Unsevered

“We, the undersigned, promise…” “Chaim’ke, remember that you are a Yid! Don’t forget, Chaim’ke!” A group of cheder-boys-turned-soldiers seal a pact. Can they stay true to their word, despite the impossible circumstances? Chaim’ke and Srulik Segal, twin brothers, are forcibly separated. Can they remain connected, despite the great physical distance between them? During the 1840s, the Cantonist Decree hung over the Jewish communities in Russia like a hangman’s noose. The struggle to remain faithful to Yiddishkeit was both an external and an internal challenge that the Cantonists faced daily. Many did not survive physically, while others weakened their resolve and converted, to be forever lost to the Jewish nation. It was practically impossible for a boy to live through the horrors of the cantons and remain faithful to his heritage. However, with emunah in the Basheffer, one can achieve the impossible.