Page 25 - Underground Prisoner Museum, Advanced Level

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Advanced Level - ‫מוזיאון אסירי המחתרות‬

The Synagogue

The synagogue – it was in essence a regular prisoners' room that on
the Shabbat turned into a synagogue. All of the Jewish prisoners
arrived at the synagogue and not one was absent. The reasons for
this that everyone arrived were:
1. Socializing – all week the prisoners were alone and they
wanted to meet their friends.
2. The desire to exchange information.
3. The most important reason: Everyone felt an intense love for
Rabbi Aryeh Levin, the righteous man.
Rabbi Aryeh Levin was a righteous man who for 20 years would
arrive at the prison from afar every Shabbat and holiday. The elderly
Jewish rabbi did not miss any Shabbat despite the distance and the
difficulty in walking.
The rabbi would pray with the prisoners, speak and comfort them and
immediately after the visit in the prison he would hurry to the homes
of the relatives of the prisoners and deliver regards to the worried
dear ones.
Since on Shabbat it is not possible to write, Rabbi Aryeh Levin
would remember by heart every item of information and regards in
order that he would be able to deliver it as stated to the family. He
would also take regards from the family to the prisoners in order to
distribute them on the next visit. They tell that the rabbi would not
return to his house until he finished the visit by all of the families.
Once on a very snowy Shabbat when most people did not go out at
all to the streets, the rabbi continued to go from house to house and
to deliver regards. When the rabbi felt that his toes were starting to
freeze and was concerned that he would not be able to reach all the
families, he knocked on the door of the house of his friends and gave

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