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New from Devora Publishing�
THE INEXHAUSTIBLE WELLSPRING Reaping The Rewards Of Shtetl Life By Heszel Klepfisz
Many people believe that the Jews who produced the
Eastern European shtetl culture were narrow and provincial, had no
contact with cultural trends of the outside world, and that it made no
difference to them whether or not there were actual ghetto walls
separating theme from the non-Jewish world � the walls were already
there, in their minds.
THE INEXHAUSTIBLE WELLSPRING presents a convincing and well
documented picture of a different Shtetl society. It is a shtetl culture
that produced philosophers, teachers, mathematicians, historians,
scientists and doctors of such magnitude, and in such abundance that the
Church and the governments in Eastern Europe felt the need to curtail
this vibrant culture, forbidding Jews to enter many of the fields they
already dominated.
Yet, even as it stood at the precipice of its
demise, this community maintained its own language, its own forms of
social life, a complex intertwined system of autonomous institutions,
visions of a better world for all people and nations, an educational
network, and strict national and moral discipline.
Heszel Klepfisz was born into a rabbinical
family near Warsaw in 1910. He studied philosophy, history and
literature at universities in Warsaw, Brussels and Zurich and earned a
Ph.D. in Philosophy. By the age of 19, he began writing articles in the
Jewish newspapers attacking anti-Semitism in Poland. He was one of the
first to warn of the menace of fascism in 1933.
During World War II, Dr. Klepfisz served as a
military chaplain, with the rank of Major, in the Polish army. After the
War, Dr. Klepfisz became Chief Rabbi of Panama. There, he was appointed
Professor of Judaic Studies and History at the University of Panama. He
also helped negotiate the return of the Panama Canal Zone by the United
States to Panama.
�As a person who is dedicated to all of the elements of the
Shtetl, I am delighted about Dr. Heszel Klepfisz�s book, since it is a
beautiful and accurate description of Shtetl life. Its descriptions of
vital communities, family life, education, and the beauty of the Jewish
soul will captive the reader.�
Professor Yaffa Eliach
President and Founder,
The Shtetl Foundation
Author, There Once Was a World: A 900-Year
Chronicle of the Shtetl of Eishyshok, and Hasidic Tales of the HolocaustDevorah Publishing Phone: 1-800-232-2931 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website: www.devorapublishing.com
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