The Yiddish Book Center's

Wexler Oral History Project

A growing collection of in-depth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories about the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture offer a rich and complex chronicle of Jewish identity.

Sneaking in to High Holiday Services

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Harold Edelstein, retired chemist, tells the story of sneaking into High Holiday services at his childhood shul because his family could only afford to purchase a ticket for his father.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Harold Edelstein.

This excerpt is in English.

Harold Edelstein was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1938.

Other video highlights from this oral history

A Jewish Prescription for Bacon

47 sec

A Distaste for Lox - and Basketball

37 sec

Yiddish: Secret Language of Parents

48 sec

Beyond Baseball in Brooklyn: An Influential Friend

5 min 7 sec

Art Museums, Botanical Gardens, and Influential Childhood Friends in Brooklyn

1 min 34 sec

Jewish Music from Freylekhs (freilachs) to Don Giovanni

3 min 13 sec

Gave Me More Nakhes: A Multigenerational Shabbes at My Son's Home

1 min 46 sec

Preferences in Pronunciation: A Yiddish vs. Hebrew Consideration

49 sec

"Let Us Be a Light Unto the Nations": The Significance of a Menorah Necklace

3 min 35 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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