Earlier in May 2014 we already published a list of synagogues of Mozyr uezd with names of town, rabbi and staff. Today we are posting a similar list of synagogue of Minsk uezd. Former building of the synagogue in shtetl Ivenetz. The building was returned to the jewish community of Belarus and currently remains vacant. According to the 1850 Census…
In the mid-19th century, “door-to-door” sales became very popular in the Russian Empire. This type of business required only the payment of a small tax, and there were no overhead expenses (no rent for a store, for example). Booksellers were also successfully selling their books by this method. However, they were required to comply with an 1845 law, which regulated…
Following the 1917 Revolution, the Communists needed Jewish propagandists for their philosophy who would travel to shtetls (Jewish villages and hamlets) and explain the events of the Revolution and what it meant for the country. They had to explain this to the residents, many of whom were illiterate and couldn’t even speak Russian. Jews in collective farm reading jewish communist…
In 1917, when the Communists in the former Russian Empire took power, traditional Jewish life was forced to go underground. The main wave of synagogue closings took place from 1922-23. By 1926, in Belarus, only 37 synagogues were open. By 1939, there were only 4. As a result, in almost every town underground cheders were organized. However, during 1937-1938, most…