The Rabbi on Forty-Seventh Street

About the Book

The rabbi came from the Slobodka Yeshiva; his congregation came from Broadway. The synagogue was a modest brick building a block from Broadway in the middle of that colorful New York neighborhood known fifty years ago as Hell's Kitchen. Between prayers on Yom Kippur you could hear a chorus of would-be Ruby Keelers tap-dancing in the rehearsal hall next door.

This is the exuberant story of Bernard Birstein—his immigrant travels and travails in America, his ever-increasing family of five children and countless poor relations, and his adventurous rabbinical life. The narrator is his youngest daughter, Ann, the blond-haired enfant terrible who grew up to write six novels and now this captivating book.

About the Author

Ann Birstein's books include The Sweet Birds of Gorham, Summer Situations, Dickie's List, The Rabbi on Forty-Seventh Street and American Children. Among her many awards are a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives and teaches in New York City.