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Jewish youth were living with a great dream of
individual and national redemptiona dream
that was burned together with its dreamers in the
Hitler crematoria.
A Dramatic Group
Regarding the pious Jews it is not appropriate to
speak of cultural work. Naturally, among them
Torah is everything; and whatever is connected
with the Torah is automatically considered the
highest and best. All other things are dvorim
b'teylim [idle words]. The spiritual center is the
bet midrash, the cheder, the yeshivathese are
the places where the pious Jew carries out what
the secular Jew calls "cultural work."
The secular Jews think differently. Their cultural
work is not so monolithic; it reaches out into
many domains. But inasmuch as it has been
connected with the activities of Jewish political
parties since World War I, it is represented in the
party work. An exception is local Jewish theater
work, which has not always been tied to a particular
party.
Immediately after World War I, a Jewish dramatic
group was organized in Libivne. Its founder
and leader, from its very inception, was Hershl
Chasid. At times he was also its dramatic director.
The group put on a series of performances,
including Bar Kochba, Hertsele Meyu ches ("The
Heart of an Aristocrat," by Yisroel Helfant of
Rakovits), Yeshiva Bocher ("The Torah Student"),
Tzezeyt un Tseshpreyt ("The Dispersed"),
directed by Avrom Blushteyn , Mirele Efros, The
Kreutzer Sonata, etc.
Later the troupe was reorganized, especially
through the efforts of HaShomer HaTsair, and it
put on such plays as Kol Nidre, A Mentsch Zol
Men Zayn ("You Must Be a Man"), Chasye di
Yesoyme ("The Orphan Girl"), Der Dorfs Yung
THE EARLY DAYS 71
("The Peasant Boy"), etc., directed by Yakov
Dreksler, and later by Fayvele Dreksler from neighboring
Chelm.
Participants at that time were Hershl Chasid,
Avrom Blushteyn, an d Chasye Pomerantz, who
was the main singer in the play BarKochba, Rivke
Rayz, Tobe Rayz, Chaymke Kagan, Elke Eizenberg,
Niemetz, Moyshe Chosid, Rivke Dubetsky, Chome
Friedman, Avrom Ziegelman and Abba Grimatlicht,
who was the official prompter for the troupe.
Later participants were Nechome Veyner, Gitele
Veyner, B. Veyner, Y. Grimatlicht, Yehudith
Tzurif, Z. Listhoyz, Yisroel Kramer, and Zalman
Fisher.
Profits from the performances were used for
various Jewish causes in the shtetlsocial and
cultural.
In later years, other local Jewish amateur
theater groups put on performances in the shtetl.
These performances would inject a holiday atmosphere
into the monotonous life of the shtetl, and
Jewish youths and Jews in general would fill the
theater halls.
And though what follows has nothing to do
with the Jewish theater, it is somewhat related to
Libivne's amateur actors: An all-Ukrainian dramatic
group was founded in Libivne. After the
Austrians evacuated the town, the leader of this
troupe came to Hershl Chasid and suggested that
Jews, together with Ukrainians, take over the town
and hand it over to the Ukrainian army, which
was about to enter.
After this conversation, Hershl Chasid went
to Mordche Natanzon to consult with him on
what to do. Natanzon advised him to have
nothing to do with the Ukrainians if he wanted
to avoid bringing trouble upon himself and
upon all the Jews in the shtetl. And Hershl
followed his advice.