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50 years after its debut, 'Hester Street' reminds us what it means to be a Jew in America

JL;DR SUMMARY Joan Micklin Silver's film 'Hester Street,' commemorating its 50th anniversary, continues to offer a poignant exploration of Jewish immigrant identity in early 20th century America. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

YiddishJewish IdentityImmigrationLower East SideAssimilation20th CenturyCarol KaneGetJoan Micklin SilverGitl

Places mentioned

New York City, New York, United States
"Simi Horwitz is a feature writer and film reviewer based in New York City."
Russian Federation
"who has just arrived from Russia with their young son Yossele."
Lower East Side, New York, United States
"lived in the United States for several years, settling in the tenement-ridden, congested Lower East Side"
Poland
"student of Torah and Talmud in Poland, has mostly given up his beloved studies"

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Retrieved 2025-01-25 05:30:50 UTC
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