SHADOVA (SHEDUVA) *) - Ponevezh District

Shadova is near Shavli (11 miles), Ponevezh (27), and Radvilishok (10). The nearest train station was about a mile away.

Before World War I, the land of the town belonged to Baron Ropp, who was benevolent to the Jews.

The market square was in the centre of town. From it branched out 3 streets, Keidan, Ponevezh and Shavli Streets.

In 1908, a fire destroyed almost all the houses on Keidan Street.

Jewish settlement at this location dates from the fifteenth century. Shadova was the birthplace of the rabbi and author, R. Moshe Hagola. In 1766, 508 Jews lived there and paid head-tax. In 1847, the Jewish population was 1211; in 1897, it was 2695, 61 % of the general population; in 1914, there were about 500 families; in 1923 - 916 people, 28% of the genera! population; and in 1939 - about 200 families, approx­imately 800 individuals.

The Jews worked in trade, farming and crafts. They would sell the best fruits to merchants from Petersburg and Riga. There were two flour mills owned by Jews. The Cohen family had a dye-works plant and a weaving factory.

The Jewish Peoples Bank had 216 members in 1929.

The Jews who emigrated went to South Africa, America and Palestine. The town had a yeshiva, 2 cheders, a Tarbut School and a library. The religious youth belonged to Tiferet Bachurim. '" Most of the youth belonged to Zionist organizations, includ­ing Maccabi and Hashomer Hatzair.

From the rabbinate: R. Gershon Kramer; R. Eliezer-­Simcha Rabinovitz [5621/1861]; R. Simcha Horvitz [from 5631/1871; he died in 5656/1896]; R. Yehuda-Leib Riff [5646/1886]; R. Noah Rabinovitz [from 5650/1890; he died in 5661/1901]; R. Avraham-Aaron Burshtein [5661-2/1901­2]; R. Yosef Kanovitz [related by marriage to the Ridbaz; 5663/1903]; R. Yosef-Leib Bloch [5665-5(j70/1905-1910]; R. Aaron Bakesht [unti15675/1915]; R. Benzion Notlevitz [from 5682/1922]; and the last rabbi, R. Mordechai-David Henkin.

*) source: Lithuanian Jewish communities by Nancy Schoenburg and Stuart Schoenburg, 1991

The rabbi is a scholarly person who has studied the Hebrew language, the Torah, the commentaries on the Torah and all kinds of other subjects concerning Judaism. He is the spiritual leader of his community and a guardian of Jewish traditions. He receives his education at the so-called jesjiwa. At the end of the 18th century a lot of jesjiwa’s were established in Lithuania, after the death of the famous scholar the  Gaon of Vilna(1797)whose ideas influenced Judaism all over the world. His real name was Elijahoe Ben Shlomo Zalman.