The city residents of Zabludow
The Jews of Zabludow usually lived in peace with the city Christians. But true friendship existed mainly between the violent men of both groups. The town's violent used to harass the Christian farmers who came to sell their products in the market. The mighty blackmailed them, profited from them and used force and violence against them. The market day was an opportunity for them to do their acts of violence. It was a day of joy for them, they ate and drank as much as they pleased and do as they please.Early in the morning, before the market opened, the Jews and Christian mighty outlaws used to meet in the tavern. They used to share a bottle and eat crackers. The abominable Christians spoke Yiddish. They are drinking lechaim. One of them, Meckel is his name, suddenly says: "the uncircumcised Christians are not here yet. Today is going to be joyful". The tavern owner serves wine; the same used by Jews for the Kiddush. Meckel continues: " I feel an itch in my hand. The foolish peasants, residents of Protasia will order a drink so we beat the dog hunters of the village of Kuriya. We'll collect them, entice them against each other and make them beat each other until they bleed. May calamity befall them… I am a gentile but I hate them, my brother Chaim, you know, one must earn something…" and when he gets more drunk his tongue is completely free- "you know how quick I am in catching a horse…while they bring the horses I hide in the field…the tired peasants soon fall asleep and snore…I untie the horse, jump on it and ride…the peasants once caught me…they heard the noise and immediately chased me on their horses. I got confused, the beast hit something and I fell on the ground. I got caught and they began to take care of me. But when they recognized me they set me free and even promised to buy me a drink. They know I can cause trouble…that is why they always give me a drink, but I cannot stand the peasants.
Before going to the fair. "The guys" drink with the opponent peasants. They use various tricks to arouse a fight among the peasants. There's a complete disorder; people run all over. And at night the outlaws snick into the barn and spend the night there. When the fair has ended, the Jewish guys return to their hard work. They work in bricks.
The gentiles used to work in all kinds of services for Jews. One of them is called Wakhatski; he took the cows to the fields, set the stove on the Sabbath, milked the cows and took care of them during birthing. On Saturdays they used to come to the landlord with sacks and they filled it with bread and challas. Many gentiles had good ties with Jews.
The goy of shabbat ( Sabbath gentile- does chores that need to be done on the Sabbath)Anetchka used to come to all the Jewish events. She closely knew their children; she knew when the holidays are and demonstrated knowledge of rules. Her children spoke Yiddish. It was hard to detect that they were Christian. Her son frank befriended Jewish soldiers when he was in the army. On the Sabbath they used to go to Beit Hamidrash together, there they invited soldiers for the Sabbath meal. When asked to perform the kiddush he humbly gave up and said: " you perform the kiddush". He used to say Hamotzi (blessing on the bread) like a Jew. On the eve of Yom Kippur Anetchka used to stand on guard and buy the treifeh kapparot (roosters used for the atonement ceremony). But, although she was close to the Jews, there were occasions in which she didn't hesitate to tell lies about the life of the Jews.
There was another Shabbat goy in town, Bashka. She was very loyal to the Jews. Before "Kol Nidrei" she used to put a bowl in the synagogue yard, next to the bowls of other Jews who asked for charity money. She knew all the secrets of the Jews. She was so involved with their life that they used to send her to the rabbi to ask questions. Her children spoke Yiddish. Where did she get the Jewish name Bashka? No one knows.
Worth mentioning is the Sabbath goy Yashka Samson, a big drunkard. He and all his brothers knew Yiddish very well. Their father's home was among the Jewish homes in the shoemakers' street. Yashka, an old bachelor, was the barber and the shaver of the town. On the eve of Sabbath, when Jews need a haircut they learnt that the razor was taken by the taverner as pond. They, of course, hurried to redeem it so Yashka could start to work. Yashka knew when Jews weren't allowed to shave or cut hair. On Lag Ba'omer he used to come to the tavern and say: R' Yudel, its Lag Ba'omer today, oy, trouble R' Yudel, you have the razor. He used to walk looking at the ground and humming a song -under the water swims a knife. He sang this song when sober or drunk.
One gentile who used to hang around Jewish guys was Yashul Pilatski. He tried to resemble them and dress like them. He was even ashamed to admit that he was a goy. His brother Yantek did the same. He was a friend of Jews. He spoke Yiddish and conversed like a Jews. For example: "I remember the Tzadik R. Yoseleh, bless his memory, may his merits protect us from fire". He always sat with older Jews and talked about the old days and Jews that lived in the past.
There was one more known goy in town; his name was Wintsug. His father used to bring sand to the Jewish homes on the eve of Sabbath so they can spread it on the floor. In his coach he used to drive Jewish young men to weddings. When he entered the wedding hall he presented himself before the Jewish girls as Wolf Goldberg, a Jew, and enjoyed their company. He wanted to become Jewish. The town's Christian residents called him Wolf Goldberg. He told how they honored him at a wedding and asked him to say one of the benedictions, and that they tried to match him with a Jewish girl.
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