200 years of Jewish life in shtetl Kaushany in Bessarabia

50 
 
and how much material was cut off, and Lev calculated the sum and took the money. Thus, Lev, 
shop owners and clerks worked all day, making sure there was no loss or theft, which sometimes 
happened. At the end of the day, Lev totaled the balance, the money was put into the bank and 
before closing the store on Friday, the profits were calculated and payments were given to clerks 
and the store was sealed. On Saturday in the town, all shops were closed. 
 
There was a hospital in the town where the doctors were Jews, and other medical 
personnel were Moldovans and Jews. Usually, the doctor was called to the house, but they also 
had offices for the reception of patients. The payments for doctors’ visits and medicines were 
very high and not every Jew could afford a doctor's appointment. 
Documents found about the Jewish affairs  
 
Two years ago Sergey Daniliuck
78
 found two documents in the local ethnographic 
museum: one was the statute of a Jewish Women Society “Damen Verein” from 1923; the other 
document, minutes from a meeting with county and town officials about a dispute between the 
town and a Jewish family from 1934.  Both documents in translation are presented in the 
Appendices in full. 
 
The purpose of the Jewish Women Society
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 was to help poor women in health care, 
medicine, and food.  If necessary, the Society would hospitalize the sick in a local hospital. In 
order to fulfill the obligations, the society employed a doctor, who was available by request of 
the Society to visit and treat the sick.  All the expenditures were disbursed from the funds of the 
Society.  The funds were made up of registration fees, dues, donations and special events. Every 
member of the Society paid 20 lei registration fee and monthly fee of 10 lei, payable a month 
                                                 
78
 A current Kaushany resident, who is helping to re-discover Jewish past. 
79
 Statute of a Women's Society 1923, Appendix B. 

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51 
 
ahead.  Also money came from donations made by members of the Society or Private; from 
collections which the society organized in many weddings in Kaushany or other towns, and from 
spectacular evening balls, benefit soirées, concerts, readings and other events organized by the 
Society.  The status of the Society shows that the organization was very well structured, with 
several ways to collect money, bookkeeping, registering members, and even an Executive 
Committee who made the decisions of helping the poor. 
 
Another document
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 was official minutes taken from a meeting about a dispute between 
the town and the Jewish families who built a wooden booth which, according to Tighina county 
inspectors, was obstructing the road construction with sidewalks.  It is also clear from this formal 
written document that the Jewish families built the wooden booth on their private land, not 
violating any laws or regulations.  The family refused to tear down the structure, and the town 
and the county was considering an expropriation of this piece of land.  No further information is 
available on the matter, and it is possible that we will not know the outcome of this case. 
Customs, weddings 
 
Typically, at Jewish wedding all mishpokha (family) from close relatives to the most 
distant one gathered.  For example, there were 15-20 families with the surname Spivak in 
Kaushany and, apparently, all were relatives. At the wedding 100 to 200 people could gather. It 
took usually two to three weeks to prepare for such celebration. Women baked cakes, baklava 
and more sweets. Usually the wedding was in the court yards, sometimes in homes. Guests 
arrived dressed well and the klezmer musicians played with a flourish. All the guests came with 
gifts, and neatly wrapped flowers. The wedding ceremony itself began with the Rebbe, when the 
couple went under Chuppah. The Rebbe read the prayer, the couple went around. Then the 
                                                 
80
 Dispute Meeting, 1934, Appendix C. 

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Rebbe presented the parents of bride and groom.  After the official part, the guests ate all kinds 
of tasty food, drank good wine, and danced. 
 
Here is a story about a wedding of my grandfather’s sister Esther, a very beautiful and 
interesting girl. She was proud, and none of her many suitors pleased her. There was one, whose 
last name was also Spivak, who was forced to leave Kaushany because of her. Time passed, she 
didn't get married, and got close to 30 years old. So, through a shotchen – matchmaker, she was 
introduced to a man from the township of Petrovka, 35 km away. But he wanted a dowry. Ester’s 
father had a house on the street, and three apartments on his property, so he promised the fiancé 
one of the apartments, and 20,000 lei.  Esther's brother, my grandfather borrowed 10,000 lei, but 
that was all he could get, and they still needed 10,000 to proceed.  
 
One day before the engagement, a letter arrived from my grandmother’s uncle in China.  
In the letter were 10 dollars, and since one dollar was 500 lei, which made 5,000 lei, and the 
money immediately was offered for the dowry. The engagement day arrived, Esther was dressed 
up, but the fiancé was not coming... they were 5,000 lei short. Esther said: "I feel something is 
happening. You know, if I go and take off this dress, then that's it - I'm not putting it back on!" 
The fiancé was some distant relative of the owner of the store where my grandfather worked, and 
my grandfather went to the owner and asked him for a loan of 5,000 lei, or to be a guarantor. The 
owner agreed; all the guests got together, and the deed was finally done.  Esther with the fiancé 
later got married in Kishinev, and lived happy in his town Petrovka. In a year, she gave birth to 
her son Monia. That's the story that happened in my family, and many similar stories happened 
to girls who had no dowry. 
 

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