A few months ago, my cousin shared with me that a gadol had advised her to daven for a shidduch at kivrei avos. She was researching gedolim in our family tree and asked if I wanted to come to Poland with her to daven at the kever of the Bach.
Of course I was down for it. After I got back from my trip to E”Y and Prague, we started to plan. As we researched and wrote down ideas, an outline began to take shape. We decided to spend four days in Poland followed by a weekend in Vienna. Once we bought our tickets and started booking tours, it all just came together (we made one big change on the ground in Poland, which made our trip even better b”H – more on that later.) My younger sister decided to join as well for part of the trip (she arrived in Poland on day 3).
One thing I did which helped me a lot was to keep a notebook with information about the different kevarim we planned on visiting. Because we were not going with a professional tour guide, I felt that it was important for us to prepare ourselves to be in the right headspace at these various sites. I spoke to my brother and took notes, and also read a bit on Polish Jewish history to have a sense of the timeline and flow of events and personalities. (Sand and Stars Vol. II by Yaffa Ganz and The Jewish Experience: 2,000 Years by Rabbi Nachman Zakon were both easy skims for a general historic overview).
We flew on a Sunday evening and arrived in Warsaw Monday morning. We took Bolt (similar to Uber and both were so cheap in Poland) to our hotel and rested for a bit. Then we walked to the Polin Museum of the History of Polish Jews. We had booked a private guide through the museum in advance and she was wonderful. The tour was officially 2 hours but she gave us 3 1/2. This museum was a great place to start because it gave us a broad overview of Polish Jewish history (1100’s until today) which was helpful to refer back to on subsequent days.
After we parted ways with our guide, we took the tram to BeKef for an early supper. Then we took Bolt back to our hotel and crashed in bed for an early night.
The next day, our driver picked us up at 9 to drive to Gora Kalwaria (Ger). We had gotten his number from Chabad of Warsaw and he was such a pleasure to work with. Ger is about 45 minutes from Warsaw. The driver called ahead to the cemetery caretaker to unlock it for us. The caretaker brought candles, water for washing hands, and even a notepad for kvitlach(!). We davened at the ohel of the Chiddushei Harim and Sfas Emes which was so quiet and peaceful. Our driver was really nice and kept assuring us we could take as much time as we needed. This was truly such a beautiful experience. We were there for over a half hour. Afterwards the driver took us to see the old Gerrer building (exterior only as it is locked).
On the way back to Warsaw, we got to talking with the driver about other places he had taken people; one thing led to another and we spontaneously decided to hire him for the next day to take us to Lublin and Lizhensk on the way to Krakow. (Our plan had initially been to take the train and spend a laid back day in Krakow before my sister arrived, but this plan was way more exciting). In the meantime, after we got back from Ger to Warsaw, we did the Rick Steves Royal Way walk, and walked back to our hotel for lunch.
Soon after we were picked up from our hotel by our guide from Polin Tours for a Jewish history tour of Warsaw. This was officially a group tour but we were the only ones booked for that afternoon so our guide customized it to our requests. She was so patient and helpful. We saw landmarks and monuments from the former Warsaw ghetto, the only surviving shul in Warsaw, and the Jewish cemetery. This cemetery is truly tremendous (one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in the world). We wanted to daven by Rav Chaim Brisker and the Netziv who are together in one ohel, but we didn’t end up finding where it was. (We had directions but simply could not locate this). I think it could be very interesting to go with someone who is more knowledgeable about the various kevarim because it is so vast and fascinating. (Maybe next time!).
In the evening, I went back out to do the Rick Steves Old Town walk, and then I took an Uber to BeKef to pick up supper. (My cousin stayed in). I called my brother for some more information about the places we were going the next day.
Our driver came at 8 the next morning and we were off to Lublin (about a two hour drive). Our first stop was the former Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin. It is now a hotel; we paid admission to visit the beis medrash and a small exhibit about the yeshiva. Next, we went to the kever of the Chozeh of Lublin (the driver again called ahead to the caretaker to unlock the cemetery gate). We had brought tealights and matches from home which turned out to be a good idea because at many kevarim we visited there was a place to safely leave candles, which felt meaningful.
Then we drove to Lizhensk (about another two hours). We davened in the ohel (essentially a shul) of Rabbi Elimelech of Lizhensk. It felt a bit like being in E”Y, there were many frum people around unlike the other places we went. It was so special and surreal to be there!
Then we drove to Krakow (another 3 hours or so) and checked into our hotel. (This was the perfect location for us because it was right across from the train station which we needed for Friday morning.) My sister arrived the same time.
In the evening, I walked around a bit, following the Rick Steves guide to the Old Town (yes, I’m always that person with the guidebook). Meanwhile, my sister and cousin went for supper at Hachnosas Orchim of Krakow (they had intended to go to Falafel Shelanu, which is very inexpensive, but it was closed already). They packed up their leftovers to go so I had supper, too 😉 .
On Thursday (our last day in Poland!) we did a three-hour walking tour of Jewish Krakow (Kazimierz – the historic Jewish neighborhood, and Podgorze – the location of the Jewish ghetto). We did this with a pay-as-you-choose tour company, Walkative, and the guide was so interesting, she knew so much.
When the tour ended, we were relatively close to the place where Sara Schenirer is buried. That cemetery was destroyed during the war and the location was the site of the Plaszow concentration camp. Today it is essentially an open field with some informational signs. I had found some information online about where to go, and we were able to navigate to the headstone (the only one that has been restored) by taking the tram and walking from the stop for another few minutes. I cannot tell you how special and surreal it was to be there! I wish we could have stayed longer!
We took Uber (from the Lidl grocery store nearby) to the Remah cemetery, where the Bach is buried. It was about 2:30 when we got there (that cemetery closes at 4 and we had another tour at 4 so our timing was a little tight at this point) and learned we needed cash to pay the admission! So we ran down the street to a money changer and got zlotys. And FINALLY we went in and davened by the Bach which is the reason we were in Poland in the first place!
After that my sister and cousin went to pick up lunch and I decided to stay and daven at the kevarim of the Remah, Megaleh Amukos, Tosfos Yom Tov, and Yossele the Holy Miser (surely there were others but this is what I knew). I had some information from a neighbor who had been and I also found pictures online which helped me know what to look for.
I met up with my sister and cousin at the Schindler factory museum just before our guided tour at 4. (This museum is mostly about the occupation of Krakow, not so much about Oskar Schindler; I watched Schindler’s List this Tisha B’Av, which could be a whole blog post in itself, and I was very much interested in visiting here.) Then I dashed to Falafel Shelanu by Uber and made it in the nick of time to buy supper.
In the evening I went on a little outing to visit the Bais Yaakov seminary building with the informational plaque (the one you can find here on Stanislawa). And then it was time to pack.
On Friday morning, we crossed the street to the train station and took the earliest train to Vienna (which we’d booked in advance). Leaving Poland truly tugged at my heart! I hope I will be back!
I’d love to share more about the next part of our trip, b”n in a separate post.
Thank you for reading! I’m happy to answer any questions!
