History repeats itself? Last Saturday 110 years passed from the eruption of the Russo-Japanese war (February 8, 1904), the war that marked the beginning of the revolutions in Russia and the downfall of the Tsar. Two lithographic illustrations which have recently arrived at Kedem Auction House in Jerusalem allow a special peek at a less known aspect of the war: the draft of Chareidi Jews into the Russian army and their losses.
Approximately 30,000 Jews that lived in the Russian empire participated in the Russo-Japanese war. Russia’s defeat in the war as well as the heavy losses incurred to its army left a real scar in the midst of the empire’s Jewish population which followed the development of the war in the daily Jewish newspapers of that time. These two rare illustrations were made by the artist C. Laskov and printed in Vilna during the war. The illustrations will be offered for auction in Kedem Auction House in Jerusalem on Feb. 26.
The title of the first illustration (in Russian): A Reservist Soldier Leaves for War. The illustration portrays a Chareidi Jewish soldier leaving his family after he receives a draft order (the draft officer stands behind the soldier with the order in his hand). In the illustration, the whole family can be seen sorrowfully bidding the soldier goodbye. His wife covers her face and weeps; his father blesses him with the priestly blessing. One of his sisters hugs him and the other hands him his tefilin.
The illustration portrays the inside of the home which shows us the design of Jewish homes at that time. Hanging on the wall are portraits of famous Jewish figures: Theodore Herzl, Moshe Montefiore and the Malbim (a Bible commentator). Lining one wall are shelves of books (with Hebrew letters drawn on the bindings). A prayer book and two candlesticks occupy the surface of the lectern next to the shelves. A prayer shawl lies on a table in the corner of the room and a Chanukah Menorah is hanging on the wall.
The second illustration named The Young Widow portrays the moment that the family is informed of the death of the soldier. In the picture, you can see a military officer holding a letter in his hand. He places his second hand on the shoulder of the soldier’s mother who hides her face in her hands. The soldier’s wife and sisters are crying. The design of the family’s home is almost identical to the previous illustration with a few small changes. In this illustration, next to Herzl’s portrait hang a portrait of the soldier and a map of the Far East. The prayer book which was open on the lectern is now closed. Above the illustration is a Russian inscription: The Young Widow. Under that is another inscription, A Friend Brings a Letter from the Hospital with the News that the Soldier has Died.
Collectors are showing a lot of interest in these illustrations, especially on the backdrop of the recent public upheaval regarding the draft of chareidi young men into the army. Meron Eren, owner of Kedem Auction House, one of the largest auction houses in the world in the area of Judaica explains the reason the Jewish soldier in the illustrations is bearded and wears a fur hat (shtreimal). Apparently, many of the inducted Jews at the time of the Russo-Japanese war were Gerrer chassidim.
This fact is mentioned in the book Hassidic Tales written by Rabbi Shlomo Yossef Zevin: “During the last year that the Gerrer Rebbe was living… the Russo-Japanese war broke out and thousands of young men of draft age amongst his Hassidim were sent to the battlefields in the Far East. The Rebbe blessed his Hassidim before they left for the long journey and his fear for the safety of these soldiers was great. All the time that his Hassidim were at the front, he never slept in his bed but would sleep on the floor with only his bedclothes spread beneath his body which were soaking wet with the tears he poured over Jewish sorrows.
“Also his Hassidim were faithful and would write the rebbe from the front, from inside the bunkers Torah novellae relating all the happenings in their letters.”
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo: Kedem Auction House)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
16 Responses
My dear grandfather who was from Kishinev was drafted into this war. He personally told me how the Jews were put on the front lines and about the unbearable anti semetism within the Russian army. He escaped in the middle of the war, crossed the border and took refuge in Brody (galitzia) where he married and eventually settled in the United States .
he was the only member of his immediate family to survive the holocaust decades later .
HKB”H is reminding us that we are still in Golut, even if we’re living in Israel.
Non comparable.
The Russian draft was for 20 years and it resulted in death, escape, injuries or complete assimilation. The IDF draft is at most 24 months, with visits to home, kosher food, davening time and even a amiable Chevrah.
Both the Russians and the Turks drafted yeshiva students in the early 20th century. Do we hope that the Zionist State of Israel will be remembered in the history books along with Imperial Russia and Ottoman Turkey? Do we really hope for Netanyahu, Bennett and Lapid to share the same fate as the Romanovs?
The IDF draft is the same shmad. The IDF “melting pot” is designed to make draftees into good chiloni Israelis. And they do a pretty good job in that goal. 35% of IDF draftees who were religious before joining the IDF are no longer religious once they leave the IDF.
להשמיד להרוג ולאבד. Even the IDF thinks that the Army is to big and that the last thing they need is the chareidim. When Ben Gurion was in charge of the State he said that a big purpose of the army was to be an equalizer, meaning a means to wipe out religion. This scene really is not so different than our present situation, except they meant for physical annihalation and the goverment is aiming for spiritual. I don’t want to be מלמד זכות on the Russians, but at least they had a real need for soldiers. Hashem has saved us before, and will save us again. אחקלו בכל יום שיבא.
akuperma: Nothing could be sweeter than if they and their regime shared the same fate as the Romanovs and their regime.
Dear Yayin Yashan etc etc:
“At least they had a real need for soldiers”!?!? Really. Were that the case, they would have made sure to recruit older teens and youth into their twenties, mature and with courageous attitudes, and built up their strength and give them a sense of patriotic pride and all the rest that goes into turning boys/men into soldiers when there is a “real need.” Do you know a bit of history? This was no less than the cruelest level of shmad. That was the ONLY motive. For decades Jewish boys from as young as 7 or even 5 were snatched from families and forced to serve as “soldiers” for at least 25 years. That was in effect LIFE SENTENCE. They emaciated and tortured these boys. They (of course) spiritually and psychologically abused them as well, en masse. Those who survived – and the mortality rate was dismal – were roughly 99% lost to even a modicum of Yiddishkeit. Those who attempted to avoid conscription had to mutilate themselves so as to be rendered unfit. There was no sympathy or protection from anywhere. This was a nightmare existence.
As much as we understand the anti-religious motives coming form the Zionist camp past and present, we do have to recognize that this Jewish State would not exist without ratzon hakb”H as well, and we should therefore be grateful still. Now that it is what it is, there ought to be some recognition of the tragic fact that our nation who resides in Israel is in a perpetual state of war -I guess ad bias goel tzeddek. There may be times when a battle is milchemes mitzvah and precautions for Yiddishkeit taken, along with some form of participation by more than chilonim. Of course there is risk. And of course the law-makers know that in truth they are arguing for the sake of messing with the foundations of chareidi life – they do not want or need these huge numbers of pale-faces. But let the gedolim continue the work they are doing to make fair agreements with the powers that be, and make it clear that learners are not only conscientious objectors, but are really participating– by learning lezechus the safety of klal Yisroel. While the non-learners who serve in some capacity (not women) can and must receive respectful and protected accommodations to guarantee their spiritual security is not threatened from within. It can be done, as I see it. But we do have to daven that the son’im in power(in my opinion eruv rav)who are not properly motivated are gotten rid of.
Also, we spell that “ אחכה לו.”
This intensive hatred that compares Israel to an antisemitic evil regime of the past creates an iron curtain between Jews.
You are pushing away millions of Jews with “both your hands”. Is this what you want?
This intensive hatred of Israel has to be considered “outside of the camp”.
If there are portraits of Herzl on the wall, why does the article describe them as “Chareidi”? Why not simply “Jewish”?
This comparison is disgusting. The IDF protects Jews. Why should ALL Chareidim be exempt, even when they’re not learning? Why should Dati Yeshiva students be treated differently? You take from society, you contribute to it. What makes Chareidim who is not learning more important than a Datim who are learning?
#5. Where do you get your statistics from? Sounds like utter nonsense. If anyone goes off the Derech because of serving in the IDF, that’s just the excuse for something they would do anyway. You don’t see that in the Dati community. Even if you were remotely correct (I seriously doubt it), that would be an indictment against Chareidi Yeshiva’s if their students were so weak in their Emunah.
There are separate units for Chareidim, stop making nonsense statements. It’s an embarrassment to all of us.
I know people who became Frum because of the IDF, including one who lives in Meah Shearim. What is the excuse when American Chassidim or Yeshivish people go off the Derech, when you have no IDF to blame it on?
It’s time for intellectual honesty, not for creating more division.
If the Satmar/NK contingent here is to be believed, the chareidi 18 year old of today is a lump of spiritual jello that can be shmadded up by relatively mild adversity and change. How sad. Where are the Jews who were unshakable in their emuna under the most horrific conditions?n
zionflag and Mrs. D., you’re confusing the Cantonist decrees of the 1800s with the wartime draft of 1901. The war draft was not intended to shmad Jewish children. It applied to adults and was for purposes of war.
Note how we can see the hair of these “chareidi women”
Its VERY DISINGENUOUS of the website to use the modern usage of Charadi here — I’m not sure the torah jews of of early 20th century Russia would necessarily align themselves with today’s Israeli Charadim.
They have a picture of Herzl yms, so certainly it isn’t Chareidim in that picture but it is of Zionists.
———–
It is the Daati who are, in high percentages, dumping Judaism while in the IDF and leaving the service as Chilonim. They have a tremendously high OTD rate. The Chareidim are nowhere even close.