Jonathan Spector’s ‘Birthright’ puts Jewish history and memory on the stage - opinion

Jonathan Spector's Tony-Award winning play "Birthright" delves into Jewish history and memory, first introduced through the mouth of a character named Lev. The play, set mainly in 2006, follows six friends who return from a Birthright Israel trip and discuss the concept of historiography. Lev, the seeker of meaning, explains the craft of writing history, referencing Yosef Hayim Yersushalmi's 1982 book "Zakhor: Jewish History and Jewish Memory."

Though widely read among historians of his generation, "Zakhor" is not a common read outside the academic community.

Yersushalmi's work highlights the tension between collective Jewish memory and the disruptions brought about by scholarly study of the past. In 2001, Rabbi David Wolpe preached at Passover, stating that Bible descriptions of the Exodus may not have occurred as described, causing a stir among the public. Following the terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, Spector was invited by Miami New Drama's artistic director to write a play exploring this period of American Jewish life.

Spector stumbled upon "Zakhor" in Tony Kushner's collected essays "Wrestling with Zion" and was so moved by its analysis that he expanded Lev's discussion about it in the play. The play delves into how friendships, Jewish identities, and relationships to Israel change over the years before and after the attack. "Zakhor" illustrates the unique role of Jewish history, with its narrative from Abraham to the destruction of the Second Temple becoming a central pillar of the Jewish faith's holidays, prayer, and ritual.

However, once the Second Temple was destroyed, history was deemed unimportant by medieval rabbis until the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, sparking a renewed interest in writing Jewish history as a response to trauma.