A life in New York, 1924
This is my first eve. at
home. (my own)
Visited friend Stenis house
Enjoyed evening there with company.
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Matt’s Notes
As far as I know, this is the first time Papa has ever lived alone in New York. As lonely as he’s felt lately, moving into an apartment by himself might not be exactly what the doctor ordered (perhaps that’s why he spent the evening elsewhere).
Practically unimportant
Spent day & eve here and
there among friends
Slept late.
(My birthday according
the English date.)
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I guess Papa wasn’t that excited about this birthday, since he characterized the day as “practically unimportant.” I think he meant it in the literal sense, too, as in “I derived no practical benefit from this day, and besides, I only pay attention to my Hebrew calendar birthday, not this one.”
I certainly know what it’s like to be less-than-thrilled about a birthday when I don’t think things are going my way, and in thinking about Papa’s last few weeks I can understand why the he’s in no mood to take stock of his life or gear up for a milestone. Let’s take a quick inventory:
With all this going on in the heart of cold New York winter, it’s no wonder he feels unwilling, perhaps even too tired, to face his birthday head-on.
At least that’s how this all feels to me, which brings up a personal point: I am far from objective when I interpret these entries, and in fact I don’t want to be since I’m pursuing this project for personal reasons, to understand and pursue the warmth and quiet I felt around Papa, a sense of ease I haven’t known for thirty-five years. When Papa doesn’t write much for the day, when I have fewer facts to research and details to write my own posts around, the only way I can continue the pursuit is to fill in the blanks with my own experience.
As I’ve noted before, I am comforted by Papa’s youthful ordeals because I know he weathered it all and ended his life happy, capable of inspiring others. But I wonder if this makes me too willing to find trouble in his light entries when my own worries are more pronounced. For example, I hate this time of year and can barely remember how to smile on some days; is that why I think Papa felt the same? Similarly, I feel convinced that the moments in Papa’s life I listed above really did make him ambivalent toward his birthday, but maybe I just have milestones on my mind because I just started a new job, a job I deliberately took to shake myself up. The type of work is unlike anything I’ve done, the culture is new, the business itself is highly specific with its own unfamiliar rules and language and style. It’s interesting; it’s a big change; it’s stressful. It’s hard to imagine that this change from my old familiar work life to something so new isn’t why I’m so focused on the effects of Papa’s milestones, his disorientation, his homesickness, his change to a new apartment, his installation as an officer in a new organization.
And that’s not all…
So who am I really talking about? What part of me is part of him? How will I know?
Same as yesterday
but in evening visited
Blue & White club, gave
them a talk about joining
the first district of the Zionist
Org.
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Matt’s Notes
The “Blue and White club” mentioned here is presumably related to the Blau-Weiss Jewish youth movement started in Germany in 1912. Blau-Weiss took its cues from the German Wanderklubs, or hiking organizations, that promoted physical fitness through outdoor activity and, not surprisingly, became inaccessible to Jews in the early 20th Century. (Here’s a 1924 photo of a Blau-Weiss outing.)
Blau-Weiss had a strong political agenda, focused specifically on the Zionist goal of physically preparing Jewish youth for the rigors of settling in Palestine. This relates to a broader movement among diaspora Jews to dispense with the image of the Jew as physically maladroit (perpetuated by anti-Semites and Jews alike) and replace it with a Jewish identity rooted in competence and toughness. These “muscle Jews,” reminiscent of the Maccabean warriors of centuries past, would hardily sow crops (and new Jews) in Palestine thanks to their discipline, tirelessness and virility.1
This thinking manifests itself in a number of organizations, including the Hakoa Vienna (hakoa means “The Strength”) an all-Jewish athletic organization that fielded Austria’s national championship soccer team in 1924 and sponsored a successful womens’ swim team in the 30’s. (I mention Hakoa Vienna because its swim team was the subject of a 2004 documentary called “Watermarks“, which is now on my Netflix queue). As I’ve mentioned before, Papa was peaceful and learned himself, but he must have been more than a little partial toward the image of the “muscle Jew” or he wouldn’t have fought to nickname his B’nai Zion chapter “The Maccabeans.”
So, now that I’ve gone on that tangent, I have to wonder if the Blue and White club Papa visited really was related to the Blau-Weiss movement. It’s certainly possible; even though Blau-Weiss’s goal was to get Jews from Germany to kibbutzes in Palestine, I’m sure some members found their way to the heavily German Lower East Side and formed a chapter there. Still, blue and white are the colors of the Israeli flag and were always associated with Zionist regalia, so maybe New York’s Blue and White club just named itself accordingly (if you’ know anything more about this, please drop a comment).
In any event, Papa visited them as part of his ongoing efforts to keep the Zionist Organization of America’s flagging first district (or chapter) afloat, which he’s already put a lot of effort into this year. I have to wonder again what it was like when he “gave a talk.” Was there a Blue and White clubhouse? Did they meet in a restaurant or coffee house? Maybe they met in a gymnasium if they were really an offshoot of Blau-Weiss. Did he lean on the edge of a desk, stand at a podium, or sit with everyone in a circle? And what did he speak? German? Yiddish ? English?
—————
References for this post
1- Pressner, Todd Samuel. “Clear Heads, Solid Stomachs, and Hard Muscles”: Max Nordau and the Aesthetics of Jewish Regeneration,” Modernism/Modernity, Vol. 10 No. 2, 2003.
Wikipeida’s entries on the Israeli flag and the role of the color blue in Judaism
Brought all my things
home from Mendel’s where
I lived until now,
Bought some neccessities
for my own use,
I am arranging my little
lone 2 room apartment,
I see I’ll have yet to do
lots of work until everything
is in shape.
—————–
This is the first time he’s mentioned “Mendel,” who is clearly the person he’s boarding with, but we don’t know much else about him. He’s probably a friend or even the owner of a more formal boarding facility (my sense, after visiting with the people at the Tenement Museum, is that Papa was just renting a cot in someone’s living room or kitchen). In any event, the apartment mentioned here is where Papa lived until he met my grandmother.
12:10 P.M.
The radio afforded me the
opportunity to hear the adress
of Pres. Coolidge, delivered at the
Waldorf Astoria. It was a
masterpiece, He is for tax reduction
against a bonus, and the way I
understood it he made an overture
for the European Nations for another
conference for still more disarmament.
He is for National economy.
He states that the 3 Americans that
are in Europe conferring about the
present situation, are not the repre-
sentatives of the government, but they
have with them the mind of the Am.
people. He outlined his attitude
toward Mexico.
Although I do not fully agree with
him, he won for his simplicity and
frankness my highest admiration
tonight.
———–
Matt’s Notes:
Coolidge’s Lincoln Day Dinner address at the Waldorf-Astoria was his first appearance in New York, his first national address, and, as the the New York Times noted, “was generally considered as the first utterance in his campaign for election to the Presidency…” Presidential radio appearances were still novel at the time; I think the way Papa introduces his recap of the broadcast (“the radio afforded the the opportunity to hear the address…”) shows how unaccustomed he was to such a privilege. Similarly, the Times devoted a few paragraphs to the logistics of the broadcast (“atmospheric conditions were splendid”) and assorted snafus (apparently the broadcast crossed wires a few times with a broadcast by the China Society).
I’m tempted to kid myself into pining for a long-lost America whose airwaves weren’t befouled by political dross, but Coolidge’s speech betrays signs of the approaching darkness. In it, Coolidge tries to contain the Teapot Dome scandal, which he inherited from Harding and centered on the illicit relationships between Cabinet members and oil companies; defended his plan to give tax breaks to corporations and wealthy Americans, even though he said the government could not afford bonuses for the military (something about how soldiers had fought WWI for principles, not money); and gave a lukewarm nod toward world disarmament while pitching an arms sale to Mexico.
It’s hard for me not to cringe at Coolidge’s speech because it reminds me so much of the crap Dubya spews, but even factoring that in I find Papa’s kind assessment of such a non-progressive speech incongruous (the New York Times’ transcript is here; subscription required). Still, it’s not incomprehensible for a few reasons. First, as I’ve noted before, Papa inherently expected the best from people and had a remarkable ability to look kindly on their flaws; why wouldn’t this apply to Presidents as well? Second, the mere excitement over hearing the President on the radio may have predisposed him toward what he heard. Third, Woodrow Wilson, who I think Papa was particularly attached to, had died nine days earlier; maybe Papa just needed to be won over, to feel the “highest admiration” for a President once again and get back a little of what he’d lost.
In any event, now seems like a good time to share this photograph of Papa listening to his radio. Maybe this is what he looked like when he heard the Coolidge speech:
Presented Sister Clara
to the occasion of her moving
into her own apartment a
candelabre (for 5 candles)
Attended [at Cooper Union] massmeeting of the
United Hebrew Trades, launching the
campaign for $150,000 for the Jewish
workers in Palestine. —
For the first time in its history
Jewish organized Labor in the U.S.
is taking an active part in the
Jewish Homeland, This certainly
was an epoch making affair
former Anti Zionists delivering
Palestine loving speeches.
I was happy to hand in the
check for $125.00 that was
collected today in my place of
employment.
This was a fine beginning
May their efforts be crowned
with success.
————-
The collection at the place [shop]
gave me joy
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Matt’s notes
Perhaps guided by my own shitty February mood, I’ve been paying close attention this month to signs of loss and sadness in Papa’s diary, whether overtly stated or between the lines. I think a slight correction is in order, though, since I may have lost sight a bit of Papa’s innate hopefulness and sense of duty. The diary is a private place where he feels free to acknowledge his doubts, but I don’t think he let other people perceive him as doubtful, and I don’t even think he saw himself that way. It surprises him to feel lonely, and it disappoints him when others act badly, but I don’t think he ever resigned himself to loneliness or disappointment no matter how burdened he felt.
As my wife (Stephanie) pointed out, for Papa to collect $125 from his shop was no small feat. It was a big deal when he got a $5 raise a few weeks ago, so we can be sure he didn’t collect the money in $5 or $10 increments from a few dozen people; he must have approached and gotten donations of a dollar or less from scores of people, all of whom respected him, found him trustworthy, allowed him to persuade them. That’s not how people react to someone who appears downtrodden or out of sorts. His joy over the donations he collected was sincere, as was the pleasure he took in giving his sister a housewarming gift the day before.
I need to keep this in mind as I think about how Papa’s generosity and soothing ways survived so many trials. His difficulties and depressions were symptoms of his personal circumstances, but he didn’t feel they were his lot. He may have been Romantically inclined to describe his disappointments in dramatic tones, but he was not romantically attached to them, and in fact eventually outran them.
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Additional Notes
I haven’t learned much specifically about United Hebrew Trades and their relationship to Zionism, but Jewish labor organizations with strong socialist ties (the UHT was founded by Morris Hillquit, a Russian Jew who also helped found the Socialist Labor Party) did tend to spurn any causes without immediate relevance to their domestic members. In fact, Jewish labor didn’t get entirely behind Zionism until the 1930’s (at least according to the 1950 Jewish American Yearbook) so the meeting described above really was an “epoch making affair.”