Alsatian Jewry
Touring France 2001

Unlike the big city of Paris where the pressure to assimilate was strong, Torah observance thrived in the villages of Alsace in spite of constant upheaval and war. Its history is dotted with all sorts of notable figures: the Bishop of Strasbourg, a defender of the Jews; Rabbi Dovid Zintzheim, appointed chief rabbi of Napoleon's Sanhedrin; and even the Marx Brothers. Though only a remnant of what it once was, Rabbi Wein captures the unique spirit of the Alsatian Jewish community then and now.