The Lost Shtetl
Page 40
And after a few minutes, he thought of his father—who was still in Kreskol. Either above the ground or below it.
The fictions repeated throughout his youth—that his father was a citizen-in-good-standing who had disappeared some years before his birth—gave way to a dishonorable truth some years ago. Back when he lived with Karol, his friend had asked him about his parents and he repeated the sorrowful end of his mother and the preposterous mythology of his father.
“So who do you think your father really was?” Karol asked.
The revelation was so stark that it assumed no force whatsoever—yes, of course his father was one of Kreskol’s other men. He had no doubt met him hundreds of times. Still, he had never said this obvious truth out loud, not even to himself. It took Yankel a long time before he answered prudently: “I’ll never know.”
Karol shook his head.
“That’s not the case, buddy. You can figure it out. If you get a blood sample you can get a paternity test. It’ll tell you if someone is your father or not.”
As in many instances during that first year in Warsaw, Yankel was momentarily humbled by the powers of technology.
“Really?”
Karol nodded.
Naturally, he couldn’t simply enlist any man over forty to take an unwanted paternity test. Even if he could, he blanched from the idea. It was one of the facts of the modern world that he both admired and loathed; its insistence on obliterating life’s most poetic fables and closely guarded secrets.
There was some comfort in knowing that his father still lived and slept and ate and prayed in Kreskol, whoever he was. The town might have vanished, but his father remained.
And as the dawn broke, Yankel came to the realization that wherever Pesha was, she was not in Kreskol. Pesha would not go backwards.
He remembered the secret she had shared years earlier in the little tea shop in Warsaw. One day, she had told him, she would escape to Paris. Or Israel. Or the New World. She would open a flower shop, she had said. Or a café. She had been scrimping and saving for it.
As Yankel stood and dusted himself off, he looked east. Kreskol lay somewhere through the untamed, uninhabited forest; a lonely beachhead of the past. Pesha belonged to the infinite west.
Wearily, Yankel decided to go back the way he came.
Before he started on the march, he reached into his rucksack for the canteen of water he had the foresight to bring with him before starting on this journey, as well as a few other items to sustain him.
Among them were his phylacteries, prayer shawl, and yarmulke. He hadn’t used them in prayer for several years, but he’d been unable to discard them.
There was a time, not too long ago, when he wrapped his arms and said the morning prayer every day at first light. And now, alone in the wilderness with his fate uncertain, he felt an uncontrollable urge to repeat the ancient words that had been chanted through the generations when his kind was confronted with the evil of man or nature.
They were all Yankel had.
Yankel might not have ever known his father, but his father no doubt spoke these words. As had his father’s father. And on.
They were, he realized, his inheritance. This profound truth brought Yankel to his knees. He bowed his head and his voice rang out:
“Hear, O Israel—the Lord is God, the Lord is One!”
Finis.
Glossary
agunah (Hebrew): a “chained woman”—a woman who has not received a divorce from her husband and is thereby forbidden from remarrying.
amidah (Hebrew): the “standing prayer”; the central part of the Jewish prayer service.
altercocker (Yiddish): old fart.
apikoros (pl. apikorsim) (Hebrew): a skeptical or heretical Jew.
Armste (German): poor wretch; unfortunate.
ba’al teshuva (Hebrew): a transgressor who has had a change of heart and begins religious observance again.
babka: Eastern European yeast cake.
Bar Kokhbar, Simon: ancient Jewish leader of a revolt against the Romans in 132 CE.
beit din (Hebrew): a rabbinical court.
ben Maimon, Moses (1138-1204): Better known as Maimonides, was the twelfth-century Jewish philosopher considered one of the greatest sages of the medieval era.
Betar: a fort in Ancient Israel where Simon Bar Kokhbar took his last stand against the Romans, which was subsequently crushed.
bubbe (Yiddish): grandmother.
bubkes (Yiddish): nothing.
bubliks: A dense, ring-shaped bread.
Casimir the Great (1310–1370): Polish sovereign who introduced a legal code to the nascent kingdom, founded the University of Krakow, and offered protections to Jews.
Chabad: the largest ultra-Orthodox Jewish movement in the world and the only Hasidic movement that missionizes.
Chabad House: one of the Chabad movement’s houses of study and outreach.
challah (Hebrew): a braided bread.
cheder (Hebrew): elementary school.
Chmielnicki, Bogdan (1595–1657): Ukrainian revolutionary and notorious anti-Semite who led an uprising that resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Jews.
cholent (Yiddish): a long-simmering Sabbath stew made of beans and beef.
Chumash (Hebrew): The Bible, or Torah.
dayyan (pl. dayyanim) (Hebrew): judge in a rabbinical court.
Di Baytsh Fun Haknkrayts (Yiddish): The Scourge of the Swastika.
dobrze (Polish): good.
Dos Togbukh fun Ana Frank (Yiddish): The Diary of Anne Frank.
dreck (Yiddish): filth, trash.
Du Bist a Yid? (Yiddish): Are you Jewish?
dybbuk (Yiddish): an evil spirit.
dzielnica (Polish): administrative.
Fakt: a Polish tabloid newspaper.
Frank, Jacob: eighteenth-century Polish Jewish religious leader, ultimately excommunicated from Judaism, who preached a new mixture of Christianity and Judaism called Frankism, which also advocated “purification through transgression”—i.e., sexual swinging.
gatkes (Yiddish): undergarments.
Gazeta Wyborcza: a Polish newspaper.
get (Hebrew): a bill of divorce.
Glowny Dworzec Autobusowy (Polish): bus station.
Gomulka, Wladyslaw (1905–1982): First secretary of the Polish United Workers’ Party.
hamentashen (Yiddish): a triangular cookie filled with preserved fruit, typically served on Purim.
herem (Hebrew): excommunication.
hesped (Hebrew): eulogy.
horah (Hebrew): a Jewish dance.
Judenrat (German): a council of Jewish elders established during World War II tasked with enforcing Nazi law.
kaddish (Hebrew): Prayer for the dead.
kahal (Hebrew): assembly of elders.
Kapo: An internal concentration camp police force, populated by prisoners.
Karaites: a sect of Judaism that rejects the Talmud.
Karo, Joseph (1488–1575): Rabbi who authored the Shulchan Arush, one of the largest compilations of Jewish law in history.
Katz, Naphtali ha-Kohen (1649–1718): Rabbi, Kabbalist and commentator.
klemzer (Yiddish): Traditional Ashkenazic Jewish music.
Koidanover, Tsevi Hirsh (1648–1712): Kabbalist and author of The Just Measure.
korva (Yiddish): whore.
kurator (Polish): parole officer.
lashon hara (Hebrew): literally, “evil tongue”; malevolent gossip.
lazienka (Polish): bathroom.
Maimonides: Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon (aka, the Ramban), a twelfth-century Sephardic doctor who became one of the most important Jewish philosophers of the Medieval era.
mamzer (Hebrew and Yiddish): a child born of a forbidden relationship; i.e., conceived in adultery or incest. They are forbidden from being counted in a quorum or from serving as a judge.
Matura (Polish): state secondary school exam.
meshuggenah (Yiddish): crazy.
mezuzah (Heb
rew): A small case affixed to the doorposts of Jewish houses that has a prayer written on parchment inside.
mikvah (Hebrew): the ritual bath.
Mój Boze (Polish): exclamation, “My goodness!”
Moshiach (Hebrew): the Messiah.
Nebuchadnezzar II (605–562 BCE): Babylonian king who conquered the kingdom of Judah and destroyed Solomon’s Temple in 587 BCE.
Nu (Yiddish): “Well?” or “So?”
Orthodox Union: Contemporary Jewish organization that certifies kosher status of food.
People’s Crusade: Populist Crusade in the year 1096 that led to the slaughter of many thousands of Jews living along the Rhine.
Pilecki, Witold (1901–1948): Co-founder of the Secret Polish Army during World War II who was arrested and executed after the war by the communist government.
poczta (Polish): post office.
Polska Partia Narodowa: Polish National Party, a far-right fringe political party.
Prawo i Sprawiedliwosc: (Polish): Law and Order, an ultra-nationalist and populist political party.
Purim: Spring holiday that celebrates the defeat of Haman and openly encourages inebriation.
Rabbinic Council: Eastern European Jewish organization that collected taxes and served as a go-between with local communities and governments.
Reb (Yiddish): honorific, corresponding to “sir” for a non-rabbi.
Rebbe (Hebrew): the religious leader of the community.
Rebbetzin (Yiddish): The wife of the rabbi.
Reksio: a cartoon dog.
rugelach (Yiddish): a small rolled-up Jewish pastry.
Sigismund II Augustus (1520–1572): the last male of the Jagellonian dynasty of rulers of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
schmaltz (Yiddish): rendered chicken fat.
schnorrer (Yiddish): beggar; moocher.
Sejm (Polish): one of the two houses of parliament.
Shalom aleichem (Hebrew): greeting meaning “Peace be unto you.”
shechita (Hebrew): slaughterhouse.
shmegegges (Yiddish): bunkum artist.
shmendrick (Yiddish): fool.
shtreimel (Yiddish): a large fur hat.
siddur (Hebrew): prayer book.
sofer (Hebrew): a scribe who handwrites official documents.
swinia (Polish): pig.
Talmud: the central text of Rabbinic Judaism, comprising the “mishna” and the “gemarah,” originating as the oral law of ancient Israel.
tefillin (Hebrew): phylacteries; a set of black leather boxes that are wrapped around the arms and forehead during morning prayers.
Tibbon, Moses: thirteenth-century French Jewish doctor and author.
Tisha B’Av: a fast day that commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temple.
Titus (39–89 CE): Roman military commander and emperor who captured Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE.
toaleta (Polish): toilet.
Torah (Hebrew): the first five books of the Old Testament.
tzedakah (Hebrew): charity (literally, “justice”).
tzitzit (Hebrew): Tassels affixed to the garments of religious Jews.
voivodeship: a Polish province and area of local government.
Warszawa: A post-World War II Polish-manufactured automobile.
yenta (Yiddish): a gossip or busybody.
Yeshiva bachur (Yiddish): Yeshiva boy.
Zevi, Shabbetai: seventeenth-century Turkish rabbi believed by many to be the Messiah until he converted to Islam.
Zlote Tarasy: An office-and-retail complex in Warsaw.
Zoroastrianism: one of the world’s oldest Middle Eastern religions.
Debts
Those who go diving for mistakes in The Lost Shtetl will no doubt surface with a few pearls—I’m no scholar, I’m not religious and I’ve only been to Poland once. But despite its fantastical nature, I tried to give this book the sheen of as much credibility as I could. For that reason, I leaned on a number of sources, most heavily Yaffa Eliach’s epic, commanding chronicle of the Lithuanian shtetl of Eishyshok There Once Was a World. There were many other books along the way that informed me, but the ones about World War II that were particularly important to me were Lucy Dawidowicz’s The War Against the Jews 1933–1945 and the works of Primo Levi—specifically, The Drowned and the Saved, Survival in Auschwitz and The Reawakening. My (rudimentary) knowledge of Polish history largely came from Adam Zamoyski’s Poland: A History.
Several people helped me along the way in my factual pursuits; I would like to thank my friend Steven I. Weiss for introducing me to Professor Glenn Dynner—author of the excellent histories Yankel’s Tavern and Men of Silk—who read the manuscript of The Lost Shtetl and offered his notes. Likewise, Rukhl Schaechter, editor of the Yiddish Forverts, introduced me to Esther Goodman who went through the manuscript line-by-line with extremely valuable insights and comments. (I didn’t take Esther’s advice that no Jew would ever be named Ishmael—but that was done for aesthetic reasons rather than factual ones. However, Esther was right about my original ending.)
Finally, my old pal Ignacy Zulawski was kind enough to field a confounding number of queries coming from me via email about contemporary Poland—and, when Iggy didn’t know the answer, he contacted friends and relatives in Poland to ask on my behalf.
Naturally, the misimpressions and mistakes are entirely mine, not theirs, but they definitely saved me from a few embarrassments. (Although embarrassments go with the territory. I should note that you could transliterate Yiddish in a dozen different ways—each way with its zealous defender—and I did the best with what I could. Still, I imagine there will be plenty of Yiddishists who will conclude I’m a rank amateur.)
Michelle Brower read an early draft of this book and gave me very astute and intelligent changes—as well as sincerely appreciated encouragement at a time I was very low on the fortunes of this book. My friend Noah Phillips was likewise a fiery booster of the book in its nascent form. My thanks to them both.
I am forever indebted to my agent David Vigliano, as well as numerous people at AGI Vigliano Literary, particularly Tom Flannery, Nikki Maniscalco and Ruth Ondarza. I don’t believe this book would have been sold without the indefatigable efforts of Nick Ciani (now of Simon & Schuster) who believed in the book, who kept pitching it, and who kept answering my endless, anxiety-spewing calls with calm and optimism.
Likewise, my gratitude overflows to my friends at HarperVia, including Judith Curr, Paul Olsewski, Alice Min, Maya Lewis, Emily Strode and Stephen Brayda, whose cover for The Lost Shtetl left me dazed in admiration. But special thanks must be reserved for Tara Parsons, a brilliant editor, whose enthusiasm was intoxicating and whose edits were incisive and unassailably correct.
My in-laws, Dr. Patricia and Dr. Eugene Wexler, have been a constant source of encouragement and support, which is not something I could ever repay. (I’m also grateful to my mother-in-law for examining the hospital scenes for some semblance of accuracy.)
My parents, Ken and Andy Gross, read every draft of this book (as well as a chapter or two along the way) and offered me the one thing that every writer really needs: complete honesty. Their reading of this book was always considered, intelligent, critical and passionate. When things weren’t working, they let me know. (They were almost always right.)
And then, of course, there is my beloved wife and son, Jane and Harry Gross, for whom the debts are too high to be addressed here. Take this volume as a down payment; I shall spend the rest of my life working off the balance.
Here ends Max Gross’s
The Lost Shtetl.
The first edition of this book was printed and bound at LSC Communications in Harrisonburg, Virginia, September 2020.
A NOTE ON THE TYPE
The text of this novel was set in Adobe Garamond Pro, a typeface designed in 1989 by Robert Slimbach. It’s based on two distinctive examples of the French Renaissance style, a Roman type by Claude Garamond (1499–1561) and an Italic type by
Robert Granjon (1513–1590), and was developed after Slimbach studied the fifteenth-century equipment at the Plantin-Moretus Museum in Antwerp, Belgium. Adobe Garamond Pro is considered to faithfully capture the original Garamond’s grace and clarity, and is used extensively in books for its elegance and readability.
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Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
THE LOST SHTETL. Copyright © 2020 by Max Gross. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
Digital Edition SEPTEMBER 2020 ISBN: 978-0-06-299114-0
Version 09022020
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-299112-6
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