This week we’re celebrating the diversity of the American Jewish experience—which, as we’ve learned, goes well beyond eating bagels and babka on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
First, we get a crash course in the history of Jews in the South from Stuart Rockoff, who created the Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities, a rich online resource from the Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Then, Sammy Potter tells us about driving an hour to synagogue from his home in Yarmouth, Maine, and why he wants to return to Maine after college. Yemile Bucay describes her Mexican-Syrian family’s move from Mexico City to San Antonio, Texas, and how she ended up raising her family in Great Neck, New York. Rabbi Tirzah Firestone tells us about the Jewish renewal movement in Boulder, Colorado. And from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Rabbi Marc Fitzerman and his children, Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Nina Fitzerman-Blue, tell us about their vibrant Jewish community in the American heartland. Plus, we hear from a few listeners.