Family1 5november

FOREWORD

It is to the credit of my brother, Basil that I have compiled this electronic booklet and it is
my pleasure to present it to all my family on my 75th birthday.
The past nine months have taken me on a journey that goes back to a small Shtetl in
Lithuania in 1878, villages and cities in Latvia, pre - 1948 Mandate Palestine, South
Africa at the beginning of the 20th Century and eventually Aliyah and settling in Israel.
Each day brought new discoveries that spurred me on to search and investigate and to try
to verify all the facts.
While doing all this I believe that I may have become a nuisance by repeatedly asking my
cousins for information, but in the end, it has been worth all the trouble and I sincerely
hope that all who read this will find it interesting.
I consider this the first edition, as I am sure that because of the publication of this project
that there is other information just waiting to be discovered and because this is a digital

file, there is no limit to what can be added or subtracted.
I would like to commend my niece Lior for her efforts in deciphering the diary (Zeida’s
TAGES Buch) and thank her for sharing her work with me.
I am delighted to share this with all my family.
Finally – to my dearest Norma – thanks for your patience and more thanks for your
advice and encouragement.

Cyril Kaufman – Netanya. 14 May 2017.

******************************************************************

Israeli cousins in the lounge at Rehov Dudu Dotan - before the presentation.

The presentation

Front Row L to R (kneeling and seated): Cyril, Renee, Simmy, Harold, Edie

Back Row L to R (standing) Errol & Cheryl Derman, Norma, Basil, Sharon, Gita, Phillip, Margalit

/continuation ……………… 22nd December 2018

On the 14th May 2017, I presented a “digital flipbook” project to my Israeli family at our
home in Netanya.
Later that same evening, I sent a link via the internet to all our family abroad.
While presenting the project I said that I considered the work that I had done to be a
“beginning” and that it was the “first edition” and that I was determined to continue with
my research and I hoped that new information would come to light which would tie up
many loose ends.
Ever since that memorable evening on 14 May 2017, large amounts of information have
come to light regarding the ancestry of our family and so, rather than re-writing the
project, I have added and amended to the relevant sections.

• With the help of the Internet and search sites such as “My Heritage” and “Jewish
Gen” as well as new contacts (Kropman cousins) in Australia, London and Dublin I
am able to record that our ancestry goes back as far as 1775 to small towns in
Lithuania and there is reasonable proof that the Surname of KROPMAN changed
to KAUFMAN at the Cape Town Docks Customs some time in 1903 when Zeida
arrived in South Africa.

To this effect I have added a chapter headed – Zeida’s Extended Kropman Family.

• The “Tages Buch” has been deciphered and translated into readable Hebrew and
most of it to understandable English.

• The “lost scroll” has been located and is on permanent display in one of the
cabinets at the entrance to the Samson Centre in the Old Jewish Museum at the
Gardens Shul in Cape Town. I have personally visited the museum and have
photographed this amazing dovument.

• I am now able to trace Zeida’s sisters Tamara Gittel and Slowa Trunk and I have
renewed contact with the family of Zeida’s half-brother, Shalom Kaufman, and so I
have amended the chapter of Zeida’s sisters to Zeida’s Sisters and Half Brother.

• In July 2018 I met Fishel (Kaufie) Kaufman.
Fishel is the son of Zeida’s half-brother Shalom Kaufman (Kropman) and he lives
in Paarl – Cape, South Africa and he is named after his grandfather -Yehoshua
Fishel Kropman. Fishel told me and I quote “I have an old suitcase full of photos
and letters, but I never did anything with it because everything is written in
Yiddish and I do not read Yiddish.”
One month later I met Fishel and his son Mark in Sea Point and he gave me the
suitcase. I shall refer to this later in the project but when I opened this “suitcase” I
discovered many photos and documents that had belonged to his father Shalom and
these are now in my possession and have been the source of a lot of information
which has helped to “confirm” much of my research.
The letters have been officially translated from Yiddish to English by a certified
translator.

Below is a list of some documents and photographs that have been added:
1. Photographs and deciphering of The Scroll describing the History of The
Maitland/Brooklyn Hebrew Congregation and which is on display at the ,Museum
of The Cape Jewish Board of Deputies, Gardens, Cape Town.
2. Photographs of commemorative boards from the present Klerksdorp Shul.
3. Photographs given to me by Phillip Kaufman showing the wedding of Isaac and
Annie Kaufman in 1932 and others of the Kaufman family in Maitland around the
year 1938.
4. A copy of a letter written in English by Zeida to Harold Kaufman in which he
describes his feelings when he is told of the pending marriage to Edie Rome.
5. Abovementioned photos and letters of Shalom’s half-sisters (Zeida’s sisters) and
their families which include letters and Rosh Hashanah greeting cards (written in
Yiddish) that were given to me by Fishel (Kaufie) Kaufman
6. Documents and memorabilia received from Zilla-Jane Goodman who lived all her
youth with Zeida - in Maitland and then later in Israel.
7. Photograph of the magnificent Chanukah Candelabra that belonged to my
maternal great grandfather, Chaim Chaikel Boner, after whom I am named.
8. Photos and deciphering of the scroll handwritten by Zeida in 1954 and which
describes in detail the History of the Brooklyn/Maitland Hebrew Congregation
from 1903-1954.
9. Thanks to cousins, Zilla-Jane and Gita, I now have photographs of the original
“Tages Buch” and Zilla -Jane has to date translated the Introduction.

“THE TANACH BOOK” - INTRODUCTION

In October 2016, whilst we were playing a round of golf, my brother
Basil asked me if I had been updating Zeida’s “Tanach” Book.

My immediate reply was “no not really”.

That same evening when I returned home, I took the “Tanach Book”
off the shelf and opened it so I could see what was written inside and
what I needed to do to begin the updating.

Basil and I received this family “heirloom” from Mom after Dad
passed away in 2004 and we decided that that the book should stay
with me for safekeeping.

Mom told us that it was Dad’s book and that it had originally
belonged to our grandfather (Zeida) and the pictures alongside show
what the book looks like today and this is exactly how it looked when
we received it.

Many were the times that I saw this book on the bookshelf in Dad’s
study in the apartment at 19 David Hamelech Street, Netanya.
It always looked like an old tattered version of some religious book of
which there were so many on that shelf and so I never really bothered
to ask any questions and simply assumed that Dad used it for
reference.

So now, what follows, is what I found when I first opened this book
and how this has inspired me to use the details and to put to print
the memories and history of our Parents, our Grandparents and our
respective families from 1775 to the present.

The photograph shown above was taken in the lounge of Mom and Dad’s apartment in
Klerksdorp in July 1972 - Norma and I, Aaron and Sara were still living in Cape Town
and we visited Mom and Dad. Aaron was 2 years and 5 months old.
When preparing this project, I noticed for the first time that there is a bookshelf on the
bottom right corner behind the arm chair and on the bottom shelf, right side, is the
“Tanach Book”. (I have circled it in blue)
The book of the ‫ תנ"ך‬was printed in Berlin, Germany in 1910 and sometime after that it
became the property of my paternal grandfather (Zeida)

‫ –אברהם זלמן ב"ר יהושוע פישל‬AVRAHAM ZALMAN KROPMAN

Zeida was born to the family KROPMAN - ‫קראפמאנן‬
in Laizuva, Lithuania on 8th March 1878 – ‫ג׳ ַּב ֲא ָדר ב׳ תרל״ח‬

Yehoshua Fishel Kropman – ‫יהושוע פישל קראופמאנן‬

The picture above (received from Zilla-Jane)
is of Zeida’s father, my great grandfather – Yehoshua Fishel Kropman.

I have very little information about Zeida’s mother.
Her name was Cheyna – ‫חינע‬

She was a little over 40 years of age when Zeida was born.
She died on 27th November 1892 –‫ח' בכסליו תרנ"ג‬

In his diary Zeida describes his feelings about her and obviously was very close to her.
Jane – the eldest daughter of Zeida & Bobba was named after her.

Zilla- Jane – Raie and Nat Goodman’s daughter is also named after her.
Basil - ‫ פישל‬is named after Yehoshua Fishel.

Fishel Kaufman (son of Shalom Kaufman) is named after Yehoshua Fishel.

This family name Kropman - ‫ קראפמאנן‬is written in Zeida’s own handwriting
at age 15 in the year ‫( תרנ"ג‬1893) in his “TAGES=BUCH” (Diary)
‫ זכרונות נעורי‬-- “Memories of my Youth”

In 1896 AVRAHAM ZALMAN KROPMAN (Zeida) married
ZILLA GITTEL JOFFE (Bobba) – ‫צילה גיטל בת ר"ב יצחק ואלקה פייגה יופה‬
(family came from Veckshniai) - he was 18 yrs. and she was aged 20 yrs.

The first born, Isaac, was born in Lithuania on 20/11/1901.
The second son, Charles, was also born in Lithuania on 30/5/1903.
After the birth of the first two boys, Zeida made his way to Cape Town

and he arrived there in 1903.
Sometime around 1906/7, Bobba, Isaac and Charles travelled from Lithuania

to South Africa.
The third child, my father, Morris Louis,
was born in Cape Town on 26 January 1908.

**The surname KROPMAN changed to KAUFMAN at the Cape Town docks
when Zeida arrived in South Africa in 1903.

Hyman Joffe and his brother Max (Bobba’s brother’s) were at the port to
meet Zeida and when the time came to complete the customs forms there was

a misunderstanding by the customs officer about the spelling and
pronunciation of KROPMAN – the officer kept saying “KAUFMAN” and
eventually Hyman Joffe told the officer to write KAUFMAN and persuaded

Zeida to leave it as was.
Below is a copy of Dad’s birth certificate issued in 1908 and clearly shows the

family name was written as KAUFMAN

From then Zeida wrote his name in Hebrew ‫ קופמן‬which is how it is engraved
on his tombstone in the Zichron Meir Cemetery in Bnei Brak, Israel.
‫בית החיים "שומרי שבת" זכרון מאיר‬
After Dad five more children were born.
Jane,
a twin-Tobias (Toby) & Meyer (Mike),
Rachel (Raie)
and Ben,
all born in MAITLAND, Cape Town.

**My cousin Zilla-Jane recalls that Rachel (Raie), her mother, told her that Bobba was
pregnant 13 times between the years 1896 and 1917 but only eight children survived all
those pregnancies.

Bobba died on 8 July 1946 – ‫ט' בתמוז תש"ו‬
and she is buried in Pinelands Cemetery in Cape Town.

Zeida died on 27 January 1964 - ‫י״ג ִּב ְׁש ָבט תשכ״ד‬
The book then became the property
of my beloved Father

MORRIS LOUIS KAUFMAN – ‫משה לייב בן אברהם זלמן‬
and he continued to update most of the family events until he passed away

on 6th January 2004 –‫י״ב ְׁב ֵט ֵבת תשס״ד‬
When I opened the book for the first time I saw that the last event

recorded in the book was that of Dad’s Yarzheit
which is recorded in the handwriting of by my beloved mother
SYLVIA ROSALIN KAUFMAN - ‫שרה רבקה בת יצחק אלחנן‬

who passed away on 13 April 2011 – ‫ט׳ ְׁב ִּני ָסן תשע״א‬

Mom and Dad are buried in the New Cemetery – Raanana.



Zeida writes the top section of this page on the left:

Isaac’s Birthday, Wednesday November 20th 1901 ---‫ט׳ ְּב ִכ ְּס ֵלו תרס״ב‬
Charles Birthday, Saturday May 30th 1903 - ------- ‫ד׳ ְּב ִסיוָן תרס״ג‬
Morris Leib, January 26th 1908 ---------------------------- ‫כ״ג ִב ְּש ָבט תרס״ח‬

Meyer & Tobias, November 20th 1913--------------------‫כ׳ ְּב ֶח ְּשוָן תרע״ד‬

Benn, August 24th 1917-------------------------------------- -‫ו׳ ֶב ֱאלּול תרע״ז‬

Rachel, 6 Nov. 1911 (Nat ‫)א' אדר"ב‬

Jane, 3rdJune 1909 –

Birthday – died 19th November 1946---‫כ״ה ְּב ֶח ְּשוָן תש״ז‬
Phillip Joffe – 17 May 1922-------------------------------------‫י״ט ְּב ִאיָר תרפ״ב‬
Isaac “ - 18 December 1924---------------------------‫כ״א ְּב ִכ ְּס ֵלו תרפ״ה‬

Dad writes the bottom half as well as additions to the top half:

Isaac - 80½ died 1/6/82 ‫י׳ ְּב ִסיוָן תשמ״ב‬
Charles – died May 15 1990 -------------------------------------- ‫כ׳ ְּב ִאיָר תש״נ‬
Meyer died 31/8/78------------------------------------------- - ‫כ״ח ְּבָאב תשל״ח‬
Tobias died 17th February 1967--------------------------- - ‫ז׳ ַּב ֲא ָדר א׳ תשכ״ז‬
Benn - died 30/8/98 ---------------------------------------- ‫ח׳ ֶב ֱאלּול תשנ״ח‬
Rachel – died 9th May 1985 -----------------------------------‫י״ח ְּב ִאיָר תשמ״ה‬

BIRTHDAYS (written by Dad)

‫כ״ו ְּב ִסיוָן תרצ״ד‬ Harold Kaufman 9th June 1934
‫י״ז ַּב ֲא ָדר א׳ תרצ״ח‬
‫ז ׳ ְּב ִת ְּש ֵרי ת״ש‬ Isaac Karpas 18th February 1938
‫כ״ז ְּב ִאיָר תש״ב‬
‫כ״ו ְּב ַּתּמּוז תש״ה‬ Phillip Kaufman 21 September 1939

Cyril Kaufman 14 May 1942

Basil Kaufman 7 July 1945

Simeon Kaufman 17/6/1948

P.T.O



Cyril married Norma Fleishman – 22nd December 1968.

‫ח' חנוכה תשר"ח‬

Aharon ‫אהרן דוב‬ born 3rd March 1970
Adrian Dov ‫כ'ה ֲא ָדר א׳ תש״ל‬

Phillip Kaufman married Margalit 2nd March 1970
‫כ״ד ב ֲא ָדר א׳ תש״ל‬

Basil married Sharon Rapoport. 30th March 1970
‫כ״ב ב ֲא ָדר ב׳ תש״ל‬

Yael Chaya ‫יעל חיה‬ born 7th January 1971

‫עשרה ְּב ֵט ֵבת תשל״א‬

Alon ‫אברהם זלמן‬ born 15th January 1972

Sara ‫כ״ח ְּב ֵט ֵבת תשל״ב‬

11th August 1974 born 1st March 1972 ‫ל צביה גיט‬
‫ אב‬23rd Av
‫ט״ו ב ֲא ָדר תשל״ב שושן פורים‬

Cyril Norma Adrian
& Sara left for

England on their way to Israel

Leora Jehudit born 16 September 1975
David ‫י״ב ְּב ִת ְּש ֵרי תשל״ה‬

Born 28/3/77 ‫ט׳ ְּבנִי ָסן תשל״ז‬
In Israel



Yarzheits 9th Tamuz ‫צביעה גיטל בת יצחק‬

1946 Mom aged ± 66

1964 Pap aged 85 1pm 13th Shevat ‫אברהם זלמן ב"ר יהוש פישל‬

1967 Tobe aged 54 8th Adar 1 ‫טוביה בן אברהם זלמן‬

1946 11 am Dad I.E.O. aged 56 2ndShavuot ‫יצחק אלחנן ב"ר יהושע דוב‬

15/11/79 Fanny Fleishman ‫פני ב"ר אבא כ״ה ְּב ֶח ְּשוָן‬

12-10 am

27/3/81 Tillie Rae Owsianick aged 84 ‫כ״א ַּב ֲא ָדר ב׳ תשמ״א‬

8 am ‫טובה רחל בת חיים חייקל‬ ‫ונשמא‬

Mike aged 64 ‫מאיר ב"ר אברהם זלמן כ"ח אב תשל"ח‬

Isaac aged 80 ‫יצחק ב"ר אברהם זלמן י סיון תשמ"ב‬

‫ דוד ב"ר אהרון דוב‬David Fleishman – ‫דוד ב"ר אהרון דוב י"ב אלול‬

Cyril, Norma, Aharon & Sara came on Aliyah
August 1974

We came on Aliyah 22/11/1977
‫י "ב כסלו תשל"ח‬

Basil, Sharon, Yael Alon & Leora came on
Aliyah on 1st June 1978 ‫כ"ה אייר תשל"ח‬

Cyril, Norma & 3 children spent a year in San Francisco in
study
at University of California Dental Hospital (1980-1981 July)
9th August 1988 Aharon went into the army ‫כ״ו ְּבָאב תשמ״ח‬

January 1990 Yael went into the army



Cyril bought his home in Kiryat Ganim 1987

Basil Built his house in Tivon 1985

Aharon went into the army 9/8/1988 ‫כ'ו אב תשמ"ח‬

Nat Yarzheit " ‫א' ראש חודש אדר ב‬

OLD TESTAMENT

Alon went into the Army 11/2/1990

Air Force ‫ט'ז שבת תש"ן‬

For ? 7 years

HEBREW AND ENGLISH

Yael went into the army 1989

Sara went into the army 1990

Cyril moved his surgery to Beit Hillel Sept.1991

Lior went into the army 25/1/1994

David went into the army 3/8/1995

‫כ'ח ניסן תש"ן‬

Ilan – died in air crash 22/4/90 ‫אילן‬

BERLIN aged 27

PRINTED FOR THE BRITISH & FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY

Annie Kaufman 1910 died 26/4/1995

‫כ'ח ניסן תשנ"ה‬



Sarah married Kobi Bezalel on 25/09/1997

‫ספר‬

Nov. 1997 Basil taking his ‫שבתון‬

and is doing a BMA Course 15 months

‫תורת נביאים וכתובים‬

BENNIE died 30/8/98 ‫ח׳ ֶּב ֱאלּול תשנ״ח‬

‫מדיוק היטיב על פי המסורה‬

MORRIS PASSED AWAY 6TH JANUARY 2004 ‫י״ב ְּב ֵט ֵבת תשס״ד‬
AGE 95 yrs. 11 months

‫הוגה בעיון נמרץ‬
‫על ידי‬

'‫הכחם המובהק מהו‬

‫מאיר הלוי לעטערים‬

BERLIN

PRINTED FOR THE BRITISH & FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.
1910

This page was loose inside the book.
It shows a calculation that Dad was making regarding the year

that Zeida was born - 1878
He has written 1964 - which is the year that Zeida died - and subtracted 85-

which was Zeida's age when he died and the result
is 1878 which is the year that Zeida was born.

Below that there are two dates - 9/7/46 and the
Hebrew date 9th Tamuz 5706

This is the date that Bobba died.

The date below that - 19/11/46 is the date
that his sister Jane Karpas died.

Jane was Isaac Karpas's mother and she was the older of the two sisters.
The younger sister was Raie and she and her husband Nat Goodman
raised Isaac after Jane's death.
Dad also records Ben's death

This is the same page as the one opposite and
which I found loose inside the book.

I thought it appropriate to use this page to record
the deaths of

Ben -- Mom -- Joy -- Arthur -- Effie

This page recorded the events of Alon and Lior
"going to the Army"

I have used this page to continue
with family events from 2017 onward

THIS IS THE OPPOSITE SIDE
OF THE LAST PAGE

The address that appears on this
page is the address of Dad's
surgery in Klerksdorp.

This page has now been pasted into
the book and will be used for

further entries in the future.

Avinoam born to Lior and Rani Gad 29/05/2018

‫ספר‬

‫תורת נביאים וכתובים‬

Ben Bezalel born to Sara & Kobi-12 July 2000 -‫ט׳ ְּב ַתּמּוז תש״ס‬

‫מדיוק היטיב על פי המסורה‬

‫הוגה בעיון נמרץ‬

Aharon married Meital Hasson 0n 31/5/2001 - ‫ט׳ ְּב ִסי ָון תשס״א‬

‫על ידי‬

Yael married Yuval Cohen on 4/9/2001- ‫ט״ז ֶּב ֱאלּול תשס״א‬

'‫הכחם המובהק מהו‬

Roy Kaufman born to Aharon & Meital 5/7/2002 - ‫כ״ה ְּב ַתּמּוז תשס״ב‬

‫מאיר הלוי לעטערים‬

Alon married Ayelet Rosner 19/9/2003- ‫כ״ב ֶּב ֱאלּול תשס״ג‬

Daniella & Matan born to Yael & Yuval 13/2/2005 - ‫ד׳ ַב ֲא ָדר א׳ תשס״ה‬

Tamar born to Alon & Ayelet 10/3/2005- ‫כ״ט ַּב ֲא ָדר א׳ תשס״ה‬

Sivan born to Aharon & Meital 10/6/2006-‫י״ב ְּב ִא ָיר תשס״ו‬

David marries Carmit Ben Zion 20/6/2007 - ‫ה׳ ְּב ַּתּמּוז תשס״ז‬

Yoav born to Alon & Ayelet 18/3/2008 - ‫י״א ַּב ֲא ָדר ב׳ תשס״ח‬

Shachar born to David & Carmit 7/3/2009 - ‫י״א ַּב ֲא ָדר תשס״ט‬

Adi born to Aharon & Meital 3/9/2009 - ‫י״ד ֶּב ֱאלּול תשס״ט‬

Omer born to Alon & Ayelet 22/7/2011 - ‫כ׳ ְּב ַּתּמּוז תשע״א‬

Omri born to David & Carmit 31/3/2012 - ‫ח׳ ְּב ִני ָסן תשע״ב‬

Eyal born to Lior 7/4/2014 - ‫ז׳ ְּב ִני ָסן תשע״ד‬

Avinoam born to Lior and Rani Gad 29/05/2018 - ‫ט״ו ְּב ִסי ָון תשע״ח‬

BERLIN

PRINTED FOR THE BRITISH & FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

1910

FAMILY

FROM

LITHUANIA & LATVIA
TO ISRAEL

(VIA SOUTH AFRICA)

1775 – 2018

COMPILED AND EDITED

BY

CYRIL KAUFMAN

‫חיים בן משה לייב קאופמן‬

FROM LITHUANIA & LATVIA TO ISRAEL (via SOUTH AFRICA)

This project began when I took Zeida’s “Tanach Book” off the shelf so that I could do some
homework and try to update family births, marraiges and Yarzheits.

The original task has now been completed and I thought that this woud be the end but I
soon came to realise that it was only the beginning and that it has now become a story.

It is a story about our ancestors who like many other Jewish families lived in towns and
villages in Lithuania and Latvia in the 18th & 19th centuries and how the large majority lived
through very difficult and troubled times.

The story will relate that many of them waited for the first opportunity to leave and to seek
a better life in far away countries and that our grandparents, on both sides, were no
different and in the latter years of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century
they left their respective hometowns in Northern Europe and travelled to South Africa.

The story is revealed by information gathered from:

• Zeida’s Tanach Book - his handwritten diary (“Tages Buch”) - written in 1893.
• Internet research on the Genealogy Websites – Ancestry and JewishGen and information

gathered from the archives of Yad Vashem.
• The original handwritten scroll (and it’s translation) written by Zeida and which describes

the history of the Maitland Hebrew Congregation from 1903 to 1954.
• Mom’s birthday and wedding anniversary book.
• Photographs, letters and documents of the Kaufman and Owsianick families that date

back to the later years of the 19th Century and the early years of the 20th Century and
continue to the present.
• Documents and photographs of Norma’s parents, David and Fanny Fleishman.

➢ It is the story of a large family with the name of Kropman that goes back to 1775 and that
for our immediate family the name changed to Kaufman.

➢ It is the story of my paternal grandparents Avraham Zalman and Zvia Gittel Kaufman that
begins in Laizuva, Lithuania in 1878.

➢ It is the story of my maternal grandparents Isidore Elkin and Tillie Ray Owsianick (Boner)
that begins in Vishtinez, Russian Poland, in 1892 and Chelm, Lithuania in 1896.

➢ It is the story of Norma’s parents David and Fanny (Javen) Fleishman that begins in
Dvinsk, Latvia in 1896.

➢ It is the story of how the Kaufman and Owsianick families were united in Klerksdorp,
in 1941, by the marriage of Morris Louis Kaufman and Sylvia Rosalin Owsianick and that
at different times between the years 1974 and 1978, they and their children and
grandchildren ALL made Aliyah to Israel.

I will also record that although some of the descendants of the Kaufman (Karpas) and
Owsianick (Abratt) families are still in South Africa, most emigrated and are scattered in all
four corners of the globe, in Israel, Australia, United Kingdom and United States and I shall
compile an exact list which will become an integral part of this project.

IT IS THE STORY OF OUR FAMILY AND IT SHOULD BE PRESERVED
AND REMEMBERED FOR ALL COMING GENERATIONS.

AVRAHAM ZALMAN KAUFMAN (KROPMAN)
ZEIDA

)‫אברהם זלמן קופמן (קראופמאנן‬
THE JOURNEY FROM LITHUANIA TO CAPE TOWN 1903
THE JOURNEY FROM CAPE TOWN TO RAMAT GAN 1961

Zeida was born in Laizuva Lithuania
on 8th March 1878 – ‫ג' באדר ב' תרל"ח‬
According to his diary (Tages Buch) handwritten at age 15 in 1892/3, he had the most miserable
upbringing and he knew only poverty, hunger and cold.
When his mother died in 1892 he decided to leave home and to enter and study in a yeshiva and in his
own words he writes that his life changed for the better.
I have learned from Zilla -Jane that Zeida met Zvia Gittel Joffe (Bobba) when he was 18 years old (1896)
and they married (exact date unknown) and it is distinctly recorded that their first child, a boy, was born
on the 20th November 1901 and they named him Isaac.
The second child, Charles was born on 30th May 1903 and soon after Zeida travelled to Cape Town,
South Africa and arrived in 1903 where a job as a “shochet” had been arranged for him by his brothers-
in-law Max and Hyman Joffe.
From that year on he was very active in the formation of the Maitland Hebrew Congregation and
Talmud Torah and he became Head Shochet for the Cape Peninsula Board of Shechita, a position that he
held for 45 years until his retirement in 1952.
When finances allowed he sent for Bobba and the two boys and they arrived in Cape Town in 1907.
Their third child, Morris Louis (Dad), was born on 26th January 1908 and thereafter came five more
children.
Jane; Tobias (Toby) and Meyer (Mike) – a twin; Rachel (Raie) and Ben.
Bobba passed away on 8th July 1946.
Zeida continued to live at 5 Ferndale Road, Maitland, together with his daughter Raie, her husband,
Nathan (Nat) Goodman and their daughter Zilla- Jane.
In 1961 they all made Aliyah as it was his wish to live his last years in Israel. They lived in an apartment
in Herzl Street, Ramat Gan.

Zeida died on 27 January 1964 and is buried in the “Zichron Meir” cemetery in Bnei Brak, Israel.

ZEIDA’S DIARY – TAGES BUCH

Avraham Zalman Kaufman (Kropman)
At the age of 14 Avraham Zalman Kropman began writing a diary

which he called a Tages Buch and he named it
‫ זכרונות נעורי‬- Memories of my youth.

He completed this work at age 15 in 1893.
The original document is with my cousin Zilla Jane who now lives in Austin,
Texas. USA and she told me that “many years ago I made a photocopy for your

Dad”
I heard about this “book” after Dad passed away in 2004 and I was told that

Dad had made a copy for Harold Kaufman who in turn gave Basil a copy.
It consists of 34 pages of Hebrew handwriting and aside from
describing many family events there are also sections that are
written in the form of poetry.



‫ספר‬

‫זכרונות נעורי‬

‫אשר קרה ויתיו‬
‫ימי מגורי כתבתי לזכר‬
‫עולם להיות למשמרת‬
'‫לימים ייצרו מאת אבר‬
‫זלמן ב"ר יהושוע פיסל‬
‫קראפמאנן‬
‫לפ"קתרנ"ג‬
‫משנת‬

TAGES = BUCH

von

A. S. KROPMAN

A book

Memories of my youth
which happened in my life that I wrote

for an everlasting memorial

produced by
Avraham Zalman the son of Yehoshua Fishel

Kropmann

1893

TAGES = BUCH
von

A. S. KROPMAN

The writing is spectacular in its neatness and correctness and for most, it is very
difficult to read and understand especially as at the time Hebrew was not yet a
modern language and it was only during the late 1890’s that the father of Modern
Hebrew, Eliezer ben Yehudah, began to modernize the language.

The language in this document has been described by a Professor of Hebrew as
PRE – REVIVAL MODERN HEBREW.

My niece, Lior, took it upon herself to try and simplify the contents by typing it
letter for letter and word for word so that it would be easier to read and
understand and this in itself was a huge undertaking as many of the pages are
written in the form of poetry and only the author or some expert in the language
of the “mikrah’ (Tanach) would be able to explain the thoughts and feelings
behind each word and each sentence.

When one reads the sections that describe everyday life, one can only attempt
to imagine the difficult childhood that out grandfather experienced in the latter
years of the 19th century.

There were hardly any times of happiness and all he ever refers to are the feelings
of poverty and hunger (never enough money to buy food) freezing cold, never
sure where he would sleep at night, a fire that wiped out almost all the houses and
buildings in the village – the list goes on and on.

About six months ago I was fortunate enough to meet Prof. Yael Reshef from the
department of Hebrew language studies, Hebrew University, Mount Scopus in
Jerusalem and she referred me to an MA student – Rotem Abromovitz – who was
kind enough to decipher and print the text so that now it is somewhat easier to
understand.

The contents are of two types- there are records of events and there are sections
where the author let’s out his feelings in the form of poetry – mostly very sad and
some of it from the Book of Lamentation which is read in Synagogues on the
festival of Tisha b’Av – “Sefer Eicho”

Below is some of the correspondence from Jerusalem University:

Dear Cyril,

I looked at the material you sent me. It’s great that you have it.
Since my research focuses on the contacts between Hebrew and Arabic, I suggest that you write to Prof. Moshe
Taube, who is an expert on Slavic languages and Hebrew.
He is a faculty member in the Department of Linguistics at the Hebrew University.
His e-mail address is:
Moshe Taube <[email protected]>

All the best,
Ofra
______________________________________________
Prof. Ofra Tirosh-Becker
Visiting Scholar at the Center for Jewish Studies, Harvard University

The Department of Hebrew Language &
The Department of Arabic Language and Literature
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Head, The Center for Jewish Languages and Literatures
Co-Editor-in-Chief, The Journal of Jewish Languages
Co-Editor, Massorot: Studies in Language Traditions and Jewish Languages
Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel

Dear Cyril
I looked at the pages of the diary you sent me, and it is indeed fascinating stuff. I do not
think however that in order to decipher it completely there is need in a specialist of
Yiddish or Slavic. Since the language is Hebrew, written in 1893 by a well-educated
young man, and thus making much use of ready phrases taken from scripture (thus, the
portion dealing with his grieving has many phrases from the book of Lamentations),
you will probably want to awaken the interest of a student of Hebrew, say at the MA
level, who would be able to read the diary, identify the quotations, and produce a fully
transcribed text, and if need be a translation, while giving himself the opportunity to
write (and perhaps to publish, with your permission) a research paper on an unpublished
testimony of pre-Revival Modern Hebrew. I assume that among Prof. Tirosh-Becker's
students a suitable candidate can be found.

Best wishes,

Moshe Taube

Rotem Abromowitz MA
with the author - 5 January 2018

This is the student who
deciphered the hebrew script

and before she sent me the
final copy she co-ordinated
with herYael Reshef who is a

Professor of Hebrew in
Jerusalem.

It is impossible to know when this young yeshiva student began to write the diary but it is clear
that he completed this work at age 15 in 1893.
There are 3 sections:
The first part (6 pages) is the "Introduction " and it contains very general descriptions and thoughts.
The reader is constantly reminded that the aim of writing the diary was that it should be remembered
for posterity.

The second part which he calls "Memories of my childhood" deals with his birth and the first 8
or 9 years of his life. I would assume that this is what he heard from his parents or sisters or other
members of his family.
It relates how the family were always moving to various towns and villages so that his father
could find work to support them - his father was a tailor.
He also describes the marriage and life of his oldest sister Tamara Gittel.
The last section is entitled - "The Second Period". He describes his barmitzvah, his mother's
terminal illness and how the other two sisters cared for her until her death.
He writes a poem describing his feelings.
He also describes in great detail the marriage of his sister Slowa to Hirsch (no family name given)

Finally he writes that he began his studies in a Yeshiva, he leaves home and finds places to stay with
various teachers and friends and the diary ends when he visits his youngest sister, Zelda, to bid her
farewell as she is leaving Lithuania to travel to England.
The next chapter of this project is a detailed deciphering and translation (to english):
• On the left side of the page is the original handwriting
• On the right side of the page is Rotem Abromowitz’s deciphering of the text
• At the bottom is the English translation

I have attached a map which shows the towns and villages described in the Tages Buch

1. Siauliai –SHAVLI - ‫( שַאװל‬Shavel). The main town of the district
2. Daugavpils –DVINSK –David Fleishman’s birthplace.
3. Telsiai –TELSCH –Yeshiva –Zelig Dimant –Referred in Tages Buch (Page 12)
4. Saldus –FRAUNBERG –Referred to in Tages Buch (Page 11)

5. Liepaja –LIBAU –David Fleishman family home.
6. Klaipeda –MEMEL –David Fleishman leaves for Palestine.

54

3 1 2
6

7 1. Laizuva: ‫לייזיעווע‬

1 Tages Buch – Page 11
Zeida’s birthplace
2 4
3 2. Maizekaia: ‫מאזייקען‬

5 Tages Buch - Page 18,32

6 Zelig Dimand travels to Dublin

Zeida waits for coach ride

3. Vieksniai: ‫וועקשנה‬

9 Tages Buch - Page 15,32,34,

4. Akmene: ‫אקמעיעאן‬

Tages Buch – Page33

Zeida stays with Uncle Eliezer

5. Papile: ‫פאפילאן‬

Tages Buch – Page 33
Study’s at Yeshiva

6. Telsiai: ‫טאלשען‬

Tages Buch – Page 12

Zelig Dimand

7. Saldus: ‫פרוינבורג‬

Tages Buch – Pages 11,13,31

8. Zagare: ‫זאגאר‬

Javen family home

‫הקדמה‬

‫ אביע בשפשי רננות הקורותי‬.‫אחזו נא ידי‬
‫ הנה זמן לזמן‬.‫מנעורי שלא לשכוחן מהרה‬
– ‫ באלה נסיונותיה ותנסה‬,‫משתנה נסיונותיה‬
‫ פה יראה שמחת לב‬.‫ שרים עניים‬,‫התבל ומלואה‬
‫ נחליה‬,‫ אבל פה מכתיה איומים‬,‫ורנה רמה‬
‫מופלאות נוראות ומצוקותיה ומנודיה עצומים קשה‬
‫ ופעמים רבות לא‬.‫שכל נפש האדם מלסבול אותם‬
.‫ ויפול ויכרע וירבץ תחת שאת העת‬,‫יוכל לעמוד מפניה‬
‫ לא יצלח בידיו לפתוח חרצובות‬,‫ובכל מאמצי כחו‬

!‫ונעשה כעבד נרצע משובד לרב‬.1‫ולפרוק עולה מעל צוארהו‬

‫ויש‬-- -- .‫אשר אין לו חירות ממנו עד שנת היובל‬
‫אשר בעזרת עוזר דלים ובשארת כחו הצליח ידיו‬
‫לנתק מוסרותיה ולהשליך את עבותיה ולברוח ממנה‬
‫ולהחבא כעבד הבורח מפני אדונו אשר בכל עת הוא‬
‫מתירא שלא ידביקוהו יד רבו גם הוא כן כל ימי‬

May my hands be strong, and with joyful tongue I shall narrate the goings-on of my youth so as
not to forget them too quickly. Time brings around different experiences, and sometimes it
seems that the entire universe and all who are within it, the poor and lofty alike, are tested by its
vicissitudes. Here a great happiness and joy, but there the blows are so awful, the legacy most
terrible, and the distress and privations so enormous that they are too burdensome for the human
soul to bear. And often one cannot withstand them and one falls and bows before them, and
crouches under the weight of the times. And even with the force of every bit of one’s strength,
one cannot manage to unshackle the chains or unyoke the burden from one’s shoulders, and one
becomes like a submissive slave enthralled to his master who won’t see freedom till the Jubilee
Year. And it happens that with the help of Him who helps the poor, and with the last vestiges of
one’s strength, one manages to sever its reins and cast off its bonds and escape and hide like a
slave fleeing his master who at all times lives in fear that his owner may catch him, so that all his
days

‫ ואז שינה את הה"א לוי"ו‬,'‫ תחילה כתב 'צוארה‬1

–6-

‫חלדו ישתדל שלא לפול עוד פעם שני במלתעותיה‬

‫ולבל יהי טרף לשיניה החדות אשר קשתותיה דרוכות‬
‫ וחלחלה‬.‫בכל עת ולבל יהי ַמ ָט ָרה לחיציה השנונות‬
‫ורעדה יאחזוהו לבו יסער מ ִיראה ומפחד בהעלותו‬
‫במחשבתו הימים הראשונים ובתארו אותה בשלל צבעיה‬
‫רמים אין חפץ בהם ימי ֹעני ומנודים ימי ֹחסר וקפאון‬
‫אז ירים ידיו אל השמים ובחרדת קודש יתן תודה‬
‫ושבח לאל גומל על אשר חל ֵצהו מעניו מהיות עשוק‬
‫ ַו ָי ֶחל את פני אלהיו לבלתי לדח עוד‬2‫ורצוץ כל הימים‬
‫ – ויש אשר איש מצליח ששעתו מוצלחת עליו‬.‫עליו נדח‬

‫ו ָעלה על גפו מרמי קרת וישם מ ָעל קרנו חבלו נפל לו בנעימים‬

‫ובכבוד ועשר כתרוהו סבבוהו מנוחה לו מכל אבריו נויהו‬
‫נוה שאנן ונפשו שבעד באשר ושרש הצלחה ששלחה‬
‫שרשה בביתו פרחה ויציץ נץ ויגמול שקדים ויהי כעץ‬

‫שתול על פלגי מים אשר פריו ישמח לב אנשים ובכבודו‬
‫ ויהי איש דגול מרבבה‬.‫התימרו כל קרוביו ואוהביו‬

on earth he tries not to fall again in its jaws and become prey to its sharp fangs or once again be a
target for its perpetually cocked bow with its piercing arrows. And terror and trembling grip one,
and one’s heart erupts in fear and dread as one remembers the first days and sees them in full
color, unwanted days, days of poverty and banishment, days of lack and icy frost - and then one
lifts up one’s hands to the heavens and with sacred trepidation gives thanks and praise to the God
of Deliverance who freed one from one’s need, from being oppressed and broken all the days of
one’s life, and one hopes before one’s God that the banished will not remain an outcast forever.
– And sometimes a person’s hour arrives and he makes good/succeeds and lifts himself up and
becomes one of the highest personages in the city and his family shield shines high above him
and he receives great honor and his life is most pleasant and the ten heavenly spheres surround
him – his whole being is at rest, his home a haven of tranquility and his soul in a state of
everlasting joy and the root of success that implanted itself in his home flowers and brings forth
a blossom that matures and gives forth ripe almonds, and he becomes as a tree planted on rivers
of water whose fruit gladdens men’s hearts and whose loved ones and relatives delight in his
honor. And he rises above thousands…….

–7-

‫ בעצם תמה ותשלח‬3‫ושמש הצלחתו הופיע ֵאליו‬
‫קויה ָעליו אשר צדקה ומרפא בכנפיה במלה אחת‬
‫איש אשר עלה במעלות הצלחה העליונה ויהי שמח בחלקו‬
‫ ובפתע פתאום ושמי הצלחתו‬.‫ועלז בחבלו הנעים‬
‫התקדרו בעננים ושמשו בא בצהרים ומאיש מוצלח נהפך‬
‫מוצלח ויחל ִלרות עליו חיציה האיומים מכל‬-‫לאיש אי‬
‫פנות ותשמרהו צעדיו לבל יברח ממנה וינוס לנפשו אנה‬
‫ואנה ובעים רוחה נטה עליו ידה החזקה ותפחדיהו‬
– ‫ותחרדיהו ותרעידיהו ותדריכוהו מנחתו ועליהו‬
‫הרעננים יבשו כמשו ויבלו ותחת ענבים עשה באושים‬
‫עד כי פעמים רבות גם הוא חושב את עצמו לעזוב‬
‫ כי זאת‬,‫ולאובד עדי עולם ויאש גם מיריביו ומאוהביו‬
._‫ לאמר בללבבו נעזב‬.‫תורת העזוב הנשאר גלמוד‬

‫ ובאין חפץ בו להולכים‬.‫ונשכח אנכי כמת מלב‬
, ‫ אין לו גם צדקה ומשפט לבקש מהם כי לא‬.‫ממנו‬
‫ והפחד‬.‫ ויהי לאיש נדהם ונפעם‬.‫ימוש זכרו מלבבם‬
‫ בנפש האדם מלידה ומבטן חשו עתידות לו‬4‫הנטועה‬

‫ ומדי זכרו כי הוא גלמוד ובשאון‬.‫נוראות ומרות‬

and the sun of his success shines upon him with all its might and it beams its rays full of healing and righteousness on him,
and with one word a man has risen to the highest height and is happy with his lot and joyous in his pleasant surroundings.
and the sun of his success shines upon him with all its might and it beams its rays full of healing and righteousness on him,
and with one word a man has risen to the highest height and is happy with his lot and joyous in his pleasant surroundings.
But suddenly the firmament/heights of his success darken/s with clouds and his sun comes at noon and from a successful
man he turns into a failure and he begins to absorb its terrible arrows from all sides it marks his steps everywhere so that he
may not flee it and with the force of its spirit its strong hand leans upon him and frightens and terrifies and horrifies him
and leads him from his pleasure and his high resting place. – That which was fresh has wilted, withered and dried up and in
place of grapes all that is left is rotten fruit. And he often thinks himself abandoned and lost forever and despairs from both
his enemies and his friends, for that is the way of the desolate left friendless and alone. And he tells himself, I am forsaken
and forgotten by all as if I were dead. And he remains unwanted by all who walk by him. There is no point in him asking
them for justice or charity for the memory of his former self has never left them. And he becomes a startled and devastated
man. And the dread that is borne in a man’s heart from conception and birth portend a future that is full of horrors and
bitter fruit.
And as he remembered that he was desolate and in (midst of) the clamor

‫ תחילה כתב 'עליו' ואז שינה את העי"ן לאל"ף‬3
‫ מחיקה‬4

-8-

‫המים הזדונים אשר פרצו עברו גבוליה וגאו ושטפו‬
.‫והפילו חומותיו ושחו לארץ מעוזו ועד צואר הגיעו‬
‫ירגזו כל עצמותיו ויהי לגבר אין איל ופעמים יאבד‬
‫ – את כל זה נתתי‬.‫גם תקותיו לעמוד עוד על רגליו‬
‫אל לבי לראות ולהבינן על חיי האדם וקורותיו דמיתי את‬
‫זאת ונתתי אל לבי לכתוב ולחרות בחרט אנוש את‬

‫כל הקורות אשר עברו חלפו עלי במעט השנים הדלים אשר‬

‫ אם כי מעט שני אבל גם‬.‫ראיתי אור על פני האדמה‬
‫במעטם רבו קורותיה ולאומת הטוב והעושר אשר כאפס‬

‫ גם מכוסה‬.‫נחשבו לאומתה רבו וגאו ציריה וחבליה‬
‫הרעלה טעום טעמתי ושתיתי מממיה המארים ויבאו‬

‫לצבות בטן ולנפול ורק הצרפתני ובדקני‬-‫בקרבי‬
‫בכר עני חוציה נחתו בו ואהיה להם למטרה‬

‫ ולב ותורדה עטרת ראשי‬5‫ויבאו בי ויפלחני קרב‬
‫ אך ראיתי נצץ‬,‫מעלי וישימני עזוב וגלמוד כל הימים‬
‫אחד מפרחי ששוני ופתאום הפכה לארץ תלאובות גפרית‬

‫ומלח ו ִי ֹבל עלי תפארתה ומשושה נהפך‬
‫לאבל גדול וכבד אשר גזלה וחמסה כל שמחתי‬

of spiteful waters that burst their banks around him and rose, which as they mounted and brought down
the walls that had protected him bent them towards the earth and reached up to his neck (and threatened
to drown him). All his bones were agitated and he became a man denuded of all vitality and at times
even lost all hope of ever standing on his feet again. – I noted all this so that I would see/observe and
understand man’s life and its vicissitudes, I imagined it and decided to write it and engrave with a
human pen all the events that befell me in the few short years that I have seen the light of this earth.
Even though my years be few, much has happened (to me) and as against the good and richness which
have come to naught many have been the birth pangs and agony that have overtaken me. I have also
tasted the poisoned chalice and drunk of its bitter waters that entered into me [‫ לצבות בטן‬and not ‫לצבות‬
‫ בטל‬as written ( ‫ פרק ה (פסוק כב‬,‫ ]במדבר‬and bloated my gut and caused me to fall and not only that but left
me stranded in a bare outer pasture, and I became a target for them and they came at me and split my
insides and my heart. And the crown/glory of my life has been taken away and I have been left
abandoned and forsaken forever, I just saw a spark of happiness, and suddenly the land became heated
with salt and Sulphur and the glory and joy faded and became a heavy and endless lamentation that have
stolen and robbed me of all my happiness.

‫ תחילה כתב 'כרב' ואז שינה את הכ"ף לקו"ף‬5

-9-

‫את כל זה נתתי בלבי לכותבם לבל יהיה כלא‬
‫ אלקי הרחמן ושבו‬6'‫היו על פני האדמה ואולי יתן ד‬
‫עוד פעם אלי ימי שמחה וטוב לב ואולי גם יצלח לי‬

'‫שעתי ובעזרת בוראי ותגבור ידי אהיה לאיש וד‬
‫ישלם לי על כל הרעות אשר סבלתי מעודי ועד עתה‬

‫בגמול השמחה והששון ובאשר ובעשר ויהי רוח‬
‫ רבה הדברים‬7‫במעוני אז יוכל לי להביא תואלת‬
‫האלה כי בחיי כל אדם ואדם יש אשר עזרו בידי‬
‫ ועליו מוטל‬.‫בעת מטם וינחמו בעת אבלו וצרתו‬
‫לשלם למטיביו כטוב והישר אשר עשו עמו בעת צרה‬
‫ולבל להתנכר להם האדם באשר הוא אדם ולהרע‬
‫לעיני כל הגוים והעמים כי לא כן בדיהם אשר בדו‬
‫מלבם כי מדת ההתנכרות מצאה קן אל עם הישר‬
‫ שרשה בהם וגדלה ועשה פורה ראש ולא‬8‫ותך‬
‫להראותם כי אך ביהודים נמצאו טהורי לב ומשפט‬
/-‫א‬/ ‫טובה גם לפעמים תחת רעה והספחת הזה‬

‫ספחו עליהם אך כזב ושקר בפיהם כי מידת‬
‫האנושות הטהורה אך היא מצאה מסלה בלבבם‬

I have decided to commit all this to writing so that it will not be forgotten and seem as though it never
occurred, and maybe God the most Merciful will once more return to me days of happiness and comfort
and maybe once more my hour will come around and will the help of my Creator I will have courage
and become a man and God will recompense me for all the evil I have suffered in my life until now with
a reward of delight and joy, and with pleasure and riches, and a comfortable home, and all these things
will be of great use to me, for in the life of each and every man there are those who help (him) when he
life is precarious, and comfort him in times of mourning and sorrow. (‫ )רעוע = מטם‬And being a human
being he must repay his well-wishers just as they did good by him in troubled times and he must not
ignore them thereafter and (thus) shame himself before the nations and the gentiles, for this is not what
they had invented for the measure of alienation that has nested within the righteous nation and rooted
itself within it and grew and became a root (bearing gall) that was not to be seen for only amongst the
Jews can the pure of heart be found and (even) sometimes they return a good verdict in place of an
unfavorable one/they repay evil doing with goodness (good deeds). And they absorbed that malignancy
unto themselves, so that only lies and mendacity filled their mouths for pure humanity only found a path

‫ תועלת‬7 )'‫ אלוהים (במקום ה‬6
‫ ותכה‬8

- 10 -
‫של ישראל ולבעבור כל זה אנכי כותב את הדברים‬
‫האלה ובעבור יהיה לזכר עולם ולהפקד אותם בימים‬
‫הבאים אשר בתקותינו כי יהיה ימים טובים בכלל‬
‫ובפרט ויוכלנו לשלם את כל מטיבינו כגמול ידם הטוב‬

‫וגם לשום מבטחנו וכל ישעינו רק לאלהי השמים‬
‫ואליו אנחנו נקוה כי עוד יפרח שמשינו ייהל‬

‫וגרגר הזרע השוכב בחיק האדמה ויהי למרמס‬
‫לרגלי אדם ובדמה הגרגיר הזה יגדל ויעשה פרי‬
‫תבואה למכביר ומתנובתה ישבעו לבות הישרים‬

‫והתמימים ואז נעלנו בשמחה לארצינו והינו‬
‫עטרת תפארת צבי ויבא גואלינו בעיר קדשינו‬
‫כנפש כל ישראל ובניהם גם אני עבד לעבדים‬

‫זלמן קראפמאנן‬.‫ס‬.‫א‬

in Israel’s heart, and because of all this I am inscribing these things so that they will serve as an
eternal memory that may be deposited in the future which it is our wish will be a good future for
one and all in which we will be able to repay our benefactors and put our trust and all our hope
for salvation only in the hands of the God of Heaven, and from him we expect that our sun will
yet shine and the grain of seed that lies in the lap of the earth and has become trodden by the feet
of man and beast, that grain will grow and bring forth great crops whose yield will satiate the
hearts of the pure and righteous, and then we will happily ascend to our land and become the
crowning splendor of Israel and our salvation will arrive in our holy city, ours and that of the
soul of the whole of Israel and its offspring for I too am a slave of slaves.

A. S. Kropmann

-11-

:‫זכרונות מימי נעורי‬

'‫לשמחת הורי וכל משפחתינו נולדתי ביום ג‬
‫ לעת‬9‫ל ֹחדש אדר בשנת תרל"ח ביום הו עש"ק‬
‫ היתה‬10‫ערב בן זקונים להורי כי אמי מורתי ע"ה‬
‫אז לערך ארבעים שנה ולמעלה וגם בן יחיד כי‬
‫השני בנים אשר ילדה לה מתו עוד קודם שנולדתי‬
‫וע"כ רבו אז התכונה בביתם ובימים ההם היתה‬
‫נחלת אבותי בעיר "לייזעווע" פלך קאוונא מחוז‬
‫"שאוויל" וביום ו עש"ק י לחדש אדר נכנסתי לברית‬
‫של אברהם אבינו ונפשי היתה אז בסכנה גדולה והיתי‬

‫מפרפר בין החיים ובין המות מסיבה נודעה‬
‫עד אשר בעזרת עוזר דלים וביגיעת בשר צלחה בידי‬
‫אבותי להקמינו עוד לאיתני וושמרני כאישון עינם לא‬

‫נעלמו עינם ממני אף רגע אחד ובהיתי חצי שנה‬
‫נטע אבי את אוהלו "לפרוינבורג" פלך קורלאנד‬

‫ושם עשה משכנו כערך שני שנים בבית של‬

MEMORIES OF MY YOUTH:
To the delight of my parents and all my family, I was born on
3rd of Adar I, 5638 = Wed, 6 February 1878 - ‫ תרל"ח‬the eve of Holy Shabbat, the youngest
son to my parents because my mother, my teacher, was more than forty years old and I was
the only son because she had given birth to two boys both of whom died before I was born.
In those days my parent’s home was in Laizuva in the section of Kovno and District of
Shavil (Shavli)
And on the eve of Holy Shabbat 10th of the month of Adar entered the covenant of Abraham
our Father and my life was in grave danger and I hovered between life and death for obvious
reasons until with the aid of helper for the poor my parents managed to revive me and I
recovered to full strength and their eyes never left me for a moment and then when I was six
months old my father moved our home to Frauenburg in district Kurland and there we lived
for about two years in the house of……..

‫ ערב שבת קודש‬9
‫ עליה השלום‬10

- 12 -

‫שכנא ובשנה השלישית יצאנו משם אל מעון‬
‫אחר בבית נכרי אחד וגם שם גרנו כמשך הנ"ל‬
‫ובשנה החמישית היא שנת שישית לחיי נעתק אבי‬

‫את אוהלו אל כפר אחד שטרוקען אצל אציל‬
‫נוצרי באראן "וובאר" וד' נתן חן אבי בעיני‬
‫הבאראן וגם לאבי הצליח בידו להראות כשרונותיו‬
‫הטובים בחכמת המלאכה על כן אהבוהו הבאראן‬
‫ונתן לו משאתי כידו הטובה עליו ובכל מלאכתו‬
‫ ואז החלה‬.‫הבטיח עליו כעל איש נאמן ובקי במלאכתו‬
‫שמש ההצלחה להאיר מעט את פני אבותי כיעוד‬
‫בשנה השנית לבואינו שם הוא שנת תרמ"ה לפ"ק הוא‬
‫שנת שמיני לחיי שלח אבי לחוץ את ביתו הגדולה‬
12'‫ אהובת נפשה שיחיה לעו‬11‫אחותי תמרה גיטל אם‬
‫הוא זעליג דימאנד מטאלשען ביום א' ואבא‬

‫בחדש סיון שמזלו תאומים כי בו נצמדו‬
‫יחדיו שני אהובים כתאומים המגודלים יחד‬

‫ואז היתה שמחתינו שלימה כי אז היתה‬
‫לנו עת מנוחה ושלוה והשקט ובטח מכל עברינו‬

…. neighbours and in the third year to a different residence in the house of a stranger and there
we lived for a similar time and in the fifth year which was my sixth year my father left his home
and went to another village Striķi to be with a Christian ”Baron Waber” and my father found
favour in the eyes of the baron and my father was successful in showing the baron his crafts in
the workshop and so the baron liked him and gave him ideal conditions and considered him to
be atrue worker who was very efficient in his work.
And that is when my parents life changed for the better because in the second year that we were
there which was the year 1885 and the eighth year of my life my father sent out from the home
his eldest daughter Tamara Gitel with her life’s love “that he should live forever” and he is
Zelig Dimand from Telsche on Sunday ….. in the month of Sivan – the Zodiak sign of Gemini
because here two people joined as if they had grown together and so our family was very happy
because now we had rest and peace and quiet all around

‫ עם‬11
‫ לעולם‬12

- 13 -
‫ ביתם ביניהם‬/‫ברכתי‬/--- ‫וחיו חיי נחת‬
‫סביב לשלחנם ובחדש אדר בשנה ההיא ילדה‬
‫אחותי לאישה בת ותקרא שמה "גלדה" אחר‬
‫משפחת מש אישה וזכו אבותי לראות בנים ובני‬
‫ אך אותי לא יכלו‬.‫בנים יוגדלו על ברכיהם‬
‫לעצור אז בביתם כי אני יחיד לאבותי ולהחזיק‬
‫בעבורי מורה מיוחד היה אז כבד מאוד על‬
‫כן היו מוכרחים לשלחוני העירה ושכרנו לי מורה‬
‫מובהק אשר לו שם בגדולים הוא אליעזר‬
‫וגם שם אכלתי ושתיתי וארחתי בביתו והיתי‬
‫כאחד מהם ומפיו שמעתי לנח ולשמחת הורי עשיתי‬
‫חיל בלימודים ובזמן השני ללמדינו אצלו נטע גם‬
_ .‫את אהלו לעיר ואני אז ארחתי אצל אחותו‬
‫ביום כ"ג לחדש ולל אלול שנת תרמ"ו ילדה‬
"‫אחותי לאישה בו וקראו שמו "אברהם ישראל‬
13‫וביום השני של ראש השנה שנת תרמ"ז נכנס בבשאא‬

‫בבית הכנסת בפרוינבורג‬
‫את כל זה אזכר אנכי גם עתה ואכתוב אותה‬

And we lived a satisfied life ------------------ in their home all around them and in the month
of Adar my sister gave birth to a girl and they called her Golda and my parents were able to
enjoy once again children sitting on their knees.
But they could not stop me as I was the only boy and for my parents it was difficult to have a
special teacher and so it was necessary for them to send me to the town and they hired me a
teacher who was very thorough (accurate) and his name was Eliezer and I also ate and drank
and I was a guest in his house and I was one of the family and I learned a lot and my parents
were very happy because I was very successful in my studies.
And in the second period of our studies my brother in law left and came to the town and from
then I stayed with my sister.
And on the 23rd September 1886 my sister gave birth to a boy and they called him “Avraham
Yisrael”
And on the second day of Rosh Hashanah 1887 he entered the covenant of Abraham our
Father (Brit) in the Beit Knesset in Fraenburg.
All this I remember and now I write it.

‫ בברית של אברהם אבינו‬13

-14-

‫מתקופה השנייה‬

‫אבל "אין ששון בלא אסון" יאמר פתגם‬
‫קדמוני והדברים אמיתים עד מאוד גם בימי‬
.‫המנוחה וההשקט נראו עבים קטנים על שמו‬
‫ההצלחה כי ביום העשירי לחדש אדר שנת‬

‫תרמ"ז נסע גיסי מביתו לנסוע לאינגלאנד‬
‫או לאמעריקא אבל לא כן כאשר חשב כן היה‬

‫אבל בין כה ובין כה ואחותי תשאר בלי‬
‫משעין לחם ומים ומלבד זה תשאר עוד‬
‫ ובעבור כל זה לקחה‬14‫הקפות עד כ"ה רו"כ‬
‫אבי אותה לביתו סמוך לשולחנו וכה עבר‬
‫ירח ימים וקבלנו מכתב מגיסי כי עוד הוא‬
‫בדרך ובעיר ריגא והוצאות אזל מכיסו‬
‫ומכרח לשוב לביתו ההרוס לקימה מחדש ובחול‬
‫המועד פסח נסע אחותי אצלו ועתה לקחה סך‬
‫כ"ה רו"כ אשר קבצה ואספה במכירה מטלטליה‬
‫ושם שהתה עד אחד א"ח והיא שבה לדרכה‬

But as the saying goes “there is no joy without a disaster “and these things are more so during
times of rest because on the 10th Day of Adar 1888 my brother in law left his home to travel to
England or America but things did not turn out as he expected and my sister was left without
any bread and water and however this may be my father took her into his home and to his
table and one month passed when we received a letter from my brother in law that on his way
to Riga he had run out of money and he must come back to his broken home to re-establish
himself and in Hol Hamoed Pesach my sister travelled to meet him and took with
her……………. which she had collected from selling small items and there she remained until
after Isru Chag and she returned…………..

‫ רובל כסף‬14

- 15 -

/‫לכה‬/ ‫ אלא לבסוף‬/‫לנסיעת‬/ ‫והוא אחז לדרך פעמיו‬
‫ נתרקנה‬/‫ט‬/ ‫לאיינגלאנד ומשם קבלנו מכתיו אשר‬
.‫כי בעוד שבועות אחדים ישלח ד' דרכה לפרנסתה‬

‫אבל עברו שבועות וחלפו ירחים ואין קול ואין‬
‫קשב וכה עברו במסך שנהה חמימה מכתבים‬
‫ ויהי ביום‬.‫קבלנו אבל צורת מטבע לא ראינו ממנו‬

‫אחד בחרף שנת תרמ"ח בנסוע אבי לעיר‬
‫לקנות דברים הצריכים לשבת והנה אך בא‬
‫בקצה העיר והנה מכל פנות ועבר והכל מבשרים‬
‫אותו כי חתנו בא לעיר וישתומם לב אבי על‬
‫הדבר הזה מה זה ועל מה זה היה הדבר הזה‬
‫בפתע פתאום לשוב לביתו אבל אין מפסידין‬
‫על העבר וכה ישב אצל אבי עד חדש האביב‬
‫ואז נטע אהלו בעיר וועקשנה – וגם מצד אבי‬
‫מורי נסתנה הרבה במסך הזה כי האציל איש‬
‫תחתיו הייה שבתינו נהפך מעט לרעה לא מצידו‬
‫כי אם אחרים ארבו לרגלי אבי ובכל זה שם היה‬
‫אך להדריכנו משאיתו ולשת איבה בינו ובין‬
‫האציל ובראותם כי תוחלתם נכזבה אשר גם‬

And he travelled to England and from there we received a letter which refreshed us and it said
that in a few weeks he would send enough for her to live but weeks and months passed and no
sound and no contact and a whole year went by and we received letters but we did not see any
form of money from him.

And then one day in the winter of 1888 my father travelled to the town to make purchases for
Shabbat and when he arrived at the outskirts of the town everyone he saw told him that his son in
law was in the town and my father was astonished about this happening and how could it
possibly be happening that he would come back to his home - but – no lingering on the past and
so he came back to my father until the Spring and then he went to make his home in Vekshnau.

And also regarding my father, my teacher, a lot changed with his affairs because the nobleman
who provided for us changed for the worse with regard to my father, not so much him but others
who ganged up against my father to dismiss him from his work and caused bad feelings between
him and the nobleman…………………………………..

- 16 -

‫נתנו שכם אחד אל עצת נבל אחד‬

‫ואז נפל אבי אחרי עמדו ולא יכול‬ /--‫לה‬/

‫ אז היה הוא מוכרח לעזוב‬.‫לעמוד כנגד מתקוממיו‬

.‫מקומו ולשוב לבקש באשר ימצא מקום לאחוז בה‬

‫אז מצא מקום סכנה אצל ר' דובער יאפפע בכפר‬

‫אקמן אצל "וועקשנה" בשותפות ואם כי רבים אמרו‬

‫כי מקום לא מוצלחת היא כי הרבה יהודים מצאו‬

‫ בבואם שם בכל טוב ויצאו משם נקי‬.‫שם אסונותם‬

‫ עם כל זה לא שם אבי לבו‬.‫מנכסיהם נקי ממעותיהם‬

‫ אפריל שנת‬23 ‫לזאת ולא פנה אל דבריהם וביום‬

‫ וינהג‬.‫ נסע אבי עם בני ביתו אל מקומו החדש‬1889

‫את מקניהו ואת כל קנינו לשם אשר לא הוציא אותם‬

‫עוד משם אחד מהם שקל טוב מחיצות וכעבור אך חדש‬

‫ימים ידע אבי את התמורה אשר החליף אבל בלא עת‬

‫הכיר את אבודתו אשר אבד וכה חלף הקיץ היה אבי‬

‫ אבל שכרו היה בנקיטות‬.‫ בשלימות‬15‫עשה את מלכתו‬

‫בגערו ובנזיפה קבל בכל עת את מעט המעות לצרכותיו‬

‫ואת הרוח וגם המעות אשר הניח בעסקו היה שמור‬

And he travelled to England and from there we received a letter which refreshed us and it said
that in a few weeks he would send enough for her to live but weeks and months passed and no
sound and no contact and a whole year went by and we received letters but we did not see any
form of money from him.

And then one day in the winter of 1888 my father travelled to the town to make purchases for
Shabbat and when he arrived at the outskirts of the town everyone he saw told him that his son in
law was in the town and my father was astonished about this happening and how could it
possibly be happening that he would come back to his home - but – no lingering on the past and
so he came back to my father until the Spring and then he went to make his home in Vekshnau.

And also regarding my father, my teacher, a lot changed with his affairs because the nobleman
who provided for us changed for the worse with regard to my father, not so much him but others
who ganged up against my father to dismiss him from his work and caused bad feelings between
him and the nobleman…………………………………..

‫ מלאכתו‬15

- 17-
‫לסוף כמאמרם שכירות אינה משתלמת אלא לבסוף וכה‬
‫ אבל הה מעט מעט נתרקנה לאפס‬.‫עבר ב"ה כל ימי הקיץ‬

‫הפרוטה מן הכיס ואזל הכסף אשר היה עוד מראשונה‬
‫ אבל‬.‫אבל התקוה החזיקנו עוד מעט וימי תשלומין באים‬
‫מה נורא היה בהגיע ימי התשלומים והתחילו ימי הדיחוי‬

‫בלך ובשוב וכה עברו עד ירח כסלו ופעם שב"ה‬
‫ הנה‬.‫בעזרתו אשר יכול אבי לעבמוד בחשבון בעליו‬

‫ָאך כי גם הנותרת לא נתן וכה עברה כל ימי החרף‬
‫ ימים‬.‫בעירום ובחסר כל עד שהגיע ימי האביב‬

‫אשר בו האדם יחזיק נשמה יתירה ויחזיק את לבו‬
‫לעורר משנתו העמוקה אשר היה נרדם כל ימי החרף‬
‫וגם אבי החזיק ידיו ביתר עוז ויצא מן המקום האמור‬
‫כאיש בורח מפני מרצחיו ויטע אהלו בעיר וועקשנה הסמוכה‬

‫ואז רפה ידי אבי לבקש עוד עסקים ומסחרים וישב‬
‫ כי‬.‫אל מלכתו והסתפק מיגיעת כפיו הוא ואשתו ואנכי‬
‫ וישמח‬.‫יתר בנותיו לא היו אצלו וגם תמרה גר בוועקשנה‬
‫אבי בחלקו ההשקט עבודתו עבד בלי דאגה וברוך ד' יום‬
‫יום קבל רוח הוצאות יומו וכל יתר צרכותיו ואני הלכתי‬

…….to the end. And as it is said Rental finally pays off and so in this way the days of summer
went by but slowly our money went down to nothing and we had nothing but there was hope of
that possibly there would be money in the days to come. But what could be worse than when
the days came for payment there were delays …………. until the month of Kislev.
And so it went on through the entire winter, naked and penniless until the arrival of Spring.
These are the days when a man wakes from his sleep which has lasted through all the days of
winter my father strengthened himself and we left this place and escaped from the tormentors
and he made his home in neighbouring Vechsnau.
Then my father went to look for more work and business and he was once again working
and we were able to manage from his labours, he himself, his wife, myself because his other
children were not with him and also Tamara was in Vechshnau and my father was
satisfied and happy and his work passed without any worries and thank goodness there
was enough to cover daily expenses and I went……………………………………