Memoirs of Simon Deutsch, a Proud Munkatcher
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Memoirs of Simon Deutsch, a proud Munkatcher Translated by Ken Blady [ Published for non-commercial use only by permission of Carol Deutsch] Courtesy of Preeva (née ADLER) TRAMIEL, USA 1 page hay 2 3 Introduction 4 5 The world says: “Not everything can be written down—and not everything that is written 6 is permitted to be printed.” So, I did as much as possible like what my father taught me, 7 “Sit tight and don’t do anything more than is necessary”—I haven’t printed everything 8 that I’ve written. I also follow my father’s dictum not to tell everything that I know, 9because I could make myself look like a half-wit in the eyes of the good Jews. His rebbe, 10the Insdorfer Rav, once admonished him not to talk about things he had revealed to him 11 during the First World War in regard to the Coming of the Moshiach. As he writes in his 12work, Toldos Shmuel, (Ch. XI)—in the time of war, “And the Master went by himself 13 and he closed the door and discussed with me various significant issues; and he 14 admonished me to be faithful and transparent, and not to hide anything.” 15 16 My father was well known among the students of Insdorf, and he was following in the 17 tradition of his rebbe. Regarding the issue of the Redemption--hayn goaltee eschem 18achariss k’beraishiss ,”--which we say every Shabbis in the “Keser” prayer, my father 19 taught me at every opportunity that the translation of these words means that we will be 20 redeemed from the last exile with the same trials and tribulations as with the First Exile 21 [of 586 BCE]. And, indeed, we saw this and survived it. Because of this I am giving 1 of 235 Memoirs of Simon Deutsch, a proud Munkatcher Translated by Ken Blady [ Published for non-commercial use only by permission of Carol Deutsch] Courtesy of Preeva (née ADLER) TRAMIEL, USA 22 myself the power and the license to articulate my own personal experience, and describe 23 it thewayIsaw itwithmyveryowneyes, andhow Ifelt itinmybodyand soul,because 24 I take to heart my father’s words, being his child. And just as we saw the test of the exile 25 being actualized, so also do I believe that the redemption from the exile will take place 26 speedily in our time. 27 28 I am by no means a talented writer. I also don’t have the energy and the time to dabble in 29 all the details and all the memories, like a polished writer. In my book many facts are 30 dealt with in brief. 31 32 Even when I was a young man in the yeshiva I would jot down notes and keep a diary 33 about various thoughts and occurrences. I continued to do this during the war period. I 34 took notes of facts and important 35 36 p. vov 37 38 personal experiences. When I discussed these things with my father, it made a great 39 impression on him. I came to understand that he profoundly understood the human soul. 40 2 of 235 Memoirs of Simon Deutsch, a proud Munkatcher Translated by Ken Blady [ Published for non-commercial use only by permission of Carol Deutsch] Courtesy of Preeva (née ADLER) TRAMIEL, USA 41 The diaries I kept about my life at home were lost during the war. Immediately after the 42war, when I found myself among the survivors of the Shoah in Germany, I started jotting 43 down notes of those facts that I still remembered. 44 45 What I’m trying to do in coming out with my work is not so much to tell the story of my 46 personal experiences or my courageous deeds, but to convey what I had learned from my 47 father and the providential aspects of my experiences. 48 49A. In Toldos Shmuel Chaim I write the biography of my father, may the memory of 50 the righteous be for a blessing. Actually, I could write a whole book about him, 51 but I’m writing only facts, and only those things that he told me about his life. 52 And this alone I consider providential--that a child from an assimilated home 53would end up in a [leading] city and nation of Israel [ir v’am b’Yisroel] like 54 Munkatch. 55 56 B. In My Childhood Years I contemplate the idea of malchusoh d’areh k’ayin 57malchusoh darkeeyah [theworkhereonearthisliketheworkinheaven].Thisis 58 what the Torah teaches us--that pedagogy begins even before the fetus is formed 59 in the mother’s stomach. As soon as a child can speak he is taught to say [the 60prayer] Torah Tzeevah Looni [“The Torah that we were commanded…”] And just 61 aswecarrythebanneroftheTheHolyBlessedOne,whochoseustobehis 3 of 235 Memoirs of Simon Deutsch, a proud Munkatcher Translated by Ken Blady [ Published for non-commercial use only by permission of Carol Deutsch] Courtesy of Preeva (née ADLER) TRAMIEL, USA 62 soldiers, so it is necessary for us to instill in children a love of learning, which 63 was difficult for us at that time to do. What’s more, we saw by the czar and also 64 by the communists and the German-Nazi barbarians—who according to our 65 tradition are Esau and the Amalakites—that they wanted to annihilate us, and 66 conscripted our children into the army. But we remained loyal soldiers, in spite of 67 all the pain they inflicted on us. 68 69C. Memories of the War. We say in the Kaboolas Shabbis prayers [Friday night], 70 sof 71mahseh bemachshoovas tchilah [the completion of the deed begins with the thought]. We 72also know that in the Torah, Chapter Ki Soovoi, it says, “And God said to Moses, I see 73that the nation chazah v’chanach [?] are a stiff-necked people…And Moses our Teacher, 74 may he rest in peace, prayed and defended the Community of Israel and said, “ Because 75 they are a stiff-necked people.” What he was saying is that this is not a dysfunctional 76 characteristic of a people, but indeed a virtue. They are an obstinate people and they will 77not permit themselves to be led off the Righteous Path. The Holy Zohar [kabbalah]says 78that the souls of those who went out of Egypt will be repaired [tikkun; i.e. resurrected] in 79 the time of the Righteous Redemption [i.e. the messianic period]. And that’s what the 80mishnah [original text of Talmud] in Tractate Sanhedrin means, where there is an 81argument between Rebbi Akivah and Rebbi Eliezer, on whether the generation of the 82 desert received a share in the World to Come. If the Redemption had taken place before 4 of 235 Memoirs of Simon Deutsch, a proud Munkatcher Translated by Ken Blady [ Published for non-commercial use only by permission of Carol Deutsch] Courtesy of Preeva (née ADLER) TRAMIEL, USA 83 in an earlier period they wouldn’t have received a share in the World to Come, according 84 to Rebbi Akivah. But now that the Redemption comes b’etah, zenen di chevlay moshiach 85zayer tikkun, [need help with translating this] according to Rebbi Eliezer, they do have a 86 share in the World to Come. 87 88D. In Germany, where I was situated for a considerable time after the Holocaust 89 among the survivors, we would ask each other, How is it possible, that on this polluted 90 earth, where our parents and family were annihilated, we have found an asylum more so 91 than in any other part of Europe? So we had to come to the conclusion that the souls of 92 our martyrs were the ones who went out of Egypt, and their souls were still with us there. 93 Soolam moitzav artzah v’rushoo mageeyah hashmeemeh v’haim oilom v’yurdim boi. 94Eehu loi chazi avul mazli’ chazi.[?] The Germans, our greatest enemies, submitted to us, 95 and were the first to help us during the wars with the Ishmaelites [Arabs]. 96 97E. My Coming to America.InthischapterinsomeplacesIsay“Thou”and 98 sometimes I say “You.” This is a separate chapter, which is a traumatic reminiscing of 99 my life with my first wife. The Talmud says, “A person who loses his first wife, it is as 100 though he experienced the destruction of the Holy Temple.” (Sanhedrin, 22). I lived 101 through all this, and witnessed the destruction, and I hope that with the Help of God, I 102will live to see the Coming of the Moshiach . 103 5 of 235 Memoirs of Simon Deutsch, a proud Munkatcher Translated by Ken Blady [ Published for non-commercial use only by permission of Carol Deutsch] Courtesy of Preeva (née ADLER) TRAMIEL, USA 104 Shimon ben Shmuel Chaim Deutch 105 106Pages 2-8 are in Lashon Kodesh (Classical Hebrew). I am not competent to translate this. 107 108 109 110 p. 9 111 112 I began to observe the piety and wonderful deeds of my father when I first started 113studying Talmud in cheder by the rebbe. The rebbe was a pious Jew, a God-fearing Jew, 114 but also a thief! After giving us a good beating for not knowing or bad behavior, he 115 would say to us: “I don’t get paid for teaching you, for this I’m not allowed to take 116 money. [I only get paid] to hit you and to train you how to comport yourself in the way a 117 Jew needs to behave.” He would tell us stories about righteous Jews and the Thirty-six 118 hidden Jewish saints.