PBS Series

When I was ever so much younger, the prospect of staying up late was a lure that drew me to it like bees to honey. These days, though, the prospect of getting to bed at a reasonable hour is so much more enticing than I could ever have imagined back then. It's just that nowadays something work-related (or not) has the inenviable effect of keeping me from dreamland and, weary as I am, I carry on as long as I can until slumber overtakes me from my appointed late-night tasks. What kept me up last night until I drifted off was the final segment of the PBS series "The Jews in America." Unfortunately, I had missed the first two episodes and was very intrigued with seeing whatever I could before it ended. The series has been shown since January 3 around the country over various local stations, scheduled whenever the member stations found it convenient. I know that Cleveland, for example, finished their run of the three-part series a week ago. Here in New Orleans, the last part aired last night and ran until 5 a.m. this morning in repetition. (I fell asleep with it on and woke up with it still running.) I was impressed with the quality of the program and amazed that I even knew one of the interview subjects, Rabbi Irwin Kula, who was just in New Orleans from New York a little over a month ago for a lecture. This last episode detailed the Jewish involvement in the Civil Rights era and the eventual schism between blacks and Jews that came out of that struggle. It also highlighted the Jewish-American connection to the State of Israel and how important that connection has been since the Six Day War. There even was room to discuss such widely-divergent topics such as Chasidism (a brand of ultra Orthodoxy), Jewish-reggae superstar Matisyahu, and the Dahli Lama. I decided after the series finished that it was worthy of addition to my collection and ordered it by phone along with a companion CD ROM and a 400-page book produced for the series. The total with shipping was (gasp!) nearly a C-note. So, it would appear that my nocturnal habits are now not only costing me sleep, but also a good deal of money. Oy veh!