Shochet

Michoel Rotenfeld is a historical researcher who has long been fascinated by Jewish memory in its myriad forms, especially the genre of Jewish autobiography. He is the director of Touro University Library’s Project Zikaron, a permanent collection of previously uncollated and undigitized historical material from Jewish communities across the world. He also coordinated the digitization of David Tidhar’s ninеtееn-volume Encyclopedia of the Founders and Builders of Israel (www.tidhar.tourolib.org), which has received over three million page views.

“I read The Shochet and was deeply moved by the way an apparently ordinary life opens into such a rich record of faith, struggle, and resilience. There’s something powerful about how Goldenshteyn’s steadiness, his daily work, his devotion, his honesty, becomes history in its own right. Rotenfeld’s careful restoration and translation make that world feel both intimate and enduring.”—Otessa Moshfegh, author of My Year of Rest and Relaxation"This is one of those rare books that once you start, it is very difficult to put down. You know you should put it down and go to sleep or go to work or make supper... but you can't! And once you finish it, you want everyone you know and love to read it too... The Shochet is written, edited, and footnoted beautifully. I am in awe of Michoel Rotenfeld's translation, which is not only precise but also eloquent.... I keep The Shochet on my desk just to remember the inspiration I gleaned from reading the life story of this remarkable 'simple Jew.'"  — Rishe Deitsch, N'shei Chabad Newsletter“Par­tic­u­lar­ly illu­mi­nat­ing are Rotenfeld’s analy­ses of day-to-day Hasidic reli­gious life in nine­teenth-cen­tu­ry Ukraine and his explo­ration of Goldensteyn’s grow­ing rela­tion­ship with the Chabad movement.”—Katha­ri­na Hadas­sah Wendl, Jewish Book Council“The book is an engaging read, fast-paced, plot-heavy, and laden with suspense. Masterfully translated and annotated for the English-speaking public by Michoel Rotenfeld, a historical researcher and director of Touro University Library’s Project Zikaron, the memoir, full of gawdy descriptions and hyperbolic phrases, suggests Rotenfeld’s careful dedication to preserving the original flavor as much as possible. The Shochet stands almost alone as an authentic work, guileless and lacking in agenda, making it of particular interest to those exploring the period. The granular specifics of this memoir are a windfall for historians. A colorful cast of devout and slovenly figures appears throughout, as well as a mix of everything in between, making this memoir familiar, human, and resonant, a rethinking of the shtetl personalities and perhaps a more honest rendition than any before it. The Shochet is a fundamental piece of beautifully simple moralizing: historic, timeless, and relevant as ever.”—Faigy Grunfeld, Jewish Action“Rotenfeld’s critical translation of The Shochet is a boon for students and scholars of East European Jewry. The memoir includes thick descriptions of everyday life, such as: cures for cholera; the culture of charity for Jewish travelers and wayfarers; and everyday accounts of transportation, weather, prices, housing, and food. This ego-document invites us to consider the history of emotions and interiority from the perspective of a traditionalist, non-elite Jew.”— Ellie Schainker, Journal of Modern Jewish Studies“You have to read this book… It’s not like anything you read before.”— Alter Yisrael Shimon Feuerman, Tablet"Rotenfeld offers readers more than just an English translation in this volume, also providing an abundance of historical context and commentary on the life and times of Goldenshteyn. … This presentation, combined with the inclusion of maps, photographs, drawings, and other images, will make the book accessible to scholars and general readers alike. … Most important is the book’s emphasis on the lives and beliefs of common Jews within a genre that typically highlights a more secular, middle-class, and elite perspective."— Kirkus Reviews“A historically insightful memoir, The Shochet trades between humorous and grave descriptions of rural Jewish life in nineteenth-century Ukraine. … [T]he frank central narration stands to captivate all.”— Foreword Clarion Reviews“Thanks to Michoel Rotenfeld’s new English-language translation of a Yiddish autobiography, The Shochet (1929), we now have a detailed, vivid, and unvarnished view of life in Ukraine in the second half of the 19th century.” — Barbara Bensoussan, Mishpacha Magazine“Startling candor is characteristic of The Shochet, an unusual and fascinating account of Chasidic life in nineteenth-century Ukraine, then part of Tsarist Russia. … Goldenshteyn understands well that ‘happiness writes in white ink on a white page’ and that stories need tension to come to life. He captures the petulance, the ego-centrism, as well as the innocent trust and hopefulness of his childhood. Following him as he matures, we come to appreciate his honesty, kindness, and compassion in the face of betrayals and misfortune. His account is a page-turner, gripping and compelling. For anyone who wants an unvarnished insider view of the Chasidic life of yesteryear, its travails and its glories, The Shochet is a rare treasure.”— Chana Silberstein, Lubavitch International“The Shochet: An Unparalleled Autobiographical Account of Life in the Shtetl... The Shochet... is an unparalleled autobiographical account of faith and piety amid poverty, suffering and loss experienced by a smart, rambunctious and traumatized orphan living in the fast-disappearing traditional Jewish communities in late 19th-century Eastern Europe. … Thanks to Michoel Rotenfeld’s scholarly and deeply engaging translation… and introduction, Goldenshteyn comes across as someone without guile or pretense, a person who has neither the desire to highlight the faults of others nor the need to hide his own shortcomings and mistakes. … The more than 300-page dramatic autobiography, a page-turner in every sense of the word, is preceded by a comprehensive scholarly introduction to the life and times of Pinye-Ber Goldenshteyn by the book’s translator and editor, Michoel Rotenfeld. Itself an extraordinary work of scholarship and insight, the introduction contextualizes the author’s life amidst the deteriorating Jewish life in Eastern Europe at the end of the 19th century, and contrasts this work to those of maskilim who sought to demean and denigrate everything that was good and holy about traditional Jewish life. … The Shochet is a timely and timeless story of faith amid suffering that teaches us much about where we came from and where we ought to be going. It will inform, inspire and elevate those who read it.”— Yaakov Ort, Chabad.org“Pinye Ber (Pinchas Dov) Goldenstein, born in 1848, lived a life of poverty and piety, struggle and survival, faith and family. Uncharacteristically, he published his Yiddish memoirs not long before his passing in 1930, so we know what his life in the shtetl was really like in its unvarnished truth. The first of the memoir's two volumes was recently translated by Michoel Rotenfeld… allowing English readers entry into this distant world. The Shochet is a gritty and sometimes grueling account of Jewish life in Ukraine and Crimea before it was upended by World War I, and even more so World War II. Thanks to the witty and eloquent author—Pinye Ber is a master storyteller—his life story is a fascinating page-turner as we look directly into the shtetl, without whitewashing or censorship. … In these remarkable memoirs, we learn how hard it was for a poor orphan to gain respectability and stability in the shtetl, and how his persistence and profound faith enabled him to succeed. Even today, we can see in Pinye Ber's struggles and hardship the persistent beauty of shtetl life and the guiding hand of Hashem.”— Rabbi Gil Student, Ami Magazine“An ordinary Jew, an extraordinary life… Autobiography, the written telling of one's own life story, is a rare literary genre among frum Jews… This makes The Shochet…a Yiddish autobiographical work newly published in English by Touro University Press, doubly exceptional. Its author, a Chassidic Jew named Pinkhes-Dov Goldenshteyn, also known as Pinya Ber, was not a Rav of renown but a learned, G-d-fearing Jew who worked as a shochet and lived an ordinary life in the Ukraine and Crimea of the late 1800s. His life story recounts everyday events in the life of a so-called simple Jew—and that is precisely what makes it both a fascinating read and an invaluable historical document. … He wrote in a rich, colloquial Yiddish, which gave the book a unique charm, while his down-to-earth, highly detailed manner of storytelling injected it with a powerful sense of authenticity. The result is a portrait of life as it truly was in small-town Eastern Europe of the 19th century.”— Abraham Corbett, Inyan: Hamodia Weekly Magazine“This is a remarkable book, brimming with much information about East European traditional Jewish life in the second half of the nineteenth century. Its author, Pinkhes-Dov Goldenshteyn, describes his experiences in a most direct, straightforward way, with great attention to detail. The Shochet contains a treasure trove of information for the scholar and will provide hours of reading pleasure for the layman."— Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, University Professor of Jewish History and Jewish Thought, Yeshiva University“Pinkhes Dov Goldenshteyn’s lengthy memoir is of great significance as he takes us with him throughout his journeys in East European Orthodox society. Here we meet many fascinating personalities up close. Originally written in Yiddish, we can thank Michoel Rotenfeld for his wonderful translation—a true labor of love— and his learned introduction and notes that allow us to get the most out of this fascinating work."— Marc B. Shapiro, Weinberg Chair in Judaic Studies, University of Scranton “This autobiography’s importance is indisputable. It is a rare example of an ego-document written by a ‘simple,’ ordinary Jew, someone who never belonged to the elite circles of the maskilim, but instead lived far from their centers and influences. For historians of the period seeking to draw a fair and balanced portrait of the times, Goldenshteyn’s voice is an important one.”— Professor David Assaf, Department of Jewish History, Tel Aviv University“A rare journey deep into the Hasidic world of nineteenth-century Tsarist Russia. Goldenshteyn, a Lubavitcher Hasid, conveys his daily struggles and fleeting joys in a manner unencumbered by the nostalgia and alienation so typical of secularist Jewish memoirs. The Shochet is meticulously edited, and is essential reading for an understanding of everyday Hasidic Eastern Europe.”— Glenn Dynner, author of The Light of Learning: Hasidism in Poland on the Eve of the Holocaust (Oxford University Press)“[T]his is… an extremely fascinating book that details the life of an unassuming Jewish man in late 19th-century Ukraine. The book, brilliantly translated from the original Yiddish by Michoel Rotenfeld... is the story of Rabbi Pinkhes Dov Goldenshteyn, who was a shochet and wrote his autobiography for his children so they could understand the trials and tribulations he went through. While Goldenshteyn’s intent was for his children, he has also bequeathed a great gift to us all. … Goldenshteyn was an ordinary person, who like his contemporaries, was simply struggling to survive. He never intended to write a historical account, but in his ordinariness, he has left the world with a captivating historical narrative about Jewish life in the Ukraine. … In the annals of Jewish and Eastern European history, The Shochet is a remarkably unique and fascinating work.”— Ben Rothke, The Jewish Press“The Shochet stands as a valuable addition to the corpus of Eastern-European Jewish memoir literature, offering readers an intimate and eye-opening view of the author’s life and the unique situation of Eastern European Jewish communities of this time period. Rotenfeld's translation expertly captures the author’s skillful storytelling, further enriching it with elucidations and notes. This renders the memoir a compelling and insightful exploration of a bygone era that resonates deeply with readers.”— Rabbi Moshe Maimon, SeforimChatter“The Shochet is an innocuously titled travelogue memoir of a righteous, forward moving, determined individual who recorded his difficult life in the later years of the 19th century and the early parts of the 20th century. In this masterpiece of detail, much peril and danger is presented and discussed, including the fright of border crossings, the terror of poverty and oppression, the nastiness of underhanded charlatans, and the inhumane snobbery of class warfare.”— Martin Bodek, Jewish Link“While Orthodox Jews did not traditionally write memoirs in past generations, Pinkhes Dov Goldenshteyn… tells us in raw detail about his life as a poor orphan in Ukraine without nostalgia or white-washing… A lifelong Lubavitcher chasid, Goldenshteyn wrote his Yiddish memoirs to strengthen the belief in Hashem and hashgacha pratis of his children and grandchildren in America and elsewhere, some of whom were wavering in their religious commitment. With the translation of those memoirs into English by Touro librarian Michoel Rotenfeld, a new generation can also feel that wave of complete faith while also seeing the difficulty of life in nineteenth century Ukraine. … As we read about Goldenshteyn’s tumultuous life, we learn about one person’s unvarnished experiences in the legendary shtetl of a world that no longer exists.”— COLlive“Through Goldenshteyn’s autobiographical account, the larger tale of the Jewish struggle for survival under the oppression of the Russian Empire in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is revealed. This newly translated edition of The Shochet makes this primary source accessible to a wider audience than the small circle of Yiddish-speaking scholars who have been able to study it until this point.”— Tradition“The Shochet offers a rare view of what it was like to live as a Torah observant Jew in that time and place. … The work was ostensively written for his children who were straying from traditional Judaism; it was his attempt to persuade them to trust in God and return to that practice. What it does now is give readers a first-person view of a world usually only known from second-hand accounts or written by those who condemned that way of life.”— Rachel Esserman, The Reporter

• Volume One AcknowledgementsA Note about the TranslationIntroduction: The Autobiography of Pinkhes-Dov (Pinye-Ber) Goldenshteyn—A Traditionalist’s Unique Depiction of Nineteenth-Century Jewish Life in Tsarist RussiaAn Exceptional Autobiographer: Pinye-Ber’s Status, Motives, And ChoicesPinye-Ber in Contrast to Modern Jewish AutobiographersHow Did Pinye-Ber Come to Write an Autobiography?Pinye-Ber’s Alltagsgeschichte: Traditional Jews in Tsarist RussiaCommon Life and Incidental ObservationsWork, Family Life, and Social StruggleThe Rebbe as an Inspirational LightAnti-Fanaticism and Anti-CorruptionReligious Self-RealizationPinye-Ber’s Sense of Divine ProvidenceA Divine-Providence-Centered ConsciousnessHasidism and Divine ProvidenceA Life Seen as God’s WillDates in the AutobiographyPinye-Ber’s LanguageConclusionBibliographyA Jewish Orphan in Tsarist Russia: The Autobiography of Pinkhes-Dov Goldenshteyn In Lieu of a PrefacePart I: My Family and YouthMy Parents and SiblingsChapter 1: My ParentsChapter 2: The Deaths of My Parents, Brother-in-Law, and Brother, 1854–1857Chapter 3: Tragedy in the Lives of Three of My Sisters, ca. 1857–1864      My Early Years, 1848–1864Chapter 4: My Early Childhood, 1848–1855Chapter 5: A New Set of Parents, 1856Chapter 6: With Grandfather in Groseles, 1857–1858Chapter 7: Shuffled Around, 1858–1860Chapter 8: Sent Off to an “Uncle,” 1860Chapter 9: My Dream of a Celestial Palace, 1860Chapter 10: Working as a House Servant for Shulem Tashliker, 1860–1863Chapter 11: Beyle’s Fiancé, 1863Chapter 12: Gaining Admittance to the Yeshiva in Odessa, 1863Chapter 13: In Odessa, Tiraspol, and Romanovke, 1863–1864Part II: Engagement, Marriage, and Seeking a Livelihood, 1864–1873Chapter 14: My Unexpected Engagement, 1864–1865Chapter 15: Obtaining a Romanian Passport and Traveling to Lubavitch, 1865Chapter 16: The Lubavitcher Rebbe and Studying in Shklov, 1865–1866Chapter 17:  Delivering an Esreg to the Lyever Rebbe, 1866–1867Chapter 18:  My Wedding and a Fiery Pursuit, 1867–1868Chapter 19: In Search of a Livelihood, 1868–1869Chapter 20: Studying to Be a Shoykhet and Searching for Uncle Idl, 1870–1872Chapter 21: Receiving Certification as a Shoykhet and Returning to Lubavitch, 1872–1873Volume TwoPart III: My Forty Years as a Shoykhet, and Moving to Palestine, 1873–1929Chapter 22: As the Shoykhet of Slobodze, 1873–1875Chapter 23: The Nobleman’s Attack and Moving to the Crimea, 1876–1880Chapter 24: Corruption in Bakhchisaray and Ungrateful Relatives, 1880–1889Chapter 25: The Threat of Banishment from Tsarist Russia, 1881–1884Chapter 26: Persecution in Bakhchisaray, 1884–1889Chapter 27: Raising My Children and My Wife’s Death, 1884–1897Chapter 28: Remarrying and My Children’s Departure from Russia, 1896–1910Chapter 29: Preparing to Leave for Palestine, 1910–1914Part III—Addendum: My Life in Palestine, 1913–1928Chapter 30: The World War and the Death of My Second Wife, 1913–1916Chapter 31: Marrying Off My Niece and Writing a Torah Scroll, 1916–1917Chapter 32: Exile to Kfar-Saba, 1917–1918Chapter 33: Suffering in Exile and Returning to Petakh-Tikva, 1918Chapter 34: Completing the Torah Scroll, the Arab Attack, and My Children Join Me in Palestine, 1919–1929Appendices:Appendix A: The Author and His RelativesThe Author’s Final Years in Petakh-TikvaThe Author’s ChildrenIsaac Goldstein, the Author’s NephewFeyge, the Author’s Second WifeBashe, the Author’s Third WifeSalomon Bernstein, Relative and Portraitist of the AuthorThe Printing of The Author’s AutobiographyAppendix B: Translations of Documents Written by the AuthorHebrew Engagement Contract for His Daughter Nekhame (1897)Hebrew Ethical Will (1920)Family LettersAppendix C: Translations of Additional DocumentsHebrew Letter from Rabbi Medini (Sdei Khemed) Regarding the Author (1879)Episodes Related by the Author about Rabbi Medini (Sdei Khemed)Two Certificates in Sh’khita Obtained by the Author’s Son Refúel (1904 and 1906)Appendix D: Genealogical ChartsThe Author’s Ancestors and SiblingsThe Extended Family of Ershl Teplitsky, the Author’s Brother-in-LawThe Author’s Children and GrandchildrenThe Extended Hershkovitsh Family, the Family of the Author’s Wife Freyde Appendix F: PhotographsAppendix E: MapsTiraspol and Its EnvironsBakhchisaray, Crimea, and Its EnvironsBibliographyGlossaries:Introduction to the Glossaries and the Transliteration SchemesGlossary 1: Foreign TermsGlossary 2: Jewish Personal NamesGlossary 3: Geographic Locations in Eastern EuropeIndex of Names, Places, and Subjects