The Diary of Yitzhak Lamdan

(Concise Summaries)

The concise summaries of Lamdan's diary entries follow below or you can return to the overview, translations, or interpretive summaries of the diary entries.

Diary 1

June 1914 | July 1914 | August 1914 | September 1914

Diary 2

July 1915 | August 1915 | September 1915 | October 1915 | November 1915 | December 1915 | January 1916 | February 1916 | March 1916

Diary 3

November 1916 | December 1916 | January 1917 | February 1917 | March 1917 | April 1917 | May 1917

Diary 1

June 1914

Friday, June 26, 1914

Much has happened before Yitzhak writes this first entry. Apparently, Yitzhak has been planning to make aliyah to the Land of Israel with the family of Abraham Weitz this summer and had arranged that they would add his name to the immigration documentation they were trying to secure. For the next month, Yitzhak is in turmoil because his plans are up in the air.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Monday, June 29, 1914

Yitzhak was excited when Abraham Weitz’s son, David, stopped by Yitzhak’s home yesterday. There was good news and bad news. The bad news: the Weitz family was pausing their immigration efforts. Their decision to make the journey depends now on the decision of their relative Abraham Lender. The good news: they would try to include Yizhak’s name on the immigration papers. Yitzhak also notes that a week earlier he sent a letter to the periodical Shacharit inquiring about the 3rd issue that hadn’t arrived. Still no reply.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

July 1914

Thursday, July 2, 1914

Nothing new has happened and Yitzhak has no new news. The plans for the journey to the Land of Israel remain murky. He is still waiting for the third issue of the periodical, Shacharit, after writing to the administrative office about its failure to arrive. He is also excited about an issue of Perahim that is going to publish a poem he wrote called, “Spring Rain.”

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Monday, July 6, 1914

Yitzhak reports receiving news on the Sabbath from Dr. Pikhulitz the leader of the agricultural school in Petah-Tikvah. He was responding to questions Yitzhak sent him in a postcard. Even though the Weitz family sent a wagon to buy supplies at the home of Yitzhak’s family’s store, Yitzhak hesitates to get on the wagon going back to Bokiima lest his visit at the Weitz home is unwelcome. He remains in the dark about Abraham Weitz’s plans to journey to the Land of Israel.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday, July 8, 1914

Yitzhak says he has nothing to write and that he has received no update about the Weitz family plans to journey to the Land of Israel. Yitzhak is still hoping that David Weitz or a courier from the Weitz home will come visit so he can get an update. He thinks about sending them a letter but is not sure they will answer. He is filled with self-doubts and his “crisis period” still haunts him. As an afterthought, he does report he composed a new poem.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Thursday, July 9, 1914

Yitzhak reports learning the contents of an encouraging letter that arrived from Abraham Weitz’s son, Yosef, who was already living in the Land of Israel. Yosef was updating the family on efforts he was making locally to made to prepare for their arrival.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Sunday, July 12, 1914

Yitzhak begins his entry with a quote from a poem of Zalman Shneour, a profilic Yiddish and Hebrew poet. Abraham Weitz shows up at Yitzhak's home in a wagon with news that he is not traveling to the Land of Israel but that his daughter Hinda and his relative Abraham Lender may go. Yitzhak’s journey now hinges on their plans.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Thursday, July 16, 1914

Yitzhak is writing behind his home, taking in the beauty of nature around him. He hopes to visit Abraham Weitz on the Sabbath to learn if Weitz's daughter, Hinda, will in fact make the journey to the Land of Israel.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Sunday, July 19, 1914

The blessing for the new month of Menachem Av took place yesterday in synagogue. Yitzhak hopes to visit the Weitz family but a wagon doesn’t show up from the forest and anyway he has injured his foot. He also reports a story he heard from Abraham Weitz about a friend, Shmuel Burshtak from the town of Hubyn Pershyi, whose journey to Palestine was abruptly cancelled by the residents of his town, who originally agreed to sponsor his trip.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Tuesday, July 21, 1914

A friend, Shimon Berger, comes to Yitzhak's home and talks about a business opportunity in hops in the town of Dubno. He hopes to get Yitzhak and his brother Moshe involved in the venture. Yitzhak is not interested.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday, July 22, 1914

David Weitz sends a note asking Yitzhak to resubscribe him to the newspaper, “HaZeman” but his subscription is still active. Moshe Grinspun shows up at the house and Yitzhak learns he wants to journey to the Land of Israel as well. Yitzhak reflects on how happy local farmers are and longs to see Jewish farmers in the Land of Israel. His foot is still sore and he has no news yet about whether Hinda Weitz will make the journey to the Land of Israel.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Thursday, July 23, 1914

Yitzhak discusses a failed attempt to secure a wagon to visit Abraham Weitz. His brother Moshe will soon leave for Hubyn Pershyi where he works, and Yitzhak describes an exchange of letters with his friend, Shmuel Burshtak, the young man whose journey to the Land of Israel was cancelled.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Monday, July 27, 1914

Yitzhak receives a note from David Weitz inquiring again about the newspaper, HaZeman, and a request for a new subscription. He also lets Yitzhak know that his sister’s journey is still up in the air but if she goes they will try to get Yitzhak included in the immigration papers. Meanwhile, Yitzhak writes to his brother in Hubyn Pershyi requesting he bring back several books. Yitzhak also mentions reading an important Zionist proclamation by former members of the aid organization, Ezra, in the newspaper HaZeman and reading a story in the booklet HaShiloach which arrived today.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday, July 29, 1914

Today Yitzhak walked to Mervits to deliver butter and then, on the way back, he and his friend Ben-Tzion Gruber were ridiculed by Christian workers who were repairing the road.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

August 1914

Sunday, August 2, 1914

This is the first entry in which Yitzhak mentions and discusses the beginning of what is becoming WWI. On July 28th, Austria-Hungary declared War on Serbia. Russia, a Serbian ally, immediately began mobilizing its army. On August 1, Germany an ally of Austria-Hungary, demanded Russia cease mobilization. When Russia refused that day, Germany declared war on Russia.

Against this background, Yitzhak describes the emotions affecting the towns’ residents and the call up of reservists. He also mentions briefly receiving a postcard from Moshe Katz, most probably the young man born in Mlynov, who becomes the Yiddish poet Aleph Katz in America. It is also a fast day commemoration called the 9th of Av (Tisha B’Av) but has been delayed to the 10th of Av, as is the norm, because the 9th fell on a Sabbath. He ends his entry so he can leave for the prayer house for the afternoon prayers.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday, August 5, 1914

Yitzhak says goodbye to his sister and her family as they leave town and feels the enormity of the War. By this point he knows that Germany has declared War on Russia. He can't think about his personal dreams now in this situation. Yitzhak saw Abraham Weitz twice this week and Weitz chided him about still thinking about aliyah. While he is writing it begins to rain and as he enters his house, the house cat streaks mud across the pages of his diary.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Saturday night, August 8, 1914

Yitzhak didn’t write for several days. Refugees from further east are coming west to Mlynov. Many Russian soldiers entered town today. Traffic was intense, horses and automobiles going this way and that. Fear spreading. Where can one flee, Yitzhak wonders. A telegram arrives while Yitzhak is writing from his eldest sister, Heni (Genya) inviting them to join her further East further away from the fighting. Yitzhak stopped writing to go eat dinner.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Sunday, August 16, 1914

Yitzhak didn’t write for 8 days because of the chaos caused by the War. He reflects now on how different his life feels now. There are many Russian soldiers in town now and they are acting decently. A defensive stronghold has been dug by them opposite the market next to the home of Yitzhak’s uncle Yosef. Everyone was starting to acclimate a bit until they brought four wounded soldiers into town. Yitzhak reflects on how wretched civilization is, on how far away the human condition is from the prophet Isaiah’s call that “Nation shall not lift up sword against nation.” Civilization calls for progress, but keeps improving weapons of destruction. He ends with the “wonderful dream” that one day the Jews living on their own land will generate world peace.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Monday, August 17, 1914

This entry is in essence a continuation of the entry the day before. Yitzhak mentions that he didn’t write during the day because his friend Ben-Tzion Gruber came to visit. The smell of blood is in the air. Yitzhak also mentions a scandal breaking out between Israel Halperin and a soldier. Everyone closed their stores and fled home. Sounds of war can be heard in the distance.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Tuesday, August 18, 1914

Yitzhak’s third entry in a row. He is mostly reflecting on the general impact of the War and on his personal dreams about the Land of Israel. He expounds on how terrible exile is for the Jews. He also alludes to a possible love interest whom he doesn’t want to write about because of prying eyes.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday, August 19, 1914

This is the fourth day in a row that Yitzhak wrote in his diary. In a dramatic moment, the military personnel who were in town and dining regularly with Yitzhak’s family left for the front. Yitzhak is powerfully moved to question the purpose of war.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Sunday, August 23, 1914

After a three-day break in writing, Yitzhak writes one of his most complex and detailed entries. He knows fighting is going to break out at any moment along the border of Austria and Russia about 49 km (30 miles) away and he ponders the possible outcome on his own life in Mlynov, as well as how the Russian Jewish community is responding to the pending War. He rails against those Jews who naively believe Jewish loyalty during the War will improve attitudes towards Jews in Russia over the long run.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday, August 26, 1914

Yitzhak is reluctant to write today about the general situation, which has deteriorated and gotten more complicated from the War. Instead, he writes about his own aspiration, which only a month before seemed so close to being realized. In the meantime, they seemed impossibly far away. Recently, his longings for the Land of Israel are intensifying again.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Monday, August 31, 1914

Yitzhak is in emotional turmoil. He knows that Russian troops were attacked and suffered heavy casualties in fighting near the Russian-Austrian border. Many wounded and dying soldiers were brought to Mlynov yesterday and in seeing them, Yitzhak is shaken and spills out his feelings about the awful impact of War, especially for the Jews. He also cites an anti-Jewish rumor circulating by the boorish folk in Russia.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

September 1914

Wednesday, September 2, 1914

Yitzhak reports that yesterday he woke up to discover that two hundred wounded soldiers were brought to Mlynov and distributed among the homes. He goes to see them and is dispirited by the sights. He feels a bit better at noon today when they are removed from Mlynov. He also hears news that Turkey might soon join the War against Russia, and he worries about the consequences for the settlement in the Land of Israel.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Friday, September 4, 1914

Yitzhak gives an update on Russia’s progress conquering Austrian territories and German success against the Allied Powers. His main theme is the devastating mistreatment of Jews by the Russian army in the conquered territories and the continuing discrimination against Jews inside Russia itself, despite Jewish contributions to the War effort. Jews have given gold and built hospitals, but when a Jewish lawyer is called up to duty, the authorities treat him like a dog and forbid him from going to bid farewell to his family.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Sunday, September 6, 1914

Yitzhak heard a story this morning that triggered him to write in the morning, outside his normal routine. The story concerned a soldier passing by town who couldn’t stop crying. The soldier who was in the combat zone had been ordered to bury a fatally wounded Jewish soldier while the man was still alive. The story evokes Yitzhak’s anger that God still permits War and so much suffering.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday, September 9, 1914

Today is a day that Yitzhak gets to think about the Land of Israel without feeling guilty. And there are several reasons why he is doing so. His close friend Ben-Tzion Gruber is coming to visit today and Yitzhak is looking forward to speaking with a close friend about their shared dreams of making aliyah. The visit is a respite from the writing about War and Yitzhak opens up about how alone he feels in general and how he can’t really share his feelings with his brother Moshe.

Yitzhak also mentions getting the second issue of the periodical HaShiloach and continuing his reading of the story by Aaron Abraham Kabak and his enjoyment reading about lives in the Land of Israel. Material also arrived on this day for the plates that are set up for charity during the Day of Atonement and Yitzhak mentions the amount of money collected in the past for the Land of Israel.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Friday, September 11, 1914

Yitzhak is mentally and physically depleted in part from digging a pit the day before to store squash behind his house for the coming winter and in part from the presence of more wounded soldiers in town and Austrian prisoners. In the present turmoil, he is finding it hard to concentrate on writing in his diary. In this entry, he worries again about the Jews who are caught between a rock and a hard place. The pretense that the reactionary group, the Black Hundreds, are lovers of the Jews is beginning to dissemble. News is reported about Jews committing traitorous acts against Russia. Yitzhak would much rather be writing about the glory of falls days around him, whose striking beauty he describes here.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Tuesday, September 15, 1914

In his last entry in his first diary (Notebook A), Yitzhak indicates he has plenty to write about but doesn’t know where to begin. He then reiterates his concern that the Jews are bearing the brunt of the War’s tragedies. They are like an “atonement chicken” [a scapegoat] for all sides. The veil worn by those in Russia who pretend to be “lovers of Israel” is starting to slip and their true colors as haters of Israel is showing. Even in Mlynov the story of the Jews as traitors to Russia is the subject of a sermon.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Notebook 2

July 1915

Sunday, July [25], 1915

After a six-month hiatus in diary writing, the now seventeen-year-old, Yitzhak, starts a second notebook. He ponders the purpose of diary writing and decides its main purpose is be an outlet for his feelings, a “shoulder” to lean on. Life has been quite boring, but two weeks ago the military started enlisting people to dig defensive trenches, aware that the tide had recently changed directions against them in the fighting with Austria-Hungary. Yitzhak is eager to help dig the trenches, seeing it as an opportunity to do something and strengthen his body, which is ultimately good training for his dream of going to the Land of Israel. Despite the pain of the first few days, he continued to volunteer until he was no longer needed. Today, he was apparently digging again and shares an anecdote about how he and another young man created a makeshift shelter for eating lunch and how he began daydreaming about making aliyah.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday, July 28, 1915

Yitzhak has been busy writing at the trenches. His role is to record the names of Jews who are digging presumably as part of a quota system. He records an antisemitic incident this past week in which rocks were thrown on by non-Jews on Jews who digging and his feelings at the time. And just yesterday a soldier accosted him by the road. After an account of these incidents, Yitzhak discusses an exchange of letters with Hinda Weitz in the forest and how his brother Moshe opened and read one of the letters.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

August 1915

Tuesday night, August 10, 1915

Yitzhak has continued his work at the trenches and reports that his wages are likely to go down because new military staff has arrived. The trench work has gotten in the way of Yitzhak writing in his diary but he did write a new poem called “No Escape or Refuge From Wars” and he quotes from it, though the full poem no longer exists. In the meantime, Yizhak has not gotten a letter of reply from Hinda Weitz, who he now describes as one of the few young women he knows who can write in Hebrew and who understands the spirit of the Hebrew heart. He wrote her another letter on Sunday but didn’t send it yet because he was busy helping Yitzhak the administrator (the Staroste) apportion wages for those involved in the digging.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Thursday, August 11, 1915

In a short update, Yitzhak indicates his work at the trenches ended early today. As a result, he arrived home early and was able to hand the letter he wrote to Hinda Weitz to a delivery person who was heading to the Weitz family. Yitzhak then reflects on how awful life in exile is and he wonders what is happening in the Land of Israel, since there are no Hebrew or Yiddish newspapers reaching them with news.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Tuesday evening, August 17, 1915

The nonstop rain in Mlynov has Yitzhak thinking about a poem by Bialik about the end of summer. Yitzhak puts his own spin on a verse from that poem that he quotes and gives his first indication, since his trench digging started, of the fear and worry that is on the mind of the town’s residents. As the Eastern Front draws closer, they are worried they will have to flee town, and they hope whatever their fate will be comes sooner rather than later. In the meantime, a letter arrived from Hinda Weitz with lame excuses for not writing, but also making Yitzhak feel better that at least she has not ended the correspondence.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Sunday night, August 22, 1915

Yitzhak was out of the house during the day involved in distributing payments for trench digging. As a result, he missed the visit of Hinda Weitz and her mother to the family store. Of course, Yitzhak felt completely frustrated to learn he missed Hinda’s visit. He decides he must write her a second letter.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Thursday, August 26, 1915

A terse entry, Yitzhak mentions his intent to send Hinda Weitz a follow up letter. In the meantime, he was in the nearby town of Pidhaitsi with the other Jews of Mlynov digging trenches for another military unit. Rumors of people fleeing and being evacuated are reaching them as the War front approaches towards Lutzk.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

September 1915

Friday, Sabbath eve, September 3, 1915

A riveting diary entry in which Yitzhak looks back over the last week and describes the turmoil reaching Mlynov as the fighting reached Lutzk. The entry includes the frightening moments when soldiers threatened to burn down his home and when they saw Mervits lit up in flames.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Sunday, September 5, 1915

Writing in Dubno, Yitzhak fills in the details of his last days in Mlynov and his brother’s Moshe departure from Mlynov with three Mlynov householders and their first days in Dubno. Yitzhak is grateful he took his notebooks with him and thinks about the books in the library that were left behind.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday, September 8, 1915, Dubno, Eve of Rosh Hashanah

It is the eve of Rosh Hashanah and Yitzhak and his brother Moshe are still in Dubno. The Russian military has evacuated and burned the bridges. Austrian army spies are thought to be in town. Yitzhak doesn’t know what will happen next.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Monday, September 13, 1915, Dubno

Rosh Hashanah is over and Yitzhak is still alive, though canon balls are flying over the city. Yitzhak is reconciled to his fate but is grieving over his parents and especially his father.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday, September 15, 1915, Dubno

Yitzhak is still stuck in Dubno and he is bored out of his mind. He can’t focus enough to do anything, even reading. He wanders around the city and there is nothing to engage him. He also receives distressing news from Mlynov. The houses have been filled with soldiers, and the remaining residents have been taken away for various kinds of labor. He thinks he and the other refugees may soon be allowed to leave Dubno, but going back to Mlynov doesn’t seem viable.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Sunday, September 19, 1915, Notzitz (Nadchytsi)

A day after Yom Kippur, Yitzhak describes his exit with his brother and a traveling party from Dubno. He hoped to go to his home in Mlynov, but they were unable to do so. They headed to Nadchytsi where the Shteren family had a home. There during Yom Kippur they see the Austrian soldiers retreating.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Tuesday, September 21, 1915, Nadchytsi

Yitzhak feels overwhelmed by all the thoughts running through his mind. He and his brother Moshe are in Nadchytsi still while rumors reach them that the fighting on the newly formed Eastern Front is taking place right in Mlynov. Luckily they can still obtain food, though they remain afraid of what is to come. Meanwhile Yitzhak’s thoughts are racing and he reflects on the possible destruction of his home and his personal library of books which he lovingly assembled.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Sunday, September 26, 1915, Chol Hamoed (the intermediate days of) Sukkot , Nadchytsi

It is the 2nd intermediate day of the Festival of Booths (Sukkot). Yitzhak is bereft remembering the celebration in better times at home. He mourns the loss of everything in his home. The night before they didn’t sleep a wink because the Russian army withdrew from the area and they don’t know their fate.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Sunday, September 27, 1915, Chol Hamoed Sukkot (the intermediate days of), Nadchytsi

Yitzhak’s fear has subsided since yesterday. The Austrians have occupied the area and are acting benevolent so far. He is bored with little to do. His writings are sewn up in a bundle and ready to go if he needs to evacuate or flee. He is thinking about going to Baranivka where his family is in Russian controlled areas and making some money teaching Hebrew or perhaps setting up a Hebrew school. But the reality of the situation reminds him that everything is still up in the air.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Wednesday, September 29, 1915, Hoshana Rabbah, Nadchytsi

It is the seventh and last day of Sukkot, the day known as Hoshana Rabbah. Everything feels so profane in a foreign place with no change of clothes and nearly no food left to eat. Yitzhak is so sick of being in a foreign place. He dreams of crossing over into Russian-controlled territory where he can join his family and be in a place where he can bath and have a change of clothes, and perhaps even support himself teaching Hebrew or founding a school. He would join them even at the risk of conscription into the Russian army, if it were safe to cross the lines between the opposing armies.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

October 1915

Wednesday, October 4, 1915, Nadchytsi

The holiday period is over and the refugee party that made its way to Nadchytsi begins to disperse. David Weitz and his wife, and Michel Hochberg and his wife and sister, head to Boremel. David Weitz plans to proceed further to Horokhiv where his family is now. Mr. Chaim Shteren and Yitzhak’s brother Moshe head to Lutzk to get more information. Moshe and Yitzhak plan to go to Hubyn Peshyi where Moshe previously worked and where Yitzhak had friends if they learn that residents still remain there.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Thursday, October 7, 1915, Lutsk

Yitzhak is writing for the first time in Lutsk where he arrived with his brother earlier in the week. They are planning to go to Hubyn Pershyi, but have to get travel authorization and find someplace to keep their belonging. Yitzhak weeps thinking about all the pain and suffering his parents have experienced.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Friday, October 8, 1915, Lutsk

Yitzhak and Moshe secure an offer for a ride on a wagon headed to a town close to Hubyn. Meanwhile they are literally starving in Lutsk where food and water is scarce and they have only a bit of bread remaining.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Sunday, October 10, 1915, Lutsk

The brothers hoped to leave Lutsk by wagon today but their plans didn't materialize. Yitzhak believes they have no option now but to leave on foot. He wishes he could go back to Mlynov to see what is left, but it is now in the middle of the fighting.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Wednesday, October 13, 1915 (Hubyn Pershyi)

Yitzhak and his brother Moshe leave Lutsk and make their way to Hubyn Pershyi. The road is muddy and Yitzhak gets blisters from the moisture. They encounter an Austrian military convoy along the way and an Austrian officer is suspicious of them. After a sleepless night, they reach Hubyn and meet old friends.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Saturday night, October 16, 1915 (Hubyn Pershyi)

The brothers are recovering in Hubyn Pershyi. They have all they need, materially speaking, and are with good people they feel close to. Yitzhak’s neck, which was hurting intensely, is beginning to feel better. Though the experience of trauma is beginning to subside, they still can’t relax knowing their parents and siblings don’t yet know the brothers are safe.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Tuesday night, October 26, 1915 (Hubyn Pershyi)

Though his situation has stabilized and he is now teaching and has books to read, Yitzhak is in emotional turmoil worried about his parents and his family members who are ensconced in Russia, on the other side of the Eastern Front. His feelings are so intense that he contemplates drowning his sorrows in alcohol, an activity totally inconsistent with his self-image.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Wednesday night, October 27, 1915 (Hubyn Pershyi)

Yitzhak is called outside by his friend Avraham Burshtak to look at the skies. There is evidence that the fighting has ceased. The possibility of peace triggers Yitzhak’s biting sarcasm about God’s role in the end of the War and his anger over the petty complaints of the Hubyn residents who barely suffered.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

November 1915

Tuesday night, November 2, 1915, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak is tormented by images of his parents and sisters who do not know his fate. He is thus surprised that the creative urge has emerged again, prompting him to write a short poem called “In A Foreign Place” and given him inspiration for another poem about the biblical character Joab.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Friday morning, November 12, 1915, Hubyn Pershyi

Lying in bed in the morning, Yitzhak suddenly realizes that today is his eighteenth birthday. The realization prompts nostalgic introspection about the differences between childhood and adulthood and painful thoughts about his family which is far away.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Tuesday night, November 16, 1915, Hubyn Pershyi

A snowstorm is going on outside this Tuesday night as Yitzhak writes about the unabated storm of war and about his attempts to send postcards to send to his family on the Russian side of the front. Despite his turbulent emotions, his creative muse has come alive, and he is engaged in writing and revising poems, particularly, “The Death of Joab.”

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Saturday night, November 20, 1915 Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak appetite for food and drink has increased dramatically and everyone says his appearance has improved a great deal. But people err when they think all is well with his internal state too. Not so. He is still beset by personal and collective worries day and night.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Tuesday night, November 23, 1915 Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak is angry at himself for appearing happy at a social gathering at a time when he is separated from his family. His worry about them deepens when he hears new rumors about difficult conditions on the Russian side of the front. Surprisingly, amid his separation and worry, he experiences a burst of creative energy and a strong desire to broaden his education.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Monday night, November 29th, 1915, Hubyn Pershyi

The beginning of Passover preparations in Hubyn conjures up idyllic memories of such preparations in Mlynov, which Yitzhak describes in moving detail. His only comfort amid all his grief is his poetry. In that vein, he adds new verses to a poem called On the Destruction which he had written when he was still in Mlynov. The new verses now take account of his own suffering and question the disproportionate suffering of the Jews during the War.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

December 1915

Friday, December 3, 1915, 2nd day of Hanukkah, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak shares his memories of Hanukkah in Mlynov when his father lit the candles and blessed them in a melodious voice, and the family gathered, sang songs, and played cards.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Tuesday, December 7, 1915, 6th day of Hanukkah, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak reveals several deep emotions that he has not exposed previously. These involve his brother Moshe, his newly surging religious feelings, and the excitement stimulated by his emerging love interest. For the first time in his diary, he also describes the final emotional scene when he and Moshe took leave of their family in Mlynov.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Saturday night, December 11, 1915, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak reports a wonderful dream. He is back in Mlynov with his family and their home was still standing. Then the dream ends and reality slaps him in the face. Meanwhile strong youthful feelings for Z. B. continue, and a voice in his head is telling him to let those feelings out.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Sunday night, December 12, 1915, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak reports his emotional whiplash as contradictory rumors and opinions are bandied about regarding the imminent arrival of peace or the expectation of a prolonged war.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Saturday night, December 18, 1915, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak struggles with the youthful impulses that have been stimulated by spending almost the whole day with the young woman he calls “Z. B.” (Zahava Bortnik), who has become a ray of light in the time of darkness and whom Yitzhak realizes he loves.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Sunday night, December 19, 1915, Hubyn Pershyi

After visiting the home of Z. B., Yitzhak agonizes whether he should share with her his true feelings and his secret that he has written her a poem.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday night, December 12, 1915, Wednesday night, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak contemplates tearing up the previous entries about his love for Z. B. They embarrass him now, but he resists since the diary is supposed to be a reflection of his emotions. Going forward he will treat her like just a friend.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

December 25, 1915, Saturday night, Hubyn Pershyi

In this melancholy and emotional entry, Yitzhak describes himself as a loner among his company of friends and his newfound religious feelings that he experienced today in prayer and song on the Sabbath.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

December 26, 1915, Sunday night, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak’s grief and sadness about his separation from his parents and family bubbles up today prompted it appears from early signs that people are starting to think about the Passover festival in the spring. He writes a poem in Yiddish about all of his intense feelings.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

January 1916

Monday night, January 3, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak is grieving again the separation from his family and is disgusted with himself for his earlier entries about his love for the young woman, Z. B. He has annihilated those youthful feelings and feels instead like a man of 70 years old.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Tuesday night, January 4, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak shares the existential thoughts that infused the poem he just finished. Life is vanity since death hangs over all that human do. The only remedy is the religious feeling, Yitzhak writes.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday night, January 5th, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

In this short entry, Yitzhak is tortured by the separation from his family and prays to God for endurance and restoration.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Friday (Erev Shabbat), January 7, 1916, Wednesday night, Hubyn Pershyi

Today, on the eve of the Sabbath, Yitzhak decided to leave the home of Yehezkel Burshtak early and go to the home of Shlomo Burshtak, since Shlomo’s family stays awake later on the Sabbath eve than Yehezkel’s. After arriving there, however, Yitzhak agonizes about whether he insulted Yehezkel’s family and his feelings bubble up of living “In a Foreign Country,” the title of a poem he has been working on since October.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday night, January 12, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

This week brought comforting news from Yitzhak’s hometown and of a close friend from Mlynov who was living in nearby Berestechko. Yitzhak also has a chance meeting with another acquaintance who was passing through town. The warm feelings were short-lived as rumors arrived worrying Yitzhak about his family’s wellbeing in Baranivka.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Saturday night, January 22, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak writes about his immobilizing depression that for the last ten days prevented him from writing poetry or his journal entries at night. In the meantime, he did sent a letter to his friend Yermeyahu Maisler who is supposed to be in Boremel and he is thinking about his first true love from his days in his hometown.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Sunday night, January 23, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak’s thoughts last night about his “first true love” in Mlynov triggers his shame over the entries he previously wrote about his attraction to Z. B. and what he now regards as short-term infatuation.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

February 1916

Tuesday night, February 1, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak describes intensifying loneliness, especially learning that his letter never reached his good friend Yemeyahu in Boremel. He continues work on his lyrical poem about life in a foreign country, and accepts the return of his attraction to the young woman, Z. B.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Sunday night, February 6, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak confesses to being attracted once again to the young woman Z. B. He believes she reciprocates the feelings and tells her about a poem he wrote that is about her. She presses him to show her the poem. Yitzhak is torn about what to do.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Sunday night, February 13, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak gave Z. B. his poem about her and gets a positive response. He struggles with his guilt for having positive feelings of love during wartime when he doesn’t know the fate of family.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Tuesday night, February 15, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

Tonight, Yitzhak was in turmoil and revealed some of his feelings to Z. B., bringing them closer together. In the meantime, he is worried Devorah Burshtak is upset with him because he didn’t lodge in her home all the days she was traveling.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top

Saturday night, February 19th, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

When Z. B. writes in Yitzhak’s notebook that she loves him, their relationship gets complicated as Yitzhak presses her to clarify just what she meant.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

March 1916

Monday, March 6, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

In one of his most agitated diary entries to date, Yitzhak is torn up by existential questions triggered in part by sexual feelings that arise in his relationship.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Tuesday night, March 7, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak has a unique experience producing a well-written poem while he was still in the grips of the feelings the poem described.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Saturday night, March 11, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

At long last, Yitzhak had an emotional breakthrough today in his relationship with Z. B. but also in his entire psychological mindset.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Sunday night, March 12,1916, Hubyn Pershyi

Though still feeling the reciprocation of his love for Z. B., Yitzhak is surprised that his emotions still storm back and forth between good days and bad days.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Thursday, March 16, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

The signs of spring warm Yitzhak’s heart but also trigger his grief as he ponders the apparent good feelings that spring usually brings.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Saturday night, first night of Purim, March 18, 1916

Yitzhak’s feelings of turmoil continue. He is especially confused about his relationship and whether he is committing a moral offence letting Z. B. love him as she does.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Sunday, March 19, 1916, Purim, Hubyn Pershyi

The holiday of Purim triggers Yitzhak’s emotional turmoil and nostalgic feelings for his family and home. Yitzhak also describes a new spiritual upheaval facing him, this one of his own making. He now feels pulled to read the books of the great philosophers on the existential questions about life and death that have been haunting him. To do so, he acknowledges he will need to be able to read the languages they wrote in.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Tuesday night, March 21, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak picks up his pen though he has nothing to write about except to mention that he has been editing the poems he’s been writing the last few weeks.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Saturday night, March 25, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

From a kiss in the afternoon from Z. B., to his unruly behavior at night with his friend Shmuel Burshtak, Yitzhak’s emotions run the gamut today.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday night, March 29, 1916, Hubyn Pershyi

Yitzhak’s good mood shifts to anger and despair when he learns that the father of one of his six-year-old students has complained about his teaching.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

November 1916

Wednesday day, November 8, 1916, Baranovka

Yitzhak’s third diary opens with Yitzhak standing by the deathbed of his mother and receiving her final blessing. He also received a postcard from Lutsk from Miriam Bortnik.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday evening, November 8, 1916, Baranovka

Yitzhak’s mother remains on her deathbed when Yitzhak writes again in his diary at 4 pm as the sun is setting. He describes the painful, grief-stricken scene, his frozen emotions, and questions God about the purpose of the pending tragedy and the very meaning of life and death.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Friday, November 10, 1916, Sabbath Eve ("Erev Shabbat"), Baranovka

Yitzhak cannot bring himself to do more than write a few lines in his grief-stricken state over his mother’s terminal illness.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Sunday, November 12, 1916, Baranovka

Yitzhak’s mother passed away on Friday night, during the Sabbath. Writing on Sunday morning, Yitzhak begins to recount the last few hours of her life including a heartbreaking incident triggered by Yitzhak’s kindness.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Monday, November 13, 1916, Baranovka (during the seven days of mourning)

In a diary entry that is simultaneous moving, existential and theological, Yitzhak continues his account of his mother’s deathbed scene and funeral before shifting gears to revisit a difficult decision he and his brother Moshe made during the previous summer. The diary entry, written more than 36 hours since his mother’s burial, is one of the longest he has written to date.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday, November 22, 1916, Baranovka

After a hiatus in diary writing for the last nine days, during which Yitzhak came down with influenza and was bedridden, Yitzhak describes his frozen emotional state following his mother’s death, the arrival of a letter from his girlfriend, Zahava, and the fragmentation of the family due to various circumstances.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Sunday, November 26, 1916, the new month of Kislev, Baranivka

Yitzhak has a letter in his pocket he wrote to Zahava last week hoping to find someone to take it to Zhvil (Zviahel) and drop it in the postal box there. He wants to avoid the local postal service which opens the mail and looks specifically for letters written in Hebrew, which are considered suspicious.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Monday, November 27, 1916, Baranivka

In a somewhat amusing entry, Yitzhak describes his frustration and boredom from his typical day due to the disorder of his living conditions and the visits of a young chatterbox named Yankel who won’t shut up.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Thursday, November 30, 1916, Baranivka

After dropping the letter to Zahava in the local mail, Yitzhak describes sensory images of his sweetheart that stick with him from his time in Hubyn. Today is also Yitzhak’s birthday, the day he turned 19 years old. The occasion triggers his angst that time is flying by and that he is currently at a standstill where he is now.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

December 1916

Wednesday, December 6, 1916, Baranivka

After a toothache for several days, Yitzhak’s father shows up unexpectedly in Baranivka on his way to Polone where he plans to catch a train to Mlynov. Heni, unfortunately, has departed on her own travels and Yitzhak has given her a letter for his brother Moshe. Yitzhak waits hopefully for a return letter from Zahava.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Monday night, December 11, 1916, Baranivka

The end of the thirty-day period of mourning (sheloshim) since his mother’s death prompts Yitzhak to reflect on the course of her illness, the strength of his mother’s character, and his intense feelings of loss and inadequacy.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Monday, December 18, 1916, Baranivka

In this lengthy diary entry, Yitzhak discusses his current frustrations in Baranivka, the recent letters he received from his brother Moshe and his sweetheart, Zahava, the hopeful news circulating related to the prospects of peace, and the surge in creativity he is now experiencing.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Monday night, December 26 [25], 1916, Baranivka

Yitzhak faces a difficult decision whether to return to Lutsk, where he can be near Zahava, or to head to the interior of Russia, to Stary Oskol, where other Mlynov residents have fled. He hopes a letter to Chaikel Weitz in Lutsk asking about safety and work there will help him decide.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Thursday, December 28, 1916, Baranivka

Yitzhak remains stuck in Baranivka while political events continue to generate some hope for peace. Though he is having a burst of creative energy, Yitzhak doesn’t have time to devote to his writing and finds living with his eldest sister Heni to be intolerable.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

January 1917

Monday, January 8, 1917, Baranivka

In this long diary entry, Yitzhak contemplates his pending decision about whether he should return to Lutsk or head to Stary Oskol in Russia’s interior. The several postcards he receives with cryptic advice leave him uncertain about his decision and with an interior war raging inside him, as well as a bubbling creativity.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Sunday, January 10, 1917, Baranivka

Yitzhak still has not received a response from Chaikel Weitz and remains in limbo. He sends three postcards to Zahava seeking clarification to her earlier messages and asking her help securing an answer from Chaikel.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Tuesday, January 16, 1917, Baranivka

Yitzhak’s father returned from his trip to Mlynov and Yitzhak learns a travel permit to Lutsk is impossible to obtain. His new path is now decided. He will travel east to Kiev and beyond. His grief at potentially losing his relationship with Zahava wells up in his entry.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Tuesday, January 30, 1917, Pryluky

Yitzhak arrived in Pryluky last Thursday. Now five days later, he recounts some of the details of his travel though his focus in this diary entry is on his first negative impressions of the people in Pryluky.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

February 1917

Sunday, February 11, 1917, Pryluky

Yitzhak writes for the first time after a debilitating illness that took him to bed for nearly two weeks. He is just now recovering and ponders his dislike of teaching and his limited skillset for other types of employment. Despite the presence of young people in Pryluky, Yitzhak hates the place so far.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Monday, February 12, 1917, Pryluky

Out of the fire and into the frying pan. Yitzhak is fully healthy again, but worries about going outside now due to the new mobilization call-up. Though Yitzhak is working on an identity swap, he fears suddenly appearing in public with a new name.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Thursday, February 15, 1917, Pryluky

Yitzhak awaits the arrival of new identity papers from his brother Moshe. In the meantime, he risks being questioned or conscripted on his way to the house of worship in the morning and at night to say the mourner’s Kaddish for his mother. Stuck mostly inside for safety, he can’t secure work and his creativity is nonexistent.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday, February 21, 1917, Pryluky

Yitzhak sinks to a new low in his mood as he waits for the new identity papers from his brother Moshe. He feels completely isolated since he rarely leaves the house and when he does, he doesn’t talk to anyone due to his fear.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Friday, February 23, 1917, Pryluky

A letter arrives from Yitzhak’s sisters indicating that their father is bereft that he has not gotten letters from family members. The news triggers Yitzhak’s grief and guilt, though he excuses himself since he doesn’t have his father’s address in Zhiavel. In the meantime, two men in the house of worship resemble close friends of Yitzhak’s from Hubyn and trigger thoughts of happy moments in friendship a year earlier.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Monday, February 26, 1917, Pryluky

A self-reflective entry in which Yitzhak ponders the nature of his ambivalence about everything, with a bit of good news about the possibility of finding tutoring work in Pryluky

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday, February 28, 1917, Pryluky

A positive turn of events continues to lighten Yitzhak’s mood. A sweet postcard arrives from Zahava and two tutoring opportunities materialize.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

March 1917

Sunday, March 4, 1917, Pryluky

The arrival of letters from his sisters in Kiev and from his sweetheart Zahava cheer Yitzhak’s mood as does his opportunity to start tutoring and news that his new identity papers will come. The hope Yitzhak feels prompt his reflection on the nature of love and longing.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday night (Purim night), March 7, 1917, Pryluky

The Purim holiday triggers nostalgic thoughts about spending Purim a year earlier in Hubyn. In the meantime, Yitzhak begins to think about his creative efforts again and ponders the ambitious idea of traveling to Moscow to be with other Hebrew writers.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Monday night, March 12, 1917 [or Tuesday night March 13, 1917], Pryluky

Postcards from Zahava and Yaakov Krantz trigger Yitzhak’s fear that when fighting starts again in the spring that his contact with Zahava will be severed completely and what little comfort he has left will be destroyed.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Tuesday night, March 20 [or Wednesday night, March 21], 1917, Pryluky

Yitzhak writes for the first time in eight days during which time a revolution started, toppled the Tsarist regime, and set up a Provisional government. Yitzhak briefly summarizes what he has heard, though he remains cautious about writing too much.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Wednesday, March 21 [or Thursday March 22], 1917, Pryluky

Yitzhak expands here on his ambivalent reaction to the Revolution and its universal humanistic values. After a disappointing meeting with the leading Zionist in Pryluky, his sense of isolation deepens. He turns toward publication as a possible way to find kindred spirits who share his emotional sensitivity and deep literary interests.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Friday, March 23, 1917, Pryluky

Alienated from the town’s revolutionary celebrations, Yitzhak questions the source of his feelings. At a Zionist gathering he plans to attend the following day, he anticipates the phoniness of the local Zionists and “big shots.” Sadly, the one Zionist he respects, Dr. Feigelson, is preparing to leave for the front.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Monday, March 26, 1917, Pryluky

Yitzhak comes away impressed by the first official Zionist gathering in Pryluky and revises his view of Dr. Feigelson, whose devotion and influence he now recognizes despite finding some of his positions extreme. Speaking himself, Yitzhak challenges Feigelson’s narrow definition of a Zionist and argues that internal criticisms of Zionism were poorly suited to an introductory gathering for newcomers.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Tuesday, March 27, 1917, Pryluky

Yitzhak expands on the two Zionist gatherings he attended, which spark his desire to get involved in the local Zionist activity, despite some misgivings. Attraction to some young women at the meetings cools his feelings for Zahava somewhat, and a recent announcement by the military commander generates new worries about conscription.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Tuesday (or Wednesday) night, March 27 (or 28th), 1917, Pryluky

Yitzhak resents being treated by the Zionist workers as an idle melamed whose interests extend no further than teaching. At the same time, his attraction to several gymnasium students is weakening his feelings for Zahava and leading him to question whether their relationship should continue.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Friday, March 30, 1917, Pryluky

Yitzhak provides an update on his literary efforts to get published, the ongoing the turmoil in his love life, and a meeting of the local teachers in town.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

April 1917

Sunday, April 1, 1917, Pryluky

A postcard arrives from Yitzhak’s sister Malcah, urging him to travel with her to Novohrad-Volynsky to celebrate Passover with the family. The prospect throws Yitzhak into turmoil: should he go despite the danger of traveling without the necessary papers and the prospect of confronting his grief at the family gathering, or should he remain in Pryluky, ignore his filial duty and risk reinforcing the Zionist activists’ already negative view of him?

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Sunday, April 8, 1917, Novohrad Volinskyi (during Passover)

Yitzhak recounts his difficult journey from Pryluky to Novohrad Volinskyi [currently Zviahel], his Passover with his family, and a surprising letter from Moshe about enlisting in the military that throws his own plans into disarray.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Friday, April 20, 1917, Novohrad Volinskyi

Yitzhak hasn’t written in his diary for twelve days, and in the interim, he has been preoccupied: registering with the military, going to Zhytomyr to consult a doctor about his nearsightedness, spending time with friends who arrived in town and writing letters to Pryluky and his sweetheart Zahava.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Friday, April 25, 1917, Novohrad Volinskyi

A new law thwarts Yitzhak’s efforts to report for his military examination. Despite his new glasses for nearsightedness, Yitzhak’s hope is waning that he will evade conscription. His spirits are lifted, however, by time spent with a former Zionist friend, while a chance encounter with another acquaintance from Lutsk offers an opportunity to send Zahava a letter. Given all the recent tumult and worry, Yitzhak’s poetic muse, his “voice of prophecy,” remains silent.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

May 1917

Wednesday, May 2, 1917, Novohrad Volynskyi

After a busy week of work making cigarettes, Yitzhak updates his diary with worrisome news about the health of his friend Kotzki, reflections on a registered letter from Zahava, as well as news that Hebrew newspapers will start publishing again.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Tuesday, May 8, 1917 NS, Novohrad Volinskyi

In his final entry in his third diary, Yitzhak writes about his Zionist activity, his feelings about socialism, and his attraction to a new young woman. He ends with a surprising revelation. His brother Moshe arrived on Friday but has already left for Dubno for his military examination. Yitzhak is to undergo his own examination with local military authorities tomorrow.

Go to the diary entry, the interpretive summaries or return to the top.

Created by Howard I. Schwartz
Updated: October 2025
Copyright © 2025 Howard I. Schwartz, PhD
Webpage Design by Howard I. Schwartz
Want to search for more information: JewishGen Home Page
Want to look at other Town pages: KehilaLinks Home Page

This page is hosted at no cost to the public by JewishGen, Inc., a non-profit corporation. If it has been useful to you, or if you are moved by the effort to preserve the memory of our lost communities, your JewishGen-erosity would be deeply appreciated.