Category Archives: Pre-WWI

A Call for Folksongs – 1898

Posted on November 11, 2024 by Andrew

B. Cassel (my zeyde) wrote this in his history of Keidan:  In the beginning of 1898 S.M. Ginzburg and P.S. Marek of St. Petersburg published announcements in the journals  “HaMelitz,”  “Voskhod,” and “HaTzefira,” inviting Jewish intellectuals in Russia with close ties … Continue reading →

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In Prison

Posted on January 11, 2021 by Andrew

Dr. Aharon Pick This recollection by Keidan native Dr. Aharon Pick, of his time as a poor yeshiva student in Kovno, was published in 1935 in HaOlam, the official Hebrew weekly organ of the World Zionist Organization. Edited by Nahum … Continue reading →

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The History of Keidan

Posted on July 26, 2020 by ACassel

By B. Cassel Originally published in 1930 by the Keidaner Association of New York. Original footnotes appear in roman type; translators’ and editors’ notes in italic. –––––––––––––– Foreword Framed within this brief account of Lithuania’s general history, the reader will … Continue reading →

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Worlds Gone By

Posted on June 26, 2020 by ACassel

Keidan at the end of the 19th century By Dr. Hyman J. Epstein Originally published in 1930 by the Keidaner Assn. of New York.  Keidan was not just another Lithuanian shtetl; it was a city, with an important lineage. Proud … Continue reading →

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Memories of My Teachers

Posted on May 26, 2020 by ACassel

By Meyer Yitzhak Edelman Originally published by the Keidaner Assn of New York, 1930.  1. My first rebbe was Noach Reubens, who taught the youngest children. He lived on the northwest corner of the marketplace by German Street. The cheder … Continue reading →

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Reb Zvi the Cooper

Posted on April 27, 2020 by ACassel

(Memories of M.L. Lilienblum’s father) By Dr. Aharon Leib Pick (Šiauliai) Published (in Hebrew) by the Keidaner Assn. of NY, 1930. Translated by Nathaniel Stampfer. The area around the Lithuanian city of Keidan has been famous for its beauty since … Continue reading →

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Three Memorable Characters

Posted on March 25, 2020 by Andrew

A regular feature of “The Keidaner,” the monthly bulletin of the Keidaner Assn. of New York, were short sketches of life back in the old hometown.  Here are three: The Coachman / The Feldsher / Yosse-Itse’s Payos The Coachman By … Continue reading →

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Shevuos in Keidan

Posted on March 24, 2020 by Andrew

by B. Cassel Published (in Yiddish) in “The Keidaner” monthly bulletin of the Keidaner Assn. of NY, June, 1941. After Pesach, Spring ruled our lives more and more each day. The days became warmer, lighter. From after cheder until bedtime … Continue reading →

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Keidan, My Town

Posted on March 11, 2020 by ACassel

By Nathan Berger (Meyer Yanusevers) Originally published (in Yiddish) in the 1950 anniversary booklet of the Keidaner Society of Johannesburg. Reprinted in the 1977 Keidan Yizkor Book.  With simple words, in a few score lines I will set down, to … Continue reading →

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The Emigrants Look Back

Posted on March 11, 2020 by ACassel

From the 1930 zaml bukh of the Keidaner Assn. of New York. A Thirty-Year Anniversary Thirty years in a person’s life flies by unnoticed. Old age sneaks up on us stealthily. We run about, we work, we strive and fail … Continue reading →

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