Trees Cry For Rain: A Sephardic Journey

Born in Turkey in 1938, Rachel Amado Bortnick, is at the tail end of a lineage which traces its roots from Spain. Along with Columbus's celebrated journey to the New World, the year 1492 witnessed another major event: the expulsion of the Jews from Spain. Migrating to Turkey, the Sephardic Jews, while remaining distinct from their Turkish neighbors evolved into a culture that differed markedly from other Jewish populations. Using still photographs, songs, and live action shots, Bortnick's story of her cultural upbringing is brought to life, as she reminisces about her grandfather who sold insurance door-to-door sporting a fez, or the delicious Turkish/Jewish meals that the family ate, and the beautiful songs--including the title song "Trees Cry for Rain," that the people sang in Ladino--a language that is swiftly dying out. When Bortnick emigrated to St. Louis, she says that "Jews there didn't believe you could be Jewish if you didn't speak Yiddish. I had never heard Yiddish, or seen a dreidel. I didn't know what latkes were. I felt very lonely. My whole concept of being a Jew was shaken." An interesting portrait of a little known culture. Recommended. (Available from: Bonnie Burt Productions, 1081 Warfield Ave., Oakland, CA 94610.)