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.

"Shrimp Was Their Kryptonite": Learning The Difference Between Sacred and Profane

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David Berg, a South Philadelphia native, talks about the ways in which his family adapted to their Jewish identity to suit their new surroundings.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with David Berg.

This excerpt is in English.

David Berg was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1948.

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Other video highlights from this oral history

South Philly's Jewish Shopping District

1 min 24 sec

A Few of My Grandfather's Favorite Things

2 min

Clarion Colony: The Jewish Farming Community in Utah

5 min 2 sec

Freedom From Fear: Making It in America

4 min 26 sec

Grandparents As Markers Of Ethnic Identity

3 min 32 sec

The Little Shul in Philadelphia

6 min 37 sec

SPHAS: The South Philadelphia Hebrew Association Basketball Team

3 min 45 sec

Simkhes Toyre (Simchat Torah) in South Philly

2 min 2 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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