• About
  • Jewish Community Directory
  • Subscription Information
  • Contact Us
American Jewish World
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • All
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia & New Zealand
    • Europe
    • Israel/Mideast
    • Latin America
    • Minnesota
    • US & Canada
    ‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

    Once again: Honoring Our Graduates

    Jews and the Civil Rights Movement in Minnesota

    Jews and the Civil Rights Movement in Minnesota

    Hopkins, Minneapolis schools to take off for High Holy Days

    Hopkins, Minneapolis schools to take off for High Holy Days

  • Arts
    • All
    • Blue Box
    • Books & Literature
    • Music
    • Televison & Film
    • Theater & Performing Arts
    • Visual Arts
    Tamara Nadel marries Jewish and Hindu dance traditions

    Tamara Nadel marries Jewish and Hindu dance traditions

    Searching for a bridge to the past

    Searching for a bridge to the past

    ‘Sadie on a Plate’ spans romance, cooking

    ‘Sadie on a Plate’ spans romance, cooking

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health & Wellness
    • Home & Garden
    • Travel & Culture
    ‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

    Once again: Honoring Our Graduates

    ‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

    ‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

    Hey, Kids: The 2021 AJW Hanuka Cover Contest is accepting entries!

    Hey, Kids: The 2021 AJW Hanuka Cover Contest is accepting entries!

  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • AJW Digital Archives
  • News
    • All
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia & New Zealand
    • Europe
    • Israel/Mideast
    • Latin America
    • Minnesota
    • US & Canada
    ‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

    Once again: Honoring Our Graduates

    Jews and the Civil Rights Movement in Minnesota

    Jews and the Civil Rights Movement in Minnesota

    Hopkins, Minneapolis schools to take off for High Holy Days

    Hopkins, Minneapolis schools to take off for High Holy Days

  • Arts
    • All
    • Blue Box
    • Books & Literature
    • Music
    • Televison & Film
    • Theater & Performing Arts
    • Visual Arts
    Tamara Nadel marries Jewish and Hindu dance traditions

    Tamara Nadel marries Jewish and Hindu dance traditions

    Searching for a bridge to the past

    Searching for a bridge to the past

    ‘Sadie on a Plate’ spans romance, cooking

    ‘Sadie on a Plate’ spans romance, cooking

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • Food
    • Health & Wellness
    • Home & Garden
    • Travel & Culture
    ‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

    Once again: Honoring Our Graduates

    ‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

    ‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

    Hey, Kids: The 2021 AJW Hanuka Cover Contest is accepting entries!

    Hey, Kids: The 2021 AJW Hanuka Cover Contest is accepting entries!

  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • AJW Digital Archives
No Result
View All Result
Morning News
No Result
View All Result
Home News

In Romania, a sense of sorrow

American Jewish World by American Jewish World
May 23, 2020
in News
0
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A visitor to Husi finds a neglected Jewish cemetery and shul — and feels immense gratitude for his ancestors’ sacrifices

By MICHAEL A. APPLEMAN, Ph.D.
There are things that are unimaginable.
I would never, for example, imagine that my great-grandparents’ graves in Husi, Romania, would be desecrated, disrespected and dilapidated. But that is what I found when I visited their cemetery last Pesach.

Old World Roots Trip

READ ALSO

Once again: Honoring Our Graduates

Jews and the Civil Rights Movement in Minnesota

This was a trip of contrast — from simcha to sorrow. I had first traveled to Jerusalem for beautiful chatuna, the wedding of my cousin, Adi Zisman, before continuing on to Husi (pronounced “Huush”), a small and poorly accessible town in northeastern Romania. My mother, of blessed memory, Gertrude Gittel Appleman, was born there more than 100 years ago.
I traveled more than 5,000 miles — from Tel Aviv to Bucharest to Iasi (pronounced “Yash”), where I hired an English-speaking Romanian guide, Claudiu, to drive me to Husi.
The two-hour drive on a pot-holed, single-lane highway was treacherous and laden with fog, and I was thrown back centuries. Women in babushkas walked along the side of the road. The houses were flat, grey, non-descript stucco.
Claudiu told me that this part of Moldavia (a province in Romania) has freezing cold winters, and hot and humid summers, just like Minneapolis.
We arrived in Husi not knowing a soul. With difficulty — after asking the local police and people on the street, as well as a clerk in a small auto parts store — Claudiu located the only Jew in Husi. He spoke no English, but he had a key to the cemetery and synagogue.

Tombstones in the Jewish cemetery in Husi, Romania, which dates back to the 15th century or later, were broken and laden with moss. (Photos: Courtesy of Michael Appleman)
Tombstones in the Jewish cemetery in Husi, Romania, which dates back to the 15th century or later, were broken and laden with moss. (Photos: Courtesy of Michael Appleman)

This cemetery dates back to the 15th century or later. The shamash opened the wrought iron cemetery gate, which featured a Magen David on its door, and we nearly slid down the muddy hill down to the graves.
Here I found that my ancestors’ bones were laid to, but do not rest. The tombstones were in shambles.
I found few legible fragments of stone. Tombstones were broken and laden with moss. To my dismay, one part of the cemetery had small trees growing between the graves. The graves had not been maintained for decades.
Michael Appleman
Michael Appleman

The Romanian Jew claimed that there were no funds to maintain the cemetery. He occasionally received donations to clear the brush and remove some of the trees.
There was a small corn field next to the graves that had just been plowed. I wondered if they let cattle graze there, too.
In Husi, there were once five synagogues. But the pogroms wiped out this once-thriving community; thousands of Jews were slaughtered.
The 600-year-old synagogue in Husi is surrounded by barbed wire to prevent vandalism.
The 600-year-old synagogue in Husi is surrounded by barbed wire to prevent vandalism.

Now there is only one shul, surrounded by barbed wire to prevent vandalism. When the Romanian man opened the door to the synagogue, we found that the rooms were cold; there was no heat. The Torah ark and faded Torah blessings, which were displayed in a picture frame on the wall, were more than 600 years old.
There were old prayer books in a glass cabinet that dated back centuries. These Judaica should be in a Jewish museum, not haplessly thrown, one on top of each other, in the cabinet.
The man knew that I was engrossed in the history of my family’s synagogue. And he was brazen, asking me for 100 lei (about $35 USD) for the tour. He said the money was used to keep up the synagogue, but it was clear the shul had not been touched for decades.
My mission was not accomplished. Yes, I found the graves where my ancestors were buried and the shul where they likely prayed, but I did not find my great-grandparents’ graves (no Goldsteins or Frohlichmans).
From Husi, I wrote an e-mail to Rabbi Alexander Davis at Beth El Synagogue in St. Louis Park to share the resultant findings of the cemetery and shul. His reply resonated clearly: Our ancestors risked a great deal to give us a better life. We are indebted to them.
Indebted I am! One is not prepared to see how our families lived in Eastern Europe. But once you do see it, once you do feel it and once you do experience it, you have the engrained gratitude for their sacrifices.

***

Michael Appleman, Ph.D., has written several articles for the AJW on his humanitarian missions to Cuba. He recently hosted an Israeli and Cuban art exhibit at his Cubano Gallery in Golden Valley, with the proceeds used to support the artists.
He is married to Mickey Appleman and has three children, Alaina, Joshua and Danielle. He can be reached at: appleman.michael@gmail.com.
(American Jewish World, 5.9.14)

Related Posts

‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022
Lifestyle

Once again: Honoring Our Graduates

May 11, 2022
Jews and the Civil Rights Movement in Minnesota
Minnesota

Jews and the Civil Rights Movement in Minnesota

April 22, 2022
Hopkins, Minneapolis schools to take off for High Holy Days
Minnesota

Hopkins, Minneapolis schools to take off for High Holy Days

March 9, 2022
Direct from Los Angeles, Cantor Ben Tisser
Music

Direct from Los Angeles, Cantor Ben Tisser

January 16, 2022
Herzl Camp looks to summer 2022
Minnesota

Herzl Camp looks to summer 2022

December 17, 2021
Anti-hate summit in Pittsburgh uses Tree of Life shooting as warning to all
US & Canada

Anti-hate summit in Pittsburgh uses Tree of Life shooting as warning to all

October 22, 2021
Next Post

Shtetls in a new light

Comments 0

  1. Tina Straley says:
    3 years ago

    I am planning to visit Husi on a trip to Romania in September. My mother’s parents emigrated from Husi to New York in 1907. Their last names were Jancovici and Itsacu. I doubt I can find any trace of their parents but still want to see the town from which they came. It is a shame that our heritage is being wiped away. Thank you for your article.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

RECENT ARTICLES

‘Honoring Our Graduates’ in May 2022

Once again: Honoring Our Graduates

May 11, 2022
Tamara Nadel marries Jewish and Hindu dance traditions

Tamara Nadel marries Jewish and Hindu dance traditions

May 10, 2022
Searching for a bridge to the past

Searching for a bridge to the past

May 9, 2022

Editorial: Three remarkable lives

May 9, 2022
Editorial: Ukrainians flee their homeland

Editorial: Ukrainians flee their homeland

April 24, 2022

About

Since 1912 the AJW has served as an important news resource for the Jewish community. The Jewish World unites the main Jewish communities in St. Paul and Minneapolis, as well as those in Duluth, Rochester and smaller cities, and bridges the divides between the various Jewish religious streams.

Quick Links

  • About the AJW
  • Advertising Information
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Subscription Information
  • Jewish Community Directory

Contact Us

The American Jewish World
3249 Hennepin Ave., Suite 245
Minneapolis, MN 55408

Tel: 612.824.0030 / Fax: 612.823.0753
editor@ajwnews.com

  • Buy JNews
  • Landing Page
  • Documentation
  • Support Forum

© 2022 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.

No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
  • News
  • Food
  • Health & Wellness
  • Lifestyle
  • Opinion

© 2022 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.