But while all that that is certainly worth commemorating, it's not the only "passing over" that the Jewish people have experienced. And lately (thanks in large part to Sarah who enables me) I've been thinking a lot about a different time period's "passing over".
Namely, when Eastern European Jews fled the pogroms and prejudice in the Pale of Settlement, passed over the Atlantic Ocean, and settled in the United States. Many of them in the Lower East Side neighbourhood of New York City, as dramatised by another appropriate movie for this time of year, "American Tail." (I like animated movies, so sue me!)
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| Photo courtesy of the National Park Service |
Now unfortunately, the historic Lower East Side is changing fast nowadays. Gentrification is pushing out family businesses - There's a Whole Foods on Houston Street, and I heard recently of plans to completely overhaul the Seward Park area, which I am completely against as it completely changes the historic character of the park, which is one of the few places left where one can still imagine what life was like for these immigrants. And even putting gentrification aside, Chinatown is rapidly expanding, pushing into the area and covering up Hebrew signs with Chinese ones. (Though the two communities do mostly live in harmony, thankfully.)
However, there are still quite a few remnants of the neighbourhood that the Eastern European Jews of the early 20th century knew, if one knows where to look. And they're all within walking distance of one another, so it's quite easy to form a walking tour of all of them! Of course, I won't tell you which order to visit all of these - I think it's much more fun to wander the streets and take in the sights until you stumble across them rather than try to hit every stop in order like some sort of grocery store checklist. I'm simply presenting them in alphabetical order.
Angel Orensanz Foundation
Though it has been converted now into a modern event space, the structure of the building is still intact, and it was important in American Jewish history, and thus it still warrants a place on this list. Originally known as the Anshe Chesed Synagogue, this former synagogue was built in 1849, making it the oldest-surviving synagogue building in New York City, and one of only a handful built in the Gothic Revival architectural style. It was built for German Jews, but by the 1870s the congregation was largely Eastern European.
Unfortunately, the synagogue was abandoned in the 1970s, and left to fall into ruin until Spanish Jewish artist Angel Orensanz bought it. He has since restored it to an arts and events space. (Sarah Jessica Parker got married here, and musicians as varied as Florence + the Machine and Whitney Houston have performed here.) Happily, a Reform Jewish congregation, the Shul of New York, now uses the building as a synagogue for the High Holy Days, meaning that twice a year, even after over a century and a half, this beautiful building still gets to fulfill its original function. [172 Norfolk Street]
Bialystoker Synagogue
The Bialystoker Synagogue was built as a Christian church, but as the demographics of the neighbourhood changed, the building changed hands, ultimately landing in the hands of a congregation from Białystok, Poland in 1905 - thus the name.
Most of the time, this one is closed to the public, but if you're lucky enough to be nearby when they offer a rare tour, I encourage you to take it. (I still haven't gotten the chance to do so, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll get to soon!) Because of this, I cannot say much about it, I'm afraid, but it has been hugely influential in New York Jewish history, and thus it's well worth a visit.
In addition, if you're into that sort of thing, there's a memorial plaque here for famed gangster Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel. [7-11 Bialystoker Place]
Economy Candy
Okay, okay, so this is cheating a little. Economy Candy wasn't opened until the 1930s, but it's still completely worth the visit. You can buy any type of candy you can imagine in bulk, and all for much cheaper than you're likely to find anywhere else. But it is a traditional Jewish institution, opened by a man named Moishe Cohen, and it's positively a New York icon.
Specifically for our Jewish-themed little jaunt, it's worth checking out their kosher goods. Chocolate covered matzo and coconut macaroons are both available for cheap, but where Economy Candy really shines is in their halvah selection. Halvah, a traditional middle eastern dessert popular in Israel, Eastern Europe, and among the Jewish diaspora, is a chewy treat made of sesame seed paste.
Economy Candy has a large halvah selection, especially considering the shop's relatively small size. There's an entire area of the store devoted to the stuff, which you can buy in wrapped bar form, or by the pound, in flavours from chocolate to vanilla to pistachio. [108 Rivington Street]
Eldridge Street Synagogue
This big, beautiful building is hard to miss - and why would you want to? From the richly decorated exterior with its Moorish-inspired details and repeated Magen David motifs (a gleeful expression of freedom of religion - back in Europe putting such details on a building meant risking destruction and death) to it's beautifully restored awe-inspiring interior, this synagogue and museum (it functions as both) is well worth a visit. If you only have time for a few stops, this should be one of them!
While not the first synagogue in New York City, this was the first one built specifically by Eastern European Jews (former synagogues had been built by Portuguese or German congregations), and one of the largest and most ornate. The downstairs is still used as an Orthodox Jewish synagogue, but there's also an exhibit about the history of both the synagogue itself, and the community surrounding it, with religious artefacts from the early 1900s and old Yiddish street signs galore. There are even interactive portions of the exhibit for the young and the young-at-heart.
Upstairs is a beautifully restored historic religious sanctuary, which you can tour to learn about the beliefs and traditions of the Jewish community that called this their congregation. The museum also hosts events throughout the year which celebrate the American Jewish experience. I'd recommend going on a Monday, when the museum has their 'pay as you wish' days. [12 Eldridge Street]
Essex Street Market
I've chosen to use an older photo of this market to show its Jewish past. Nowadays, reflecting changes in the neighbourhood's demographics, it's largely a Hispanic market. But a mural inside explains some of its history. In 1900, when this was still largely a Jewish neighbourhood, those unable to afford a shop peddled their wares from pushcarts - in fact, many places, including some later on this list, got their start as pushcarts in the street markets on Hester Street and Orchard Street. By 1917 there were around 6,000 of these pushcarts crammed into the Lower East Side, selling everything from produce to cheese to clothing to pots and pans. 70% of these vendors were Jewish. 20% were Italian. The remaining 10% belonged to various other groups. The area was well known for pushcart markets by the time of the Great Depression.
That's where this market comes in. In 1934, newly-elected Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia vowed to clear the streets of pushcarts, which were clogging up the roads and making it impossible for cars to pass. In 1940, Essex Street Market opened, and pushcart vendors were moved to one of thr 476 stalls inside the 4 separate buildings.
It has shrunk over the years, but there are still stalls along the walls of this market, setting apart from other grocery stores. (Such as that pesky Whole Foods that I keep kvetching about.) You can still get a taste of some classic Jewish baked goods at the Davidovich Bakery stall inside. Or you can grab sushi, tacos, coffee, beer, or Arancini (a Sicilian riceball) at various other stalls. A directory of them all can be found here. [120 Essex Street]
Jewish Daily Forward Building
Situated across the street from Seward Park - an excellent place to sit and nibble on a knish or some halvah - is this imposing structure with Hebrew lettering at the top, towering over the buildings around it. (This is one huge reason I'm so against redeveloping the area - I like a symbol of Jewish freedom being the tallest building around!)
The Jewish Daily Forward soon became the most widely-read Jewish newspaper in America. Published in both English and Yiddish, this newspaper was wildly popular among the immigrant Jewish community. It published articles on a wide variety of topics, from tips and tricks to seem more American, to a "Dear Abby" style advice column calledthe Bintel Brief. The Forward was also very liberal and socialist-leaning, and hugely influential in developing American Jewish politics, defending trade unions and even supporting the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
Though the paper no longer publishes daily, and the building has been converted into apartments, its facade still towers over Seward Park, Hebrew letters and all. [175 East Broadway]
Kehila Kedosha Janina
The Jewish population of the Lower East Side was largely Ashkenazi, but that doesn't mean every single Jewish person in this densely populated area was Ashkenazi. Other Jewish populations came to live in this area, too, including a group of lesser-known Romaniote Jews. Romaniote Jews come from Greece, and are the closest modern group to the Jews of Ancient Rome. Their traditions are distinctly different from both Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews (and of course from other lesser-known Jewish diasporic groups - like the Kaifeng for example - but in New York it's the Ashkenazi and the Sephardic Jews who have the largest presence).
Kehila Kedosha Janina is the only Romaniote synagogue and shul in not only New York, but the entire Western Hemisphere, and is one of the only remaining active synagogues on the Lower East Side. That alone is worth a visit, but the building also has a small museum devoted to Greek Jewry which is open on Sundays and by appointment. [280 Broome Street]
Kossar's Bialys
First off, you may be wondering "what the hell is a bialy?" Delicious, that's what. They're kind of like bagels, except they're not boiled before being baked, and instead of a hole in the middle, they have a dimple that can be filled with onions, garlic, poppyseeds, or whatever, really. The word "bialy" is short for their Yiddish name, "Bialystoker Kuchen" (coming from the same place as the Bialystoker Synagogue), which means "little bread from Bialystok". They are just as delicious as a bagel, though. And though there are many places in New York to try them, I encourage you to check them out at Kossar's.
It's another relatively later addition to the neighbourhood (opened in 1936!) when compared to places like Eldridge Street Synagogue, but Kossar's has still been baking bialys (and bagels as well) for over 80 years, helping to keep the tradition of good Jewish food alive in the Lower East Side. It's well worth a try, especially if you've never had a bialy before! [367 Grand Street]
Lower East Side Tenement Museum
It's no surprise that this museum has gotten critical acclaim. At $25 a ticket, it's a bit pricey, but well worth the money, especially if you're trying to get a full picture of the type of life these immigrants lived. In 1988, historian Ruth Abram purchased this old tenement building on Orchard Street only to find that the upstairs had been sealed off in 1935 - making it a giant time capsule. Like any good historian, her immediate reaction was to turn it into a museum. (I like the way you think, Ruth Abram.)
The Tenement Museum tells the stories of the lives of immigrants from the 1860s to the 1930s, with tours focusing on the Irish experience, the Italian-Catholic experience, and the Jewish experience. The museum also provides a documentary film and offers tours with costumed interpreters portraying the building's former residents, tastings of their communities' typical foods, and neighbourhood walks. The tours place the immigrants' lives in the broader context of American history.
Relevant to this blog entry's topic is the Sweatshop Workers tour, which visits the apartments of two Eastern European Jewish families who worked in the garment industry at the turn of the twentieth century: The Levine family, who couldn't afford a family and worked out of their living room; and the Rogarshevsky family, whose table is permanently set for Shabbat. [97 Orchard Street]
The Pickle Guys
Back in the time when this area was still predominantly Jewish, pickle carts were a dime a dozen. You could buy pickles on nearly every street corner, and many families didn't consider a meal complete without some pickles on the side. Sadly, over the years, many places to get pickles closed as Jews left the neighbourhood, driven out by rising rents or a desire for something better. Soon enough, there were no places left... until 2003 when Alan Kaufman opened The Pickle Guys.
While this is a newer establishment, many alter kockers who remember the days of the Jewish Lower East Side, as well as food critics, consider The Pickle Guys as kind of a phoenix-like ressurection of New York Jewish pickle tradition. These pickles are hand-made, barrel-cured in salty brine "just the way mom used to make them" as their website says. They're completely kosher, and every step of their creation is overseen by a Rabbi. Even if this place wasn't around in the early 1900s, the food Kaufman makes was, so you can still taste a taste of what those immigrants tasted.
Personally, I can't stand the taste of pickles. I'm still glad this place exists, though, and as it's only a few doors down from Kossar's Bialy, you could easily grab some pickles as a side to your bialy. Plus, they offer free samples. [357 Grand Street]
Russ and Daughters
More good traditional Jewish food! As the story goes, Russ and Daughters began when Joel Russ, a Polish Jewish immigrant, began selling mushrooms right off his back when he got to America in 1905, until he could afford a pushcart. The pushcart was soon successful enough that in 1914, he opened up an "Appetizing Shop". This is not a deli. Delis sell meat, and traditionally, keeping kosher means not mixing meat with dairy. An appetizing shop sells dairy and fish products. (Fish are pareve under Kosher law, meaning they can be eaten with meat or with dairy.) Traditionally, when men opened shops, they'd have their sons help them out, but Joel Russ and his wife only had three daughters. So Russ - who was always cantankerous with customers anyway - shrugged and had his three, pleasant-mannered daughters (Hattie, Ida, and Annie) come help. Thus, Russ and Daughters, not Sons. A feminist statement, even if Joel Russ definitely didn't mean it as such.
The shop is still in the family, but the novelty of the name isn't the only reason to visit. Everything they make is delicious. The bagels? Spectacular. The latkes? Superb. The egg creams? Outstanding. My vegetarian ass has never tried the lox that they're so famous for, but being that it constantly gets rave reviews and that the shop is constantly packed, I'm willing to bet it's pretty damn good too.
The success of the place have enabled them to open up a retro-style Jewish diner just down the street (one of my favourite places to eat when I can afford to eat out), as well as being chosen by the Jewish Museum uptown to run the museum's café. They also deliver nationwide. But for the most authentic experience, it's worth visiting where it all began. [179 East Houston Street]
Talmud Torah Door
This door is closed off, as the Romanian congregation that once owned the building that used to stand here is defunct, and the main synagogue collapsed in 2006, leading to the building's demolition two months later. But for over 100 years, the congregation worshipped and studied here- at one point the congregation's membership was in the thousands. There's a very rich, storied history, which wikipedia goes over in detail. But unfortunately, all that remains is this former entrance to the Talmud Torah (a place for Jews to study, well, the Talmud and the Torah). I sincerely hope that this beautiful stone carving, a remnant of a past era, survives the gentrification of the Lower East Side, but sadly I don't know how long it'll be there. It's worth seeing - while you still can. [Rivington Street]
Tenements
While many of them have been torn down over the years to make room for fancy hotels or Whole Foods, many more still have been converted into modern apartment buildings, their facades largely unchanged. Back when the immigrants of the early 20th century lived in these buildings, most of the apartments had only three tiny rooms - a bedroom, a kitchen, and a living room that often doubled as a bedroom for children or boarders.
The tenements didn't have bathrooms - there were communal outhouses or bathrooms in the hallways, one per floor - or hot water - older buildings had water pumps outside, newer ones had cold water which renters heated in pots on the stove. Conditions were filthy, and vermin often ran unchecked through the hallways. Diseases spread through these buildings rapidly.
It's humbling to look up at these buildings and imagine what life was like for the thousands of immagrants (and I do mean thousands - by 1900 there were over 700 people per acre in this neighbourhood, and approximately 350,000 Jewish people lived within two square miles) who called these tiny, filthy places home.
Yonah Schimmel's Knish Bakery
Yes, their sign is spelled wrong. They're aware. However you spell it, this knishery has been in business since 1910 - and even before that, the original Yonah Schimmel started selling knishes from, that's right, a pushcart in 1890. The knishes here are still hand-made, and the business, like Russ and Daughters, is still in the family, making it one of few survivors of the old Jewish Lower East Side. Not only that, but eating here is a quintessential New York City experience - so much so that in 1968, New York Magazine claimed "No New York politician in the last fifty years has been elected to public office without having at least one photograph taken showing him [at Yonah Schimmel's] with a knish in his face"
A potato knish will cost you $3.25. If you're lucky, you'll get to see it come up from the basement on the original dumbwaiter. Even if you don't see the dumbwaiter in action, the decor in here is charmingly old school, and a piping hot round knish is a perfect end to a day exploring the Lower East Side's rich history. Bring cash. [137 East Houston Street].
So there you have it. Just a small sampling of sites that are well worth visiting any time you're in New York City. And, of course, this Passover, please keep the plight of the modern immigrants and refugees in your heart.
Chag Sameach!
-Nym
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