There is a legend about one Brisker who became a ‘King for a day’ Jews from Brest were managing almost all major commercial and financial operation of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania under the king Casimir IV Jagiełło (1447–1492) - they were in charge of custom duties and tax collection throughout the country.īrisk was called “Venice of Lithuania” - the old town was located on the Bug river bank. Brest-Litovsk soon became the center of trade and commerce, as well as of rabbinical learning, and the seat of the Va’ad of Lithuania and Volhynia.
Later it was extended to the other Jewish communities of Lithuania and Volhynia. In 1388 the Grand Duke Vitold granted the charter to the Jews of Brest. Berestye was first mentioned in the Primary Chronicle in 1019, when the Kievan Rus took the stronghold from the Poles. But much earlier, during for more than 300 years, Brisk - widely known as “Brisk d’Lite” - was the major and most important trade, commercial and religious center of Lite, Lithuanian Yiddishkayt.Īctually, the city was founded by the Slavic tribes. However, Vilno has become a “Jerusalem d’Lite” only in XVII century. Briskers were proud of their native town’s name not less than Vilners - citizens of Vilno, now Vilnius, well-acknowledged center of Jewish scholarship in the Baltic region. Jews born in Brest were called Briskers - based on Yiddish name of this old European town, Brisk, also known like Berestya or Bierascie, then Brześć (Brześć Litewski) in Polish language, Lietuvos Brasta in Lithuanian, Brest-on-the-Bug in Poland or Brest-Litovsk in Russian empire.
For Litvakes, Brisk was more important than Vilno - that was ‘only’500 years ago!
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