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for other local revenue. In 1611, a royal decree
extended his license for 20 years."
But it was not just a question of leaseslocal
or district-widefor mills or liquor breweries
located beyond the borders of the towns. During
that time there was a great increase in Jewish
village settlement on the outskirts of town, but
most Jews still lived in the town, and for those
who could not start a business the major problem
was getting a job.
And precisely in this area, Jews met with great
difficulties. As in Poland in general, in the eastern
provinces Jewish artisans suffered attacks and
persecution on the part of both the law and Christian
artisan s.
But this occurred mainly in larger cities. In
the small towns of Volhyniaand Luboml could
be considered suchJews generally had the right
to take up various crafts and in many instances
were allowed to join the craft guilds."
A number of Luboml's Jews were then engaged
in business in or outside of town, and many
of them dealt in leather, grain, cattle, and textilesas
was the case with many Jews in the
Chelm-Belz district.
When we speak of trade in those areas, it is
pertinent to recall the opinion of historians regarding
fundamental differences between the
economic structure of Jewish life in Poland
(Greater and Lesser Poland, as well as Mazowie)
and of Jewish life in Volhynia, Belorussia, and
Lithuania.
From court proceeding we see that while
Jews in the first group were generally mentioned
in connection with lending activities, Jews in the
second group primarily were associated with
business transactions. In fact, the bankers of those
areas often were known as significant merchants.
The heyday of Jewish life in Luboml was also
the shining era of the local rabbinate. For 50 to 60
yearsfrom the last quarter of the 16th century to
the middle of the second quarter of the 17th
centurythe seat of the Luboml rabbinate was
graced by rabbis considered to be among the most
brilliant in their generation. A number of them
also operated yeshivas in Luboml. Students from
afar would come to learn Torah from them; more
will be said about them later.
THE EARLY DAYS 9
The Chmielnicki Massacre
Over several generations, the Jewish community
continued to grow, expand, and establish solid
roots. The Jews of Luboml looked forward, with
trust, to the continued development of their small
community.
However, the skies over the Jews in all
Volhynia suddenly became overcast. The Jewish
settlements of Volhynia, Ukraine, Podolia, and
Poland were set on fire. A murderous sword was
lowered on their headsChmielnicki and his
Cossack bands brought on the Jews bloody massacres.
This was the worst period yet in the history of
the Jewish diaspora. The mass murders and destruction
of 1648 and 1649 had begun.
The Chmielnicki bands passed like a storm
through the Jewish towns and settlements, burning,
raping, and murdering. In countless Jewish
settlements not a single soul remained alive. The
few Jewish communities not destroyed by the
Ukrainian murderers could thank only pure
chance, because it was only a lucky accident that
their communities remained intact. The Jews of
Luboml did not have such luck.
The terrible disaster happened in a year for
which the Jewish masses had great hopesthe
year 1648.
The religious Jewish massesand who among
the Jews was not religious?believed that in
1648 salvation would come to them. For years,
the Jews had discussed among themselves the
prophecy in the holy book, the Zohar, that in this
year, calculated from the numerical equivalent of
the [Hebrew] letters representing 1648, the Jews
would be liberated from their afflictions and
"each man will dwell on his land."
The fact that the year believed to be the year
of salvation was instead the year of disaster caused
even more confusion and despair in Jewish hearts.
There is a difference of opinion as to how
many Jews perished in the Chmielnicki slaughtersnot
only among historians but also among
eyewitnesses.
In one lamentation about the "fateful year of
1648," there is talk of the destruction of 300
Jewish communities. In Yaven Metzulaone of
the basic books about this periodit is stated that
700 Jewish communities were destroyed. The