Drohiczyn Yizkor book
P. 267: "I consider it my sacred task to mention as one example one of the ordinary Jews of Drohitchin, Hershel Dvinsky the Shoemaker, who with totally devoted with heart and soul to the Land of Israel. He would gather groups of Jewish artisans and merchants and preached to them about the love of Palestine and building it."
P. 269: "Since he was no simple Jew, he always used a verse from the Torah or the Prophets. On one Sabbath in the Polish Synagogue, while Hershel the Shoemaker was listening to an emotional speech from one our speakers, he jumped on the platform and cried, Jews, you should know that we are indeed in messianic days because the verse 'All trees of the forest shall sing' is being fulfilled. You are able to hear how a simple Jew, a shoemaker like me, can be so bold as to come up on a platform and speak to the public. This is a sign that the Redemption is near, and that we should move to Palestine. Let's not keep silent, Jews, we are in messianic times. It goes without saying that his entire brief speech had a strong impact on his listeners. All of Drohitchin treated R. Hershel the Shoemaker with great respect. Shortly thereafter he and his family moved to Palestine. These lines should serve as an eternal memorial for that Jew and our friend, R. Hershel the Shoemaker, who lived out his years in Jerusalem, the Holy City, and died in old age."
P. 412: "Sender Dvinsky, a son of Hershel Dvinsky of Drohitchin, moved to Palestine after World War I, and was one of the people who built the Mekor-Chaim neighborhood near Jerusalem. See p. 416. Sender was one of the leaders of the Haganah in his neighborhood. During the day he worked, and at night he guarded the area from Arab attacks. In 1929, during the Arab pogroms, Sender and his friends prevented a tragedy in Mekor-Chaim. He had to leave his family many times to go to defend other settlements. In 1938, Sender came to visit Chicago, and remained there. He and his family here got along well, and he was an active member of the Drohitchin branch, serving as its chairman for a time. Sender died young in 1952, and left behind his wife, Sheindel (daughter of Hershel Goldwirth of Mekor-Chaim), and two daughters in Chicago."
P. 416: "Hershel Dvinsky was known for his simplicity and honesty, and was one of the first immigratsto Palestine. Right after World War I he moved to Palestine with his family. Hershel Dvinsky, Hershel Goldwirth, Mordechai Ratner and others were the pioneers and builders of the Mekor-Chaim neighborhood, five kilometers from Jerusalem. (Ratner's son, Yosef, is a member of the Drohitchin Chapter). Their houses were built from large hard stones that they dug out of the mountains. Each one of the people living in the community had one or two cows, would sell the milk in Jerusalem, thereby managing to eek out a living. In his last years Hershel Dvinsky lived in a home for the aged, and died at an advanced age. See p. 269."
