The Wandering Jew

The Wandering Jew Mementos A Method to Remember

Part I

By Hershel Lieber

Over the years, we have traveled to many countries, especially in Europe. We have been to almost every state in the United States. We experienced various Jewish communities and encountered countless people. During the process, we gained a world of insight and understanding about others and about ourselves. We deem it important enough to remember the places, the experiences, and, most of all, the people. True, I am an avid photographer. Though I am not a professional, I am very passionate about recording our travels through photos and our home abounds with albums about our trips and about everything that happens in between.

Another way to recall our journeys is through mementos. Pesi does not like the word “souvenirs,” so I deferred to her wishes to call them mementos. We bought various items during our trips, and they are displayed throughout our home. They remind us of the places we visited. Rarely have we bought expensive items, since the main objective was that we remember where we were, and the price tag did not make a measurable difference. As long as the object was pretty or unusual and not kitschy, we added it to our collection.

I had an idea to present the readers of “The Wandering Jew” with a photo collection of the mementos that we collected over the past fifty years. Pesi thought it may be too irreverent as a subject for my article. I did consider her concern but decided that remembering our journeys by way of mementos is very normal. Recalling experiences by way of keepsakes is a valuable way to keep memories alive. L’havdil, Moshe Rabbeinu was told by Hashem to take some maan and put it in a flask in the Mishkan as a keepsake of Hashem’s benevolence in providing sustenance to the Jewish people in the desert. Our rabbis direct us to keep an unfinished “Amah al Amah” in our homes as a remembrance to the Churban of Yerushalayim. We have other objects that are kept as a form of communal memory of our history and as a segulah. I know that my mementos are in no way comparable, but the point that they are the means of recalling and, at times, reliving our experiences are somewhat similar.

To be continued…

Mexico City, Mexico, 1994 – Aztec design on stone box.

Kishinev, Moldova, 1993 – This cap was given to me by a police captain in Kishinev when I admired the one he was wearing. He just removed it from his head and handed it to me as a gift! Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2014 – Painted Indian pottery reflecting desert colors.

Lisbon, Portugal, 2012 –Porcelain objects are very much a passion in Portugal. The rooster is an iconic symbol in this country. Krakow, Poland, 1989 – Typical Polish decorated wood objects available in plates, boxes, chess sets and many other variations. Krakow, Poland, 1994 – Amber is very popular in Poland and the Baltic countries. Pesi has a stunning bracelet made from that material. We were drawn to this tree with its amber leaves. Tallinn, Estonia, 2008 – Ceramic model of a tower which is part of the original city walls.

Moscow, Soviet Union, 1979 – Our first souvenir from the Soviet Union that we bought in a Beriozka tourist shop. Mexico City, Mexico, 1994 – Small silver sombrero which fit into our curio box.

St. Petersburg, Russia, 2016 – Imitation Faberge egg, a collectors’ favorite in Czarist Russia. Lisbon, Portugal, 2012 – Porcelain tiles are all over Lisbon on the sidewalks and covering the facades of most houses.

Budapest, Hungary, 1997 – Embroidery on lace using typical Hungarian colors and folk themes. Amsterdam, Holland, 1992 – Porcelain houses typical of the narrow buildings lining the canals of Amsterdam. Strasbourg, France, 2015 –Replica of the famed halftimbered dwellings of Alsace

Bucharest, Romania, 1980 – Carved wooden wine decanter.