Town Rabbis
The Chassidic court Rufshit - Dzikow (Tarnobrzeg) center existed in Dzikow Stary during the second half of the 19th century.
In 1909 the grandson of Rabbi Meir Horowitz the “Imrei Noam”, Rabbi Yehoshua Horowitz held a position as the Rabbi of Dzikow Stary. He left Dzikow Stary for building a Chassidic center in Tarnow.
His successor, in 1913, was Rabbi Chaim-Menachem (surname unknown). He perished in the Holocaust.
19??-1918, Isaac Graumann (married to Lea Sambel) was the Rabbi.
Since Dzikow Stary was too small to fulfill all the religious needs of the Jewish inhabitants, a “More HaRuach” was sent by the Jewish community from Oleszyce to the village.
Rav Menachem Mendel Singer and then his son, Rav Moshe Singer, fulfilled this role between 1921 and 1939.
They were respectively the father and brother of the Noble Prize winning author who also briefly lived in the village, Isaac Beshevis Singer.
1926-1942, Pinchas Menachem Mendel Singer
Rabbi Menachem Mendel was born on 1872. His father was Rabbi Shmuel Singer. Rabbi Singer was a descendant of 5 generations of Rabbis. Rabbi Singer grew up in a very pious home.
He married to Bathsheba; father of Isaac Beshevis Singer and Israel Yehoshua Singer. Rabbi Singer wrote many religious books on various subjects - meanings of the “Sidur”, notes and laws about charity, books on several tracts of the Talmud.
He served as a town Rabbi in Leoncin (1896). Rabbi Singer lived also in Warsaw, Lublin and Bilgoray.
In 1926 he held a position as Rabbi of Dzikow Stary. There he wrote a book “Avnei Zikaron” which never was printed. He perished in the Holocaust.
1930-1939, Moshe Singer (younger brother of Isaac Beshevis Singer)
Rabbi Moshe Singer was born 1880. His father was the Rabbi of Dzikow Stary.
Rabbi Singer used to help his father in his rabbinical work. Rabbi Moshe Singer perished in the Holocaust.
Sources:
Wander Meir, Meorei Galicia, Encyclopedia LeChachmei Galicia (Jerusalem, 1995-2005) part B pp 1005-6
Yizkor books
Tomaszow Lubelski: Moshe Gordon, Sefer Zikaron shel Tomaszow-Lubelski, (Memorial book of Tomaszow-Lubelski) (Jerusalem 1972) Languages: H pp. 180-183
Bilgoray: Avraham Kronenberg, Khurbn Bilgoray (Destruction of Bilgoraj) (Tel Aviv 1956) pp. 188 - 189 Languages: Y
Content last updated Tuesday, August 10, 2010 at 06:32 PM US Eastern Standard Time
