LFJCC Mandelbaum Lecture Series: The Significance of the Catskills in American Jewish Humor, History and Culture with Dr. Samantha Goldstein

“Like Coming Out of the Wilderness to the Promised Land:” The Significance of the Catskills in American Jewish Humor, History and Culture

While the Catskills resorts of New York’s Sullivan and Ulster counties are commonly classified as a location and an experience, they’re much larger than both in a historical sense. The Catskills was artistically pivotal in American culture, shaping what we now recognize as stand-up comedy, and providing a starting point for performers and writers who would take their acts to Broadway, Hollywood, serial radio and prime-time television. The Catskills were also socially influential, collectively providing a sense of community and a source of shared nostalgia for American Jews, a haimishe (home-like) quality that still resonates today. Dr. Samantha Goldstein will guide this exploration of the significant role the Catskills had on Jewish culture.