LIFESTYLES

The Wandering Jew Heritage Journey with the Boys

Part II

By Hershel Lieber

This article is a continuation of my trip with the boys of Yeshiva Ohr Shraga Veretzsky

It was late Wednesday afternoon on August 11, 2004, when our bus arrived in Rzeszow. This fairly sized Polish city once had a large Jewish population before the war and was called in Yiddish Reisha. When we came with the boys, there was truly little left to see of our past heritage except for the bais olam. Since I had a close relationship with the Bluzhever Rebbe, Rav Yisroel, zt”l, I involved myself with building an ohel over the kevorim of his ancestors, the previous Rebbes. I took the boys there to be mispallel at the ohel and to place kvitlach listing their family members’ names and their bakoshes on the kevorim.

After davening Mincha, we boarded our bus for the long ride to Krakow. The boys were exhausted, and this was an opportunity to catch up on some well-deserved napping. Arriving late in the evening and settling into our hotel, we did not get to eat before 11 p.m., after which we enthusiastically welcomed a good night’s sleep.

Feeding pigeons at the Main Square in Krakow

We had an early start Thursday morning. After davening at the historic Isaak Jekeles Shul, which was turned into a museum, we ate breakfast and went off for the day. It was not going to be an easy day since it would include coming face-to-face with the notorious Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz-Birkenau. We had a wonderful Polish guide whose narrative was both educational and moving. Our hearts were filled with agony and tears flowed readily as we witnessed the final destination of millions of our people which included so many members of our own families. As we walked along the barracks, we constantly made stops to say Tehillim whenever our emotions determined the need. Suffice it to say, this day will always remain in our memories. The only synagogue building that remained in the city of Oswiecim (Auschwitz) is the over-one-hundredold Chevra Lomdei Mishnayos Shul, which is now a museum and Jewish center. I took the boys there to overcome the traumatic experience of the death camp. We davened Mincha and leined the Torah, which we could not do in the morning. Being in that shul felt so comforting and gave us chizuk and hope for the future. On the way back to Krakow, we diverted to visit an abandoned castle where the boys had a chance to release their energies

At the entrance to Auschwitz-Birkenau

by climbing along the stone walls and ascending to the towers.

We returned to our hotel where we prepared and ate dinner, and after nightfall, we gathered at the plaza in front of the six-hundred-year-old Stare Synagogue. My nephew, Mechel, brought along his guitar, and we held a kumzitz. The singing was captivating, with Carlebach songs dominating. The harmonious voices rafted throughout the entire square, and soon we had a crowd of onlookers. Our audience was so pleased that many began throwing coins and bills into the open guitar case. We continued this impromptu concert until the

police came and asked us to leave, as we were keeping up the neighborhood residents. I asked them to allow us a

In front of the Remu shul in Krakow

about the diverging lessons of this momentous day. Friday was the day we reserved

Our audience was so pleased that many began throwing coins and bills into the open guitar case

final song, and they acquiesced. To the final strums of “Am Yisroel Chai,” we headed back to our hotel to reflect to see Krakow. Jewish sights abound in the city of the great personalities such as the Remu, the Bach, the Me

gale Amukos, Rebbe Rav Heschel, and the Tosfos Yom Tov, who lived there and are buried in the old cemetery. The newer bais olam has the kevorim of the Meor v’Shomesh and Rabbi Shimon Sofer, among other talmidei chachamim. There are also many famous shuls there such as the Old Synagogue, the Remu, the Isaak Jekeles, the Kupa, the Wolf Popper and the High Synagogues. These are all located in the former Jewish section known as Kazimierz.

Later in the afternoon, Pesi and I took the boys to the main town square (Rynek Glowny) where they shopped for souvenirs and fed the pigeons.

A well-deserved nap

We were the subject of many photos as we stood out with our crisp white shirts, black pants, and tzitzis neatly hanging from the sides. On the way home, we were treated to a military parade with many participants wearing colorful Polish folk costumes. The A l’chaim with Pilsner beer during a boat ride on the Vltava River in Prague multi-faceted experiences of this day came to a halt as we ushered in the our yeshiva boys. They were not disWe worked out an arrangement so Shabbos at the Remu Shul which appointed. that we all ate the Shabbos seudah was followed by a lavish Shabbos Our Shabbos in Krakow was abtogether. The camaraderie between tish where we joined other foreign solutely beautiful. We davened in the our groups was exciting as were the guests singing zemiros and giving Remu Shul, which in itself was awerousing zemiros and meaningful over divrei Torah. I also invited some some. My good friend, Duvid Singer, divrei Torah. Again, we were joined local Polish Jews to participate in this who does tours to kivrei tzaddikim by a number of local Polish Jews. joyous and inspiring encounter with in Poland, was there with a group. The respectful behavior of the boys created a kiddush Hashem that was conveyed to me numerous times over Shabbos, by other Yidden, the hotel GET YOURS TODAY! Show your love with life insurance. staff, and our Polish tour guides. Motzei Shabbos was a mad rush. We made Havdalah at 9:15 p.m. and had to rush to the railway station to be on board by 10:42 p.m. when the

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Since we had adjoining compartments, we were able to spill out into the corridors and join together in a melave malka. We made cold cut sandwiches and gave out sodas and had Danishes for dessert. We had to be quieter since other passengers were trying to sleep, but we managed to sing a song or two in honor of the occasion.

The next three days were a whirlwind of activities. We said Tehillim by the kever of the Maharal, and we davened at the Altneuschul, where his seat is still preserved. We also went to the kever or the Nodeh B ’Yehuda at the other bais olam. We toured five synagogues, each one unique and centering on a different theme. We also visited many secular sites, including the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square, and the Royal Palace where we saw the changing of the guards.

One day we went to Terezin (Theresienstadt), the ghetto and concentration camp that the Nazis created to fool the world into thinking that Jews were being treated humanely. There, we watched a documentary about the camp, toured the various buildings, and were able to finish Sefer Tehillim at the makeshift cemetery. After the distressing visit to Terezin, I balanced the seriousness that enveloped us by providing a more lighthearted activity. We took a two-hour boat ride on the Vltava River where we had a most enjoyable kumzitz singing our lungs out while drinking bottles of Pilsner beer. This was followed by barbequed franks back at the hotel.

Our trip came to a close Tuesday afternoon when we boarded our plane to return to New York. I was true to my word that the boys would have a most meaningful trip and lots of fun. Pesi and I were also proud of what we provided for our charges and what we accomplished. We were also quite tired!

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Hershel Lieber has been involved in kiruv activities for over 30 years. As a founding member of the Vaad L’Hatzolas Nidchei Yisroel he has traveled with his wife, Pesi, to the Soviet Union during the harsh years of the Communist regimes to advance Yiddishkeit. He has spearheaded a yeshiva in the city of Kishinev that had 12 successful years with many students making Torah their way of life. In Poland, he lectured in the summers at the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation camp for nearly 30 years. He still travels to Warsaw every year – since 1979 – to be the chazzan for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur for the Jews there. Together with Pesi, he organized and led trips to Europe on behalf of Gateways and Aish Hatorah for college students finding their paths to Jewish identity. His passion for travel has taken them to many interesting places and afforded them unique experiences. Their open home gave them opportunities to meet and develop relationships with a variety of people. Hershel’s column will appear in The Jewish Home on a bi-weekly basis.