Biography of Harry Epstein

(father of Herbert I. Epstein)

Translated from Yiddish, Line by line

              
1.  
I was born in the town of

2.  
Azshor (aleph zion shin aleph resh)

3.   Chol hamoed Sukkot, Shabbat. My Brit milah (circumcision) occurred on

Shabbat B’resheet (the Shabbat after Simchat Torah).


4.  
We lived in a rented house, in Azshor for a year

5.

6.  
Then we moved to


7.  
Stucheen (shin tet vav tet shin yod noon soffit).

Vilna Gubernia, county of Lida (lamed yood dalet eyen resh)

8.  
City of Stucheen, county of Lida

9.   State of Vilna. My mother was born

10.
In Asrein and was married there

11. And all the children were born

12.
In Astrin except me.

13. Mother gave birth to eleven children but only six survived. The eldest:

14.
Yossl leib – Alter (Joseph Leib – Alter) Deborah Riva – Bobke (Bean – possibly small round cake Babkeh??)

15.
Miriam Merkeh

Yisrael Mosaheh (Israel Moses)

Toibeh – Teibel (Tobah Tybell) – Tilly Graubardt

Tzvi Hirsch (Zevi Hershel) – (D.E. 6/14/2009: Harry Epstein)

(D.E. 6/14/2009: Morris)

16. (I was) named after my paternal grandfather (Tzvi Hirsh Katzenellenbogen)

17.
My father was a “M’shulach” ------ who ran a kosher kitchen.

18.


19.
For Jewish soldiers in the Russian army (In addition, I had heard that of times he was an itinerant preacher. – H.I.E?).

20. At the age of three I started with GERSHON

21.
The melamed (teacher) for one and a half (1 ½) years. The next three (3) years were spent with a

22. Teacher who started me on Chumash (Five Books of Moses – Torah) from age of seven to nine. Mottel Chumas

23.

24.
For 1 ½ years I went to BARUCH the Hebrew teacher and continued until 1913

25.
When my mother and I went to America.

26. At age eleven I entered the Yeshiva – a branch of the Telz Rabbi

27.
Yehuda Leib Chasman

28. Organized with my father’s (??) (unreadable: Yelzah – Yotza?).

29.
This helped Yehuda Leib Chasman become popular

30. After the First World War; when the communists came (to power)

31.
The members/leadership of the Yeshivah (re)located the Yeshivah in

32.
Jerusalem and which existed/exists to the present time.

33.
In RAZSHANK STREET.

34.
The name of one of my Roshei yeshivah

35.
(chancellor?) Bavens(?) the father of ZVI KOLITZ who wrote

36. “HILL 24 DOESN’T ANSWER”.

37.
The New Shule (Beth Hamidrash)

38.
My elder brother Alter sang with Chazzen Sirota

39.
In the Vilna Chorshul (Choral Synagogue).


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40.
On my mother – Sheine Rochel’s side. In ASTRIN, my mother’s father, whom they called MORDECHAI HERSHEL the

SHMIT (blacksmith – smithy??). My mother’s mother, whom they called SORAH TOIBEH (Sarah Tobah).


41.


42. 


43.
My mother’s Younger sister called (---- ?)

44.
Married Uncle(?) Ankel(?) SHAMAI

45.
Who worked as a smith for her father, Mordechai Hirsh, the smith from Astrin.


46. My mother’s older brother was also a SHMID (blacksmith) called

47. CHAYIM BINYOMIN – Chayim Benjamin – who left Astrin and came to America (geov’ ent??) settled in

48.
SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS


49.
My father’s brother ISRAEL settled in …

And ELI NACHMAN went to NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

Sister PAIYA (spelled peh alef yod eyen) GLENBATSKI (Lazerson) came to New York??? (or first went to New Haven??)

50.


51.
Sister LEIBE BASHEH went to New Haven. Husband MOSHE changed his name to Epstein in America

52. Our name Katzenellenbogen was changed to Epstein, when Uncle Israel

53.
came to ELLIS ISLAND

54.
circa 1880. They asked his name and how it was spelled?

55.
Israel picked the name of one of the most famous

56. (Jewish) persons in the state (shtot) named

57.
MEIR EPSTEIN – who was the Post Master.
 

58.  


59.
(All) The Jewish soldiers of the Russian Army did not want to go to

60.
War and be killed

61.
Because of the Russian Anti-Semitic Czar Nicholas II.

62.
In the tens 10s(?) they fled to America.

63.
In every case they needed to pay

64.
Three hundred (300) Rubles fine.

65.
When I was two (2) years old,

66. Rabbi Yitzchok Reines advised my father to travel to America

67.
And spread the idea of MIZRAHI,

68. which Reines had founded that year in Vilna.

69.
My father was one of the delegates and Rabbi Reines
 

70.
Who was my father’s friend in the VOLOZHIN Yeshivah.

71.
Reines was an outstanding orator who

72.
(tried) to convince my father that our brethren in

73.
America, were well off (financially).

74.
He said the people declared, “WE are like sheep, without a shepherd …”

75.
Reines gave my father a steam ship ticket to America.

76.
But a “Jew” who came from America

77.
Said in America the stones are TRAYF (not kosher).

78. They lose Olom Habo (world to come).

79.
So my father gave back his ticket and Rabbi Reines gave that ticket to the orator Moshe MASLIANSKY

who became very well known in America.