KADDISHEL
A Life Reborn
The school was similar in approach to today’s Solomon Schechter schools, both humanist and traditional. Two buildings housed about six hundred students, age six to seventeen or eighteen, with twenty to twenty-five students in a class. It was not at all like the tradition - al cheder (traditional one-room religious elementary school). Tarbut was a very good school with high standards, strict about students’ behavior and schoolwork. Grades were important; when we earned good grades, my parents were very proud, but they and our teachers always encouraged us to do better. We had tremendous respect and admiration for our teachers, who were dedicated to ex- cellence. Our uniforms had to be clean, and the teachers inspected our ears, hands, and nails for cleanliness as well. If students did not behave, a note was sent to their parents. In 1937, with the deteriorating economic situation, people thought it prudent for young people to learn more about the trades, and the second building was built, followed by a vocational school. Building and administering the vocational school required addi- tional generous contributions of time and money from the commu- nity. A fund was established to pay tuition for needy orphans, and the vocational school quickly filled with students. Zionism was the mainstay of Ludvipol, and the Zionist spirit was an important element of the Tarbut School. Many of its graduates who survived went on to hold high positions in the government of the State of Israel. All subjects, even arithmetic, were taught in Hebrew, which the students learned to speak fluently. Polish was taught as a second language. Even today, after almost fifty years away from Israel, Hebrew is my strongest language. We memorized Hebrew poems, some of which I can still recite. The poetry of Chaim Nachman Bialik, who was born not far from Ludvipol, still resonates for me. Bialik had a significant influence on the creation of Jewish self-defense units in Russia, as well as on worldwide Jewish support for Zionism and the Second Aliyah to Palestine. In one beautiful poem, “To the Bird,” he talks to a bird that is leaving for warmer climates. He says to the bird, “If you fly to Israel, please bring my love to my friends who are so far and yet
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