8 minute read
The Wandering Jew
The Wandering Jew Puerto Rico
By Hershel Lieber
Isort of dreaded tax season. It meant full days, late nights, myriad phone calls, and paperwork galore. I enjoyed seeing my clients, especially the ones I met only annually during tax season, but I can’t say that I appreciated the tension that preceded the April 15th deadline. Although my workload was full with year-end accounting work for corporations and preparation for personal taxes, I felt that a pretax season vacation would have a calming effect to help me pull through the impending storm. Pesi understood my needs and supported my wish to get away for a week.
Where to? Israel and Europe were really out of the question. Too far a destination for so little time. Most U.S. states were too cold in January to spend there a week’s vacation. Florida? Been there, done that – a number of times. The Caribbean Islands? Everything revolved around beaches and the ocean – traditionally inappropriate. But there was one island that had enough to see and what to do that would be of interest to us. And that was Puerto Rico. There was history. There was culture. There was natural beauty. And it was close enough to New York and had adequately warm weather.
So in early January of 2011 we arrived in San Juan. It was Tuesday, and we rented a car and drove about forty-five minutes to Villa Sevilla near the El Yunque National Forest. We rented a small cottage situated on beautiful tropical grounds. There were a scattered number of rental cottages nearby, but all were empty since we arrived just after the busy holiday season. We basically had the whole compound for ourselves. Other than one shopping trip to a local Walmart, we spent Tuesday and Wednesday just relaxing. We read, learned, talked, cooked and prepared meals from food that we brought along, and took more than one nap each day. Maybe it was a bit boring, but it was just what we needed at the time.
By Thursday we were ready to take on the island! Early that morning we went to see the famed Luquillo Beach. There were no swimmers there at the time, so we were able to sit and enjoy the tranquility of the white sanded seashore surrounded by majestic palms. From there, we went to see the Las Cabezas Nature Reserve. We took a guided tour, which included a lecture by a park ranger. We also hiked for a while along a mangrove habitat trail. The scenery was stunning, and I was constantly snapping away with my camera.
We had to rush back to daven and eat supper since we had booked a very unusual night activity. We found out that there was a unique natural phenomenon nearby called Bioluminescent Bay. Microscopic organisms in the bay light up blue when the water is agitated. This natural wonder is seen only in five places on Earth, three of which are in Puerto Rico. This wonderous sight can only be seen during nighttime and to get out to the bay you have to rent a kayak.
We bought water shoes and then rented a kayak. A guide went ahead of a group of ten kayaks and directed us into the bay. I never kayaked before
The beautiful bioluminescent bay Cabezas Nature Reserve
At San Cristobel Fort Luquillo Beach In El Yunque National Forest
and neither did Pesi. We somehow managed to paddle into the bay and were overwhelmed as we dipped our hands into the waters. The waters lit up with a blue, fluorescent light as we lifted it and when they fell back into the bay. What a spectacular sight!
On the way back, our kayak got stuck in the brushes lining the narrow channels leading into the bay. The water was not more than three feet deep with probably another foot of mud, and I had to get into the channel to maneuver the boat out of the brush. At that point, we somehow lost the ability to paddle and kept turning around in circles. When our guide no-
ticed our dilemma, he towed us back to the dock. I came back completely soaked, but we were thrilled to have this remarkable experience.
Friday morning we noticed that there was a car parked by the cottage that was nearest to us. I saw a fortyish looking couple unpacking their luggage and walked over to welcome them. It turned out that they were Jewish and from the New Haven area of Connecticut. I invited them to join us for the Shabbos meal that night, and they said that although they had already made plans for dinner at a restaurant, they would join us for candle lighting and part of the meal. Now we knew why our destination had to be Puerto Rico.
We started our day early since it was Erev Shabbos and headed for El Yunque Rain Forest. The only rainforest in the National Forest System, it is small in size yet is the most biologically diverse of all. We first took a one-hour self-driving tour along paved roads which took us to stunning sights. This was followed by a guided lecture tour along a winding trail. We learned about the flora and fauna and the wildlife of this beautiful treasure of a National Park. On the way back, we ran into Walmart to get more candles for our guests. We also
needed a candlestick holder, which they didn’t carry. Pesi improvised by buying a set of salt and pepper shakers in which we were able to insert the candles. Shabbos was rapidly approaching, and we still had to shower, dress, set the table and warm up the food.
Just before candle lighting time, Richard and Raizel (yes, she uses her Jewish name) came to join us for licht bentchen. They went back to their cottage while we davened and then returned for Sholom Aleichem, Aishes Chayil, and kiddush. We shared our challah, gefilte fish and hot potato kugel with them, and they shared their Jewish backgrounds and experiences with us. Raizel asked that I sing Lecha Dodi, her favorite Shabbos tune, to which I acquiesced. Raizel was a student of Zalman Schachter, the founder of the non-Orthodox Jewish Renewal Movement. He took elements of his Orthodox and Chabad background and melded them into his own vision of religious spirituality. Raizel was ordained by Schachter as a “Mashpia Ruchanit.” Richard, on the other hand, did not have any religious affiliation when growing up. Our guests were flabbergasted that they unexpectedly were able to experience Shabbos in Puerto Rico. And so were we!
Shabbos was a relaxing day for us. We davened side by side, had our seudah, took a nap, and then studied Chumash together. On Motzei Shabbos, we spoke to all our children and our mothers, which was followed by
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At El Muno Fort
Melave Malka. We boiled plantains, which are a type of banana that are cooked and popular among Latin Americans and Caribbean Islanders.
Un delicioso manjar!
Sunday we spent all day in San Juan, the capital of the island. We took an audio tour of the forts of El Muno and San Cristobel and all the sights in between. There was an ongoing San Sebastion Festival, and the streets were lined with thousands of people. The atmosphere was very festive as marchers paraded through the streets accompanied by floats and musical instruments.
Monday was our last day in Puerto Rico. We returned to El Yunque National Forest and took the Big Tree Trail to La Mina Falls. The trail took an hour. Then we did the Banja de Oro Trail, which took another forty-five minutes. On the way back, we passed Luquillo Beach again and I found a deserted section where I was able to swim for twenty minutes, while Pesi waited nearby. How can one go to Puerto Rico and not take a dip in the ocean?
When we returned to our cottage, we were invited by Richard and Raizel for drinks on their veranda. They bought kosher pineapple and coconut mixes to add to the local rum, and we brought a large bag of popcorn. We sat and talked for two hours and had a marvelous time. As we started packing, we reminisced about the experiences of the past week. Those fonds memories are still with us to this very day.
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.
