Elul 15, 5587: (Sept 17, 1827) The Russian government decreed the drafting of Jewish boys at age 12 to be sent to military school until 18. They were then to serve in the Czar's army 25 years. Some 100,000 Jewish boys became cantonists, most never seeing their families again. The official purpose, of course, was to exterminate Judaism.

          Zayt gezunterheyt, mayne libe eltern,
          Ich for fun aych avek, in a vaytn veg.
          Vu kayn vint veyet nit
          Un vu kayn foygl flit nit
          Un vu kayn hon kreyet nit.
  
              Goodbye, my dear parents, goodbye,
              I leave you now to journey far away,
              Where no wind blows
              And no bird flies
              And no cock crows.
  
                  "Zayt Gezunterheyt," Anon.; a Jewish soldier song of the Pale from the
                   conscription period. From Ruth Rubin, A Treasury of Jewish Folksong; 1950

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