Nadene Goldfoot
Gertrude Berg (1899-1966) an iconic figure on television from the late 1940s to the mid 1950s, wrote, produced and acted in the hugely successful TV show, The Goldbergs; the 1950's icon.
As Molly Goldberg, she became the beloved immigrant mother who was capable of common sense wisdom and unswerving devotion to this "golden land." Her compassion for all peoples made her an excellent emissary for such American values as kindness, goodness and patriotism. She conveyed the hope that a war-weary people could once again focus on their families and communities.
The Yiddishe Mama, carried little of the negative cultural weight of the Jewish mother and was celebrated in the shtetls of Eastern Europe and the American immigrant neighborhoods at the turn of the 20th century. The Yiddishe Mama was a balabusta, a sentimentalized figure, a good mother and homemaker, known for her strength and creativity, entrepreneurialism and hard work, domestic miracles and moral force. If the Yiddishe Mama was anxious, this was to be expected—after all, who could blame her? Centuries of anti-Semitism plus the challenges of immigrant life justified her intense mothering style and lionized her willful ways. The Yiddishe Mama reminded Jews of the Old World and was synonymous with nostalgia and longing.
"My Yiddishe Momme," which translates to "My Jewish Mother," is a Yiddish song that became a popular American song in the early 20th century. It's a heartfelt expression of love and appreciation for mothers, often used in vaudeville and sung in both Yiddish and English. The song gained popularity after being performed by Sophie Tucker, who also sang the song in both Yiddish and English, according to Wikipedia.
"My Yiddishe Momme" (Yiddish: א יידישע מאמע) is a popular song, meaning "my Jewish mother" in Yiddish. It's a heartfelt tribute to mothers, often associated with the Jewish experience in America, where many mothers faced hardship while upholding traditional values. The song was made famous by Sophie Tucker in the 1920s, and it has been performed by various artists over the years.
And what language is Yiddish? It's the language created by Ashkenazi Jews made of Hebrew and basically German, with a few other words thrown in from other Jews from other countries.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=triCX77tl8s Sophie Tucker
The vast majority of Jewish immigrants to the United States were Ashkenazi Jews. While the first Jewish immigrants to America were Sephardic Jews, the later waves of immigration, particularly those from Eastern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, were overwhelmingly Ashkenazi, according to several sources. That's why we sing of our Yiddishe mother and not our Jewish mother.
The Jewish Mother. A stereotype so familiar that the words conjure up a universal caricature: a middle-aged woman with a nasal New York accent and ample bosom, who either sweats over a steaming pot of matzah balls while screaming at her kids from across the house. Or, in an updated version, she sits poolside in Florida, jangling her diamonds and guilt-tripping her grown children into calling her more often. The Jewish mother wants her daughter to marry a Jewish doctor and her son to love her best of all. She is sacrificing yet demanding, manipulative and tyrannical, devoted and ever-present. She loves her children fiercely, but man, does she nag.
Maybe that’s because every mother, Jewish or not, can relate to aspects of that mother. We’ve all loved our children to the point of smothering them, been overly anxious, and wrapped ourselves in the mantle of martyrdom from time to time. And so it follows that over the course of the 20th century, the Jewish mother has come to stand in for all mothers, combining the worst of both Jews and women into a toxic mix. Today, “we are all Jewish mothers,” as Joyce Antler put it in You Never Call! You Never Write!: A History of the Jewish Mother—which means we are all guilty of the kind of over-involvement and hysteria once attributed to Jewish mothers in particular.
Since two generations ago, when this is the expectation, a woman's role in society has changed, even for the Jewish mothers. Their role has changed as well. They sing Jewish songs unabashedly in mixed groups of male and female; they even have become rabbis for some groups, things they did not do a long time ago.
In Israel, women serve in the IDF. Clause 16A of the Israeli Defense Service Law requires that all conscripted female combat soldiers serve active-duty for 2 years and 4 months, and in reserve until the age of 38. Each year, 1,500 female soldiers are drafted into the Israel
- However, some specific roles may require women to serve 30 months.
- Women who volunteer for combat positions often serve 3 years due to longer training periods.
- The mandatory service age for women is 18.
- Women may be exempted for reasons such as:
- Religious observance (with specific requirements)
- Marriage
- Pregnancy or motherhood
- Women who immigrate to Israel at age 17 or older are generally exempt but can volunteer.
- Traditionally, women served in support roles, but this has been evolving.
- The Women's Corps (CHEN), which previously oversaw female soldiers, was dismantled in 2001 to allow for integration within all units.
- Today, the majority of IDF roles are open to women, including a growing number of combat positions.
- Examples of combat roles for women include:
- Caracal Battalion (light infantry, mixed-gender)
- Combat Intelligence Collection Corps
- Search-and-rescue personnel in the Home Front Command
- Tank crews in the Border Defense Array
- Border Police
- Women have been involved in Israeli military defense since pre-state paramilitary groups.
- Initially, women served in support roles or were removed from frontline combat after incidents of abuse against female soldiers.
- The 2000 amendment to the Women's Equal Rights Law aimed to grant equal opportunities to women in the IDF.
- However, significant gaps remain between the law and its full implementation, particularly regarding access to all combat roles and leadership positions.
- Women have come a long ways indeed in the IDF.
Resource:
https://www.moyt.org/exhibitions/3/quintessential.htm
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/battling-stereotypes-of-the-jewish-mother/
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
Update 6/1/25 Neil Sedaka singing:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGebJKovd1Y
Sedaka was born in Brooklyn. His father, Mordechai "Mac" Sedaka, was a taxi driver of Lebanese Jewish descent. Sedaka's paternal grandparents came to the United States from Istanbul in 1910. Sedaka's mother, Eleanor (née Appel), was an Ashkenazi Jew of Polish and Russian descent. He grew up in Brighton Beach. His father's cousin, Rachel Gorman (née Cohen), daughter of Isaac Cohen and Calo Cohen (née Sedaca or Sedaka), was married to Morris Gorman (né Garmezano; paternal uncle to singer Eydie Gormé). Gormé's mother was of Lebanese Jewish descent.
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