Last July marked what is commonly recognized as the centennial of the start of the First World War. What parts, if any, did my family play during that war? From my research, the only person who seemingly played a noteworthy role in that war was my paternal grandfather Leopold/Lipot “Aryeh” Goldstein. He was born 11 August 1882 in what is now Seňa, Slovakia, just south of Slovakia’s second largest city, Kosice. Leopold must have demonstrated excellent scholarship especially in Judaic studies. Because when he was about 18 he traveled eastward, some 450 km away to the even larger city of Pressburg (now Bratislava), to attend the prestigious yeshiva 1 of the highly respected Chatam-Sofer. In addition to his given knowledge of Hebrew and Yiddish, archived school records indicate he was there until 1903 and that he spoke both German and Hungarian, also considered valuable assets in the army. While I have no written proof, I presume he finished studies, gained ordination in 1903, and then joined the Royal Hungarian Army. All 21- year old men were compelled to join, but by then, army service had been reduced from seven to three years. Presumably due to his ordination Leopold became a reserve Feldrabbiner (field- rabbi/chaplain).

In the beautiful Tatra Mountains region of Slovakia lived the Goldman family with an eligible daughter, Gizella Goldman. Father Isak wanted to find a suitable, well-educated shidduch (fn2) for his eldest daughter and consulted with the local chief rabbi, Rabbi Abraham Grünburg. I believe this rabbi must have turned to his son, Rabbi Simcha Nathan Grünburg, of similar marriageable age. I deduced he had been a friend of the very learned Leopold Goldstein at the same yeshiva and hence recommended him. Rabbi Abraham Grünburg officiated at their marriage on 5th March 1907 in Kezmarok and they settled there.

The Goldman family was reasonably comfortable, dealing with all aspects related to cattle: cheese-manufacturing, butcher shops, cattle brokering, and tanning of hides. According to family stories, father-in-law Isak Goldman set Leopold up in the foul-smelling, skin- discoloring, hide-tanning process. It wasn’t meant to be demeaning, but the other businesses were all well-covered by family members long before he arrived. But this was not exactly what my grandfather had envisioned for his future life. He was more of a “luftmensch,” more interested in airy intellectual pursuits than practical matters like earning an income. He would have preferred to spend time with his scholarly books and assisting the Rabbi in addressing religious life issues in their Jewish community.

In time children were born: Roze “Rachel” (Feb 1908), Jindrich “Chaim,” (my father, in July 1909), and Arpad “Avraham Yakov” (May 1911). (see Figure 1, my earliest photo.)

Figure 1. A very pregnant Gizella and Lipot Goldstein, with baby Roze, early 1909

With three children in tow, suddenly they upped and moved 550 km southward to Timosara, Romania. Maybe he wanted to run away from that distasteful, smelly job. Unsubstantiated lore says that he and Gizella opened a bed-and-breakfast for Orthodox Jewish vacationers in what was then a large resort town. We know he was there pre-WWI because yet another child, Helen “Hinde” was born there in June 1913.

With the outbreak of WWI, a month after Archduke Franz-Ferdinand’s assassination (24 June 1914), and Gizella again pregnant, they must have decided to return to Kezmarok, because Leopold would doubtless be called up in his reserve chaplain’s capacity, and who would care for the family? Birth record show that daughter, Blanca “Beila” arrived (February 1915) in Kezmarok. I assume he was home a lot because another son, Izidor “Sruli” arrived (March 1917).

Documentation exists (in Hungarian) regarding personnel in the Royal Hungarian Army and grandfather’s name is listed with the reserve rabbis for years 1915-1918 (see figure 2). No photos of him exist between 1910—1934, so I don’t know what redheaded and -bearded, blue- eyed Leopold might have looked like in uniform, but learned that chaplain’s coats had three stripes on their sleeves (chaplains bore the rank of captain). These chaplains had specific functions when catering to Jewish soldiers, especially in providing kosher food!

Figure 2. List of Hungarian Chaplains (reservists) in WW I

Historically, WWI ended at 11 a.m., November 11, 1918. Around that date certain events must have been shock-provoking to my great-grandparents, Leopold’s parents, in their Kosice milieu. On November 10, their Kaiser, Charles I of Austria-Hungary abdicated. The following day, Germany signed the Armistice of Compiègne at 6 a.m. and five hours later, fighting actually ended. On November 12, Austria was proclaimed a Republic, and two days later, the Republic of Czechoslovakia came into being. Only four days later (November 18, 1918), Leopold’s father, my great-grandfather Joseph Goldstein, died in a brand-new country without ever having left home.

Figure 3. The Agunah Letter, on death of Osias WEISER, 31 September/1 October 1916

Over time, I‘ve been unable to completely certify with written proof that grandfather was indeed a rabbi. But I do know that his scholarship and acumen were well appreciated. To demonstrate, a descendant of the Grünburg rabbis sent me a copy of a handwritten, Judeo- German 3 testimony (dated 1923) from the town’s Beth Din (Jewish Court of Law). It’s for an agunah (fn4) widow, who could not prove that her husband (Osias/Yehoshua Weiser) had died: Two Jewish soldiers (Yisrael Goldman and Josef Gerhardt) attested that her husband had died in October 1916, and that he was buried in a non-Jewish cemetery. Three judges’ names appear at the bottom of the testimony: Chief Rabbi Simcha Nathan Grünburg, grandfather Aryeh Goldstein, and Aron Engel. This proves to me he must have been rabbinically qualified.

With the war over, more children were born and Leopold balanced his life working with different animal skins (furs) while continuing to assist the rabbi and the Jewish community. Tragically, during World War II, in July 1942, Leopold, Gizella, and five of their 11 children were martyred by the greatest assassin of Jews of them all. I never knew them.

Notes

1. Rabbinical seminary

2. Marriage-match

3. German in Hebrew script, not really Yiddish.

4. The word derives from the word open, meaning an anchor. Basically she was “chained” or tied down, unable to remarry. The status continues today, if a Jewish man denies his wife a Jewish divorce.

Addendum

Yitzchak Rimpler of New York, a descendant of Rabbi Meir Grünberg, has the Grünberg family papers. He was kind enough to send me digital copies of some of these, including the agunah letter mentioned above. Additionally, he had the following letter, hard for me to read, which he transcribed for me in his own handwriting. In red, I highlighted the reference to grandfather, in which he is addressed as: הרבני מו”ה ארי’ גאלדשטיין נ”י, translated, The rabbi, our teacher and rabbi, Aryeh Goldstein, may his light continue. If Rabbi Simcha Natan Grünberg, the rabbi of the community, should consider him thus, then I think we must accept his “rabbinic authority” that grandfather must have been a rabbi after all!

Figure 5 Letter dated lag b’omer 5699 (7 May 1939), regarding brother-in-law (Artur Goldman’s meat), slaughter of meat, kosher marks, and use of ice.