MY HOUSE OF STYLE Aft- 4gli s It: r * `- . V DISCOVER ALL THE COLORS OF SUMMER INSIDE OUR DOORS. b Rabbi Israel Polter puts on tefillin at the shtiebl in his father's seat. Rabbi returns to childhood home in Belgium for many moving experiences. Judy Greenwald I Special to the Jewish News T he saying "You can't go home again" is one Rabbi Israel Polter can happily disprove. Rabbi Polter, 75, of Oak Park has twice returned to his birthplace — Antwerp, Belgium — once in 2009 and again in 2012, both times with his youngest son, Yossi, 34, of Crown Heights, N.Y. "I was born in 1937:' the elder Polter explains, "and because of the war, we moved to France in 1940. We got out when we found out the Nazis were rounding up children." Yossi recalls, "The family was at home, and a German came to the house and demanded the children. My grand- mother, thinking quickly, said, 'My family is exempt: A priest who lived in the neighborhood was walking by and my grandmother said, 'Ask him: The priest told the officer, 'Yes, they're exempt: and the German left:' Israel, his five brothers and sisters and their parents remained in France until 1942, and then made their way to Switzerland, where they lived until 1945. After the war, the family, intact, traveled back to Antwerp, living there until 1951. That year, the Polters moved to Toronto, where the family became involved in the Chabad movement. Israel Polter eventually moved to the Detroit area in 1962, where he and his late wife, Freida, raised five children. "It was always my dream to return to Europe Polter says, noting this wasn't a desire shared by his siblings. So, in 2009, he and his son took their first, weeklong trip to Antwerp, where "not too much had changed:' according to Israel. "It was like I had left yester- day:" Yossi says, "My father remembered everything. He was so excited, running around like a child:' The elder Polter asked a man on the street where Kleinblatt's Bakery was — a landmark for him — and when he found it, from there he was able to find his house, his school and even the midwife's home on Brielmontlei Street where he was born. His birthplace had undergone a change, which the two discovered while searching for the home. "We were walking down the street, trying to find the midwife's house Yossi says. "My father remembered the number and, as we were walking down one side of the street, the addresses were missing. "We crossed the street, and the build- ing didn't look familiar to my father, but then he saw the number and said, `This is it: We looked up and noticed that it said `Bais Chabad: So his birth- place had become a Chabad house. We went in and met the rabbi, and told him this was where my father had been born:' Another moving experience was finding the synagogue the family attended, called Osten Bais Midrash, which had survived the war. "The shul is on the first floor:' explains Yossi, "and the top floor housed a shtiebl (lit- tle room for comomunal prayer), which is still in existence:" "It was amazing; Israel says, "the same benches, the same tables. I sat in my father's seat and put on tefillin in the same place I did 62 years ago at my bar mitzvah!" The Polters' second visit last August, although only for three days, was to commemorate Israel's 75th birthday. "I wanted to have an aliyah in the house where I was born:' Israel says. Are there more visits to Antwerp in the works? "I want to take my grandson there Israel says. "He'll have his bar mitzvah in a few months, and I want to take him to the same place. "I'd like to go back every year:' he says with a smile. ❑ SATURDAY 10:30-5 574 N. OLD WOODWARD BIRMINGHAM 248.594.7776 MYHOUSEoFsTyLE.com © @ le MON DAY - DESIGNS IN DECORATOR WOOD & LAMINATES, LTD. It Doesn't Have To Cost A fortune... Only Look Like It! Complete kitchen and bathroom remodeling as well as furniture design and installations including granite, wood p and other materials. Lois Haron Allied Member ASID 248.851.6989 Send those bugs to the slammed Let PEST ARREST eliminate your bug problems! We specialize in • Bedbugs • Fleas • Spiders • Rats & Mice • Earwigs • Bees, Wasps & Ants • Roaches • And so many more! 248-246-1850 • 18% Off any treatment ‘. www.pest-arrest.com Exp 6/30/13 Residential & Commercial . email: info©pest-arrest.corn 30 year's experience • Family owned & operated • Certified technicians / Licensed & Insured JN May 30 • 2013 17