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1 THE SER-CHARLAP FAMILY NEWSLETTER Vol. 5, No. 3. Tishrei 5755; September 1994 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RETURN TO TYKOCIN by Rabbi Irving Lehrman Dr. Irving Lehnnan is the founding rabbi of Temple Emanu-El on Miami Beach. This article was submitted by Sol Char/off (4403 ,Pl.A-9a) who believes Rabbi Lehrman to be a descendant of the Charlaps. Certainly, Tykocin (Iiktin) was a beloved home to our ancestors. Rabbi Lehnnan 's link to the Ser-Charlap family is being investigated. · My wife, Belle, and I always return from our annual summer pilgrimage to Israel enriched and uplifted, this year being no exception. We found the country seething with excitement over the widening peace process. The atmosphere was charged with the passionate discussions taking place everywhere. But this year the highlight of our trip was a visit to the place where I was born, a little town in Poland named • Tykocin (or Tiktin, as we called it). Here my parents were married; here I was raised and lived until we left the country when I was about seven. When I last visited Poland in 1947, immediately after .the Holocaust, I wanted desperately to go to Tiktin. The town of my memory was prosperous, bustling, happy. But in 1947 I was discouraged by everyone. I was told that the entire Jewish community had been destroyed by the Nazis, that the cemetery had been desecrated, that the beautiful synagogue that I attended with my family had been converted to a storehouse. I did not go. When Hitler wiped out the Jewish communities of Europe, he did not just destroy cities, towns, and villages. He destroyed great institutions of learning. Every community, large or small, housed a great academy where the Torah was studied and taught, where students of all ages poured day and night over sacred tomes. Such a community was Tiktin, home of 3,000 Jews and widely acclaimed for its brilliant scholars and sages. Only by chance did I recently learn that the Tiktin synagogue had been restored by the Polish government, that it is now a museum, a tourist attraction. Determined to relive. my childhood, I boarded an El Al flight to Warsaw. Through the years I often spoke of the huge statue in the city square that dominated my world. That is where I played with my friends and bloodied my bare feet on the cobblestones in the summer. I remembered the home in which we lived on the shore of the Narew River. From there my grandfather, a lumber merchant, shipped logs to Germany. What a thrill it was to find it all still there and to retrace my steps from the statue of Marshall Zarnecki (a Polish military hero) to my home, a two-story building on the corner of Brovarna. Miraculously, it was among the few original buildings still standing. On the outside, it was as I remembered it. Inside, it had been remodeled into small apartments. When the guide explained to a resident who I was, she immediately remembered my grandfather's family name, Dinowitz. [ed. note:Dinowitz is most likely the same name as Danowitz, one branch of our family.] I visited the cemetery hoping to find some remnant of my grandfather's grave. Alas, it was desolate. Every (continued next page) 2 TYKOCIN (cont.) ALL I GOT WAS WORDS headstone had been removed to construct houses or pave roads. There was nothing to see or mourn. This poem, whose author remains anonymous, was submitted by Ben As I entered the synagogue, my heart beat faster. Kristal of St. Augustine, Florida. There were _the same great bronze chandeliers hanging When I was young and fancy free, from the high ceiling. There were the walls on which an My folks had no fine clothes for me. unknown artist bad lovingly inscribed Hebrew quotations All I got was words: from the psalms, the prophets, the Talmud. There was the ornate blue and gold trim that decorated the ark and Gott tzu danken columns. Gott vet geben For 300 years this has been admired as among 'ZIJln mir leben un zein gezunt the most beautiful synagogues in Poland. Today, with so many others destroyed, it is the country's largest. There When I was wont to travel far, I stood, in the empty sanctuary, looking back into the They didn't provide for me a car. past. It was as if I could see my father and my All I got was words: grandfather sitting in their customary seats. As recorded cantorial music filled the silence, I broke down and Geh gezunt wept. A glorious synagogue - without Jews. A Geh pamelech magnificent Torah ark - now empty, devoid of its scrolls Hub a glickiche raize of the Law. This was a community dating from the 14th century, steeped in Jewish living and rich in spiritual and I wanted to increase my knowledge, cultural values. Nothing but a deserted shell remained to But they wouldn't send me to college remind one of a glorious past. All I got was words: Then, quite suddenly, I remembered the miracle of rebirth in the Land of Israel. My tears became tears Hub saychel of joy as I thanked G_ d that there is a State of Israel z.ei nischt kein narr today and I thanked Him that there is a United States of Torah iz di beste schorah America. Hatred destroyed my Tiktin and so many other The years have flown, the world has turned. Tiktins in human history. If we are to learn anything Things I've gotten; things I've learned, constructive from the agony of the Holocaust, we must Yet I remember: always remember the terrible evil that hatred inflicts on all touched by it. 'ZIJg dem emes The prophet Malachi asked, "Have we not all Gib tzedoka,h one father? Hath not one G_d created us all? Why shall Hub rachmonas we deal treacherously one with another?" ili I pray that the day will come when the world a mensch! will heed this sacred plea and live by it. ********************************************* All I got was words. ******** HThe family is one of nature's masterpieces. " - George Santayana ***********~********************************* TOALL OUR DEAR THE SER-CHARLAP FAMILY NEWSLETTER is published quarterly. We encourage submittal of news RELATIVES & FRIENDS items, essays, poems, and historical articles. Correspondence should be directed to: h:ui~.n re,t1 nlte~I Arthur F. Menton, Editor P.O. Box 108 MAY OUR ENTIRE FAMILY Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 11724 AND ALL ISRAEL Tel. and Fax.: (516)754-1742 FIND HEALTH, HAPPINESS, AND PEACE Copyright © 1994 IN THE YEAR 5755 All rights reserved Arthur & Nancy Menton 3 JAZZ AND THE PRECIOUS LEGACY by David L. Hurwitz (4062,Pl.A-3ab) David Hurwitz has contributed sev~ral essays for publication in the Newsletter. This piece continues his role as our nculture critic". Once again I enjoyed a great evening of music at New York's 92nd Street YM/YWHA, thanks to the talent, showmanship, and eminence of our own Dick Hyman (3716,Pl.A-3); Dick not only performs at the Y, he is Artistic Director-the "showman" who makes these concerts the memorable occasions they are. He coordinates with the producer, my friend Hadassah Binder Markson, long prominent in music and performing arts. Hadassah is the daughter of the late Abraham Binder, prolific composer of Jewish music, both liturgical and secular. Dick chose July 27th as 11 All In the Family" night, which is quick becoming an annual event. The program announced that "Tonight's talented performers offer an intergenerational family musicale." And it was mainly a celebration of our family. Dick made his first appearance on stage to warm applause, looking as youthful and fit as he did a year ago (jazz is evidently an elixir of youth). He explained the family theme of the evening and introduced his cousin Bill Charlap (3787 ,Pl. A-6a), pianist and rising star in the jazz world. Dick descends from Yehuda Leib Charlap (3148,Pl.A), as I do. Bill is in the line of Ze'ev Charlap (3146), Yehuda Leib's brother. Early in the show, Sandy Stewart (3783,Pl.A-6a) sang "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" and I was wondering whether she had in mind Ze'ev, or maybe even his father Abraham Charlap, progenitor of our entire family tree. Or she may have been thinking of her late husband, Morris "Moose" Charlap (3780), the Broadway composer whose life was sadly cut short at age 54. Our family's prodigious musical talent was also represented by Tommy Charlap (3785), Bill's half-brother, on bass fiddle. And when Dick's daughter Judy (3720) and her husband joined in with a blend of American country melodies fused with ragtime and jazz and played with violins, ukeleles, and banjoes - the audience was almost dancing in the aisles. After the concert I repaired with other friends and family members to a reception room adjoining the concert hall. Among others, I was happy to chat once again with Julia Gaines Hyman (3718), Dick's lovely wife. It was her contagious enthusiasm for Charlap family genealogy that first attracted me years ago to this absorbing involvement and in turn brought my immediate family to Arthur Menton's (58,Pl.3c) attention. Of course, Dick comes from an illustrious background. His father, mentioned several times in past issues of the Newsletter, was Joseph Charlap Hyman (3714), famed especially for his leadership roles in important organizations including the Jewish Agency For Palestine (starting 1929) and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. Joseph is given a prominent writeup, accompanied by a photograph, in Who's Who In American Jewry.