Berek Joselewicz Berek Joselewicz ( 1764 – 1809 ) was a Jewish - Polish merchant and a colonel of the Polish Army during the Kościuszko Uprising . Joselewicz commanded the first Jewish military formation in modern history . Life . Dow Baer ( Berek ) Joselewicz was born in Kretinga , in the county of Kowno , part of the Troki Voivodeship of the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth . He worked as a financial agent for a local Polish magnate , Prince Massalski , the lord of Kretinga , and bishop of Wilno . Joselewicz often traveled abroad in pursuit of various tasks , during which he learned to speak French . He spent some time in Paris during the beginning of the French Revolution , and it is thought that this may have later inspired him to join Tadeusz Kościuszko , who advocated similar causes of brotherhood and equality . Joselewicz initially served in the Polish militia before petitioning Kościuszko for permission to form an all - Jewish unit . On September 17 , 1794 , Kościuszko officially announced the creation of the unit . Joselewicz , along with another Jew named Joseph Aronowicz , issued a patriotic call - to - arms in Yiddish denouncing Russia and Prussia , eliciting hundreds of volunteers , mostly poor tradeworkers and artisans . Five hundred men were eventually accepted and formed into a cavalry regiment . At Joselewicz ' s request , they were allowed to keep their religious customs , including access to kosher food , abstaining from combat on the Sabbath when possible , and growing their beards . Joselewicz ' s unit was popularly known as " the Beardlings " . They took part in the 1794 defence of Praga , in which the unit was wiped out , with only few men ( including Joselewicz ) surviving the battle . Joselewicz himself was taken prisoner by the Russians . After the defeat of the Kościuszko Uprising , Joselewicz left for Galicia and then for Italy . There he joined the Polish Legions under Henryk Dąbrowski . As a commander of a sabre company in Polish cavalry units , he fought in various battles of the Napoleonic period . Among them were the battles of Trevia , Novi , Hohenlinden , Austerlitz and Friedland . He was awarded the Knight ' s Cross of the Virtuti Militari medal and the Legion of Honour with a Golden Cross for his merits . He remained in the army as squadron leader in the 5th Mounted Riflemen Regiment following the constitution of the Duchy of Warsaw ( " Księstwo Warszawskie " ) in 1807 . From 1807 he fought in various battles in Poland . He was killed in the Battle of Kock in 1809 during an encounter with a unit of Austrian hussar s , and today his grave has become a popular tourist attraction . Berek ' s son , Josef Berkowicz ( 1789 – 1846 ) , also fought in the Battle of Kock , and later served as a squadron chief during the November Uprising of 1830 , during which he also attempted to convince Jewish soldiers to desert the Russian army and join the Poles . Berkowicz later moved to England and wrote a novel . Berek ' s widow and son had received a pension until 1831 . The common Polish expression " like Berek at Kock " ( " Jak Berek pod Kockiem . " ) commonly describes a hopeless situation to this day . He was honored by a postage stamp as a " A Jewish Fighter for Polish Freedom " , issued jointly by Polish and Israeli postal services .