Table Of ContentChosen Capital
(cid:2)
Chosen Capital
(cid:2)
The Jewish Encounter
with American Capitalism
Edited by Rebecca Kobrin
rutgers university press
new brunswick, new jersey, and london
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chosen capital : the Jewish encounter with American capitalism / edited by
Rebecca Kobrin.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN –––– (hardcover : alk. paper) — ISBN ––––
(pbk. : alk. paper) — ISBN –––– (e-book)
. Jews—United States—Economic conditions—Congresses. . Capitalism—United
States—History—Congresses. . Capitalism—Religious aspects—Congresses.
. Free enterprise—Religious aspects—Judaism—Congresses. . Economics—
Religious aspects—Judaism—Congresses. I. Kobrin, Rebecca.
E..EC
.'—dc
A British Cataloging-in-Publication record for this book is available from the British
Library.
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Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Note on Orthography and Transliteration ix
PART I
Reframing the Jewish Encounter
with American Capitalism
Introduction. The Chosen People in the Chosen Land:
The Jewish Encounter with American Capitalism
Rebecca Kobrin
Two Exceptionalisms: Points of Departure for Studies
of Capitalism and Jews in the United States
Ira Katznelson
PART II
Jewish Niches in the American Economy
The Evolution of the Jewish Garment Industry,
–
Phyllis Dillon and Andrew Godley
From the Rag Trade to Riches: Abraham E. Lefcourt and
the Development of New York’s Garment District
Andrew S. Dolkart
Success from Scrap and Secondhand Goods:
Jewish Businessmen in the Midwest, –
Jonathan Z. S. Pollack
v
vi contents
Despised Merchandise: American Jewish
Liquor Entrepreneurs and Their Critics
Marni Davis
Blacks, Jews, and the Business of Race Music,
–
Jonathan Karp
Jews, American Indian Curios, and the
Westward Expansion of Capitalism
David S. Koffman
PART III
Jews and the Politics of American Capitalism
The Multicultural Front: A Yiddish Socialist
Response to Sweatshop Capitalism
Daniel Katz
Making Peace with Capitalism? Jewish Socialism
Enters the Mainstream, –
Daniel Soyer
A Jewish “Third Way” to American
Capitalism: Isaac Rivkind and the
Conservative-Communitarian Ideal
Eli Lederhendler
PART IV
Selling Judaism: Capitalism and Reshaping
of Jewish Religious Culture
Sanctification of the Brand Name:
The Marketing of Cantor Yossele Rosenblatt
Jeffrey Shandler
How Matzah Became Square: Manischewitz
and the Development of Machine-Made Matzah
in the United States
Jonathan D. Sarna
Contributors
Index
Acknowledgments
The idea of a conference to explore the ways in which Jews shaped and were
shaped by American capitalism was born on a long subway ride I shared with
Tony Michels. The subway—whose rumblings shape New York City in count-
less ways—served as an apt midwife to such an important and, at times, explo-
sive topic. While it may be rarely discussed in the annals of American Jewish
life, few would deny that Jews have long served as both American capitalism’s
greatest innovators as well as its harshest critics. Jews’ encounter with this
country and its economy has fundamentally altered both the United States and
the practice of Judaism over the course of the twentieth century.
Tony Michels and I both enjoyed a wonderful year at New York Univer-
sity—he as a Goren-Goldstein fellow and I as an American Association for
Jewish Research fellow. There, we encountered many thoughtful colleagues,
many of whom participated in the conference. I want to thank particularly
Hasia Diner, who was a staunch supporter of the conference from the outset.
Without the financial support of New York University’s Goren-Goldstein
Center for American Jewish History and Columbia University’s Institute for
Israel and Jewish Studies, the international conference Tony and I organized
could have never taken place. The logistics of travel and food for the confer-
ence were aptly taken care of by Shayne Figueroa, Malka Gold, Kiley Lambert,
and Tamara Mann. The conversations that took place at the conference were
provocative and engrossing. All who participated agreed that our debates
marked the beginning of a larger conversation and that our insights and
reflections could spark further critical research and must be made available
to the larger world. That task of rethinking Jews’ relationship to America’s
economic development became more pressing, and more difficult, following
the fall of Lehman Brothers and the financial crisis of . I thank Marlie
Wasserman and Allyson Fields for their appreciation of the importance of this
vii
viii acknowledgments
volume and for patiently seeing it through the process, particularly after the
unexpected early arrival of my son.
For me, the completion of this volume represents the culmination of a long
journey, during which I have been fortunate to have the support of a number
of individuals and institutions. Columbia University provided me with both
a stimulating environment and the time to transform these proceedings into
a book. Conversations with Ira Katznelson, Ken Jackson, and Betsy Blackmar
on American capitalism as well as the encouragement of Michael Stanislawski
and Jeremy Dauber, directors of the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, pro-
vided the support to make the proceedings available to a wider public. A book
subvention grant from the Harriman Institute helped move this book through
the final stages of production. I thank each author for working with me to
hone his or her individual piece so that the larger message of the volume would
be a cohesive one. Jerry Muller’s thoughtful comments and incisive questions
transformed each of the essays in this volume. Eric Wakin, Columbia’s curator
for American history, provided speedy and instrumental help in procuring an
image for the cover of this volume.
Finally, I would like to thank my family. My parents, Ruth and Lawrence
Kobrin, continue to inspire me with their dedication to both their family and
the life of the mind. The countless hours of babysitting they provided for my
editing made this volume possible. I am profoundly indebted to my husband,
Kevin Feinblum, whose unflagging support and patience helped me through
the ups and downs of such an editorial project. Indeed, his expertise in finance
helped me sort through many of the more technical descriptions and charts in
the volume. My daughters, Ariela and Simone, and my son, Eitan, whose early
arrival forced all the contributors to follow my strict deadlines, were always
understanding of my need to work on weekends. It is to them that I dedicate
this book, as their giggles and smiles enrich my life every day.
Note on Orthography
and Transliteration
In transliterating Russian and Hebrew words, the authors in this volume
have generally followed the systems used by the Library of Congress, with the
exception of certain well-known names for which other transliterations are
commonly used. In general, Yiddish words, phrases, titles, and names of orga-
nizations, places, and persons have been rendered according to the translitera-
tion scheme of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, except that no attempt
has been made to standardize nonstandard orthography. All translations have
been made by the authors unless otherwise indicated.
ix
