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ABSTRACT
This study uses advertisements for matzah from two prominent American Jewish language newspapers – Forverts in Yiddish, La Vara in Ladino – to demonstrate that matzah was a common cultural and religious symbol among Sephardim and Ashkenazim. For that reason, it was a way for Sephardim to begin fashioning a unique consumer identity that would resonate with the Ashkenazi majority on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. But first, Ashkenazim had to recognize Sephardim as fellow Jewish American consumers by marketing their Ashkenazi-owned matzah brands on the pages of La Vara. Sephardim then used this opportunity to engage in a process of translation, interpretation, and redesigning of Yiddish matzah advertisements into Ladino to assert their place within the broader American Jewish community.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the attendees from the 2022 workshop, “Studying Advertisements in Pre-1939 Jewish Press: Methods and Challenges,” hosted by the Taube Department of Jewish Studies at the University of Wrocław, whose feedback supported the expansion of this article, as well as the anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions. I am grateful to Lili Brown, MLIS, who helped me with the Yiddish translations and transliterations. All Yiddish and Ladino newspapers were accessed via the National Library of Israel’s Historical Jewish Press website. La Vara comes courtesy of The Manhattan Research Library Initiative, New York University, Columbia University, The New York Public Library, and the University of Washington Sephardic Studies Digital Collection. Forverts comes courtesy of The Forward Association, The Manhattan Research Library Initiative, New York University, Columbia University, The New York Public Library, The Lucius N. Littauer Foundation, and The Goldrich Family Foundation.
Declaration of interest statement
In accordance with Taylor & Francis policy and my ethical obligation as a researcher, I am reporting that a version of this paper originally appeared as an essay on the University of Washington Sephardic Studies Program website while I was employed there full time as Assistant Director: https://jewishstudies.washington.edu/sephardic-studies/why-are-these-passover-ads-different-from-all-other-ads/
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 While “Ladino” has historically referred to calque translations from Hebrew into the vernacular, it has become the most commonly recognized term for this Sephardic dialect; thus I use it here. Other terms for the language include Djudyo and Judezmo.
2 Manischewitz advertisement. La Vara, April 11, 1930, 12.
3 Cohen, “From a Union Field Tent to a Bakery in Manhattan.” See the references for a link to this article, which includes several wonderful photographs of the Goodman family.
4 “‘Matzoth King’ Dies at 78.” The New York Times, November 30, 1915, 13.
5 Florence Fabricant. “Century of Tradition for Passover Tables.” The New York Times, April 11, 1984, C12.
6 “Manhattan Bakers Buy Long Island City Plot.” The New York Times, July 5, 1944, 28; “A. Goodman & Sons Moving to Queens.” The New York Times, September 15, 1945, 26.
7 National Macaroni Manufacturers Association, “Salute to Long Island City,” 6.
8 Steinberg, Jewish Mad Men, 56–81.
9 Ben Ur, Sephardic Jews in America, 193–96.
10 Moore et al., Jewish New York, 79.
11 See Ben Ur, Where Diasporas Met; Ben Ur, “Diasporic Reunions;” Ben Ur, Sephardic Jews in America; Naar, “‘Imposters’;” Naar, “Sephardim Since Birth.” Each of these books/articles contain further anecdotes and information about such discriminatory encounters.
12 “Hebrew Schools Go into Matzoth Trade.” The New York Times, March 22, 1933, 20.
13 For an overview of other examples, see Naar, “‘Imposters’,” 127. For more detailed examples see Naar, “Ladino Left,” 48; Ben Ur, Where Diasporas Met, 96.
14 Yiddish: Horowitz and Margareten advertisement. Forverts, March 1, 1923, 7. Ladino: Horowitz and Margareten advertisement. La Vara, March 16, 1923, 8.
15 Heinze, Adapting to Abundance, 14.
16 Lytton, Kosher, 39–43; Heinze, Adapting to Abundance, 176–77.
17 Alpern, Manischewitz, xi.
18 Meyer London advertisement. Forverts, March 27, 1923, 8. The ad may also be an attempt to unveil the “mystical character” of the matzah commodity by highlighting the human labor involved in its production. See Heinze, Adapting to Abundance, 17.
19 Sarna, “How Matzah Became Square.”
20 Goodman’s advertisements. La Vara, April 12, 1935, 7; March 19, 1937, 3.
21 Goodman’s advertisement. Forverts, April 15, 1935, 5.
22 Goodman’s advertisement. La Vara, April 1, 1932, 7.
23 “Rabbi Frankel Coming Here.” The New York Times, June 28, 1913, 4; see also “Rabbi David Frankel.” The New York Times, October 15, 1932, 15; Goodman’s advertisement. The New York Times, March 16, 1931, 9.
24 Goodman’s advertisement. Forverts, April 6, 1930, 2.
25 “Resigns as Cantor.” The New York Times, March 13, 1926, 18.
26 Lytton, Kosher, 44. For more on early advertisements of American brands in the Yiddish press, see Heinze, Adapting to Abundance, 158–60.
27 Pepsi advertisement. La Vara, April 12, 1940, 3.
28 Lytton, Kosher, 43; Diner, Hungering for America, 181.
29 Advertisement for “The Andys” kosher meat market. La Vara, February 20, 1925, 9; “Karneseria sefardita: basar kasher.” La Vara, March 13, 1931, 3; Advertisement for “Orient Meat Market.” La Vara, March 13, 1931, 7.
30 “Groseria orientala.” La Vara, March 2, 1923, 4.
31 “Avizo.” La Amerika, March 31, 1916, 1. I thank Devin Naar for sharing this source with me.
32 For more on the role of cafés in Sephardic life on the Lower East Side see Naar, “‘Imposters’,”133.
33 Manischewitz advertisements. La Vara, February 19, 1926, 7; March 30, 1928, 9; March 23, 1934, 3.
34 Manischewitz advertisement. La Vara, March 4, 1927, 9.
35 Centropa, “Renée Molho;” Melammed, Ode to Salonika, 138, 196, 235. For a photograph of the matzah factory in Salonica, see Saloniki: Ir va-em be-Yisrael, 236.
36 Rabbinic literature out of Gibraltar indicates a controversy parallel to the Ashkenazi one; the Algerian Jewish community permitted machine-made matzah with a letter signed by one hundred rabbis. Ben Naim, Kol tikhnah, kol tekhinah. I thank Rabbi Ben Hassan for sharing this source with me.
37 Cohen, “Mekhonet afiyat ha-matzot magiah le-Galitzia,” 30. I thank Shalom Sabar for sharing this source with me.
38 “Al sinyor redaktor del journal ‘El Tiempo.’” El Tiempo, January 30, 1873, 2.
39 “Al sinyor redaktor del journal ‘El Tiempo.’” El Tiempo, March 11, 1875, 2.
40 “Avizo.” El Tiempo, February 12, 1879, 4.
41 Zaides, Tevye’s Ottoman Daughters.
42 “Kolelot ir Kushta: Medjlis ruhani: Mandamiento.” El Tiempo, April 5, 1897, 3.
43 Bornstein-Makovetsky, “Pinkas mamonei isur ve-heter be-Kushta min ha-me’ot ha-shmonah esreh ve-ha-t’sha esre,” 110.
44 “Avizo del medjlis ruhani.” El Tiempo, February 10, 1879, 4; “Ha-emet ve-ha-shalom ehavo.” El Tiempo, March 28, 1879, 3.
45 Zaides, Tevye’s Ottoman Daughters.
46 Heinze, Adapting to Abundance, 18.
47 Cf. Heinze, Adapting to Abundance, 82.
48 Meyer London advertisements. La Vara, February 19, 1926, 7; April 5, 1929, 8; April 12, 1935, 3.
49 Meyer London clearly had a smaller advertising budget than Goodman’s or Manischewitz and it was rarely advertised in Forverts; thus, I have only made reference to a series of La Vara ads here.
50 Goodman’s advertisement. La Vara, April 1, 1932, 7.
51 Goodman’s advertisement. The New York Times, April 18, 1932, 8.
52 “Rabbis Bake Matzoh for Use in Passover.” The New York Times, March 17, 1942, 19.
53 Horowitz and Margareten advertisement. La Vara, March 20, 1936, 9.
54 “Groseria orientala.” La Vara, March 1, 1923, 4; “Groseria turkina.” La Vara, March 16, 1923, 2.
55 Ben Ur, Where Diasporas Met, 79.
56 Manischewitz advertisements. La Vara, February 19, 1926, 7; March 23, 1934, 3; March 20, 1936, 2.
57 Horowitz and Margareten advertisements. La Vara, March 30, 1928, 8; April 5, 1929, 4; March 20, 1936, 9; April 1, 1938, 7.
58 Manischewitz advertisement. Forverts, April 1, 1935, 7.
59 Manischewitz advertisement. La Vara, April 12, 1935, 6.
60 Diner, Hungering for America, xvii.
61 Manischewitz advertisement. Forverts, March 29, 1928, 6.
62 There also appears to be a portrait of Zionist leader Theodor Herzl in the background, but its relevance goes beyond the scope of this study.
63 Manischewitz advertisement. Forverts, March 26, 1928, 4.
64 Horowitz and Margareten advertisement. La Vara, March 19, 1937, 6.
65 “El pesah de antes i el pesah de agora.” La Vara, April 11, 1930, 4.
66 Diner, Hungering for America, 190.
67 Horowitz and Margareten advertisement. La Vara, April 12, 1940, 9.
68 Lytton, Kosher, 39.
69 Heinze, Adapting to Abundance, 106.
70 Manischewitz advertisements. Forverts, April 6, 1927, 4, April 8, 1927, 2; April 11, 1927, 7; March 25, 1928, 30.
71 Manischewitz advertisement. Forverts, March 25, 1928, 30.
72 Bunis, “Hebrew-Based Fusion Lexemes,” 43.
73 “El pesah de antes i el pesah de agora.” La Vara, April 11, 1930, 4.
74 Sarna, “How Matzah Became Square,” 1.
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Makena Mezistrano
Makena Mezistrano is a PhD student in the Department of History at Stanford University where she studies Ladino-speaking Jews in the late Ottoman Empire. Previously, she served as Assistant Director of the Sephardic Studies Program in the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Washington. She holds an MA in Biblical and Talmudic Interpretation from Yeshiva University. [email protected]