Boyany

Boyany - a former shtetl near Novoselitsa in the Chernivtsi region. In the 19 - beginning 20 centuries - in the Duchy of Bukovina as part of Austria-Hungary. In 1918-40 years - as part of Romania, in 1940-91 - Ukrainian SSR.

In 1890, 938 Jews lived in Boyany,
in 1940 - 650 Jews.

The main affairs of Boyan Jews are trade, small crafts.

Before World War I, the economy grew continually. Agriculture blossomed thanks to the diligence of the Jewish estate owners Motio Gottesmann and Schmiel Metsch. The deputy mayor was Abraham Retter. His representative was Dr. Nathan Feuerstein.

The pharmacists were the Jews Gottesmann and Mag. Benedikt Sternberg. There was one Jewish school in the town that was supported by the Baron Hirsch endowment. The school was directed by the teacher Ephraim Seidmann. Judge Bogen was employed in the District Court. The Jewish teacher Berta Schecht-Zuflucht taught at the Romanian elementary school.

From the end of the 19th century until the 1930s in Boyany was a Zionist-religious society "Ogavei Zion", in 1925 a new synagogue was built with the help of a charitable society.

In 1914, the community which had separated itself from the Sadagura Jewish community in 1860, counted 2573 souls of whom, 272 were tax payers. The head of the community was Hersch Rappaport. The members of the executive committee were Dr. Nathan Feuerstein, Motio Gottesmann, L. Klinger, J. Sonnenblum, Simon Baltuch, Isaak Retter, Israel Margulies, Ephraim Seidner (secretary), Mottel Markus, Moses Barbasch, Abraham Isaak Schneider and Mechel Schaechter.

The rabbi was Isser Sternhell. At the head of the organization, “Ahavath Zion, was H. Margulies, the Talmud Torah was lead by J. Margulies. The community income was 18, 112 Kronen, the expenses 25,758 Kronen.

There was a synagogue and 4 prayerhouses in the town. The Cantor was David Schaechter. The religion teacher was Moses Rosenblatt. The Gottesmann, Kellmer, Metsch, Meidler, Ritter, Rendel and Schaechter families were among the most respected in the town.

In the 1920's in the town a Jewish commune was established. There were societies for helping poor and sick Jews, 2 charitable societies and the cultural and educational society Yudishe Lezehalle.


Photos of the pre-war Boyany

Chernivtsi district, Chernivtsi region

Boyany gained great fame in the second half of the 19th century, when the town became one of the centers of Hasidism in Bukovina. In the Boyany, the Hasidic dynasty was founded by the tsadik Yitzhak ben Avrom Yakov Friedman, the grandson of the famous r. Isroel from Ruzhin.

Yitzhak Friedman after the death of his father the Wonder Rabbi of Sadagura, left the succession to his younger brother and moved to Boyany where he founded a new branch of the Sadagura Rabbinic dynasty. His numerous followers (Chassidim) spent the high holidays at his court, which provided a favorable opportunity to conduct business.

There was a yeshiva in the town where Hasidim studied from various places of Bukovina and Galicia.

Bojan was destroyed during the First World War. Rabbi Izchak Friedmann moved to Vienna. His successor was his son Rabbi Nuchem Muniu, who, after the war moved to Chernivtsi. His sons Ahron and Mottale died in Transnistrien.

The modern residence of Boyaner Rebe is in Jerusalem.

On July 7-8, 1941, 86 Boyan's Jews were shot near the village of Glybokaya. Most of the Boyan's Jews were deported and died in Transnistria's ghetto.

After 1945, about 30 Jews returned to Boyany, and later left for Israel.


Rebbe Residence and Synagogue		Synagogue	Shortly before the destruction

Interior of the synagogue ruins	Synagogue in the background		Place of residence and synagogue today

The mass grave of Boyan's Jews in Novoselica

Today's Bojany is a small village with a minimum of preserved historic buildings. The majority of the population speaks Romanian or Moldovan, which surprised us a bit in the local supermarket.


View from the hill where the Jewish cemetery is located	About 100 years ago	Central street	Old house

Boyner Rebbe died in Vienna, and Boyan's cemetery, probably the only one of its kind, which does not contain the burial place of the founder of the local dynasty. Nevertheless, there are very beautiful matzevs here, and one of them is simply amazing ...








	The most beautiful matzeva of Bukovina

Sources:
- Russian Jewish encyclopedia. Translated from Russian by Eugene Snaider
- Max Rendel. Bojan / Geschichte der Juden in der Bukowina (History of the Jews in the Bukowina), vol. II. Edited by Hugo Gold. Tel Aviv: Olamenu, 1962. Translated from German by Jerome Silverbush z”l, JewishGen, Inc

Photo:
- Eugene Shnaider
- Postcard collection of Eduard Turkevych

Chernivtsi region - list of settlements and location of objects

Boyany, 2016