We were two blocks from a synagogue. But we couldn’t attend. We were too poor
This essay is part of our ongoing series, Outside the Bubble: Class and Inequality in the Jewish Community. It explores the class divides in Jewish communities of all denominations, and the financial struggles belonging to these communities can incur. Please email your thoughts and essays to batya@forward.com.
As a baal teshuva first-generation Russian Jewish immigrant transplant, I felt the results of the class hierarchy I had landed in.
I could, on a personal level, relate to this essay. A lot.
“I’m HERE” is a work created by choreographer Enzo Celli and written for the Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, directed by Igal Perry.
Tel Aviv has made a splash in Hollywood over the last four years. Prime examples of Israel’s Hollywood success include hit shows “In Treatment” and “Homeland,” both of which are based on Israeli concepts, have gained critical acclaim and won numerous awards. The relationship between the two cities began over a decade ago through the Jewish Federation’s twin city program. Veteran producer Howard Rosenman began “The Master Class in Film and Television” in 2001 to teach Israelis about the entertainment industry and to facilitate relationships between Israelis and Hollywood entertainment professionals. This education combined with Israelis’ ingenuity have enabled Israel to become a sought after source of creative intellectual property. Lara Berman, Los Angeles, JN1.
I have a particularly vivid memories of visiting New York City as a small child. We’d take a bus, my mother and grandmother and I, early in the morning, from Western Massachusetts, where we lived. We took this trip every year from third grade until high school, planning our consumer attacks on Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s to buy school clothes. We’d eat dinner in the basement of Macy’s, where it was dim, bustling and smelled like coffee. Then we’d pile our shopping bags onto the bus for a long, cramped ride home.