The establishment of the ghetto posed a challenge for religious Jews living in Warsaw. Even after the outbreak of World War II, adherence to Jewish traditions was difficult. The forced relocation to the ghetto exacerbated this situation. Despite these real restrictions, a significant percentage of the Warsaw ghetto population observed Jewish law and religious traditions.
One of the main problems was obtaining kosher meat, prepared in accordance with Jewish religious law—Halakhah. In October 1939, legal regulations officially banned Jews from ritually slaughtering animals. Initially, this practice only applied to cattle, but poultry butchers were afraid to continue their business. They feared that the local population or the police would report their activities to the Germans. They were bribed, but these bribes consumed a significant portion of the slaughterhouses' income.
Kosher meat from horned cattle was prepared secretly amid the ruins of streets such as Niska, Miła, Stawka, Grzybowska, Waliców, and Krochmalna. Vendors hid the meat intended for sale, for example, among vegetables, and only took it out upon customer request. Certification and rabbinical supervision, required before the war, were abandoned. Therefore, devout religious individuals refrained from consuming meat unless it came from a reliable source. Approximately fifty to sixty large cattle and a similar number of small cattle were slaughtered each week. This was done in the evenings.
The closure of the ghetto made this practice almost impossible. In the first few weeks, a few animals were still found there, destined for slaughter. Later, guards were bribed to facilitate smuggling, but the number was small. This prompted ritual slaughter to be organized outside the district. Professional butchers were secretly escorted out of the ghetto. They were required to shave their beards, dress in non-Jewish garb, and stay away from home for a period of time. The meat was brought in in vehicles belonging to the energy, medical, and sanitary services, and the guards were paid to turn a blind eye. However, the standard of ritual slaughter did not satisfy Orthodox Jews, so they stopped buying meat from such sources. These efforts were abandoned and they began selling meat that was kosher in name only.
Another difficulty was access to the ritual bathhouse, or mikveh. In Warsaw, they were closed as early as December 1939, under the false pretense that they were unsanitary. This posed serious difficulties for religious Jews. Women began traveling to towns near Warsaw, such as Otwock, Falenica, and Rembertów, to use the bathhouses. From 1940, train travel was banned for Jews, which made observing this ritual difficult. In the summer of that year, Rabbi Yitzhak Szapiro and Meszulam Kaminer rented bathing areas along the Vistula River for this purpose. The project failed, as the low water temperature adversely affected health. The closure of the ghetto prevented any exits. The owners of the mikvehs at Grzybowska 1 and 14, Dzielna 38, and Smocza 22 managed to bribe officials and open premises with hidden entrances from neighboring buildings. In August 1941, they obtained permission from the authorities to officially open the mikveh; an additional one was also established at 26 Franciszkańska Street.
The above examples demonstrate the lengths to which Warsaw Jews went to maintain their traditions. These practices, defining them as Jews, held such significance for them that they challenged the decrees of the German occupier, risking punishment and even death.
Rabbi David Berman
