ABSTRACT
The small-town Jewish community of Eastern Europe—the shtetl—traces its line of march directly back to Creation. The very concept of a map was foreign to the conceptual framework of the shtetl inhabitants, whether real or imaginary. Sholem Aleichem claimed that no one ever got lost in Kasrilevke, no matter how crooked the streets and narrow the alleyways, for Kasrilevke was the cradle-to-grave home of its happy paupers, who lived in a state of complete social integration. Once translated into the most universal of media, the shtetl is apt to become a place for all seasons. Under the rubric of religious programming, 'A Shtetl Passover' was awarded the Angel Award for Religion in Media. Jewish viewers, in contrast, will be most surprised by the Kolbuszowa town seal, which depicts a Jewish-Christian fellowship, and will wonder why so little is said in the film about pogroms, boycotts and anti-Jewish violence.
