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The ‘Torah Vodaas’ School

By 19th May 2017November 1st, 2018Religion, Zawiercie

EXCERPT FROM APPENDIX A – NATIONAL AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS FROM ZAWIERCIE

“Everything that had an influence on my spiritual development later on in life, stems mainly, from the time when I started going in the above mentioned modern cheder (more correctly, school). The school “Torah Vodaas” was situated on the Marszalkowska Street, in Hendel Hammer’s house. It was there that the headquarters of the Mizrachi and Zeirei Mizrachi were located. The classrooms there were large ones, and had large windows. Hanging on the walls in the largest room, were portraits of Herzl, of Rabbi Mohilever and Rabbi Kook, as well as of our national poet Bialik…

The school was somewhat of a revolution in the life of religious Jews in Zawiercie, just as the Mizrachi movement was at that time in Zawiercie…

I spent my time in the classrooms of “Torah Vodaas” not only during school hours. I would go there also on Shabbat and on certain evenings, when Zeirei Mizrachi held their meetings. My father would often take me along to the debates and speeches. Despite the fact that I was still a child – and I would often fall asleep during the debates and discussions – a lot of it nevertheless remained engraved in my memory…

Unfortunately, many of the activists in “Mizrachi” and “Zeirei Mizrachi” had planned to make aliya, but due to family commitments they did not manage to actualise their plans (this was also the case with my father). My father’s friend Yehoshua Grinberg returned from Israel. Sadly, he did not survive the war. I also did not hear from his son Avraham, one of the best in the “Torah Vodaas” school, after the great catastrophe. My father, my mother, my youngest brother Leib and my younger sister Naomi died in Auschwitz.”

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