Anti-Semitism and "Mad Men"

Anti-Semitism is alive and well at Sterling Cooper Draper Price. The hit show "Mad Man" was created by Matthew Weiner, a Jew from a wealthy and prominent family. He wanted to show how discrimination against Jews and other minorities was an accepted practice in the business world during the late 1950s and early 1960s. 

I think the exception is Don Draper (Jon Hamm), who has a gift for engaging with characters who are on the periphery of society. In Season 1, Don Draper had an affair with a department store heiress named Rachel Menken (Maggie Siff). Rachel hires Sterling Cooper wants to expand business beyond the concentrated crowd of affluent Jews. Don tells her intimate details of his life that he hasn't shared with his wife. He suggests that they run away to Los Angeles together, but Rachel things that he is running way from his life and they break up. Don encounters Rachel once during season 2, but she is now Mrs. Katz. Don identifies with Rachel because he too is an outsider. He comes from a poor, humble background in contrast with all the wealthy WASP "suits" of the agency. His colleagues are all self-centered and oblivious to the world around them. No wonder Megan (the current Mrs. Draper) left.

Jane Siegel (Peyton List) is Don's secretary during season 2 and begins an affair with Roger Sterling (John Slattery), who is probably the most prejudiced person (save for Pete Cambell) in the entire firm. By season 3, they are married. Jane is much younger than Roger and just two years older than his daughter, Margaret. After their ill-fated LSD trip during season 5, they realize their marriage is stagnant and mutually agree to get divorced.

Now the show has entered the mid-1960s and the beginning of the Civil Rights movement. This season, SCDP hired Michael Ginsberg (Ben Feldman), their first Jewish copywriter. I should also note here that the agency hired its first African-American employee, a secretary named Dawn. Michael lives with his adoptive father Morris, who told him that he was born in a concentration camp. Morris found Michael in a Swedish orphanage and legally adopted him.  In Sunday's episode of the show, Bert Cooper (Robert Morse) asks Roger to pitch a campaign for Monarch Wines (which specializes in Kosher wine) because he still thinks that Roger is married to Jane.. Roger takes it because he really needs a win right now. He enlists Ginsberg to create copy for Monarch Wines. Roger then confides to Peggy (Elisabeth Moss) that he picked Ginsberg only because he is a Jew. Also, he asks Jane to pose as his wife in order to win over the client.  She agrees, only on the condition that he buy her a new apartment. Roger, of course, drops a few anti-Semitic jokes into the mix:

Roger to Cooper: "How Jewish are they? You know, "Fiddler on the Roof," audience or cast?"


Roger to Ginsberg: "They used to make wine for Jews and now they want to make wine for normal people." Roger, Roger, Roger, when will you ever learn? 


Jane gets her comeuppance against Roger: "You suddenly don't have a problem telling them I'm Jewish?"

BTW, Kosher wine is awful. Avoid drinking it at all costs! 


And Ben Feldman is a hottie who has earned his spot on "Mad Men"!

A Short Vacation in the Catskills, Part 1

Hi there! I wasn't feeling well for the last couple of weeks but now I'm back.

It's almost summer and in glory days, it would have been time for families to head up to their bungalows in the Catskills and for kids to go to camp. Here are some jokes to take you back to those times, and to get your week going as well:

5772: Year according to Jewish calendar

4709: Year according to Chinese calendar

1063: Total number of years that Jews went without Chinese food

* * *

What did the waiter ask the group of dining Jewish mothers?

"Is ANYTHING all right?"

* * *

How many Jewish mothers does it take to change a light bulb?

(Sigh) Don't bother, I'll sit in the dark, I don't want to be a nuisance to anybody.

* * *

Sam Levy was driving down the road, gets pulled over by a policeman. Walking up to Sam's car, the policeman says, “Your wife fell out of the car 5 miles back.” Sam replies, “Thank G-d for that. . . . I thought I'd gone deaf!”

* * *

Short summary of every Jewish Holiday: “They tried to kill us, we won, let's eat.”

* * *

Did you hear about the bum who walked up to the Jewish mother on the street and said, “Lady, I haven't eaten in three days.”

To which she replied: “Force yourself.”

* * *

What's the difference between a Rottweiler and a Jewish Mother?

Eventually, the Rottweiler lets go.

* * *

A young Jewish man calls his mother and says,

“Mom, I'm bringing home a wonderful woman I want to marry.”

She's a Native American and her name is “Shooting Star.”

“How nice,” says his mother. “I have an Indian name too,” he says.

“It's Running Water” and you have to call me that from now on.”

“How nice” says his mother.

“You have to have an Indian name too, Mom,” he says.

“I already do," says the mother. "Just call me Sitting Shiva.”

* * *

A man calls his mother in Florida. “Mom, how are you?”

“Not too good," says the mother. "I've been very weak.”

The son says, “Why are you so weak?”

She says, “Because I haven't eaten in 38 days.”

The man says, “That's terrible. Why haven't you eaten in 38 days?”

The mother answers, “Because I didn't want my mouth to be filled with food if you should call.”

* * *

Jewish view on when life begins: There's a big controversy on when life begins. In Jewish tradition the fetus is not considered viable until after it graduates from medical school.

* * *

A Jewish boy comes home from school and tells his mother he's been given a part in the school play.

“Wonderful.  What part is it?”

The boy says, “I play the part of the Jewish husband.”

The mother scowls and says, "Go back and tell the teacher you want a speaking part.”

* * *

Jewish telegram: “Begin worrying.  Details to follow.”

* * *

 Coming this week: A Tribute to Adam Yauch (RIP), Anti-Semitism on "Mad Men".

Entertainment at the Raleigh

Courtesy of Long Island and New York Places That Are No More, here is an old ad from The Raleigh hotel. Jackie Kannon passed away in 1974, so my guess is that this ad is from the late 1960s, early 1970s. London Lee is a stand-up comedian known as "The Rich Kid." I had the pleasure of seeing Lionel Hampton and Wynton Marsalis at The Blue Note with my husband-to-be in the early 1990s. That was a treat! In 1997, he lost all his belongings in a fire. He passed away from heart failure in 2002. Emmett Kelly was one of the most well-known clowns and was also famous for his commitment to charitable causes.


The Raleigh had a hangout for teens called the Nuru Guru Club (which sounds like a room for meditation), and a band called The Forest was playing that August. Never heard of them.

In the early 80s, I worked at as a counselor for JAPpy rich girls at Camp Olympus in Parksville, which closed its doors in 1988. I hated the job, but I loved the area and its surroundings, along with its rich history. One day, a few of us decided to crash the Raleigh and attempt to use the pool. We were chased off the grounds and almost arrested!


Originally called the Ratner Hotel, The Raleigh is still in business but in an entirely different incarnation.The Raleigh was sold to Hasidic group in 2006 and hosts many school Shabatons, reunions, and Passover Seders. There are even rooms named for Sammy Davis, Jr.! The Nuru Guru club no longer exists, but there is still a childrens' camp on the premises.


I went to a meeting of the Metropolitan Postcard Club on Sunday and became a member in good standing. I was trying to find some vintage Judaica postcards, but they were out of my budget for that day. Maybe next month.

Humor Monday--Cup o'Joe

On this cold and dreary Monday, we all need a good cup of coffee. This reminds me of a cute story about coffee that my late MIL sent to me a number of years ago.

A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning.

 The wife said, "You should do it, because you get up
 first, and then we don't have to wait as long to get our coffee."

 The husband said, "You are in charge of the cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee."

 Wife replies, "No you should do it, and besides it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee."

Husband replies, "I can't believe that, show me."

So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and shows him at the
 top of several pages, that it indeed says . . .,

"HEBREWS"

Never Forget!

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah in Hebrew). On this day, we not only remember the 6,000,000 Jews who perished, but non-Jews who were affected as well. An entire civilization in Europe was rubbed out because of the acts of the Nazi party. Careers, homes, and towns were literally destroyed. Had these horrible acts of genocide not occurred, craftspeople, doctors, lawyers, shopkeepers, and other professionals would have been able to pass their trade to the next generation.

Jews throughout Nazi-occupied Europe were forced to wear the yellow star pictured above. This was to mark them for humiliation and desegregation. 

Yom Hashoah falls on the 27th Day of Nissan in the Hebrew calendar. This day was chosen because it falls after Passover and coincides with the Warsaw ghetto uprising. On this day, the entire country of Israel stands silent to remember those whose lives were lost. All restaurants and places entertainment are shut down for 24 hours.

Want to learn more?

• Click on this timeline from the History Place Web site for events that span from the years 1933 to 1961.
• Online exhibitions are available at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum's Web site.
• An excellent bibliography is maintained at The Holocaust History Project.
• Auschwitz was the most notorious of the concentration camps. Time Magazine shows photos of the site 65 years later.
• No lesson on the Holocaust would be complete without a discussion of Anne Frank's diary. Learn more at the Web site for the Anne Frank Museum in Holland.
• Brainpop provides excellent lessons for schoolchildren of all ages. See lessons on the Holocaust and Anne Frank. 
• The New York Times also provides great resources for the classroom.
• Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial museum in Israel, is conducting a campaign called "Gathering the Fragments" and is collecting all artifacts associated with the Holocaust era.
• Classroom Help has a list of recommended books for children.
• Adults should consult Goodreads for their recommended Holocaust book list.

I'd like to end today's post with a quote by the author and concentration-camp survivor Elie Wiesel:

“For the dead and the living, we must bear witness.” 

Ad for Tamarack Grand Opening, 1947

Here is an ad for the grand opening the Tamarack Lodge, dated 1947 (courtesy of Old Images of New York). 

From the early 1900s to the mid-1970s, a week at the Catskills (known as the Borscht Belt) was a very popular vacation for Jewish families. There were many bungalow colonies where parents would spend the entire summer. The popularity of these family vacations waned as trips to Europe and exotic places such as Aruba and Hawaii became more popular. As a child, I never had the opportunity to stay at one of the first-tier hotels (e.g., Concord, Kutsher's, Grossinger's). I did visit my grandparents when they stayed at a bungalow colony. My friends were part of another bungalow colony for many years and they wound up getting married. Their bungalow colony still exists today.

I have an interesting story about the Tamarack. This hotel was not on par with the first-tier resorts, but it was the site of many Jewish singles' weekends. Shortly after Matthew and I got engaged, we took a trip there with another couple. Our (former) friend thought it was "Poker Weekend", but it turned out to be "Polka Weekend." Ugh! We were by far the youngest ones there. Also, it poured the entire weekend and we had to transfer out of our leaky room. The entertainment was lousy, but at least the food was decent.

I will have more posts about the Catskills. It's a shame that many of the hotels have either become condos or have been abandoned entirely. Only Kutsher's exists today. There was a brush fire at the Tamarack about a week ago. The hotel is now owned by the Western Mohegan tribe. Possible casino in the future?

New Jewish Words (that I thought would make you smile)

Happy Monday! I hope everyone has recovered from their holiday. I thought we could all use a little humor this morning, so I found some new words to add to the Jewish/Yiddish dictionary:

1. JEWBILATION n. Pride in finding out that one’s favorite celebrity is Jewish.

2. TORAHFIED n. Inability to remember one’s lines at one’s bar or bat mitzvah.

3. SANTA-SHMANTA n. The explanation Jewish children get for why they  celebrate Chanukah while the rest of humanity celebrates Christmas.

4. MATZILATION v. Smashing a piece of matzo to bits while trying to butter it.

5. BUBBEGUM n. Candy one’s mother gives to her grandchildren that she never gave to her own children.

6. CHUTZPAPA n. A father who wakes his wife at 4:00 a.m. so she can change the baby’s diaper.

7. DISORIYENTA n. When Aunt Sadie gets lost in a department store and strikes up a conversation with everyone she passes.

8. GOYFER n. A Gentile messenger.

9. KISSKA n. Smooching at a bar mitzvah and getting the telltale smell of stuffed derma.

10. MEINSTEIN slang. “My son, the genius."

 11. MISHPOCHAMARKS n. The assorted lipstick and make-up stains found on one’s face and collar after kissing all one’s aunts and cousins at a reception.

12. RE-SHTETLEMENT n. Moving from New Jersey to Florida and finding all your old neighbors live in the same condo as you.

 13. ROSH HASHANANA n. A rock ‘n roll band from Brooklyn.

 14. YIDENTIFY v. To be able to determine true ethnic origins of celebrities even though their names might be St. John, Curtis, Davis, or Taylor.

15. FEELAWFUL n. Indigestion from eating Israeli street food.

16. DISKVELLIFIED vb. To drop out of law school, med school or business as seen through the eyes of parents, grandparents, and Uncle Sid. In extreme cases, simply choosing to major in art history when Irv’s son, David, is majoring in biology, is sufficient grounds for diskvellification.

 17. KINDERSCHLEP n. To transport other kids in your car besides yours.

18. SCHMUCKLUCK n. Finding out one’s wife became pregnant after one had a vasectomy.

19. OYVAYSMEAR: What one says when the cream cheese squeezes out of the bagel and falls on your clean pants.

20. JEWDO n. A traditional form of self defense based on talking one’s way out of a tight spot.