Bociany.
Cohen, Leslie
Chava Rosenfarb. Bociany. Translated by the author. Syracuse, N.Y.
Syracuse University Press. 2000. 428 pages. $29.95. ISBN 0-8156-0576-6.
there, giving the village its special character. Bociany, both the
novel and the shtetl, is a microcosm of Polish Jewish life just before
World War I. As such, it contains all the characteristic elements of
Jewish existence in Poland before the founding of the State of Israel:
ghetto dwelling, political disenfranchisement, the decision-making role
of the rabbi, and the impossible dream of security. "Bociany"
-- that is, the storks -- are regarded in Jewish folklore as
"messengers from above," and, like the Jews, they migrate,
seeking their survival in a world where nothing is promised but
perpetual precariousness.
The novel focuses on two families living in the shtetl, the family
of the widow -- Hindele and that of the widower Yossele. Through the
eyes of the major characters Hindele and her son Yacov, and Yossele and
his daughter Binele -- we become acquainted with many facets of shtetl
life. Shmulikl, the well-educated doctor, introduces Zionism as well as
modern medicine. The critical debate over religious acceptance of the
bitter life in the diaspora versus the return to Eretz Israel is an
ongoing theme in the novel.
The story opens with the deaths of Hindele's husband and her
eldest son, both of tuberculosis. Hindele has a small dry-goods shop
with which she tries to support her family. Yossele also has a shop on
the market street, next to Hindele's. Both of them are encouraged
to marry again after the deaths of their spouses, but neither wants to
do so. They both remain steadfastly religious despite their misfortunes.
Yossele's and Hindele's elder children follow the
customary ways of the shtetl: they marry and start having children while
they are very young, and they uphold the Jewish religion. In contrast,
their younger children, Yacov and Binele, are rebellious. They both
reject religion and become interested in Zionism. Gradually, they fall
in love. In the end, Yacov is rescued from having to study at a yeshiva
by obtaining a job as a tutor for a wealthy family. Binele runs away
from home to live in the nearest big city, Lodz.
The book is rich with information about Jewish customs and shtetl
life. It also offers excellent descriptions of the relationships between
Jews and gentiles, portraying the constant tug of war between their
friendship, on the one hand, and deep-rooted Polish anti-Semitism on the
other. The story ends with a menacing situation in Bociany, in which the
women run away to the nearby town of Chwosty with their children. They
return to Bociany the following week, but the seeds of discontent have
been planted.
Bociany is followed by a sequel, Of Love and Lodz, which traces the
lives of Binele and Yacov for several years. Winners of the Manger Prize
for Yiddish literature in 1979, both books were translated into English
by the author, who is a survivor of the Lodz Ghetto.
Leslie Cohen Kibbutz Ein Hashofet, Israel
