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Here's another case of a CD arriving in today's mail. I put it on the turntable to listen to while I study a bit. Never open the books. Just keep listening. From the opening "street sounds" featuring the electronic bells of the Minsk city tower to the closing Nign sung by Samuil Linkovskiy in his 80s, this is exquisite, intricate klezmer music and yiddish song introducing an unfamiliar klezmer sound—recreated from wax cylinders in many cases; from recordings of elderly Jews in Belarus made from 1997–2008. Who knew? Much of the field research was done by Dr. Slepovitch and the late Dr. Nina Stepanskaya to whom the CD is dedicated.
The Minsker Kapelye consists of just three musicians: Dmitri Slepovitch on clarinet and other woodwinds, vocals; Tatsiana Kukel on tsimbl; Hanna Kharchanka on cello—a remarkably traditional ensemble playing traditional music as it may have been heard prior to the Holocaust and Soviet antisemitism, now revived and, at least on this recording, very lively and enlivening. The quality of the playing is extraordinary. the Belarusian alto cymbalom in the hands of Ms. Kukel is a revelation, but none of the playing is less than excellent, ranging from a classical formality to swinging dance music as the music demands.
In terms of repertoire, many of these melodies are recently recovered from wax cylinders recorded by Sophia Maggid in the '30s (1928–1938); others come from relatively modern sources, including a rousing "Ot Azey!" credited to the late German Goldenshteyn (Moldavia, Belarus, what's the difference :-)) and some brilliant rap & reggae improvisation in a lovely folk poem recorded from Hirsh Reles, the last Belarusian Yiddish writer, and, um, improvised here. It is touches like the rap, and the occasional interjection of the Minsk streetscape that help make this recording special. It is traditional music, yes, but traditional music as I enjoy it best—lovingly sung in the here and now. The title of the CD, "Tutejsi,"—The Locals, is derived from the name of a classic Belorusian novel by Yanka Kupala (so claim the liner notes—I am sadly ignorant on this score). It feels appropriate in terms of making a local (Belarusian) klezmer repertoire available to the rest of us, but also in terms of the neighborhood feel of the material. If only all neighborhood bands played this well.
The album closes with the singing of the father of Slepovitch's late research partner, singing words written by Slepovitch (from the translation in the liner notes):
I am strolling on the streets of the ghetto, / Over there, there are modern houses and new people. / And here inside and under my feet, there lives my lineage, the poets, / Who bless us with their soundless verses and songs.
The CD is lovingly produced with copious liner notes in Polish and English. You can get copies from the band's website. It's a keeper.
For those who don't know yet, Beyond the Pale has released a new CD with their patented blend of traditional folk music and intricate instrumental weavings. "Postcards" is an all-too-short record of where the band is traveling now, from traditional-sounding new melodies to Windham-Hill-ish explorations of pleasing harmonies. On this outing the band also features well-known young Israeli Yiddish singer Vira Lozinsky on several vocals.
Speaking of traveling, I mention Beyond the Pale in particular because they are on a short US tour this week, starting today in Amherst at the National Yiddish Book Center. You can catch them next week in NYC (including at the Theo Bikel 85th birthday bash), and then Princeton, NJ on June 17. It is the first time I can remember them being on the US east coast so I want to let people know who are already familiar with the band, and to encourage those who haven't sampled the music yet to catch the shows.
For years reviewers of traditional Jewish music have tried to get articles in Moment Magazine. To date, I am aware of no success. You can read Hadassh or the Forward or Zeek or the new Nextbook evolution, Tablet and get some sense of the anything from Jewish punk to piyyut. That may not change anytime soon, but I got the following email late Friday afternoon which may be of interest to anyone with a wedding band or other band for hire to Jewish audiences. Better late than never, I say—but note that you need to contact this person on Monday, 6/15/09:
Hello. I'm the Culture Editor for Moment magazine. I'm contacting those involved with Jewish music for a special advertising offer that ends on Monday. Let E-mail Rebecca Leavey, 202-363-6422, know by Monday if you're interested in purchasing a listing and/or an ad in the Guide--mention this note from me and you'll receive a special rate. . . . As a longtime Jewish cultural professional, I'm committed to reaching out to stakeholders representing the best in the Jewish cultural arts. My experience tells me that people are anxious for help in finding the best of what's out there. Please help us to be a forum for this discussion. . . .
Distribute this message as you see fit,
Best,
Diana Altman
Long-time readers of this blog will remember that several months ago I won a copy of the rather impressive O'Reilly book, Using Drupal
Nonetheless, I have finally gotten Drupal up and running on my development laptop. This is critical to me, personally, for several reasons: First, I made a commitment to update the KlezmerShack—that's why they gave me the book, and until that happens, I will continue to be reminded of the fine 1990s code on which this current site is built. Not fun. Second, cutbacks at work mean that it's just our web developer and me, so I need to dig into Drupal if I want to speed up things at work. Third, our web developer is attending a workshop in Providence, RI, this week, and I'd love to show up at the Drupal meet-up and be able to talk about having opened the book and gotten started.
MORE...It took the "insult" of seeing a class listed in another city, as though I had been intentionally ignoring this person's own city, to prompt someone from Minneapolis to send me this information. Don't let yourself be that person--if you have information that is of interest to people interested in Jewish music in your community--either send it in, or don't complain about my not listing it! I still might not have time to put something online in a timely fashion--but that process doesn't even begin until I get the "who what when where" in a form that I can actually figure out what is going on, cut and paste, and present it to ya'll, thus:
Klez Class
Tuition $140
Ages Adults
Instructor: Judith Eisner
Want to find your roots or plant new ones in the rich soil of Eastern European Ashkenazic Jewish music? You’ll learn the modes which make Klezmer music so compelling.We’ll play some of the most popular freylachs, horas, and bulgars in the repertoire. Fiddles, clarinets, trumpets, accordions, keyboards and percussion are the principal instruments in Klezmer bands but anyone is welcome.
6 week class begins June 17, 2009
Classes are 60 minutes long
Wednesdays 5:30 p.m.
MacPhail Center for Music, 501 S 2nd ST , Minneapolis, MN 55401, 612.321.0100
macphail.org/catalog_classes.html#kc
You can view Judith Eisner and her klezmer trio playing, below:
A quick glance at the Gratz College summer catalog shows a pleasant number of courses of interest to the Jewish music aficionado. I can't find their email on the subject on the college website, but offerings include "Music In Jewish Education", July 27 - July 31, taught by Dr. Marsha Bryan Edelman.
from Hélène Engel to the Jewish-Music list:
Dear list members
It is with with great sadness that I announce the passing away of Sara Alexander.
She was an Israeli singer who settled in France after the 6 days war.
She was dedicated to working towards a better undertanding between israelis and palestinians and released about 10 recordings as well as 2 books, one of them calle Shalom Salam. With her we lost "a Mentsh" and as she was not very well known in North America except Quebec, I invite you to google her name and discover her work and her music.
Several of her CDs are available from alapage.com. Please visit her website, sara.alexander.free.fr
…. I am researching jewish music for composing porpouses. Every year in México city they make this jewish dance festival called Festival Aviv.
I was choosen to compose music for a group, so my research goes from history to the deep investigation of traditional jewish music. I was wondering if you have any information about jewish typical musical instruments. I need to know everything about instruments before i start composing. I would appreciate it very much.
Here's the link to festival aviv: "Han pasado ya 35 años de danza y emociones en el Festival Aviv Carlos Halpert de Danza Judia en Mexico—Video producido para conmemorar esta XXXV edicion "
Many thanks, Marcos
Teruah blogger Jack Zaientz found this:.
'Feder Sister' found fame in Borscht Belt, Miami Herald, BY Elinor J. Brecher, May 17, 2009
"Sylvia Feder Roebuck, half of a Borscht Belt-bombshell sister act that evolved out of New York's Yiddish theater to 1960s variety television, has died at 88—at least two years older than she would ever admit to…." >>more
Catching up from the beginning of last month. Lori Cahan-Simon, of Cleveland, wrote on May Day, 2009:
Khaveyrim, I am sorry to tell you all that the wonderful Jack Saul has passed today [May 1, 2009]. I know many on this list visited his amazing record collection and benefited from his extraordinary knowledge of music when they the visited Cleveland area. He was a gentle, kind, and generous soul who will be greatly missed.
There is an obituary, but without a picture, in the Cleveland Plain Dealer Jack Saul had a passion for music, especially classical, Saturday, May 09, 2009, Grant Segall, Plain Dealer Reporter
MORE...
Pete Rushefsky sent this last month, but that up-to-date Klezmershack is just posting it now. But many of us would claim that it's been obvious for far longer than the Jewish Week's discovery, anyway
I'm sure despite his best efforts to prevent it :-) , Michael Winograd has been honored by the Jewish Week as one of their 36 under 36!
Mazl tov Mikey!!!!
Lori Lippitz of Chicago's Maxwell St. Klezmer spotted this. It's not on the CD, but I am pretty sure that this is also covered by Paul Shapiro's "Brisket 'n' Ribs Revue" group in concert:
A couple of clips from 2008 Radu Gabrea documentary film, "Romania, Romania: Searching For Schwartz" about which I know nothing, other than Elizabeth Schwartz (whose voice is featured on both of these particular clips) having alerted me about the YouTube videos. There is a whole series. Enjoy.
JMI KlezFest London 9—14 August 2009
An internationally recognized largely European faculty, led by New York ace trumpeter, Frank London (Klezmatics) will provide an intensive and inspiring week-long summer School in London of Eastern European Jewish Music for amateur and professional instrumentalists, singers and dancers of all backgrounds.
All participants, from 16 – to 86, will be taken on a klezmer journey in workshops and masterclasses on repertoire, rhythm, style and ornamentation ideally suited to their ability, experience and interests.
This year there will be opportunities to work in groups – creating together and managing the dynamics of the group as well as special sessions on stage presentation by opera coach Jennifer Hamilton. There will be strands to train students in playing klezmer music for traditional dancing and on learning how to teach klezmer in workshop situations – broadening it out into the community.
Guy Schalom’s popular Percussion workshops will be back as will the famous KlezFest Choir with Polina Shepherd. Bands who come together as a group will have opportunities of Masterclasses with faculty members and to perform out and about in London. Sophie Solomon, (London) Christian Dawid and Sanne Moreicke (Khupe, Berlin), Lorin Sklamberg New York, Ilana Cravitz (London) Author of How to Play Klezmer Fiddle (OUP), Abigail Wood (Head of Music and Lecturer in Klezmer/ Jewish Music at SOAS), Paul Tkachenko and Monica Acosta, will lead workshops and ensembles including special ones in Balkan beats, Nigunim, Chassidic klezmer, Yiddish and Ladino song and Andreas Schmitges with Guy and Emma Stiman will lead the dance strand.
This year KlezFest, which takes place at the University of London on SOAS’s Vernon Square Campus, is reaching out into London bringing Klezmer to the wider community with live performances at City Hall, the Brunei Gallery at SOAS, St Pancras Station, Richmond Synagogue and the South Bank Centre and we will be eating and playing at cafes and bars in the evenings.
Students will be given a copy of Ilana Cravitz OUP book ‘a how-to guide’ or a song book and can mix and match between playing, singing and dancing in a week that will once more be heart-warming, unstoppable, exhausting, fantastic and fun!!!
There are lower prices this year!
JMI is also running its, now famous, one week Yiddish language and culture course Ot Azoy! – this is the way to speak, read and write Yiddish in a week!! This takes place the week prior to KlezFest from Sunday 2 – Friday 7 August.
Book online (www.jmi.org.uk) or write to: JMI P O Box 232, Harrow, Middlesex, HA1 2NN
Found on the Teruah blog a couple of months ago—must post!
A SHABBATON WITH SAM GLASER ~ JEWISH MUSIC, JEWISH MEMORY
Friday, August 7 & Saturday, August 8, 2009
Flemington Jewish Community Center
5 Sergeantsville Road, Flemington, NJ 08822
Friday, August 7th , starting at 7:30 PM
Enter into Shabbat with a joyous Kabbalat Shabbat and Evening service, followed by a festive Shabbat dinner, with study and singing.
Saturday, August 8th, starting at 9:15 AM
Stay connected with your Shabbat Soul with Shabbat services. Sam Glaser will present the Dvar Torah after the Torah service. Services will be followed by a Kiddush luncheon, followed by study and some more singing!
Shabbat Afternoon, starting at 6:00
Children's programming- Sam will teach some songs to the children who will later participate in the Saturday Night concert after Havdalah.
At 7:00, Sam will again lead a study and discussion group on "Attitude of Gratitude"- the theme of his most recent CD of the Psalms of Hallel.
Satruday evening, starting at 7:30
Mincha service, followed by Seudat Sh'lishit, the Third Meal of Shabbat, followed by study and EVEN MORE SINGING! Then we will have the Shabbat evening service and Havdalah.
Motzei Shabbat, approximately 9:00:
A SAM GLASER CONCERT- WITH PARTICIPATION OF FRIENDS AND KIDS!
Special Guest: Adrianne Greenbaum of KlezmerFlute - Nationally and internationally known klezmer musician and teacher.
All this for a requested donation of $18 per person, $36 per family. All proceeds go to support the restoration of the Jewish cemetery in Dubiecko, Poland- one of the "Lost Jewish communities" of Polish Galicia - through a program of the American Joint Distribution Committee.
PLEASE MAKE ANY CHECKS OUT TO: FJCC/ RABBI'S DISCRETIONARY FUND: DUBIECKO FUND.
Call (908) 782-6410 for further information
So what goes on late at night at those KlezKamp roadshows? Mark Rubin provides some documentation from last month's KlezKamp Roadshow in Madison, WI. YouTube's "byray" writes:
Part 1 of the Sunday night dance at Temple Beth Israel Center, Sunday April 19th, 2009, Madison Wisconsin. The Kamp was led by UW Artist In Residence Henry Sapoznik, who was still at the movie "His People" when the band started. Aaron Alexander on drums, Dan Blacksberg on trombone, Josh Horowitz on button accordion, Mark Rubin on bass and tuba, Cookie Segelstein on fiddle and Michael Winograd on clarinet. The dances were led by Steve Weintraub. I filmed until my arm grew sore and my feet refused to stay still. So I put down my camera and joined the dance!
You can download the radio-friendly version of the band's new single, "times Square (1989)", or check out the whole album online.
For those who missed seeing Margot Leverett solo last month with some special compositions, including a new piece by Matt McGarrell of klezmer tunes for clarinet and wind symphony, there is a second chance:
Matt McGarrell's wonderful arrangement of klezmer tunes for clarinet and wind symphony. which I performed last month with the Brown University wind symphony. I love the arrangement. It was such a pleasure to work with them.
The video does look like it was recorded on cellphone, but the sound quality is decent:
Jeremiah Lockwood, of The Sway Machinery, sends this recent email. If you have caught the band live recently taking cantorial music to primal therapy places it may never have gone before, you'll know why this is such an appealing idea:
For years now I've holed up in a basement in Greenpoint that I rent from my friend Veronica. It's in this space that I write new material for The Sway Machinery, practice the band, do my research and development and generally hide away from the world and delve down into the gutter of my subconscious.
It's been a bit quiet with the band lately (although we will soon be starting up playing a bunch of exciting summer festivals). I've been thinking that I would like to invite the world down into my basement to hear the work I'm doing developing new sounds.
I am going to record an EP length CD of new music every month for six months--demos of new songs, solo blues performance, research into Classics of Chazzanus, experimentation of various stripes and colors. These EPs will be available to the public on a sunscription basis: for 50 bucks a subscriber will receive a limited edition EP-length CD with hand made cover in the mail every month for six months, June through December.
Drop me a line if you are interested in becoming a subscriber!
So, I get this email, 'Greg Wall and Hasidic New Wave Are Fighting Cancer with Song...Pioneers for a Cure.
That's pretty cool. It's a pretty cool song, but if you take a look, you'll see that a host of artists from Smadar Levi to Tovah Feldshuh to Alicia Svigals to Y-Love and Diwon are torturing, er, re-imagining old Israeli "pioneer" songs that we learned at summer camp or on kibbutz, into ways to contribute money for cancer research. Not a bad thing (and, thinking of some of the horrible things we used to do to צאנה צאנה in my dorm room at Hebrew U., probably the nicest thing that anyone has done with these songs since the Ethnix remixed "Hey Daroma" back in the '90s. You can browse the artists and songs online, or just give money without being burdened by the songs. Up to you.
From Cookie Segelstein: Josh Horowitz and I will be teaching at the following festival on the last weekend, on Friday June 26, and Sunday June 28.:
Berkshire Music School Presents The Berkshire¹s First Jewish Music Festival June 17 - 28
The Jewish Music Festival, developed by BMS faculty member, musician & scholar Paul Green, includes lectures, coachings and concerts. This inaugural event will be held from June 17 through June 28 at the BMS Edgar B. Taft Recial Hall, 30 Wendell Avenue in Pittsfield Massachusetts.
Lectures involving Klezmer, classical, jazz and pop music combined with Bernstein and Gershwin will be offered Wednesdays and Thursdays June 17, 18, 24, 25 from 10 am to 11 am. Advance tickets for all four lectures are $40. Individual tickets at the door are $12. The lectures, paired with a June 20 Faculty Concert, are $50.
MORE...Sent in by Simon Rutberg of Hatikvah Music:
Israeli Knesset marks Yiddish Day
For the first time since its founding, the Knesset officially marked Yiddish Language and Culture Day on Tuesday (May 26). A Yiddish-Hebrew Knesset lexicon was released for the occasion.
The date for the parliamentary nod to Yiddish, a language once spoken by more than 12 million Jews, was selected to mark 150 years since the birth of the Yiddish author Shalom Aleichem. This past week was also the 20th anniversary of the founding of Yiddishshpiel, Tel Aviv's all-Yiddish theater.
The day's events included a joint meeting of the Knesset's Absorption, Immigration and Diaspora Committee and the Education and Culture Committee to discuss Yiddish culture. The Knesset also held a special session to discuss the place of Yiddish in modern Israeli society. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Deputy Minister of Pensioners Affairs Leah Ness delivered the main speeches of the session.
Ahead of the unique Knesset session, a lexicon of the Yiddish translations of several key phrases often used by Israeli parliamentarians was distributed to all Knesset members. A few key phrases from the lexicon that veteran MKs may find useful include:
- Ich hob eich nisht geshtert, toshter nisht mir!—"I didn't interrupt you, don't interrupt me!"
- Ich ruf eich tzum seder dus ershte mol....—"I am calling you to order for the first time...."
- Ordners, derveitert im fun zal!—"Ushers, remove him from the hall!"
- Vehr siz far, zol veilen 'far'. Vehr siz keigen, zol veilen 'keigen'.—"Whoever is in favor, vote 'in favor'. Whoever is opposed, vote 'opposed'."
In the Knesset auditorium, members of the Yiddishshpiel theater troupe performe songs and selected scenes from the Yiddish theater and from Jewish tradition. Throughout the day, the Knesset halls hosted an exhibition from the Shalom Aleichem House, which is dedicated to preserving the author's legacy.
More than 450 people were invited to take part in the Knesset festivities and events.
Mameloshen
Behind the cultural initiative stands Knesset Member Lia Shemtov (Israel Beiteinu), chairperson of the Knesset Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Committee, who grew up speaking Yiddish in her family home in the Ukraine.
,p>"This language represents for me the language, culture and history of the Jews of Europe," Shemtov said. "Yiddish is a rich, pungent, humorous, sweet and indulgent language. ...Yiddish, for me, is mein mameloshen, mein tateloshen, mein bubbeloshen und mein zeydeloshen ('my mother tongue, my father tongue, my grandmother tongue and my grandfather tongue')."The two parties with the most Yiddish speakers, Shemtov said, are Yisrael Beiteinu and the Ashkenazi hareidi-religious United Torah Judaism party. Three Yisrael Beiteinu MKs - Shemtov, Avigdor Lieberman and David Rotem—speak Yiddish, as do all five MKs from UTJ. Other MKs who list Yiddish as an additional language on their official Knesset webpages are Avishai Braverman (Labor), Shai Hermesh (Kadima) and Yaakov "Ketzaleh" Katz (National Union).
Arutz Sheva
The Washington Jewish Music Festival - 6/4-6/11
The 10th Anniversary Washington Jewish Music Festival brings an exciting mix of sound and energy to DC June 4-11. The Festival kicks off with a Pre-Fest Event with Israel’s Ivri Lider on June 2, followed by the official Opening Night on June 4 with the award-winning Andy Statman Trio. The Festival closes with a bang with Grammy Award winner Miri Ben-Ari: The Hip Hop Violinist. Other performers include: Pitom, The Sway Machinery, Feinsmith Quartet, Electro Morocco, ShirLaLa and The Kinsey Sicks. There's something for everyone during this festival of live performances, hands-on workshops and cross-cultural dialogues. Tickets range from free to $35. For tickets: wjmf.org. For information: 202-777-3251 or wjmf.org.
Yowza! The same wonderful folk festival that included Steven Greenman just a couple of years ago (and Margot Leverett not long before?) has snagged Frank London's Klezmer Brass Allstars along with a stunning array of other amazing music from around the world.
Yup, who else but the absolutely free Lowell Folk Festival, held in Lowell, MA this year on Jul 24-26, 2009. From Tuvan throat singing to Congolese dance music to Western Swing, this is the place to be. I intend to be there.
From Klezmer revival pioneer Joel Rubin to KlezKanada alum and punk Yiddish chanteur Daniel Kahn and the return of Fima Chorny and Suzanna Ghergus, this year features amazing faculty. This year, the camp runs from Aug 24 - Aug 30. You can register online. Find out more at the KlezKanada website.
Just a quick note to remind people that registration is now open for KlezKanada 2009. The camp runs from Aug 24-30 this year. Because finances are so tight, early, even timely registration is especially important. And of course, if you don't register before camp fills up, you'll miss seeing your friends, not to mention familiar faces such as mine.
You can register for KlezKanada online, even. See you there!
This is one great source of Yiddish and Klez music I wrote for Whole Earth Review back in 1995. I was a bit less sanguine when I wrote an article for the KlezmerShack back in 1996 or so. Little did I know.
Here's what I do think I know. Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Michael Schlesinger (sp?) started a company to make music from other cultures available in record stores. He got great distribution, so far as I could tell, such that I was able to find copies of some amazing LPs--the first Maxwell St. Klezmer recordings, the first Joel Rubin CD (for which I typeset some last minute copy for the cassette spine), the first Alhambra LP? Cassette?
At some point, around the time when I began noticing CD versions of these recordings and began seeking them out, I started hearing from the artists that all was not well. In fact, GVM seemed to be ripping them off. See this letter from the Jewish-Music list, from 1999: "outing" Global Village Music. At some point, Schlesinger stopped paying royalties. Then he made unauthorized CD editions of the recordings giving the artists nothing. My guess, based on a brief correspondence with him in the early part of this decade, is that he put his heart and soul into creating a business that went broke, and that he has been trying to dig out of a hole by stiffing the artists who once trusted him with their work. I don't really know. I did receive this today from one of the artists (another artist's email from today is represented below):
Michael Schlesinger, sole owner of Global Village Music, had a habit of ignoring contracts and never paying royalties to the artists he recorded. Several of us discussed engaging the services of a lawyer experienced in show business issues to sue him, but nobody wanted to invest the money in a project which would probably yield less than the investment. Sadly, Judy Frankel didn't live to see Global Village go out of business.
Today I (and other denizens of the Jewish-Music mailing list) discovered that several Global Village recordings have been available on iTunes since November. These are inferior and unauthorized versions of music for which the artists have not given permission, and for which they are receiving no royalties. I must request that any person interested in material originally recorded on the label contact the artists (many are listed on the KlezmerShack; I would be happy to help locate others) and purchase recordings through them. One artist that I do know wrote today, "Michael Schlesinger taught me some remarkable things about myself--including how I could live with an enormous injustice to my musicians and never succeed in overcoming it despite efforts and money spent." Should this matter be resolved to the artists' satisfaction, I will happily remove this post and replace it with one telling a more positive story. Based on the last 15 years, that seems unlikely.
If you purchase music through Global Village Music, you are screwing the artists whose music you like well enough to purchase. Those recordings are available without their permission and they are earning no royalties. Many have been mistreated by Schlesinger. Don't do it. And if you know anyone working for iTunes, or know how to contact iTunes management about this matter, please let me know so that I can pursue this further.
Dr. Judith Cohen has a thought-provoking article on the formerly crypto-Jews of Belmonte. As they learn about Judaism and Jewishness, what models are appropriate? What does it mean to be a Jew, and is the Orthodox model the best, or the only appropriate model? In addition, who decides for a heterogeneous community what "it's" voice is? This is not a new question. Anyone who has encountered Jews in the former Soviet Union is likely to have encountered a similar monopoly on what such Jews are expected to learn and to practice to "return" to the Jewish culture of which they were deprived for so many decades—never mind that it was in their communities that much of the diversity in Ashkenazic culture that we now celebrate, arose. For one more example, I point out isolated Jewish communities in Africa and Asia as similarly isolated culturally, and to whom "one" Judaism is presented as the only valid model.
It is troubling that we have not yet fully accepted diversity amongst ourselves here in the United States (or in Israel, for that matter, where one's options for birth, death, and marriage are limited to approved orthodoxies). It is sad that Jews around the world, where resources are even more constrained, are given so few opportunities to discover themselves in the Jewish community.
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