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Oral histories are intimate conversations between and among people who have generously agreed to share these recordings with BHS’s archives and researchers. Please listen in the spirit with which these were shared. BHS abides by the General Principles & Best Practices for Oral History as agreed upon by the Oral History Association and expects that use of this material will be done with respect for these professional ethics.
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[Last name, First name], Oral history interview conducted by [Interviewer’s First name Last name], [Month DD, YYYY], [Title of Collection], [Call #]; Brooklyn Historical Society.
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Avroham Crawford
Oral history interview conducted by Jill Vexler
August 24, 1993
Call number: 1994.006.05
2:20 - Wife, parents, and children
6:12 - Conversion to Lubavitch from Catholicism
26:28 - Comparing Catholicism and Lubavitch
38:57 - Rites and rituals of conversion
40:37 - Moving to Crown Heights and growth of Lubavitch movement
52:20 - Acceptance of converts and baal teshuvah (Jews converted to Orthodoxy)
68:33 - Marriage to Suri and her upbringing
72:20 - Children's sense of belonging and higher education
80:07 - Lubavitch as perceived by non-Jews
90:42 - Jewish precepts and history
Interview Description
Oral History Interview with Avroham Crawford
Avroham Crawford grew up in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn, the son of Irish-Catholic immigrants from Newfoundland. He was raised in the church, but considered converting to Judaism while studying for his bachelor's degree in philosophy at NYU (where he continued to work as a librarian through the time of this interview). He moved to the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights in 1970, and shortly afterwards was converted to Orthodox Judaism with assistance from Rabbi Yisroel Jacobson; he chose the Jewish name "Avroham" at this time. In 1975, he married Suri (Perlman), and they had three children: Nechama, Yitzhak, and Yisroel. He died in 2011.
Avroham, in his late 40s, narrates his Irish-Catholic upbringing, his early encounters with Jewish people, and his conversion to Orthodox Judaism. He describes how the Lubavitch of the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn have changed and grown in the years since 1970, when he moved there. He reflects on the religious community's acceptance of him as a Christian convert, on how his children have grown up Lubavitch, and on secular Jews who take up Orthodox practice as adults (known as baal teshuvah). When asked, he explains the extent of his interaction with the Black residents of Crown Heights. At various points throughout the interview, he dwells on religious subjects: how boys and girls are educated, how Judaism is different from Christianity, how conversion for marriage is different than for faith alone, and others. Interview conducted by Jill Vexler.
This collection contains oral history recordings and transcripts, as well as exhibit materials, from Brooklyn Historical Society's Crown Heights History Project, also known as "Bridging Eastern Parkway." Crown Heights History Project oral histories include audio and transcripts created and collected within the context of an exhibition project undertaken in part by BHS in 1993 and 1994. Three interviewers recorded conversations with over forty narrators. In addition to exhibition product value, the oral histories were conducted as life history and community anthropology interviews; topics of discussion include family and heritage, immigration and relocation, cultural and racial relations, occupations and professions, education and religion, housing and gentrification, civil unrest and reconciliation, media representation and portrayal, and activism. The series of exhibition research materials document the outreach efforts for interviews and materials from the community as well as exhibit scripts and curatorial notes.
Citation
Crawford, Avroham, Oral history interview conducted by Jill Vexler, August 24, 1993, Crown Heights History Project collection, 1994.006.05; Brooklyn Historical Society.People
- Congregation Lubavitch (Crown Heights, New York, N.Y.)
- Crawford, Avroham
- Hecht, Jacob J.
Topics
- African Americans
- Canadian Americans
- Conversion
- Hasidim
- Interfaith families
- Interfaith marriage
- Jewish religious education
- Jews
- Race relations
Places
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Crown Heights (New York, N.Y.)
- Sunset Park (New York, N.Y.)
Finding Aid
Crown Heights History Project collection