Play at the Alfa theatre in Tel-Aviv - Letters to Helenka is based on the letters from her friends, mates from Korczak´s Orphanage.

The premiere of the play Letters to Helenka, January 28, 2026, at the Alfa Theatre in Tel Aviv, was written by Rina Itzhaki. Before leaving Poland, 14-year-old Chaja wanted to document her time living at the Orphanage. She asked her favorite educator, Mr. Misza (Michał Wasserman Wróblewski), to describe her 'Black Day'—the day she returned to the Orphanage after seeing her father and brother off at the station for the train to Gdansk. It was likely after 9:00 PM, so all the children were in their dormitories, and it was quiet. This letter, titled A Feeling of Pain, must have been exceptionally important to her, as Chaja made a copy by transcribing it once she was already in Argentina (on the right).

In 2012, after conducting research at the Ghetto Fighters' House Archives in Israel, I wrote:

'For me personally, the documents from two former wards of Korczak's Orphanage are particularly interesting and not yet fully analyzed. The documents belong to Chaja Lewi and Cesia Grynbaum."  

Play at the Alfa theatre in Tel-Aviv - Letters to Helenka is based on the letters from her friends, mates from Korczak´s Orphanage. Helenka Lewi left the Orphanage "Dom Sierot" for Argentina, just before WWII started in September 1939. Many of the letters are from her friend, Irka Waffel.

84 years ago, on August 5, 1942, 18-year-old Irka Waffel was murdered. An orphan, she was a ward of the Orphanage (Dom Sierot) until 1939, and starting January 1, 1940, she became a resident of the dormitory (bursistka).
The last message from Irka Waffel is a postcard from 33 Chłodna Street sent on July 14, 1941, to Helenka Lewi in Argentina. In it, she writes about caring for sick children and, in addition, preparing puppet shows. 

Before leaving Poland, 14-year-old Chaja Lewi wanted to document her time living at the Orphanage. She asked for entries in her Diary and collected all the Postcards and commemorative photos she had been given. In addition, she asked her favorite educator, Mr. Misza (Michał Wasserman Wróblewski), to describe her 'black day'—the day she returned to the Orphanage after seeing her father and brother off at the station for the train to Gdansk. It was likely after 9:00 PM, so all the children were in their dormitories, and it was quiet.

The last message from Irka Waffel to Helenka Lewi is a postcard from 33 Chłodna Street, sent on July 14, 1941, in which she writes that she is caring for sick children and preparing puppet shows. In the bottom photograph: Helenka Lewi and Pan Misza (Wasserman Wróblewski) in front of the Orphanage, 1937.

The letter (story), entitled A Feeling of Pain, written by Pan Misza, must have been exceptionally important to her, as Chaja made a copy of it after she had already arrived in Argentina.

Someone knocked quietly at the entrance door of the Dormitory. A little girl with the eyes of a little old lady stood there, confused and a bit frightened. It was already dark in the house, Mr. Misza wrote; through the dark hall with the creaking floor, I led Helenka to the dormitory. We didn't say much to each other. Parting with a father is difficult, all the more so because it was unknown when he would see you again. Helenka said one thing then: 'Father promised that as soon as he is able, he will take me to him.' And even then, that strong faith in her father's words did not allow tears to well up in her eyes. And I did not offer comfort: silence is calming. Words are too weak to suppress the feeling of the pain of parting. It has been so many years.