Berdychiv

Like I said before, one of my favorite Yom Kippur stories.

In the city of Berdichev, there were... lots of different types of people.

There were some very religious people, like, for example, Rabbi Levi Yitzhak Berditchev.

He was very famous, the famous Hasidic rabbi.

Which is like, if I just let you go, that means you just got all that rent for free.

No, I'm holding you in prison until someone puts up your rent.

There was a person in Berdichev who's... main advocation was getting Jews out of jail who were being held for simple money matters, such as not paying the rent because they were too poor.

So he heard, it's Erev Yom Kippur, the day before Yom Kippur, when everybody's supposed to be the holiest day of the year, people are supposed to be getting ready for the holiday, and there's this family, the entire family, little kids, are thrown in jail, in a dungeon.

Reading

Balzac was married at Berdichev.

Irena is singing softly.

That's worth making a note of.

He makes a note.

Balzac was married at Berdichev.

Goes on reading.

Laying out cards thoughtfully.

This was what the revolution was supposed to do.

A Jewish joke from the era, "Even from Berdichev and even the very old come to Moscow.

They wanna die in a Jewish city."

That's, that's very sad.

Yeah.

In a private letter, V.I. Vernet- uh, Vernadsky in 1927 writes, "Moscow now is like Berdichev.

The power of Jewry is enormous, and antisemitism, including in communist circles, is growing unabated."

It shouldn't shock anybody that i-i-in, in certain communist circles, Gentiles and Marxist circles who were told, you, you know, these may be true believers, people who said, "You know, we believe in, in, uh, you know, workers' control over industry." Yeah, that they ever, that never was even considered.

Reading

Balzac was married at Berdichev.

Irena is singing

softly.

That's worth making a note of.

He makes a note.

Balzac was married at Berdichev.

Goes on reading.

Same type of deal.

This involves Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev.

Farmhand wanted to go to work.

Farmer told him, no, today's Rosh Hashanah, we're going to the synagogue.

They went to the synagogue of Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev.

And this person was, he had an education until he was six.

He's 14.

Reading

Balzac was married at Berdichev

Irina is singing softly

That's worth making a note of

He makes a note

Balzac was married at Berdichev

Goes on reading

Balzac was married at Berdichev

Reading.

Balzac was married at Berdichev.

Irena is singing softly.

That's worth making a note of.

He makes a note.

Balzac was married at Berdichev.

Goes on reading.

Laying out cards thoughtfully.

Reading

Balzac was married at Berdichev.

Irena is singing softly.

That's worth making a note of.

He makes a note.

Balzac was married at Berdichev.

Goes on reading.

Laying out cards thoughtfully.