| Bilky Religious |
| ~ Religious Life ~ |
|
|---|---|
| If you have information concerning the religious community of Bilky, click HERE to e-mail me. |
|
| With the Jewish community continuing to grow in the early 19th century, it was accorded the right to appoint its own rabbi. The Jewish population of the area was known for its piety. Bilky was for many years the main rabbinical seat of the area, including some 50 villages in its vicinity. |
|
| The first known Rabbi of Bilky and the surrounding area was Rabbi Yakov KLEIN, son of Rabbi Shmuel Shmelka KLEIN who served as Rabbi of nearby Nagyszõllõs (Vynohradiv). At first, Rabbi Yakov KLEIN was Rabbi of Tacovo, but in 1860 when his father was appointed as Rabbi of Nagyszõllõs, he arranged for his son to get the rabbinate of Bilky. Rabbi Yakov KLEIN was greatly liked in Bilky and served there for 13 years, until his untimely passing at the age of 45—on the 12th of Elul 5633. He is buried in Bilky. |
|
| Some time after the passing of Rabbi Yakov Klein, Rabbi Meir ISRAEL was chosen to fill the position as Rabbi of Bilky. He too was a great scholar and learned person. He was also responsible for transcribing the birth, marriage and death records of the Jewish community. He would however secretly forge the age of the males, in able to save them from serving in the Hungarian army. Unfortunately, during the winter of 1909, someone informed about this forgery to the authorities. In order to save those involved and to make further inquiry in the matter impossible, Rabbi Meir ISRAEL burnt the records. This put him in danger of imminent arrest and therefore he fled to Israel where he settled in Jerusalem where he was later appointed to serve as a Dayan (Religious Court Judge). |
|
| During 1941, when the Hungarian authorities demanded birth certificates from all Jews to prove their Hungarian nationality or otherwise be deported across the border to Poland, many inhabitants of Bilky and the surrounding area managed to save themselves by obtaining a certificate from the then acting Rabbi, because the original records were destroyed. |
|
| With Rabbi Meir ISRAEL's escape to Israel, Bilky was left with no Rabbi for a number of years. It was during this time that the nearby town of Irshava appointed it's own Rabbi, Rabbi Yoel TEITELBAUM (later the famed Satmar Rabbi) along with a number of villages in the area, and therefore no longer belonged to the Bilky rabbinate. |
|
| In 1914, around the begining of WWI, Rabbi Aron Mordechai (Armond) LIBERMAN was appointed Rabbi of Bilky. He was a disciple of Yeshiva (Religious School) Unsdorf and was a very learned and capable Rabbi. Unfortunately, some of the townspeople did not give him the respect he deserved, which to led him to resign his position in 1927 and move on to Ricse and from there to Kiskunfelegyhaza in Hungary. He established a large yeshiva in Bilky. |
|
| After Rabbi LIEBERMAN, in 1927, Rabbi Naftali Zvi WEISZ (son of the famed Rabbi Yitschok Eizek WEISZ from Spinka (Sapanta) who lived in Nagyszõllõs, was chosen as Chief Rabbi of Bilky and spread Torah throughout the region. Bilky's yeshiva became the destination for students from across the region who studied to become a rabbi and shochet (Religious Slaughter). Rabbi Naftali Zvi WEISZ was the last rabbi of Bilky and was deported in 1944 to Auschwitz where he was murdered. |
|
| Rabbi Lebish KALECH settled in Bilky some years before WWI where he was appointed as Dayan. He was originally from Galicia and was a descendant of great Hasidic rabbis. The family had connections with the Bank of the American Joint Committee and for a time even run a bank to help the poor of town and help tradesmen who needed loans until it was closed by the authorities. |
|
| Bilky, at one time, had five synagogues, eight Hebrew schools and Zionist clubs of Misrachi, Betar and other groups. |
|
| The greater part of the country's intelligentsia was recruited amongst the Jews. Considering the limited educational facilities, the Jews' knowledge of foreign languages was remarkable. |
|
|
|
| ~ Bilky Synagogue ~ |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| If you have synagogue images from Bilky, click HERE to e-mail me. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Following is a drawing of the largest synagogue, as remembered by Isidor REISMAN, USA. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| [ click the image to view a larger image. ] |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * = Murdered in Auschwitz |
||||||||||||
| [ click the image to view a larger image. ] |
||||||||||||
|
| * = Murdered in Auschwitz |
|||||||
| [ click the image to view a larger image. ] |
|||||||
|
|||||||
| ~ Miscellaneous ~ |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| If you have miscellaneous religious images of from Bilky, click HERE to e-mail me. |
|||
| [ click the image to view a larger image. ] |
|||
|
|||
| This page is hosted at no cost to the public by JewishGen, Inc., a non-profit corporation. If you feel there is a benefit to you in accessing this site, your JewishGen-erosity is appreciated. |
| Created by: Marshall J. Katz, USA Compiled by: Mitch HOLLANDER, USA with assistance from: Bilke Sheli shehayta veynena (The Bilker Memorial Book) JewishGen Yizkor Book Project, Translation by Dr. Moshe AVITAL (1998) Bilke Sheli shehayta veynena (The Bilker Memorial Book) NY Public Library M. Y. EHRENREICH, USA Ari TESSLER, Belgium The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life Before and During the Holocaust, (2001) p. 149 Amos Israel ZEZMER, France and the following: JewishGen members/descendants and contributors of Bilky Jewish families: Ruth (née JOSEVITCH) BOHM, USA Aline (née BOHM) GREIF, USA Mitch HOLLANDER, USA Isador REISMAN, USA |
| Updated: 07 September 2020 |
| Copyright ©2015 Marshall Katz, USA All rights reserved |
 |
Top of Page |