A Tale of Resilience: The Synagogue's Battle for Survival

The town of Ostroh in Ukraine has witnessed many struggles over the years. Though small, with a population of about 13,000 today, Ostroh boasts a rich history. It was once part of the Kievan Rus' principality, around a thousand years ago, and changed hands many times through wars. It was ruled alternately by Lithuania and Poland. In the 17th century, it was under the control of the noble Ostrogski family until their line ended in conflicts, shifting control to the Lubomirski family and then moving back and forth between Poland, Russia, and Ukraine to eventually become part of Ukraine again.

Jews have lived in Ostroh for centuries, with the town eventually becoming predominantly Jewish by the outbreak of World War II. However, like in many parts of Europe, these rights were hard-won, often paid for in blood. In 1495, Jews were expelled from Ostroh, only to return eight years later. The arrival of Rabbi Shmuel ben Eliezer, known as the Maharsha, turned the town into a hub for Polish Jewry. It later became home to other notable rabbis like Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz, the Shelah HaKadosh, Rabbi David Halevi, author of the Taz, and Rabbi Solomon Luria, known as the Maharshal, among many others. With the rise of the Hasidic movement, leading figures such as Rabbi Meir Margolis, a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, and Rabbi Nathan of Breslov, settled there. Jewish printing presses thrived in the city, playfully signing "Ost Torah" instead of Ostroh, reflecting its scholarly atmosphere.

At the heart of the Jewish quarter stood an ancient synagogue, about eight hundred years old. Records of its construction were destroyed in one of the city's fires, making its origins a mystery. In the early 17th century, Rabbi Shmuel ben Eliezer, the Maharsha, revitalized it by founding a grand yeshiva funded by his mother-in-law, Rebbetzin Edel (widow of Rabbi Moses of Brisk). In her honor, he adopted the name "Rabbi Shmuel Eidels," engraving her legacy forever. The Maharsha renovated and expanded the synagogue to make it one of the grandest in the region. His room of study still stands today. The Maharsha's commentary meticulously analyzed Talmudic texts and their connections. His writings spanned the Talmud, compiled into two sections focusing on legal novelties and narrative insights. His yeshiva covered the entire Talmud comprehensively.

The Maharsha's dedication and innovation in Torah study were legendary. He grew his hair long to tie it to a ceiling hook, so any nodding off would be met with a painful tug, prompting him to resume studying. Ostroh turned into a hub for the famous Council of the Four Lands, a central Jewish governing body, with the Maharsha as its leading rabbinic figure. The council gathered annually in Lublin and later in Danzig, attracting Jewish merchants and rabbis from all over Europe for court sessions and policy declarations. In his works, the Maharsha sometimes notes, "Between here and such a page I wrote nothing, as I was at the Lublin fair." The inscription "My door is open for guests" famously decorated his home's entrance, reflecting his lifelong commitment to charity and kindness alongside Torah study.

On the day following Passover in 1768, during the Haidamak uprising, the Jews of Ostroh hired Tatar mercenaries to thwart surrounding peasant attacks aimed at slaughtering the community. In 1792, the community again faced peril when Russian soldiers mistakenly attacked the synagogue, believing it to be a fortress. Remarkably, a cannonball pierced the synagogue but didn’t explode, until a brave young man named Eliezer courageously approached the Russians and diverted the danger. In memory of this miracle, the community hung the unexploded shell by a chain on the synagogue's southern wall, known as the "miracle shell," which can now be seen in Ostroh's city museum. Since then, the seventh of Tammuz has been celebrated as Ostroh Purim.

In 1931, marking the 300th anniversary of the Maharsha's passing, the Chofetz Chaim sent a student to reopen a yeshiva in the Maharsha's synagogue, after decades without one. The yeshiva had 140 students, a significant number for those times. However, at the onset of the Holocaust, the students fled, and most did not survive. After the war, the communists repurposed the Maharsha's synagogue into a medicine warehouse.

In 2015, the synagogue's roof began collapsing. Following a public struggle, Grigory Hershinov, a Jewish member of the Ostroh city council, alongside Rabbi Hillel Cohen and Mr. Anatoly Sheingate, launched a project to save and restore this historic landmark. Hundreds of documents detailing the synagogue's impressive history and its renovation by the Maharsha were gathered, while even historic photos featuring the miracle shell were found. The synagogue opened for prayer by the month of Elul in 2019. Visitors to the area today can join a minyan in one of Europe's oldest and most magnificent synagogues, in the very room where the Maharsha penned his renowned commentary.