Shtetl Routes. Vestiges of Jewish cultural heritage in cross-border tourism in borderland of Poland, Belarus and Ukraine
Shtetl Routes. Vestiges of Jewish cultural heritage in cross-border tourism in borderland of Poland, Belarus and Ukraine
Ukr. Березне, Yid. בערעזנע
Berezne had its venerable scribes. It had its Maskilim and its dissenters, tax collectors and social activists, and even its own lunatics. The Jewish life was a peaceful river. Szuls were crowded with the Jews studying the Talmud among the yellowed books.
Ukr. Казімеж-Дольни, קוזמיר Yid.
Even in terms of its landscape, Kazimierz belonged to the world of Polish Jews. It resembled a page from a women’s prayer book, a prayer book with shining, silver corners or old gravure which anonymous Jewish masters from a bygone era engraved with great piety on the Polish land, wanting to present vividly what Poyln means [...].
Bel. МендзырэчПадляскі, Ukr. Межиріччя, Yid. מעזעריטש
On the wall of our youth club it was written: ‘Ignore your father’s preaching, remember your mother's teaching’.
First mentions of the Jewish community of Navahrudak date back to 1529. In the 16th century, the Jewish community became an integral part of the town and an active participant in its social, economic, and spiritual life.
Lith. Seinai, Rus. Сейны, Yid. סייני
It was blue here. Up there there were polychrome paintings. This is the balcony where my mother and younger brothers were standing.
Yid. שעברעשין, Rus. Щебрешин
What is the name of this place?—He thundered.
The old man started to mumble. The commander screamed: Speak up! Speak up! And when the old man still didn’t stop mumbling, he was struck in the face, and a tooth was knocked out. The old Jew bent down to pick up his tooth and sadly said in Hebrew, Sheber-shin. Broken tooth: Sheber-Shin.
Oh, that’s better!—said the commander, as he dutifully marked his primitive map. And so Shebreshin become the official name of this tiny shtetl—at least for Jews all over the world.
Bel. Тыкоцин, Yid.טיקטין
Sometimes we had to paddle across the prayer room in boats to take the Torah scrolls out of the aron ha-kodesh. This is what happened during the previous flood in 1938.
Bel. Уладава, Ukr. Влодава, Yid.וולאָדאַווע
Eyes keep looking, they want to capture everything, to resurrect everything;
everything as it used to be?
