Schlemiel as saint?
Scholar to offer a new view of this comic character
Awkward, unlucky, not too bright: Everyone laughs at the schlemiel. But Matthew Menachem Feuer offers a new view: the schlemiel as a "broken saint"—humble, innocent, forgiving.
Feuer, who teaches Jewish studies at York University in Toronto, will explain his concepts at 7 p.m. Jan. 26 at the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. He'll focus on Morris Bober, the main character in Bernard Malamud's story The Assistant.
As a "schlemiel theorist," Feuer is a blogger, reviewer and essayist on this comic character in Yiddish literature. He is also the subject of a documentary, aptly called Shlemiel.
His Jan. 26 talk will be part of the Mondays at the Museum Series. Admission is $10 for the general public; $5 for museum members, free to students with valid ID.
The Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU is at 301 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. For information, call 786-972-3175 or e-mail info@jewishmuseum.com.
