Jewish Odessa: Chapters from My Memoirs

Odessa was a very important Jewish city in every respect – the Jews in it represented one third (about two hundred thousand) of the general population, but this third was the most active and dynamic one. It influenced the economy, cultural institutions, journalism, charity and medical establishments. The Jews made the city into a major trade center for crops and industrial products.

The Jewish influence can be traced back to the establishment of Odessa through the city’s blueprints. Synagogues were not pushed aside to dark alleys as they were in other Diaspora cities, but located in the city center, in the best streets. The luxurious building of the Big Synagogue was a distinctive ornament between the nice houses on Reshilyevskaya Street. The Brody Synagogue was located on the corner of Pushkinskaya and Zhukovsky Streets, close to the famously designed stock market building. The New Synagogue on Yekaterinenskaya Street, the synagogue on Olgievskaya Street and others were all located well. The famous Jewish Street crossed all of the central and most beautiful streets in the city.

The Jewish community in Odessa was richly endowed with religious, educational, medical and social institutions. The municipality supervised the community and the community managers were intelligent and rich. There was a list of a hundred people who were confirmed by the regime. Every important matter of the community was brought into discussion in front of all of these representatives at the municipality. The masses used to call them The Golden Hundred (Zolotaya Sotnya). When I came to Odessa (In the year 5666 or 1905/6) a democratic change occurred in the community’s management. The management role was given to synagogues’ managers, and they elected a commission, which took care of the community’s matters. I was the first rabbi to be chosen by the managers rather than by the municipal representatives.

In Odessa’s spiritual life synagogues played a major role, perhaps larger than in other cities in which I had lived before coming to Odessa. The outward appearance and the order of the synagogue did not take away from the religious customs, which were very seriously observed. In all of the synagogues (aside from the Brody synagogue) the bimah (platform from which Torah is read) was placed in the center, and the order of the prayer and the customs of the synagogues followed Shulchan Aruch (the Jewish code of laws.) Modern cantillation flourished in Odessa, and some of the most glorified cantors came from the city such as Bachman, N. Blumenthal, Solomon Rozumni and more. But there was nothing in this modernism that was similar to the religious reform of the Jews of some western countries. Those affected by the reform did not even pray in the Brody synagogue. They were mostly educated and rich Jews, but they did not argue for “pure Judaism,” and change in customs in the religious institutions, because a stream of reform did not exist in Russia at all, and even the most liberal surrendered to the old and traditional customs in the synagogue. When a pipe organ was brought in to the Brody Synagogue in the year 5760 (1909/1910), that was not a result of an aspiration for reform, but a simple wish, a caprice of the cantor, whose voice became weaker and felt the need for the tunes of a pipe organ. This event was highly controversial among the parishioners in the synagogue, and led to a strong resistance among the synagogue managers’ commission.

When I think of the Odessa synagogues today in my heart I miss their inner and outer beauty. Odessa had about sixty big synagogues and some of them were built in a unique way, with their facades separated from the rest of the buildings on the street. They were all large and beautiful. In my rabbinical activity, I was linked to all of these sacred places. I used to visit them occasionally concerning spiritual matters, which became part of my work. For several years I visited all of the synagogues on the eve of Yom Kippur (one or two days before the holy ay) to get support for hosting sick rabbis who came to heal in Odessa. This was a good time to support this cause because the synagogue managers were present in the synagogue and had money on hand. Between The Jewish New Year and the Day of Atonement the parishioners used to pay their debts to the synagogue and, thus, the cash box was full. The managers used to sit by the table in the synagogues’ hall and with them sat the cantors and the janitors and the charity organizations’ leaders. Parishioners used to approach them fearfully and pay their debts to the managers, the cantors and the charitable organizations. There they tasted sweets and wine, received blessings and were blessed for Chatima Tova (may you be signed and sealed in the book of life) for the holy day. This scene, which I had witnessed in dozens of synagogues that I visited during my “rounds,” left a strong impression on me. A picture of organized Judaism appeared before me, unified Judaism under a government of spirit, which controls the soul of every person of Israel and pulling it to the center point of the Diaspora, to Mikdash Me’at (temple few, synonym to a synagogue) that accompanies Israel in the countries of the Diaspora.

Synagogues in Odessa were unique in their size, beauty of the buildings, matching furnishings, the Holy Arks that were carved in unique shapes and decorated with incredibly rich golden ornaments. The Big Synagogue’s Hall (established in 5619 or 1858/1859) was spectacular. The ceiling and the columns holding it up, the walls and the balconies in the men’s and women’s sections – were covered in white paint that shone like expensive porcelain. A man who did not see this hall has never seen a beautiful hall in his life.

Another unique feature of a synagogue in Odessa was that it was a house filled with air and light. It did not have the same pleasant dimness of the old synagogues in the Diaspora, like the synagogue of Rabbi Moshe Isserles in Krakow, the Big Synagogue in Vilna, the Yeshiva of the Burial Society, where the dimness was used to provide a unique and mysterious inspiration – (read Rabbi Shmuel Strashun’s commentary to Berachot 31, which criticized synagogues with few windows in Vilna), but it provided a feeling of Mima’amakim (from the depths) and respect for the sacred, as well as the fresh influence on life that cheers up the soul.

Like in all of Israel’s Diaspora, some synagogues in Odessa were named after well-known groups of artisans and craftsmen, such as the synagogue of tailors, carpenters, bakers, book binders, hat makers, woodchoppers, tin makers, butchers, trade clerks, flour sellers, and fruit sellers. In addition, there were synagogues that carried the names of charitable organizations, such as Malbish Eromim (cloth the naked) synagogue, Gmilut Hasadim (benevolence), Hachnasat Shevach (insertion of praise)

The spirit of charity was proudly displayed by the Jewish community of Odessa. The community was famous for its charitable organizations. The community’s hospital was impressive and had many departments for different types of illnesses. It was equipped with the most modern medical tools. The community also had a special hospital in the village of Hadjibey for poor patients who went to heal by bathing in the waters of the Liman (the bay on Black Sea.) Other than that there was another hospital in Odessa for poor women who gave birth. The elders committee of the Odessa community supported several hundred elderly men and women. Kitchens that served cheap meals brought relief to a few thousands of hungry people daily. Camps assisted weak children. Rich man Cohen, in his inheritance, left big houses with cheap apartments for the needy.

Justice and charitable organizations in the Odessa community made a big impact on the state of the poor. Examples for such organizations are Ezrat Holim (help for the sick), Ezrat Ani’im (help for the poor), and Ezrat Yetomim (help for the orphans). Maot Hitim (flour for Passover) and institutions that helped in collecting coal for heating during winters were big institutions that supplied for tens of thousands of the needy of Israel in the region. A few charitable women were famous in the community, as they always acted charitably and attempted to ease the situation of widows and orphans by supplying them with what they needed. These dear women used to amaze every heart with their persistent work, which was genuinely aimed to help everyone.

The people of Odessa in general were known as good, charitable people who acted kindly towards the poor. Their pockets were open to representatives of different Yeshivas and to anything good in Israel. Every man in Odessa gave a poor beggar who came to his door more than a penny. Every beggar had a decent income and so many beggars from around the country came to Odessa and stayed there. Thus, Odessa had many families of beggars, disabled, blind, deft, people who were disabled – all of them came to put their hopes on their brothers, “merciful people who are sons of merciful people.” Even many of the poor who were sick with bone diseases, spine problems, and leg problems, who came to heal on the Liman stayed in Odessa because of its hospitals, charitable organizations, and good-hearted Jews, who would not let them suffer alone. It was enough for the disabled to go for a quick trip around town in order to bring home a decent amount of money and a few groceries. Many of them lived in crowdedness in the same neighborhood in Kartamishevskaya Street and Walf Avenue (in Moldavanka area). Here they had good neighbor relations all being of the same station in life and income. They celebrated family events like Brith Milas, Bar Mitzvahs, and weddings of their sons and daughters together, just like richer people, and did not complain about their situation at all. It was a fact that a disabled man’s daughter would marry a disabled man, since the disability was considered as a stable source of income. Thus, there were entire families whose members were disabled among these people. As a Rabbi I used to come in contact with them when dealing with family matters like marriage and divorce.

Odessa was well known for the high level of its educational institutions. One of these institutions was a school for several hundred students that carried an ancient name of Talmud Torah (Study of the Torah). Its’ curriculum matched the ones of public schools but the students also studied the bible, Mishnah and Talmud, and the education was, of course, religious in nature. This was true of many schools for the children of Israel in Odessa. Education in the Rapoport gymnasium, the Gofman’s school of trade, the Jabotinsky and Kofman girls’ gymnasium (which had a very nationalistic spirit) and others was traditional. For Orthodox parents who did not want to give their children modern education, aside from the Odessa Yeshiva which later became a top school for Jewish studies under its director Rabbi Chaim Tchernovitz, there were a few old Heders and one Yeshiva of the Shomrey Torah (Torah keepers) organization where they learned Gemmarah with interpreters. Many of the students of the Yeshivas in Lithuania and the young men who were qualified to teach came to Odessa for general studies workshops. They were welcomed and received much support. Some of them became Rabbis in several of Israel’s communities.

The spirit of Shabbat was incomplete in the cities of Southern Russia. In Odessa, however, the profanation of the Shabbat was limited to the merchants who got sucked into the whirlpool of commercialism, which is dependent on international connections and on competition between the merchants in the area. Nonetheless, there were many merchants and storekeepers who closed their business on Shabbat. The laborers and the craftsmen observed the Shabbat properly. The people of Odessa were generally subject to the tradition and the religious customs. According to the records of the kosher meat customs, it was clearly proven that the vast majority of Jews in Odessa ate kosher meat.

The holy day of Shabbat showed itself around the city. The synagogues used to fill up with parishioners and the cantors softened the hearts of those who observed Shabbat. Torah lessons were scheduled on Saturdays specifically. Most recognizable was the influence of tradition during the holidays. In the few months before Passover Odessa was preparing to bake Matzos. Many Matzo bakeries were opened in different locations around the town, and they all had bright signs saying “Matzos for Passover.” A large sum of money was invested by the Matzo traders who shipped the Matzos to Jewish communities of different cities in Russia and the Caucasus. Stores were filled with Matzos. The community had special storages with Matzos for the Maot Hitim organization for the poor people. On the streets of Odessa you could see housewives and carriers next to them, holding big baskets full of Matzos wrapped in white sheets on top of their heads. These white loads were a typical sight in the streets of Odessa before Passover, and they looked like white boats floating in a river that was washing over the dense population and moving hither and thither in the streets of the city. The wine stores’ windows had signs saying: “Kosher for Passover.”

A few weeks before Sukkoth big signs appeared in the streets of Odessa: “Citrus Fruit.” Odessa was the main place in Russia for buying citrus fruit. Even nonreligious holidays and their character affected the life in Odessa. During Chanukah, Menorahs were seen in windows and many gifts and Chanukah foods were sold. During Purim salespeople were selling candy, graggers, and masks in the streets. People were seen carrying Purim gifts following the old Jewish custom. Even during Tu bi-Shvat (15th of Shvat) the abundance of fruit that appeared in stores and special stands was recognizable. Typical shouts were heard: “five for fifteen.” The Jews in Odessa observed this Mitzvah fully as well…

Is there a need to mention how busy the streets were on the Jewish High Holidays; the masses that filled the synagogues asking for forgiveness; the beginning and end of the Day of Atonement?

Can a painter ever capture even some of the illustrious picture of Simchat Torah in Odessa? The procession of encircling created a long line between the celebrating masses towards the middle bima. And as you hold the Book of Torah people, young and old, come towards you from right and left to kiss the Torah. Warmheartedly they each bless you and say out loud: “Derlaybet Ivaer A Yahar” (With life to the next year). And the voices coming out of thousands of mouths so that the large amount of blessing turns into something deeper that makes an exalted impression on you. Between encirclings passionate music is played and Jews dance with Torah books – and again, “Please God Save me, I beseech you” – “Darleybet Ivaer A Yahar.”

Before coming to Odessa, I have never seen encirclings done in such an exalted way. In the Big Synagogue and the Brody synagogue a special ceremony was arranged in which children wore pretty uniforms and held flags in their hands. They stood at the beginning of the procession and sang “Be happy during Simchat Torah.”

Odessa, which had an international community, was a Jewish city after all. Inside Israel’s community in Odessa, there was a pure spring which gushed from the sources of Judaism, and flowed into every aspect of life while renewing and refreshing the spiritual atmosphere of the public and the individual. The tradition was strong and stable in the Jewish life of the city near the sea, Odessa.

Odessa was a large center for Judaism. Due to its Synagogues, charitable organizations, educational institutions, its businessmen who worked to help the Jewish community – the reputable name Ir Ve’Em Be’Israel (Mother city of Israel) fit Odessa well. Some people who lived in Odessa became important to Judaism worldwide. In Odessa, one would find listening ears, and an awaken heart to every good idea that would help lift the spirit of Israel. Hibbath Zion (19th Century movement to rebuild the Land of Israel) chose to have its’ headquarters in Odessa. It had printing houses that published books in Hebrew, large stores of holy books and publishing of different types of books, such as the Bletnitzky brothers’ store, Shuchman, Moriah publishing, Sherman, and more. Odessa was full of smart people and authors. It had many people who were experts on the Torah, as well as Hasids, men of action, people who highly respected God, and who were moral and just.

The rabbinate in Odessa was well established and organized in every aspect. It should be mentioned that among all circles, including the free enlightened ones, the rabbi’s authority was recognized, and people always came to see him based on his request, and did as he said with regards to marital relations, negotiations, and monetary issues.

The community of Israel in Odessa set an example in every aspect of public service – in its religious institutions, education, and charity. When we look at the state of “Jewish Odessa” today, sparks of light of the Jewish Diaspora are reflected from it. These sparks did not die out completely even during the period of “Bolshevik Odessa,” despite the changes in its value system.

(*) This compilation of the Rabbi's Memoirs was provided by his grandson Alex Gliksberg