Where We Come From

In procrastinating and perusing the internet this evening, I came across a short lesson in Jewish history, one which hit particularly close to home- literally. Abba Hillel Silver, a Lithuanian immigrant to America, was ordained at the Hebrew Union College in Cincinatti, apparently without having even earned a bachelor's degree first at the ripe age of 22. Known for his oratorical skills and as a prolific writer, Silver championed American Zionism which, for his time went against the grain of the Reform movement especially, and against the American Jewish community at large.
He held high positions in a young zionist youth movement in New York and later, as a professional in the American Zionist Movement and the Zionist Organization of America. However, although his achievements impressed me enough to begin reading a book of his orations called, "Vision and Victory: A Collection of Addresses by Dr. Abba Hillel Silver 1942-1948", instead of writing my worthless comp paper on the flaws of homeopathic medicine, I was most struck by his life as a teen in New York and its relevance to the current condition of American Jewish life.
After moving first to the Lower East Side, the Silver family (Abba's dad was an ordained orthodox Rabbi) moved north, to new developments in Harlem for the cheapest rent in Manhattan. In 1900 already, 150 synagogues were operational in Northern Manhattan and the Silvers were no doubt regulars at one of them. (Today, the only Harlem synagogue I know of is the shul at 126 st. and Old Broadway which struggles, even with the addition of a gospel-singing black convert, to make minyan). Abba Hillel's childhood days in old New York were the days when Jews were blue-collar working people- not rich enough to afford the rents of the fashionable upper west side and struggling to get by.
I learned from a website on Abba Hillel's life (www.clevelandjewishhistory.net/silver/endnotes.html#harlem) that in his late teen years Abba Hillel lived at 232 W. 120th St. Struck by this, I strolled down the block tonight, over to the building to check it out. The building at 232, although its face is decorated elaborately, is definately modest. It may look like, or even be the same building that stood a century ago. It's a walk up and two pillars hold up the awning over a small stoop. I could picture Abba Hillel standing on the stoop arguing over a page of text and over Zionism, still such a new phenomenon in his years, with peers and friends. I could picture his family of seven living modestly and practicing their Judaism with intent to preserve their identity- although his father was Orthodox, and Abba was at this time already interested in the Reformers. What a dynamic! I thought how lifestyle and lack of privilege must have effected his Jewish identity and his developing Zionist identity. If most Jewish teens today had to persevere like Silver did, like the American Jews of some generations past, what would Jewish identity look like today- would we still enjoy a somewhat crass, comfortable, seldom challenged, upper class way of life? Would it be so easy to forget who we are?
Obviously, I'm not saying that Jews by-and-large should throw off their suits and ties and return to the factories and the textile industry. Thank God, Jews have achieved enormous success in America. But maybe it's important that we understand where we come from- that Jews didn't always live in mansions in the suburbs or brownstones along West End Ave. Maybe we could use a taste of the sweat and toil of Silver's generation. At least, their labor, which paved the way for us, deserves greater recognition. Perhaps even more so, we could benifit from the deeply ingrained Jewish identity which the American Jews of old just couldn't break, no matter how desperately some wanted to and tried. With kippa or without, being Jewish for Abba Hillel Silver was a fact of life- everyday. It should be a fact of more of our lives too.

And, NEWSFLASH: There are still Jews in Harlem!