Meier Wiesenthal

MEIER WIESENTHAL (born 1866, died 1930s; son of Leah and Yosef Leib Wiesenthal). Meir was famed for having served in the army of Austro-Hungarian emperor Franz Josef for three years, during which time he never ate anything that was traif. Only Meier and his brother HERSH ELIYAH were strong enough to lift the heaviest Torah in Skala's Chortkover synagogue, so they usually were given the "hagbah" aliyah, which requires that the Torah be lifted to shoulder height.