I am not, but I ran it through the English-translation feature of my
Chrome browser in a few seconds and got something that, although clearly
not perfect, looks like an English text that makes general sense:
Religious Jewish life in prewar Czernowitz
Between the two world wars, there were no less than five Hasidic rabbis
in the city
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The headquarters in Chernivtsi
The headquarters in ChernivtsiPhoto by Wikimedia Commons
FromSarah Rachel Schechter
<https://forward-com.translate.goog/authors/%d7%a9%d7%82%d7%a8%d7%94%d6%be%d7%a8%d7%97%d7%9c-%d7%a9%d7%a2%d7%9b%d7%98%d7%a2%d7%a8/?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en>June
13, 2023
[Reprinted from Forward, March 26, 2010]
Usually, when people talk about the Jewish history of the city of
Chernowitz, they emphasize its importance as a center of Jewish
literature and culture.
You hear almost nothing about one aspect: the life of the pious Jews in
Chernowitz.It's really a shame, because in that period there were no
less than five Hasidic rabbis in the city, said Rabbi Meir Moskowitz,
the Chernowitz-born author of a book of memoirs in Hebrew, "Kazah rah
wakadesh" (So saw and sanctified).
Rabbi Moskowitz, who was born in 1927, was for many years a Bible
teacher, as well as a Yiddish teacher, at the prominent New York Jewish
high school Ramz.During an interview with the Forward in 2010, he said
that he himself was the son of the hunter Rabin.Four other rabbis also
lived in Chernowitz at the time: the Boianer rabbi, R. Moshe
Friedman;The Nadverner rabbi, Itamar Rosenbaum;The Kitever rabbi,
Grossman;The Zalishchik rabbi, Hager and the Shotz rabbi, Rabbi
Avraham-Chaim Moskowitz.All the rabbis were relatives, because they all
made matches among themselves.
The Shotzer rabbi in Chernowitz, R. Avraham-Chaim Moskowitz (right),
with his uncle, R. Yankele, the Shotzer rabbi in Shotz (in the middle),
and nephew Zalman Leib.Left: The Rabitsin, Old SheindelCourtesy of the
Moskowitz Family
Every rabbi had a court with Hasidim, Rabbi Moskowitz said, but compared
to the rabbis, who wore a turban on Shabbat and Yom Tov, the worshipers
already considered themselves "modern people" - they didn't have a
beard. or Paws, and came to the Menin wearing a top hat and coat.Rabbi
Moskovitze's own family lived in the same building as the shill."I
myself had small problems," he added.
Rabbi Moskowitz's mother, Alte-Sheindel, was the daughter of the
Pideyets rabbi, she wore a wig, but she, and the other "rabbi's
children", as they used to call them, were far under the influence of
the modern city.Compared to her husband, who spoke Yiddish with the
children, the Rabbi spoke German.She went to the theater, read Yiddish
poetry and shook hands with men.On Mother's Day, the little "Mayrel"
brought her flowers, and on New Year's Eve, the rabbi and the other
women of the rabbinical homes had a feast.
"On New Year's Eve, they came to us on the second floor, elegantly
dressed, and ate and spent hours together," Rabbi Moskowitz said.And
although they didn't drink any liquor, "the strings of the Bayonne rabbi
did smell of cigarettes."
Rabbi Moskowitz still remembers his first day in the classroom at the
age of three."My parents never went for a walk together, but that day
they dressed me in new shorts, new shoes and a new talit-kat, and both
of them took me by the hand into the room.When we arrived, my father
hugged me with a tallit and carried me inside.On the table was written
'Mairl' in large golden letters.Every time I correctly recited 'Kmts
Alef O, Kmts Beit Bo' a honey cookie fell down.I really thought, it's
from heaven!As it says in the proverb: Torah study is like honey and
milk, sweet to the soul and heals the bones.
In the year 1975, Rabbi Meir Moskovits returned with a visit to Chernovits.
At the age of five, Mairl started learning the fifth grade."It was on a
Saturday afternoon.Family and friends and all five rabbis came.They
placed me on the table, I wore a brown velvet suit, and both of my
grandfathers put on gold watches on chains.Then they asked me: What do
you study in the fifth grade?"
After listening to the child, people started dancing and singing, eating
cake and pies.All the rabbis wore turbans, sat and distributed
shirim.He, Mairl, sat between both grandfathers.
Every morning Meirel studied in the classroom, and three times a week
after lunch he went to a Zionist Hebrew school, "Beit Safri".In 1936, he
went to Vishnitz to study in the Vishnitz yeshiva.He used to come home
only on Shabbat Hanukkah, Passover and Yom Tov.
Rabbi Moskovits remembers Sukkah in Chernovits very well.For a whole
year, the men and women ate together, but Sukkah - not.The mother
blessed the light, came to the sukkah for Kiddush and HaMotsia, but then
entered the house, where she spent time with the other women.
The sukkah was a big one;When the father led the table on the second
night of the sukkah, in honor of the Shimchat-Beit-Shuavah, 150 people
entered the sukkah.But we didn't sleep there."It was cold, and dangerous."
The Shatzer rabbi's house also served as a hostel for the rabbis of the
surrounding towns, when they had to come to Chernowitz to see a
doctor.The simple Arendars also used to come to see their rabbi."They
were simply dressed - emach - wearing boots, and brought Pirot as a gift
to the rabbi."
Often the mentally ill came to their door asking for donations."One,
Fishele, used to say to my mother, 'I love you!' - she was a beautiful
woman - they used to take him into the house, and they gave him the same
food that we ate."
Eva Marder Bender, a resident of the Bronx, NY, was also born into a
pious family in Chernowitz, in 1927, but her experience was quite
different from Rabbi Moskowitz's."The father was a Zionist and an
Orientalist," she said.
Eva Marder Bender's family in Chernowitz: (from right) the mother,
Esther Marder;father, Berl Marder;their children, Samuel and Eva;and an
aunt, Deborah DistenfeldCourtesy of the Bender Family
On the street, the father, Berl Marder, wore a black hat, and under the
hat - a yarmulke.When greeting people, he took off his cap, but not his
yarmulke;The mother, Esther, wore a cap, not a wig."We weren't that
fanatical," she said."We were obviously under the influence of the
Austrian culture."
As a girl, Eva, of course, did not go to the classroom;She studied the
first four grades in a Hebrew, Zionist day school, "Shafa Ibriya".After
finishing school, she studied for two years at "Gymnasium Hoffman", an
urban educational institution for girls, and then - when the Russians
took over Bukovina - she moved to the Jewish school, where most of the
children are were from secular families.Although the classes continued
six times a week, including Saturday, the devout students did not
care."We didn't write on Saturday," she said.The problem, however, was
with the exams, which all took place on Saturday.
"We, the devout students, really suffered from this, because they used
to give us the exam on Sunday or Monday and deliberately ask more
difficult questions.Some of the teachers were Jewish, but they were even
worse than the Russians.They wanted us to investigate what was happening
at home and inform the parents.We did not give in, they became very upset."
Passover, my mother's aunt, who lived not far from the Shatzer rabbi,
came for the entire Passover."The whole time she only peeled potatoes
and carrots, carrots and potatoes... that was her task.And we, girls,
didn't help out, always playing around."
She used to play ball or chess - both with girls and boys, both
religious and free - "whoever happened to be in the street.It didn't
work out because everyone in our area was Jewish.Only the 'supers'
(guards) were not Jews."
Speaking to the forward, Ms. Bender recalled an incident from her
childhood that hurt her deeply.Every year she used to look out for the
son of the rabbi of Milnitz to come from Galicia to accompany the rabbis
and other Jews to the graves of their ancestors.Eva's father used to
take her too.The horses and wagons were harnessed, and they went to the
Sadiger Rabbi.
"The ride took several hours, and it was very beautiful and lively.We
went to the cemetery, and later they had a feast." When Eva turned eight
years old, the son of the rabbi from Milnitz told her father that a girl
of her age should no longer drive, so she had to Stay in the home."I was
very upset," Mrs. Bender remarked.
From what Rabbi Moskovits and Mrs. Bender have conveyed in such detail,
it is clear that Chernovits was not a city of only secular Jews.Although
the winds of modernity and assimilation have already affected the pious
circles, and brought in the German language and elements of the
surrounding culture, they continued to preserve the mitzvot and maintain
the traditions, as far as possible.
/Support for the Forverts comes in part from the Marinus and Minna B.
Koster Foundation/
On 6/19/23 21:50, Stephen Winters wrote:
>
> Is any one aware of an English translation of this article?
>
> Czernowitz._Israelitischer_Tempel_04.jpg
> Religious Jewish life in prewar Czernowitz
> <https://forward.com/yiddish/550318/religious-jewish-life-in-prewar-czernowitz/>
> forward.com
> <https://forward.com/yiddish/550318/religious-jewish-life-in-prewar-czernowitz/>
>
> <https://forward.com/yiddish/550318/religious-jewish-life-in-prewar-czernowitz/>
>
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This moderated discussion group is for information exchange on the subject of
Czernowitz and Sadagora Jewish History and Genealogy. The opinions expressed
in these posts are the opinions of the original poster only and not necessarily
the opinions of the List Owner, the Webmaster or any other members
or entities connected with this mailing list. The Czernowitz-L list has
an associated web site at http://czernowitz.ehpes.com that includes a
searchable archive of all messages posted to this list. Beginning in 2021,
archived messages can be found at:
https://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
To send mail to the list, address it to <[email protected]>.
To remove your address from this e-list follow the directions at
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