The issue of prostitution is as old as this world. In Russian empire prostitution was legalized in 1843. The first attempt to count the amount of brothels in Russian Empire was taken in 1889. According to the records at that time there was 1,216 officially legalized brothels with 7,840 women with permission to work there. Together with street prostitutes who…
Within the Pale of Settlement, horticulture was not a typical Jewish enterprise or field of endeavor. There were several obstacles to establishing a horticultural business. Not only were Jews’ rights to own land limited, but they also needed a significant amount of capital for the initial investment and beyond. In addition, uncontrollable natural causes and weather could heavily impact the…
After the 1917 revolution in the Russian Empire, the Institution of Jewish Education became the most vulnerable and effected by economical instability. Regular local donors were not able to support Jewish schools and yeshivas anymore, and head of yeshivas reached out to American Jews with the request of financial help. Beginning from 1921 this type of help was established, and…
We would like to let you know that we recently found an 1892 list of Grodno synagogues that were registered as prayer houses. (Please note that the government authorities often referred to synagogues as “prayer houses”.) This list contains the following information: the name of each synagogue, its location and the year construction was finished. There are 31 entries, including…