The Yearning Neshama

The Following Story is related by Reb Yosef Friedenson, editor of The Yiddish Vort.

Many unforgettable incidents come to my mind when­ ever I remind myself of the

day of my liberation from Buchenwald…

One of them involves two Jews of my acquaintance, who later became promi­nent personalities among the Sh’airis Hapleita. In the months and years chat followed, they played an important role in restoring Jewish life among the survi­vors of the concentration camps. They were among the pillars of D.P.Camps in Zeilsheim (near Frankfurt) and other Camps in Germany: Reb Leibel Pinkusewicz of War­saw and Rabbi Leib Geliebter of Ploczk.

It was the day after our liberation when they appeared in our Block 67. They had gone from one block to another looking for something or someone; once, twice, three times. They apparently did not find what they were looking for and were about to leave. One of their faces was familiar to me, but I just could not place him. So I stopped them, and asked whom they were seeking.

Their answer surprised me. They were looking for aJew who has a pair of tefillin, they are sure there is one. They were with him in the “Big Camp,” but he was transferred together with some ocherJews, and they were told that now he is in the “Small Camp”. As long as the Germans were present, they did not dare come to us. But now that the Germans are gone, and we are free, they must find him. They could not sleep the entire night – they told me – but remained anxiously awake with the exciting possibility of being able to put on tefillin the next morning. They also said that last night, they already or­ganized a minyan in the Block. It was close to midday, they had already davened Birchos HaShachar, but had postponed Shacharis, since they wanted to daven with tefillin. Now they were bitterly disap­pointed. They had been certain that they would find him. Our Block was the fourth one to be searched. For the time being, they decided to daven Shacharis. but not give up entirely.

We truly wondered about this. Although we had eaten a hearty breakfast, supplied by the American army, we were still dreaming about our next meal. The hunger of the last few weeks continued gnawing at our stomachs, and although we were presently full, we could not think about anything else except food. But not Reb Leibel Pinkusewicz and Rabbi Leib Geliebter. They had only one thing on their minds-a pair of tefillin.

And they did not give up. After they finished Shacharis they continued their search. They combed all the other blocks and, as our sages say, “Yogata u’matzasa ta’amin.” After another two hours, they found the Jew with the tefillin and returned to tell us the goodnews. They took us along co that Block and we, too, were able to put them on. The news about the tefillin spread far and wide, and by the time we were fin­ished, there was a line of about three minyonim waiting for their turn.

For many of them, it was the first day, after more than three years, that they had a chance to feel Jewish once again. The tears in their eyes bore witness to their overwhelming sense of joy.