Meʼir ha-Klezmer naʻaśeh ḳomisar

Meʼir ha-Klezmer naʻaśeh ḳomisar is a poem inspired by events in the life of Me'ir Margulies, Shimshon Meltzer's music teacher. The Hebrew title means Me'ir the Musician, Becomes Commissar. In the period after the Russian Revolution, the occupying Bolsheviks in Poland forced Me'ir to become the commissar in the town of Tluste. In this role, Me'ir used his influence to actually protect the people in his town, both Jewish and non-Jewish. After the withdrawal of the Bolsheviks, Me'ir Margulies was arrested and sentenced to death as a collaborator. The citizens of Tluste signed a petition explaining how he actually worked against the Bolsheviks and his sentenced was commuted when he was approaching the gallows. Although the poem is inspired by real events, Mr. Meltzer uses poetic license and some of the chronology is incorrect.