The Story, As It Is Best Remembered
SHCHEDRIN[1]
(Adopted from Jay Epstein’s
original and weiners.org)
The
Story starts in about 1825, the Lubovitzer Rabbi was granted a parcel of land from the Czar to establish a
Jewish Shtetl in which a Chabah-Lubavitch Hasidic
Judaism was to be established.
This
was located in Minsk Guberiya - about 1 mile from the
The
Henach Horvitz family had a large farm in Horkes, a flour mill and a lust for company. Usually, one always stopped to exchange the news, have refreshments and very often spend the night.
On
reaching the river there was a ferry to cross. This
was pulled by means of a rope. Paritz
was a larger Shtetl with about 1/3 the population being Jewish. Perla Horelick
came from here to marry Boruch. Her
family, the Horelicks, ran the freight and passenger
service from Paritchi to Bobroisk. Once across the river, were rough unpaved roads. Most traffic used the River by large paddle
wheel boats to and from Bobroisk. This
was the way to go from Schedrin to Paritz and eventually to go to
Schedrin
itself was created by a family called “Golodetz.” They were in the lumber and rope business. They moved in and setup housing with their children -
married and single and brought every craft needed as carpenters - tailors -
shoemakers - blacksmiths and workers to cut forests and flax to make rope. They separated their homes from the workers. Even most of their domestic help that were married had homes
built in the shtetl. Their homes were built in what
was referred to as the “Haif.” In
1897, there were about 4,000 Jews in Schedrin (and
very few non-Jews).
The
Haif of the Golodetz family
was separated from the shtetl by a buffer zone of large trees which was used as
a park - one remembers that it was filled with birds such as Cranes and had a
creek running through it that was also one of the boundaries of the Haif. The far end was all apple
orchards.
The
Golodetz’s built large homes with porches and stained
glass windows. Every home had a built-in Succah. The center of the Haif had a large circle with a Shul,
a public Turkish bath house and homes. To go from the shtetl
to the Haif, they had guards who checked you on
entering and leaving.
The
first house on the road to the shtetl was owned by their tailor, Yosef Chaim Weiner. Across the street was a Russian family who used to do the
Sabbath lighting and other chores. This family spoke
Yiddish very well. The road led into a circle where Yoseph Chaim’s Shul was and various other craftsmen had homesteads. The Gordon family were the shoemakers. This
road continued to what was known as the “Lange Gasse.” To the right were shops of yard goods owned by Skorman and Aptek (who was the
only medical advisor, but not a doctor). To the left
it followed into the thickest populated areas where many shops and public baths
were located.
The
shtetl depended on the Haif when they brought in a
As
Dr. Chaim
Schedrin
had many public bathhouses. It was the only all-Jewish
town in all of
People
in any trade hired themselves out for a bed and board. They
often had to pay a stipend for the apprenticeship. The
tradesmen were not well to do. However, they put up a
front of being the leaders in the community. There
were many who began to migrate because of their underground work prior to the
revolution. It was known as Socialism. Many followed other illegal trades. To
end up with a tale told about Tevya Horvitz. He did some moon-shining and one Saturday night as Shul was leaving out, Tevya was
approached by some government men on horseback who stopped to ash him where Tevya Horvitz lived. He was
wearing his Talus around his neck, he looked up and pointed to his home saying
“there.” They went one way and he ran the other way -
all the way to
The
Friedman’s were located on
At
the turn of the 20th century the western world, particularly the
To
migrate was very difficult. Money was the enormous
handicap to cope with. However, they became aware of
its impact of acceptance by the authorities. Practically
everyone left illegally - conniving and bribing all the way.
Boruch
Weiner being the eldest son of Yoseph Chaim, and hearing of all the opportunities, accelerated
his desire for a change in his pattern of living. After
Tevya Horovitz sent for his
family, which to Boruch seemed such a short time, it
strengthened his attitude for a rapid winding up of his affairs. He sold his house and tailor shop. His
family moved into his father’s home which was already crowded with Tevya’s family. However, Boruch was also worried that his oldest daughter Mary would be taken by the Czarist police for being active in a
revolutionary cell from Bobroisk.
The
details are full of reasons to leave. In
After
a tortuous rough course they reached
Mary
refused to go back. She told her father that he must
bring their family to the freedom and opportunities in the
After
awhile it gradually became clear to him that the behavior of individual
freedom, of interpersonal relationship and the experiences of the sense and the
very patterns of Russian living were greatly altered from what he had
envisioned. He loved being with his family but he
began to doubt the wisdom of his return. Sam, the
oldest son, was age 12 and the other 4 were each 2 years younger and his wife
He
developed an attitude of wait and see. He had made a
choice, and he made up his mind to “grin and bear it.” He
learned to cope effectively with the slow processes of saving otherwise the
stresses of life would destroy him.
In
less than a year a crisis developed. The same night
his wife went into labor, the shtetl literally went into a convulsion. There was screaming - dogs barking, knocking on doors and
confusion everywhere. A group of drunk Russians broke
into the home of his best friend and butchered his wife, 2 children, 2
visitors, and 3 domestics. The husband had left that
morning to take his son to school.
Schedrin
had no police but some sort of magistrate or tax collector. The
men all got lanterns and clubs after a long search caught two of them. All kinds of rumors spread. The
next day, the police came from Bobroisk. The town watchmen every night would knock on every
shuttered home to see that all was well. People lived
in anxiety and fear and encouraged neighbors to utilize their personal
strengths. Males of Schedrin
formed a militia to protect Jews in the surrounding area from the pogroms which became more common place.
This
incident was a precipitating factor. Responding to
this situation and to the foreseeable future problems, Boruch
fast managed to cope with his difficulties. It became
imperative to get into shape. Boruch
had developed a hernia that needed medical attention. Bobroisk could not handle this so he went to a larger city. Perle’s mother raised enough
money and went with Boruch. Son
William had trouble with his eyes which was difficult to cure and which also
added to the worries. Perle
was nursing the baby.
As
soon as arrangements could me made the family started their trek to
On
reaching
Somehow
things were managed and the family arrived through
A TOWN NO MORE
All
the Schedriners of Pittsburgh remained a close knit
community. They were social and business friends. Once a year they gathered for a summer picnic get
together, organized by Harry Katz. In 1975, a young
Russian man arrived to address the picnicking group. His
story confirmed their deepest fear. His words follow:
“I
am here because my mother wants me to tell you about your town. One afternoon in 1941, the Germans came to Schedrin and told everyone to remain inside. The next morning they assembled them in the street and
marched them to the edge of town. My mother pregnant
with me, and two other men had hidden from the Germans. They
watched in hiding as their families and friends were told to dig a ditch, line
up on the edge, and hold hands. They were machine
gunned, falling into, and pushed into, the ditch which was then covered over
with dirt.”
Records
indicate that in 1941, there were 380 Jewish families (about 1,400 inhabitants)
in Schedrin - all of whom were
killed by the special German killing squad on that fateful day.
From
1841 to 1941 there existed in
Today,
Schedrin lives in the memory and hearts of those
whose backgrounds and heritage has meaning - hopefully, future generations will
keep alive the story of family courage and determination - and they can find
pride from whence they came - the shtetl of Schedrin.
LUBOVITZER SHUL
Yosef
Chaim Weiner had earlier arrived and brought a Torah
with him from Schedrin. The
first Minyun was started above a grocery store on
They
remodeled the store on Overhill Stret
between Center and
Boruch
Weiner moved to
The
next move was to
CEMETERY
Yosef
Chaim was president of the Shul
when they felt the need of a burial place of their own. They
got busy and found the present location. One year
after the purchase, the first burial in 1911 was Yosef
Chaim Weiner. The Anshe Lubovitz cemetery is
located in the Millvale section of