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(Based on the book „Jewish cemetery in Brzesko” by Iwona Zawidzka, Brzesko, 2001; used with permission from the author and the publishing house) It is difficult to determine the time when Jews first settled in Brzesko (Jews called the city Briegel, בריגל). Most probably, they were not here until the end of the fifteenth century, […]
Mundek (Chaim Jakub) Strauber, son of the merchant Israel Ber Strauber and Estera née Bruck, was born on November 3, 1908 in Dolina (now in Ukraine, before the war in the Tarnopol Province in Poland). The family moved to Brzesko, where Mundek attended secondary school in 1920-1927. He was listed in the documents as Chaim […]
“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children….” (Deut. 6: 6-7) Following this instruction in the Torah, Jews have always taken the education of their children very seriously. Due to this, teachers have played an important role in every Jewish community. Jewish boys from religious families […]
Jewish communities used to maintain their own registers of births, marriages, and deaths, and the registrars who fulfilled that function were held in high esteem.. In Galicia (in the Austrian partition), following the 1868 law, the authorities had to appoint a special person to keep Jewish community registers. Such a person was to meet a […]
Each synagogue employed a Shammes (sexton) to manage the building’s facilities. His job included looking after the prayer books, preparing the Torah scrolls for use, lighting candles before the Sabbath, helping the rabbi, and waking men for morning prayers. The matzevas of two people who held this position, Abraham Eliezer Templer and Joseph Schmalzer, have […]
The Hebrew word Sofer refers to a professional scribe who can transcribe the Torah scrolls used during synagogue services and other religious texts that must be handwritten, such as tefillin and mezuzas. Many scribes also function as calligraphers—writing functional documents such as ketubas (marriage contracts). It is a responsible and highly respected job. A sofer […]
The job of a traditional rabbi (the word is from Hebrew רבי, meaning ‘master’or ‘teacher’) is to lead the Jewish religious community, answer questions on religious matters relating to everyday life and Jewish ritual, write religious books, and provide elementary schooling for boys in a Cheder. In contrast to Christianity, there is no hierarchy in […]
Henoch Klapholz, son of Jukel and Liebe, was born in Nowy Sącz on November 3, 1849. By 1867 he had moved to Brzesko: that year he married Ruchel Kreindel Cellnik, daughter of Isak Mojżesz and Simcha Cellnik from Brzesko. Over the next 12 years, six children were born to them: Leib (1869). Meilech (1874), Kasriel […]
Yehudah (Juda) Kaufman (1839-1923), son of Samuel Leib and Gittla from Zborowa, was one of the most respected Bresko Jews. He was a shochet (ritual slaughterer) and a mohel – for several decades he circumcised all Jewish boys born in Brzesko. In Judaism, circumcision is a religious obligation that symbolizes the divine covenant with the […]
On March 1, 2022, the Association “Memory and Dialogue. Common History” and Municipal Public Library in Brzesko announced a photo competition “Traces of memory”. The project was inspired by Daniel Nalepka. The goal of the competition is to find the most interesting photos showing the material traces of the presence of the Jewish community in […]