Only in New York

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New York has a strong future for Jews because New York, in its best aspects, is attractive t...

New York has a strong future for Jews because New York, in its best aspects, is attractive to the vitality that characterizes Jews; to the ambition, to the striving, to the intelligence. All the good things that I see in our people are exemplified in a city rather than a bucolic life; and so, I think that there will be Jews in New York for some time to come. It will be a magnet for bright people, Jews as well as others. They all don’t have to be engineers, doctors, lawyers, and nuclear physicists; but for that reason, New York will be attractive to them, and there will be a strong Jewish community, and we’ve got to support that Jewish community. *Comments taken from Oral History, recorded on November 3, 1981

Frederick Rose, President of Federation, 1974-1977

Chance Encounters

Standing in the waters of a beach in Belize, I hear a woman speaking a foreign language while approaching me. I was wearing my Chai, which can be seen on a cloudy day form half a mile away. I thought she was speaking Farsi. She came nearer as she spoke louder and louder. I thought I was in for it and going to get a tough time from her. As she faced me she started to talk English and asked why didn't I answer her? It turned out she was speaking modern Hebrew which I never learned nor spoke. She was an Israeli Brit which made her spoken Hebrew, to my Ashkenazi ear, even harder to understand. She asked me why I wasn't afraid to wear my Chai. My simple response: I'm a New Yorker.

Only in New York

I think the magic, for me, of this city is that you never fully meet a Jewish stranger here....

I think the magic, for me, of this city is that you never fully meet a Jewish stranger here. It's always somebody that you knew - you just didn't know you knew!

Dahlia Lithwick

Only in New York

My New York story is Jewish and gay and one of parenting on the Upper West Side. It's meetin...

My New York story is Jewish and gay and one of parenting on the Upper West Side. It's meeting my partner in a Hebrew course in college, and as dorm captains for UJA (that was actually a thing). It's a commitment ceremony in Central Park at the boat house, and eloping with our kids - now 23 and 18 - on an Amtrak train to Toronto. And just this year, adding a US marriage ceremony downtown at City Hall. After 32 years together, with an anniversary that's only on the Hebrew calendar, our younger daughter just graduated from Jewish day school, and here we are, about to write a new chapter ...

Melanie Schneider

Only in New York

Many summers ago, I was a counselor at the 92Y Passport NYC Sleepaway Camp. Because it was a...

Many summers ago, I was a counselor at the 92Y Passport NYC Sleepaway Camp. Because it was a sleepaway camp, we didn't have a lot of free time. But there were a few nights when the counselors were able to get together and hang out around the Upper East Side. So one night, some of my fellow counselors convinced us all to go to a gay bar. And it was my first gay bar experience. And I must say: it was very fun, very entertaining, and very enjoyable to watch a lot of good looking men dancing on tables!

Rachelle Butt

Only in New York

I'm from France but I'm currently living on Roosevelt Island. I don't really have any family...

I'm from France but I'm currently living on Roosevelt Island. I don't really have any family here and my cousins live on Long Island, but I'm involved with the Chabad on Roosevelt Island. The Rabbi and his wife are the sweetest people and being involved makes me feel like I'm with family. Just last month, we had a huge Shabbat dinner and celebrated Lag b'omer in the grassy areas on the Island.

Only in New York

Only in New York City could you eat a bagel with lox, walk by an old, beautiful synagogue, engulf a gigantic Reuben, visit a museum to learn about how my ancestors lived at the turn of the 20th century.... all ...

Ally Dommu

Arts/Pop Culture

Who can believe on Mothers Day, I am performing with the Yiddish Theater with all my family ...

Who can believe on Mothers Day, I am performing with the Yiddish Theater with all my family in the audience! I am a Red Hot Yiddishe Mama!!!! Only in NEW YORK, only in NEW York!!!

Carol Levin

Only in New York

The time I had a Chavruta with a stranger on the subway. yehudi and I just met 5 minutes before and we had the deepest Chavruta on tha Parasha. Never met him before,never saw him afterwards but we both knew ...

Only in New York

My Uncle Tommy converted from Catholicism to Judaism for love, before he married his wife, Yvonne, who descended from Dutch Jews. I must be one of the few New York African-American Catholics who had Jewish godparents. Their children, David and Robin, went to Yeshivas and spoke Hebrew fluently. I went to my cousins' bar mitzvah and bat mitzvah. They were extremely devout. Sometimes I would telephone my level-headed godmother for advice. When she died young, it seemed like losing my mother again. When Robin and David died in their 40s, I was in shock. Tommy, whom I remember for his sense of humor, passed away recently. I remember Robin for being fun-loving and tenacious-- She introduced me to disco roller skating in the 1980s, though she was an amputee. David's widow is Catholic, as are their children. During a holiday I spent at their house just before David passed away, I remember how David prayed quietly and sang softly in Hebrew.

Laura Anne Walker

Only in New York

I lived in the Amalgamated Houses on Grand Street. I was in my second year of dental school and I needed money for a date. The first two floor in the Houses are occupied by Hassidim, so erev Pesach I went around knocking on doors asking for Chometz to burn. After assuring the people that I wasn't Jewish (I am) they would bring the Chometz out to me to burn. I earned $18, and that was plenty for a date in those days.

Carl Stelman

Only in New York

The Brooklyn Heights Connection - My first living in the city experience was after I was 50 and in Brooklyn Heights and Ft. Greene. The cultural mix of people and religions was amazing, but what really stood out were my friends and "family" at B'nai Avraham who showed what Jewish love really is. Thanks to their love and so many opportunities to learn, I have such appreciation for every holiday. OK and I've gained 5 pounds from all the eating events. ;-)

Chance Encounters

My sister and I found ourselves being “bageled” (when one Jewish person subtly lets another ...

My sister and I found ourselves being “bageled” (when one Jewish person subtly lets another Jewish person know that they too are Jewish) in a ride-share by the young woman who was already in the car. We decided to embrace the “bagel” and began playing Jewish geography. My sister asked where the woman was from, and they realized they knew a number of people in common from the young woman’s native Minnesota. The car driver was shocked, and could not believe that two strangers in his car found people in common so easily. I next asked what this woman did for a living, and we realized that we were both Jewish communal professionals. We realized that we were currently working on projects together, and had been in regular email contact, but had never put a face to a name. The driver was absolutely astounded. “How is it possible that there are two co-workers who have never met in my car??” he exclaimed. By the end of the ride, we were making plans for Shabbat dinner. Only in New York.

Rose Just-Michael

Only in New York

Only in New York would a shoemaker say "you're Jewish right...I could just tell...me too" This interaction was strange to a San Francisco native. I grew up in San Francisco, but moved to NYC after attending college at Cornell University. At Cornell, I started to realize that there are strong differences between being Jewish on the West Coast and being Jewish in New York. So, when I moved to NYC, that feeling only grew. When the shoemaker asked if I was Jewish it was at first strange, but then comforting. He and I exchanged stories and chatted for a while. A quick - and what I thought would be an annoying - errand turned into a chance to share a connection. It gave us both an immediate feeling of a connection to another person in such a large and sometimes overwhelming city. A welcome feeling to a city newbie. Only in NYC does being Jewish give you an immediate welcoming, warm, and caring connection and community.

Morgan Miller

Chance Encounters

I am a native NYer and with the exception of the 2 years that I served in the U.S. Army, hav...

I am a native NYer and with the exception of the 2 years that I served in the U.S. Army, have lived here all my life. One Sunday, I was on the NYC subway system and noticed a young tourist couple who looked like they could use some help in getting oriented. I offered my assistance and found out that they were visitng from Italy. Turns out our only common language was Hebrew!

Henry Rieser

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