On Thursday, October 25, at 7:30 pm in Textor 101 on the Ithaca College campus, author Dr. Ted Merwin will present a lively and entertaining talk on the rise, fall, and rise again of the Jewish deli and its role in American Jewish life, “Pastrami on Rye: An Overstuffed History of the Jewish Deli.”
For much of the twentieth century, the New York Jewish deli was an iconic institution in both Jewish and American life. As a social space it rivaled—and in some ways surpassed—the synagogue as the primary gathering place for the Jewish community. Ultimately, upwardly mobile American Jews discarded the deli as they transitioned from outsider to insider status in the middle of the century. Now contemporary Jews are returning the deli to cult status as they seek to reclaim their cultural identities.
The Jewish Studies Program at Ithaca College is presenting Ted Merwin's talk.