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.

Jewish Mutual Aid in Jewish South Philadelphia

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Bobby Block, career musician from South Philadelphia, describes the activities of the Jewish community's mutual aid society. The landsmanshaft (association of immigrants originally from the same region) provided essential services and a sense of community for its members.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Bobby Block.

This excerpt is in English.

This interview is part of the Yiddish and the Arts: musicians, actors, and artists series.

Other video highlights from this oral history

"Music Therapeutic": Performing Jewish Music in Retirement Homes

1 min 16 sec

"We've Lost That Closeness": Cultural Change in the Jewish Community

2 min 24 sec

"They Had Their Own Language in Rummy": Summer Nights in South Philadelphia

2 min 2 sec

"Abi Gezunt! (Be Healthy!)": Bobby Block Sings a Molly Picon Classic

3 min 41 sec

Yiddish Radio in Jewish South Philadelphia

1 min 48 sec

Tearful Music: Yiddish Song and the Synaoguge

1 min 18 sec

"Finally, He Accepted it": My Father's Reaction to the Rise of Women Cantors

2 min 24 sec

Saturday Night Performances at the Jewish Nightclub

2 min 10 sec

Yiddish and Latin Music: Similarities in Style

1 min 40 sec

"It's Music From the Heart": The Feel of Jewish Music

1 min 7 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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