More on “Fiddler”
I enjoyed Saul Singer’s article on some of the history of “Fiddler on the Roof” (Feb. 4).
Fun fact: In the original Yiddish, “If I were a rich man” was “Ven ich bin a Rothschild” (If I were a Rothschild), based on an actual monologue by Tevye in the book.
In the movie, a common device put into the mouth of the Tevye was “as the good book says….” and then he makes a nonsensical statement – whereas, in the book, Tevye often quotes (or misrenders) popular biblical quotes, completely missing the point of the quote, in an effort to sound more educated than he is.
I do not speak Yiddish, so I read a translation of “Fiddler.” The translator would leave the quote (or misquote) in the original Hebrew (or whatever). In a footnote, the translator would translate into English, explaining the malapropisms that Tevye made, including how he was misusing the quote, sometimes even explaining the wordplay used by author Sholom Aleichem.
There was even an instance where Tevye uses an “as the Talmud says” and then says something that’s complete gobbledygook (but meant to sound like Aramaic).
I’ve heard, there’s plenty of other Yiddish wordplay in the original that gets lost in translation.
Another fun fact that was touched upon in the article: Why Zero Mostel wasn’t in the movie. Zero defined the role of Tevye on Broadway, but director Norman Jewison (not actually Jewish) knew of Zero’s reputation as being impossible to deal with. He also figured that Zero’s personality was too large and would eclipse the other characters.
Chaim Topol had played Tevye in a Hebrew “Fiddler” in Israel. When they were looking to bring “Fiddler” to England, they cast Topol, who didn’t speak a word of English back then and actually memorized the score to learn English. Topol was highly acclaimed as Tevye. Although he was quite young at the time, he played a very convincing middle-aged man (which he had previously done in the 1964 Israeli comedy “Sallah Shabati”).
This is how they came to cast Topol as Tevye in the movie. His Tevye was so highly acclaimed in England that Jewison was told to consider him for the role. Jewison was blown away, and controversially cast Topol over Mostel.
I had heard that when Topol played Sallah Shabbati, he was so convincing that he showed up to the hotel he was booked at in character and they threw him out, thinking he was a schnorrer. Topol was a master at his craft.
It’s also worth noting that Topol was even younger in that earlier role, but played an elder Mizrachi oleh – which was another factor in Jewison casting him.
Michael Fishman
Manhattan, NY
A Kindness Remembered
Sarah Pachter had a very special article in last week’s Jewish Press, about saving face, making sure not to embarrass anyone. This reminded me of an incident that happened many years ago when I was the Shabbos guest at the home of the late great chazzan Binyamin Glickman, a”h. I accidentally spilled some of my bright red wine on the sparkly white tablecloth. I was horrified, but then a minute later, the chazzan “accidentally” spilled his wine all over the table as well.
Nothing was said, but I never forgot his kindness in minimizing my embarrassment.
Amy Schwartz
Via email
Preparing Teens For Campus Antisemitism
Today’s antisemitism is a litany of lies about Israel, which are lies about Jews. The most common antisemitic buzzwords on campus are: Arabs are the land’s “indigenous people”/Jews stole the land; “ethnic cleansing”; “genocide”; “occupation”; “apartheid.”
It is every congressional rabbi’s responsibility to make sure our teens go off to college knowing how to stand up against the Big Lies. We are urging our rabbis to make sure his/her teens know how to easily stand up against the slanders and blood libels. Rabbis can call teens in for a get-together, and/or e-mail material stressing that it is important information to know before entering university.
Rabbis must prepare teens to fight campus antisemitism. This is their obligation. Otherwise they are leaving our teens open to being bullied on campus, to cowering, hiding their Jewish identity, or worse, believing the lies, losing their Jewish pride, and even becoming anti-Israel activists a la the anti-Semitic “J Street” and “Jewish Voice for Peace.”
Rabbi Dr. Bernhard Rosenberg
Via email
