The Wandering Jew

The Jewish Home | APRIL 7, 2022 The Jewish Home | APRIL 7, 2022 The Wandering Jew Pacific Northwest America

Part II

By Hershel Lieber

We picked up our luggage from the hotel storage room and drove to the Seward Park neighborhood of Seattle. We arrived two hours before Shabbos, so we relaxed for a while in a local park before going to our hosts, Rabbi and Mrs. Yakov Oppen. Our room with a private bath was very comfortable, and our hosts were extremely hospitable. We did not know the Oppens before, and our Shabbos arrangements were made by Rabbi Avrohom David who is the rosh yeshiva of the Seattle Kollel since the early nineties. Rav Avrohom’s father is the famed posek HaRav Hillel David, shlita, with whom I had a continuous relationship and learned together since the mid-seventies. This connection made it possible for us to spend a delightful Shabbos in May 1997 in the Orthodox community of Seward Park.

First, a little bit of history. Seattle has a 70,000-strong Jewish community of which a fair portion are Orthodox. There are shuls, schools, mikvahs, kosher restaurants and food stores. The makeup of the society is very diverse, ranging from Ashkenazi, Sephardi and Chabad with a fair amount of baalei teshuva. There are Jews from the Isle of Rhodes in Greece who have their own nusach and a shul named Ezra Bessaroth. We were privy to experience a sliver of this variety of Jewish life in the short time that we spent there.

On Friday night, we davened at the Ashkenazi Shul Bikur Cholim Machzikay Hadath. The congregation is well over one hundred years in existence, although this building was less than thirty years old. This was followed by a beautiful inspiring seudah by our hosts which included other guests. The next morning, we returned to the same shul but our hosts for the Shabbos day seudah were Rav Avrohom and his wife, Rooksie. We had a great time there since we knew each other for many years and were interested in hearing about the kiruv work that the Davids were constantly involved with. Their children were outgoing, and we felt very comfortable. The meal went on until way past noon, so we only had a short nap before we returned for shalosh seudos.

Then we went to the Sephardic Bikur Cholim Synagogue for a sermon about “Miracles” by Professor Nathan Lopez Cardozo. His lecture and delivery were spellbinding but over the years he became very controversial and lost many Orthodox followers.

The Shul itself has a fascinating history as it was founded by Jews from Turkey and other areas of the Ottoman Empire. We davened Mincha and ate a second shalosh seudos at the Ashkenazi Shul. After Maariv, we returned to the Davids to say goodbye. We then went back to the Oppens and spent some time talking over coffee and cake.

Sunday morning after Shacharis and a quick stop at the International Biscuit Café for breakfast, we crossed the border into British Columbia. The drive was less than three hours, and by noon we settled into our Vancouver hotel. The city is impressive, and our lovely room at the Blue Horizon was in the center of town on Robson Street. We still had a few hours before sundown, so we took a gondola up to the summit of Mount Grouse which overlooked the entire city. Although the weather was warm at the base of the mountain, there was ample snow on the ground near the peak. We took a short hike and took photos of the wood-carved sculptures of local wildlife. For dinner, we went to the Sabra Restaurant for a salmon meal which is a very popular dish in this “fish-loving country.”

On Monday, I went to daven at the Schara Tzedeck Shul. I did not realize when I arrived that it was Yom Haatzmaut. After Shemoneh Esrei, the Chazan stepped up to say Hallel. I was in a dilemma, since in our circles Hallel is not recited on this day. I had to make a quick decision on what to do. I weighed the issue and felt that by not participating I could cause a chillul Hashem, some-

Near the summit of Mount Grouse

Pesi with the Oppens With Rabbi Avrohom David and children Crossing Swartz Bay to Victoria

thing that I would be loath to do. I also could not see the great problem in saying a few kapitlach of Tehillim together with the oilem. I skipped the brochos and joined the congregants in reciting Hallel. Afterwards I felt at ease and justified with my decision.

After breakfast in our room, we left to spend a few hours in Stanley Park. This huge park, which is larger than New York’s Central Park, is distinctive in the preservation of its most valuable treasure, its densely forested sections with over a half million trees. There are walking trails, lakes, an aquarium, and a polar bear exhibit. Besides racoons, rabbits, beavers and over two hundred species of birds, there is thriving squirrel population which was so evident all around us. We took a delightful horse drawn trolley tour along the park’s pathways. Then we sat down on the grass lawn which turned into a one-hour nap. When we left the park, we went to see an Imax film about Alaska and then observed cruise ships leaving the harbor on their way to the Last Frontier.

For dinner, we went to the Aviv Restaurant which served exclusively pareve dishes. We shopped a bit on Robson Street and headed back to our hotel. We had a big day coming up, and it called for an early night.

The next morning after shul we checked out of the hotel and took a ferry across Swartz Bay to Vancouver Island. Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, is located on the southern tip of that is-

land. The ninety-minute ferry ride was very pleasant as we were sitting in the sun and munching on the brunch that we took along.

When we disembarked, we drove directly to the island’s greatest attraction, Butchart Gardens. The layout consists of several groups of floral display gardens. There are exhibitions of ornamental birds from all over the world, statues, fountains, and even an antique carousel. One can easily spend three to four hours in this gorgeous setting. We especially could not get over the splendor of the “sunken gardens.” Flowers are in bloom year-round, but springtime takes the cake. This place was definitely a highlight of our trip. We wondered if this was the closest thing to Gan Eden.

We then continued towards Victoria, which was less than an hour away.

We stayed at a beautiful hotel and had a chance to swim in the empty pool. There were no kosher eateries there, so we went foraging for some kosher food at a supermarket. We did find some kosher products and put together a decent supper.

Our final day was spent walking around the inner harbor, visiting Chinatown, and shopping on Douglas, Johnson, and Government Streets. In the afternoon, we visited the Royal British Columbia Museum, which is world renowned for many of the collections in its three main galleries. I do not remember what we actually saw but recall being overwhelmed by the vast and varied exhibitions that we were able to enjoy. We were especially enthralled with the Underwater Experience. After eating in our room, we took a final stroll in the downtown area while reflecting about our experiences in Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, and Victoria. We were gratified that we saw so many sights and were pleased that we connected with other Jews, but most of all, we were thankful that we spent time together.

We wondered if this was the closest thing to Gan Eden.

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.