Lezajsk
Yiddish: Lizhansk, Lezhansk
Tourist Attractions
The Renaissance church of the Holy Trinity (1610-1619) with wall
paintings; the Greek-Catholic church of The Dormition of The Most Holy
Virgin Mary (first half of the 19th century); the famous fortified
Bernardine monastery with the church of the Annunciation of the Most
Holy Virgin Mary, founded by the Opalinski family in 1618-1628. The
church contains a magnificent organ (1688-1693) and stalls (1650). There
are also the ramparts (first half of the 17th century), the town hall
(18th century), the inn (second half of the 18th century), the cloister
of the Servant Sisters (turn of the 19th century) and orphanage, as well
as the palace (second half of the 18th century), the wooden mansion
house (17th century), and the Bernardine Province Museum at the
Bernardine monastery.
Lezajsk is still avibrant centre of Chasidism in Poland. Jews first
came here in 1521 and their number quickly increased. The privilege
granted by King Ladislaus IV in 1635 gave them the right to brew and
sell beer and mead. Jews were also the leaseholders of cells and
toll-houses. At the end of the 18th century, tzaddik Elimelech, agreat
local figure, turned Lezajsk into one of the largest centres of
Chasidism in Poland. The life of the town centred around the local
brewery. In the 20th century, until the outbreak of the Second World
War, the proportion of Jews among the inhabitants remained constant at
30%. In October 1939 the Germans drove some of the Jews out into the
Soviet-occupied zone, the others they locked in the ghetto. Afew hundred
of those who ended up in the Soviet Union were the only ones to survive
the war.
Apart from the cemetery, Jewish memorials in Lezajsk include apart
of the former synagogue (now the Bank for the Protection of the
Environment) and the yeshivah next door. The building of the former
cheder, situated by the entrance to the cemetery, is now a restaurant.
On the site of the pre-war ritual bath there is also a new mikvah,
opened in 1990 and located at ul. Studzienna 2 (go down the little
street to the right of the cemetery).
Elimelech of Lezajsk (1717-1787) was the originator of the
concept of tzaddikism, fundamental to the existence of Chasidism, and he
became the very first tzaddik in Jewish history. He came into contact
with Dov-Ber of Miedzyrzec, disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder
of Chasidism. After many years of living as a wandering preacher, in
1772 Elimelech settled in Lezajsk, where he finally formulated the
concept of the Chasidic movement in which a group of followers gathered
around a leader and teacher. He groomed a number of great tzaddikim,
including the Seer of Lublin and Menachem Mendel of Rymanów. He recorded
his teachings in the work Noam Elimelech (The Gentleness of Elimelech)
which was published in 1787. His son Elazar (d. 1806) and grandson
Naftali (d. 1844) were also tzaddikim in Lezajsk.
Ohel, photo
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Alongside his official biographical
details, the figure of Elimelech carries with him an aura of wonder to
this very day. Apart from the events described below there are many folk
tales, both Jewish and Polish, which exist about Elimelech of Lezajsk
and his brother reb Zusye of Annapol (d. 1800) as well as legends about
the supernatural power of the tomb of the tzaddik. Elimelech is said to
have been able to alter divine judgments and cure fatal diseases. People
would ask him to grant them aquick death, apleasant old age, money,
love and fertility. He also possessed the power to drive out demons and
to predict the future. A cure for gambling was another of his
specialities. He talked to animals. In his soul there was aparticle of
the soul of Moses. He was one of the 36 people in every generation who,
thanks to their virtues and piety, sustain the existence of the world.
One is not supposed to speak of him as one of the dead, as his soul was
set before the Throne of Glory and there it stands with God. During the
war the Germans opened his tomb, looking for gold. People say that
before long they all met with terrible suffering and death.
The Ohel of Elimelech of Lezajsk
Tzaddik Elimelech's tomb from 1776 is the only historical monument
of its kind in Poland. To this day things considered miraculous occur
here. It is enough to recall the curing of the young girl suffering from
bone decay, who was brought to Lezajsk from the United States in 1963,
not to mention the cases of the photographic films that became
over-exposed or the television cameras that did not work. Local
Catholics also testify to these miracles. Some of them even pray here
unofficially, comparing the tzaddik to St Francis. This place is not
lifeless, in fact one can go as far as to say that in recent years the
the ohel of Elimelech has become tho focus of even greater religious
interest.
Chasidim in Lezajsk, photo

On the anniversary of Elimelech's death on the 21st day of the month
of Adar (end of February, beginning of March) the part of the town near
to the Jewish cemetery is full of announcements in Yiddish, containing
practical advice, such as the way to the telephone, the lavatory and the
mikvah. Pilgrims from Israel, The United States, Hungary, Canada,
Belarus and Lithuania pray throughout the night, singing psalms, after
which they place kvitlech on Elimelech's tomb. Acanteen serving kosher
meals is organised for the pilgrims. During these festivals decorum is
called for and strict rules are to be observed. Women are forbidden to
enter the main hall of the canteen, the room containing the ohel and the
men's half of the cemetery. Males are required to cover their heads.
The present edifice around the ohel was built in 1960, paid for by
donations from American Jews. The building next to it, with aseparate
entrance, is aprayer room for women.
In ul. Gorna. The key is with Ms Krystyna Kiersnowska (ul. Gorna 12, phone +17 2421265).
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