Our last couple posts have explored Jewish Heritage Sites here on the Lower East Side: our Eldridge St. Synagogue, Seward Park and Stieblach Row.

But now, let’s escape the chaos and clamor of the city and take a trip back to another locale at the center of the Jewish-American experience: a summer vacation in the Catskill Mountains!

Fresh air, wide open spaces and, of course, enough embarrassing family photos to last a lifetime! A trip to the Catskills offered this and so much more to city-dwellers needing an escape. The mid-20th century was the heyday of the Catskills as a premier vacation destination for New York Jews. Filled with resorts that catered to individuals of all ages, memories of lounging by the pool, leisurely afternoon walks and a delicious kosher lunch at The Concord are all staples of the resort region.

But how, you ask, did the Catskills come to be such a popular destination for the Jewish community?
There is no simple answer, but let’s look at a few key factors. With the post-World War II economic boom, the concept of “going on vacation” became a feasible reality for many American families. Yet, at the time, the Jewish community was still facing social discrimination. Restrictions based on ethnicity barred Jews from many mainstream country clubs and resorts. Still hungry for the opportunity to escape the city, Jewish owned establishments began to pop up in the Catskills at the beginning of the 20th century. Grossinger’s, one of the most famous, became so popular that by time it closed in ‘86, it had its own airstrip and post office!

Like the Museum at Eldridge Street, Jewish resorts in the Catskills represent an intersection between being Jewish and being American. As sociologist Phil Brown states, “ In ‘the mountains,’ Jews of Eastern European descent could have a proper vacation and become Americanized while preserving much of their Jewish culture. They imported their music, humor, vaudeville revue style, cuisine, language, and world views. These vacation spots were not merely resorts – they were miniature societies shaped by the vacationers’ urban culture.” – Take My Memories, Please: Keeping the Catskills Alive

So, what better way to remember the ambiance of a New York summer in the country than by joining us here at the Museum at Eldridge Street on May 16 for our very own Evening at the Catskills! Show off (or brush up on) your Simon Says technique. Indulge in a creamsicle while trying your hand at a game of canasta. Or enjoy the sweet sounds of pianist Steve Sterner and Shane Baker’s vaudevillian theatrics while you wait in anticipation for the caller to pull B9, the only number keeping you from a BINGO! And who knows, maybe you’ll even meet your own Johnny Castle and truly have the Time of Your Life.

To learn more about the history of vacationing in the Catskills here are a few useful resources:

The Catskills Institute, Borscht Belt Memories & The Rise and Fall of the Borscht Belt

The streets of the Lower East Side are filled with religious spaces of all shapes and sizes: churches, Buddhist temples and synagogues, to mention a few. Even within a Judaic context, houses of worship vary greatly. The Eldridge Street Synagogue, boasting an ornate stucco façade displaying Stars of David, is a recognizably Jewish space. But, not all synagogues in the area are as easily distinguishable.

I invite you to travel back in time to the turn of the 20th- century, when the streets of the Lower East Side were filled with new immigrants arriving daily from Eastern Europe. A lack of space and a desire to worship with individuals from one’s own community led to the popularity of shtieblach, or storefront synagogues. Some were as cramped as a single room, having space for only a small minyan (quorom of 10 required for prayer). Congregations shared buildings with shops, tailors and even secular newspapers and non-kosher eateries! The Lower East Side became the home to over 500 small shtieblach, some of which still stand today.

Equipped with a map outlined by our Deputy Director Amy Stein-Milford, fellow intern Sophie and I ventured to explore Shtieblach Row, home to an entire block of small, storefront synagogues.

To the casual passerby these buildings appear to be standard tenement apartments, but plaques display the name of congregations whose roots trace back to Eastern Europe. While walking, Sophie and I stopped to take a closer look at 239 East Broadway, Congregation Chevras Yeshuas Yaakov Anshe Sfard. The founders emigrated from Austro-Hungary, and the congregation still hosts minyans. They have even made the transition into the age of the internet, and weekly minyan times are posted online. Just a few steps away is the home of Congregation Beth Hachasidim de Polen, which began in 1904 by immigrants coming from Poland.

Here at the Museum at Eldridge Street our roots also trace back to worship in a shtiebel. The congregation, Kahal Adath Jeshurun, began in 1853 and originally worshiped on Allen St., about 25 years before the doors at Eldridge Street were opened! Even today the congregation’s original ark stands in the lower level Bes Medrash (House of Study), a relic of the time before the Eldridge Street Synagogue became of a part of Lower East Side history!

Eldridge Street Trivia:

How much did it cost to move this ark from Allen Street to Eldridge Street in 1887?

We’d love to hear your guesses, and come on a tour of the Museum to learn the answer!

Spring is in the air,
and Seward Park is a favorite Lower East Side destination.

Old and young find their way to historic Seward Park, located just a few blocks from the Museum at Eldridge Street. A space to relax on a bench, practice tai chi aside vibrant pink tulips or to challenge your friends to a race across the monkey bars, Seward Park is – and always was – a refuge from the crowded city streets.

Yet, public parks and green spaces have not always been part of the Lower East Side’s landscape. Seward Park opened on October 17, 1903 and was the first permanent city-funded playground in the United States. Prior to the park’s opening, people living on the Lower East Side were without an outdoor public recreation space, making the transition for new immigrants coming from steitel life in rural Eastern Europe even more challenging.

The following excerpt from Hungry Hearts, a collection of stories written by Polish-American author Anzia Yezierska, whose own family immigrated to the Lower East Side around the turn of the 20th century, gives us some insight:

“I looked about the narrow streets of squeezed-in stores and houses, ragged clothes, dirty bedding oozing out of the windows, ash-cans and garbage-cans cluttering the sidewalks. A vague sadness pressed down my heart – the first doubt of America.

‘Where are the green fields and open spaces in America?’ cried my heart. ‘Where is the golden country of my dreams?’ … All about me was the hardness of brick and stone, the stinking smells of crowded poverty… ‘Oi veh!’ my mother cried in dismay. ‘Where’s the sunshine in America?’”

Seward Park provided the community with a place to escape the tenements and changed the lives of thousands of families and children growing up on the Lower East Side. Like the neighborhood, Seward Park has undergone transformations with the changing times, but one thing has stayed constant: the laughter and bustle of kids and families enjoying the space.

Jungle Gym in Seward Park - April 2012

Click here to visit the City of New York Parks and Recreation site and learn more about the history of public parks and playgrounds in the five boroughs.

We’d love to hear your favorite spring-time spots in the city!

Published by Courtney under History, Immigration, Landmarks, Lower East Side, Photographs

A Night Out on the Jewish Rialto, an event on Thursday, August 11th, honors the lively community of Yiddish theater on the Lower East Side. This event is the brainchild of our wonderful summer interns — Alyssa Constad, Leah Horowitz, David Schlenker, and Julia Gerasimenko. Their mission was to create an inspirational and entertaining  program that would hark back to the spirit and atmosphere of  the Jewish Rialto. We would love for you to participate in the historic spirit of the event, especially through our suggested glamorous theater-wear dress code! Here intern Julia Gerasimenko shares the history of the Rialto.

The Jewish Rialto was the Yiddish theater district that ran along Second Avenue from Houston Street all the way north to 14^th street. This strip was home to theaters and restaurants, both of which were equally important to the scene. We came across information about this neighborhood while we were researching vaudeville acts on the Lower East Side. We started with the idea to recreate an evening of entertainment that would have been typical for our original congregants, but with a modern spin.

A Night Out will feature live music performed by Eletfa, a Hungarian music group comprised of  gypsy violins. These violins were typical of the parlors where both actors and patrons would nosh and schmooze before and after the theater. The parlors and restaurants would typically serve blintzes, cherry varenyki (dumplings), and other finger food. Sometimes patrons would even bring food over to the performances. We will serve knishes from Yonah Schimmel’s, snacks from Noah’s Ark Deli and Russ & Daughters, and beer from Brooklyn Brewery!

At the theater, crowds were loud and performances were often interactive, whether or not they were intended to be. The language of choice was Yiddish. The types of acts varied from operetta, musical comedy, satiric or nostalgic revues; melodrama; expressionist and modernist plays; and of course vaudeville. We will entertain you with selections from the films of Eddie Cantor, a famous vaudeville star who is rumored to have lived on Eldridge Street. We encourage you to re-watch classic favorites to get inspired, such as Funny Girl!

In the Museum’s own  ‘Academic Angles’ journal, we read that the dance halls and the theaters were the two biggest competitors for attention with the synagogue (“Goldene Medine, Treyfene Medine: Judaism Survives Migration to America”, David Soyer). While it may seem slightly ironic that we are hosting this event in the main sanctuary of the Eldridge Street Synagogue, we pay tribute to the varied cultural activities of our neighborhood.

Between 1890 and 1940 there were over 200 Yiddish theaters or touring troupes in the US. Today there is a small but vital Yiddish theater community working to make its presence known in New York City. The Jewish Rialto specifically, a precious piece of Lower East Side culture, has faded just like the “Sidewalk of the Stars”, a 35-ft long sidewalk with worn down granite plaques  with the names of 58 great Rialto performers carved into them. This Sidewalk is in front of the now defunct Second Ave Delicatessen (on Second Avenue and E 9th St) and was installed in 1985.

More must be done to celebrate this great period and place in American Jewish culture. So we hope you can join us in celebrating the Jewish Rialto!

Tickets are $15 ($10 if you follow us on Facebook or Twitter). Please RSVP by emailing hgriff@eldridgestreet.org. 8PM – 11PM.

Roberta and Nancy, our archivist, enjoying our most recent gala

Master Docent Roberta Berken shares:

In my capacity as a docent I am fortunate to meet people from all over the world and the country. Here are some of their stories.

In East London in the l9th century it was the custom for street peddlers to specialize in a particular item. Often the Jewish peddlers would sell fish and the Irish peddlers would sell potatoes, According to one of our visitors from London the Irish and the Jewish peddlers got together and decided to sell fried fish and potatoes together. Thus the origin of fish and chips. Now is this a fish story?? On the Lower East Side in the 1890’s one of our visitors described her great grandfather as a custom peddler. He would question his neighbors as to what they wanted to purchase for their needs. He would do their shopping for them for a fee. Thus the first personal shopper.

In a town in North Carolina there is a very special Torah. A visitor to our sanctuary while standing near the Ark told how her great grandfather fled his shetl with the Torah from the towns’ synagogue. While running from the shetl the soldiers fired on the band of Jews. One of the bullets hit the Torah which her great grandfather was holding saving her great grandfather but leaving a hole that went through the Torah cover and most of the Torah scroll. The Torah saved his life. She said that the Torah is in their synagogue and is used on special occasions.

Maybe something can be done about the weather…

As the Museum’s archivist, it has been a treat to be able to look at each item in our collection.  What are my favorites?  It’s so hard to say, but this sign, from the Museum’s sizable collection of Hebrew and Yiddish signs collected from around our Lower East Side neighborhood, is on my list.

It’s small, about the size of a standard sheet of paper.  Its frame is nicked and worn, and the sign itself is stained.  Why do I like this so much?  I like how it looks, its authentic patina of age.  But the deal was sealed when I found out what it says.

The Hebrew writing is the beginning of the Blessing for Dew:  “V’ten Tal u’Matar“; in English, “And give rain and dew.”  This sign signals that this blessing should be added to daily prayers, and it would be hung on the synagogue’s bimah during the dry season in Israel, roughly from fall through early spring.

I was curious about why the sign had clearly gotten wet — its letters are blurred and its hanger is rusted.  I wanted to think that it had hung outside and that its instructions had produced results — that it had worked and brought rain.  But probably, like so much else at the Eldridge Street Synagogue, it fell victim to the elements when the main sanctuary was shut in the 1950s.  Still, I love that the cycles of nature are part of prayer and faith, and that asking for rain would be a community aspiration.

As this brutal winter drags on, maybe we should organize a collective prayer for an early Spring!

Written by Nancy Johnson, Museum Archivist

Our building tours offer visitors a peek into the workings of the historic Eldridge Street Synagogue, and we’ve been busy adding new themes and tours to our lineup. You can now experience Eldridge through the lens of immigration, ritual practice, or architecture and preservation.

On Beyond the Facade: Architecture and Preservation, we break out the flashlights and turn our visitors  into forensic architects. What were the choices made by the founders of the Eldridge Street Synagogue 123 years ago? How did this building, the first synagogue built from the ground up by Eastern European Jews, reflect the aspirations of an immigrant community? What techniques and materials were used in its original construction? Which buildings, religious and secular, inspired the architecture of this space?

But this building is more than just an ossified architectural relic, and on the tour visitors also explore the 20-year, 19 million-dollar restoration of this space. What was the preservation philosophy at Eldridge Street? Where can you find the unrestored elements of the building, and why were they left alone? How does a new contemporary window, designed by Kiki Smith and Deborah Gans,  fit into a high Victorian space? And my favorite: which bug produces the laquer used on the benches?

So next time you’re in the neighborhood, make sure to stop by and experience Eldridge as never before. Offered daily at 11:30, 1:30 and 3:30. Whet your appetite for architecture with this restoration video, which offers insight into the process of restoring this century-old building.

Looking for a tasty treat? In this week’s installment, we have recipes guaranteed to knock your socks off. Consider this fair warning.

Tomato and Zucchini Salad

First up is Jan’s Tomato and Zucchini Salad. If you want to thank her for making your meal healthful and delicious, stop by the Museum on Mondays and take her tour. A former French teacher, Jan has been known to lead tours in French, Spanish and even Italian– a fitting setting for this nice summer salad recipe. She even includes plating directions: what a balabusta!

Ingredients:

• l large tomato, coarsely chopped or diced
• l small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 2 T. sliced green onion
• 1 tsp. snipped fresh basil
• 2 T. Wishbone Robusto Italian Dressing

In a medium mixing bowl combine tomato, zucchini, green onion, basil, and Italian dressing.  Toss lightly to mix. Line 4 salad plates with leaf lettuce.  Divide tomato mixture between plates.Makes 4 servings.  If you are serving a dairy lunch, you can sprinkle each serving with some shredded mozzarella cheese.

Hanna’s Summer Pot Roast

This recipe is courtesy of Hanna Griff-Sleven, Director of Family History Center & Cultural Programs at the Museum. In addition to planning amazing cultural events and taking oral histories of former worshipers at the Eldridge Street Synagogue, Hanna is our resident chef. This recipe is her latest attempt to simplify summer cooking. With just a few ingredients and the most basic of prep work, this pot roast is simply a mikhaye.

Ingredients:

• 3 lbs. pot roast
• ½ c. olive oil
• Juice of two lemons
• Zest of one lemon
• 2 cups of miso soup or beef broth

Brown the meat on all sides in olive oil.  Add the lemon juice and soup/broth, cover and cook on low flame for 2- 2 and a half hours or until meat is tender. Add the lemon zest and cook for 15 more minutes.  Serve hot or cold. Pair with mashed potatoes and a nice green salad.

Via the Jewish Women’s Archive: Emma Goldman’s career, followed closely by many in the Yiddish-speaking world, provided this newspaper — subtitled “A Journal of Humor, Wit, and Satire” — with a great deal of subject material. The caption under this cartoon reads: “Emma Goldman, the grogger [noise-maker] and Free Speech in America.” The cartoonist effectively pokes fun both at Goldman’s outspokenness and at the authorities’ attempts to silence the “noise-maker.”

On our Stoop, Synagogue, Soapbox walking tour, we stroll the local streets while exploring the intersection of politics, ideology and religion on the Lower East Side of 100 years ago. One of the more(in)famous characters we meet along the way is Emma Goldman– feminist, anarchist, rabble rouser and proponent of free love. A fascinating historical figure, Goldman’s life was dedicated to changing the status-quo of the world in which she found herself: “I want freedom, the right to self-expression, everybody’s right to beautiful, radiant things.”

Looking for Goldman on the internet? Here are a few places to help your search:

• Berkley Digital Libary SunSite offers a digital index to her correspondence, government papers, articles and speeches
• Read her famous essays at Project Gutenberg
• Prefer your anarchy bite-sized? Don’t miss her Twitter feed

Join us at 7 PM on Thursday, August 12th as we meet Emma and other East Side politicos on the Stoop, Synagogue, Soapbox walking tour. Email Nina Cohen to reserve a spot.

On our Gangster, Writer, Rabbi walking tour, we explore the lives–and funeral processions–of three iconic Lower East Side figures: writer Sholem Aleichem, Rabbi Jacob Joseph, and East Side gangster Big Jack Zelig. Though Bugsy Siegel and  Meyer Lansky usually come to mind when thinking of Jewish gangsters, Zelig was a true leader of crime in the neighborhood. As Abraham Schoenfeld, detective for the Kehilla, a Jewish communal organization, wrote: “Men before him – like Kid Twist, Monk Eastman, and others – were as pygmies to a giant. With the passing of Zelig, one of the most ‘nerviest’, strongest, and best men of his kind left us.”

Who was Big Jack Zelig? Born Zelig Harry Lefkowitz, Zelig was the leader of a band of Jewish gangsters in New York City in the early 1900s. Early in 1912, the Zelig gang was hired by corrupt New York City Police Lieutenant Charles Becker who ran a protection racket for the New York gangs to kill another Manhattan gangster named Herman (Beansie) Rosenthal whom Becker thought was an informant. Rosenthal was shot to death on a Manhattan Street on July 16,1912 by four of Big Jack’s men. Police Lieut. Becker was arrested and charged with ordering Rosenthal’s murder and put on trial with Zelig scheduled to testify against him. On Oct. 5,1912, the night before the trial was to begin Big Jack Zelig was shot to death while riding on a Second Ave. trolley car in Manhattan. Police Lieut. Becker was convicted of ordering Rosenthal’s murder and sentenced to death. He was executed in Sing-Sing’s electric chair.

Death may be final, but the story doesn’t end there. Find out how Zelig’s funeral polarized the downtown Jewish community, underscoring tensions between American commericalism and Eastern European traditions. The tour is offered Thursdays July 29  and August 19 at 7pm.