Build Up, Build Up the Path

Every single nation, if it wishes to place its foot on the threshold of the family of nations on the earth, must prepare a constitution for itself stating its integrity, and to bring with it the book of its history from days long gone, since no private person may travel from his country to another country without a written and stamped document from the heads of his people. For like a private person, so too, a nation cannot find tranquility in a country if it does not know whence it comes and whither it is going, and what is its desire and what is its goal on the face of the earth. Hence, it will be no surprise to you, dear readers, that our goal, too, as the Jews of Poland, is to acquire a place of honor among the nations of the earth, to gain a cloak of praise instead of the cloak of shame that has been placed on us by the various nations, as well as by the Jews who live in enlightened countries. For this purpose, we need a book that vouches for our integrity and tells about our doings for all the days that we have dwelled in this land until now.

In vain will we seek an account of our history in the books of Jewish history written by other Jews in recent years, for they did not yet acknowledge our place. Those authors lived in another country, which is nothing like the country of Poland, and they did not know us, except the poor and destitute who drag their feet to those countries to beg from door to door. Therefore, they were unable to write about us. And if it happened once by chance that they wrote a few words about us, then they passed a vain judgment on us, the opposite of the truth from top to bottom. So we may say, since they were distant from us, that they could not set their eye on us to penetrate to us, except by the instrument [i.e., the telescope] that enlarges distant objects and brings them close. However, the instrument they chose for themselves showed them reversed and unfocused images, as also happens not infrequently with the large visual instruments used by those who observe the stars. The other [i.e., non-Jewish] Poles who wrote about us, like the exalted sages [Tadeusz] Czacki and his comrades, merely picked up stones or gathered twigs to build the house of our history, but they could not build a whole building for us, no more than the many Christians in other countries who wrote books about the general history of the Jews since their exile from their land. A person who is performing in a theater can understand everything that is happening on the stage better than someone observing that same stage from a distance, looking through a telescope. A man who walks on a broad meadow and sees the glory of nature all around him, visible before him in a pleasant image, will feel the pleasantness of nature in his soul more than the man who sees all of this in a picture made by a marvelous artist. Thus, how can we believe that the Christians, who have nothing to do with the life of the Jews, could observe the root of our festivals and see into the inner spirit of the nation, which is visible within us, for the living spirit of the nations is in the history of their customs?

Consequently, our request is direct to all the intelligent members of our nation who dwell in the land of Poland to support us with articles, which they will write about the history of our people in this land. Such articles, about the activities of the Jews in Poland from the day they came here until now, will be included in our publication, and they will provide the foundation for the book, The History of the Jews in the Land of Poland, which we intend to publish afterward. We know all too well that only if all our educated and intelligent people unite will we be able to reach our desired goal. In many cities of our land, registers are to be found that contain valuable matters for researchers in the early history. The souls of many great rabbis, who were a model for the people of our nation and our lauded sages whose splendor is upon us, remain in the valley of the shades [cemeteries]. And the inscriptions and dates on them are precious for those who seek knowledge. Therefore, may you have the merit of helping us to no little extent, as much as you can. And may the blessing of many of our brethren be upon you!

In hopes and expectations that these words will not be for nothing, and that you will quickly send us building stones and beams [made from] the cedars of Lebanon to build the palace of the history of our splendor and glory!

The words of a speaker for the benefit of his people, Yitsḥak Aaron Bernfeld