Fiddler on the Roof (1964) is a great monument of Jewish faith in the arts; it was the longest running musical on Broadway of its time. It worked to raise the spirits of the Jewish community in America after millions of family members died tragically at the hands of Nazi Germany in World War II. Because of this intention, it is simple to discover that faith is a strong, consistent theme throughout the show.
Although the faith aspect permeates the entirety of the plot, the differentiations in faith between the protagonist Teyve’s three daughters and their chosen counterparts parallel the religious rifts that began to collide at the conclusion of the second world war and the beginning of the Cold War. Teyve’s three daughters represent the three major forms of faith that began to equally cohabitate the Earth beginning in the latter half of the twentieth century. It is important to note each daughter’s relationship’s religious positioning in relation to their father’s classical faith model as well as the contrasting nature of their sisters’ stances.
The couple that most closely adhered to the classical faith model is Tzeitel and Motel. In the traditional Jewish faith, men would pay a dowry to a woman’s father in order to marry her; there was no say on the potential bride’s part. If there was no dowry, it was highly improbable that one would be able to marry. This was the dilemma that Tzeitel and Motel faced. Tzeitel’s father, Teyye, was not a rich man; he was the town’s milkman. On the other hand, Motel was a poor tailor in the town; he was not unlike Tevye financially.
Despite the economic obstacle, Tzeitel and Motel were in love. When a wealthy man named Lazar Wolf asked Tevye for Tzeitel’s hand, Tzeitel urged Motel to ask Tevye for permission to marry her instead. This was relatively unheard of in these times, and it did not adhere to the traditions that Tevye held so close to his heart, but Motel did something that neither of the other sisters did: she acknowledged the fact that this was radical, and she did not move forward with the engagement without her father’s permission.
Because of this reservation against breaking tradition but the still present deviation, this couple demonstrates the hybrid faith that lives between classical faith and spiritual but not religious faith. This transition is most clearly seen after the interaction with Tevye and Motel; the song “Wonder of Wonders” shows the shift. Motel is a man who visually shows his faith by traditional dress, but his way of thinking becomes more modern when he redefines the term “miracle. The term shifts from pertaining to acts that could not occur without the direct action of God to pertaining to acts that could occur with God’s indirect influence alone.
Although this is, as previously stated, a deviation from the classical religious faith that Tevye holds, it is the most conservative couple of the three sisters. The increasing progression of religious difference continued with Hodel and Perchik. Perchik is a man of Jewish faith who has been introduced to highly radical, non-Jewish ideology at the university he attended in Kiev, Russia.
The Marxist way of thinking made a lot of sense, and there was no coherence between faith and communism to him. Hodel was still adhering to the religious practice of her family, but Perchik began to tutor the three daughters. As Hodel and Perchik’s relationship developed, the idea of arranged marriage became less and less important to Hodel. In consequence to Tzeitel’s engagement, the idea of unconventional couples seemed like less of a distant and far-fetched dream.
The difference between Hodel and Perchik and Tzeitel and Motel, however, was the method in which the engagement came about. The former followed the idea of “asking forgiveness instead of permission. ” This marked the full switch from classical faith to spiritual but not religious faith; although Perchik had doubts, he still considered himself to be a Jewish man. This sets the difference between this couple and the youngest daughter’s relationship. Chava and Fyedka embodied the final form of faith that began to develop at this time: humanistic faith.
While the previous two couples still held an overall belief in God and at least partial reverence for the concepts of tradition, Chava and Fyedka did not regard the ideals of marriage that were characteristic of Tevye and his family’s faith. Indeed, Fyedka is the only member in these three scenarios that does not identify as a Jew; he is Russian orthodox. To marry outside of the faith is not approved of to say the least. Chava and Fyedka first began to bond over the topic of literature. This was also the first relationship to not begin on basis of religion.
Chava, rather than Fyedka, ask for her father’s permission to marry Fyedka; however, after Tevye declined, she proceeded to marry him anyway. This was viewed as a total lack of respect to the father, which was a major offense in this highly patriarchal religion. This was a complete separation from the classical religious faith and even the spiritual but not religious faith; the marriage was not motivated by religion in the slightest. This is drastically different than any other couple introduced in this piece.
While the forms of faith were widely spread across a spectrum, they all have relevance and merit. The different faiths exhibited were classical religious faith, spiritual but not religious faith, and humanistic faith. These three forms of faith also coincide with the three phases of thought: pre-modernity, modernity, and post-modernity. The socialization and interaction of the entire globe in the duration of the world wars as well as in the aftermath allowed for the widespread of new and foreign concepts that really made sense to people such as in the case of Perchik and Marxism.
It is also true that the displacement of people from their homes to new areas with new influences introduced the idea of integrated communities where they may not have been before. The idea of the development of faith was necessary with the increasingly difficult and complicated dynamics that can be found in multicultural and multi-religious communities. The evolution was inevitable, and this musical works to highlight the way that even though this transition is uncomfortable, it has possibility to work well and help people find happiness.
