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All that was missing was the shofar blast.

"Listen, children of the tribes of Israel; ye who have in their heart the image of God Almighty; all that are willing to help in the struggle for the fatherland; we people should act, the time has come to consecrate all of our strength... let us fight for our country as long as a drop of blood is left in us... my beloved brothers: awaken like lions and leopards."

It sounded like a biblical call-to-arms. It was, however, Berek Joselewicz -- an 18th century Jewish merchant-turned-warrior for the Polish uprising of 1794. That uprising was led by a friend to the Jewish community and a hero of the American Revolution, Thaddeus Kosciuszko. Joselewicz by so inspired by Kosciuszko, he formed the first Jewish fighting unit since ancient times.

Kosciuszko's admiration for and relationship with the Jewish community is one of many aspects of his life illuminated in the new biography of Kosciuszko, "The Peasant Prince: Thaddeus Kosciuszko and the Age of Revolution," by New Jersey resident Alex Storozynski. The book is available from Borders, Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com, and other major booksellers.

Storozynski, who lives in West Orange with his wife, Angie, and son, Nicholas, is president and executive director of the Kosciuszko Foundation, a center for Polish culture located on Manhattan's east side.

Storozynski told The Jewish State in a phone interview that Kosciuszko's connection with Poland's Jews highlights the deep Polish roots of the Jewish community -- a relic of a friendship that flourished before taking a dark turn.

"For me, as far as the Jewish community is concerned, it's good that they know about Polish-Jewish history before the horrors of the 20th century, because Polish and Jewish history is so intertwined, and unfortunately too often Poles are perceived as anti-Semites," Storozynski said. "But at the same time, there were even more philo-Semites, and that sometimes is lost in the mix. And while, yes, it's important to stand up against anti-Semitism and bigotry and hatred of all kinds, a good way to also do that is to honor and praise those who did stand up for the right things."

And Kosciuszko had a well-earned reputation for doing just that.

Kosciuszko was born in Poland to a family of low-level nobility at a time when 80 percent of the population was in the serf class -- servants to the landowners. While studying in Paris, he learned a laissez faire economic philosophy known as physiocracy, which held that all wealth comes from the land -- a philosophy that elevated the value of the work of the serfs. Kosciuszko posited that if the serfs were better treated, they would work harder and make everyone richer.

"It clicked with him, and he thought it would be huge for Europe because it would end feudalism and end this form of peasant slavery," Storozynski said.

But Kosciuszko was about to get a difficult -- and quite personal -- lesson in the class system. He fell in love with Louise Sosnowski, whose family belonged to the top 1 percent of Poland's wealthy, far higher than Kosciuszko's modest nobility. Sosnowski's father's response to Kosciuszko's request for Louise's hand in marriage was searing: "Pigeons are not meant for sparrows, and the daughters of magnates are not meant for the sons of common gentry."

Kosciuszko fled to America, to Benjamin Franklin's doorstep. He begged to play a role in the revolution, and became an engineer. When Kosciuszko's idea for fortifying Ticonderoga was ignored, leading to the British capture of the fort and the colonial army's retreat, Kosciuszko was put in charge of covering the army's tracks. He was so successful at leaving downed trees and other obstacles in the British army's way, it took the British three weeks to travel 22 miles.

"And suddenly they realized that he knows what he's doing; he's actually a pretty smart engineer," Storozynski said. "So they put him in charge of designing the battle plans for the Battle of Saratoga... the turning point in the American Revolution."

Kosciuszko became the army's chief tactician, and the colonial army soon turned the tables on the British. George Washington put Kosciuszko in charge of fortifying West Point, after which Kosciuszko requested to go into battle. Washington acceded, and turned West Point over to the famous turncoat Benedict Arnold, who tried to sell Kosciuszko's plans to the British.

"That's a major find in the book, because most Americans -- even American historians -- don't really realize what he was doing," Storozynski said.

Kosciuszko also championed slaves' rights, and refused to take his salary. When he worried that he wouldn't be able to return to Poland, he compared himself to the Israelites wandering in the desert. He then met the revolution's Jewish financier, Haym Solomon, who gave Kosciuszko enough money to return to Poland.

Back home in Poland, it was no rest for the war-weary. The "revolutionary spirit," as Storozynski called it, was alive in Europe, and especially Poland. In 1791, Poland passed Europe's first written democratic constitution, which went so far as to offer sanctuary to alien peasants. To Poland's neighbors, it was an invitation to war.

"As a result of this, [Russian Empress] Catherine the Great, William Fredrick, the king of Prussia, and the Austrians all attacked Poland at once," Storozynski said. "They said 'We're going to stop this revolution'."

In 1794, Kosciuszko led an uprising to fight back. He visited a synagogue in Kazimierz, a suburb of Krakow, and met with Rabbi Hirsch David Lewi (pronounced levee). He told the rabbi: "I want nothing for myself. This is about the deplorable state of the fatherland, rescuing the nation, and bringing happiness to its residents, and yours are counted in this."

At the time, the Jews of Poland constituted a merchant class, often tasked with collecting taxes for the government.

"Since the Jews had been traveling throughout Europe, they had all these contacts in the West, and they helped the nobility to export wheat to the West," Storozynski said. "As a result, the nobility became even wealthier. So the nobility essentially got along with the Jews. It was the peasant class that viewed the Jews as the businessmen for the nobility."

Two weeks before Joselewicz's rallying cry, Poland's rabbis approved Jewish participation in the uprising. Ambassadors from Austria and Sweden immediately sent word back to their respective kings, Storozynski said, "That this revolution is different; even the Jews are taking up arms."

The Polish uprising was quelled eventually, and Kosciuszko returned to America. In his will, he instructed that the money owed him by the American army was to be used to free slaves and buy them land and farming equipment. He spoke up for Indian tribes as well, giving Miami's Chief Little Turtle his eyeglasses (he noticed the chief was squinting) and two pistols, telling Little Turtle that Kosciuszko used those guns to free his people, and that the chief should use them on anyone that tries to subjugate Little Turtle's tribe.

Thomas Jefferson was so impressed with Kosciuszko that he considered using Kosciuszko's will to free his own slaves, though he did not follow through on that after Kosciuszko's death. Jefferson also offered Kosciuszko the cemetery plot at Monticello next to Jefferson's.

Storozynski said Jefferson called Kosciuszko "As pure a son of liberty as I have ever known, and of that liberty which is to go to all, and not the rich alone." Storozynski was similarly moved, adding: "For me the most impressive thing is, he put his money where his mouth is."