Opoczno, 3 March 1927 

Devoted, beloved brother, as well as nephew, and niece Zissman,  

I received your letter over two weeks ago and surely you will be
angry with me for having made you wait for an answer for two
whole weeks.  It's certainly not nice of me.  However, dear Sol,
"Do not judge your fellow man until you have been in his
position."   Obviously, if your uncle succeeded in making you
wait two weeks, you're thinking, Sol, "Something new must have
taken place there again."  Isn't that right???  So, my devoted
one, to be brief, I write you that my delay in answering you was
quite simple.  I wanted to write you something new, something
important, and something good, but since I can't delay an answer
any longer, I am writing you a letter today with a review of my
ten months of work in Opoczno.  

On May 1, 1926, I joined the millers (I write "millers" because
they are three partners) at 20% of gross, i.e., if they receive
100, I get 20.  As to money, I was able to put $600 together,
how and under what conditions...it isn't necessary to
write...but it was accomplished, and I made the deal on a
provisional basis.  I dove in as a hungry man attacks a warm
bread.  I didn't make the simplest businesslike calculation.  

Now, I have engaged in the trade for ten months, have become
quite familiar with the business, have seen the positives and
negatives of the business.  I decided that so long as I work at
the mill, so long as I earn a living there, my responsibility is
to work with all my strength to improve all of the defects, to
sweep away the dirt, to clean out the mold, to be competitive
even though my courage is very weak, but nevertheless I showed
courage and energy.  

From the moment I arrived in Opoczno, I let it be known that, as
a man of substance from Lodz, I am involving myself as a
capitalist with dollars to revive the defunct, forgotten and
idle mill, "Grobla;" that's what the mill is called.  Devoted
Sol, the one G-d knows, as you do too, with whose money I
entered the deal.  I suffered through several months; I had a
lot of work to do.  I paid interest on only $150.  I saved; I
didn't eat; I sent home a minimal allowance.  I myself ate at my
sister's in order to maintain some sort of existence.  When I
closed the deal, there wasn't one person in town who would have
agreed (that it would be successful).  To the contrary, they
even disheartened me by saying that the mill is a disaster and
that I would lose everything...  However, I understood very well
what my situation was.  

Furthermore, when your father-in-law was in my home, you could
have killed me if I had five cents to my name.  To the contrary,
I was over my head in debt.  I used to go out and plan how I
could commit suicide because the world was closing in on me from
day to day.  When I was out on the street and saw how a world
full of people were getting along and that there was no place
for me, I became very nervous.  

The death of my mother, may she rest in peace, confused my mind.
 I became depressed; I spoke very little.  I constantly
conceived of plans that would take me to my most beloved and
devoted brother, Sol.  But everything was unsuccessful. 
However, this business was like a miracle taking place.  The
person who caused it to happen was no one other than my devoted
brother-in-law, Eliezer.  Due, first of all, to G-d and then to
you, my devoted one, and Uncle Lazer, I have been in the mill
for ten months.  I work hard, but I am content with my work. I
am involved with respectable partners; I almost make a living. 
I have already succeeded in repaying $200 borrowed at interest. 
Now I stand on an equal footing with my brother-in-law, Lazer. 
He has $200 invested, and I have $200 invested as our basic
capital.  The rest of the money comes from strangers, not at
interest but rather from bakers, storekeepers, et al.  So, for
example, one of the partners just invested $300 and is taking a
larger percentage; a storekeeper in Danzig sent us $400 in
advance for a carload of bran. 

In short, things are happening.  I am not yet a wealthy man,
Sol.  You ought to know that if your uncle were to become a
wealthy man so quickly, he would surely wire you to let you
know.  It's still a bit early to become a wealthy man of
Opoczno.  For the time being, I don't want to count on anything,
and I don't want to know about anything.  I have made an
agreement with my partners until 1928 under the same conditions,
and every week I take out 60 zlotys, that is $7 a week, for
food.  I hope to G-d that this year I will not be hungry, chas
v'cholilah, because the worst months in a mill are from the New
Year to Passover.  Then, better times and better earnings come. 
As you write, "May we only be well; surely, problems will not
fail us."  

You can tell from my handwriting how quickly I am writing you
this letter.  I slave away so that I don't have time to go home
for a Sabbath.  I haven't been at home with my family for ten
weeks.  I hope, with the help of G-d, to be in Lodz for Purim. 
All of my work is based on a goal of having no competitors and
"turning the wheel" faster and better.  Whether I will succeed
or fail...is unknown to me.  Sol, what do you say?  I have the
will to do it, and my pockets are ready, but, but...            

I close this letter because I don't have any more time to write.
 I reckon that this letter will come to you during Purim.  Write
me about how Purim was there.  Pardon, the intermediary days of
Purim...  Do you also eat kreplach during Purim?  Do you also
hit Haman.  I know one thing that Americans do. They send gifts
to the poor.  They have been sending for as long as I remember. 
However, the more they send, the more poor people are to be
found in Poland...  

Heartfelt regards to you and your wife.  I also send heartfelt
regards to your in-laws.  Regards to your sisters, father,
family, et al.  My wife, my sister, my brother-in-law and the
whole family send heartfelt regards to you all. Write about your
health and the business.  We are all, without an evil eye, well.
 We also want to hear from you, with good 

news and quickly.  Sol, don't take revenge on me, and don't make
me wait for an answer.  I also won't make you wait for an answer
any more either.  I ask you to write a 40-page letter.          

       With respect,                               

       Wolf Lewkowicz                              

       Kaluzna 11                              

      Opoczno, Poland                                           


All material Copyright 1995 by Marshall L. Zissman and Sol J. Zissman.