Description
Book SynopsisSet in Ukraine and Crimea, this unique autobiography offers a fascinating, detailed picture of life in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Tsarist Russia. Goldenshteyn (1848-1930), a traditional Jew who was orphaned as a young boy, is a master storyteller. Folksy, funny, streetwise, and self-confident, he is a keen observer of nineteenth-century Eastern Europe, both Jewish and non-Jewish. His accounts are vivid and readable, sometimes stunning in their intensity.
The memoir is brimming with information; his adventures shed light on communal life, persecution, family relationships, religious practices and beliefs, social classes, local politics, interactions between Jews and other religious communities (including Muslims, who formed the majority of Crimea’s populace), epidemics, poverty, competition for resources, migration, war, modernity and secularization, holy men and charlatans, acts of kindness and acts of treachery. In chronicling his own life, Goldenshteyn inadvertently tells a bigger story—the story of how a small, oppressed people, among other minority groups, struggled for survival in the massive Russian Empire.
Until now, only a small circle of Yiddish-speaking scholars had access to this extremely significant primary source. This translation is a game-changer, making this treasure trove of information accessible to academics and ordinary readers alike. Informed by research in Ukrainian, Israeli, and American archives and personal interviews with the few surviving individuals who knew Goldenshteyn personally, The Shochet is a magnificent new contribution to Jewish and Eastern European history.
Trade Review“This is a remarkable book, brimming with much information about East European traditional Jewish life in the second half of the nineteenth century. Its author, Pinkhes-Dov Goldenshteyn, describes his experiences in a most direct, straightforward way, with great attention to detail. The Shochet contains a treasure trove of information for the scholar and will provide hours of reading pleasure for the layman."
— Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, University Professor of Jewish History and Jewish Thought, Yeshiva University
“Pinkhes Dov Goldenshteyn’s lengthy memoir is of great significance as he takes us with him throughout his journeys in East European Orthodox society. Here we meet many fascinating personalities up close. Originally written in Yiddish, we can thank Michoel Rotenfeld for his wonderful translation—a true labor of love— and his learned introduction and notes that allow us to get the most out of this fascinating work."
— Marc B. Shapiro, Weinberg Chair in Judaic Studies, University of Scranton
“This autobiography’s importance is indisputable. It is a rare example of an ego-document written by a ‘simple,’ ordinary Jew, someone who never belonged to the elite circles of the maskilim, but instead lived far from their centers and influences. For historians of the period seeking to draw a fair and balanced portrait of the times, Goldenshteyn’s voice is an important one.”
— Professor David Assaf, Department of Jewish History, Tel Aviv University
“A rare journey deep into the Hasidic world of nineteenth-century Tsarist Russia. Goldenshteyn, a Lubavitcher Hasid, conveys his daily struggles and fleeting joys in a manner unencumbered by the nostalgia and alienation so typical of secularist Jewish memoirs. The Shochet is meticulously edited, and is essential reading for an understanding of everyday Hasidic Eastern Europe.”
— Glenn Dynner, author of The Light of Learning: Hasidism in Poland on the Eve of the Holocaust (Oxford University Press)
“[T]his is… an extremely fascinating book that details the life of an unassuming Jewish man in late 19th-century Ukraine. The book, brilliantly translated from the original Yiddish by Michoel Rotenfeld... is the story of Rabbi Pinkhes Dov Goldenshteyn, who was a shochet and wrote his autobiography for his children so they could understand the trials and tribulations he went through. While Goldenshteyn’s intent was for his children, he has also bequeathed a great gift to us all. … Goldenshteyn was an ordinary person, who like his contemporaries, was simply struggling to survive. He never intended to write a historical account, but in his ordinariness, he has left the world with a captivating historical narrative about Jewish life in the Ukraine. … In the annals of Jewish and Eastern European history, The Shochet is a remarkably unique and fascinating work.”
— Ben Rothke, The Jewish Press
“The Shochet stands as a valuable addition to the corpus of Eastern-European Jewish memoir literature, offering readers an intimate and eye-opening view of the author’s life and the unique situation of Eastern European Jewish communities of this time period. Rotenfeld's translation expertly captures the author’s skillful storytelling, further enriching it with elucidations and notes. This renders the memoir a compelling and insightful exploration of a bygone era that resonates deeply with readers.”
— Rabbi Moshe Maimon, SeforimChatter
Table of ContentsVolume One
Acknowledgements
A Note about the Translation
Introduction: The Autobiography of Pinkhes-Dov (Pinye-Ber) Goldenshteyn—A Traditionalist’s Unique Depiction of Nineteenth-Century Jewish Life in Tsarist Russia
An Exceptional Autobiographer: Pinye-Ber’s Status, Motives, And Choices
Pinye-Ber in Contrast to Modern Jewish Autobiographers
How Did Pinye-Ber Come to Write an Autobiography?
Pinye-Ber’s Alltagsgeschichte: Traditional Jews in Tsarist Russia
Common Life and Incidental Observations
Work, Family Life, and Social Struggle
The Rebbe as an Inspirational Light
Anti-Fanaticism and Anti-Corruption
Religious Self-Realization
Pinye-Ber’s Sense of Divine Providence
A Divine-Providence-Centered Consciousness
Hasidism and Divine Providence
A Life Seen as God’s Will
Dates in the Autobiography
Pinye-Ber’s Language
Conclusion
Bibliography
A Jewish Orphan in Tsarist Russia: The Autobiography of Pinkhes-Dov Goldenshteyn
In Lieu of a Preface
Part I: My Family and Youth
My Parents and Siblings
Chapter 1: My Parents
Chapter 2: The Deaths of My Parents, Brother-in-Law, and Brother, 1854–1857
Chapter 3: Tragedy in the Lives of Three of My Sisters, ca. 1857–1864
My Early Years, 1848–1864
Chapter 4: My Early Childhood, 1848–1855
Chapter 5: A New Set of Parents, 1856
Chapter 6: With Grandfather in Groseles, 1857–1858
Chapter 7: Shuffled Around, 1858–1860
Chapter 8: Sent Off to an “Uncle,” 1860
Chapter 9: My Dream of a Celestial Palace, 1860
Chapter 10: Working as a House Servant for Shulem Tashliker, 1860–1863
Chapter 11: Beyle’s Fiancé, 1863
Chapter 12: Gaining Admittance to the Yeshiva in Odessa, 1863
Chapter 13: In Odessa, Tiraspol, and Romanovke, 1863–1864
Part II: Engagement, Marriage, and Seeking a Livelihood, 1864–1873
Chapter 14: My Unexpected Engagement, 1864–1865
Chapter 15: Obtaining a Romanian Passport and Traveling to Lubavitch, 1865
Chapter 16: The Lubavitcher Rebbe and Studying in Shklov, 1865–1866
Chapter 17: Delivering an Esreg to the Lyever Rebbe, 1866–1867
Chapter 18: My Wedding and a Fiery Pursuit, 1867–1868
Chapter 19: In Search of a Livelihood, 1868–1869
Chapter 20: Studying to Be a Shoykhet and Searching for Uncle Idl, 1870–1872
Chapter 21: Receiving Certification as a Shoykhet and Returning to Lubavitch, 1872–1873
Volume Two
Part III: My Forty Years as a Shoykhet, and Moving to Palestine, 1873–1929
Chapter 22: As the Shoykhet of Slobodze, 1873–1875
Chapter 23: The Nobleman’s Attack and Moving to the Crimea, 1876–1880
Chapter 24: Corruption in Bakhchisaray and Ungrateful Relatives, 1880–1889
Chapter 25: The Threat of Banishment from Tsarist Russia, 1881–1884
Chapter 26: Persecution in Bakhchisaray, 1884–1889
Chapter 27: Raising My Children and My Wife’s Death, 1884–1897
Chapter 28: Remarrying and My Children’s Departure from Russia, 1896–1910
Chapter 29: Preparing to Leave for Palestine, 1910–1914
Part III—Addendum: My Life in Palestine, 1913–1928
Chapter 30: The World War and the Death of My Second Wife, 1913–1916
Chapter 31: Marrying Off My Niece and Writing a Torah Scroll, 1916–1917
Chapter 32: Exile to Kfar-Saba, 1917–1918
Chapter 33: Suffering in Exile and Returning to Petakh-Tikva, 1918
Chapter 34: Completing the Torah Scroll, the Arab Attack, and My Children Join Me in Palestine, 1919–1929
Appendices:
Appendix A: The Author and His Relatives
The Author’s Final Years in Petakh-Tikva
The Author’s Children
Isaac Goldstein, the Author’s Nephew
Feyge, the Author’s Second Wife
Bashe, the Author’s Third Wife
Salomon Bernstein, Relative and Portraitist of the Author
The Printing of The Author’s Autobiography
Appendix B: Translations of Documents Written by the Author
Hebrew Engagement Contract for His Daughter Nekhame (1897)
Hebrew Ethical Will (1920)
Family Letters
Appendix C: Translations of Additional Documents
Hebrew Letter from Rabbi Medini (Sdei Khemed) Regarding the Author (1879)
Episodes Related by the Author about Rabbi Medini (Sdei Khemed)
Two Certificates in Sh’khita Obtained by the Author’s Son Refúel (1904 and 1906)
Appendix D: Genealogical Charts
The Author’s Ancestors and Siblings
The Extended Family of Ershl Teplitsky, the Author’s Brother-in-Law
The Author’s Children and Grandchildren
The Extended Hershkovitsh Family, the Family of the Author’s Wife Freyde
Appendix F: Photographs
Appendix E: Maps
Tiraspol and Its Environs
Bakhchisaray, Crimea, and Its Environs
Bibliography
Glossaries:
Introduction to the Glossaries and the Transliteration Schemes
Glossary 1: Foreign Terms
Glossary 2: Jewish Personal Names
Glossary 3: Geographic Locations in Eastern Europe
Index of Names, Places, and Subjects
