eilatgordinlevitan.com
Rakov
Rakov, Minsk uezd, Minsk gubernia
Click on Photos to Enlarge
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#rv-7:Russian wedding photographs of Faga and Nathan Botwinik
#rv-8:Courtesy of Nisha Chirnomas

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Writer Uri Finkel, son of the last rabbi of Rakov.
to read about him go to
http://www.eilatgordinlevitan.com/rakov/rkv_

pages/rakov_stories_uri_finkel.html

#rv-10: Rabbi R. Avraham Eliyahu, the son of R. Moshe Mordechai Kaplan was born in Rakov
#rv-11:FromYiddish in the back of the picture;
"To Chaia Meltzer,
For the best memory from your cousin and aunt; Ester and Friede Botwinik
Rakow, May 4th, 1927"
courtesy of Edward Meltzer
#rv-12:Leyzer Halpern, the town rabbi. July 1923.
#rv-13: Studio portrait of members of the board of the Jewish Library: (left to right) Yitskhok Finkel, Chairman; Musye Lifshits, Treasurer; Abe Botwinik (Meshulem's son); Shmuel Rubinstein; Lipshe Finkel, Secretary; Abe Botwinik (Zev's son); and Sore Fein. 1935.
#rv-14: At a summer camp for orphans and needy children: children playing in a stream. (This photograph was sent to the Rakower Women's Club in America.) July 15, 1938.
#rv-15: Studio portrait: Four "Jewish revolutionaries... the first 2 [r-l] are now in America and members of Workmen's Circle. The 3rd is somewhere in Russia or Poland, the 4th was shot at a [Jewish Socialist] Bundist demonstration in 1905." ('Forward', 1932.) early 1900s.
#rv-16: People posing on the roof of a synagogue under construction.1937.
#rv-17: Children and staff posing for a portrait in front of Yeshue Pohulanker's inn that served as a summer camp for orphans and needy children. 1938.
#rv-18: Senior members of the Betar youth movement's local chapter in Rakov
near Vilnius (Vilna). In the photo: Propes (apparently Aharon - Zvi Propes), among the leaders of Betar in the Baltic states.
#rv-19: Betar in Rakov
#rv-20: Betar members in Rakov

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Isaac Sagalovich Headstone - It says - Here lies our beloved father
who has left this world of hard work. Shmuel-Itskhok (Samuel-Isaac)
Sagalovitsh - son of Tsvi (deer or Hirsh). He lived 72 years and died
16 Jan 1934. Pictured the family of Hirshel Sagalovich, son of
Shmuel-Itskhok. They were all murdered in the Holocaust. For more
information go to the site of Dave Howard, the great nephew of
Hirshel;
http://www.horwitzfam.org/getperson.php?personID

=I0557&tree=Complete

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Malka and Avraham Greenholtz

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Members of Hachalutz, a Zionist Youth movement 1932.

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Members of Hashomer Hatzair ( Zionist Socialist Youth movement) in 1933

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The leaders of Hashomer Hatzair ( Zionist Socialist Youth movement)
in 1934

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The soccer club of Rakov "Maccabi" 1925

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Tarbut school students ( all the instructions were done in Hebrew),
members of the Keren Kayemet committee 1938

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Members of the Drama Club in Rakov

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the construction of the Jewish religious school in Rakov was
completed in the summer of 1939.

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A training camp for Zionist Youth near Rakov

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Hirsh Shlomo Finkel of Rakov, 1936. Hirsh Shlomo was the father
of my grandmother Tzilya,Uri Finkel, Libsha, Sheina and Yitzhak. He
was the brother of Ester Gitel Kagan and her sister, mother of Avraham
Even Shoshan. He perished in Rakov. L. Kozlov

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back  side of the picture of my great grandfather; Hirsh Shlomo
Finkel of Rakov (1936- to my child- from Zvi Shlomo Finkel) L. Kozlov
0053- Libsha and Yitzhak Finkel (My great uncles,  they both perished
in Rakov) L. Kozlov

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Libsha and Yitzhak Finkel (My great uncles,  they both perished
in Rakov) L. Kozlov

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Tzilya Finkel (my grandmother, she died before the war) L. Kozlov

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Ella and Libsha Finkel
L. Kozlov

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My great uncle; Yitzhak Finkel with? L. Kozlov

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Sheina Finkel (my father's step mother, she was the sister of
his first wife) We called her Sonya. L. Kozlov

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Rakov monument

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Rakov monument

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Tzilya nee Finkel, her husband Leib Berzon (my grandfather)
and their daughter Ella (my father older sister) Rakov,1928
L. Kozlov

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Uri Finkel and his wife Liba Kamenetsky

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Uri Finkel

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My grandfather; Leib Berzon, Sheina Sonya nee Finkel of Rakov
and my father- 1960
L. Kozlov

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Roshka- Rosa, daughter of Sholom and Zvia Finkel of Rakov and her
husband; writer Chaim Rozenshtein ( nee Rabinovitz) who was born in
Radishkovichi. After their wedding they lived in Minsk. Their sons
were the writers; Shlomo and Avraham Even Shoshan

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Pictured some of the Kovno ghetto survivors in Israel ; Akerman -
Katsanovski Hinda, Bleiman - Evyatar Tzadok, Glas Michael, Israel ,
Levin Dov, Levitan Reuven, Muravich - Galeen Dina, Melamed Yosef,
Kopchevski - Kashiv Yitzhak,
Rudnik - Kashiv Avivit, Rosenzweig - Levin Rachel, Rochman Yona
Shevts - Glas Ester , Schaeffer Grisha

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Mashka Sznejder was born in Minsk to Moshe Aharon ( son of Chaim) and Chana Feiga ( daughter of Tanchum). She was single. She perished in 1942 in Rakow, Poland. This information is based on a Page of Testimony submitted in 1999 by her niece Malka Oren (nee Shneider/ Shehar)

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Khana Feiga Shneider was born in Rakov to Tankhum. She was a widow of Moshe Aharon. Prior to WWII she lived in Rakow, Poland. Khana perished in 1942 in Rakow, Poland. This information is based on a Page of Testimony (displayed on left) submitted on 23-Apr-1999 by her granddaughter, Malka Oren

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Shalom Levin and his Family

Kagan
Rabin, Vilna

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Pinkas Rakov; The notebook (Pinkas) of the Rakov Jewish congregation from 1810 to 1913
Uri Finkel found it at the remnants of his fathers' home after the war. Read the story in Haaretz

http://grm.haaretz.co.il/hasite/pages/ShArtPE.jhtml?itemNo=

979723&contrassID=2&subContrassID=21&sbSubContrassID=0

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Esther Kagan nee Finkel was born in Rakow, Poland to Shalom and Tzvia. She was a housewife. Prior to WWII she lived in Kurzeniec, Poland. 

Esther was murdered in the Shoah.

This information is based on a Page of Testimony submitted by her daughter, Tzvia Even Shoshan

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Family of Tsalim Mordukov Rodshtein and Khana Dvora Lieberman

This family lived in Rakov. The boy between Rabbi Rodshtein and his wife is my paternal grandfather, Yiche Isidor Rodshtein, age 14.  This photograph was taken in 1902. Two years later, the cossacks came looking for replacements to fight in the Russo-Japanese War. Rabbi Rodshtein told Izzy and his brother Yakov to flee and they walked across three countries and took a boat to America. The rabbi had already lost his two oldest sons in the fighting. 
Annie Segan, PhD
anniesegan@gmail.com

Natives of Rakov in the Ellis Island Data | Map | Archives | Rakov Jewish Martyrs | Rakov before 1917 | Portraits | Family Portraits | Memorials | Stories | New Scenes | Business Directory for Rakov c 1900 | Business Directory for Rakov in 1929 | Articles | The Yizkor book for Rakov | Jewish Cemeteries |||

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Family Portraits (originated predominantly in the Vilna region)
Abramowicz | Abramson | Adler | Albin | Alperovitz | Alter | Altshuler | Anisfeld | Appelfeld | Arotzker | Astrinsky | Avnaim | Axelrod | Bader | Baksht | Barbakov | Barmatz | Basok | Behr_Ber | Bekker | Belkind | Bendet Ben Tovim | Bengis | Berger | Berkman | Berkovitz | Berlin | Berman | Bernstein | Berzon | Bloch | Blumenfrucht | Blumenkrantz | Bobrowicz | Bogin | Botwinik | Bozparozbany | Brezner | Brin | Bronitsky | Bronstein | Brudner | Brudno | Budgor | Budovnitz | Bumstein | Bunimovitz | Cahanovitz | Chabas | Chadash | Chagall | Chait | Charad/Harat | Chayklin | Chedekel | Cheres | Chevlin | Chodes (Hodesh) | Chomsky | Chosid | Codosh | Costrell | Cugell | Cymer | Danishevski | Dardak | Davidson| Deitch | Demsky | Deutsch | Dikenstein | Dimenstein | Dinnerstein | Diskin | Dlot | Dokshitzki | Dolgow | Dorfan | Drechinski | Drenger | Druyanov | Dubin | Dudman | Dunkelblum | Durmashkin | Dworzecki | Ehrlich | Eidelman | Eishiski | Ekman | Elkes | Elyashiv | Epstein | Erenburg | Etkind | Evans | Falk | Farberman | Feigel | Feigelman | Feingold | Ferber | Fertig | Feygelson | Fidler | Finder | Finkel | Fischhab | Flant | Fragman | Frankfurt | Friedman | Furman | Futerfas | Garber | Garfinkel | Garnun | Gdud | Gelman | Gershovitz | Gershwin | Gerstein | Ginsburg | Gitelzon | Gitlin | Gitlitz | Gold | Goldman | Goldstoff | Golob | Gordin | Gordon | Gornitzky | Gorodesky | Goron | Greenholtz | Greenhouse| Greenstein | Grosbein | Gross | Grundfest | Gumplowicz | Gurevitz | Gurfein | Gutman | Gutwirth | Halperin Galperin | Harkavy | Harmach | Harris | Hayutin | Heifetz | Helberg | Herzog | Highstein | Hillman | Hochstein | Hofenberg | Hoffman | Hollander | Ichlov | Ikholov | Isaacson | Israelit | Iwjan | Jackan | Jaffe | Kafkafi | Kagan | Kaganovich | Kahan | Kalish | Kalka | Kamenetsky | Kanterovitz | Kantor | Kapit | Kaplan | Kaswan | Katz | Katznelson | Katzowitz | Kazalovski | Kisber | |Kivilovitz | Klaczko | Klausner | Kline | Klingberg | Knoblauch | Kopilovitz | Korngold | Kosovsky | Kotler | Kowarski | Kramnik | Krechmer | Kreines | Kremer | Kriger | Krivitsky | Kugel | Kulbak | Kunin | Kunstler | Kuperstock | Kur | Kushner | Kuzenitz | Landau | Lane | Laskov | Laufer | Lavit | Leibmann | Lemberger | Lemkin | Lemlich | Levin | Levitan | Lieberman | Liff | Lifshitz | Limon | Lipetz | Lipson | Lunin | Luntz | Luria | Macht | Madeisker Madesker | Magid | Maisel | Malbin | Malishkevitz | Malkin | Mandel | Matusov | Meirovitz | Meitin | Melamed | Meltzer | Mer | Merovich | Milchan | Milikowsky | Mon | Mordehowicz | Mosberg | Mushkin | Norman | Oshri | Pablovsky | Palevsky | Papkin | Parlov | Patchornik | Pauker | Pearlman | Pelavin | Penski | Perlin | Persky | Peschkowsky | Pines | Pintov | Pistonovich_Pistenowicz | Pliskin | Podberesky| Pokempner | Pont | Popel | Popky | Poremba | Potashnik| Ptalis | Pupkin | Rabin | Rabinovitz| Rabunski | Raichel | Rakower | Reitshtein | Reznik | Riar | Ritov | Rogovin | Rogozin | Rolnik | Romm | Rosen | Rosenberg | Rosenblum | Rosenson | Rubin | Rubinson | Rubinstein | Ruderman | Rutkowski | Sacks | Saliternik | Sandler | Schlesinger | Schneerson | Schreibman | Segal | Shapiro | Sharett | Sheinhous | Shenker | Shepsenwohl | Shereshevsky | Sherman | Shertok | Sheskin | Shiff | Shimshelvitz | Shiniyuk | Shmukler | Shochat | Shoolman | Shorr | Shperber | Shpringer | Shrebnick | Shriro | Shubitz | Shulkin | Shulman | Shuster | Silberfeld | Simon | Sklut | Skolnick | Skuk | Slifkin/Slivkin | Slonimsky | Slutsky | Smorgonski | Sobol | Solonowitz | Soloveichik | Sosensky | Sparber | Spektor | Spilka | Spreiregen | Srebnik | Strashun | Streisand | Strunsky | Stupel | Sud | Sudowicz | Sutzkever | Swirsky | Szewach | Szyszko | Tabachovitz | Taibel | Tarant | Tarshish | Tauger | Teitz | Todres | Turov | Twersky | Vaksmakher | Vand Polak | Viniar | Virovich | Vishniak | Volansky | Volcani | Vorfman | Wachstock | Wainer | Wasserman | Weinberg | Weindling | Weinschel | Weisbord | Wilbushevitz | Wilder | Wilkanski | Wolfowich | Wouk | Wulkan | Yalovker | Yafe | Yakimovsky | Yatzkan | Yudelowitz | Zafransky | Zaltzman | Zandman  | Zavodnick | Zecharia | Zeidlin Zeldin | Zelmanovich | Zimbal | Zimmerman | Ziskind | Zonabend Sonnabend | Zuckerman | Zusman
Created by Eilat Gordin Levitan

In Rakov (38 km from Minsk), Jews lived since the epoch of Rzech Pospolitaya, in the first quarter of the 17th century. They were tax-farmers of customs, public housing, salt and other collections, rented various areas of economic significance, and were skillful craftsmen. Ceramic products and tiles from Rakov were known far beyond Belarus boundaries. In 1897 Jews here amounted to 2,168 persons, or 59,5% of the total city population. Before the beginning of the Soviet-German war, 928 Jews lived in Rakov. According to testimonies of Mikhail and Girsh Rayak, police were organized in Rakov the first day after arrival of the Germans. Robberies of Jewish possessions began immediately. On September 26, 1941, Gebitscomissar Hendel gave orders to bring the Torah to the Rakov Square and to burn it, while Jewish girls were ordered to dance and sing "Ha-Tikvah". On February 4, 1942, Jews were driven into the Kholodnaya Synagogue, their valuables were taken away, they were undressed, tortured and beaten. Gasoline was then poured over the building and grenades were thrown (29). Dora Iveivekhman remembered that a month after there could still be felt a smell of burnt flesh in the air. Overall from August 1941 to February 1942, 1,050 people were killed in Rakov (30).
Ilya Ehrenburg on the Holocaust in Belarus:
Unknown Testimony
by Dr. Leonid Smilovitsky
Diaspora Research Institute, Tel Aviv University

<gleckman@mindspring.com>
Date: Nov 7, 2007
Subject: [belarus] Lifshitz family from Zaslavl, Rakow, Ivenets, Horodok, and Volozyn

Three different groups of LIFSHITZ family members have learned
recently that we are related. So we have decided to hold a small Lifshitz
family gathering later in November to say hello to each other. From prior
work on the Lifshitz family name there seems to be over 65 groups of
Lifshitz families (see www.benchpost.com/lifshitz).Most of these Lifshitz
family had roots in and around Minsk. Yet, when this website was put
together in 2002, it seems that all these groups of Lifshitz did have clear
links between them .

We have posted the structure of 'our' Lifshitz family at
http://www.kslrfamily.com/LifshitzFamily.htm. The research by Ruth Wilnai
has established a line back to the mid 1700s The central shtetls for this
Lifshtiz group is Zaslavl, Rakow, Ivenets, Horodok, and Volozyn.

Please take a look at the extended tree on the web and see if you can
determine any clear links to your Lifshitz family group.

We would love to add you to the guest list for the event in NY.

Harris; grandson of Sarah Lifshitz Tarr, daughter of Hoshea Lifshitz and Sore
(Axelrad) Lifshitz,

 

Ben Nathan
son of Noson Botwinick

Birth Date: 13 Jul 1895
Birth Place: Rakov, Minsk, Russia
RESIDENCE: San Antonio, Texas

 

Name:Joseph Lieberman Birth Date:18 Jan 1868 Birth Place:Rakov, Russia, Poland
RESIDENCE:NY City, New York Passport Issue Date:22 Mar 1924 Father Name:Jacob Lieberman
Father's Birth Location:Smilowitz, Russia
Father's Residence:NY City,
Source:Passport Applications, January 2, 1906 - March 31, 1925 (M1490)

List of surnames from Rakov
from birth records for the years; 1877, 1880, 1882, 1884, 1885
Rakov is smal town ~20m West of Minsk on the road
to Ivenets, Volozhin and not far from Stolbtsy, Koidanov etc.
Below I present the list of surname from Rakov
I compiled from Jewish birth records I found on LDS microfilm (number available from JG info files)
The records reflect birth 1877, 1880, 1882, 1884, 1885.
Records I read in Russian and try to transliterate it in English with some compromises between spelling and pronounciation.

Alishkevich
Aronov
Aruker
Ashkanozi
Berger
Berman
Bershon
Borshan
Botvinik
Chertok
Dimond
Dorsky
Druker
Druper?
Dukor
Elievich
Fain
Fainberg
Fainbrik
Faivishev
Feigin
Finkel
Frid
Galinker
Galperin
Garelik
Gershon
Gesel
Ginzburg
Gisburg
Goldenshtein
Goldin
Goldshmid
Goldshtein
Golovenchitz
Gringoltz
Gurevich
Gurvich
Guryan
Itzkhokin
Kagan?
Kaganovich
Kaingauz
Kamenitz
Kanterovich
Kantorovich
Kapelevich
Kaplon
Karp
Karposhnik?
, Kaufman,
Khaikel
Khaikin
Khvilevitsky
Klein
Klibanov
Kogan
Korchlinin
Kukes
, Kukus
, Kurchgon,
Kurtzgon,
Lapidus
Latareichik,
Levin,
Levinson,
Levit,
Liberman
Livshitz,
Machanov,
Maly,
Margolin,
Marochnik
Marshak
Metlitsky
Mishikman
Mishin
Morochnik
Mushin
Nalibotsky
Pekar
Pekor,
Peper
Perelman
Persky
Pogulyanik
Poles
Poznyak
Raikhelson
Rakovchin,
Ratinetz,
Ratinich
Rotshtein
Rogovich
Rogovin
Rotinetz
Rozenberg
Rozental
Rubenshtein
Rubinov
Rubinshtein
Ruderman
Rumanov
Sagalovich,
Shabsay
Shapira
Shapkin
Shayevich
Sheinerman
Shif
Shkon?
Shnitman
Shtein
Shteingoltz
, Shumakher
Sinrod,
Sondak,
Sonkin
Starobin,
Strashun?
Sukenik
Sulsky
Suster
Teiv
Trotskin
Trotsky
Turetsky
Turman
Tzinkin
Tzirinsky
Tzukerman
Upart
Vainer
Vainshtein
Veber
Vesoler
Vigonich
Visyaler
Yakhnes
Zaturemcky
Zaturensky
Zetzer
Zouber

Vitaly Charny
Birmingham, AL