Wegrow

WEGROW (Pol. Węgrów; in Jewish documents: Vengrove), town in Warszawa province, E. Poland. Jews settled there at the beginning of the 16^th century, when it was under Lithuanian rule. They engaged in trading both locally and abroad, and in tax farming. An organized community was established soon after the middle of the 16^th century. After the town was incorporated within the kingdom of Poland in 1569, the community developed rapidly to achieve a leading position among the communities of the region. The owner of the town, Jan Kazimierz Kraniński, in an attempt to attract new Jewish settlers, granted the community in 1655 a privilege confirming its right of judicial autonomy, freedom to engage in trade and crafts, and exemption from municipal taxes. It imposed on the Jews an annual tax of two zlotys per household, and a one-time payment of six zlotys by new families as a domiciliary fee. At the beginning of the 17^th century the Wegrow community had jurisdiction over the communities of Ciechanowiec, *Sokolow, and later Miedzyrzec *Podlaski and others. After a prolonged struggle against the kahal of *Tykocin, the Wegrow kahal obtained official representation at the *Council of Four Lands, and from the 1660s headed the independent galil (province) of Wegrow, which survived until 1764. In 1715 the Ciechanowiec community broke free of the authority of Wegrow, to be followed by Miedzyrzec in 1753. In 1765 there were 3,623 poll-tax payers under the community's jurisdiction, of whom 581 lived in the town. In 1764 the Wegrow community was the sixth largest in the Polish kingdom. Up to 1788 the Jewish community of the Praga suburb of Warsaw was affiliated to that of Wegrow as regards the payment of the poll tax.

In the second half of the 18^th century Jews of the town traded in cattle, participated in the fairs of Breslau, Berlin, and Koenigsberg, and were occupied as tailors, weavers, furriers, bakers, and carters. The Jewish artisans were mostly organized in independent guilds. The pinkas of the dayyanim of Wegrow for 1781 to 1814 (now in the National and University Library in Jerusalem) provides an important source for the social and economic life of the community. In the 1790s Jewish entrepreneurs established workshops for wool weaving and tanning, and wealthy merchants were purveyors to the Polish and Russian armies. In 1794 a branch of the Hebrew printing press of *Nowy Dwor, founded by J.A. Krieger, printed books in Wegrow, including *Josippon.

In 1815 Wegrow was incorporated within Congress Poland. The community numbered 1,463 (48% of the town's population) in 1827; 2,343 (61%) in 1857; and 5,150 (62%) in 1897. From the 1870s many Jews took up occupations as jewelers, manufacturers of luxury goods and ritual articles, and engaged in transportation. At the beginning of the 20^th century many Jews in Wegrow were occupied in the knitting and tanning industries. The *Bund gained considerable influence among the local workers in 1905.

In 1918 the *Po'alei Zion established Bet Borochov; later Tarbut, Central Yiddish School Organization (CYSHO), Yavneh, and Beth Jacob schools were established. In Orthodox circles the Gur (*Gora Kalwaria) Ḥasidim became influential. The Jewish population numbered 5,227 (55%) in 1931.

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