Being Jewish in America - Hester Street (1975)

[@cynthialeeser7952]

I’m not Jewish. I identify more with Gitl. I am first generation Albanian, but my mother was more like Jake. My father wanted us to learn Albanian, but my mother said no, we’re American now. My dad told me this when I asked why we didn’t grow up learning it. I didn’t learn their traditions either. I wish we did. My parents weren’t like Jake as far as chasing money. They were very conservative and good. My parents came over in the early 30’s. I appreciate this movie. It was beautiful and well done. Thank you for reviewing and explaining it.❤

[@oneghost1257]

A sadly common experience for immigrants especially of that time as I understand it. My grandmother was banned from speaking Basque when her family came to America during the Spanish Civil War because "They don't speak it here." Resulting in one generation not knowing a word of it, and mine picking up the pieces and trying to learn as much as we can. The traditions stayed in the family but without the language there's just something missing it doesn't feel right.

[@yudakrelin6461]

"Watching 'Hester Street (1975)' reminded me of the timeless challenge many face: balancing tradition and modern life. Set in the Lower East Side, the film offers different viewpoints on this struggle, making it relatable and thought-provoking. A classic worth revisiting!"

[@_yiddishkeit]

Definitely worth revisiting!

[@Allergictocatstoo]

Just discovered your channel! Love it! My father was first generation American, Yiddish was his first language, he grew up on the lower east side, the whole bit! He would take us for clothes, down to Orchard Dr. I would say, it’s where we bought clothes by the pound. My dad would haggle, like it was the 1850s. When my dad would switch over to English, the merchant hated the sound of it and so, to shut my father up, he would give him his price. The movie, Hester Street has always given me a lifeline to my world before I was born. Thank you so much for your important and meaningful look back.

[@_yiddishkeit]

My family immigrated from Soviet Union but I still have a nostalgia for this era tooooo. Glad to have given you a chance to reconnect :)

[@jerryedelman3581]

My grandparents came from Russia in the late 1800's. My parents were first generation Americans who spoke Yiddish in the house, especially if they didn't want us kids to know what they were talking about. I grew up in an Orthodox Jewish home where my parents especially my mom strictly adhered to customs. Her brothers, my uncles, were strict religious Jews as well. My father was not nearly as devoted to the customs, more "Americianized" and this often led to tensions between my parents. So when I first saw this gem of a movie when it first came out I was absolutely taken by this beautiful & important story it told. I TOTALLY identified with its representation of our culture, our history & struggles to keep our identity as a Jew, yet trying to fit in as an "American" whatever that meant, since that was a very individual struggle for all with our Russian/Jewish background. As a 76 year old, proud to be a Jewish man, I simply LOVE this movie as it takes me way back in time, when life was much simpler in reality, even though there clearly were many rough moments to deal with.

[@leamilgraum7294]

I’m clearly with Gittel. It’s not just “tradition “, it’s all the values of the Torah that she carries in her heart that are very precious that she stands for.

[@lindaversil1121]

Of course. She doesn’t want to assimilate. She wants to keep Torah laws. Glad at the end she found a good Torah observant husband

[@jonathanfarrell2378]

This film is special. It has faint similarities to “Fiddler on The Roof” and “Yentl.” Yet, this movie focuses on the impact that modernity had upon traditional societies. And the obstacles that immigrants had to face and survive. Thanks for posting this! 😊

[@_yiddishkeit]

Exactly! Stay tuned for a Fiddler on the Roof episode soon...

[@melenatorr]

@@_yiddishkeit I've seen it and like it very much.

[@dragonvliss2426]

I am not Jewish either, but my grandmother came over from the Ukraine in 1903 from a German-speaking peasant village, and never really mastered English, so I can relate. The man I most admire in the world was Jewish ( dead now ) whose grandparents came over to American from Czarist Russia just before the First World War. He respected his heritage and taught me a lot about being Jewish. One of the greatest regrets of his life as that his father changed his Jewish surname to an American ( or rather British ) one, and it says a lot about being Jewish in America that it happened, and that my Jewish friend regretted it so much.

[@JD-cd5sq]

What a cast, Carol Kane, Doris Roberts and Zvee Scooler, who also played a Rabbi in Fiddler on The Roof.

[@_yiddishkeit]

How did I miss that!?! Woahhhhhh the Rabbi from the Hester Street is also the Rabbi from Fiddler!

[@Sad_Bumper_Sticker]

Thank you for this video, fascinating that the topic of Get. As a cultural-film studies major from Poland we had a few classes dedicated to Yiddish Cinema in pre1939 Poland. I wish this movie was available online.

[@_yiddishkeit]

Glad you enjoyed :) The movie is available on KZbin! I'll put it in the description.

[@christinemclaughlin4913]

I would appreciate your perspective on one of my favorite movies, “The Frisco Kid” with Gene Wilder. I just found your channel and loved your insights into “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Hester Street”. We are at a time of great change in America and the world, so these movies have even greater meaning to me, a Gentile baby boomer who has a great love of the Jewish people and Israel. Thank you for your channel.

[@_yiddishkeit]

Glad you enjoyed and thanks for being here. Frisco Kid is on the list - coming soon!

[@lindaversil1121]

I loved the frisco kid. One of my favorites. So poignant. I loved the ending

[@viggosimonsen]

Beautiful review. If you haven't done it yet, you should definitely review A Serious Man by the Cohen brothers - their most underrated masterpiece, in my view. It has many similar themes running through it

[@_yiddishkeit]

Love that movie! Its def on my list for a future week. Thanks for watching :)

[@cynthiabellack7994]

Excellent movie!

[@venus_envy]

I saw it with my dad in theatres, that is a very fond memory for me now.

[@skontheroad]

I have to watch this later. My great grandparents were immigrants who escaped the pogroms in Russia (as he explains here) and ended up being able to buy an entire tenement on, yes, Hester Street! I wish my mom were still alive. She was a history teacher for 33 years in NYC, but grew up not learning English until she was 5. My grandmother worked (very progressive at the time), so my great grandparents watched my mother every day. And they only spoke Yiddish. So, Yiddish was only spoken in the house, where each of the 4 girls had a floor of the family tenement, and of course, my great grandparents had their own floor, where everyone gathered for dinner. Where only Yiddish was spoken.... my mother went to shul with her grandfather every morning and often they would would stop and chat with people. When ny chatty mother would speak her perfect Yiddish, people would say, "Wow! She's adorable! Did she just get off the boat??" My mother remembered that, and the stairs of the shul on Lower East Side and how many there were as she held ger grandfathers hand walking up all those stairs! It seemed like so many if you were only 5! She also remembers her uncle sneaking off to eat trayfe on the stairs of some other tenement....(hmmm??? Wer weiß??)

[@_yiddishkeit]

wow, thanks for sharing their story 💛

[@judithcoloma613]

That sounds like a film right there!

[@sunnivazoete9958]

Thank you for producing this fabulously informative series. I am not Jewish but love watching moving from different cultures and Jewish culture is integrated all over the world. I'm really enjoying your thought-provoking commentary, and look forward to each new episode.

[@AxelQC]

I've always been a fan of Carol Kane. She well deserved her Oscar nomination for this film.

[@evelinharmannfan7191]

Thank you so much for this! I watched this movie as a child together with my mother on TV and I fell in love instantly. But I could not remember the title and have always been searching for it!! To answer your question: I identified very much with the wife. She was not ready to betray her integrety for flimsy praise and fake acceptance. That is something I admire in her.

[@_yiddishkeit]

Omg I'm so happy that we could make that connection! That's amazing 💛

[@lyndawilliams4570]

I also loved this movie! Jake pissed me off but I loved Gitl and Bernstein. I’m not Jewish but grew up in NY 😊

[@_yiddishkeit]

Glad you love the movie

[@o.mcneely4424]

I work with refugees, primarily people from Afghanistan, and the subject of women covering/not covering their hair is always a hot topic. Frequently the husbands will say “we’re in America now, stop wearing your hijab” (sometimes because they’re worried about hate crimes, sometimes they just want to be “American”) but most of the wives will get quite upset and berate their husbands for “trying to take away my first amendment rights”! Some women do stop wearing it, and some women who didn’t wear it for a while decide to go back to wearing hijab, but it’s always this struggle of “is this my choice, or am I being pressured to fit in”?

[@chriscarroll277]

O.mcneely4424 I worked as anESL instructor/tutor,so of course worked with immigrants,first generation from many countries,most recently practicing Muslims Witnessed these exact experiences. Must say I quite sympathized with the Gitl and Bernstein characters and found “Jake” a really unsympathetic character,despite my agreeing more initially with his outlook. Carol Kane was terrific …she was made for the role!

[@_yiddishkeit]

Wow thanks for sharing these experiences in that world!

[@sortingoutmyclothes8131]

I'm not Jewish, but my grandfather was. This video makes me think of him, because his father was a Jewish Ukrainian Anarchist that came to my country, Argentina, in the early 1900's, and he was, as far as I know, pretty secular. But he married into a prominent Jewish family in Mar del Plata city, and I'm pretty sure my great grandmother, although born in Argentina, was more traditionally Jewish than him. My grandfather ended up growing up non religious, and he was sort of estranged from his family when he married my grandma, a Catholic, and my mom was raised Catholic. But that sense of Jewishness never really left her. I really do think she saw herself more Jewish than Catholic. Partially because Catholicism, the main religion in Argentina, was forced on her by her mother, and she rebelled as a teenager. But there was also something about her knowing she was Jewish that she passed on to me somehow. She felt that somewhere. And growing up, so many of the people around me, my parents friends, were Jewish. Not by design, and many of them mixed, like my mom, but that always struck me. I wonder now what pressures my great grandparents were under, what their thought were, what they believed in, how they felt they fit in Argentina, what popular stereotypes Jews had for themselves and others in Argentina at the time. I wish I could sit and talk to them about it, or at least my grandfather, who died when I was a toddler. I wonder if I have relatives that are still deeply religious back in Mar del Plata.

[@matthewlevine7892]

my grandfather emigrated to buenos aires and became part of a group of jewish men who were commercial photographers. ive never considered before, but now wonder if there is any pre-history of jewish / yiddish films from argentina?

[@My20GUNS]

Great video. I'd never heard of Hester Street before your film club video, but I watched it last night and it was great. Good acting, great drama, and a wonderful microcosm of life as an immigrant. It's also informative on alot of Jewish tradition that I'm unfamiliar with, which is much appreciated. I loved how flawed everyone was, especially Jake. I liked that I wasn't always rooting for him. I loved how authentic the immigrant struggle is portrayed and I could see the merits of either path someone could take. When Jake was mourning his father, I saw it as another rejection of tradition. He finishes too quickly, almost like he reconnected with his old self, thought of his family, and wanted to get them out of the backwards/backwoods village to become "civilized" Americans (or maybe just more respectable/"educated" people.) And I really liked Gitl's arch. She came over very timid and conservative, but really metamorphosized into a strong independent woman. (Not fully abandoning all traditions, but no longer being shackled by having to hide parts of herself. She's Jewish, but she can be a loud/proud Jewish-American who dresses as she wants, raises her kid(s), and runs the family store while her new Hubby studies.)

[@_yiddishkeit]

Sooo glad you watched it! It is JAM PACKED with stuff and its a very authentic film. I also can see the connection you made between the mourning scene and ellis island.

[@CHCLA6779]

Thank you for this extremely thoughtful discussion of one of my all-time favorite movies. I saw it when it first came out and loved it. I was then in the Gitl camp. And I find myself still in her camp. I grew up in Los Angeles - moved as an adult (for what were good reasons at the time, though I still doubt my sanity at making the move) to Minneapolis. And in my late 50s relocated for a job to Germany - a permanent move I have never regretted. The moves were nothing compared to that of Jake, Gitl or Bernstein - but each move involved major mental adjustments, adapting to cultures that were markedly different, in varying ways, to those I grew up with. Thank you again - I truly enjoyed this look at a beloved movie.

[@eckosters]

I landed on this channel by accident and I’m glad I did!!thank you for this! I’m not Jewish but I’m from the Netherlands and I’ve grown up (I was born in 1952) with stories of Jiddisch Amsterdam - but of course the Amsterdam Jews were almost all murdered by Hitler’s henchmen. So I never heard Jiddish and here it is! And I understand it perfectly because it’s largely Germanic as is Dutch

[@DCFunBud]

You have presented a beautifully written and spoken critique of this marvelous film. What was missing was any commentary of the marvelous acting and production value of such a low budget film. It was the sensitivity of the characters' emotions that made this movie so special.

[@_yiddishkeit]

very true

[@alexcarter8807]

I actually came across this movie years ago and found it quite good. I resonated with Bernstein more because I dunno how it was in the past but these days in the US you can work hard, you can work very hard, and it's still not guaranteed that you'll get ahead financially. But if you stick to your traditions, those don't cost too much to keep, and you have something that's yours. BTW my mother was firmly in the tichel/sheitel club and this was in the 1970s.

[@MrBrunoGI]

Thank you for sharing. Watching this gives more perspective on why there are so many differences. It must have been so difficult no matter what Jews chose to identify as, to let get wasn't as easy as it would seem, to let go of customs and traditions that our parents and grandparents and great grandparents growing up observing to then let go and start something new and assume a new identity but had to for survival and on the flip side those who sacrificed their livelihood to preserve tradition, but heard a lot of people had to look for a new job every week because they wouldn't work on Saturday. But thanks to these early generations is why there is a thriving Jewish presence in America.

[@naomiburn8386]

To answer your question at the end, I resonated with Gittel's attitude because she is comfortable in what she knows.

[@johnfinbarr1160]

The theme you point out of reconciling tradition with modernity transcends to all humanity. For me the great work of identity or struggling with identity is what is the greatest novel in the English language- James Joyce’s “Ulysses”. As its experimental form puts people off, they give up on it, but if you persist, Leopold Bloom, the novel’s subject, is a Jew struggling with identity on religious, national and moral levels. His Jewishness alienates him by default in Catholic/Christian Dublin and by the end of the book the reader embraces this identification of alienation for all of humanity in oneself in a resounding affirmation of life with Molly’s “Yes”. The book is contemporaneous to Hester St, but spins the narrative of an Irish Jew at the beginning of the 19th century. Well worth persisting here for Jew and gentile alike.

[@_yiddishkeit]

Woah, will have to check it out. Thanks :)

[@AniBAretz]

What a movie! I hadn't heard of it, before, and I hadn't seen your channel before, but KZbin offered this video of yours, and you offered a compelling review of Hester Street. It was so compelling, I immediately found it on another website and watched it. The ending was marvelous, too. Thank you so much! That was exactly just the yiddishkeit I've been needing.

[@_yiddishkeit]

Honestly this is why I made the video. So thank you 🙏

[@mygoldennotebook2191]

Mit eyn tokhes ken men nit tantsn af tsvey khasenes. "You can't dance at two weddings with one tuchus." My favorite quote from this movie.

[@christopherjohnson7818]

This was beautifully done! Thank you. Somehow I missed seeing this, although I’ve always wanted to. Now I’ll have to watch!

[@baila3221]

Those who kept to the old, the "nerds" now have large families of observant Jews who are proud of their religion and proud of them. Many who assimilated lost all their faith, their grandchildren don't know they are Jewish.

[@stevenkarras3490]

Thanks for making this. It's a film worthy of attention, even after nearly fifty years. Stephen Keats was a terrific actor who sadly took his own life.

[@melodymacken9788]

Brilliant conversation. Rotorua, New Zealand 🇳🇿

[@BobSchofield-el4hj]

I never linked the covering of a woman's hair..between the Jews and the Muslim...??? Great channel...learning so much..Converted in 1978..Reformed of course..

[@seattlebeard]

I have to agree with you. It's my favorite too, and I'm not even Jewish. Thanks for making this video and bringing the film to people who may have never seen it.

[@_yiddishkeit]

💛💛💛

[@AdmanMadDog]

Y'shkaiach for doing this ❤

[@_yiddishkeit]

😊

[@stevorke]

My Irish Great Grandfather, born in the early 1860s, dropped his name (O'Rourke) as well as the Irish Identity. He left is wife and two sons, never to be seen again. (Unlike the Jews, the Irish could not divorce...) He changed to "Harris" and disappeared, moving from Chicago to New York. Only later, after his death in the 1930s did the family find out what happened to him. He left substantial amount of money to the middle-aged boys. As did Jake, as a young man he wanted the "American" identity and financial success. At the turn of the century, like an early "Great Gatsby", he remade himself outwardly. I find the resonating parallels in your telling of Hester Street. Thanks!

[@_yiddishkeit]

I always appreciate hearing how Jewish stories resonate in other cultures 💛

[@dianewien683]

Love "Hester Street". Both sides of my family lived in the lower East Side at the same time 2 blocks from each other. My father's family moved to the Bronx while my mother's family moved to Omaha Nebraska. My parents met in New York and they moved to Omaha. Joan Micklin Silver was from Omaha and was a friend of one of my cousins. I'd also suggest discussing "Crossing Delancy", another of Joan's films which deals with the older and newer life styles of American Jews.

[@LeviHashem]

I just ran into you’re channel and I must admit I am falling in love with your content ❤❤❤

[@_yiddishkeit]

Welcome!!

[@ruairidhlloyd282]

Im not jewish but i really appreciated learning about a different culture and how that unique religio-culture developed within the economy of America in your video about a man who is pickled. This story in particular followed a family and how they navigate that change, this is a story that needs to be heard of more nowadays.

[@RDR18851]

I saw this sometime in the 70s. always stayed in my memory!

[@jeanneamato8278]

You did a lovely job. I resonate with Gitl. I will be converting to Judaism. I adore this movie. Gitl was treat shabbily.

[@_yiddishkeit]

Congrats 💛

[@shanegooding4839]

Carol Kane is a treasure.😊

[@shmujew4791]

my grandparents all resonated more with jake but their parents who they brought over wore traditional dress

[@_yiddishkeit]

Wow! thanks for sharing :)

[@melenatorr]

Thanks for talking about this small but valuable movie: I've only seen it once and need to see it again. From what I remember, my sympathies went most to Mr. Bernstein, and I "understood" Gittel the best. I remember not liking Jake at all, and so should probably see it again if only to give him another chance. My mother's own grandparents arrived at Castle Garden in 1890, and actually lived on Hester Street for a number of years before heading first to NJ and then to Brooklyn. I think I identify as a Brooklynite more than anything else.

[@RobertaFierro-mc1ub]

MyBeloved white German Shepard, Layla, was born in Vinnie Hum's tiny apartment on Hester Street that very same year!

[@lindaversil1121]

My favorite too. I grew up on Hester street on the lower east side for forty years.

[@phillyburbs2002]

I watched this years ago one late night when I couldn't sleep. I loved it. I remember every scene you brought up. I'm not Jewish. Now I want to watch it again. I loved it.

[@_yiddishkeit]

relatable 💛

[@FloridaDumpling]

I’m from Brooklyn originally. We always pronounced “Riis” as “Reece”, as in Jacob Riis Park in Rockaway which was the beach we went to, taking the Marine Park Bridge.

[@_yiddishkeit]

I'm from Brooklyn, my parents are Soviet so ....

[@WorldNewsandComment]

Wonderful! Thank you!

[@damescholar]

I love this film. I am not Jewish, but I have always been fascinated by the past and the tradition and studying them. I became a scholar and I married a scholar (who has studied Hebrew, among other languages).

[@andrewfischer8564]

thank you for reminding me of this film.. i was to young when it came out.. before i watch this and all the spoilers i think im going to have to go watch before i can watch your lessons and review

[@bevklayman4158]

This really made me kvell! I was in my twenties when Hester Street came out, and I was quite ignorant about my Jewish roots, but it resonated strongly with me in ways I didn't fully understand. It is a classic. Seeing your clips now, at a time when worldwide emigration is the norm, the evil of right-wing hatred is on the rise, Gaza is an international shame, Israel is in shambles, and anti-semitism is both on the rise and very misunderstood, brought so much mixed emotion out in me. I want to recommend you cover another lesser known classic from the 70s, "The Frisco Kid" with Gene Wilder. Lighter, for sure, and hilarious.

[@_yiddishkeit]

Thanks for watching :) I love Frisco Kid, its def on the list!

[@milascave2]

Jake reminds me of people who see Muslim women with head covering and yell. "Take that off! You're in America now" And, contrarily to stereotype, there are cases where it is the husband who wants their wives to take off the head covering to look more Western, and the wife who does not want to.

[@_yiddishkeit]

I guess it is cross cultural

[@didirobert3657]

I could watch Hester Street, every day, for the rest of my life. The character of Gittel is adorable. She and Bernstein have a mutual respect for one another, their religion, and of themselves. I don’t see Jake’s character being quite as money hungry as you describe him. His character is very shallow. I did feel some sympathy for him when I realized that he had fallen in love with the other woman, who he will later marry. He still showed no interest in his wife and child. He was entranced by the other woman’s beauty, so I thought that it was ironic that little Gittel was such a beautiful woman, underneath that awful wig. I loved the ending when Gittel described getting a store for them to own, and he offered to help with it, and she insisted that he devote his time to Torah study instead.

[@kellyj.azania4371]

It's clear your love of this film. You didn't miss a point. Carol Kane is just so precious as Gittel. I too love this film...all of her films; however, "Crossing Delancey" is my sentimental favorite.

[@BrianLandberg]

Very interesting film and analysis. In future, would be interested to hear your take on "Everything is Illuminated". 😊

[@_yiddishkeit]

I haven't watched it yet (shocking, I know) but it's on the list!

[@Nurichiri]

I'm not Jewish, but all of the parts of my family fully assimilated when they came to America from all over Europe and it makes me sad that we don't have any old cultural traditions in our family anymore.

[@ElizabethMeltzer-w1y]

Great line in the movie "A pox on Christoper Columbus!" said by Mr. Bernstein

[@alg11297]

This really was a wonderful movie. It appears to have been made on a pretty low budget as you can even see the boom mike in one of the shots. (Something I usually don't notice) It was based on a short story by Abraham Cahan but the screenplay made it a better story. You could have showed the scene where the landlady is pulling on Gitl's hair and says "If you want to look modern, it's gonna hoit (hurt)". I liked how it ended with Gitl and Bernstein getting together and Jake going off with the Americanized woman whom he married because he thought she had money. As they travel through the lower east side he asks why don't they take the trolley to city hall and says, "Vell, a nickel is a nickel" All the actors were very good especially Carol Kane.

[@williampawson5476]

Loved this movie when it came out... have only seen it twice... probably 40 years ago or more..... EARLY Carol Kane...

[@_yiddishkeit]

Woah... respect! Thanks for being here 💛

[@freepennsylvania6022]

My teacher played this in high school but I never remembered the name… thanks for the memory jolt

[@_yiddishkeit]

That's what I'm here for :)

[@3d3n-w5l]

So the issue for me is historical context being ofJewish heritage it goes a lot to explain my parents behavior and why they and their friends acted as they did I'm very thankful for your efforts

[@andrewsilverstein6186]

Thanks. I also liked the movie when I saw it many years ago

[@shaina--musician]

Really good!!

[@rreid3990]

Love this!!

[@GreenCanvasInteriorscape]

How I missed your channel after 20 years on KZbin immersed in Jewish content I don't know, but glad I did, check out the children's book sweet Sunny ghittl so happy was she. It was a children's book that espoused anti-materialism in a brilliant Jewish way, the title was messes of dresses, would make a terrific short film

[@_yiddishkeit]

I'm glad you're here 💛

[@ruthcohencharif]

We were extras in a movie called either the East sie or West side of Hester street. We were, my ex and our baby girl were waiting in a office in Russia, to receive a visa to America, and were told to look worried. Our photo was used to advertise the movie. I have ben trying to find that movie for years. This was in the early 1980's . Any ideas how to find the movie.

[@grammarpolice2060]

The same director did Crossing Delancy, I believe, which had similar themes but set decades later

[@_yiddishkeit]

Yes, good call!

[@michaeldimartino5389]

I enjoyed this movie very much. However, I do have a question. Why did Jake get so angry when Gitel gave into his demands and decided not to wear the wig and surprise him with her own hair?

[@_yiddishkeit]

That's a tough one! It seems at that point Jake had rejected Gittel assuming she wanted to remain a greenhorn (and bec he had his heart set on Mamie) and so he overreacts.

[@christopherphillips7985]

Excellent drosh!

[@_yiddishkeit]

Thank you 😊

[@primrosebloom]

I’m curious to watch this movie now. I resonate more with Gittel.

[@_yiddishkeit]

You def should! Check description

[@frankmontague7544]

❤ TOTALLY IN LOVE with your channel. YIDDISH, of course, is part of Being AMERICAN chutzpah-style. DESPERATION & DETERMINATION creates wonders 🎉

[@willhovell9019]

Fascinating. The narrator resembles great British actor Eddie Marsan

[@Ashira_N_A]

The Governess would be a great one to do, especially to discuss the accuracy mistakes it makes, confusing Sepharadic and Ashkenazi customs. I've discussed this extensively, but it's not really a topic that makes it to the public forum very much.

[@_yiddishkeit]

That sounds so interesting, I'll look into it!

[@taramaclaird9633]

Like your video very much. I will watch this movie.

[@_yiddishkeit]

Tysm, I'm sooo glad you're gonna watch it :)

[@uriel7203]

I'm really happy that I live in an America that I can practice my Judaism freely.

[@mariekatherine5238]

The Jews who came to the USA following WWII have gone one way or the other. The Hasidim have recreated the communities they had in Europe and are thriving in places like New York, and Toronto. Others of this group shed their Jewish clothes, strict rules, and Yiddish. They, too, adapted their Jewishness to modernity by blending in with the mass of Americans. Some gave up almost completely on actual religion. Now, as those who were direct witnesses to the Holocaust or had parents who were, a middle ground seems to have developed, that of being modern orthodox. They’re able to function in both worlds without internal conflict.

[@meeeka]

"And that is all...." is the direct translation of the German/Yiddish, "alles."

[@TerryMcKennaFineArt]

Not Jewish, but enjoyed. BTW my mother's family were from Lithuania - came here 1911 and my mother's 2 oldest sisters were born over there. So there was some assimilation even for Catholics. Even overlapping foods with Jews - so Kishka (ours had blood) and borscht. My mother's family worked in garment factories as well. And one aunt who could not tolerate lint (she sneezed) became a maid.

[@_yiddishkeit]

Wow - it really does cross cultures, and one day I have to do something on Jewish food.

[@zachesherman]

In the song Grine Kuzine by the band Golem, not only do they refer to their cousin as “green”, but this green cousin says “Brennen zoll Columbus’s Medina” literally, “may Columbus’s land burn”.

[@_yiddishkeit]

Woah, now that I must check out. Thank you 🙏

[@skontheroad]

Kennst du Yiddish?? If you can understand Yiddish, and Hebrew, or atleast the alef bais, there are even more nuanced scenes in the film (as I noticed in the last clips you showed). What is nuts is that it was easier to get a Get then than it is now! Do you know Frida Vizel btw? My husband's favorite line from his favorite movie? "It's SHABBOS! I DON'T roll on SHABBOS!!"

[@_yiddishkeit]

"A Bissel" - We talk about Walter's Jewishness and being shomer shabbos. Check it out :)

[@ruthcohencharif]

I live in Jerusalem so would appreciate any help finding the follow up movie The West side of Hester street

[@Dovid-r4d]

Excellent commentary. Great movie which I saw as a child. They were very poor in Europe but how can you give up Shabbos?

[@cohenlabe1]

Is there a connection with the Hebrew definition of the word 'Hester' and the theam of the movie

[@_yiddishkeit]

Good point! Not directly, Hester Street is a real street in the LES but there are theories... One I heard is that it was changed to a female name to refer to the change from Jake being the main character in the book, to Gitl have a much larger role in the movie.

[@cohenlabe1]

@@_yiddishkeit yes but of all the street names Hester means hidden in Hebrew perhaps someone working the film knew that

[@rachelmacgowan86]

Very much enjoyed your analysis of a fascinating film. What language are they speaking? Is it Yiddish? It sounds very similar to German yet if they were fleeing Tsarist Russian, then surely Russian would have been their 2nd language and not German...

[@_yiddishkeit]

Yes, it's Yiddish!

[@jeromemckenna7102]

Jacob Riis's last name is pronounced 'Reece', his name means rice in Danish.

[@ChanaSterna]

Where can you watch this movie?

[@_yiddishkeit]

Check the video description. Def worth a watch! (Try also searching on yt, there are some free versions)

[@lilyofthevalley9819]

I LOVE this film as well. The question the characters pose (speak English 2 the exclusion of Yiddish, ) is the same Latinos find nowadays. But there S a stitch of more tolerance) th😊nks

[@_yiddishkeit]

glad you're here! So true that this story applies nowadays

[@grasmereguy5116]

Carol Kane 5really seemed like such a greenhorn

[@naomisusanisaacs3810]

(One of) my favourites too 🥰🥰🥰

[@chatisawasteoftime]

Fancy ksubah. Quite unrealistic for a Jew who got married in czarist Russia. As an aside, the kesubah should be in Gittel's possession, not Jake's. Big mistake.

[@andrewfischer8564]

as i watch this i o and google the film... its playing tonight on ludlow st.. i may have to go

[@_yiddishkeit]

Did you go 🧐😇

[@lohikarhu734]

The photos of the lower East side kind of make one wonder what convinced people to leave Europe for what looks like a slum... Must have been quite a struggle for all of the immigrants at that time. Supporting 🇵🇸 but not hating you, regular people of the Jewish faith. Good movie for me to track down...

[@Sad_Bumper_Sticker]

Google XIX century and pre-WW2 Pogroms on Jewish people in Eastern Europe and Russia, e.g. how many thousands of Jewish people were murdered in Pogroms in e.g. pre-WW2 Ukraine. And after WW2 broke out many Eastern European countries took part in German Nazi holocaust crimes e.g. locals participated in the murder of hundreds of thousands Jews in Babi Yar. There are countless such examples. The antisemitic violence and pogroms were behind why so many Jewish people from Eastern Europe and Russia migrated to the US in the XIX centrury and early XX century, then from the 1930s Hitler targeted Jewish people in Germany, so those who were fortunate to have money migrated from Hitler’s Germany before 1939. Also, it is an antisemitic myth that most Jews living in XIX and early XX century Europe and Russia were rich, the Jewish population was never homogenic, many Jewish people were Hasidic and lived in wooden Shtetls in very modest conditions. The community poverty was such, that pre-WW2 Jewish traffickers would travel to Eastern Europe to trick poor Shtetl Jewish prople into giving them their preteen and teen daughters „to work as servants in South America”, this was a mass precedent. The victimised women were then trafficked for decades. So America was safe for Jewish pre-WW2 migrants. And they worked hard to escape poverty.

[@_yiddishkeit]

Despite the terrible conditions, the promise of america seemed like a better deal than staying in the Russian empire.

[@janetmacarthur2130]

Check out what they endured during the pogroms.

[@bluebee5266]

If you knew some history you would know that these people were fleeing for their lives and survival as a people (the May Laws, etc.). Then with history knowledge in general you might also stop "supporting Palestine" too.

[@alg11297]

If you have the patience, could you review "The Apprentership of Duddy Kravitz" a Canadian import. Richard Dreyfuss was great as well as the guy who played his father who wasn't Jewish.

[@_yiddishkeit]

It's on the list!

[@__dissident__]

Truth is always in the middle. The challenge is finding this middle. The world is changing but our heritage is not.

[@Dovid-r4d]

Disgusting how Yosele's payess were cut off.

[@grahamwilson5835]

Jake grinds my gears.

[@chrisbea49]

Am not Jewish. Watched for first time on this recommendation. Enjoyable interesting film and some lighthearted amusing scenes to balance the serious. There are sympathetic characters on both sides of the immigrant divide but the way Jake treats the women in his life is very jarring along with the jingoistic Yankee stuff. Since this is from the mid 70s and a female director I wonder if is intended to intersect with the feminist movement with the abusive Jake who is charming at times but a bit of a wastrel compared to the female leads Mamie who is a successful version of Jake and the unbreakable Gitl.

[@_yiddishkeit]

There is def something to that angle, although it isstill grounded in the Cahan novel

[@dirgniflesuoh7950]

😮This film! I saw i _years_ ago, on Swedish television, in the 70ies ... In my low teens ...I have been looking for it. Could not remember the title, had an impression that Meryl Steeep was in it 😂, before she was famous like ... I did not like Jake, I was most amazed by Gettl's transformation, herself but different.

[@_yiddishkeit]

I'm soooo glad I could be part of that :)

[@boogerie]

It's so easy to hate on Jake. But at the end of the day he has Bernstein's number. He needs a wife who can run the business so he can "sit on his tuchus and read his books." I can easily imagine Gittel growing into that role and becoming a formidable if not intimidating figure

[@DancingFrozen]

In your description of the two types of Jews in America today, you're very dismissive of the second camp, saying they feel "somewhat Jewish". Why is that?

[@_yiddishkeit]

Jewish identity is not the largest slice of the pie anymore, there is also American identity (or others). So unlike in the old country where Jewish was was most of who they were, now they were somewhat Jewish.