A Bintel Brief: Sixty Years of Letters from the Lower East Side to the Jewish Daily Forward

all went as planned and book was in good condition

I was curious about The Forward Yiddish newspaper having the equivalent of Dear Abby back to the beginning of the 20th century on the lower east side. It seemed to be advice to the lovelorn, but covered much more earthy territory, stories of work drudgery and lost dreams, of hard work and success, but serious family problems. At first Metzger gave what I thought was sound, common sense advice in family problems and cultural difficulties, but then I started noticing what we now consider attitudes of racial intolerance, especially when a Jewish man fell in love with a Gentile girl, a 'schicksa.' The advice was to break off the relationship immediately as they come from different worlds and the marriage would never work. They gave this advice to a young man in love who asked for the editor's advice since his parents promised him they would commit suicide if he married her! I don't like to hear stuff like that, but it's true that was the common 'wisdom' at the time and I suppose we should know that that was the sad truth of the times, as late as the 50's such advice came from the so-called wise editor(s) of The Daily Forward.

My father ( I am now almost 80) used to tell me of the "Forvertz" "Bintel Brief" column. I finally got exposed to it, and found it as fascinating as he told me it was. Everyone with a European Jewish background should read this one. My only complaint is that the resposes to the letters have been heavily edited, thus removing their essential flavor. But any reader will get some appreciation of what the "greeners" (such as my grandfather) lived through in becoming "Americanized".

These letters to the editor of the Jewish Forward give insight into the trials and tribulations of the early 20th century. Most correspondence is from recent immigrants to the United States who are trying to adjust to working conditions, personal relationships, family matters and legal problems. In spite of all the myriad issues, one is left with the impression that the letter writers are happy to have arrived in the "Golden Land".

What a great picture of a century of Jewish Immigrants in New York and USA. Wonderful, human and important.

The letters to the editor of the Yiddish newspaper "The Daily Forward" predates Ann Landers and Dear Abbey. The Jewish community in New York brought up many questions and looked to the Forward to provide answers. It is quite interesting to see what issues the community asked about in the early twentieth century. And, the answers to these letters reflect a thoughtfulness that may surprise you. It is a slice of history along with a view into the Jewish community.

A collection of Jewish memories from the early 1900's to 1950. I gifted several copies of this book to old friends and saw tears fall. So glad the author took time to translate the letters into English for all to read! Thank you, Isaac!

Sorry my parents never told me what it was like when they arrived in Boston and New York. They decided to become American, go to night school to learn how to read and write English, and never talk about their past. This book opened my eyes as to how hard they must have had it when they arrived and became better people because of it.

This is an interesting historical survey, and performs a service by preserving some of the history and sociology of Jewish immigration to the U.S. during the twentieth century. Yet the volume likely would have been improved with less heavy-handed (sometimes pompous) editing. The replies to the letters by The Forward's founding editor are summarized when they would have revealed much more, one would think, if given more or less as they originally appeared. (Yes, this would have increased the size and production costs of the book, but it would have added commensurately to its value.) As for the other editorial commentary, it is informative in an introductory way (a sort of "From Shtetl to Big Eppel 101"), but sometimes picks up the contagion common in Yiddish studies - that of generalizing from one's limited personal experience (a sort of literal egocentrism) instead of from actual documentation and source material.