Included below is the first of four sermons that I delivered, all discussing the play 'Fiddler on the Roof,' and various interesting aspects within the play. This first one was delivered on February 15th, 2014. Three more sermons to follow:
- Shabbat Shalom
- Today we are beginning a series of four sermons on “Fiddler on the Roof.” It’s no secret that this is coinciding with our performing of the show, which begins on March 1st, and that I’m hoping this will whet your appetite to come and see it. However, I’m not ONLY talking about the show because we’re getting ready to put it on our stage. I wanted to talk to you about it, and not just in one, fifteen-minute sermon, because I’ve discovered a lot of interesting things hidden inside this play, over the course of studying the script during rehearsals. People love the music and the witty dialogue, and you’ll certainly find yourself humming all the famous songs for weeks to come, but I was surprised to discover some fascinating details ‘behind the scenes,’ as it were, that I think speak to the period in time when Sholem Aleichem first invented the character, Tevye and his world, but also speak to the reality of American culture and politics when the show debuted on Broadway 50 years ago, AND have much to say about our lives today, as well as looking ahead to the future.
- In her book, ‘Wonder of Wonders: A cultural history of Fiddler on the Roof,’ Alisa Solomon talks about the issues that are covered in this timeless piece: “It looks backward and forward, favors both community and individual needs, honors the particular and the universal, struggles between stasis and change, bewails and celebrates. Tevye seems to be constantly caught in these opposing forces and, before our eyes, weighs the arguments of every dilemma - on the one hand, on the other hand...’
- I would add that it straddles the line - like a fiddler balancing on a roof… - between parents and children, between intramarriage and intermarriage, status quo or revolutionary change, and the historical struggle we’ve had as Jews, on one side battling anti-Semitic forces, on the other side, infighting among Jews, neighbors, and family members.
- And I want to begin by sharing with you the first revelation I had about the deeper levels underneath the play’s dialogue. In the very first scene of the play, Tevye speaks to the audience about himself, his community, and his world. He points to the fiddler, strumming along on HER roof (in our version, the Fiddler will be played by fantastic 11-year old Alyse Wicentowski!), and Tevye says, ‘seems funny, no?’ And he begins by stating that you COULD say we’re all fiddlers on the roof, trying to string together a little tune without falling off and breaking our necks. Right? Sound familiar?
And THEN, after we all sing a rousing rendition of “Tradition!”, Tevye ends by saying that WITHOUT our Traditions, our lives would be as shaky as a “Fiddler on the Roof.” Wait! Stop! Go back for a second. I thought we were ALL that fiddler, at least at the start of the song, yet now we need our traditions so we WON’T be that fiddler. I’m confused. Are the traditions helping us stay up there, stringing together a little song, or are the traditions enabling us to AVOID having to balance on a narrow ledge? It can’t be both, can it? Though Tevye would likely say both can be right indeed.
- Let’s hold onto that contradiction for a few minutes.
- Instead, let’s go back for a moment to that song, “Tradition!” I titled this first sermon in the series, ‘Tradition!’, ‘Tradition?’, or ‘Tradition...’ And here’s why. What is the song about? Is it about our ‘beloved’ traditions, and how adherence to them helps us know our place in society, understand what God expects of each of us, and avoid breaking our necks on top of that roof (or avoid having to get up on the roof to begin with, we’re still a bit confused, but let’s ignore that for now)? We imagine that the song is indeed celebrating tradition…
- AND YET, the song and the play seem to disagree on that most basic point about what Tradition really means. You see, we have four parts to the song:
- Fathers - The song tells us they are masters of the house and have the final word at home. YET, at no point in the play does Tevye have the final word! Golde interrupts him constantly, and every one of his daughters takes the upper hand in any argument between them.
- Mothers - The song tells us the mother’s job is to keep a quiet home so papa’s free to read the holy book. Come on, who are we kidding? Golde isn’t interested in keeping a quiet home at all, and she is NOT a big fan of Tevye quoting that same holy book, cuts him off every time he talks about it, and would certainly consider her husband lazy if she’d work all day to give him time to sit back and read.
- Sons - The sing about brides being picked for them, yet no sons in the play wait for anyone to choose a mate for them. Motel, Perchik, and Fyedka; all seize the moment for themselves, and shirk tradition and any efforts by matchmakers or parents to dictate their fate.
- Daughters - similar to sons, have no real interest in adhering to tradition. They sing about getting prepared to marry whoever papa picks - if you know the play at all, you almost laugh when you hear them sing that.
- So what’s going on here? That’s why I ask, ‘Tradition’ with an exclamation point or a question mark? Are we celebrating or mocking, serious devotion or tongue-in-cheek winking?
- But there IS a third option, both for our interpretation of the song AND our understanding of ourselves as fiddlers on roofs. Tradition - elypsis. There’s tradition AND something more. This is certainly where I feel myself veering into the territory of Conservative Judaism, where we talk about the importance of knowing the tradition, understanding, respecting, and truly LOVING the tradition, BUT also with the knowledge and appreciation that there’s more to life. We need to move forward. The tailor, my character, Motel, pushes back against Tevye when he tries to reject him as a suitor for his daughter, ‘Times are changing, Reb Tevye.’ Even Motel, who isn’t the most radical character in the show, sees that the world must move forward. Tradition is important, but so is evolution, enlightenment, and elements of change.
- So indeed we CAN be both the fiddler on the roof, trying to understand our traditions and keep playing versions of the old songs, relating to our tradition and knowing it’s tough! It ain’t easy to care about Shabbat and Kashrut and holiday observance and Jewish chosenness in 21st Century Wallingford. Staying on that roof does feel risky, and we DO worry about falling off and hurting ourselves in the process.
- At the same time, we know that exclusive adherence to those traditions will keep us on that rooftop permanently, and most of us want to walk on solid ground from time to time. So we DO say that we need other information and sensitivities, otherwise our lives WOULD, indeed, be as shaky as that fiddler, stuck indefinitely on that rooftop.
- It really DOES make sense when Tevye says that two opposing views can both be right, AND that a third opinion that points out the challenge of maintaining different views, is ALSO right.
- The song ‘Tradition’ isn’t mocking our Jewish heritage. But it also isn’t being fully honest when it pretends that this is really the most important thing in our lives. The song, both the outward expression of love for tradition, and the undercurrent of challenge to those SAME traditions, reflects our reality. It was the reality of 19th and 20th century Jews who really WANTED to remain in their homes, their beloved little villages, but knew they had to emigrate to America and start new lives. It was the reality of 1960s Americans who tried desperately to cling to the idyllic world of the 1950s, with housewives and suburbs and segregation, even while realizing it couldn’t work, and it hadn’t really worked a decade earlier. ‘Times are changing, Reb Tevye.’ Times change for us all, in every generation, and for every group of people.
- The subtitle of this sermon was ‘what a turbulent time in Jewish history for an upbeat Broadway play.’ Was I talking about the turbulence of shtetl Judaism, the 1960s, or today? Yes. The point of this sermon was not to offer an answer - should it be Tradition with an exclamation point, question mark, or an elypsis - but to raise your awareness of the question.
- When, in your own life, do you feel like the fiddler balancing precariously on that roof, and when do you feel like you live your life trying to stave off having to get up on that roof? Making conscious choices to remain on the ground, and NOT climb onto a dangerous perch? If you aren’t able to join us for any of the three subsequent sermons, I hope your awareness and sensitivity to the undercurrents of this play have at least been heightened. WHEN you come and see us - and I really do hope you’ll come - I hope you’ll see more going on than you did before. And you’ll give some more thought to how tradition influences your life, and the daily decisions you make. Who are you most like in this play? And who do you WISH you were like?
- I think you’ll find that more than just leaving you with great tunes to hum, and some laughs and good cries, the play can also give you a deeper understanding of Jewish history, issues we face in society, and your own life. And all that from a simple Fiddler on a Roof.
- Shabbat Shalom!
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