The Wandering Jew

The Wandering Jew Return to Warsaw

Part I

By Hershel Lieber

With Rabbis Michael Schudrich and Yitzchak Rapaport Pesi and Hershel with Rabbi Michael Schudrich With Danny Kaufman

It had been three years since we had been in Poland. I had been going there on a regular basis to daven as the shliach tzibbur for the Yomim Noraim. The first time was in 1979 and was basically a one-time event on the occasion of the reopening of the only remaining prewar synagogue in Warsaw, the Nozyk Shul. I went again during 1989 and 1990, but from 1997 through 2019, I only missed going three times because of special circumstances. Since the Yomim Noraim of 2020 and of 2021 took place during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, it also precluded me from officiating there during Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. In fact, the shul was limited to a small minyan during both of those years.

When I received the call from Poland’s Chief Rabbi Michael Schudrich during this past summer asking me to return and lead the tefillos, I was enthusiastic. I missed the shul, the mispallelim, and the many friends that we made over the years. Pesi, who accompanied me on most of those journeys, was equally excited at the prospect of giving of ourselves to the congregants to make their davening more meaningful and inspirational. I realize that I am far from the best baal tefilla and surely am not a trained chazzan, but the members of the shul know my nusach, enjoy the niggunim that I blend into the machzor’s piyutim and feel very comfortable with my rendition of the special tefillos during those Days of Awe.

We immediately accepted the challenge to continue a tradition that was started over thirty years ago. I do not get compensation for my davening, and I would not have it any other way. What we do take back home is the feeling that our presence made an appreciable difference for many people and added considerably to the spiritual atmosphere of the High Holy Days.

We arrived in Warsaw on Thursday, four days before Rosh Hashana. Arriving from the States on Erev Rosh Hashana, which this year was Sunday, was practically impossible. We spent a relaxing Shabbos before the serious tone of the Yimei Hadin penetrated into our consciousness. During our early years of going to Poland, food was a problem. We would have to take along almost everything for both the yom tov and weekday meals; the kosher kitchen that was administered by the Joint was not up to a standard that was comfortable for us. A number of things happened that changed this equation. For the past twenty years or so, there is kosher shechita in Poland under the hashgacha of the best kashrus organizations in Israel and Europe. A small portion of that meat is sold to local Yidden who keep kosher. Imported kosher products in small quantities are available in two stores in Warsaw, and more recently, food can be ordered and delivered from Antwerp or Vienna. The kosher kitchen in the kehilla has a very conscientious mashgiach and the cook is a Shomeres Shabbos. There is also a restaurant called Kosher Delite under the hashgacha of Rabbi Landau of Bnei Brak. Furthermore, we are friends with a number of families that are Shomer Torah U’Mitzvos and feel very comfortable eating at their homes. This is a far cry from when we had to bring in canned meats and all the trimmings to have a half-decent seudah. We still take along some tuna cans, cheese, crackers, and nosh to have in our room. We shop at the nearby Hala Mirovska market for fruits, vegetables, and drinks. The bottom line is that we do not go hungry!

The most common question that we are always asked when we return is, “How many people came to shul?” The answer is technically easy to give. Between the men on the lower level and the women on the balcony, there were numbers ranging from ninety on the first night of Rosh Hashana to two hundred-plus for Kol Nidrei. During the other tefillos, there were anywhere between forty and seventy congregants. To be honest, during the ‘90s, there were more people on the first night of Rosh Hashana and there were bigger numbers during Shacharis on all three days. It’s true that some of the older people passed away, but every year there are newer and younger people attending as part of their desire to connect to their Jewish heritage. This should have brought up the numbers considerably. Yet, it didn’t. There are a number of reasons that the Nozyk Shul did not witness a continuous growth.

First and foremost was the opening of three other places for Jewish services in Warsaw. Beit Warszawa, a liberal synagogue, had its start in 1999. Chabad became active in 2005. Ec Chaim is a

At Hatoras Nedorim. Piotr Kowalik is on the right With Breslov Chassidim who returned from Uman via Warsaw With Antek who learned in Israel and is now part of Chabad

Progressive synagogue that was founded in 2010. In addition, quite a few serious individuals and families left Poland and settled in well-established communities that have a larger Orthodox population with all its amenities. Another factor that stunted the shul’s growth was that during the early years, Nozyk was the one and only address to connect with other Jews socially and culturally. Over the years, other organizations such as the JCC, Hillel, the reinvigorated TSKZ, and the new popular Polin Museum bring Jewish culture and creativity to Warsaw’s Jewish residents outside of the framework of a shul. Warsaw’s famed Jewish Cultural Festival is only one example of how one can feel Jewish outside the walls of a synagogue.

Erev Rosh Hashana was complete with the traditions that we perform year after year at home. About twenty men were at the minyan where we said the long Selichos and davened, which was followed by Hatoras Nedorim. This year, we all managed to sign the ‘Pruzbal’ documents to allow us to collect unpaid loans. In the afternoon, I went to the mikveh, we dressed for yom tov, and arrived early at the shul.

On the first night of Rosh Hashana, we ate by Piotr (Tzuriel) and Marysia Kowalik. His mother Czeslawa was there too. We got to know Piotr and his wife them as they were growing up. Piotr, who started his journey to Judaism and made great strides towards an Orthodox Jewish lifestyle, was already married at the time. Marysia was more cautious but

We immediately accepted the challenge to continue a tradition that was started over thirty years ago.

during the mid-nineties at the Lauder Summer and Winter Retreats. During that period, we met Piotr’s brother Dawid and their mother as well. The two brothers who grew up in Wroclaw (formerly Breslau) were attracted to an Old Testament-based Christian church where they were indirectly exposed to Judaism. Only later did they find out that they were, in fact, Jews. Their mother withheld this information from made her decision to join the fold after careful consideration and an extensive Torah based education. Piotr, who chose Tzuriel as his Jewish name, became involved with every aspect of Jewish life. Besides attending the Retreats, he is still a regular at Nozyk’s daily minyan and became a respectable baal teffilah. His voice is very pleasant, and he sings and plays the guitar at many Jewish programs. He taught for many years at the Lauder Morasha School in Warsaw and ran an annual program called Makom Torah, which I attended twice. A few years ago, he was hired as the Educational Director at the famed Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews. His home is truly permeated with Yiddishkeit, and their level of strict observance is truly reliable.

The seudah included all the traditions associated with a Rosh Hashana meal. Wine, round challahs, honey, apples and an assortment of the fruits and vegetables that are traditionally used as simanim. Piotr was even able to obtain a fish head, and we wished each other that during the coming year “we become the head and not the tail”; we should be blessed with a life of significance instead of settling for an irrelevant existence.

To be continued…

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.