Page 38 - LEIBY

38 Leiby – Border Smuggler

somewhat of a reconciliation with the pain-filled past. Rosa
had come from a Chassidishe home, but much to her parents’
anguish, had become a member of the Communist Party when
she was still quite young. Rosa had paid no heed to her parents’
pleas that she leave the party, nor to their remonstrations later
on. She was swept away by the dreams of a better future, and
even became the popular leader of several communist youth
clubs. In every meeting of the clubs, the members sang the
interazional,10 the Communist youth anthem, lustily: “We’ll
destroy the old world, until its foundations, we’ll stand up tall
and proud, yesterday has gone, tomorrow is here.”

Rosa’s father, the Chassid Berka, had owned a grocery store
before the war. But despite the steady stream of customers who
frequented his store, his income was sparse, and he was hard
pressed to make ends meet. The majority of his clients were
impoverished too, and bought their goods on credit, but when
the time came to pay their bills at the end of the month, they
all too often found themselves unable to pay. Yet, in spite of his
meager means, every Shabbos Berka would go to the municipal
shelter to invite needy guests to his home.

Fraidel, Rosa’s mother, cooked food for Shabbos every week in
enormous pots. She had no way of knowing how many guests
would sit around their table each week, and so she made sure to
always prepare copious quantities of food. The gabbaim of every
shul in the city knew that their door was open wide for anyone
who needed a place to eat and sent there anyone in need of a
Shabbos meal. Fraidel would rise early each Friday morning to
put up a massive pot of soup that would be enough to feed all
of their guests. In addition, every Thursday afternoon she made
the rounds of all their neighbors, basket in hand, and asked
for contributions of food for poor people. And every family
donated what they could – a portion of fish, a piece of chicken,
a challah, or some cake. When her basket was full, she went to
the homes of families she knew to be needy and silently laid

10 Interazional ʹ ƚŚĞ ƉŽůŝƟĐĂů ůĞŌ͛Ɛ ĂŶƚŚĞŵ͕ ǁŚŝĐŚ ƐĞƌǀĞĚ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ
ĐŽŵŵƵŶŝƐƚ ƉĂƌƟĞƐ͛ ĂŶƚŚĞŵ ƚŽŽ͘