Talkin' Hava Negiliah Blues

Who hasn't done a hora to hava nagila at bar and bat mitzvahs in the United States?  It is an unavoidable Jewish American cliche.  Over the years, we have grown to prefer other, less-trite Jewish songs, but just when we thought it was out of our lives...

... wouldn't ya know, along has come a documentary on the song.




While they didn't say it by name, hava nagila is, essentially, based on a chassidic nigun, or wordless religous melody invoking prayer and spirituality.
Spare yourself the 9 minutes.  Despite the much-appreciated academic analysis of the song,

we'll stick with Bob Dylan's rendition.

If New Yorkers are found to be unhappiest, what about the bulk of the Jews in the U.S.?

A recent study published in the well-respected journal Science found that New Yorkers were the least happy when compared to residents of the rest of the country.  Yes, they came in at the bottom of the barrel of data processed to learn which state churned out the most satisfied people.  If the Jewish population is most dominant in New York state (one estimate is 1.9 million), what does that say for the majority of our people in this country?  Are Jews in New York actually less happy than those elsewhere?  Does it fulfill the Woody Allen stereotype of the neurotic, parasitic, always-worrying, hypchondriac shnorrer?

Surely, even Woody found some happiness through film at least once by way of his mockumentary Zelig
(1983).

 This title character became famous in the 1920s by possessing the skill to morph into various different famous personas.  That's pretty happy, right?  Optimistically, Zelig literally translates as "happy."  Have you known a Seligman, Seelig, or Seligsohn?  Here is a  further look at the name with Zelig as its root.

Living in New York sure can be rough, at least around the edges, and especially when you get a ticket while you're down the block purchasing your muni meter parking ticket.  Any number of Seinfeld or Curb episodes can attest to that type of absurdity that happens day-in, day-out in New York City.  Perhaps this explains why so many Jews headed out west, making Los Angeles quite literally the city of angels for the Jews who had enough saychel  (scroll down for the description of Greece) to move after braving the elements of New York.

(Keep posted for a report on Jews in LA...but not those of the Ashkenazi-bred rye bread deli-pack).

Looking at the bright side of the study, where were Americans happiest?  Louisiana.  Fascinating news since one would think that post-Katrina, folks in the Bayou were still downtrodden and depressed.  But it sure sounds like it's the place to live, if you take the study for what it's worth.  If that's the case, maybe we Jews should all head down to join Reb Uri and Dahlia Topolosky in their holy work with the rebuilding of the Jewish community of New Orleans.

In reality, whether you live in Prospect Heights, Runyon Canyon or Metairie, we should all be filled with Joy because "we want you to be happy, don't live inside the gloom..."

Bob Dylan: Prophet, Mystic, Poet

There is a new book out about the former Robert Zimmerman regarding the Jewish influences on his music.  Seth Rogovoy's Bob Dylan:  Prophet, Mystic, Poet  was reviewed in this week's edition of the Jewish Week.  Dylan's influence over popular culture is immense.  Mosh-pitter, headbanger, and classical music fan alike can all hum a soulful "Blowin' in the Wind."  But there is no denying that Dylan is a part of the Whole Phamily and he has his Yiddishkeit to thank a bissel.  This book explores some previously unrevealed truths of the Jewish foundation of some of Dylan's songs.

Interestingly, Dylan put out an Xmas CD this holiday season.  Check out the Nation's blog for a discussion about it.  Or, more recently, Randy Lewis' coverage in the LA Times about Jews, including Neil Diamond, Barbara Streisand, Barry Manilow, producing Xmas albums.  The Whole Phamily think it's mighty fine that he's belting out these classics for the general American public to hear, especially since we now know that he remains a Yid through and through (no name change will will really change you).

What would Garrison Keillor have to say about all this?  There are elements of NPR that we enjoy (having been long-time fans of David Isay's various radio projects), but it's never been A Prairie Home Companion.  Despite that Dylan and Keillor share Minnesota as their home state, Keillor's angry, evil words in a recent issue of The Baltimore Sun sound downright antisemitic.

What's the deal with Dylan's name, anyway?  Zimmerman, his given name, translates as carpenter.  Somewhere back in the alter heim his family were wood-workers.  As we all know, Dylan took on the name of the poet Dylan Thomas.  Too bad his name wasn't Zingerman (which translates as a singer).  Then maybe he wouldn't have changed it, and surely he could've eventually had a nice deli sandwich (albeit treif) in Ann Arbor and reveled in shared family lineage.

Music has the power to move.  It touches one's inner depths.  It reminds us of happy times and sad.  It brings excitement to otherwise-mundane activities.  A good tune blaring out of the speakers of your best friends '63 Corvette brought you back to a time of freedom and youth.  We are glad to learn for certain that Bob Dylan, after 50 years, was indeed influenced by the biblical, Jewish prophet Isaiah in All Along the Watchtower .

And, we hope that his son-in-law, Peter Himmelman, talented musician in his own right, is kvelling.

Greenberg, the Movie

Everyone knows that Jews have come so far in Hollywood.  Judd Apatow's films attest to that.  Jews are out.  So only in 2010 could a movie with such an obvious Jewish name as its title even think of hitting the box office.  Check out the trailer for Noah Baumbach's upcoming film Greenberg and note how it is about a Jewish guy through and through.

Noah Baumbach and Jennifer Jason Leigh, along with Ben Stiller, will pull it off.

Stiller's father, Jerry, is Jewish.  Leigh was born Jennifer Morrow to Jewish parents.  Baumbach , creator of the award-winning The Squid and the Whale, and one of the most erudite writer-filmmakers of our day, we are just guessing, is Jewish.  Perhaps Baumbach was the original name at Ellis Island.  They're all originally from the alter heim, the Yiddish term for old home, or Eastern European communities where Jews lived for hundreds of years

We love how the opening scene of the trailer takes place in a classic, albeit treif (not Kosher), LA deli  (Canter's? Langer's?  Factor's?)  How appropriate that in our last post we were talking about happy deli experiences.

And, are those Eames Molded Plastic Sidechairs we see in one of the 1st scenes?  Keeping with the trend of everything Midcentury modern these days, they fit right into the current zeitgeist.  Though Charles and Ray Eames weren't Jewish, they surely are party of the Whole Phamily, as they have had such an influence over every-day American life.  That's a discussion for another time.

If you're a Greenberg, your family name is defined as "Green Mountain."  No, silly, not the awesome Vermont-based coffee company.  You could be Suzy Greenberg by Phish or Yitz Greenberg, the Modern Orthodox rabbi Jewish-American scholar and author.  Or just plain old Jason Greenberg.  Did you say Brad Greenberg?  No, you must have meant Karen Greenberg.

No, your last name is actually Green, Greenstein, Gruenberg, Grunstein, Greenfield.

Check out some of your family geneology starting at JewishGen.

Or just watch the trailer again, cuz it's looking pretty funny!

Gottlieb's Deli, Williamsburg, New York

David Sax's recent epic on the fate of the North American Deli, Save The Deli, introduced us the glatt-kosher Gottlieb's Restaurant in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn.  For any of you familiar with the hipster scene that already peaked in this neighborhood, rest assured, this deli is on the proverbial other side of the tracks.  But, hey, it ain't that far away from Billsburg, so if you're hankering for some classic old-world Ashkenazi deli food, this is the place to go.

The moment we walked in, the place had a familiar feel.  It felt cozy and comfortable, like we'd been there before.  If you had any experience in the New York delis of the 60's, 70's and 80's, you'd know what we're talking about.  Gottlieb's is a place that has an ambience practically erased from the landscape of New York City.

Doesn't the name Gottlieb ring a bell?  Have you known a Gottlieb or two in your day?  Defined as "God's love," it's familiar to many.  We had the honor of  the proprietor, Gottlieb himself (the grandson of the founder of the restaurant, who passed away only 2 years ago at the age of 98, of blessed memory), serve our boisterous table of 7.

Founded in 1962, the family has served up delicious dishes to hungry souls from all walks of life.   We didn't ask about this Gottlieb's family history, but we got a big smile when we told him about our idea of the ganse mishpucha.  Gottlieb's father was in the house, busy preparing deli platters and serving up food, so we didn't get a chance to shmooze with him..

And the food?  Perhaps the best stuffed cabbage we have ever had (sorry, grandma).  The puffed up rice inside the meat filling was so tasty.  The sweet and sour sauce was near-perfect.  There was chicken fricasse, latkes, shlishkes, homemade mashed potatoes, health salad, brisket and roast beef in a sauce, plated hot tongue (sorry, no raisins), and a turkey cutlet that was far from the roasted bird we had on Thanksgiving a few weeks ago.

Hipster, chassid, or Chowhound, Gottlieb's is a place to add on to your radar screen.  It is, without doubt, part of the Whole Phamily.

Oh, and of course they're closed on shabbes.