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This is taken from Hamelitz 1881 March 29th, Issue 11, page 215.
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| Prayers on the Death of the Kaiser |
10) Visoky d'Lita (District Horodno). From there reports Mr. M---Varsh—sky [probably Varshavsky] on the 9th of March that when the sad news arrived (date not mentioned) crowds streamed to the big synagogue to pray for the spirit of the deceased Kaiser and the next morning they blessed the new Kaiser and swore allegiance to him and the scholar, our teacher, Rabbi Liv"a Rabinovitsh from Oshmina delivered his sermon in Russian in memory of the deceased Kaiser and expressed his hope that the new Kaiser would follow in his father's footsteps and will do good to his people.
| Notes: Kaiser: Almost certainly, the Czar of Russia rather than the ruler of Germany: According to this article, Czar Aleksandr II Nikolaevich was assassinated on 13 March 1881, with the consequence of future anti-Jewish pogroms and legislation. It is not clear if asassination was omitted here from ignorance or delicacy. Oshmina: possibly today's Ašmiany. In those days a small town to the south-east of Vilna (Vilnius), and a considerable distance north-east of Wysokie Litewskie. The new Kaiser: According to this article, Czar Alexander III of Russia began his rule in 1883, and reversed the liberalizing policies of his father. In this context, the mourning of the townspeople for the father was genuine and Rabbi Rabinovitsh's hope for the successor-son was sadly in vain. |
