The Concluding Volume of The Shochet Just Released

Goldenshteyn, a traditional Jew who was orphaned as a young boy and became a shochet (kosher slaughterer) as a young man, is a master storyteller. Folksy, funny, streetwise and self-confident, he is a keen observer of his surroundings. His accounts are vivid and readable, sometimes stunning in their intensity. The memoir is brimming with information. Goldenshteyn’s adventures shed light on communal life, persecution, family relationships, religious practices and beliefs, social classes, local politics, interactions between Jews and other religious communities, epidemics, poverty, competition for resources, migration, war, technology, modernity and secularization. In chronicling his own life, Goldenshteyn inadvertently tells a bigger story—the story of how a small, oppressed people, among other minority groups, struggled for survival in the massive Russian Empire and in the Land of Israel.

Volume Two begins in 1873, when Goldenshteyn obtains his first position as a shochet in Slobodze, and it follows him to the Crimea, where he endures some 35 years of challenges. Though the Crimea was part of Russia, it was overwhelmingly populated by Tatar-speaking Muslims as well as Karaites and Krymchaks. In 1913, Goldenshteyn fulfills his dream of immigrating to the Land of Israel, hoping to find tranquility in his old age. Instead, he is met with the turbulence of the First World War, as battles rage between the retreating Ottoman Turks and the advancing British forces. Along with thousands of other Jews, he is used by the Ottoman Turks as a human shield against the advancing British forces. Having started writing a Torah scroll before the outbreak of war, Goldenshteyn continues writing in exile, while starving, in disease-ridden conditions, and with cannonballs and bullets flying overhead. With great self-sacrifice and acumen, he overcomes tremendous adversity time after time by following his belief that justice will prevail if one acts with integrity.

“The Shochet is an engaging memoir of hardship and hope. The simplicity and authenticity of its author make it an extraordinary work; it sheds light on the dark and oppressed lives of the simple Jews in Eastern Europe, so often overlooked in historical studies. Pinkhes-Dov Goldenshteyn's life was punctuated by many misfortunes, but his faith and determination are deeply compelling,” said Dr. Michael A. Shmidman, editor of Touro University Press.

Clearly, much time and effort were dedicated to making this work accessible to the public. Until now, only a small circle of Yiddish-speaking scholars had access to this extremely significant primary source. The translator, Michoel Rotenfeld, spent decades on the research and translation, traveling to Ukraine, Crimea and Israel to explore archives and interview the last remaining individuals who knew Goldenshteyn. The results are self-evident:—the footnotes are concise and illuminating, providing the reader with a thorough understanding of what Jewish life was like in his era.

“This is a remarkable book, brimming with much information about East European traditional Jewish life in the second half of the 19th century… Special commendation goes to Michoel Rotenfeld for providing an excellent translation, comprehensive introduction and detailed notes for this volume which, for him, is clearly a labor of love. This book contains a treasure trove of information for the scholar and will provide hours of reading pleasure for the layman,” said Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, university professor of Jewish history and Jewish thought at Yeshiva University.

Order The Shochet: Volume Two on Academic Studies Press or touro.edu/touropress.