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The Jewish Home | JUNE 2, 2022 The Jewish Home | JUNE 2, 2022
The Wandering
Jew
Journeys to Belgium By Hershel Lieber
Bridge over Bruges canal
P
esi and I have been to Belgium a number of times. Although my first trip took place before I got married fifty-five years ago, I distinctly remember many segments of that voyage. Although I have written about that journey, I will point out some of its highlights. 1967 I arrived in Antwerp early Friday morning in January from Amsterdam by train. My mother had two first cousins there – sisters who were the daughters of her uncle who moved to Belgium before the War. Toni was married to Rav Yosel Weiss, the well-known shochet of Antwerp, and Esther was married to Mr. Weissman. I had invited myself to the Weisses, who were so warm and gracious that I immediately felt at home. On Friday night, I davened by Reb Itzikel Pshervorsker, who was a wellknown Rebbe with many chassidim. I ate the seudah with the Weiss family
while the Weissmans came over after the meal. On Shabbos morning, I went with Reb Yosel to the Machzike Hadaas shul where the famous Rabbi Chaim Kreiswirth gave a drasha before Mussaf. The Shabbos day seudah I ate at friends of my parents, and for Shalosh Seudos, I returned to Reb Itzikel. That seudah was
Rebbe, which is a segulah for parnassah. Sunday lunch was enjoyed at the Weissmans. All in all, I enjoyed the cozy, Yiddishe atmosphere over my short stay and got to meet and appreciate my parents’ families and friends. On Sunday and Monday, I was occu-
The entire student body of both the boys’ and girls’ school traveled by bus to Antwerp for this wedding something special since Rav Itzikel told me about my great-grandfather, Reb Yoikel Lezer, whom he knew from prewar Krakow. Coming back for Melave Malka, I was privileged to chap sherayim of the customary pieces of garlic from the
pied with meeting a girl who was proposed to me as a shidduch. That was an amazing story which I previously wrote about. It suffices to say that I did not marry that girl and returned to the States as a very eligible young man.
1999 Pesi’s and my first exposure to Brussels, the French-speaking capital of Belgium, was on Sunday, August 1. We arrived in the late afternoon after spending a week at the Ronald Lauder Summer Retreat in Poland, where we were both involved in outreach work with Polish Jews. Our return to New York included a three-day stopover in Belgium. We decided to stay in the Belgian capital and make daily excursions to other places. The Metropol Hotel was smack in the middle of the town with a classic palatial lobby. The rooms were tiny and left a lot to be desired. Like many European hotels at the time, there was no air conditioning, and those July days were sweltering hot! We went out and sat in front of the Royal Palace, where King Albert II conducted his official duties as the monarch of Belgium. Relaxing with a drink in hand, we watched the locals and the thousands of tourists wandering in and about the Place des Palais. The
