Bialystok Mezuzah by Mi Polin

 

This mezuzah is part of a series from Mi Polin titled "Mezuzah from this house." Before World War II, Poland had 3.5 million Jewish inhabitants as well a few million mezuzot. Almost all of the Jews and their mezuzot perished during the war, with only traces and empty holes remaining today in the place of mezuzahs. "Mezuzah from this house" is a bronze cast of what is left behind and commemorates the Jewish lives of pre-war Poland. Each mezuzah has an engraved letter Shin and the address where the trace was found on the side. After sitting untouched for many years, these mezuzot can now fulfill their holy function again.

 

The story behind this mezuzah:
According to documents from 1926, the apartment block at 8 Ciepla in Bialystok was owned by Chackiel Bekker, followed by Bluma Rozental. Among the residents of the building was Ester-Golda Rozental, Israel Rozental (according to notarial acts from 1933) and Lidia Rozental (based on the register from the Central Committee of Polish Jews). Lidia Rozental, born on July 18th, 1928 in Bialystok, was an engineer and the daughter of Berta and Israel. On June 20th, 1941, Lidia was taken away to the city of Barnaul in the USSR (250 km south of Novosibirsk). She apparently survived and returned to Bialystok, where she registered herself on July 7th, 1946. This is all that is known about her.

 

To see how the Mi Polin team discovers mezuzah traces throughout Poland, watch this video clip.

 

Kosher mezuzah scroll sold separately.