“Here Lies a Perfect and Upright Man”: Jewish Epitaphs from Drohiczyn, Poland

“Here Lies a Perfect and Upright Man”: Jewish Epitaphs from Drohiczyn, Poland Heidi M. Szpek, Ph.D. Associate Professor Central Washington University Western Jewish Studies Association Conference Portland State University 18-19 March 2007 Introduction days, neighbors and friends felt obliged to inquire where and wherefore.2 Our town Drohichin [sic] was but one drop of water in that great sea that was The Drohiczyn of which Rabbi Shalom- once Eastern European Jewry, but this drop contained, in miniature, all that Shahne writes is of the Pre-World War II was in that great mass: hasidim and mithnagdim; scholars as well as simple Jewish community of about 700 folk; rich men and beggars; businessmen members whose presence dates back to and poor artisans; squanderers and misers; softies and tough guys; the 13th century, though officially provincials and sophisticates; maskilim th 3 of modern type and old time melamdim; established in the 18 century. Writes buffoons and loafers. Moshe Tzur, in the Forward to the In NE Poland, approximately 114km Drohiczyn Yizkor Book: south of Białystok, is this small town of Drohichin [sic] was a small town, indeed. It conducted its life in modesty Drohiczyn, so described by Rabbi and humbleness. Its inhabitants did not aspire to greatness, because the burden Shalom-Shahne Poley (Polakewich) in of their meager material existence was the Yizkor [memorial/record] book of heavy on each and all. Yet, in spite of all this, its spiritual and social life was 1 Drohiczyn. Rabbi Shalom-Shane also inspired by faith in the goodness and writes: higher meaning of human existence. For the older and deeply religious folks it Drohichin Jews … made up a was the sacred belief in the Hereafter community of about 200 families. (olam habah); while for the younger, Everybody knew everybody else's and more secular elements, it was the business and the other fellow's good and ardent belief and struggle for a better bad points — this, from the esteemed and brighter world of equality and Rabbi down to the humblest water justice. Both, the religious as well as carrier. It was also a community where secular and worldly elements, shared the people cared for one another; and, lot of our six million brethren in Europe should anybody not be seen for a few who perished at the hands of Nazi © Heidi M. Szpek, 2017 Szpek, “Here Lies a Perfect and Upright Man” Germany's brutal and beastly contains a concise epithet for the murderers. 4 deceased. Women are acknowledged June 22, 1941 marked the day when the most often as important and modest, Nazi forces overran the Russian troops occasionally described as ‘a woman of and invaded Drohiczyn. The next seven valor’ – suggesting comparison with months would be marked by labor Proverb 31’s Woman of Valor. While details for the able-bodied Jewish men of men, in particular, are most frequently Drohiczyn and the establishment of a extolled as ‘perfect and upright’, ‘God- ghetto with all its restrictions. By fearing’, ‘one who walked in perfection’ January 1942, rumors of liquidation or ‘a man old and full of days’ – epithets circulated; some Jews went into hiding, that immediately draw reference to the others fled, while others remained to biblical Job. Such Joban epithets are not 5 eventually be transported to Treblinka. unique to the Drohiczyn epigraphs, but Drohiczyn, today, is a Catholic and are also evidenced in varying Russian Orthodox community of proportions on Jewish epigraphs from approximately 2100 people. Guidebooks the Netherlands to Poland to the Ukraine encourage visitors to Drohiczyn for both to Slovania.8 its ‘charm’ and rich history as evidenced Previous research of Jewish by three Catholic Church complexes, an epigraphs began with early Polish th 18 century Russian Orthodox Church historians (1930s), who described Jewish 6 and a nearby medieval castle. However, tombstone epitaphs as ‘exaggerated all that remains of Drohiczyn’s Jewish clichés that have nothing to do with the 7 community are approximately fifty-four dead person’, ‘a Baroque ornament modest boulder-style tombstones in its composed from a wreath of words and cemetery on the banks of the Bug River, phrases’, ‘pompous’, and ‘overloaded with dates ranging from 5630 to 5680 thus hard to understand’.9 More recent (1870-1920AD). research (1980s) acknowledges that The Hebrew epitaphs on these while these epitaphs may reflect the Jewish tombstones are quite brief, hoped for attributes of the deceased by providing basic genealogical living relatives, they do also reflect the information. Yet each tombstone also “the system of values accepted by the Page 2 of 11 Szpek, “Here Lies a Perfect and Upright Man” Jewish community” in Pre-World War II The Drohiczyn Epitaphs Poland10 and most recent scholarship The tombstones at Drohiczyn were looks to the linguistic details of photographed in 1989 by Polish tombstone inscriptions11 or emphasizes historian Tomasz Wiśniewski. that “carved tombstones are one of the Wiśniewski’s collection contains 93 most notable expressions of traditional images, 54 of which preserve epitaphs Jewish art.”12 The present paper legible (in varying degrees); one image challenges the trivializing assertions of is quite dark, making translation Early Polish historians and seeks to impossible; another image contains the advance the generalizing tendencies of fragments of two to four tombstones.14 recent (1980s) scholarship, while not Fifty-four epitaphs are here considered: denying the linguistic and artistic value 29 tombstones of men and 25 of women. of Jewish tombstones. Drawing on the The women are most frequently extolled presupposition of one trend of literary as ‘important and modest’, a few criticism that a text preserves both “the ‘worthy and modest’, some simply social and historical conditions of the ‘important’ or ‘modest’, one is ‘a text’s production,”13 the present woman of valor, God-fearing, modest’, examination of the Drohiczyn epitaphs, and another ‘a proper woman among in conjunction with the characterization woman, the modest [Feiga]’. Three of Job as found in the Talmud, the epitaphs lack any adjectives, one of Midrash, medieval commentators and which is that of a young girl, suggesting select Post-Modern to contemporary such accolades are truly bestowed in Jewish thinkers, and the frequent use of honor of a lengthier life. Yet these Joban language in epithets on Pre-WWII epithets seem to accord with Rabbi Jewish epitaphs throughout Europe, will Shalom-Shane Poley’s characterization demonstrate the esteem accorded the of Drohiczyn’s women: biblical Job among European Jewry and The pious women of Drohichin [sic] were really marvelous. They made good just as significantly, that tombstone housekeepers, fine business-women and epithets function as a ‘mirror’ of the wonderful mothers. As a rule, they worked harder and much more than their spiritual community of Drohiczyn, husbands. They also accepted their lot as a matter of course.15 Poland. Page 3 of 11 Szpek, “Here Lies a Perfect and Upright Man” epitaphs also ask remembrance of the deceased’s “toil”, four epitaphs acknowledge his dedication to the study of Torah, and three are also noted as “aged/old.” Of the remaining three epitaphs that seem to lack Joban language, two belong to young men ‘cut off in the prime of their lives’ and one of an ‘old’ man. Of the young men’s epitaphs, one potentially preserves the Joban characterization using the single Of the 29 tombstones of men, 25 term ‘upright’. As for the old/elderly preserve epithets reminiscent of the man, perhaps the use of /zaqen/ suffices biblical Job as found in Job 1:1 “There to make the Joban connection to Job was a man in the land of Uz whose name 42:17. was Job and that man was perfect and Contemporary commentaries on Job upright and God-fearing and one who provide some insight regarding the turns from evil.” Thus, Drohiczyn’s men nuances of such Joban terminology. are acknowledged as “a perfect and Hebrew tam weyashar, here rendered upright man” (8); “perfect and upright, “perfect and upright’, has also been God-fearing” (4), “perfect and upright, rendered into English as ‘blameless and God-fearing and compassionate”, “God- upright’. Hebrew ‘tam’ “carries the fearing, perfect and upright” (2), “an sense of perfection in terms of upright man who walked in the way of completeness while the second [yashar] the pious”(4), “an upright man who is connected with the idea of straight. walked in perfection”(2), “an upright “Taken together they indicate the peak man (who) walked in perfection and is of moral perfection,” writes Pope.16 God-fearing”(1), “an upright man who Dhorme writes: “Its [tam] exact meaning walked in the way of the goodly”(1); is that a thing or a person is intrinsically “one who walked in perfection and perfect, whilst the root ysr “to be uprightness” (1) or, as in Job 42:17, upright, just” suggests rather perfection “aged and full of days”(1). Six of these Page 4 of 11 Szpek, “Here Lies a Perfect and Upright Man” in relation to others.”17 Habel sees this ‘one-word pair tam weyashar as interpreted by the following ‘two-word idioms’ weyare elohim wesar mera’ (“God-fearing and one who turns from evil”).18 Habel writes further: The adjective tam, “blameless”, and the Drohiczyn Jewish cemetery is not related noun tumma, “integrity,” are key thematic terms which focus on Job who unique in its use of such ‘Joban’ epithets is a person who is whole, free from sin, in the epitaphs of men. Such language is completely right with God, and at peace with his world … An “upright” (yasar) found (in varying degrees) on epitaphs individual is honest, true and faithful to the path of righteousness (Prov.

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