German artillery forces that held the front line, which was in the vicinity of Postov for three years. Poland had established barracks in the forest not far from the train station.

The Arrest in the Forest (pp. 22–23)

On summery Shabbes evenings, Jews strolled leisurely in the streets of the shtetl. They walked with their hands either crossed either behind their backs or used to gesticulate in order to indicate the logic of the meaning of the point under discussion. The women and the smaller children followed them, and talked "in public" about "viebisher" [women's] matters. The older children played their various children's games in the streets or in the courtyards. The Shabbes-schineh, or Shabbes atmosphere dominated the entire town. [The Shechina, is the Divine Presence.[

Suddenly the sound of marching was heard in the distance. It sounded like a regiment of soldiers on the march. When the marchers came close enough to recognize their faces, the people strolling in the streets were frightened and alarmed. The ones marching were their sons and daughters, accompanied by police and gendarmes, who held whips and revolvers in their hands. The police and the gendarmes were brutal, and simply drove the boys and girls like animals and even struck them with their whips. The young people were "statznikess" who were fighting for the right to have "statzkes" [?demonstrations] or hold strikes in their struggle for better working conditions.

On this particular summer Shabbes, the Statznikess of the town had held a covert meeting in the depths of the woods. By chance, Vechter [not in my dictionary; apparently a personal name], known to be a complete reactionary and an anti-Semite, passed by. He immediately informed the local police commissioner about the meeting. The police commissioner quickly called policemen and gendarmes from the nearby towns and villages and they made an ambush on the gathering, with the hope of catching the carp'n-kepp [literally carp-heads, and meaning, apparently big shots, leaders] of the revolutionaries and to thus be worthy of recognition and great honor from the higher "natshalnikes" [?authorities] – and also perhaps promotion to a higher position. He was, however, sorely disappointed. The gathering had been encircled by a score of "look-outs" who gave an advance warning, which was heard throughout the forest, and warned of the coming ambush. The leader and many of those gathered there were able to get away in time.

Those who were arrested were released early on Sunday morning. The police commissioner sent a protocol to the "sledovartel" in Dissneh stating that the meeting had only been a cultural outing of young people. This protocol made the commissioner richer by several nice tens of rubles.

When the Russian Soldiers Celebrated Simchas Toirah (pp. 24–25)

Soldiers were always to be found in Postov. They guarded the military barracks and took care of the deer, the dogs and the foxes that the officers needed for their various summer games. In 1910 a large number of the soldiers decided to celebrate Simchas Toirah.

They weren't really very interested in Simchas Toirah itself, or in dancing with the Torah. They were, rather, greatly endeared of the bitter drop, vodka, and for them this happened very often, without any connection to any particular date. Although one yontef a year was definitely insufficient to satisfy their taste and love for Vodka, they decided, in 1910, to really celebrate the Jewish Simchas Toirah.

This time they lost control completely, and lost their heads as well. On their way to the "monopolkeh" to buy more vodka, they insulted and even struck a few Jews who were on their way to the synagogue for the hakaffot. When those who had been attacked came to the synagogue, which was full of half-intoxicated Jews, they very quickly agreed to the suggestion of a couple of the younger fellows, that now was a suitable time to "settle accounts" with the soldiers, and not only for the events of this evening, but for all of the soldiers' "good deeds" of the entire year.

Resolved and acted upon. The young Jewish fellows armed themselves with broomsticks, spades, shovels, and boards from fences, and with these "weapons" they fell upon the soldiers. This unexpected assault took the soldiers completely by surprise and, totally confused, they fled from the town. Some of them jumped over the fences in order to hide in the fields and gardens. The night was cloudy, and suddenly a strong harvest rain, accompanied by thunder and lightening, poured down. It looked like a real war scene.

Early the next morning, soldiers' great-coats were found hanging on the fences. As they jumped over the fences, these long coats were caught on the pointed boards. The soldiers had to quickly slip out of their coats and run for it, because the Jewish shtekken, boards, were raining blows on their heads. The soldiers didn't make any accusations or file any complaints because they would have been punished for making a riot in the town. But they never forgot this night of Simchas Toirah and after it was over, they were more "antshtendik" [?decent/respectful].

Children's Superstitions (p. 26)

A shaygetz drowned in Lake Zadzsever, which was located just beyond the Jewish cemetery, the Beis Olam. Two days passed, and his body was still not found. It was the talk of the town, and many people went to the lake to look at the search for the body.

The pupils of Yoel the Melamed [teacher] of the heder also took great interest in this event. Motkeh, the oldest pupil in the heder, proposed that the pupils go to the lake after their lessons. All of the pupils immediately set out. They had to go past the Jewish cemetery. When they reached the cemetery, Motkeh ordered them to stop and told them that only those children who knew the "Shema Yisrael" and the "Ve'ahavtah" by heart could go further, because in the daytime the dead came out of their graves and played on various instruments and observed the passers-by to make sure that they said the "Shema Yisrael" and the "Ve'ahavtah" – and if they didn't do so, then . . .

Even before Motkeh had finished speaking, all of the children, who were badly frightened and confused, began to run into the town, feeling all the time that the dead were running after them. Some of these children, among them the writer of these lines, were so upset psychologically that they dreamt about the dead and had hallucinations and various other symptoms for a long time. As a result, doctors and "exorcists" had a bit more business, and the parents, a lot of aggravation.

The Children's Revolution and Its Failure (pp. 28–29)

The revolutionary atmosphere in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century captured the minds of the children of Postov. Big Yoshkeh, a lad of fourteen years, organized a group of boys, the children of simple craftsmen and artisans, with the intention of matching up to the rich kids in the town. They decided that they were also entitled to be able to buy candy, ice-cream and flavored soda. In order to do this, they "laid a tax" on the rich kids. They warned them that they would be beaten if they didn't come forth with the demanded sums, and also if they said anything about this to their parents. The secret, however, lasted only a short time. It was unintentionally revealed.

One day, on a summer Shabbas afternoon, Yisrael Raichel and his friends from the "Heder Metukkan" [a more modern school, where children were taught general subjects, not only G'moireh] were strolling in the Zamarik, when they were offended by a group of youngsters who were there, playing cards. When they saw among the players a pupil from the "Heder Metukkan", they decided to get him away from the game, for it is not honorable to play cards in the woods [and on Shabbes, no less]. Before they could decide what to do, Big Yoshkeh and his two adjutants came along and grabbed their money from two of the players, saying that it was two weeks overdue to them, and threatened that if they again failed to make payment exactly on time, they would beat them up.

Yisrael Raichel, however, was the son of Avrom-Itzik the Brick-maker, and among the children he was considered a shtarkn, a strong one, besides which he could always depend on the support of his three older cousins, the Shwartz brothers. Yisrael suggested that they explain what they were demanding payment for. Yoshkeh suggested/advised them to shut up if they wanted to stay alive. Yisrael gave the card-players a few twists of the ears, and to Yoshkeh he landed a hefty punch, and they began to discuss. They finally reached the decision that there would no longer be any demand for, nor any payment of, any money.

Yoshkeh, however, didn't give up. With the help of some hired shkotzim* he organized two attacks – one in Vilner Street near the Advocate Shapira's house, and the second on the children of the "Heder Metukkan", as they were leaving the schoolhouse. The latter, however, were prepared and broke, "but good", the bones of the young "revolutionaries" and their shkotzim abettors, who were thus persuaded that Jews can give good blows. They all deserted Yoshkeh.

And the revolution was a total failure.

*- shkotzim comes from the Hebrew, sheketz , meaning an abomination, an unclean creature; in colloquial usage, shaygets is an unruly youngster, a Gentile youngster -- or, by extension, like one.] And, of course, Yiddish contains many other Hebrew terms and words. ]

Sin and Retribution (p. 29)

Aharon Pergament was the richest man in the town. He was a big lumber merchant and also had, in Postov itself, a beer brewery and a saw-mill. Once, when he was in the brewery early in the morning, he didn't like the way one of the workers was working. He came over to the worker and landed him such a slap in the face that the worker fell over. In the evening, he was again in his saw-mill, and he didn't like the way a worker was putting a board in the machine saw, in order to cut it narrower. Wanting to show how this should be done, and apparently agitated and insufficiently cautious, instead of sawing the board, he sawed off his hand – the same hand with which he had slapped the worker in the morning.

Pergament was a stubborn man, but he was a religious Jew and a philanthropist. He felt that he had lost his hand as punishment for slapping the worker. When he returned from the hospital in Vilna, he went to the worker and asked his forgiveness, and also left him a large sum of money.

A Crazy Dog Attacks the Community's Leaders Parnossim (p. 30)

This crazy dog event took place in January 1912. The leaders of the community were gathered for the monthly meeting of the community council. There were many matters to be dealt with and the meeting dragged out till late at night. As they were going home, a mad dog "greeted" them with great ferocity. He sprang at them and tried to bite their faces. Because of the terrible freezing cold, their faces were covered with the large furs coats that they were wearing, and the dog wasn't able to reach their faces. Nevertheless, the dog was able to bite two men, Leib Pergament and the iron shopkeeper Lubotsky.

Early the next morning, Leib Pergament traveled to Vilna where he was examined and treated by important doctors. Lubotsky had received only a small bite and ignored it. Later, when it was discovered that he had blood-poisoning, it was too late to cure him and he died.

On that same night the dog had tried to attack the night-watchman of the Jewish street, Herr Peretz. Peretz, however, attacked the mad dog, beating it with his big spade and the dog, yelping loudly, ran away.

News about the mad dog quickly spread throughout the entire town and all of the inhabitants stayed in their houses until the police and other men, who hunting rifles, found the mad dog and shot him.

Sports in Postov (p. 31)

There were no organized sports in Postov until after the First World War was over. In the summer, people went to swim, and there were good swimmers among them. In the winter, they ice-skated. The Miadlekeh River had outflow near Vilner Street, and there, after the first snows, people constructed high snow-banks all around. Skating within these walls was very pleasant even on the coldest days of the winter. Before the snows came, people skated on the Blind River, which, because its waters were very still, froze over before other bodies of water.

Although these were the only sports available, one cannot say that the young folk of Postov weren't interested in sports. All of the sports activities of the officers in the summer months, which I described above, were enthusiastically attended by the town's residents.* In their games, the children of the town imitated the officers and soldiers, and the war games that they played were very popular.

In later years, after the First World War ended and there was peace on the border between Poland and Russia, the young people began to take up various different sports activities.

*My mother used to tell me about these games and how they liked to go to see them. It's not easy to remember that entertainment of any kind was not common in those days, not in the shtetls.

Beaten for Striking His Wife (pp. 31–32)

It was an accepted fact that a Jew doesn't beat his wife. But there were exceptions. And there was such an exception in Postov. There was a middle-aged Jew who would often beat his wife. It isn't important to know the name of this man, for it will add nothing at all to this sorrowful episode.

Neighbors used to tell about the wife's terrible screaming and crying, day and night, that was heard from this Jew's house. The whole town knew what was going on there, and people deliberated about what to do to help the woman.

After long consultations, some of the young adults decided to do something in order to stop the man's brutal handling of his wife. A delegation of two Jews came to Jew in his house and had an innocent and "cozy" talk [shmoo-ess – from which we get shmooze] with him about the attitudes of Yiddisheh men according to age-old Jewish traditions. The Jew agreed with what he heard of this morality lecture, but he didn't want to make any promise that he would stop beating his wife. Before the delegation left the man's house, they told him that they would deal very harshly with him. They gave him a week's time to decide how to deal with this matter.

Two weeks passed and there was no change. The strong young fellows decided to carry out what they had said they would do. On Shabbes, between Mincheh and Mai'rev, when the town's rabbi was studying Mishna with the Jews in the shul, these fellows tricked the "wife-beater" into the shtibl [small prayer room], stretched him out on a long table, and began to beat the tender parts of his body with a leather strap. The Yid, however, was also a strong fellow, and he freed himself, jumped down from the table and out through an open window into the street.

A few weeks later they again grabbed him, got him into the shul and spread out on a table, and pulled down his trousers. Four fellows held him down on the table, and two "shmeisers" [thrashers] with specially prepared kontshikes [disciplinary whips], one on either side of the table, delivered twenty-five lashes. Before they let him go, they told him that he would get fifty if he didn't begin to behave in a menshlecheh [decent, humane] and Yiddisheh way to his wife.

The twenty-five lashes helped, but it was perhaps the fear of the promised fifty lashes that worked to ensure that he stop beating his wife.

Hanna Laekeh Marries (?פארפירט) a Shaygitz (pp. 34–35)

When one is fated to have troubles they can come even from one's own daughter. Hanna Leah, who was the daughter of a typical shtetl Jew (whose name it not important here) was a beautiful maiden. Young fellows wanted to be counted among her friends or to go strolling with her.

Hanna Leah, or Hanna Laehkeh as she was later called, fell in love with a shaygetz and was always chatting with him. Her parents, who were greatly disturbed by this, prevailed upon their daughter to give the shaygetz up, but to no avail. The parents became very embittered and decided to confine her to the house. Because of her hot love [yes … hayseh libeh] for him, Hanna Leah found ways to get out of the house and to go out to be with her shaygetz. She would jump out of a window, or exploit the moment when her mother went out to buy something in a shop. Finally, they decided to give their daughter, upon her return, a beating each time she went out. Once, when the father gave her a good beating with a stick, Hanna Leahkeh retaliated with a slap in his face and ran out of the house. A long time passed, and no one heard from her.

Some men decided to go and find out from the shaygetz where Hanna Laehkeh could be found. The shaygetz became tired fed up with talking about her. And, finally, got angry when they didn't leave him alone and said that he didn't know where she was that he wasn't interested in her.

A few months later it became known that Hanna-Laehkeh was employed in the "oldest profession" in the world; she had become a street-walker.

Leib the Wagon-Driver (p. 36)

Actually, Leib wasn't a proper wagon-driver. He wasn't employed with taking passengers to and from the train, or from one town to another. Leib had an old horse and he used to deliver sacks of flour from the grain store to the houses in the shtetl. It took only half an hour for the horse to carry a sack of meal from the knoll to the bridge over the Miadlekeh River, a distance of about a quarter of a vierst, and maybe even less.

He had barely enough of a livelihood (parnosseh) from this to provide for his large family. Not only that, but his horses would very free themselves from the shafts of the wagon and lie down and not get up again. In the town they said that his horses were dying because he didn't give them enough to eat, and it is highly likely that there was more than a grain of truth in this. He didn't earn enough to feed his own family, so how could he afford to buy enough oats and hay for his horses?

But Leib never went for a long time without a horse. The Jews in the shul would collect enough money to buy another old or half-blind horse for him. In the town they joked that this horse was "a real one".

Leib was a quiet man, and an honest one, and all of the Jews in the shtetl liked him. Without him they would not be able to obtain the flour for baking their bread on the weekdays and their hallas for Shabbos on time.

Translation to here sent to Daniel Raichel on 3 August 2005

Yiddishe Children Dance around a Yolkeh
and the Yiddisheh Kehilla (Jewish Community) Storms (pp. 37–38)

Assimilation doesn't arrive suddenly. It comes by way of a long process of circumstances, often barely noticeable. An innocuous deviation, a tiny step, is often joined by a second or third small act, and one is on the slippery slope and rolling down to the precipice of assimilation. The final stage of assimilation comes about on the university campuses: mixed marriages and even shmad – apostasy or conversion.

Our rabbis, throughout the different eras, struggled bitterly against even the smallest deviations from the correct path [derekh ha-melek h– lit. the kings'/royal way], from the ways of the old rabbis. The rabbis' struggle became more difficult with the beginning of the Enlightenment, which brought with it the first wave of assimilation, in Germany, and then spread quickly to other countries a well.

Despite their failure, the rabbis' struggle still goes on today. Their failure is perhaps the result of the old rabbinical methods of fighting, which are insufficiently organized and unsuited to the new conditions. Their deeds often do more harm than good and more Jews distance themselves [from their Judaism]. Such a thing happened in Postov about sixty years ago [i.e., ~1910].

Moisheh-Yitzchok was a very devout Jew, old-fashioned and, in addition, a very obstinate person. He caused a great storm in the town with the clumsy and uncivilized way he behaved towards his daughter, who – in his view – had strayed from the right path. The event took place on a cold New Year's eve.

The only Russian school in the town used to organize an entertainment program on the evening before Christmas. A large yolkeh, a Christmas tree, lit up with tiny colored electric lights and decorated with various glass ornaments and paper confetti, provided merriment and enthusiasm for the students, who danced around it. The yolkeh remained standing until after the New Year's festivities.

The Jewish students, who at the age of thirteen left their schooling in the heder and studied in the Russian school, also participated in the New Year's festivities. All of the students, the Jewish ones and their friends, boys and girls, were dancing together around the yolkeh.

The door of the hall was suddenly thrown open. Moshe-Yitzchak burst into the room screaming wildly "Where is my daughter?" and began to look for her among the mass of students. When he noticed her dancing enthusiastically around the yolkeh with the other children, he ran to her and, wild with wrath, grabbed her by the hair and dragged her out to the street. The festivity was ruined, and the children sadly made their war home, disappointed and embittered.

The Jews in Postov were also disappointed and embittered. They talked about Moisheh-Yitzchok's brutish behavior for a long time afterward.

Reb Shimshon the Gemara Teacher (pp. 39–40)

Reb Shimshon was not the usual kind of melamed – teacher in a heder. He was ordained as a rabbi and was a great scholar and a tzaddik – a pious and saintly man. In his time, eminent rabbis corresponded with him about halakhic rulings [i.e., of the legislative aspects of rabbinical literature] and often sided with his meanings.

Rabbi Shimshon was extremely modest, never seeking honor or riches. He felt that he was too weak to lead a congregation as a rabbi. His call was to lead a quiet life and to study Torah with no worries, and he earned his livelihood by studying Gemara with older children. The town of Postov was proud of him. Every father whose son studied Gemara in Rabbi Shimshon's heder dreamt that his son would become a great scholar and even receive ordination as a rabbi.

When, after a long illness, Rabbi Shimshon died, the whole town mourned. Many rabbis from the surrounding towns came to his funeral. The heads of Postav's Jewish community, the members of the Hevreh Kaddisheh (Burial Society) and the visiting rabbis convened to organize the funeral in a way suitable for such a great and pious scholar.

The town's Hevreh Kaddisheh had a coffin for poor Jews, and those with no family to see to their burial. A horse carried the coffin with the body of the dead person to the Bais Olam, the Jewish cemetery, which was a great distance away from the town. Wealthier Jews and scholars were brought on a litter that was carried by a group of important or prominent proprietors. A large number of people were needed to carry the litter, in order to relieve each other from time to time.

When the number and selection of pallbearers was finalized, the door of the gathering place suddenly opened and a delegation of the local socialists entered. They demanded that their members also be among the pallbearers, because they too had held the departed in great esteem. Their behavior and demands took everyone by surprise.

The surprise was even greater when the socialists' spokesman declared that he would not hold long discussions or arguments, but would rely on the verdict of three rabbis. Three rabbis immediately went into a second room and quickly returned with a decision that the young socialists should also be among the pallbearers, because it is a case of penitence. Their decision was received gladly by all.

A heavy snowfall began before the funeral procession set out, and it quickly became a storm. It was very difficult to carry the litter bearing the deceased Rabbi Shimshon in the deep snow. The pallbearers frequently slipped or fell, and the procession proceeded very slowly. Were it not for the strong shoulders of the young socialists, they would have reached the cemetery very late and night would have fallen. All of the people attending the funeral felt deep gratitude for the heroic young socialist-Jews.

The Effect of the Beilis Trial* (pp. 41)

* 1913 - A blood-libel indictment in Kiev against Mendel Beilis; Beilis was ultimately

exonerated and set free after spending more than two years in prison awaiting trial.

As long as Postov was on the border between Lithuania and White Russia, there was no fear of pogroms. Lithuania had become Catholic later than other countries in Europe, and the anti-Semitic Polish clergymen had no influence in Lithuania, and the White Russians had no great love for the Russians. The area around Postov therefore was not affected by the Ru