Rabbi Szmuel Mohilewer

... Rabbi Szmuel Mohilewer ..................05 11 Mordechaj Pogorelski ...

... In recent years many families from Bialystok arrived in Israel during the fourth Aliyah. The reason for this massive influx was that Bialystokers, always lovers of Zion, dedicated themselves to settling in Israel from the time of the late Rabbi Szmuel Mohilewer. Israel is very dear to us despite all the difficulties we encountered. The situation in Bialystok deteriorated, robbing its inhabitants of any hope and discouraging Bialystokers who emigrated to Israel from returning to our hometown. Love for Israel is deeply rooted in our hearts and our only hope is to remain here; those who returned to Bialystok regretted their hasty move. We must find ways to support those who settle in Israel permanently and to bring increased bounty to this land. ...

... And what of the Zionist movement? Its breeding ground in Eastern Europe was for a long time located in Bialystok, in the home of Rabbi Szmuel Mohilewer. With his characteristic boldness, he made contact with the Jewish magnate, Baron Edmond de Rothschild, winning him over to the great Zionist ideal, and creat- ing a place for thousands of pioneers to work in the land of Jewish hope and aspiration. ...

On the day of his trip he became depressed. In the morning he went to Rabbi Szmuel Mohilewer’s grave and when he returned, tears streamed down his face. Then we went to the railroad station in Chaim’s buggy. I was overcome with emotion when Chazanowicz, before the final ‘“‘All aboard,” forcefully embraced and kissed his driver, Chaim. ...

... The Bundists agitated in the streets, urging the Jewish masses to throw away their banal novels and replace them with Bundist literature provided by two libraries in Bialystok, one run by Rabbi Szmuel Mohi- lewer, the Zionist-oriented rabbi. These books were in Hebrew and dealt mainly with the need to settle in Israel. The other library, under the management of Awrom Kutik, contained Russian, German and Yiddish ...

... (Editor’s note: We are treated to deeper insights about Rabbi Szmuel Mohilewer, the father of Zionism in Bia- lystok, in the following article.) ...