Bookstore Glossary Library Links News Publications Timeline Virtual Israel Experience
Anti-Semitism Biography History Holocaust Israel Israel Education Myths & Facts Politics Religion Travel US & Israel Vital Stats Women
donate subscribe Contact About Home

Lyck

LYCK (Pol. Elk), town in Poland; before 1945 in E. Prussia. During the late 17th century Jewish tradesmen visited the market town and subsequently established a community which, in 1713, numbered 29 persons. Its shoḥet, Eliezer Lipmann Silbermann, founded the Hebrew weekly *Ha-Maggid which was printed in Lyck from 1856 to 1891. The *Mekiẓei Nirdamim Society was also founded by Silbermann and, between 1864 and 1874, 15 of its publications were printed in Lyck. Among them was S.D. *Luzzatto's 1864 edition of *Judah Halevi's Diwan, S. *Buber's edition of the Pesikta de Rav Kahana (1868), and parts of I. *Lampronti's Paḥad Yiẓḥak (1864–74). In the second half of the 19th century many Hebrew books were printed in the town and smuggled across the border to Russian Jewry. The community of Lyck increased from 90 persons in 1845 to 250 (3.65% of the total population) in 1880, then declined to 137 in 1933 and 16 in 1939.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Neufeld, in: AUJW (May 7, 1965), 6; PK Germanyah; Du'aḥ shel Mekiẓei Nirdamim (1935).


Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.