Shargorod is notable for being the birthplace of many prominent Jewish figures. These individuals played important roles in Jewish history and their works continue to influence Jewish thought and practice today.
Moses Chaim Luzzatto (1707–1746): Although Luzzatto is often associated with Italy, he was born in Shargorod. Luzzatto was a prominent Jewish philosopher, Kabbalist, and poet. He is best known for his work "Mesilat Yesharim" (The Path of the Just), which is a key text in Jewish ethics and morality. His contributions to Jewish thought and mysticism are highly regarded.
Rabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritch (1704–1772): Another significant figure connected to Shargorod is Rabbi Dov Ber, also known as the Maggid of Mezeritch. He was a leading disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism, and became a central figure in the development and dissemination of Hasidic teachings. His influence in Jewish religious life and his role in the spread of Hasidism were substantial.
Nahum Hermann (January 10, 1889-June 1944): He was born in Shargorod (Szarogród, Sharhorod), Podolia, into a rabbinic family. In 1903 he moved to Odessa to study in the yeshiva of Khayim Tshernovits (Chaim Czernowitz), and he quickly became a socialist. In 1905 during a pogrom, he took an active role in Jewish self-defense. In 1912 he moved to Paris, studied in the Sorbonne, and was the founder of a Zionist student union and a Hebrew club. In 1921 he went to Russia to administer relief by the Jewish World Conference for Jewish victims of hunger. After returning from Russia, he was a member of the Parisian Zionist Committee and a delegate to Zionist congresses. He was director of the Jewish National Fund for France. He began his journalistic activities in 1912 with articles in Razsviet (Dawn) and Hatsfira (The siren). He later switched to Yiddish. He contributed pieces to Parizer haynt (Paris today) and Haynt (Today) in Warsaw, and from 1921 until his death he was Paris correspondent for Morgn-zhurnal (Morning journal) in New York. He also placed pieces in Davar (Word) and Haarets (The land) in Tel Aviv, and in Le Temps in Paris (from 1920). He was the main contributor and editor of La Renaissance Juive and Le Peuple Juif. When the Germans in 1940 were approaching Paris, he left for Vichy where he secretly led an aid effort for Jews escaping from regions of occupied France. When the United States joined the war, he had as a correspondent for an American newspaper to leave Vichy; he lived for a while in Cannes, later in Limoges where he administered the illegal transporting of Jews to Switzerland and Italy. On January 19, 1944 he was arrested by the Gestapo, and one month later he was sent to the camp in Drancy. On March 10 that same year, he and a large group of Jews were deported to Auschwitz and there killed. On April 25, 1954 the central headquarters of the Jewish National Fund in Jerusalem opened a library in his name in Noaḥ-Ilan.
Moyshe Herder (1842-September 11, 1911): He was born in Shargorod (Szarogród, Sharhorod), Podolia region, Ukraine, into a rabbinical family. He was educated by his grandfather, the local rabbi, and later studied secular subjects and languages. For a time he worked as a private tutor of Hebrew and Yiddish in wealthy homes in the town of Otshakov (Ochakiv). He subsequently lived in Odessa, where (together with B. Bakal and others) he founded (Shavuot [May 22,] 1881) the “Am-olam” (Eternal people) movement which assisted Russian Jews to emigrate to the United States. He came to America with Moses Freeman in 1882, worked for years as a farmer in the Carmel colony in New Jersey. And later became a stitcher of book jackets in New York. Early in 1892 he moved to Philadelphia where he was a teacher and leader in building Jewish educational institutions. He contributed to such Philadelphia publications as: Der literarisher shtral (The literary beam) in 1898, Di gegnvart (The present), and Di idishe prese (The Jewish press) in 1892-1893, in which he published articles as well as translations of Herbert Spencer’s Dertsiung (Education). He also wrote for Di idishe velt (The Jewish world) in Philadelphia (1914-1915). Among his books: Muter un kind, oder der anfang fun kinder ertsiung (Mother and child, or the beginning of child rearing), chats about hygiene (Carmel Colony, New Jersey, 1910), 88 pp.; Kinder-ertsiung (Rearing of children) (Philadelphia, 1908), five parts, each 24 pp.; Shvangershaft, geburt un kinder-ertsiung (Pregnancy, birth, and child rearing) (Philadelphia, 1909), 88 pp., including a poem and a foreword entitled “Tsu di geerte lezerinen” (To [my] dear female readers); Tshuve lapikoyres (Answering the heretic), “an answer to those who disavow God” and with a preface, “Tsu mayne kinder” (To my children) (Philadelphia, 1911), 63 pp. He also translated from German into Yiddish a work by Knigge entitled Umgang mit menshen (Dealings with people [original: Über den Umgang mit Menschen]) which appeared in 24-page sections (Philadelphia, 1908-1910). In 1913 he published Velt-klugheyt (World wisdom), a collection of 700 aphorisms by well-known thinkers, 160 pp. He died in Philadelphia. His younger brother MEYER HERDER also wrote poetry and sketches which appeared in Philadelphia Yiddish publications.
MORTKHE KUPER (1898-1976): He was born Mortkhe Kupershlok in Shargorod (Sharhorod), Ukraine, into a merchant family. In 1921 he came to the United States. He published stories in Yisroel-shtime (Voice of Israel) in Tel Aviv and chapters from his book, Di yidn fun mayn benkshaft, zikhroynes fun mayn heymshtot shargorod (The Jews of my longing, memoirs from my hometown of Sharhorod) (Buenos Aires: Kiem), 502 pp., in Forverts (Forward) in New York. The books concerned the old Jewish life style in a Ukrainian town
MOYSHE KRISHTOL (b. September 20, 1908): He was a journalist, born in Shargorod (Sharhorod), Podolia, the brother of Leon Krishtol. He came to the United States in 1922. He studied in secular schools, City College, and art school. He debuted in print with a story in Gerekhtigkeyt (Justice). He later published from time to time in Idisher kemfer (Jewish fighter) and Tog (Day). From 1943 he was a regular contributor to Forverts (Forward). For many years he was the news editor, from 1963 managing editor, and from June 1968-July 1970 editor-in-chief. Over the years 1964-1978, he was a member of the editorial collective of Tsukunft (Future). Aside from journalism, he also wrote art criticism. His pen name: Moyshe Feyges.
LEON KRISHTOL (1894-August 21, 1954): He was a journalist, theater critic, and translator, born in Shargorod (Sharhorod), Podolia. He studied in religious elementary school and with private tutors. In 1910 he left for Odessa, where he was an external student and took up teaching. In 1914 he made his way to the United States. His first two years there, he worked in factories and in the evenings studied at the Cooper Union Institute. In 1919 he became secretary, later manager, of the Maurice Schwartz Yiddish Art Theater, and his entire life was then tied to the Yiddish stage. In 1916 he debuted in print with stories in Tog (Day) and translated poetry in Fraye arbeter shtime (Free voice of labor) for which he later became the regular theater critic. From 1922 he was an internal contributor to Forverts (Forward). There he wrote about contemporary affairs, Yiddish theater, reportage pieces about world travels, and from time to time literary criticism. He published a series (1942-1943) there entitled “Lebens geshikhte fun president ruzvelt” (The biography of President Roosevelt). He also contributed to: Groyser kundes (Great prankster), Tsayt (Times), Tsukunft (The future), Onhoyb (Beginning), and Goldfaden-bukh (Goldfaden book) (New York, 1926), among others. He was the first Yiddish journalist to bring—after a trip to Moscow in 1956—news of the murder of Yiddish writers in the Soviet Union, written in a series of articles for Forverts (March-July 1956). He translated plays for the Yiddish theater in New York: Sven Lange, Shimshn un delile (Samson and Delilah [original: Samson og Delila]); Leo Tolstoy, Di makht fun finsternish (The power of darkness [original: Vlast' t'my]); Lord Dunsany, A nakht in kretshme (A Night at an Inn), a one-act play; Molière, Don zhuan (Don Juan); Osip Dymov, Di shklafn fun folk (An enslaved people); Dymov, Dem rebns khasene (The rebbe’s wedding); William Shakespeare, Der koyfman fun venedig (The Merchant of Venice); Frank Wedekind, Frilings ervakhn (Spring awakening [original: Frühlings Erwachen]); and Luigi Pirandello, Zeks kharakters vos zukhn a farfaser (Six characters in search of an author [original: Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore]). He dramatized Dostoevsky’s novel Der idyot (The idiot [original: Idiot]) and (with Harry Lang) Eva Lazarof’s (Harry Lang) novel Di umgliklikhe kale fun sofolk strit (The unhappy bride of Suffolk Street). All of these plays were staged. He also edited the monthly Unzer teater (Our theater) for the Yiddish Art Theater (1921, 2 issues). Leon Krishtol's pen name was G. Rivesman. He passed away in New York, USA.
Samuel Zemurray (born July 18, 1877, Shargorod, Ukraine—died Nov. 30, 1961, New Orleans) was the longtime president and financial director of United Fruit Company (name changed to United Brands Company in 1970), a preeminent developer of agriculture in 13 nations of the American tropics, responsible for introducing about 30 crops from the Eastern tropics. Zemurray’s principal charities and philanthropies included the founding of a four-year inter-American agricultural school in Honduras (Escuela Agricola Panamericana), the Middle American Research Institute, the medical school at Tulane University at New Orleans, a chair of anthropology at Harvard University, the Boston Symphony, the New School for Social Research in New York City, New Orleans’ first charity hospital for black women, and several child-guidance centers and treatment clinics for crippled children.
Henry Halpern (1905–1980): was a distinguished sculptor known for his contributions to the field of art, particularly in the mid-20th century. Born in Shargorod, Ukraine, Halpern emigrated to the United States, where he became a prominent figure in the art world. Halpern studied at the Art Students League of New York and went on to develop a diverse and expressive body of work. His sculptures often explored themes related to Jewish identity and history, reflecting his personal experiences and cultural heritage. He was known for his ability to blend traditional techniques with modernist approaches, creating works that were both innovative and deeply rooted in classical sculpture traditions. Throughout his career, Halpern's work was featured in numerous exhibitions and received recognition from various art institutions. His contributions to sculpture were well-regarded for their craftsmanship, emotional depth, and thematic richness.
Gillian Sherrid (1907-1990): Born Goldie Shameson in Shargorod, Ukraine, Gill came to the U.S. as a small child and her story is part of the Ellis Island Oral History Project. She was an assistant principal in the New York City public schools. Endowed with a marvelous curiosity, intelligence and will, she was President of the Metropolitan Branch of the Womens' League for Conservative Judaism, a member of its national board, and its representative as an NGO at the UN. She was also president of the sisterhood of Sutton Place Synagogue, where she was the first adult woman to become bat mitzvah.