In Skokie, the director was she and I meant that both she and the author don’t know much about Jewish laws or history.
The Jewish laws regarding slavery have EVERYTHING to do with the subject of the play. As you correctly note, the older slave in fact does use the Jewish blessings and continues to observe certain Jewish laws, and in fact does see himself as a Jew… BECAUSE of the Jewish laws that he took seriously…. unlike many born Jews, including his owner. Given the changing circumstances, this partial geyur greatly multiplies his anguish and suffering--something completely overlooked by play’s which focuses mostly on the type of the conflict that could have been observed in many southern families (in fact that was author’s position in his radio interview). Both the author and the director, like you Amalia, completely ignore this side of the slave’s tragedy and approach the situation very superficially from my point of view complete overlooking specifically Jewish element which magnifies slaves suffering as he now belongs nowhere. From: Amalia Warshenbrot [mailto:amalia...@att.net] Sent: Monday, April 15, 2013 8:26 PM To: A G Cc: Andrea Rapp; Hasafran Subject: Re: [ha-Safran] Play about Jews and slavery As mush as I Know the author is a man Matthew Lopez. The two slaves, who remain in the house after the family disappeared thought that the son was killed in the war. When he returns the slave says the blessing thanking God who resurrects the dead Mehayeh hamaiteem. Later, in order to help the soldier regain his faith they are trying to make a Seder. With no dishes or food they do what they can. So, sorry, Alex, I disagree with you about the author. The Torah laws on slavery, as you write below, may be right, but, it has nothing to do with the situation of slaves in the South a day after Lincoln was assassinated. Amalia Sent from my iPad On Apr 15, 2013, at 6:47 PM, "A G" <agend...@publishersrow.com> wrote: The play could have been much better, if the author was cognizant (she is weak on the Jewish law and history) of a great role the institution of slavery played in the formation of the Jewish people not only in Egypt (“the house of slaves”) where the Jewish nation was born, but long before and long after that. Before… when posterity of Abraham is defined in Torah as “those born in your house and purchased for money” and after… with the institution of so-called Canaanite slave, where the Jewish law mandates only either slave’s death or a manumission into the Jewish people, i.e. no relapse into the people a slave comes from. The effect of this institution is most profound on formation of both Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jewries. In the case of African-Americans in this country, Lincoln’s act of Emancipation denied the slaves in more than 20,000 Jewish households, which owned slaves, the opportunity to be manumitted according to the Jewish law and thus become full-fledged Jews. After the Emancipation Proclamation, many of them retained the idea of being Jews – because under the Jewish law a Canaanite slave is a partial Jew with obligation to fulfill all mitzvoth which are a must for a Jewish woman – without being able now to actually become such… the pain of the situation is indirectly touched upon in The Whipping Man. Alex From: hasafran-boun...@lists.service.ohio-state.edu [mailto:hasafran-boun...@lists.service.ohio-state.edu] On Behalf Of Amalia Warshenbrot Sent: Monday, April 15, 2013 2:37 PM To: Andrea Rapp; Hasafran Subject: Re: [ha-Safran] Play about Jews and slavery Andrea, The Whipping man is still playing many communities. It is a wonderful play. Amalia Warshenbrot From: Andrea Rapp <mailto:anrapp2...@yahoo.com> Sent: Monday, April 15, 2013 2:42 PM To: Hasafran <mailto:hasaf...@lists.osu.edu> Subject: [ha-Safran] Play about Jews and slavery A patron is looking for a play that was performed "several years ago" about a Jewish slave-owning family in the Old South. Does anyone know what that play would be? Andrea Rapp _____ __ Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) ================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran@lists.service.ohio-state.edu To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: galro...@osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html Earlier Listserver: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org -- Hasafran mailing list Hasafran@lists.service.ohio-state.edu https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran
__ Messages and opinions expressed on Hasafran are those of the individual author and are not necessarily endorsed by the Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) ================================== Submissions for Ha-Safran, send to: Hasafran@lists.service.ohio-state.edu To join Ha-Safran, update or change your subscription, etc. - click here: https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran Questions, problems, complaints, compliments send to: galro...@osu.edu Ha-Safran Archives: Current: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.service.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html Earlier Listserver: http://www.mail-archive.com/hasafran%40lists.acs.ohio-state.edu/maillist.html AJL HomePage http://www.JewishLibraries.org -- Hasafran mailing list Hasafran@lists.service.ohio-state.edu https://lists.service.ohio-state.edu/mailman/listinfo/hasafran
