Zhitomir ZAGS Archives

As the chief rabbi of Novograd Volynsk, my grandfather Grand Rabbi Jacob Korff had the responsibility of keeping track of the births, marriages, and deaths of the Jews in the region, and his record keeping was meticulous. He sent his ledgers to the regional capitol, Zhitomir. Vitaly and Miriam had located these ledgers at the Zhitomir ZAGS Archives and so Baruch and I traveled there in the hopes of being able to view them.

Baruch Korff and Paul Gass at the entrance to the city of Zhitomir

The chief archivist, Natalie Alexeovna Medvedeva, warmed up to Baruch very quickly and he autographed one of his books for her. She brought out some record books containing not only birth, marriages, and deaths of individuals in the Jewish community but also chronicled the brisses and bar mitzvahs. The entries were written in my grandfather’s handwriting.

Baruch autographing a copy of his Nixon book for the director of the Zhitomir ZAGS Archives. He addressed it to “a marvelous and delightful young lady in gratitude.”

We were able to view my grandfather’s record books but weren’t permitted to photograph any of the records within. However, I was allowed to photograph my uncle holding one of the ledgers open.

Medzibozh and Berdichev

Before heading back to Kiev, we visited the old Jewish cemeteries in the towns of Medzibozh and Berdichev, where the Ba’al Shem Tov and many of his disciples were buried. These graveyards were better maintained than the others, and we noted the existence of recently built ohels.  An ohel is a building that covers a below-ground grave. Ohels are not mausoleums. (Mausoleums are elaborate tombs that hold the remains of the deceased in coffins or urns, which are not buried in the ground.)
 

(a)	(c)
(b)
(a) This ohel is located in the town of Berdichev, and is the burial site of one of Paul's and Baruch’s ancestors, Rabbi Levi Yitzhak (1740-1809) of Berdichev. He was student of the Maggid (popular preacher) of Mezhirich and son of Rabbi Meir. (b) Inside a different ohel (c) With Paul’s help, Baruch could peer into this ohel but there wasn’t enough light for Baruch to read any identifying inscriptions.

An old fortress dominates the landscape near the cemetery where the Ba’al Shem Tov is buried

This brick ohel houses the grave of the Ba’al Shem Tov.

Like the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the Ba’al Shem Tov’s gravesite is the repository of prayers written on paper. (a & b) In addition to the Ba’al Shem Tov’s grave, graves of other famous rabbis were also inside the ohel (c) A plaque commemorating the Ba’al Shem Tov	(a)
	(b)
	(c)

The physical demands of our trip were getting to be too much for Baruch but he wouldn’t quit. With the help of Paul and Vitaly, Baruch continued to look at the monuments of the Ba’al Shem Tov’s students.

Monuments of the Ba’al Shem Tov’s students

KIEV

Paul and Ritali Zaslavsky in Ritali’s home; Vitaly’s excellent translation skills permitted Paul and Ritali to have an in-depth conversation.

In Kiev, I met Rabbi Yakov Bleich, the chief rabbi of Kiev and Ukraine. He was a young, Brooklyn-bred Israeli with a strong vibrant personality, who had accomplished a great deal in a short amount of time. Six hundred young people were enrolled in Hebrew schools under his supervision. He also helped Ukrainian Jews immigrate to Israel. He obviously needed money to carry on his money so of course I gave him a donation.

I met Ritali Zaslavsky, who is a poet and a writer. He wrote “The Holocaust from the Eyes of a Dog.” Ritali gave me a picture from his youth of his friend Naum Moiseevich Mandel. Naum is a famous Russian poet and playwright, who is known professionally under the pen name Naum Kusarvem. Naum adopted a pseudonym because “Mandel” sounded too Jewish and he knew he could never get published in Russia with a Jewish-sounding name. So he chose the surname Kusarvem because it connotes strength and gives the impression that he is from Siberia.

When Naum was young he believed in Communism and wrote idealistic papers about the Communist system. However, he became disillusioned and when he wrote the truth about Communism’s failures, the authorities sent him to a gulag in Siberia. Later he was allowed to return to Moscow.

Read more about PAUL, NAUM, and JEWISH GEOGRAPHY

     
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