Leżajsk: The Ohel of Elimelech and the Cradle of Galician Hasidism

Zaplanuj wizytę Heritage Journeys

The first Jews settled in Leżajsk in the second half of the sixteenth century, when the town belonged to the Stadnicki family. The community developed as a local centre for the grain and timber trade, organised around a wooden synagogue and a cemetery on the hill. By the middle of the seventeenth century the Jewish population had reached five hundred. The turning point in the history of Leżajsk was the arrival in 1772 of Rabbi Elimelech Weisblum — a disciple of Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezeritch, who after the Maggid's death (1772) took on spiritual leadership of his disciples in southern Poland. Elimelech, the author of Noam Elimelech — one of the most important works of Hasidic literature — developed the doctrine of the tzaddik as intercessor between man and God, and teachings on combining prayer with Kabbalistic meditation. His court in Leżajsk became the principal centre of Hasidism in the territories of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Elimelech's disciples — the "Five Great" — founded the largest Hasidic dynasties of Galicia and central Poland: Naftali of Ropshitz (Łańcut), Yaakov Yitzchak of Lublin (the Seer of Lublin), Yisrael of Kozienice (the Maggid of Kozienice), Mendel of Rymanów, and Klonimus of Kraków. All acknowledged Elimelech as their principal teacher. His death on 21 Adar 5546 (1786) inaugurated the tradition of an annual pilgrimage to Leżajsk, which has continued unbroken for more than two hundred and thirty years. Under Habsburg rule from 1772, the community grew slowly. By 1880 it numbered about two thousand people — fifty per cent of the town. A yeshiva of Hasidic tradition operated, a dozen cheders, two credit banks. Commercial life centred on the market square — textile shops, the timber and grain trade with the San valley, and craftsmen's workshops. The Leżajsk community maintained a living Hasidic tradition — Elimelech's court was continued by his descendants, but Hasidim of every Galician dynasty also came to Leżajsk. In the interwar years the Jewish population numbered three thousand — sixty per cent of the town. The Tarbut and Beis Yaakov schools operated, a Hebrew printing house, a library, the Hapoel sports club. The Hasidic tradition continued alongside an active Zionist movement. By the 1930s the annual pilgrimage of 21 Adar drew several thousand Hasidim from across Poland, Hungary and Romania — Leżajsk had become one of the principal pilgrimage sites of Eastern European Hasidism. German occupation began on 9 September 1939. The Germans burned the synagogue and the printing house, and partly destroyed the cemetery — but the ohel of Elimelech, protected by Polish residents of the town, survived the war intact. This is regarded as one of the great miracles of Leżajsk. In the summer of 1942 the Germans established a ghetto. In September 1942 the Leżajsk Jews were taken to the transit camp at Pełkinie and from there to Bełżec. After the war about twenty-five people returned to Leżajsk. All emigrated within the first five years. The pilgrimage was resumed in the 1950s by Hasidim from Brooklyn and Jerusalem, and from the 1970s has grown unbroken. Today, on 21 Adar (February or March in the Jewish calendar), Leżajsk receives five to seven thousand Hasidim each year from the United States, Israel, the United Kingdom and Belgium — the largest Hasidic pilgrimage in Europe. For the rest of the year the site is visited by individual pilgrims, researchers and those tracing family roots. The Beit Yehoshua Pilgrim House, run by foundations from Brooklyn and Bnei Brak, is open year-round.

The Germans occupied Leżajsk on 9 September 1939. In the first weeks of the occupation they burned the synagogue and the Hebrew printing house, and partly destroyed the cemetery — but the ohel of Elimelech, protected by Polish residents of the town (who deliberately misled the Germans about its significance), survived the war intact. To this day this stirs the admiration of Hasidim and is regarded as one of the great miracles of Leżajsk. In the summer of 1940 forced labour was imposed on all Leżajsk Jews. In March 1942 the Germans established a ghetto within the historic Jewish quarter, into which three thousand Leżajsk Jews were confined, along with Jews from Krzeszów, Sieniawa and Sokołów Małopolski. In September 1942, as part of Operation Reinhard, the Leżajsk Jews were marched out of the ghetto and taken to the transit camp at Pełkinie, forty kilometres away. From there, by rail transport, to the death camp at Bełżec. Of the three thousand Leżajsk Jews, about twenty-five survived the war.

A visit to Leżajsk calls for particular sensitivity — it is the most important pilgrimage site of Galician Hasidism, and the ohel is visited daily by Hasidim. We recommend avoiding 21 Adar (the yahrzeit of Elimelech, February or March), when five to seven thousand pilgrims arrive — an individual visit becomes impossible at that time, the town is overcrowded, parking taken. The ohel is accessible year-round at no charge. Inside is a prayer chamber; at the grave it is customary to leave a kvitl (a written request for intercession) and candles. Paper, pencils and candles are available at the Pilgrim House. The cemetery is accessible year-round; the gate is always open. Etiquette: men cover their heads when entering the cemetery and the ohel. Women — modest dress (sleeves, hemlines below the knee); women's prayer in the ohel takes place in a separate section. One does not photograph people at prayer. Silence near the ohel — this is a place of prayer, not tourist sightseeing. One does not bring food or drinks into the cemetery. Recommended day plan: depart Kraków at eight in the morning, two hours and forty minutes on the A4 motorway to Rzeszów, then on Road 877. The first hour in Leżajsk — the ohel and the cemetery. Then a short walk to the memorial plaque on the synagogue site (the centre of the town). Lunch at the Pilgrim House (kosher food available with prior notice) or at a restaurant on the market square (regional cuisine, not kosher). In the afternoon, the option of driving on to Łańcut (thirty kilometres, one hour) for the Renaissance synagogue. Return to Kraków by seven in the evening.

Mercedes V-Class from Kraków to Leżajsk is two hours and forty minutes. The 200-kilometre route runs on the A4 motorway to Rzeszów and then on Road 877 to Leżajsk. Rush-hour traffic around Kraków can extend the journey by half an hour — we recommend departure at eight in the morning. During the pilgrimage period (21 Adar) the entire route is congested — we recommend departure no later than six in the morning, or choosing another date. Parking in Leżajsk: free parking by the cemetery (fifty metres from the ohel) and at the Pilgrim House. During the pilgrimage the car park is full — the driver can wait in nearby Łańcut and collect the client after the visit. Recommended transfer duration: ten hours door-to-door for Leżajsk alone, twelve hours for a combined visit with Łańcut. Departure at eight in the morning from your hotel in Kraków, return between six and eight in the evening. For pilgrims flying in for the 21 Adar pilgrimage we coordinate multi-day transfers with accommodation in Kraków and Rzeszów; the itinerary is planned with the family to honour Shabbat observance. During the pilgrimage period we recommend an overnight stay in Rzeszów (Hotel Bristol) given the lack of places in Leżajsk.