Title

Description

The title page states that the society was founded in 5624 (1864). [In Eastern Europe, a Talmud Torah denoted a traditional Jewish elementary school. It differed from the privately-funded kheyder in that it consisted of several grades, was financed by the community, and usually served the children of the poor.] [Image 1]

From the introduction: “Talmud Torah ke-neged kulam” [i.e., The study of Torah is equal to everything].… We the people of Sobelifke have taken to heart that many of the children of our town are wasting their days and cannot even properly pronounce the Hebrew from the prayer books, and it is obvious that they are not familiar with even three or four Torah portions in the ḥumash [i.e., Five Books of Moses]. In order to accomplish this, funds need to be raised to pay capable teachers to teach the children of the poor. Our Talmud Torah shall be called the Tolner Talmud Torah, yet we will be willing to accept members who travel to another Tsadik [apart from the Tolner Rebbe]…. Nonetheless, all beginnings are difficult, and the founders of this society areḤasidism of the great and holy tsadik of Tolne.” [Image 3]

The rules of the society include the following: Anyone who is not an absolute pauper and is able to afford even a very small sum for tuition shall accept upon himself a set fee that he would be able to pay monthly. Children of those who are impious will not be accepted into the Talmud Torah for they will probably follow in the footsteps of their parents and may negatively influence the other students. As soon as the trustees see that a student is familiar with the ḥumash and can pronounce the Hebrew from prayer book so that he will not forget how to read, he shall be dismissed and his father shall teach him a trade so that he will be able to support himself. [Images 5-6]

A list of the three teachers and the six students whose ages range from 8 to 13. [Image 7]

Lists of the names of donors and the amounts of their donations, the names of members, recording the acceptance of new members and students, and election results for the officers of the society. [Images 7-14]

A notable entry from the above-mentioned section: “Today, the 26^th of Nisan, we accepted the child David, the son of Mikhl into the Talmud Torah. He is a very bright child and has an understanding heart. When we will be able to afford it, we will send him to a melamed [teacher] to be taught the Talmud. He is now 11 years old.” [Image 10]

Another notable entry: “At present there are 20 students in the Talmud Torah. We clothed five of them with warm clothing, including sheepskin coats and boots, at the cost of 25 rubles. [Image 14]

The transcriber provides a physical description of the pinkas. [Image 20]

A product of a cooperative agreement between the Russian National Library and Touro University’s Project Zikaron in 2019. This pinkas is part of the Günzburg Manuscript Collection at the Russian National Library in Moscow. In the 1890s, Baron David Günzburg of St. Petersburg, Russia hired Avraham Sharfshteyn to arrange for the original pinkas and others like it to be transcribed for his private library. The current location of the original pinkas is unknown, if it at all still exists. This overview was prepared by Rabbi Yitzchok Stroh of Brooklyn, New York, in 2020.

Category

Year of Publication/Creation

1864-

Language(s)

Hebrew

Geographic Places

• Sobolivka (Sobolevka, Sobelivke, Sobelifke), Ukraine (read online)