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A young man from a neighboring town lived in
the Kotsker shtibl. FIe was nicknamed derBlinder
("blind man")he did see with both eyes, but his
left eye was half-closed.
He would sleep on a bench in the shtibl.
During the day he used to sit in the tshayne [tea
house] of Elye-Yisroyel. This young man, Moyshe,
had a talent for composing music. He had composed
most of the marches that the Chasidim of
the Kotsker shtibl used to sing while they prayed.
Whenever he completed a composition he
would call together his close friends, Shimele
Shliva, Simche the watchmaker, Fayele the kop
[head], and my brother Yisrolke, and he would
He was raw and primitive. He had not even
finished cheder. But he had a good heart and was
the first to help a Jew in need.
People called him Elye Kepke. His father
died when Elye was yet a child. His mother was
a weak, ailing woman who did not have the
strength to raise Elye as she would have liked. But
Elye, despite having grown up in great poverty,
developed into a tall, strong man.
Not having any occupation, he would spend
time among the drivers. Since he was strong,
he would help out, put his shoulder to the
wheel; or help load a heavy sack or a big keg.
And thus he gradually became a porter. He
would carry a sack of flour as easily as one
would carry a toy. Therefore he was usually
hired to act as guard at weddings, so that no
THE "COMPOSER"
By Velvl Royzman (z"1)
THE PORTER
By Yisroel Leichter
186
rehearse the music with them. They would then
introduce the march at prayer, and the Kotskers
would adopt it as their own; and so another
march was added to the rich collection of Kotsker
marches.
In the years before the war, Moyshe became
ill. The Chasidim put up a metal bed in another
part of the shtibl where the sick Moyshe would
lie. His friends did not neglect him. They brought
a doctor to him, supplied him with food, and took
care of him.
His friends, who did the most for him, were
Yisrolke Royzman, Simche the watchmaker, and
Favele "head."
uninvited guest could crash the affair.
Whenever it came to blows, he was there to
separate the disputants. No one dared cross
him and everyone used to give in to him. And
yet he, the great giant of a man, became the
seeker of peace. He never raised a hand to a
Jew, but if ever a gentile dared pick a quarrel
with a Jew, Elye Kepke was there to teach the
gentile a parshe bolek [give him a rough lesson],
so that he would think twice before starting
up with a Jew. Whenever a fire broke out,
he was the first on the spot, carrying the heavy
pails of water or rescuing the meager belongings
from the burning Jewish home.
Humble, honest Elye Kepke, with his primitive
goodness, was a well-known figure in the
shtetl.