A Jewish Journey. Sheldon Cohen
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with bitter accusations. Since some of the most prominent Russian intellectuals were involved in this “expose,” their input, coupled with an increasing suspicion of the Jews amongst the masses, served to unify Russian thinking about the Jews. Some said they were “creating a state within a state,” and their enemies went so far as to accuse Jews of killing gentile boys in order to get their blood for use in the preparation of matzo for the Passover celebration. Jacob became a representative for one Jewish man so accused. He pointed out that Jewish law forbids the eating of blood, and that after the koshering process, there is no blood left in the meat. Jacob’s efforts were successful. Even the Russian government came to the Jew’s defense.
This single defeat did not stop those responsible for the propaganda against the Jews, and they altered course, playing up the theme that these Jewish ‘aliens’ true purpose was to gain control of the economic, cultural and political life of the nation.
Concurrent with these forces, Slav nationalists were at war with the Ottoman Empire, and Alexander II came to the aid of the Slavs by declaring war on Turkey. After initial setbacks, the Russians triumphed, but the peace treaty did not go well for the Russians, so the Czar came under increasing pressure from reactionary elements and found himself the victim of several unsuccessful assassination attempts. In 1881, however, they finally succeeded. This threw the country into chaos.
Rabbi Shepsel and his son Jacob learned of the Czar’s death, and fear overcame them both. As best as they could ascertain, the plight of the Jews was improving because of the Czar’s reforms, but now what would happen? Would these reforms be overturned?
Shepsel was now 88 years old, still alert but weary. Fearing for his family’s safety, Jacob sent a letter to his sister in Moscow advising her that his wife and son, Moritz, and his father would be coming there for a visit. Shepsel refused, so he and Jacob remained in Yelizavetgrad.
It was not long before the word rang out that “The Jews assassinated the Czar.” The Russian government promoted this belief to divert attention from the fact that the government had declared a state of emergency to counter the revolutionaries who were now calling upon the people to take up arms and overthrow the government. This declaration gave the government the power to detain any suspicious suspects without trial, search homes or offices without warrants, dismiss any suspicious administrative official on the spot and close any newspaper or magazine or periodical at will.
It wasn’t long before anti-Semitism was converted into a fully respected political dogma. The word rang out that the Jews were out to control the world.
The peasants were furious. In 1881, pogroms started throughout the Pale. Jewish homes and businesses were ransacked and looted. The local police would often announce they were leaving town for a few days, thus allowing the pogroms to go unheeded by the authorities. At times, a pogrom would occur in sight of authorities, but they would stand by and do nothing unless there was Jewish resistance. Then they would intervene against the Jews, killing some, injuring more.
Shepsel, his mind and body failing, took to his bed. Jacob remained at his father’s side, speaking with him until he became too weak to speak. Rabbi Shepsel stopped eating, and then holding his son’s hand he lapsed into coma and died within two days. Jacob had him buried next to his beloved wife, Anna, in Tiktin.
CHAPTER 11
Moritz and his mother Rachel were in Moscow with their aging relatives. They went to Tiktin for the funeral and returned to Yelizavetgrad, and together with Jacob, they sat shiva for seven days.
A new Minister of the Interior, N.P. Ignat’ev, continued to whip up sentiment against the Jews. He included the Poles in his attacks and blamed Russia’s troubles on this double element. He went so far as to suggest that the Jews and Poles were involved in an attempt to overthrow the government from within, This opinion was not shared by all in the Russian heirarchy, but the minister’s view prevailed. As a result the new Czar, Alexander III, enacted the May Laws.
These laws stated:
1.The Jew could not leave the towns in the Pale. They could not settle anywhere else outside of the towns.
2.Jews could not own land outside of towns.
3.Jews could not carry on any business activity on Sundays or Christian holidays.
It was only due to a world outcry, plus some liberal elements within the Russian government that measures such as banishing all Jews to Asia did not become law. There were Jewish quotas enforced in higher education and Jews could not vote.
In 1882, Moritz was 16-years-old. He moved to Kishinev where he joined one of his older cousins who was involved in the garment industry. Moritz’s father, Jacob, and his mother, Rachel, remained in Yelizavetegrad where Jacob officiated at the synagogue.
Moritz was quick to enter and master the garment trade. At age nineteen, he married Hannah, a seventeen year old. She was the sister of a well-respected Kishinev physician, Label Kalish.
Moritz and his cousin prospered. Moritz and Rachel’s son, Samuel, was born in 1885.
The Jewish population of Kishinev continued to grow. There were 45,000 Jews living there—almost half of the population. They owned most of the manufacturing industry, mills and factories. However, the great majority of the Jews were destitute and subsisted on welfare. Moritz’s cousin was active in assisting fellow Jews. He taught Moritz the satisfaction of tzedakah.
Label Kalish had practiced medicine in Kishinev for twenty years. He was born in Russia but took his medical training in Germany and Austria. At the time, these two countries were the world leaders in medicine. Physicians from all over the world came for training. Doctor Kalish trained under Theodor Billroth, who was a pioneering surgeon at the University of Vienna, and who used antiseptic techniques, which made it possible for him to do surgery never before possible. Billroth was the father of abdominal surgery. Dr. Kalish spent two years with Doctor Billroth, and, as a result, he brought these advanced surgical techniques to Russia.
He spoke fluent German as well as his native Russian. He taught his family the language. Moritz’s wife, Hannah also spoke perfect German and she taught the language to Moritz and their growing son, Samuel.
A Christian child entered Doctor Kalish’s hospital unconscious from several knife wounds in the abdomen. The child exhibited marked pallor indicating massive blood loss. Doctor Kalish made a valiant effort to save the boy’s life, but to no avail. The same day a young Christian woman patient committed suicide in the hospital. The Christian community thought these two tragic medical events related and due to the blood libel. Near riots occurred. Their anger knew no bounds and as Doctor Kalish left the hospital one day, the mob threw stones at him. He sustained some minor wounds until the police rescued him and dispersed the mob. It turned out that relatives murdered the child and that the suicide bore no relationship to the murdered child or the Jews. This episode was a reflection of the hatred the Christian community felt.
It was during this time that “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” entered the picture. This document, or rather a hodge-podge of documents, was a definite forgery by the Russian Ochrana (secret police), for diverting the minds of the Russian peasants from their own misery.
The document had as its main theme the fact that the Jews, through a top-secret cabal, were planning the overthrow of world governments, especially the Russian government. The Jewish intent was to install an anti-Christ type of dictatorship directed by the cabal. The document tried to explain two thousand years of history based upon this world Jewish conspiracy theory. It was a worldwide paranoid explanation of all the difficulties that befell man and humankind throughout history. The protocols postulated that the clever Jewish cabal would use people and governments like pawns in a world chess game in which the cabal was maneuvering the world to checkmate.
Jewish enemies also thought that the Jews had some help from the Freemasons. This was an organization that had its origin in the seventeenth century and was an association of craftsmen who were stonemasons.
Freemason lodges spread, and their doctrine allowed for the admission of anyone,