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CANDID SNAPSHOTS OF OUR TOWN
By Shimon Kandelshteyn
Luboml is one of the oldest towns in Poland. This
is not at all strange if we consider the structures of
the synagogue and the rows of stores that are part
of the district marketplace.
Such was the town: Houses were made of
wood, for trees were abundant in the surrounding
forests. The roofs were covered with straw or
with shingles made of wood. The macadam
roads were paved with basalt rocks, and the noise
made by wagons rolling over them could be
heard from afar.
In the center of the town was a big market
square. The fair held there every Monday drew
all kinds of merchants from the surrounding
areas, bringing their produce to the market. Jews
who made a living from trading or working lived
around the marketplace.
There was a hill near the corner of the market
(named for a Polish king, Jagiello), and the hill
was covered with many tall, strong trees. In the
summertime we would take walks and rest in the
shade of the trees. And in the winter, when the
hill was covered with snow and ice, little boys
and young men ice-skated and went sledding.
On the other side of the market square stood
the magnificent ancient Great Synagogue building
with its tall, lofty stained-glass windows. The
walls of the synagogue were decorated with pictures
from the Holy Temple and the Zodiac. In the
month of Elul, the walls were hung with splendid
parochets (curtains that normally cover the doors
of the Holy Ark), which were wonderful and beautiful.
The shul had two women's sections; one was
in a gallery above the entrance, and the other was
below, along the north side of the synagogue.
Across from it, off of the vestibule, there were
160
smaller synagogues attended by all kinds of societies
and Chasidic sects: the Tailors' shul, the
Stepenyer Chasidim shul, the shul of the Psalm-
Sayers Society.
Besides the Great Synagogue, there was the
Bet HaMidrash, which was attended all week
long by congregants from the surrounding area.
There were also Chasidic shtiblech, such as those
of the Kotsker, Trisker, and Rizhiner, where on
the Sabbath Chasidim came from every part of
town to pray.
Sometimes the rebbe of a particular shtibl
would come to "greet the Sabbath" and then
huge crowds of his particular Chasidim would
come to the shtibl to "sit at the rebbe's table" and
hear the words of Torah and moral instruction, to
sing and to take delight in the Sabbath together
with their rebbe.
Younger Jewish boys went to the general
school for secular studies, which they attended
together with Poles and Ukrainians, but there
were also private teachers in the town who taught
Hebrew as a living language.
The town had many Zionist youth organizationsHeChalutz
Hatsair, Beitar, HaShomer
Hatsair, Mizrachiand the young members had
their souls filled with yearning for the Land of
Israel, with a desire of being worthy enough to
"ascend" to the Holy Land.
Luboml also had an agricultural training camp
to prepare youth to be pioneers in Palestine.
Jews had been living in Luboml for many
generations and were deeply rooted there, until
the new Amalek arose, may his name be erased,
and brought ruin and destruction to its very foundation.
These were dear Jewish people, so good
and so pure. May we never forget them!