Memories Carved in Stone - The Lyakhovichi Cemeteries
In the twentieth century,
there were two Jewish cemeteries in Lyakhovichi: the "New Cemetery" had been opened in the mid nineteenth century and the "Old Cemetery"
was mentioned in records of the 1770s. We don't know if the Old Cemetery was from the period of Jewish first settlement
in the town,
or if there had been a predecessor. We are also not sure when the last burial in the Old Cemetery was made. We would like to add some substantive articles on these cemeteries and to find pictures of those who
participated in the Chevra Kadisha or who were photographed at the gravesides of family members, etc.
This page is created now to create a landing place for your photos and to encourage you to join in this very personal way of documenting
Lyakhovichi's history. If you know the answers to any of these questions, please write!
1) Have you heard of special areas or special adjuncts to the New Cemetery for different synagogues or
groups in the community?
2) Were you told that an ancestor of yours was buried near any particular person in Lyakhovichi?
3) If an ancestor was buried in Lyakhovichi, do you have any documents from the time including letters that refer to it?
4) If your ancestors participated in the Chevra Kadisha, please share their names and information.
5) Do you have any photos of any gravestones taken in Lyakhovichi? If you do, please scan and send them to the webmaster or
email us to send you a mailing address to which hard copies can be sent.
The New Cemetery at Lyakhovichi c.1929
Think of these photos as "vitrual unveilings." In 1929, a year after Yitzhak Yosel Beder
died, those of his family who were still in Lyakhovichi took this picture near his stone.
It would let those who had already gone abroad to New Zealand, the US, and other locations,
to feel as if they had participated, and perhaps more importantly it would give a
yahrtzeit reminder unlikely to be forgotten.
The picture includes widow Bracha Esther GAVZA BEDER, son Nevach BEDER,
and daughters Mary BEDER and Rachel BEDER ARONCZYK.
We thank Joe Beder of Australia for his generosity!
Chayuta Gavza Busel at her father's grave in Lyakhovichi's New Cemetery
When Chayuta Busel stood at the grave of the Aron Lemel Gavza,
she no doubt wanted the picture for the same reasons the Beder family wanted that shown above. Her family was scattered from
the Eretz Israel to the United States and to Europe's large cities.
It could be taken out and viewed at the times of the year, one would visit your parents' graves.
But this closeup view of the gravestone tells us of the great
treasure waiting to be found in the photos of individuals. It's epitaph is complex, it
includes the names of not only her father and grandfather but mentions his descent from Rabbin
Isaiah Gavza who it calls Av Bet Din of Lyakhovichi. This is Isaiah [Shaya] Gavza (c.1730s-c.1790s]
who is described in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania Census as "Rabbin" and whose son signed the 1819 Revision
List with the note that he was the son of Rabbin Isaiah Gavza, of blessed memory. We thank Maris Rabolini
for this contribution!
This photo from the Baranovichi cemetery shows the head of the Baranovichi Chevra Kadisha, Yankel Yudkovski, in the middle with his wife Malka
and her brother Moshe Domikowsky. They are standing in what appears to be a woman's section of the Baranovichi cemetery.
The stones are clearly readable in this 1933 photo. They stand in front of a relative's - grave, Edel Domikowsky daughter of Zvi Hirsh, who died in the Fall of 1932.
Many in the Baranovichi cemetery would have been born or previously resident in Lyakhovichi.
The New Cemetery in Lyakhovichi
