Slavuta, has been a city in Khmelnitskiy district, Ukraine since 1938.
Slavuta was annexed by Russia after the second partition of Poland in 1793 and was part of the Volhynia province until the Revolution of 1917. In 1932 Slavuta was assigned to Vinnitsa district, in 1937 Slavuta became a part of Kamenets-Podolskiy district. In 1954 the city became a part of Khmelnitskiy district.
Where it all began
Slavuta was founded as a family seat of the Sanguszko princes. In 1633 Slavuta received Magdeburg self-governing town rights.
The first mention of a synagogue in Slavuta appeared in the archive documents in 1731. In 1765 poll tax was paid by 246 Jews registered in Slavuta.
Mosheh Shapira was a rabbi in Slavuta towards the end of 18th century. As his rabbinical position was unsalaried, Mosheh made his living by establishing a large press in 1791, specializing in handsome editions of religious books—in particular, volumes of the Talmud and of Halakhah and responsa. Mosheh’s two sons, Shemu’el Avraham Abba and Pinḥas, operated the press with him, and the business flourished because of their activity and the prestige of their lineage. The press was identified by maskilim as Hasidic, even though works of Hasidism and Kabbalah were not the major part of its output.
