He asked people in the street, describing such and such a bet midrash, but
they just laughed at him because there were around 80 small prayer houses
in B[iałystok]. We wandered around lost for a couple of hours until one of our
number, having grown impatient and gone off to see where we had got to, [45]
came across us in the street, almost by chance, and led us to that light, clean,
comfortable place.
Joyfully I went into the bet midrash. I drank as much tea as I could swallow.
I just kept on drinking. They gave us as much bread as we could eat and
I gulped it down hungrily. And there was still bread left over for the next day.
After eating and drinking, we pushed the benches together and lay down to
sleep. I slept so soundly that the next morning I had no idea where the night
had gone. In the morning, I went back to the first place. The first snow was
falling. The streets were covered with a white carpet. I walked along happily,
because I now had a comfortable place to stay. I recovered my pack and set
off back into town.
That same day I came across my future brother-in-law, who had also been
expelled from his town of R[aciąż?]. He had brought with him goods which
he had managed to salvage, so that [46] in comparison with me he seemed
a rich man. We embraced and wept with joy and couldn’t tear ourselves apart.
We couldn’t be together because of the shortage of lodgings, with tens of
thousands of refugees arriving in B[iałystok]. Masses of people were arriving
every minute. And the fate of all new arrivals was that they had to stay
in prayer houses. So I, like all the rest, had to stay in a bet midrash and sleep
on benches, on the floor. My brother-in-law rented a shop and made a lot of
money, so there was enough for food and more. Apart from my sleeping conditions, I had nothing to worry about. I now ate my fill with a good breakfast,
midday meal and supper.
The large numbers of soldiers enabled everyone to make a good living.
The troops, even the higher ranks, bought everything they saw on the
street: bits of cloth, haberdashery, fruit, foodstuffs and, most of all, watches.
They snatched up and bought everything, without any bargaining. The fact
was that they were seeing all these goods for the first time in their [47] lives.
The troops were dressed plainly and not all the same way. They behaved very
politely. They greeted everyone heartily and warmly, regardless of religion.
They chatted and spoke with everyone about everything and anything. Trade
increased and became a popular occupation with everyone. People grew rich.
