It's Good to be Reminded Now & Then...

...that different people have different experiences, even from within the same faith. I caught the film Shalom Y'all last night on our local PBS affiliate. It was an entertaining look at Jewish life in the South from roughly 1920 to the present day. In my insular, New York Jewish world, it's easy to forget that the broad array of kosher food, other Jews, and choices of denominations were pretty peculiar to our area.

The filmmaker went around to small towns, big cities, and everything in between, and documented a Jewish life very different from what I grew up with. Synagogues (one with a HUGE pipe organ) that now have fewer than a dozen members. A black police chief with Jewish ancestry who converted to Judaism later in life. Real, serious Deep South Anti-semitism, including homes & synagogues bombed during the civil rights era. And even parts that are more recognizable to me - the huge growth in the observant Jewish community in Atlanta, GA over the last few years.

Even as I've gotten to know some bloggy folks from thataway, I still have this idea in my head of a monolithic (or at least monoreligious) section of the US, and it's helpful to remove the blinders occasionally. Anyway, it was a neat movie and certainly of more value than the football type game on TV last night.

Check your local PBS listings.