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Chronicle of the Jews in Podolia, in in southwestern Russia, on the Austrian frontier (Galicia). There is a prefatory letter (3-4) from R. Solomon Buber (1827–1906), the noted scholar and authority on midrashic and medieval rabbinic literature. This is followed by an introduction (5-9) from the author, Menahem Nahum Litinski. Korot Podolya describes the history of the Jews in that region from their first settlement, with detailed descriptions of the tragic events of 1648-49 (Chmielnicki uprising), to the end of thenineteenth century, also addressing the Haskalah in Podolia.
Podolia was a center of many important events in the history of Polish and Russian Jewry. Medzibozh, the most ancient community in Podolia, is first mentioned in 1518 and Polish and Russian documents of 1550 mention Jewish communities in Podolia, but from tombstones discovered in some towns of the government it is evident that Jews had lived there much earlier. In 1639, there were then 18 communities in the region, of which the most important were Nemirov, Tulchin, Bar, and Medzibozh. Yom Tov Lippmann Heller was rabbi in Nemirov. During the Chmielnicki uprising of 1648 massacres occurred in Nemirov, Tulchin, Bar, and other communities. The proximity of Podolia to the territories dominated by Turkey, and the commercial relations between the Jews and their coreligionists in the Balkans and Turkey, resulted in the spread of kabbalistic teachings in Podolia during the 16th century, and subsequently in the success of the movement of Shabbetai Zevi and its aftermath. The Frankist movement originated in Podolia. The disputation with the Frankists forced on the rabbis of Podolia by the Frankist leaders in 1757 resulted in the burning of the books of the Talmud, seized from the communities throughout Podolia, in Kamenets-Podolski. Podolia was also the cradle of Hasidism. Israel Ba'al Shem Tov lived and died in Medzibozh. Many hasidic leaders, including Nahman of Bratslav, set up their courts in its towns.
The author of Korot Podolya ve-Kadmoniyyot ha-Yehudim, Menahem Nahum Litinski, also contribute many articles to Hebrew periodicals on Jewish history in Poland and eastern Europe. |
