This article by Morris Gevirtz
is about “political” events, shenks, people --called by name-- and customs in Volchin
A Turmoil in Volchin
Volchin was in a turmoil. It concerned Shmuelye Wolf – Ber’s son-in-law. Ber had a dry goods store. Shmuelye married Ber’s daughter just two or three years previously. With the help of his wife Feigel and her two sisters – Chana Rive and Feige Malke he founded a modern and practical school. Shmuelye was the chief teacher, working with the higher classes while his wife and sister-in-law worked with the lower classes. All of a sudden Shmuelye has become a “socialist” “who wanted not less than to overthrow His Majesty the Tzar.
In other words: Volchin, Visoke, Brisk and all the surrounding villages together with Peterburg and all of Russia will be left without a Keiser. And instead – Shmuel will lead the ‘Socialists’. This turn of events enraged the people of Volchin: the parents of the children in the school, and those whose children did not attend that school, because what will become of Volchin without a teacher? What was for a while the pride of Volchin - was now questionable.
On a Sunday morning before the morning prayer, a few wagons appeared from the Visoki road with secret agents followed by horse-mounted soldiers with “shining bare swords.” They surrounded the house of Tzina Sheinkerke, Shmuelie’s place and the school, enclosing the area as if they were besieging a fortress… a few of the civilian-dressed agents broke into the house through the back door while the mounted soldiers were outside blocking anyone from getting in or out the house.
Tzina’s house stood on the mountain near the road that stretches to Panikev on the way to Yanove. She was a divorcee with two daughters: Roize and Feigel and two sons: Berl and Avrehme. They made a living by renting the house as a shenk [tavern] where the passing by farmers used to come in for a freshly baked roll, marinated herring and, on the sly, some whisky that was under Tzina’s sole custody and very well hidden by her. While no Volchiner shenk was allowed to sell spirits, there were more shenks than clients in Volchin “that is: owners of shenks without alcohol”. Another shenk, in a larger spacious house, also on a mountain, was owned by Simkhe Shenker. Between them – Hershel Mordechai son of Simkhe . A bit farther, Chayim David’s house, where a Gentile used to enjoy Roizele’s “freshly baked Challah, fried herring and a small cup of a 96-er”. David made a good living and actually did not need his wife’s (Roise) turnover. Then, Yitzkhak Hersh, the bagel-baker’s house where Toybe, his wife, had her say. Yoelke son of Aba’s house was for long years in partnership with Moshe and Shmuelke –sons of Michael - the shtetl butchers - together with his own brother, Feivel. He managed the big business and was also a wheat-trader. Added to that there was his spice shop run by his wife Ite Milke. Even this house was not free of being a shenk. That part was in the hands of the old Bashe, Yoelke’s mother, skipping from place to place with a bunch of keys to show her son that she was still working for her upkeep. She did not hold back scolding her daughter in law and her grandchildren – Natke and Ben-Zion. And in Berl Hershe’s house or Moshe Dubovoyers there was all week-long baking of pastry for the inhabitants of Volchin who did not bake themselves. Some, in between baking and cooking, would drop in to one or the other shenks. Other visitors to the shenks were Yoseph Eliyahu son of Mordechai and Lipe Gutvokh, who at age 70 did not have one white hair either on his head or in his beard. The latter did not miss a prayer in the synagogue, always with a clean suit freshly pressed, and unlike any other Volchiner – with tidy shining boots. There were also the distinguished shenks with doors open and flash-lamps [blitz lompen] burning till the latest hours of night; especially on nights before a fair when man and wife prepared cooked, baked pastry, and made drinks.
The divorcee, Tzina, rented out the back of her house to Shmuelye because she needed the money.
Good-Looking Shmuel
Shmuel was not just anybody. He arrived in Volchin with a certificate of having finished 8 years of high school and an authorization to teach.
In fact he did not have to know many languages and knowledge of all the books.
His looks were enough. He had a small trimmed beard, and mustache, his dark glasses with a dark rim that covered half of his face hiding the color of his eyes. He wore fashionable clothes - striped trousers, a dark vest and a coal black jacket. He turned girls’ head.
He did not use to look into your face when talking to you if you managed to exchange some words with him. He turned his head to the side, talking Russian as if to himself. He was nicknamed Shmuelye Stepankiak…
The Rabbi Khayim Tuvye
In the synagogue, on Shabbat, the rabbi for many years R’ Khayim Tuvye did not earn that much of good manners from the congregation as did Shmuelye. He used to enter when prayer was already in process, throw his small Tales around his shoulders unlike the custom in Volchin which was: wrapping oneself in the tales and cite a few blessings with great spirit. He seemed indifferent and would turn his back to the congregation, kept standing, head towatds the horizon, where the river of Volchin leads to the Veksel and its banks lead to the meadows, where Volchin attends to its horses and cows. He would not utter a word or shockl his body until the end of the prayer.
It was customary to call people to recite maftir in return for a certain donation to cover the expenses of the synagogue. No contribution was requested from a high-ranking guest. They did call upon Shmuelye for the maftir with extra pomposity. However “Mr. Stepaniak did not move from his place.” The congregation started murmuring, the chief Shames signed to the under-shames – 80 years old Morris Leib who had the courage to go over to Shmuelye, clap his back and call: maftir! Shmuelye did not even turn his head, kept it pointing to the eastern wall and just nodded his head to mean: NO. Usually such behavior would be counted as a defamation of God and would call for measures. However, the Rabbi knew with whom he was dealing. He made a movement with his hand to mean: “There is nothing to get angry about” raised his index finger and winked at Rabbi Yoseph Eliyahu, Mordechai’s son, today the chief Shames and previously the respected merchant and the owner of a water-mill. In a tragic accident he lost his left arm in the mill. He had to give up the mill. The provider for the family was his second wife who managed a store in the market place, and took care of the orphans of the first dead wife. Rabbi Eliyahu had a big house near the synagogue. He was a scholar and often substituted for the Kazinior Rabbi. After the tragedy that befell him, Yoseph Eliyahu removed himself from the public eye, even to the extent that he avoided praying in the synagogue. the Rabbi preferred to let the stricken man become a chief shames in place of the very old shames - Michael. The Rabbi ignored the honored house-holders such as Yisraleye Kremer, Moshe son of Yente Chane and Mendel son of Nekhama.
After that event with Shmuelye who did not respond to the honor of reading the maftir, it was understood in Volchin that this honor should not be offered to such people and that such people should be ignored. As a matter of fact nobody even alluded to the event in his Shmuelye’s presence. In secret there was a rumor that his wife did not go to the Mikve in Volchin. In other cases it would cause a turmoil and great anger, and such a person would be even cast out of the community.
When the agents with the mounted soldiers surrounded the house, people thought that maybe someone informed on Tzina’s shenk -- that it sold alcohol without a permit.
However, for such a reason - one mounted soldier would have been enough.
The mystery was solved soon enough , when the agents came out of the house carrying with them endless cases full of books and papers and all kinds of stamps, various machines and weapons. Now everybody understood what kind of character this Shmuelye was and why he chose the half-sleeping Volchin, far from a railway, far from the noise of big cities, to carry on his “socialistic” ventures.
This is not all. On top of being a leader as shown by the evidence in the books, the agents also found a list of the young brats he led – Israelke Tzlalke son of Koval, Aleter son of Libe Rikel, Bertche Shmuelke son of Katzav, Markl Binyamin son of Stoliar, Berele son of Henakh. Moreover, it was discovered that Shmuelye used false certificates for graduating high school, as well as the authorized license to teach. In truth, he was a good teacher and the pupils were drawn to him like to a magnet.
All Volchiners were energized. They formed groups and discussed the event continuously. Out of thin air, secret agents mingled in the groups trying to pick up names of corroborators and to find out where Shmuelye and wife were. They could find out easily because the whole of Volchin knew that they were attending a family wedding in Brisk. Time ran out, the gang was not in a hurry, they were invited to eat at some friends, and the people of Volchin became worried. Some figured out with great precision how long it would take to return from Brisk: the train from Brisk to Listshitz, the station before Volchin, arrives around twelve. From there they hire a horse with a cart to Volchin. That will take an hour or an hour and a half. That meant that they will arrive around one o’clock or half past one and straight into the lion’s mouth. This cannot be allowed. What can be done? People began murmuring, afraid even to talk Yiddish. They mixed Yiddish with Hebrew words in a sentence “a horse from the butchers stable…” Motye Yosl, the only son of Kateyokh, the bookbinder, figured out the meaning of the mixed sentence; the butchers always had in their stable well-nourished horses.
So he ran over there, caught one horse without the hitch or the harness and without a saddle, and started riding it along the wide road through Eliyahu Moshe Tzuprik’s mill on the way to a Listshitz.
However, Motye soon discovered that the gang outsmarted him. One of the gang saw him and called out to him: Where are you running? Not waiting for an answer, he told Motye in Russian that he must turn back or else he would be decapitated…
While this was going on, one of Shmuelye’s pupils, Yudl Projan, sneaked out to the meadow area where the community’s herds of cows and horses were kept, chose the best horse and even without a saddle or harness, put a strap around the horse’s neck and galloped. The horse was not used to being ridden this way and things could have ended in a bad way for Yudl. However, he skirted the main road to Listshitz, and very soon encountered Shmuelke the farmer on his leased farm in the midst of his daily chores. Out of breath, words spurted out of Yudle’s mouth about the grave situation and the possibility that Shmuelye might get life-imprisonment. The farmer understood immediately, told Yudl to walk into his house, tell his family he will return soon, and stay there.
Shmuelke the farmer, despite his limping leg, galloped on his own horse and arrived at the ticket-office just as it was about to close. He bought two tickets as he saw the train arriving. He saw Shmuelye and wife descending the train, ran to them shoved the two tickets into their hands saying quickly, “You have been turned in. They may be waiting to arrest you right here. Get on the train and take off to Warsaw.”
Like conspirators, man and wife returned to the train not before uttering that they are leaving behind, in Volchin, their only daughter, but will find a way to get her…
They knew they would never return to Volchin.
Volchin was able to breathe again…
