Poland Day 2

The second day of our מסע to Poland was one full of life, even starting in a cemetery. We spent the day in the Polish city, Tykocin, known to the Jews that once lived there as Tiktin. The Jews of Tiktin had two cemeteries, which they were very proud of. We visited their older cemetery, which, to them, would have been the more impressive one. This cemetery showed the vast history of Jews in Tykocin, proving how long they'd lived there. For us looking back to those times, this cemetery symbolized not death, but the multitude of life that was once abundant in Tykocin.

After the cemetery, we walked around the village in Tykocin to see the remnants of the shtetl that once thrived there. The Jewish Community, as shown through the history in their cemetery, had been in Tykocin for a very long time. Jewish presence there was established in 1522, and by 1642, a בית כנסת (synagogue) was built. It was a fully functioning Shtetl, like in Fiddler on the Roof (which,

we coincidentally watched on the bus later that day). In fact, it was similar to Fiddler on the Roof in more ways than them just being shtetls. Like in the aforementioned movie, the Jews lived slightly separated from their christian counterparts. There was the Jewish part of town and the Gentile part of town, with the town square in the middle. The square was the center of trade and livelihood for Jews and Gentiles alike. It would have been even more so for the Jews, on account of them being mainly merchants. This profession would have been especially popular among the Jews of Tykocin, because the city is on the banks of a river, or נהר. Rivers would allow for quicker and easier
trade routes, vital for merchants to make a living.

Another important and fascinating part of life for the Tykocin Jews was their בית כנסת. The synagogue had prayers written all around the walls for people to read without prayerbooks, which, even if the traditions are not derived from this specific synagogue, is likely a reason that we now turn in certain directions for certain prayers. As Tevye says, "How did this tradition get started? I'll tell you! I don't know." Certainly, the synagogue in Tykocin followed traditions, and perhaps created them. The synagogue followed the Sephardic tradition of having the altar in the center of the room, even though it is in the land of Ashkenaz. This tells us that the Jewish Community of Tykocin was likely comprised of many different groups of Jews, not only Ashkenazi but Sephardic as well. And of course, there were Hassidic Jews, Mitnagdim, Miskilim, and likely more. The Tykocin shtetl was a richly diverse community. This vastness of perspectives gave birth to many Jewish organizations that helped to run the shtetl.

These organizations were very important to shtetl life. Some of these organizations were סומח נופלימ, which established a system for Tzedaka, and בקר חולימ, which took care of the sick in the village. These and other groups helped to ensure no one in the community would go hungry on Shabbat and to take care of the community spaces. In honor of the life that was protected by these organizations, we sang and danced. We did the hora as a class, and we sang camp versions of "Or Zarua" and some other preyers.

It was a lot of fun. We had services, then sang lively Jewish songs until D. Sol abruptly stopped us. As the lives of the people of Tykocin were cut off too quickly and too soon, we stopped singing too quickly and too soon. We then walked silently into the forest that so many of that community perished in. It was surreal. The forest was beautiful, with tall, old trees that had a sort of enchanted forest vibe to them. We walked to the pits where the Jews of this community died in the Holocaust. They were fenced off, and memorials stood all around. Some to specific people who'd perished there, others to the community as a whole. All the Jewish life of Tykocin, destroyed in a matter of hours. It was a depressing end for sure, but we went back to see it. That means we won. We did exactly what the Nazis didn't want us to do, which was survive, and know what happened. We are triumphant. We are able to sing Hatikva with its true words and true meaning. There is hope moving on.

With that in mind, what part of Tykocin's history made the biggest impact on you? Why?