MY GRANDFATHER - ABRAHAM AARON JACOB LEV

                                                                        Side 12

                                                 Dictated by Samuel Holland 1972-3©

                               Transcribed and Annotated by Elizabeth Karen Reinhart 1996

I feel that I ought to record my reminiscences about my grandfather Lev and what I knew and understood about him.  In a way, or rather in some ways, for one period of time, certainly until about the age of 12 or 13, he was like a father to me.  I really don't remember much about my grandfather until the occasion when I was called in to say kaddish upon my father's death.  It appears natural to me that having lived with a father and a mother and sisters in our own home and receiving plenty of attention and affection from all them, I would not remember much of any interest or attention that I might have received, which I undoubtedly did, from my grandfather.  But I do remember him well, especially from the day he took me to the cheder.  And he took to the cheder and years later to register me in the public school and a year later to accompany me on my trip to the city of Belyin(?)^[1] where I intended to enroll in high school. 

And that impressive time when he took me to the cheder for the first time and arranged for a party for the pupils in that cheder and delivered a short talk to me impressed me very much for the rest of my life.  And, of course, what I remember most is the expressions or the ideas that he expressed in his remarks to me made in the presence of the rabbi and the pupils.  At that time he indicated that the admonition of the rabbis in Pirke Avot to the effect that a Jew must study the Torah all his life until the very last day.  And in addition, a further admonition to the same tract to the effect that one must not make out of the Torah an axe with which to chop wood.  And he explained that what he meant and what it was meant by our learned and wise rabbis was:  the Torah or knowledge must be studied for its own sake and not for the sake for making a living of that, in this case of the Torah, it does not mean to study to be a rabbi or a teacher.  As I think of it and as I thought of it many times:  to me, at least my grandfather was the incarnation of this very idea which he expounded to me when I was only six years old. 

I understood that he was fifteen years old when he was married to my grandmother who at that time was nineteen years old.  After marriage, he returned to the yeshiva, I believe it was the yeshiva in Telse^[2], where he continued his studies and to return a year later to find his first-born child, my mother.  He entered into business and remained in business to a very old age.  In his case, it was a lumber business in which he was engaged and has also initiated from time to time his children as they grew up, or rather the boys.  And in his business, he frequently was obliged to travel or to go to other cities and stay over for days, sometimes weeks -- like Riga, Petrograd (at that time St. Petersburg), Vilna, Vitebsk, and smaller communities.  He was a man of the world and he accumulated knowledge of what was going on in the world.  He was receiving two newspapers every day, one in Hebrew and one in Russian.  The Russian was the "News of the Bush(?)" -- he was interested in the prices of lumber primarily which was a matter of export from Riga and he was interested to watch the bush(?).  But both papers were complete in themselves and covered a wide range of news in the country and in the world, in the general community as well as in the Jewish community.  He also was an avid reader of books.

His books were generally in Hebrew.  And it is interesting to remember that he has been reading practically all of the books that have been appearing from time to time and some that had been published even before his birth.  He never evaded reading books with anti-religious contents or with contents criticizing the Jewish community nor the Jewish religious community.  Yet with all of that, practically every day of his life he was also engaged in studying and reading the Torah, the Talmud, the Mishnah, the Midrash, and the Commentaries.  He was the president, the gabbai of the synagogue, of the three synagogues in Lutzin.  That synagogue was established by his father, my great-grandfather Mendel Leib and was considered slightly more modern than the others in the city.  He was generally appearing to prayer to the first minyan, which was called the shacharis meaning the first ones early in the morning, probably around six or seven o'clock.  And after completing the prayers which would possibly would take around an hour, an hour-and-one-half, he had a lesson where he was teaching or preaching or explaining to those who could stay over with him -- and they generally all stayed over because they were all praying and studying at the same time the Mishnah which was the basis of the Talmud.  He was lingering around the synagogue for another hour or so as he was the president or treasurer of these community free-loan society which was called mishlas ha-siddum.  Daily in the morning during the two sections of the prayers, he would go around to the people, asking for contributions to this free-loan society.  At the end of the second minyan or second group of prayers, he would again have a lesson to another group of Jews from an janka(?), another group of commentaries on the Bible.  Having completed this daily ritual, he would go home to attend to business.  But he would seldom go home directly, he would generally go to the marketplace where he would pick-up some fresh fish, generally a somewhat large fish of the mackerel type or carp.  With pride, he would take the right fish out of the water and bring it to my grandmother.  The fact is since we have been surrounded by lakes, we have been eating much fish and we were having our larger meals, especially on holidays and weekends, we would have a fish dish in addition to meat or other courses.  He would then attend to business.  At the end of the day, he would go back to the synagogue for the two evening prayers, one at sunset and one immediately following, the minchah and the maariv.  That would take him until dark when he would go home for supper, read, relax, talk to the children about business, politics, or read a book before he goes to bed.

On Saturday, late in the afternoon, he had been giving a lesson in Midrash.  The Midrash consists of books of moral teaching, largely based on the Bible, the Old Testament, also containing many anecdotes, legends, and stories about the rabbis of old, who were famous in their contributions to Jewish religious life and culture.  That lesson of Midrash was given to the common people of the synagogue, of whom there were many:  blacksmiths, shoemakers, tailors, carpenters, coachmen, laborers.  And that lesson was given in a definite style, in a definite melody or singsong.  And in my childhood days, my grandfather was always insistent on my joining him and sitting alongside of him, while he was reading parts of Midrash and then explaining to his interested audience.  His explanations and his commentaries on that Midrash consisted not only of direct explanations and religious comments but included always some of his stories of his travels in other cities, of the life in the largest cities, of wars and other events in the world, of political events everywhere.  And he always them in connection with the Midrash, as extensions, as examples of modern life as it was understood through the eyes of Jewish religious training and morality.  The audience primarily was of the type that would not read newspapers or books and their Jewish education was limited possibly to the prayer book and the first books of the Old Testament which they could hardly comprehend.  I could feel even as a child the excitement, the enthusiasm, and the enjoyment of the audience.  And I certainly could feel the love and affection of my grandfather for these heroes, for his audience, this plain people, and his happiness in being able to impart to them that of which they were deprived of in their own lives. 

One more group he had to which he was, one might say was lecturing:  on Friday evenings after dinner in the synagogue, this was a select, an elite group of Talmudic and Hebrew scholars.  And they were reading the Talmud, consisting of so many books and discussing the Talmudic law as they went along under the direction of my grandfather.  The study of the Talmud would generally take about seven years to complete and I have a picture here which was sent to me later of the banquet that was given by the Society of the Study of the Talmud at my grandfather's home upon the completion of the sixth time of the study of the Talmud which took approximately 42 years.  Such banquets or celebrations had generally been held by the Society at the home of one of the members every seven years.  My grandfather wanted me always, and so did I want to always, to accompany him as he was discussing and explaining the Talmudic law.  Naturally I cannot say or remember how much I understood, but I enjoyed the company, and especially at the end of each lesson, they generally have prepared foods like apples and pears, cake, and beans, large beans, boiled in a special manner.  Of course, I was generally looking forward to this repast, that weekly repast after the study of the Talmud.

I may say that the Free-Loan Society of the city of Lutzin was not the only society being operated by the community.  There were other societies like the one called somech noflim [______ ____] meaning those who assist the fallen ones or rather helping the poor directly.  There was ha noses kalim(?) meaning the receptions for the brides and that consisted of raising money and always having ready enough money for dowries, clothes, and other things for the young ladies of the poor families who were about to be married and who could not have the wherewithals either for their clothing or for dowries.  And above all, and the most important of the societies, was, of course, the chavrah kedisha, meaning the holy society or the sacred society.  That was the burial society of the city which operated a cemetery for all the Jews of Lutzin.

My grandfather was very active in that society too.  And from time to time he was its president.  And that was another society that was holding its annual banquet and very frequently the great annual banquets were held at my grandfather's large dining room.  And how well I remember those banquets, the singing, the food, and the spirit of brotherhood that generally prevailed there.  My grandfather's home has been an open house --- it was open to all who wanted to enter there for their own purposes.  There never was a time when some of us was not in operation so as to accommodate people who would come in from time to time, Jews and Gentiles.  And, of course, especially members of the Jewish community.  People came for advice on their personal matters to my grandfather who was always ready to listen, to give advice, and to render whatever help he could in each particular case. 

His financial fortunes have not always been very good, and, certainly not steady --- but he at all times preserved his dignity and was treated with dignity whether he had money or could be helpful with money to others or whether he was what one would say "in the dumps."  He always held his head high and never complained. 

It is interesting that he was not a Zionist.  As a matter of fact, he was an anti-Zionist and did not trust or believe that a man like Theodore Herzl, the founder of Zionism, a Viennese Jew, a journalist of little Jewish education, could be the instrument of solving Jewish problems in the world and saving the Jews.  My grandfather felt that Jews --- and he expressed himself over and over again --- that Jews in the Diaspora or outside of Palestine are there because God willed it to be that way.  And it is up to them to maintain their religion, their culture, their own life, and where ever possible to take advantage and cooperate with the general community in making things better.  And he always felt that when it would be better for the whole world, it would be better for the Jews.  The subject of Zionism has always been a bone of contention and a matter of dispute between my grandfather and his three sons who were very ardent Zionists.  He also was what one would call a rationalist, a misnaged, meaning opposed to Hasidism because of their emphasis on emotionalism in religion, of drinking in the synagogue, of dancing in the synagogue, of venerating a rabbi, an individual --- and, of course, he did not believe in these Hasidic rabbis and he felt that they were an anti-social element and an obscurantist element in the Jewish community.  And, in a sense, even a dangerous element.  He was a follower of the Gaon of Vilna and he also was a follower and a student of Maimonides whose books have always been on his shelves and he never stopped reading them. 

Many a time, has my grandfather expressed to me his idea, especially in the weekly examinations that I had to go through before him in the presence of the family when I reported my studies of the Old Testament and the Talmud.  He always insisted that I must personally understand the reasons, the underlying reasons, for Jewish traditions, for Jewish religious customs, for commands in the Old Testament.  And in the study of the Talmud as I explained in my examination the ideas and opinions of the various schools of Talmudic scholars regarding certain things and deeds, personal or in community matters, he always insisted that I must take a position and make up my own mind as to what school of thought I am.  Over and over again, he emphasized that if I do not understand fully anything that I study so far religious life and commands are concerned, I must not necessarily accept them.  Of course, I am sure that idea which he expressed so often as has had an influence in my life ahead. 

During the prayers in the synagogue, he wanted me to stand alongside of him and he would always ask me the meaning of various parts of the prayers, the derivations of those prayers, the goal of those prayers, and whether I agreed with them or whether I didn't agree with them.  I must confess that those examinations and cross-examinations have not always been pleasing to me because frequently I would have preferred to leave the synagogue for the outside where my friends were playing in the synagogue yard --- but on the other hand, I felt proud of his confidence in me in discussing these frequently obscure matters. 

I loved him!  And I loved his personality, his appearance, his gentility, his gentle demeanor with me, his gentle demeanor with people with whom he in came in contact, Jew and Gentile, his broad understanding of the community interests, both Jewish and non-Jewish, his easy conversation and communication with the outside world, the holders of the estates outside Lutzin with whom he was doing business, the bureaucrats in the city with whom he was friendly, and I admired him.  And I was left with that admiration for the rest of my life!  Frequently in the years following and to the present day, he has been coming to me in my dreams over and over again. 

Shortly after the First World War, a Gentile resident of Lutzin came to the United States, or rather to Chicago, and he brought a present from my grandfather.  The present consisted of the old prayer book that my grandfather used all his life with which I was so familiar because that was the same prayer book which I used together with him during my childhood days and a little note to the effect:  "my very beloved grandson, I should like to send you a present because I love you but I cannot see what sort of a present would be useful to you or would be appreciated so I taking the other way and I am sending you something to show you my love for you, I am for your sake, separating myself from that dear object, that siddur which we both used for prayer for so many years, I am parting with him for the sake of my love, I am not sure that you are ever going to use it, but this is strictly my personal expression of my attachment to you."  I still have that siddur.

My mother undoubtedly inherited many of his traits.  I felt it during my lifetime.  I felt that my grandfather was always willing to do much more for her than she would permit him to do.  She has retained his pride and self-respect all her life.  From the moment that my mother took over the job of bringing up the children, six small children ....[tape ends].