The events described in the novel “In the Polish Forests” unfold in the first half and mid-19th century, on the eve of the Polish uprising of 1863. It reflected contradictory and even multidirectional trends in the development of Jewish ideology of this period, which largely determined the future appearance of the Jewish people - Hasidism, enlightenment and assimilationism. The duology “In the Polish Forests” and “1863” is considered one of the peaks of Joseph Opatoshu’s work.