A Memorial to the Victims of Kelme

By: Yaakov Rosenfeld

On the anniversary of the annihilation of the community of Kelme and the students of the “Talmud Torah” (as the well-known Kelme Yeshiva was called), we raise a memorial to the special individuals among the wonderful characters of Kelme, who sanctified the Name of Heaven there in their lives and deaths, and there is no comparison to the strength of their souls and fortitude.

The victims from Kelme were driven into the killing pits on the 5th of Av, 5701 (July 29th, 1941), and almost nothing remained of the community.

The yeshiva was then headed by the genius Rabbi Daniel Movshovitz, along with his brother-in-law, the genius Rabbi Gershon Miadnik, may G-d avenge their blood. It is said that the latter came to Kelme during the decrees to stay with his brother-in-law and the students during the difficult times. On that bitter day, when the Jews of Kelme and the yeshiva students marched toward the killing pits singing “Ashreinu ma tov chelkeinu” (We are blessed, how good our lot is), Rabbi Miadnik held a Torah scroll and entered the killing pit with it.

Rabbi Daniel Movshovitz

Rabbi Movshovitz was born in the year 5640 (1880), and the following is said about him (from Sefer Kelme):

In the last years before the Holocaust, every rabbi was proud of the spiritual director of the “Musarnikim” (those who study musar – morals), Rabbi Daniel Movshovitz, who was married to the granddaughter of Rabbi Simcha Zissel. This man was in every sense “head and shoulders above” and surpassed all those around him. He was an expert in Torah and well-versed in all the philosophical literature of the gentiles. He had a profound mind, an unusually logical mind, a noble spirit, a gentle soul and a heart brimming with love for people as themselves…

It also says:

Rabbi Betzalel Horowitz z”l, may G-d avenge his blood, came to speak before the Second World War, and challenged Rabbi Daniel about the wicked man (Hitler). Why did he rise to greatness, and how could he possibly cause so many troubles and such cruelty in public before the eyes of the world? It is the way of the world to hide such deeds so as not to arouse the feelings of the world against them. He told him that the foundation of man’s work is to submit himself to G-d, and in the past, the Jewish People’s faith was strong and everyone believed in Gehenom (Hell), etc., and that was enough to bring about fear of G-d and submission before Him. However, in our generation, when faith has weakened, it was necessary for heaven to show all such torments on earth for us to see so that we can take from this a picture of what the punishments of Gehenom are, and thus we will submit ourselves before G-d…

And when the Germans conquered Poland, Rabbi Daniel stood up in the yeshiva and said:

We know that approximately four million of our brothers living in the country of Poland are in danger from the accursed wicked people who invaded their country, and he stopped speaking, unable to continue speaking due to grief, and this made an impression on all the students, and from this came great encouragement to increase their study of Torah and service to G-d, and all those days there was no sign of weariness on their faces, and each one was strengthened according to what he was, this one did not eat sugar, this one did not drink coffee, they all felt and bore the burden of all the Jewish People.

More from him on the same situation:

It is not possible that (Germany) became a powerful state in a very short time, contrary to the nature of the world, this is not in the way of nature! Rather, it must be so that it can carry out the will of G-d. Otherwise, it would not have been possible for it to muster such strength in such a short time. So who knows if the purpose for which it became so strong will still be fulfilled? Isn’t it just that Your (G-d’s) Name is awesome over all that You created?

And more:

On the holy Shabbat, before the war began, Rabbi Daniel called upon all of the Talmud Torah and preached, saying: Because he saw in a dream that there would be great destruction, and that it would be impossible to flee, they would receive the judgment of Heaven and would not cease their service to G-d, and therefore he did not permit his entire family and those who were dependent on them to flee, because his word had been verified by them. Even his brother-in-law Rabbi Gershon and Rabbi Shimon of Broide (…) came to speak so that they could all be together.

Before they were taken, he preached to them again, saying that they should accept the decree of Heaven with love and go out, playing music with joy, as if going to dance…

***

“When he once passed by the home of the Davar Avraham rabbi, he noticed him sitting in the yard with his beard hidden in his garment (he was the only rabbi in the ghetto who did not remove his beard). Since this was the case, he found an opportune moment, approached him, and began discussing with him the matter of sanctifying the Name of G-d and resistance to the Germans. A conversation ensued between them about two anecdotes that were published in the ghetto at that time.”

“The first act is the calm lecture of Rabbi Daniel Movshovitz to the students of the Talmud Torah, in front of the muzzles of machine guns. Rabbi Daniel spoke about the topic of the sanctification of the Name of G-d quietly and calmly, and after a while the German shouted at him to finish, or Rabbi Daniel turned to his students standing at the edge of the pit and said: ‘Here we are now in the situation I spoke about a moment ago, namely – the sanctification of the Name of G-d. Therefore, do not panic, you must calmly accept the verdict.’ And turning to the German he said: ‘I am finished. You can begin.'”

“There was another incident during the extermination of the Jews of Keidan (Kėdainiai, Lithuania). The Jews of the city had already been pushed into the pit, and at the last moment a Jewish butcher jumped out of it, pounced on the German commander, and bit his throat which led to his death. The yeshiva student asked the rabbi: ‘Which of the two cases is better?'”

“The rabbi reflected and said: ‘The path he followed suits Rabbi Daniel, while the old path suits that Jewish butcher. It would be very strange if the years had changed their actions. I assure you – the rabbi added – that Rabbi Daniel would also know the trade, and yet the path he followed suits him.'”

(Yeshurun volume 25)

“An incident that occurred during the extermination of the Jews of the Lithuanian town of Kelme, when the Jews of the town were already standing by the pits facing the muzzles of machine guns, the town rabbi, Rabbi Daniel, asked the German who had won the battle to allow him to say a few things to his congregation… The German allowed him to do so briefly. The rabbi began to speak about the sanctification of God quietly and calmly, as if he were preaching in the normal way to his students.”

(Toldoteha Shel HaMachteret, Yad Vashem, pg. 52, in the comments)

When they took Rabbi Daniel Movshovitz, along with all the Talmud Torah rabbis and their students, and the remaining Jewish residents of the town, from Kelme to the place of their murder in the Gruzhewsky courtyard, they all recited the Viduy (confessional prayer) and Rabbi Gershon held a Torah scroll in his hand. Before they gave their lives in sanctification of the Name of God, Rabbi Daniel gave a short speech to his students and said:

“In the hymn about the Ten Martyrs, which is recited in the Musaf prayer of Yom Kippur, it is said: ‘The holy Seraphim (a type of angel) cried out in bitterness, this is the Torah and this is its reward, etc.’, a voice from Heaven answered: If I hear another voice, I will turn the world into water, I will turn it into chaos and confusion, it is a decree from before Me – accept it from those who entertain religious matters for two days.’ Here is the big and enormous question: ‘This is the Torah and this is its reward’? And what is the answer, ‘If I hear another voice, I will turn the world into water’? But the world had reached a state where it had no merit to exist and was worthy of complete annihilation, and only because G-d promised that He would not bring another flood to destroy the earth, were these Ten Martyrs chosen so that by their death, in the sanctification of the Name of G-d, they would atone for the entire world. And if the Seraphim of Heaven delayed the decree, there would be nothing to atone for the world, and there would be no other choice but to turn the world back into water…”

(Toratecha Lo Shachachti)

The Bitter End:

On July 29th, 1941 – the 5th of Av 5701, Lithuanian auxiliary police forces under the command of the Gestapo man from Kovno marched the yeshiva students and the town’s Jews out of the town, in order to murder them. The yeshiva students marched in rows, chanting the prayer “Aleinu Le’Shabe’ach.” It is said that they sang the song “Ashreinu Mah Tov Chelkeinu” along the way. The Nazis murdered them and most of them were buried in a mass grave on the Gruzhewsky farm.

Along with the members of the Kelme community and the holy yeshiva, the righteous Rebbetzin Nechama Liba Broide – may G-d avenge her blood – was killed in sanctification of G-d’s Name.

Translation of text in photo: Thus his daughter, Nechama Liba, who was married to Rabbi Tzvi Broide, excelled very much. She lived all her life in Kelme, next to her father, and also the influence of her husband made her one of the greatest women of the generation. Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv (the Alter of Kelme) writes about her in one of his letters to Rabbi Nachum Zeev Ziv things like this: “My smart daughter, Nechama Liba, whom I receive pride from, may she be praised, for she almost changed her nature and took on a new form, few have I seen like her, And for the most part, both good and bad are inate, and this is not truly a virtue, and there is much to be said about this. …And may she be praised, because according her value, the one who understands it has something wonderful about her, as the Ibn Ezra z”l wrote about the verse: “The one who sets himself apart” – it’s the language of a “wonder’ [i.e. the same root of the word], everyone is chasing their desires and she shuns desires. This is how everyone follows their innate nature, because for their nature to be changed is a wonder.”

She was well-versed in her father’s musar discourses, and after the passing of Rabbi Tzvi, the musar sages would come to her to hear her words and memories, and to be inspired by her wisdom. She was always diligent in studying books of musrae and wisdom, and even on Shabbat and in the shop, she would hold a book in her hand and read it in her spare moments. Her character traits were also wonderful, and many told of her acts of kindness and her leadership.

It is worth quoting here the words of admiration expressed by Rabbi Moshe Rosenstein, one of the greatest students of Beit HaTalmud, who was the mashpia ruchani (spiritual councillor) of the Lomza Yeshiva. After he lists in the introduction to his book “Yesodai HaDaat” the three rabbis who raised him and to whom he is grateful, he writes:

“The fourth that I must thank is the daugher of the Rebbe, Rabbi Simcha Zissel Ziv, the widow of my rabbi and teacher, Rabbi Tzvi Broide, who was great in wisdom and knowledge and fear of G-d an had good character traits, as one of the greatest students of the Rebbe z”l, Mrs. Nechama Liba Broide…

Tnuat HaMusar <new edition> – B / Katz, David Ben Yaakov / Page 108 / Printed from Otzar HaChochma

And the continuation of what appears in the photo (but is not pictured):

“For days and years and for a good life and peace, I have neglected to recount even a little of her praise. When I was in Kelme, I stayed at her house for a few years, and I had the opportunity to observe her ways and customs and her conduct in wisdom and fear of G-d and her good deeds, and we learned a lot from her, that all her affairs and good deeds and her good and upright conduct were all according to wisdom greater than the wisdom of the Rebbe, z”l, whose daughter was also a great and honourable student, and in addition to the spiritual blessings that we received from her, from wisdom and fear and righteousness and the her good deeds and teachings, we also had many physical blessings from her, and the good memory we have of her will never fade from our hearts, we will merit to see her goodness and hear good things about her.”

This is what the book “Beit Kelme” presents about her:

Translation of photo: A special spirit of life is breathed into the town by the learned elderly rebbetzin, Mrs. Nechama Liba, the daughter of the Alter of Kelme z”l and the widow of the genius Rabbi Tzvi Broide z”l; she was her father’s exemplary student and remembered the Alter’s musar talks on the subject of repentance.

Beit Kelme – D – Prayer, Musrae, Shabbat, Holidays / Beit Kelme / Page 330. Printed from Otzar HaChochma

The elderly rebbetzin was brought on a stretcher to the Valley of Death and there she was killed in the firing pits. May G-d avenge her blood.

From history:

Rabbi Daniel was born in the town of Sidra, near the northeastern border of Poland, to Rabbi Moshe Gershon Movshovitz, the rabbi of the town and later also the rabbi of Dombrova Białystokska and Nowy Dwor. In his youth, he studied at Knesset Yisrael in Slobodka, with Rabbi Natan Zvi Finkel “the Alter of Slobodka,” who was the study partner of his father during his annual summer stay. In Slobodka, he studied with Rabbi Aaron Kotler. During this period, he met Rabbi Avraham Dov Kahana Shapira, the rabbi of Kovno, who was so impressed by him that he said of him: “I do not know of a person of such extraordinary talent as him in all of Lithuania.”

After his studies in Slobodka, he moved to study at the renowned Talmud Torah in Kelme with Rabbi Zvi Hirsch Broide and his brother-in-law, Rabbi Nachum Zeev Ziv, son of “the Alter of Kelme.” After Rabbi Nachum Zeev’s death in 5676 (1916), Daniel Movshovitz married his daughter, Chaya. His brothers-in-law, the other sons-in-law of the Rabbi Nachum Zeev Ziv , were also prominent figures in the Musar Movement: Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler and Rabbi Gershon Miadnik.

The forest around Kelme. Photo courtesy of Kelme Municipality

This article presents the bitter end of this holy community, and G-d willing, in the next segment we will provide a vivid description of the days of Kelme’s glory, its rich existence, and the days of its decline.