The Hotels Are Long Gone, but There Is Now a Borscht Belt Museum

July 29 2024

Located halfway between New York City and Albany, at the juncture of the Shawangunk and Catskill Mountains, the village of Ellenville is neither large nor distinguished, but it was once known to the many Jewish families who spent their summers in the area. It is now also home to the Borscht Belt Museum, whose name, Andrew Silow-Carroll writes, comes from the term for

the region in upstate New York that flourished as a Jewish getaway from the early 20th century to the 1970s. And while the Catskills were about many things, they were also about two big things: food and humor. Both were doled out in abundance: heaps of mostly Ashkenazi cuisine, and gobs of entertainment rooted in Yiddish and an urban attitude that learned to let loose in the mountain air.

That humor became as closely identified with “the mountains” as the food. A portrait of Danny Kaye is featured on a wall of “Legacies.” It recalls that the Jewish comic actor, like a slew of other comedians, started as a “tummler” in the Catskills—a combination emcee and social director whose job it was . . .  to keep guests from heading home to the Bronx on rainy days.

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More about: American Jewish History, Borscht Belt, Comedy

 

A Jewish Obligation to Vote

On October 3, 1984, Rabbi Moses Feinstein—a leading figure among American Orthodox Jews, whose halakhic opinions are obeyed and studied today—wrote a letter encouraging Jews to vote in the upcoming elections. Feinstein, a talmudist of the old school, was born in a shtetl in the vicinity of Minsk, then in the Russian empire, before elections were known in that country. He came to the U.S. in 1937, at the age of forty-one, to escape the ever-worsening persecution of devout Jews in the Soviet Union. That experience no doubt shaped his view of democracy. Herewith, the letter in full:

On reaching the shores of the United States, Jews found a safe haven. The rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights have allowed us the freedom to practice our religion without interference and to live in this republic in safety.

A fundamental principle of Judaism is hakaras hatov—recognizing benefits afforded us and giving expression to our appreciation. Therefore, it is incumbent upon each Jewish citizen to participate in the democratic system which safeguards the freedoms we enjoy. The most fundamental responsibility incumbent on each individual is to register and to vote.

Therefore, I urge all members of the Jewish community to fulfill their obligations by registering as soon as possible and by voting. By this, we can express our appreciation and contribute to the continued security of our community.

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More about: 2024 Election, American Jewry, Democracy, Halakhah