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There were about 25,000 people in Zamosc before the war, about 15,000 of them were Jews. Like my family, most of Zamosc’s Jews descended from the Sephardim. Neither their customs nor their language have survived to our times, however. People celebrated the same festivals and dressed the same way as the Ashkenazim. Everyone spoke Yiddish. Of course, the Yiddish spoken in Zamosc differed slightly from that spoken in Lublin or Vilnius. It had its own nuances, but they were differences arising from the use of different dialects of the language. [The Yiddish spoken in the Polish lands used to have three major dialects: Galician (southern), Central (often called Polish) and Lithuanian (north-eastern).] You could say, then, that nothing of the Sephardi culture had survived in Zamosc; all that remained was the memory of the origins of our ancestors.
There was one big synagogue in town, and besides that several shtibls. The interior of the synagogue was traditional, with the bimah in the center and a decorated ark [aron kodesh, in Polish often called ark]. It had ornaments carved around the doors – two lions and two deer, and around them the inscription ‘Gibor ka-ari, ratz ka-zevi’ [Heb.: Strong as a lion, swift as a gazelle]. My father went to a shtibl, but rarely to the synagogue. I used to go with him when I was small and for a while after my bar mitzvah. Mama didn’t go to the shtibl – women didn’t go to pray at the shtibls at all; they were meeting places for men. At the more important holidays and sometimes on Fridays she would go to the synagogue, where there was a special area set aside for women. We used to go to the synagogue with school as well, for instance when services were held for the president of the Polish Republic.
In addition to merchants, the Jews of Zamosc were craftsmen of various trades. There were carpenters, metalworkers, blacksmiths, joiners, painters, leather specialists and cobblers. There were poor water carriers too. Yes, because at that time the houses didn’t have running water. So these people would bring water from the well on the market square, and they were happiest when someone was doing the washing because then more water was needed and they earned more. I also remember that there were servants – also Jewesses – in the wealthier households. These were young girls from nearby towns. They saved up their wages for their dowry. There were those who didn’t find a husband, and they would pay for a Torah for the synagogue out of the money they had saved up.
In Zamosc there were people of all different convictions, both Zionists and Bundists [6]. There were communists, too. Wealthy people and the intelligentsia were usually Zionists. The communists had a lot of supporters among the poor. That was because they had effective propaganda. [The egalitarian ideal of communism naturally attracted the poor everywhere. It was not merely because of the successful propaganda.] They said that everyone would have work and be equal, and they didn’t offend the Jews.
There were Hasidim as well, of course. I remember that they invited a tzaddik to come and live among them. It started with a long exchange of letters. I think he came from Gora Kalwaria [7]. He came to Zamosc by train. There were crowds waiting at the station, not just Hasidim but other Jews, too, and even Poles. I ran down there with a group of my friends. That was a big event in Zamosc. Many people went out of curiosity, to see what would happen.
The Hasidim had hired all the carriages in the town. They put the tzaddik in the first, best-looking one, drawn by white horses, and drove him to the house they had prepared for him on Lubelskie Przedmiescie Street. Colorful lamps were strung out all along the route. About 100 meters before they reached the house the Hasidim unharnessed the horses and pulled the carriage themselves. After that they would all go to the tzaddik on Fridays and Saturdays to be blessed. I remember that because we often used to go down there and peer in through the window. I saw the tzaddik take the challah, bless it and then crumble it into small pieces, which his followers took because it was blessed [shirayem]. I saw them dancing and rejoicing – that was how they prayed to the Lord.
Rare events like the arrival of the tzaddik were attractions for people who lived in a town like ours. People liked to go and see unusual things. Once, word got around that in a neighboring village there was a sleepwalker. I didn’t go, I was too small, but lots of people gathered to see him. It was a moonlit summer night, and everyone stood around in the street and hushed each other so as not to wake him as he walked along the roofs of the houses with his arms outstretched.
We lived right by the square. Our family was relatively well off; you couldn’t say that we were rich, but we didn’t go hungry. We lived in a town house and our apartment overlooked the town square. And all around the square in Zamosc are arcades, so when it was raining you could walk all the way round without an umbrella. On the ground floor of the house was a Jewish bakery.
There was one big synagogue in town, and besides that several shtibls. The interior of the synagogue was traditional, with the bimah in the center and a decorated ark [aron kodesh, in Polish often called ark]. It had ornaments carved around the doors – two lions and two deer, and around them the inscription ‘Gibor ka-ari, ratz ka-zevi’ [Heb.: Strong as a lion, swift as a gazelle]. My father went to a shtibl, but rarely to the synagogue. I used to go with him when I was small and for a while after my bar mitzvah. Mama didn’t go to the shtibl – women didn’t go to pray at the shtibls at all; they were meeting places for men. At the more important holidays and sometimes on Fridays she would go to the synagogue, where there was a special area set aside for women. We used to go to the synagogue with school as well, for instance when services were held for the president of the Polish Republic.
In addition to merchants, the Jews of Zamosc were craftsmen of various trades. There were carpenters, metalworkers, blacksmiths, joiners, painters, leather specialists and cobblers. There were poor water carriers too. Yes, because at that time the houses didn’t have running water. So these people would bring water from the well on the market square, and they were happiest when someone was doing the washing because then more water was needed and they earned more. I also remember that there were servants – also Jewesses – in the wealthier households. These were young girls from nearby towns. They saved up their wages for their dowry. There were those who didn’t find a husband, and they would pay for a Torah for the synagogue out of the money they had saved up.
In Zamosc there were people of all different convictions, both Zionists and Bundists [6]. There were communists, too. Wealthy people and the intelligentsia were usually Zionists. The communists had a lot of supporters among the poor. That was because they had effective propaganda. [The egalitarian ideal of communism naturally attracted the poor everywhere. It was not merely because of the successful propaganda.] They said that everyone would have work and be equal, and they didn’t offend the Jews.
There were Hasidim as well, of course. I remember that they invited a tzaddik to come and live among them. It started with a long exchange of letters. I think he came from Gora Kalwaria [7]. He came to Zamosc by train. There were crowds waiting at the station, not just Hasidim but other Jews, too, and even Poles. I ran down there with a group of my friends. That was a big event in Zamosc. Many people went out of curiosity, to see what would happen.
The Hasidim had hired all the carriages in the town. They put the tzaddik in the first, best-looking one, drawn by white horses, and drove him to the house they had prepared for him on Lubelskie Przedmiescie Street. Colorful lamps were strung out all along the route. About 100 meters before they reached the house the Hasidim unharnessed the horses and pulled the carriage themselves. After that they would all go to the tzaddik on Fridays and Saturdays to be blessed. I remember that because we often used to go down there and peer in through the window. I saw the tzaddik take the challah, bless it and then crumble it into small pieces, which his followers took because it was blessed [shirayem]. I saw them dancing and rejoicing – that was how they prayed to the Lord.
Rare events like the arrival of the tzaddik were attractions for people who lived in a town like ours. People liked to go and see unusual things. Once, word got around that in a neighboring village there was a sleepwalker. I didn’t go, I was too small, but lots of people gathered to see him. It was a moonlit summer night, and everyone stood around in the street and hushed each other so as not to wake him as he walked along the roofs of the houses with his arms outstretched.
We lived right by the square. Our family was relatively well off; you couldn’t say that we were rich, but we didn’t go hungry. We lived in a town house and our apartment overlooked the town square. And all around the square in Zamosc are arcades, so when it was raining you could walk all the way round without an umbrella. On the ground floor of the house was a Jewish bakery.
Period
Location
Zamosc
Poland
Interview
Mieczyslaw Weinryb