In 1939, they were five bochurim learning together in the Novardok Yeshivah. In 1949, while rebuilding their war-shattered lives, they met again. Decades later, a series of marriages fused the lifelong friends into a single family unit.

I

In 1939, on the seventh of Shvat, five young men gathered in the halls of the Novardok Yeshivah for an occasion that was at once prosaic and momentous: to establish a chaburah.

Students in the Novardok Yeshivah often formed chaburos, small groups of young men who together took on kabbalos to bolster their spiritual growth. At this gathering, the five friends decided to unite in a chaburah whose goal was to preserve their friendship for the rest of their lives, even though circumstances might cause their little group to physically disband.

The chaburah, which they called “Sheves Achim,” imposed seven stipulations on its members, which were detailed in a contract: They would each correspond with all other members of the group at least once every six months. Before writing to each other, they would learn 15 minutes of mussar on the subject of bein adam l’chaveiro. Every year, they would observe the seventh of Shvat, the anniversary of the group’s formation, as a personal Yom Tov, when they would learn an additional hour of mussar, also on the subject of bein adam l’chaveiro, and write letters to the rest of the group. If the seventh of Shvat coincided with Shabbos, the letters would be written on the following day. They would also assist each other in any way possible, physically or financially, just as they would have done for actual brothers. If any member of the group moved, he would inform the others immediately of his new location. Finally, their ultimate goal was to settle together, eventually, in one place in Eretz Yisrael.

A few months after they signed their pact, World War II broke out.

Friends for Life

All five members of this close-knit group were highly motivated and accomplished yeshivah bochurim. Most of them had been studying in Novardok for over ten years. Since they had been away from home for years, in essence, they had nothing but each other.

Shloma Margolis, whose father had passed away when he was only 12 years old, had left his impoverished family behind to learn in the great yeshivos of the day. By 1939, he had spent about ten years in the Novardok educational system.

Moshe Plotnik, who had been close friends with Shloma Margolis since the age of 13, was also a seasoned yeshivah student.

Yisrael Zev (Velvel) Zoimen, a graduate of Reb Elchonon Wasserman’s yeshivah in Baranovich, was an incredible masmid and had learned under Rav Elazar Menachem Shach ztz”l, who was then a member of the Novardok Yeshivah faculty. A glowing letter of recommendation from Rav Shach was found in Rabbi Zoimen’s personal effects after he passed away; in his characteristic humility, Rabbi Zoimen had never revealed the existence of the letter even to his own family.

The other two bochurim were Avraham Shmuel Cherniv HaKohein and Shlomo Podolsky, who was about to depart for Eretz Yisrael. During the seudas preidah for Shlomo Podolsky, he suggested the formation of the chaburah, which the others agreed to at once.

According to their family members, Sheves Achim was far more than a simple pact of friendship. “The underlying motive,” asserts Mrs. Brenda Willner, the daughter of Rabbi Shloma Margolis, “was to be mechazeik each other to shteig in ruchniyus. It’s true that they were also there for each other in a physical sense, but their primary purpose was to strengthen each other spiritually. Whenever they spoke or wrote to each other, they would tell each other vertlach and discuss Torah. By establishing this brotherhood, they hoped to remain a source of chizuk for each other in spiritual matters throughout the years. And they understood that if you have a good idea, if you don’t make it practical by taking action, it won’t be lasting.”

Avrumi Moskovitz, a grandson of Rabbi Margolis, adds, “I once told a newly minted baal teshuvah about Sheves Achim and his reaction was, ‘You mean that their friendship wasn’t just based on sports and other types of camaraderie? That’s incredible!’ And he was right; it was based on much higher ideals.”

Rabbi Henoch Plotnik of Chicago, a son of Rabbi Moshe Plotnik, adds another possible motivation for the group’s establishment. “The war was only a few months away at the time. It’s likely that they had a sense of impending doom and foresaw the possibility that they might lose their families during the war. The Sheves Achim chaburah merged them into another family of sorts, which gave them invaluable support and brotherly aid in their times of need.”

War Breaks Out

With the simultaneous German and Russian invasions of Poland, the young men’s world was plunged into chaos. Poland effectively ceased to be an independent country and Novardok fell under Russian control. At first, everyone trembled at the thought of what would happen next. But in a surprising turn of events, the Soviet government decided to restore independence to a portion of Lithuania, including the city of Vilna. Yeshivah students, including some of the bochurim from Novardok, and other Jewish refugees flocked to Vilna in the hopes of finding a safe haven. For a short time, three learning centers were established, one of which was supervised by Reb Shloma Margolis. When the Lithuanian government ordered the refugees to resettle to prevent them from being heavily concentrated in one location, Rabbi Margolis’s yeshivah relocated to the town of Vilkomir.

The Soviet authorities eyed the fleeing refugees with suspicion, viewing their reluctance to remain in Russian-controlled territory as indicative of enmity toward the Soviet regime. They fabricated a pretext to reoccupy Lithuania, and the area was quickly overrun by Soviet forces.

The refugees were all given the opportunity to apply for Soviet citizenship and passports, as well as for permission to emigrate from the country. Anyone who was interested solely in emigration was placed under surveillance. But some refugees did obtain entry visas to foreign countries, as well as the NKVD-issued transit visas that allowed them to travel through Russia.

At this juncture, according to the story that is told in the Sheves Achim families, Rabbi Plotnik and Rabbi Margolis were separated from Reb Velvel Zoimen (Shlomo Podolsky had safely arrived in Eretz Yisrael). At that time, the Mirrer Yeshivah was preparing for its historic flight that would take them across the vast Russian expanse to Japan. The three bochurim decided that their best chance for escape would be to join the Mirrer students. But to do that, they needed Japanese visas, which were in short supply.

The Japanese consulate issued a card to every applicant with the date on which he could come to apply for a visa. The bochurim realized that by the time the date on their cards arrived, there would be no visas left. They therefore tampered with the dates on their cards and appeared at the consulate at an earlier date, positioning themselves in two separate lines. Rabbi Plotnik and Rabbi Margolis were seen by one clerk, who noticed the forgery and refused to grant them visas. The clerk who saw Rabbi Zoimen, however, was fooled, and issued the visa that ultimately saved his life. Rabbi Zoimen escaped along with the Mir and spent the war years in Shanghai, while Rabbi Plotnik and Rabbi Margolis were left behind.

As for Avraham Cherniv, little is known about his fate, other than that the war claimed his life.