The Learning Play of Levi-Yitzhok, Son of Sara, of Berditchev

When the great Hassidic Rabbi Levi-Yitzhok of Berditchev died in 1809, according to legend, he
would not enter heaven unless God agreed first to end poverty and suffering on earth. Nearly
a century later, in Dan Friedman’s play, four Jewish men meet on a ship crossing the Atlantic,
fleeing the poverty and pogroms of Europe, hoping for a better life in the unknown cities and
towns of America. On the long and difficult crossing, the four recall the oft-told stories of Rabbi Levi-Yitzhok — by performing them for one another. In time-honored fashion, they debate the
stories’ meaning and dispute the question "What is the responsibility of the Jew in this world?"
Conflict and humor follow as convention and ritual are challenged, part of the long tradition of humanism within Jewish culture.