JUDAICA • RUSSIA & EASTerN EUROPE meir Jewish life in late imperial Kiev “A multidimensional and panoramic picture of Jewish v e i K communal life in late Tsarist Kiev. The book is meticulously K i e v researched, eminently readable, and rich in detail.” —Jeffrey Veidlinger, jewish author of Jewish Public Culture in the Late Russian Empire jewish metropolis Populated by urbane Jewish merchants and professionals as well as new arrivals from A HISTORY, 1859 –1914 the shtetl, imperial Kiev was acclaimed for its opportunities for education, culture, employment, and entrepreneurship but cursed for the often pitiless persecution of its Jews. Kiev, Jewish Metropolis limns the history of Kiev Jewry from the official readmis- sion of Jews to the city in 1859 to the outbreak of World War I. It explores the Jewish community’s politics, its leadership struggles, socioeconomic and demographic shifts, religious and cultural sensibilities, and relations with the city’s Christian population. metropolis Drawing on archival documents, the local press, memoirs, and belles lettres, Natan M. Meir shows Kiev’s Jews at work, at leisure, in the synagogue, and engaged in the activities of myriad Jewish organizations and philanthropies. NATAN M. MEIR is the Lorry I. Lokey Professor of Judaic Studies at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. The Modern Jewish experience Paula Hyman and Deborah Dash Moore, editors Cover illustration: Kreshchatik, ca. 1890–1900. Courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division INDIANA University Press Bloomington & Indianapolis www.iupress.indiana.edu INDIANA natan m. meir 1-800-842-6796 Kiev MECH.indd 1 4/8/10 1:40:49 PM Kiev, Jewish Metropolis THE MODERN JEWISH EXPERIENCE Paula Hyman and Deborah Dash Moore, editors k i e v jewish metropolis A HISTORY, 1859 –1914 NataN M. Meir INDIANA UNIVERSITY PRESS Bloomington and Indianapolis Preparation and publication of this book were generously supported by a Cahnman Publication Subvention Grant, awarded by the Association for Jewish Studies, and by the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, Columbia University. Portions of chapter 4 were originally published as “From Pork to Kapores: Transformations in Religious Practice among the Jews of Late Imperial Kiev,” in Jewish Quarterly Review 97.4 (Autumn 2007), and are reprinted by permission of the University of Pennsylvia Press. Portions of chapter 5 were originally published as “Jews, Ukrainians, and Russians in Kiev: Intergroup Relations in Late Imperial Associational Life,” in Slavic Review 65, no. 3 (Autumn 2006), and are reprinted by permission of the publisher of Slavic Review, the Ameri can Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies. This book is a publication of Indiana University Press 601 North Morton Street Bloomington, Indiana 47404-3797 USA www.iupress.indiana.edu Telephone orders 800- 842- 6796 Fax orders 812- 855- 7931 Orders by e- mail [email protected] © 2010 by Natan M. Meir All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The Association of Ameri can University Presses’ Resolution on Permissions constitutes the only exception to this prohibition. > The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the Ameri can National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48- 1992. Manufactured in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Meir, Natan M. Kiev, Jewish metropolis : a history, 1859–1914 / Natan M. Meir. p. cm. — (The modern Jewish experience) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-253-35502-7 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-253-22207-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Jews—Ukraine—Kiev—History—19th century. 2. Jews—Ukraine—Kiev—History—20th century. 3. Jews—Ukraine—Kiev—Social conditions—19th century. 4. Jews—Ukraine— Kiev—Social conditions—20th century. 5. Kiev (Ukraine)—Ethnic relations. I. Title. DS135.U42K5453 2010 305.892'404777—dc22 2009049723 1 2 3 4 5 15 14 13 12 11 10 Dedicated to the memory of my beloved grandparents: Saba and Savta Rabbi Judah Nadich, Ephraim Yehudah ben Yitzhak ve- Leah ve- Nessa z"l Martha Hadassah Ribalow Nadich, Marta Hadassah bat Menachem ve- Shoshana z"l and Bubby and Zayde Jeanette Meyers, Sheindl bat Sarah z"l and Abe Meyers, Avraham ben Natan ve- Sarah z"l and to Ema and Aba Leah Nadich and Aryeh Meir she- yibadlu le- hayim tovim va- arukim CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 PArt 1. THE EARLY YEARS 1 Settlement and Growth, 1859–1881 23 2 The Foundations of Communal Life 59 PArt 2. JEWISH METROPOLIS 3 The Consolidation of Jewish Kiev, 1881–1914 101 4 Modern Jewish Cultures and Practices 150 5 Jew as Neighbor, Jew as Other: Interethnic Relations and Antisemitism 190 6 Varieties of Jewish Philanthropy 211 7 Revolutions in Communal Life 261 Conclusion 311 Abbreviations 319 Notes 321 Bibliography 371 Index 391 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS During the researching and writing of this book, which has been ten years in the making, I lived on three different continents, so I have the pleasure of thanking a great many people who assisted me in one way or another (and sometimes in many ways). First I would like to thank Michael Stanis- lawski, who guided this project and gave me the support and encourage- ment that were so crucial in my formative years. Among many other things, I have learned from him the value of committed skepticism and scholarly de- tachment combined with a deep love for Jewish history. It is also a delight to thank others who guided my training in Jewish history and Russian history: Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi, Mark von Hagen, Richard Wortman, and Aryeh Goren. Jane Burbank and Benjamin Nathans gave me invaluable feedback, which helped me shape the development of the book. I have had the good fortune to work with a number of senior colleagues who have encouraged my scholarly work, supported my research, and served as true role models for what an academician should be. Among these are Marsha Rozenblit at the University of Maryland; Shulamit Magnus at Ober- lin College; Tony Kushner, Anne Curry, and Mark Cornwall at the Univer- sity of Southampton; and Michael Weingrad here at my new home of Port- land State University. At Southampton, I enjoyed the support and advice of many colleagues, including Nils Roemer, Dan Levine, George Bernard, Jane McDermid, Julie Gammon, and Joan Tumblety. Special thanks to Lorna Young, Frances Clarke, and Marie-Pierre Gibert for their loving assistance at many junctures along the way. The late John Klier supported this project at every step, and I am deeply saddened that I will not be able to show him the final results. I spent several years of research for this book in Washington, D.C., where Tom Pitt and Steve Rodes were always ready with a warm meal, a cold drink, and a loving cat. The support I received from Edna Friedberg and Stig Trom- mer was truly invaluable. Nancy Roth and Richard, Jacob, and Miriam Ma- zer became true friends who never fail to take a genuine interest in the re- sults of my research. Others whose support made all the difference are Jordan Potash, Adam Tenner, Jeremy Rosenblatt, Dan Furmansky, and Alex Gold- berg. Joel Alter’s moral, spiritual, and material support sustained me for many years, and for this I am truly grateful. x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I was lucky to have had assistance in my research from many individuals and institutions. In this country, I am indebted to Edward Kasinec, formerly chief librarian of the New York Public Library’s Slavic and Baltic Division (now Curator Emeritus, NYPL Slavic and East European Collections) and the staffs of the library of the Jewish Theological Seminary, the libraries of Co- lumbia University, and several departments at the Library of Congress, in- cluding the African and Middle Eastern Reading Room (with special thanks to Peggy Perlstein) and the European Reading Room. In Ukraine, I was as- sisted by the staffs of the Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine, Kyïv; the Scientific Research Library of the Central StateA rchives of Ukraine; the State Archive of Kyïv Oblast; and the State Archive of the City of Kyïv. The superb archivists and librarians at these institutions went out of their way to make sure I had access to the documents I needed. I am especially grateful for the support provided by Irina Sergeeva, director of the Judaica Division of the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, and her able staff. I also thank the staffs of the library’s Newspaper and Dissertation reading rooms and es- pecially Viktoriia Matusevich. The staff of the Institute of Judaica in Kiev, and especially its director, Leonid Finberg, provided me with an academic home during my stay in their city. Their support and assistance were incalculable. Special thanks to Misha Kal’nitskii for sharing his encyclopedic knowledge of Kiev’s history and to Arsenii Finberg for his computer assistance. I am also appreciative of the sponsorship of the Jewish University of St. Petersburg and its rector, Dmitrii Elyashevich, and of the European University in St. Petersburg and its Center for Archival Training. Victor Kelner of the Russian National Library helped to unlock some of the treasures of that institution’s Judaica holdings. My re- search at the Russian State Library’s Newspaper Division and the State Public Historical Library in Moscow was greatly facilitated by the helpful librarians at those institutions. In Israel, I was privileged to do research at the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP), the Central Zionist Archives, and the National and University Library.