NO ASSIMILATION – WHY?

Two Cultures, Side by Side

It is often asked: – Why is it that the Jews of Europe didn’t assimilate with their neighbors, or even make close friendships?

The answer is that both groups of people were so different, and so afraid of each other, that intimacy was an impossibility.

The Poles, the Romanians, Ukrainian Russians, and people of all the European nations, even when those nations were overrun, or conquered and occupied by others, remained on their own lands; on their own farms. No matter what a nation might call itself at the moment, they were the dwellers of the land. In contrast, most Jews considered their presence in these countries to be only temporary. They were in Diaspora, a curse from God. They felt that by being absolutely and meticulously religious, the Almighty would forgive them their sins and would send down the Messiah to bring them home to their real homeland, restore their holy temple, and bring eternal peace and bliss onto this earth.

Three times each day, and more on the observant holiday fast or feast days, their cry was:

"Restore the Temple, bring us home to Israel, next year in Jerusalem."

To these Jews there was no need to be like the Gentiles who didn’t know the real God, or who didn’t observe any of the 306 mitzvahs (good deeds) that a Jew was to perform.

And the Gentiles looked at the Jews as strangers. They didn’t let the Jews own farmland and they restricted the areas where the Hebrews could live. The more restrictions, the more the Jews had to retreat inwardly and keep themselves separate from the Gentiles.

Their dark clothes, little black caps for the men, drab clothing and wigs for the women, were ultimately all marks of oppression that were forced on them. This, of course, made it easier to identify the Jews, and yet they became their own badges of honor. By outside legislation, demand, and pressure, and through the internal practices by the Jews themselves, they took on the look and behavior of a different culture; a strange nation coexisting, a bit uneasily, with their neighbors.

Language was a great complication to communication between the two communities. The Jews generally spoke Yiddish, a virtual secret language in that few Poles or other Europeans made any attempts to learn it. Jews also mastered Hebrew, which again was a language known only to relatively few biblical scholars. The Jews also learned enough Polish, or other indigenous languages, to engage in trade, but most were not highly proficient in the use of the local language. In my part of Poland we also knew some Russian because the Russians were once the administrators. Without a common body of clearly applied language, misunderstandings were inevitable on both sides.

And complete strangers they became to one another – the Jews in the little hamlets, towns, and shtetels, and the non-Jews in their surrounding villages, farms, and fruit orchards.

Yet there was a dependency of each group upon the other for everyday existence.

The Gentiles produced the foods and the provisions that were necessary for life, while the Jews became the merchants, the distributors of these food products, and who exchanged money for provisions so that the producers could then purchase other products - products often manufactured by Jewish craftsmen..

Every shtetel had a "market day" once a week. In my town, it was on Tuesday.

Early in the morning horse drawn wagons loaded with sacks, barrels, and small livestock descended upon, and filled, the previously empty market space to total capacity. Sacks filled with potatoes, grain, fruit and all kinds of vegetables were displayed. Live chickens, geese, ducks, and young calves made their usual noises. The Jews came, inspected the wares, and the hectic bargaining began. Much swearing and hand slapping continued all morning. Deals were made. The farmers got their money and the next phase began.

First, go to the bar. A great deal of vodka was consumed. Then they went to the Jewish stands and stores to buy sugar, salt, spices, and enough milled flour to last a week or longer. There were yardage shops where colorful materials for the women could be bought, and even some material for men’s clothes were available, although most men wore homemade linen trousers.

And the shoemakers had nice boots for sale, and some plain women’s shoes to wear to church. Other shops featured peasant coats with animal skins on the outside lined with long lasting cured fur from the back of sheep.

When the day was over, the Gentiles with their new acquisitions, happily left our shtetel to go back to their lives. The Jews, on the other hand, just began their work. They kept what they needed, or could afford, and the rest was sold to others.

All the craftsmen in my shtetel were Jewish. The shoemakers, woodworkers, tailors (men and women), watchmakers, barbers and all the rest were part of the Jewish tribe. The Jewish horse traders, butchers, and all the related trades people somehow made a reasonable livelihood. Nobody went hungry. If some family was in great need, the rest of the community discretely provided for them. Shabbat Challah (white, twist bread) and candles were always available for those who could not afford them.

As we look back, how we lived together was indeed a miracle. Part of the non-Jewish population, who lived outside and surrounded our little town, had their own businesses. As I recall in my time, the Christian butchers occupied a prominent area on one side of the square, and the Gentiles also had their own stationary and bookshop, as well as their own apothecary (drug store). The Jews also had their own shops of this nature.

While the Jewish life centered about the Jewish Shul and the Torah Study building, the non-Jews had their big imposing churches with their clanging bells.

To be sure, there were minor clashes, especially on Good Friday and Easter Sunday when cries were heard:

"You Jews killed our God - Christ Killers!"

The Jews kept a low profile on these days, closing their shutters and doors.

On the following day everything was quiet and normal again. We all went back to our daily routines.

Much can be blamed on the preaching of the Church. There was, and still is, a great religious ignorance concerning the Jews. And this schism exists to this day.

Even the food eating habits between the groups varied considerably. The non-Jews ate all of the parts of their pigs - really all - including the blood. It went into their sausages (Kielbasa), and they also ate much red meat from the aged cattle, giving them a illness that had no name then, but we now label "high cholesterol". Also some of the meat from the pig was not cured correctly, and this caused the cursed disease Trichinosis. The Gentiles died younger than the lean Hebrews.

The Jews were too poor to buy and eat meat – maybe a little chicken for the Shabbat, and some fish (a must) for Friday night. The main dishes were grains, black bread, noodles, farfel, and all kinds of potatoes in soups. This was supplemented with turnips, onions, and red borscht (beet soup).

The Jews remained lean, but suffered from tuberculoses, for which there was no cure, and the men suffered from hemorrhoids as a result of constantly sitting while studying the Torah.

Major changes occurred late in the 1920’s and early 30’s. Emancipation blossomed out in Poland, and in our shtetel! Instead of sending the children to a chadar (Jewish religious school) they were sent to the Polish public school. All the young men discarded the dark clothes that had been imposed on them

Suddenly everyone began to wear the latest European styles; caps with visors, and hats with brims. Public city and national elections were held, and the Jews registered and voted – thus electing their own people. The Sojourn (Parliament) was filled with informed, loud, Polish speaking Jews, while the Gentile population hesitated to go to the polls. The Jews embraced the new freedom of almost equality.

The Zionist movement also blossomed. Some young Jews trained to work on farms and started their journeys to the Promised Land in Palestine. They didn’t wait for the Messiah to lead them there.

While others, in the leftist labor movement called "The Bund," proclaimed:

"We are not going any place. This is also our land. Working people unite for better conditions."

"We are Poles, maybe agnostics, or of a different religion, but we are Poles, and we want equality."

Boundaries started to fall down. Political meetings were held between both factions. And who can say where this would have led? In 1939 the murderous Nazi hordes invaded our country and homes, and within 3 or 4 years, they, and their followers managed to kill the whole Jewish population in Poland – about 4 million people – and more than 2 million Jews from the rest of Europe.

There are only about 4 thousand Jews left in Poland now – about the Jewish population of my little shtetel.

I weep and curse the killers. All civilization ought to go down on their knees and weep too.

How could this happen?

No longer are there two cultures living side by side; only the mass graves, ashes and bones of the Jews remain representing the old shtetel inhabitants.

Cry with me - you who call yourselves civilized.

Market Square  - prior to 1939

Image provided by Thomas Panczyk
www.geocities.com/shebreshin