Historia odbioru spotyka się z historią. Przypadek epitafiów Zabłudowskich z Białegostoku

Abstract

The article is devoted to the Jewish epitaphs of the Zabludowsky family from Białystok. Its author notes in the introduction: "The Jewish epitaph is static. Unlike biblical texts or other literary texts, it is not translated over place or time. Composed in near proximity to a person’s passing, the Jewish epitaph offers a reflection on the deceased’s life, aligned with individual preferences, family values and/or community preconceptions. Its formulaic structure and general language are part of the Jewish epitaphic tradition, dating back to the 13th century in Eastern Europe." The researcher recognizes the value of epitaphs as a source in the history of the Jewish community in Białystok from around 1865 to 1939: "This time frame marks the limits of the extant Zabludowsky epitaphs from Białystok, the specific focus of this paper. These epitaphs are recorded in two sources. The first, Abraham Samuel Herszberg’s Pinkos Białystok, a record book of the Jewish community of Białystok from its inception in the 16th century until just before World War II, contains epitaphs once preserved on the Old Rabbinic Cemetery in Białystok, dating from c. 1780–1900, as well as epitaphs that may still be extant on Bagnowka Jewish Cemetery, dating from 1892–1969 [i]. The other source is the extant epitaphs on Bagnowka Jewish Cemetery in Białystok. Today about 3000 of this cemetery’s original 30,000-35,000 tombstones, dating from 1892–1952 remain."