This week, PBS Television re-ran an extraordinary documentary narrated by
Tovah Feldshuh, called
The Jews of New York. According to the
film's website:
"THE JEWS OF NEW YORK profiles Jewish individuals and institutions that changed the face of New York, woven together with expert commentary, to present a broad spectrum of the ways in which the Jewish community has impacted secular New York life from the earliest immigrants through today."Profiles in the documentary include incisive histories of New York's groundbreaking Mount Sinai Hospital, the making of the legendary Broadway show (and film),
"Fiddler on the Roof" (explaining its New York origins), the
Schiff Family (including the remarkable philanthropy of Jacob Schiff), and an interview with ubiquitous former New York Mayor,
Ed Koch. Most touching for me, however, are portraits of the
Hasidic Rabbi, Haskel Besser -- which really must be seen/heard to be appreciated -- and of the Russ Family of the Lower East Side's more than 100 year-old
"Russ & Daughters Appetizers" (an unparalleled Jewish food shop). As for the latter, I find the most tear-inducing, special part to be that the most recent generation of Russ's is now, with aplomb, keeping the tradition.
I don't identify a lot with the Jewish portion of my heritage. I am more parts Italian-American Catholic (my mom's side) and German/Hungarian-American Agnostic Socialist (my dad's side) than Jewish. However, my great-grandmother -- my father's father's mother, whom I knew as a child and who lived 99 years -- was a Jewish immigrant from Germany to the U.S. This, of course, made my grandfather (my father's father) Jewish. However, there, for my lineage, it stopped--my grandmother, my father's mother, was not Jewish and the bloodline ended with my grandfather. Perhaps it is that fact -- something "in my blood" -- which drew me so much to the beauty and sentimentality (the most positive meaning of that word) of this documentary? Perhaps it is just being a New Yorker? New Yorkers of any ethnic background, of my generation and many, many New York generations before mine, felt the rich culture of Jews as an integral part of the fabric of the city. The food, the influences on the healthcare, financial, education, legal systems and so much more, the language (I grew up using Yiddish words without even knowing they were Yiddish!), the music, the art, the film, the
Orchard Street of old... so, so much. It is certainly that, plus having a Jewish great-grandmother and grandfather (and when he remarried after divorcing my grandmother many years before I was born, he married a Jewish woman--an Austrian immigrant who spoke fluent Yiddish), which called my attention to many of the nuances of this terrific cinematic work.
It is also the craft with which the
Jews of New York was made which captured my attention. It is a very simple film, but while it is sentimental in the right ways, it never oversentimentalizes (if that is a word!) even when being nostalgic. It lets the interviewees tell their stories in a very straightforward and contemporary way. Another not-to-be-missed work!
Clips (on the film's website, with more available):
