The Jewish Community of Telenesti

Telenesti

Moldovan: Теленешть; Yiddish: טעלענעשט / טעלענעשטי; Romanian: Telenesti Targ; Russian: Теленешты

A city in Moldova. Between the two World Wars, Telenesti was part of the region of Bessarabia, Romania.

 

21ST CENTURY

There is a Jewish cemetery which has a number of tombstones that have remained standing. A number of trees made of stones decorate the cemetery of Telenesti, as if the tree of life had been cut by G-d’s hand.

 

HISTORY

Telenesti was founded at the end of the 18th century by Jews who had been invited to settle by the estate's owner. In 1794, a chevra kaddisha was founded and existed until World War II. In 1796 the owner of the estate reached an agreement with the local Jews, which laid out their privileges and obligations, and set the amount of taxes they were required to pay for the wine and spirits that the Jews imported and sold in the town.

The community grew during the 19th century, mainly as a result of the large Jewish immigration to Bessarabia. Community institutions included a hospital, which was founded in 1870.

In 1897 there were 3,876 Jews living in Telenesti (89% of the total population), most of whom were engaged in wine growing, wine processing, and tobacco production.

The 636 members registered in 1925 in the local fund included 205 tradesmen, 188 artisans, and 156 farmers.

In 1930 there were 2,811 Jews in Telenesti (73.9% of the total population).

Notable members from the Jewish community include the writer S. Ben-Zion (born Simchah Alter Gutmann; 1870-1932). Ben-Zion was born in Telenesti and began his literary activities there, which he described in his memoir Nefesh Retzutzah (“A Crushed Soul,” 1952).

 

THE HOLOCAUST

The community was destroyed after the Germans and Romanians invaded Bessarabia in July 1941.
 

POSTWAR

In the late 1960s the Jewish population was estimated at about 800.