Uplifting Tale

I get the distinct feeling that the subject of this entry (bras and the Jewish women who fill them) would make Professor Cohen blush. But that's the topic of my latest notable Jewish encounter, and I don't really think he reads these anymore, so here we go.

After months of conflicting schedules, I finally went to a StorySlam, hosted by The Moth. Brave souls put their names in a hat and ten are chosen to get up and tell a 5-minute story on a given topic in front of everyone. Teams of audience members vote, and a winner is announced. In this case, the winner was Eve. She told a tale about a lingerie shop called Orchard Corset here in NYC. Her opening line? "It's always a little unnerving to get fitted for a bra by a Chassidic man." When a woman walks into the store, he asks them to take off their coat and show him what they're workin' with. She describes how he would shake his fist in the air, insisting that she needed double-support straps with the same passion he would have had in a debate over Torah. I have to wonder what the Talmud says about his profession. Noble as it is, I have to think that it's not very often that Orthodox men in white shirts, black hats, and long sideburns can get away with asking strange women to show them what they got.

There is an explanation for his presence in the store. It was opened in 1968 by his mother, Ms. Bergstein, a Holocaust survivor from Hungary. After her husband died a few years ago, her son (the Chassidic man aforementioned) helped her run the store. She sounds like quite the character, pinpointing a woman's true bra-size with a single glance. Maybe Oprah should have invited her on her big Bra Show earlier this year.

Speaking of big bras, Orchard Corset apparently specializes in them, going up as high as a 58 I. That's right, I. As in the letter after H. I wonder if the background of the owners influence this decision since it's a common claim everywhere from the kosher caf. to the pages of Heeb that Jewish women tend to be a little bustier than average. Of course, I got my Nana's Russian arms instead.

After the story was told, the host got up and asked if owning a lingerie shop was a "Jewish thing," and a woman wearing a hat in the audience (Orthodox???) said it was and told her own Orchard Corset tale. "It's always a 'Jewish thing," responded the (Jewish) host.

Eve and her friends actually made a documentary on Ms. Bergstein and her shop. For an article in the NYTimes on this landmark, click here. Or stop by yourself on the corner of Orchard and Stanton.

Downtown and Brooklyn

Conviently enough, I had something of a Jewish experience last night. I was walking to the subway after going to a fundraiser for the South Asian Youth Action organization with two (Indian) girls. (That part's integral to the story.) It was a pretty classy event, so we were all wearing long-sleeved jackets and knee-length skirts. We walk by this Chabbad fellow on a bike who asks us where the subway is (it's about two feet away) and then stops us again and asks if we're Jewish. The other two girls stop and stare at me, so I tell him I am, but they're not. "Oh, you all look Jewish...It's nice," the Chabbad chap replies. (Sorta flirty for Chabbad, huh?) The other two girls are completely confused, so points to me and says, "Ask her; she'll explain," then walks off into the subway.

So whoah, here're a lot of Jewish identity issues. Why'd he think we look Jewish? The other two girls are Indian and everyone tells me I don't "look Jewish," so was it really just the long skirts that singled us out? Maybe it helped that when we passed by him, my two friends happened to be talking about their older sisters getting married (or not married) and how their parents were pushing it. OR was he enlightened enough to know that you can't really "look" like a Jew and that there're Jews in pretty much every country of the world, including India? OR did he just think they were Persian? Who knows. It reminds me about that conversation I posted about clothing choices and what they say about your observance level.

A few minutes later, I ended up waiting for the same train as the Chabbad guy, and he told me that the reason he asked us if we were Jewish is because he was asking for donations for some Jewish-visiting-hospitals charity. I gave him a dollar, and he asked if I had a mezzuzah. Some awkward conversation ensued, but I think my standard "I get creeped out by people in the subway, I should not be talking to you, are you gonna end up insane?" vibe eventually overpowered it, so he said goodbye and walked off about three feet. You know the move....just out of sight enough for you to pretend that you're not still in the same basic space so it can cease being awkward.

I hopped on the subway thinking, "Now I have something to post on my blog!"

Viva la Jewish Identity

When I first heard that we'd have to keep a blog for Jewish Identity Today, I thought it sounded SUPER LAME. But it turns out I've really enjoyed it. And since I still have a Jewish identity everyday, I guess there's no reason why I have to stop blogging about it now. I think I may be adding some not-strictly-Jewish-related stuff. (I could go on about what makes something Jewish/is it Jewish if Jews are doing it, but I'll spare you.)

Class is over. But my blog lives on.