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-PAGE 24 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE July 25, 1986
‘The Last Rose of Summer’
Yossele Rosenblatt on Washington Street
by Joseph Glazer
You may remember that vener
able Chevra Thillim at Ahavath
Achim in the old days, the Free
Loan Association as it turned out
to be. Maybe you will also recall
their annual fund-raising concerts
which were the talk of the town.
Those galas, plus the year-round
ongoing drives for more members
(at $10 a head), were meant to
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make up a fund which the “Chevra”
could dispense in the form of small
loans to any member in need, with
out adding on one red cent of
interest! I’m sure I don't have to
tell you what a blessing this was for
many of us in the Great Depres
sion, and what a still greater bless
ing it turned out to be in the post
war years when the new wave of
refugees arrived and needed
help...about that some other time.
But the “Yerliche” (yearly) con
certs. ..that is what I want to talk
about now. It went something like
this. Every year they brought down
a famous personality from up North
for the arranged evening. Some
chazzan with a big name. Some
body who could bring out the
crowd and make it pay two hard-
earned dollars for the pleasure.
Every year it was more or less the
same format, unless it happened to
be one of those stunt concerts like
a child-chazzan, some gifted high-
pitched wunderkind who knew all
the prayers and could be counted
on to make all the women in the
audience cry and really enjoy
themselves. This was, always, a
guaranteed one hundred percent
financial success. But the year I’m
recalling was nothing like that. It
was regular with a grown man.
Except that the chazzan selected
was the world-renowned, univer-
sally-beloved Cantor Yossele Ro
senblatt, may his memory remain
Yossele Rosenblatt
for a blessing forever and ever,
amen.
You probably don’t know who
Rosenblatt was, but maybe you
do. Remember “The Jazz Singer”
with A1 Jolson? They still run it
after the late show sometimes. It’s
a real heart-tugger with an old-
fashioned plot and climax. In the
middle of the film A1 Jolson takes
off to a concert in Chicago to hear
this same Cantor Rosenblatt, be
cause Jolson’s father also was a
cantor and the young runaway
son just had to go and see what he
had turned his back on. Well, any
way, Mr. Rosenblatt stands up
there on the stage, a picture of a
classic Jewish man—with a square
yarmulke and two-pointed beard —
singing away like a superstar from
the Metropolitan in New York
City. As a matter of fact, it was said
the Met had offered this very fam
ous charismatic man a contract to
sing Italian operas, but Rosenblatt
refused, because he wasfroom and
wouldn’t think of performing with
women, or on Shabbos.
It was this very same Rosenblatt
who was the guest cantor the year
I’m talking about, and you can guess
the rest. The whole shul was sold
out—standing roomjpnly, as they
say. The whole city turned out.
Rosenblatt! The real thing! The
artist on the Victor records with
that dog on the label!
And here 1 must add that at this
time, our own chazzan at Ahavath
Achim was that jovial, corpulant
Cantor Aaron Lipitz, an oldtime
Jewish “performer.” Naturally, he
was to appear on the program too,
because it was customary in those
days for any visiting star to share
the podium, just a little, with the
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TVE MEMBER BRUNCH
We will discuss:
Our Philosophy As a
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Religious School Information
High Holiday Schedule & Information
Rabbi Juda Mintz, Staff & Board Members
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on
Sunday, August 10, 1986
at 11:00 a.m.
at the
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Reservations Required
For more information and reservations, please call
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local man. Like out of courtesy, a
song or two...you know. Besides,
this year our chazzan had just
recently been elected secretary or
president of all the chazzanim in
the United States and Canada. He
was, therefore, considered a fig
ure in the cantorial field and
Rosenblatt knew this, of course.
He asked Cantor Lipitz to do a
little more than the customary
couple of songs, if he cared to, and
that he gladly did.
You didn’t have to ask our chaz
zan twice. He readily took his
stand on the bima and began to fill
out the program, as it is called. He
almost monopolized the entire
show...and, Oy, did we resent it!
We had paid to hear the great
Rosenblatt and what did we get?
Chazzan Lipitz, he whom we could
hear every Saturday of the year for
free. But you know the old saying,
“If you open up the door the wind
will blow in.” There was nothing
we could do about it.
And Yossele Rosenblatt was so
gracious. He actually came down
from the bima, sat down at our old
upright piano which had been
brought up to the sanctuary for the
occasion, and accompanied Can
tor Lipitz as yener stood there on
the stage letting go with everything
he had. Rosenblatt accompanied
Lipitz! It was something to behold.
And would you believe it, the old
trooper played an excellent piano.
He knew all the accompaniments
by heart. Yes sir, this was some
thing different, a concert you’ll
never see in another million years.
OK, OK, so it comes down to
this. After the passing of all those
years, we—that is to say those of us
who remember—have forgotten all
resentment, and 1 actually look
back to this particular concert as
one of the best cha^zenishe even
ings 1 ever was privileged to attend.
I’m telling you the truth, it was one
of the greatest ever. I wake up
some nights and just smile thinking
about it. 1 remember it so vividly. 1
can still see him, that wonderful
human being, the renowned Yos
sele Rosenblatt sitting at our old
upright at the old Ahavath Achim
on Washington Street playing with
such nachas as our cantor is stand
ing up there singing from the bima.
1 even remember the last rendition
Cantor Lipitz sang that memora
ble evening: “The Last Rose of
Summer.” I hear him clearly as he
enunciated it: Theeee La-ah-ah-
ahsi Ro w -oh-oh-hose-of-ah- Zoomer,
in English yet, as Yossele Rosen
blatt accompanied him perfectly.
You can still buy a Rosenblatt
record or two from Victor even
now, and if you are lucky you can
catch him after the Johnny Carson
show in the Jolson movie. But we
on Washington Street had the
pleasure of hearing him “live,”
playing a part only an emmeser
professional could.
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