Fiddling

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Watched “Fiddler on the Roof” the other night. I made a tape of a broadcast on UPN. Now, I don’t know if it was being aired as an attempt to encourage Zionist tendancies in evangelicals or not. I have my suspicions, though. I mean, I’ve NEVER, in the 30+ years since the movie first came out, seen it aired on TV before!

All that aside, it provoked much thought in me.

If the Czar of Russia hadn’t been such a pig to his Jewish countrymen, would Communism have developed?

If Communism hadn’t developed, would the Czar have ordered the Jews out of Russia?

If the Jews hadn’t emmigrated as they had: empoverished, starved, sick and dirty, would anti-Semitism have become so rabid in both Eastern and Western Europe?

If the Jews hadn’t, as well, returned to the Promised Land, would we be at war in the Middle East for three generations?

If the Jews hadn’t swarmed across the Atlantic Ocean to New York and other, major cities, overwhelming their fragile social structures, would the hideously-filthy ghettos and tenements have sprouted and changed the face of urban poverty forever?

If anti-Semitism hadn’t become rabid in Europe, would the Nazis have developed?

If the Nazis had no power, would millions have been slaughtered?

I watched the portrayal of the refugees, trudging through mud and snow, dragging what little they could carry. I thought of all refugees, everywhere: Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Europe… even Australia. Everywhere on this PLANET, people have been displaced, without just cause, so the dominant culture of whatever geographical location it occurred could appropriate the properties and lands of people who did NOTHING to deserve it and who contributed richly to their location.

Imagine: if the Czar of Russia had encouraged, supported and respected the valueable contribution of the Jews of his country, what would the world be like, now?

Again, I don’t know what the motives of UPN were in broadcasting the movie. No Jews I know want pity, although the histories of their culture’s persecution over thousands of years has taught them a deep sense of compassion and social justice. I’m generalizing here, but there is an ethnic consciousness there which has contributed greatly to social justice.

I found myself, ironically (as a queer feminist), truly sympathizing with the decision-making processes of Tevyek. The precarious balance of survival, constantly threatened by new and outside forces, was his duty, as patriarch, to preserve. His motivations were not merely to save his own skin, or those of his family. He was struggling to preserve his race, his religion.

And his religion was no once-a-week placibo-slash-opiate to make him feel better about his circumstances. His religion was an ongoing conversation with his God. It was a continual source of both pride and humility. It was his shelter and comfort, true. But it was also his philosophy, his guidance, his discipline.

Oh, his sexism, his conservative outlook, his narrow perspective as a man who never left his village: these were aggrevating. But he was trying to maintain balance, security and nurture for his family.

As he pulls the cart, full of his family’s possessions, through the muddy, cold countryside, I thought: he is carrying his family, his village, his people, his god on his back. And he’s doing it willingly, at great cost to his physical health, without complaint. And, if the little ones get too tired to walk, he’ll carry them, too.

It was an honor to witness it.

I researched some of the actors. Molly Picon, who plays the Yenta, was deeply involved in the Yiddish Theatre movement in the US. She even went to Eastern Europe to study Yiddish for awhile. Her story is fascinating. The best info I got was from the Jewish Virtual Library: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/picon.html .

I’d like to write a radio play about her.

Other actors have similarly-fascinating lives.

I also thought about the pride the actors must have felt. For many, “Fiddler” was probably the first time any of them could “come out” as Jews. Too often, in order to be successful in the US, Jews were forced to “pass” as gentiles. How thrilling it must have been for some, portraying characters that resembled members of their own families and neighbors, if not themselves! How wonderful it must have felt, knowing their work would contribute to understanding between races, ethnicities and religions!

It was beautiful. I cried my eyes out and laughed my head off. Go rent it.

Post Script: As I was researching "Fiddler" on the 'net, I came across something that thrilled me to tears, literally.

"Fiddler On The Roof" is returning to Broadway! And you'll never guess who's playing Tevyek! It's HARVEY FEIRSTEIN!!!! One of my all time, favorite actors: a gay man who's been out of the closet my whole life, they guy who wrote, produced and starred in "Torch Song Trilogy!"

I GOTTA GET TO NEW YORK! I HAVE to see that!

Oh, hell! Rosie O'Donnell played Golde, a part that doesn't require much singing, thank heavens. I seem to remember her mentioning it on Martha Stewart. Which means it's already over, darn it. Once again, it must suffice that I know it occurred, without being able to witness it, personally. The stuff I miss. Damn.