2/17/10

proto-Zionisms? Utopian aspirations? Back-to-the-Land?

Since I know you're interested, here's an article on Jewish Agricultural Colonies in the United States from JewishEncyclopedia.com.

Calof discussion questions

Courtesy of JWA's fantastic article on Rachel Clalof's memoir (by way of the fantastically informative Jewish genealogy blog Tracing the Tribe--see the entry on Jewish homesteading from Sept. 2008), here are some discussion questions we might consider:


1. Rachel is shocked by her first sight of a "pioneer woman" on the Plains whom she compares unfavorably to any "self-respecting" Jewish woman in Russia. Why does she see homesteading as a "terrible way to live," close "to the living level of an animal"? Do her feelings change?

2. The prairie becomes a main "character" in the story, influencing Rachel Calof's life as significantly as any person. What ordinary and special crises does the family experience as a result of the rough weather and living conditions of the Plains? What impact did the prairie have on Rachel's development as a person?

3. Rachel provides glimpses into significant moments of women's lives on the plains. What did her "knockout" Jewish wedding with its "magnificent banquet" and "festivities" consist of? How does she manage pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation amidst the hardship of prairie living? What role did what she calls her mother-in-law's "religious fanaticism, beliefs, and superstition" play in the "world of madness" she inhabits after her first child's birth?

4. Rachel describes a scene in which the shochet brought in to slaughter an ox on the occasion of her son's brit orders her to eat traif meat. How did the circumstances of the birth and the mother's health affect his decision? How do you regard his decision and the family's response to it?

5. How successful was the arranged marriage between Rachel and Abraham? What role did Abraham play in her life and on the farm? What attitudes does Rachel express as she describes their farm's eventual success and Abraham's letters of commendation from "two presidents of the United States"? Although Rachel doesn't discuss her own role, Jewish women often helped their husbands run family businesses–whether farms, stores, hotels, or factories. What role do you imagine Rachel played in the success of the family's enterprise? Are there women in your family who made important contributions to family business enterprises?

6. Rachel Calof clearly makes herself the heroine of her memoir. How might the descriptions change if the story had been told from the perspective of Abraham? Of Rachel's mother-in-law?

7. Do you consider Rachel Calof an introspective writer? What insights does she offer about her own character and behavior?

8. How significant was Judaism in this story? Does it emerge only as a negative factor or were there positive qualities to Rachel's religious background and life? What rituals and observances does she mention in the book? Why do you think her house became the "center for all the Jewish holiday celebrations" for the Jewish farmers "from far and near"? What kind of celebrations do you imagine took place?
 
9. For Jewish immigrants, passing on traditional Jewish values to children was an obligation fraught with tension. Rachel tells us very little about this. How do you think Rachel and Abraham might have handled this issue?

Maurice de Hirsch

Baron Maurice de Hirsch (1831-1896) established the Jewish Colonization Association in London in 1891 and the Baron de Hirsch Fund in New York the same year.

2/16/10

Sod Houses, Sod Schools, Sod Lean-Tos, all the sod you can use...

Check out the fantastic archive of images of sod architecture (plus lots of pictures from the 1890s) collected by The Fred Hulstrand History in Pictures Collection (devoted to life on the Northern Great Plains). 

2/7/10

What they ate that oh-so-fateful night

"Following is the menu for the 'trefa banquet' exactly as it appeared in the pages of the Cincinnati Enquirer for July 12, 1883. ([Copy retains] misspellings or printer's errors.)
Menu
Little Neck Clams (half shell)
Amontillado Sherry
Potages
Consommé Royal
Sauternes
Poissons
Fillet de Boef, aux Champignons
Soft-shell Crabs
a l'Amerique, Pommes Duchesse
Salade of Shrimps
St. Julien
Entree
Sweet Breads a la Monglas
Petits Pois a la Francaise
Diedescheimer
Relevee
Poulets a la Viennoise
Asperges Sauce,
Vinaigrette Pommes Pate
Roman Punch
Grenouiles a la Creme
and Cauliflower
Roti
Vol au Vents de Pigeons,
a la Tyrolienne
Salade de Saitue
G. H. Mumm Extra Dry
Hors D'Oeuvers
Bouchies de Volaille, a la Regeurs
Olives Caviv, Sardeiles de Hollands
Brissotins au Supreme Tomatoe
Mayonaise
Sucres
Ice-Cream
Assorted and Ornamented Cakes
Entrements
Fromages Varies      Fruits Varies
Martell Cognac
Cafe Noir"
 John J. Appel, "The Trefa Banquet," Commentary, February, 1966.

Emma Lazarus (1849-1887)

The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Emma Lazarus, 1883

You said you wanted a map...

Here's your Yiddish tourism map:

As taken from John Foster Carr's "Guide to the United States for the Jewish Immigrant" (1912), Jenna Weissman Joselit's The Wonders of America, and The Jewish Daily Forward (July 18, 2003).

Immigration Figures

Information from The Jew In The Modern World (2nd Edition)

"The Sabbath Movement" of the late 1870s

The New York Times reported it as "organization of an anti-desecration and Sabbath observance society." Here's the link to the article that appeared December 24, 1879.

2/1/10

Uniting them all is "Religious Liberty"

as commissioned by B'nai Brith and designed by Moses Ezekiel (1844-1917) in 1876

The caption under the statue reads: 
"Religious Liberty, Dedicated to the People of the United States 
by the Order of B'nai Brith and Israelites of America"

And in the others...

Isaac Mayer Wise (1819-1900)                              

                                and
                                            David Einhorn (1809-1879)

In one corner...

Isaac Leeser (1806-1868)

For your geographical pleasure (and to help with orientation)...

It is ON!

Welch's for Pesah? " Welch's Teams With Manischewitz in Battle Over Kosher Grape Juice " (NPR, 10/10/17)