During the early part of the twentieth century, the social atmosphere in the United States underwent many changes. Language is at the core of every culture. And each culture represents its values through literature. So it is not surprising that, as the cultural atmosphere was changing so rapidly, so too were the literary styles of that era. It has been said that “No interwar author did more to revolutionize American Jewish children’s literature than did Sadie Rose Weilerstein”(Krasner,pp347). Although that is true, what I find more notable is how, beginning with her accomplishments as an educator and author, her influence ripples outward across the ever-changing tide of Jewish American culture. By extending her influence as rebbetzin (wife of the rabbi), and through her work within the National Women’s League of the United Synagogue of America, she published many stories for children, the most well known series of these is The Adventures of K’tonton, published in 1935 (Gale).
Though she had many noted accomplishments in her life, and none quite so monumental as her achievements in her role as author, her success on all levels combined to make her writing all the more remarkable and influential. Through her devotion to being an extension of her husband’s work in the religious sector, and by her efforts in various women’s organizations, she was able to effect great change. In addition to publishing books, other efforts of the Women’s League worked to enact social change affecting human rights, homelessness, hunger, and educational standards. “The Education Department of Women’s League has operated on the premise that ‘Education is the lifeline of sisterhood’ and includes people who work in the areas of adult education, books, libraries, creative handcrafts, Jewish family living, Judaica shops, music, and programming”(Schwartz). Their goal was to aid one another in infusing their households and communities with their culture specific to their beliefs.
It was perhaps her early family life that propelled Weilerstein to such heights of success. Weilerstein was the eldest sister in a family with a younger brother and three younger sisters. Their parents, Tillie and Bernard Rose, encouraged them all to attend college. Sadie Rose graduated from the University of Rochester with a BA in English, in 1917, “in one of the first classes to admit women”(Kogen). In 1917, she was warmly welcomed by the students and staff of the Western New York Institution for Deaf Mutes, which was later renamed Rochester School for the Deaf. According to documents provided by archivist Nancy McCrave of the Rochester School for the Deaf, Sadie Rose no longer appeared on its registry after 1920, the year she married Baruch Rueben Weilerstein (a rabbi). After their marriage, the couple resided in Brooklyn, NY until Baruch accepted a position as rabbi to the Community Synagogue in Atlantic City, NJ. Here she joined the Community Sisterhood and became a proactive force in the synagogue’s efforts. She also raised four children, who she would tell stories to, and who inspired the characters in her books.
As one among many, Sadie Weilerstein’s work within several community organizations helped to forever transform the “Americanization” experience for Jewish immigrants. Building on her background as an educator, Weilerstein published children’s stories that spoke to the experiences of Americanizing Jews. Her stories about “A little Jewish Tom Thumb” revolutionized Jewish-American storytelling. K’tonton, the little thumb-sized boy embodied all the characteristics of an American boy, while always acting in accordance with Jewish tradition. He was a model for the Jewish-American child trying to fuse the social episodes he/she experienced on the street or in the market where everything was American, with their world at home, where every object reflected the family’s observance of Jewish tradition.
The United States was very much a country of immigrants during the earliest parts of the twentieth century. In 1910, forty one percent of New Yorkers were immigrants. And these immigrants were, in large part, either Eastern European Jews or Italians. (Foner) Adapting to life in these different social parameters was a particular struggle for many immigrant women. Women from Eastern European countries were accustomed to a culture in which they were heavily relied upon by their families for the household income. While these women had been encouraged to work outside the home in their countries of origin, it was not to be so in America, where it was expected that they fulfill quite a different social ideal of women, the stay-at-home mom/wife. More than the changing role in the household, mothers struggled to engage their children in their own appreciation of Jewish tradition and observance. As a young mother herself, Weilerstein understood this.
After WWI, American children’s literature adopted the theme of internationalism, however, even then there was an obvious absence of Jewish characters. Wielerstein’s stories bridged the cultural void between Jewish children and the imaginative world of story time. Her stories were age-appropriate accounts of the Jewish-American experience in children’s literature. Through her writing and her work with the Women’s League, she helped to change the traditional dynamic of Jewish American society. Many housewives found their routine tedious and dull. It was suggested by one rebbetzin that these women try writing books. Through their loyalty to their husbands, “rebbetzin authors succeeded in extending their influence while remaining squarely within the prevailing gender boundaries of the era”(Schwartz). They authored books for children and adults, as well as pamphlets, in order to better educate those within their community.
Weilerstein published eleven works between 1928 and 1964. In the magazine Outlook, published by the Women’s League, her stories of K’tonton began to appear in the Children’s Corner section in 1935. Her stories went on to appear in various magazines and even an anthology. During this time, Weilerstein enjoyed membership opportunities with many organizations, including the American Association of University Women, Hadassah, Mizrachi Women, B’nai B’rith Women, Atlantic City Art Center, University of Rochester Alumni Association, and the new Jersey Audubon Society, in addition to the Women’s League. Diversity in the registry of her membership indicates the amazing breadth of the social influence of Sadie Rose Weilerstein. When she married Baruch and left the school where she taught, her former students sent her a gift of a book on the hobby of bird watching, an apparent passion of hers.
On a visit to the Rochester School for the Deaf, after the passing of her husband in 1963 (Register), Weilerstein donated a copy of her book Ten and a Kid to the school library. This is just one example of the many ways in which she expressed the nature of her generosity.
Philanthropy can be described as selfless contribution to humankind. We tend to think of philanthropists as widely-known, public figures. There are so many who give of themselves through their service to others. Weilerstein made real change on a grassroots level, speaking to the core values of Jewish American culture and the ways in which those values were transforming. Through her contributions as an educator, wife, sister, mother; Sadie Rose Weilerstein, was an amazing social force, conferring an added richness to Jewish family and community life. By encouraging a sense of belonging for every member of her community, she inspired those around her to flourish.
In 1965, the Jewish Book Council of America awarded Weilerstein for her collective contribution to Jewish juvenile literature. She received more acclaim for Ten and a Kid, in 1962. And in 1980, she received the Sydney Taylor Body-Of-Work Award (Gale).
To this day, children are enjoying the fruits of Weilerstein’s efforts. Her stories are continually read to Jewish children to educate them about both their religious and family life. Also, her success at integrating Jews in American literature was a success for all minorities in literature. Because of the diverse climate she helped to create in children’s literature, the melting-pot atmosphere of America is now evident in American bookstores and libraries. Children’s literary characters now include Asian Americans, Mexican Americans, North American Indians, along with a host of other characters from other minority groups. This is exemplary of the continued diversity of the American population, and all the cultures they represent.
It is imperative that children be encouraged to identify with their ancestry and the cultures of their parents. Authors of children’s books are educators within their own right. Their stories engage children in learning, not just about morals, but about so many other aspects of our collective culture. So it is through literature that we express our values to younger generations. In continuing to celebrate the accomplishment of those who, like Sadie Rose Weilerstein, pioneered great changes in literature, we have strengthened the diversity of the creative process of educating others and ameliorating the quality of life for future generations.
Citations
· http://www.cityofrochester.gov/app.aspx?id=8589936475
· http://www.fultonhistory.com/fulton.html
· Krasner, Jonathan B. "A Recipe for American Jewish Integration: The Adventures of Ktonton and Hillels Happy Holidays." The Lion and the Unicorn 27.3 (2003): 344-361. Project MUSE. [Library name], [City], [State abbreviation]. 27 Nov. 2010 .
· http://books.google.com/books?id=Tn8J5xhK0oEC&lpg=PA73&dq=sadie%20rose%20weilerstein&pg=PA73#v=onepage&q=sadie%20rose%20weilerstein&f=false Prell, Riv-Ellen, ed. Women Remaking Judaism.Detroit:Wayne State University Press,
· 2007. Print http://www.cityofrochester.gov/app.aspx?id=8589936475
· “Sadie Rose Weilerstein.” Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Literature Resource Center. Web http://jwa.org
· “Like a Star Through Flying Snow”: Jewish Characters, Visible and Invisible. Rahn, Suzanne. The Lion and the Unicorn. Vol.27.3, 2003
· McCrave, Nancy. ”Re: research on Sadie Rose Weilerstein” Email to the author. 11 November, 2010
- Register, Red Bank Independent Daily. Obituaries, May 22, 1963, p.2
- Yazierska, Anzia, Bread Givers, New York, Persea, 1975. Book
