An Expert’s Guide to Jewish Rhode Island: Sam Zerin

The Shmooze is launching the first in what will be a series of visits with Yiddish Book Center alumni to get an insider’s guide to Jewish and Yiddish culture in their hometowns. This week, we visit with Samuel Zerin, a musicologist, music theorist, composer, and pianist, who provides a guide to Jewish Rhode Island. A specialist in early-twentieth-century Jewish musical nationalism, Sam has broader analytical interests in twenty-first-century Yiddish pop songs and Disney music. He’s also an amateur polyglot, with particularly strong interests in Yiddish, Russian, and the Scandinavian languages. In our conversation, we learn about America’s oldest synagogue, kosher restaurants in and around Providence, and more.