The Wandering Jew Canada and More Part I

By Hershel Lieber

fax), and British Columbia (Vancouver and Victoria). Ever since my mother, a”h was in Quebec City and sent us postcards from there, I developed a desire to tour the capital city of this French province. At the same time, we could visit the two neighboring provinces of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. This past summer, in August of 2022, after the Covid epidemic subsided considerably, we took this two-week journey and enjoyed it immensely.

The driving time between Lakewood, NJ, and Quebec City is about ten hours, so we decided that we will make two overnight stops on the way. Our first stop would be in Albany, NY, and the second night we would spend in Montreal.

We left Lakewood on Monday and were looking forward to the upcoming journey. After spending a night in Albany, we made two stops which were somewhat nostalgic for us. Both Saratoga Springs and Lake George brought back memories of the times we were there well before we even knew each other. We also recalled the trip that we took there with our own children when they were very young. We strolled Saratoga’s well-manicured Congress Park, where the fountains gushed with natural geyser water which was available for drinking. We also arrived within two minutes of the departure of the Minne-Ha-Ha steamship for a twohour cruise on Lake George.

Then we headed for an overnight stay in Montreal. Our son-in-law Volvi Feldman, whose business is located there, took us out for a sumptuous dinner at the upscale restaurant, Chops. The next morning, after Shacharis and a hearty breakfast at District Bagel, we began our three hour drive to Quebec City.

Quebec City is one of oldest European settlements in America, and its fortified city walls are a rarity in the Western Hemisphere. The relatively small population of half a million residents allows the cosmopolitan metropolis to retain a provincial and relaxed atmosphere. The French language and culture add to the feeling of being on the other side of the Atlantic. The cafes lining the sidewalks with its authentic French cuisine (not that we could eat anything) reminded us of our stays in Paris. Many buildings with their stone exteriors and decorative ironwork facing the tree-shaded streets make strolling the city truly a gratifying event. The numerous picturesque parks, some adjacent to the Saint Lawrence River, are great places to unwind and meditate. This was our image of the city we were going to explore.

Our stay at Hotel Chateau Laurier was in a great location – about a seven-minute walk to Parliament, ten minutes to the Citadel, twenty minutes to Old Quebec, Chateau Frontenac and Palace

Royale, around the corner from Plains of Abraham, and, most importantly, five minutes away from Chabad. Thursday was our first full day in Quebec, and we walked for hours on end to soak in the ambience of this charming city. We took a self-guided tour of the massive Parliament building and then started our descent to the Lower Town. We descended our hotel room, and then we started to get ready for Shabbos.

Similar to many of our excursions, we reached out to Chabad to help us regarding minyanim, davening, and kosher food. Quebec City was not an exception, I spoke to Rabbi Dovid and Rebbetzin Devora Leah Levin long before we left and some Israelis, as well as some locals. The tish resounded with a babble of languages including English, French, Hebrew, and Spanish. Everyone introduced themselves and had to relate some significant life experience. I offered my 1979 “Arrested by the KGB” story which kept the listeners in suspense throughout my ers. When everyone left the table, we sat and schmoozed with Levins and then we formed a minyan for Mincha.

After a short nap in our hotel room, we took a walk in the Plains of Abraham park where the numerous sections of flower beds resembled a botanical garden. We then returned to Chabad for Shalosh Seudos where we continued our conversation with the rav and rebbetzin and their children. We played Chabad geography as I related the well over forty shluchim that we had the pleasure to connect with over our years of traveling. Rav Dovid even invited me to join him at the upcoming Kinus HaShluchim.

After Havdalah and the traditional photo taking session, we returned to our hotel and started to make plans for the next leg of our journey, the Canadian Province of New Brunswick.

To be continued… by riding the funicular instead of walking the winding streets to reach Dufferin Terrace and the Chateau Frontenac. That general area is magnificently quaint, and we were especially overwhelmed with the interior of the Chateau, which is a luxury hotel boasting Old World charm. Walking the narrow cobblestoned streets with its enchanting shops and unique dangling signs was an exciting treat in itself. The walk back was a lot more difficult since we were hiking uphill. We stopped for an hour at the Museum of Civilization before heading back to our hotel.

Friday was another day of continuous exploration. In the morning, we took a walking guided tour of the Citadel, a historic army base. This was followed by an hour-long sightseeing tour on the upper level of an open air coach. We saw a lot of the same places as the previous day but with a narration explaining the historic significance of the sights that we were seeing. We returned and ate our lunch in for our trip and made arrangements to join them and their guests for the Shabbos seudos. We would also daven with them at their shul which was located in their house one long block from our hotel. Aside from Chabad, there is only one other Orthodox synagogue in the city.

I finally met Rav Dovid on Erev Shabbos when I went to the pristine mikvah that they built for the locals as well as for guests. We arrived a bit before Shabbos so that Pesi could light candles there, and we joined a group for Kabbolas Shabbos sans minyan. Rav Dovid said that it is rare that they do not have minyan, but during the summer when people are on vacation and the universities are closed, it can occasionally happen. The seudah was beautiful, the food plentiful and delicious, and the company was eclectic. We met a frum family from Argentina recitation. We sang zemiros, drank a bit of vodka, and shared our lives with the other guests. Rav Dovid and Rebbetzin Devora Leah are great hosts, and he treated us to divrei Torah from the Rebbe, zt”l.

As we retraced our steps back to the hotel, we passed the open restaurants and bars lining both sides of Grande Alee with their blaring music and the loud chitter-chatter of the patrons. The contrast to the lofty spiritual level of the Shabbos seudah that we just experienced at Chabad was very apparent.

Shabbos morning we had well over a minyan. I got an aliyah and was the shliach tzibbur for Mussaf. What started as an elaborate kiddush culminated with a full seudah. Pesi related her “Leningrad earring smuggling story” which elicited oohs and aahs from the listen-

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.