20 | NOVEMBER 21 • 2019
who come to Poland and the
death camps to memorialize
those who died and show we
rose up from the ashes and
rebuilt,” she said.
Prior to her trip,
Morse tried to locate her
grandmother’
s burial site
with the cemetery. When she
arrived at the graveyard, a
helpful worker was able to
find the spot.
“My grandmother was
buried at 1 p.m. on May 3,
1939. I found her grave on
the same date, May 3 – at
1 p.m.! It just happened
to be the day our tour was
scheduled to go to the
cemetery.”
And that was only the first
of the fantastic things Morse
would experience.
“We continued searching
the grounds and then found
my great-grandmother’
s
grave. I’
m named for her:
Rivka Esther.
“Then, a Chasidic man
came up to us and started
speaking in Polish to the
cemetery worker,” Morse
continued. “I noticed he was
carrying a bag from Israel,
so I spoke to him in Hebrew.
He wanted to know why I
was visiting this grave, so I
showed him the death notice
for my grandmother. He got
very excited and asked, ‘
Are
you a Frommer?’
(a family
name). I said yes. He grew
more excited and asked: ‘
Do
you know who your family
is? Come with me!’
“He brought me to a huge
headstone and explained
it was the grave of my
great-grandfather Avraham
Yitzchak Frommer. He
showed me the words written
on the stone indicated that
Avraham Yitzchak was the
great-grandson of the famous
tzadik (righteous person),
Rav Ephraim Fishel.
continued from page 18
Ohel of Rav Fishel Ephraim under construction
Jews in the D
“Two more religious men
came by, and the Chasid
tells them who I am!”
Morse added. “I found out
they’
re involved with an
organization that’
s restoring
the gravesites of influential
rabbis throughout Europe,
and they’
ve begun work on
an ohel (a structure built
around a grave indicating the
deceased’
s prominence) for
Rav Fishel!”
Coming from a
distinguished ancestor has
definitely impressed upon
Morse the meaning of family
continuity.
“Prior to discovering this
important ancestry, my
mother always told me her
emunah, her belief in God
and her Jewish spirit, is what
gave her strength during the
worst of times. I, too, have
that strong emunah and
spirit.
“I feel a responsibility
to carry on the legacy as
a matriarch of this very
important dynasty,” Morse
said. “I am thrilled about
the ohel being built. I’
m
following and supporting the
process and hope to visit the
ohel upon its completion.”
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