Recently when visiting my daughter in Israel, we went to the cemetery in Holon to search for my grandfather’s cousin’s grave. I have written about (Lieb) Zissel Feuer many times. Because, although I met him when I was 19, I really did not know his story. I saw his several times over a two-year period when I was in college. But it wasn’t until I really began researching my family that I found out exactly the role he played in both the family and for the Jewish survivors who had lived in Mielec. (You can read about him in some of my other blogs.)
For me, he was an elderly relative that my grandmother asked me to visit. (He was about the age I am now.) I went to see him whenever I was in Tel Aviv. I always went to the bakery across from the Shuk HaCarmel, and he was always there when I went. He would walk me back to his apartment where we would visit for a bit. I took my parents to meet with him. And I brought my grandmother to see him as well. He was the connection to those who perished.
The last time I was in Israel then, I was 22. Keeping in touch with an older relative was not high on my list at time in my life. And, although I kept in touch with others. Zissel, I did not. But I always remembered him. And I had stories about my visits with him.
I did not go back to Israel for 25 years. Raising a family, working, living my life. I did not have time for that. But in 2005 I returned. And since then, I have been back multiple times to visit cousins and friends, and my daughter and her family. Because that trip to Israel in 2005 awakened a yearning for her to live in Israel.
Last year, I reconnected with other family members who live in Israel and were related to Zissel as well. They told me that although Zissel had no immediate family of his own, he was their family and he was always with them for the holidays. That made me happy. I always wondered if he had a place to go.
I felt like I needed to say goodbye to Zissel. And tell him how much I appreciated my times meeting with him and for what he had done for the survivors of the Jewish community of Mielec. So I asked my relatives where he was buried.
In February, my daughter and I went to see his grave. I was surprised to see that his name in Hebrew on the tombstone said Judah Lieb Zissel. While he was listed in the directory as Lieb Zissel. I don’t know why. I just wondered if it had to do with the Shoah. His grave says:
Here is a charitable man, a survivor of the Shoah. Who dedicated his life to good deeds and supported Torah institutions in the USA. Lieb Zissel, the son of Matityahu HaCohen Feuer. He died on Shabbat, the 20th day of Adar.
Only the holiest die on Shabbat. To Jewish people it is a sign of righteousness. Supposedly the souls go straight to their rest.
I left him a stone. Yes, I did put a heart on it. There were other stones there as well. I am glad I went. I felt like I was completing the circle, finishing something that needed to be done. My daughter told me we could come to visit him whenever I came to visit her. I might do that. Zissel was an important part of my history.
Today is his yahrzeit. I am writing it on the 29th anniversary of his death. May his name and memory always be a blessing.
zicharonot 