A cultural revival grounded in place, memory and the meaning of belonging
Shande, the Yiddish word for shame or scandal, is the name of Jack Braunstein’s experimental folk band. The band recently released its first full-length record, “Hereness,” a concept from the Bund movement that advocated Jews build local communities, rather than strive for a Jewish state.
Braunstein said “hereness,” or “doikayt” in Yiddish, was conceived as an anti-Zionist concept.
“That idea is very counter to the idea that we all need to go somewhere to be together, and the only way for us to be safe is to have this fortress mentality,” Braunstein said. “‘Hereness’ speaks back to that and says the way that we as a community can find safety is by working in coalition with all those other communities around us.”
Rabin said Yiddish culture has been all but supplanted in American Judaism by a fixation on Israel.
“I grew up thinking that Israel was my culture and my lineage. That’s how American Jewish institutions teach it, and it’s just not true,” she said. “My family is not from Israel-Palestine. My culture is Eastern European Yiddish.”
The Philly Yiddish community often appears less political and more cultural, a way to connect with a heritage that is in danger of dying out. Coppersmith says the Shtetl Philly events bring together people from different political stances over zhok dancing and rounds of “Bei Mir Bistu Shein.”
“For me, being in a community that has anti-Zionist folks and folks who have ties to Israel but are critical of the community feels really rich,” she said. “As young people, we are demonstrating an active care and love of our culture that tells folks of an older generation, even if they have differing political views, they can’t look at us and say we don’t care about being Jewish.”