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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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Simon Jacobson
Oral history interview conducted by Jill Vexler
August 19, 1993
Call number: 1994.006.11
6:17 - Parents and childhood in Crown Heights
9:18 - Changes in the neighborhood and Rebbe's remarks
17:14 - Homeownership and community assistance
27:38 - Attitudes toward "chosenness"
44:49 - Outreach to non-Jews and the 1991 riots
54:04 - Interpretations and beliefs within Judaism and Jews converting to Orthodoxy
60:52 - Explaining Jewish holidays to non-Jews
70:00 - Explaining Lubavitch conception of messiah to non-Jews
81:15 - Hasidism's history and essence
Interview Description
Oral History Interview with Simon Jacobson
Rabbi Simon Jacobson was born in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Crown Heights in 1956. Observant from birth, he attended Lubavitch Yeshiva and lived on St. Marks Avenue before moving to Sullivan Place. His father was Gershon Jacobson, founder and publisher of the Yiddish-language Hasidic newspaper Der Algemeiner. For several years Simon worked as the editor and translator of speeches by the Lubavitch Rebbe, Menachem Schneerson. Later, he became the director of Vaad Hanochos Hatmimim, a foundation that promotes Schneerson's teachings. A noted teacher in the community, he is the founder of a Lubavitch organization for outreach and education called the Meaningful Life Center, based on Eastern Parkway.
Rabbi Simon Jacobson narrates his childhood in Crown Heights during the 1950s and '60s, recounting how the ethnic and religious composition of the Brooklyn neighborhood (including among different Hasidic movements) has changed throughout his lifetime. He explains the religious reasons for why the Lubavitch have stayed in Crown Heights (when other Jewish groups have left), and he addresses various subjects related to home-ownership--including role played by the Crown Heights Jewish Community Council and the perception that the Lubavitch want to drive Blacks out of the neighborhood. He describes the Lubavitch community's relationship with non-Jews and non-practicing Jews, dwelling on the concept of "chosenness." He and the interviewer discuss possible venues for outreach and cultural "translation"--especially of Jewish holidays and the concept of Moshiach (or messiah). 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
Jacobson, Simon, Oral history interview conducted by Jill Vexler, August 19, 1993, Crown Heights History Project collection, 1994.006.11; Brooklyn Historical Society.People
- Congregation Lubavitch (Crown Heights, New York, N.Y.)
- Jacobson, Simon
- Schneerson, Menachem Mendel, 1902-1994
Topics
- African Americans
- Antisemitism
- Gentrification
- Hasidim
- Housing
- Jewish religious education
- Jews
- Judaism
- Race relations
Places
- Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.)
- Crown Heights (New York, N.Y.)
Finding Aid
Crown Heights History Project collection