The
Promise of a Holy Day
Yitzhak Zuckerkandel - Jerusalem
~ an
eternal memorial to the Pinter Family of Bukowsko ~
In my native city of
Bukowsko in the district of Sanok, Galicia, Poland, lived a limping coachman.
He wore a yellow beard and was named Yosef Shimon Pinter. He worked very hard
transporting goods with his exhausted horse in both the snowy winter and in the
blistering heat of the summer.
There also lived a
large family that had a daughter named Lea. She was very capable and had nice
manners, but occasionally went into hysterics.
When such an event took place, everything within reach was smashed or
tossed to the ground. She was nicknamed "The Meshugeneh Lea" or crazy
Lea.
On the eve of Yom
Kippur, the cantor was about to commence the famous "Kol Nidrei"
prayer at the Sandzer synagogue in Bukowsko. The people waited and the Holy Ark
was open when Lea rushed into the prayer hall going straight to it. She was
hysterical and carried on beyond belief.
Nobody wanted to interfere or stop her and she continued to scream and
shout. The congregation was dumfounded, petrified and silent.
Nobody dared to act
except for Yosef Shimon, the coachman. He approached Lea and told her to leave
the prayer hall and to join the women in their section in the synagogue. She
replied that she would carry out his wish on the condition that he would marry
her. He promised to marry her and she left the Holy Ark and the main prayer hall,
as requested.
The congregation
appreciated Yosef's deed for he had enabled it to commence the holiday services
on the holiest day of the year. Of course, Yosef Shimon did not take his
promise seriously since he was merely interested in getting Lea out of the
hall.
However, the Rabbi
felt differently and told Yosef Shimon that a promise in front of the Holy Ark
and the entire congregation just prior to the commencement of the holiday must
be fulfilled. Furthermore, he gave him a blessing namely "fulfill your
promise and G-d will help you".
Yosef Shimon married
Lea and their lives took a turn for the better. He started to deal in business
and was very successful. He built a large house in the center of the city. They
had 4 handsome and successful sons and a daughter.
The youngest son,
Aaron, studied with me at the yeshiva "Etz Chaim" in Bukowsko. Lea
Pinter distributed daily baskets of food to the needy of the city. She still
experienced hysterical attacks that could be heard from behind closed shutters.
In September of 1939 WWII began and the
Germans conquered Poland. The Germans pauperized the Jewish population of the
city, but Yosef Shimon managed to continue some of his businesses and assisted
the Jewish population as best as he could.
On the 21st
day of the month of Elul, Tashab, (September 3rd 1942) all the Jews
of Bukowsko were ordered to assemble prior to their deportation to the death
camp of Belzec. The police commandant of Bukowsko promised Yosef Shimon that he
would save him and his family from deportation, if he handed over his money.
They agreed and the Pinter family was not deported.
Three days following
the deportations of the Jews of Bukowsko, the same police who received the
money took the entire Pinter family (including the oldest son, his wife and
son) to the Jewish cemetery. Here they
killed the oldest son of Yosef Shimon and Lea Pinter along with his family.
The next day, the
performance was repeated and the Germans shot the 2nd son. On the third day,
Lea was killed and in the succeeding days, they killed the 3rd son and the
daughter.
They then took Yosef
Shimon and his youngest son, Aaron, to the cemetery where they killed the
father. But, the son managed to avoid death by jumping over the cemetery wall
fence. He took a bullet in his leg, but managed to move on and reach the forest
where he joined other Jews. His injuries healed in spite of the many hardships
of forest life.
I was sent to the
labor camp of Zaslaw and then to the Trepcza* camp. We worked daily on the roads. One day I saw an opportunity and
took my chance. I disappeared into the forest where I eventually joined other
Jews, including Aaron.
We roamed the
forests and lands of Slovakia and Hungary in the hope of reaching the Romanian
border. Romania was leaving the war and thousands of people were crossing the
border illegally. Aaron, also, tried to cross the border, but was shot by a
Romanian border guard. He was twenty-five years old when he died. I crossed the border on the day when the
Russians and Romanians signed a truce.
Following the
holiday of the Sukkot of 1945, I reached Palestine and settled in Jerusalem. I
have never left the city and have since been blessed with a beautiful family.
To this day my heart
goes out to the Pinter family who was so special and generous. Nobody survived
from this family. I remember them especially on the eve of Yom Kippur when the
cantor is about to recite the "Kol Nidrei" prayer.
May the above story
be an eternal memorial to this family.
Yitzhak Zuckerkandel ~ Jerusalem
* Trepcza was located 2 kilometers from Sanok. The German company " Kirhof" was located at this forced labor camp.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yosef Pinter was born in
Bukowsko in 1882
Lea Pinter nee Merkel* was born
in Bukowsko to Naftali and Matl in 1884 (Naftali is listed as living in home
#45 (this home was later re-numbered to #389)
To see the Spis, go to: http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Bukowsko/Spis.htm
) *alternate spelling - Markel
Their Children:
Avraham Pinter – Married – born
in 1916
Eliyahu Pinter – Single – born
in 1917 (surname listed as “Punter” on Yad Vashem)
Moshe Pinter – Single – born in
1919
Rivka Pinter – Single – born in
1920
Aaron Pinter – Single – born in
1921
(all Pinter Family members listed
above perished in 1942)
Sources: Yad Vashem –
Pages of Testimony
Yitzhak Zuckerkandel’s speech at the dedication of the Martyrs of Bukowsko Monument - Mount Zion Memorial Cemetery - Jerusalem, Israel in 1946 can be read at the link below.
Source: Sanok Memorial
(Yizkor) Book ( Scroll down to Page 597 – “Commemoration of the martyrs
of Bukowsk” )