In Ir Tehila, Rabbi Feinstein describes the Expulsion of 1496 of the Jews from Brest and its effect on a synagogue in existence at that point.
English translation:
Already
in 5256 [1496],
a community existed here, with a synagogue.
When the Jews were expelled from the town that year – as part of
the expulsion of the Jews from Lita by Alexander the
Jagiellon - that synagogue was given to the Christian inhabitants to serve as a shelter for
the sick.
A footnote gives the source as the Slovnik
Geograficzny (Geographic
Dictionary) entry for Brisk.
The same event is recorded in Ir Tehila with an important additional detail:
English translation:
When the Jews were expelled from the town – as part of the expulsion of the Jews from Lita – the houses on the shore and the synagogue were given [to the Christian inhabitants] to serve as a shelter for the sick and a prayer-house [church] for the Holy Spirit.
This version gives an important clue as to the location of this synagogue. Rabbi Feinstein bases this information on an article in Voskhod 81, No. 7 by Bershadski, which we discuss in depth in the supplemental material here.
| Notes: 1496: In Ir Tehila, on page 201, the author quotes a letter from Harkavy in which he claims the date was 1495. This could be explained by the differences between Jewish and civil calendars. add link to Ir Tehila |
