My Yiddishe Momme McCoy
Encyclopedia
My Yiddish Momme McCoy is a documentary made in 1991
by Bob Giges about his 90-year-old Jewish grandmother who fell in love and married an Irish
-Catholic
named Bernie McCoy. Interfaith
marriage has always been an issue in the Jewish community, but in the early twentieth-century it was particularly taboo
. My Yiddish Momme McCoy addresses the prejudice
s the couple faced and the challenges that their divergent cultures presented them.
, Austria
, in 1900 to strict Orthodox
parents. She was an obedient daughter who speaks about her parents with great respect, admiring their dedication to their religious observance and wanting to live a life of which they approved. However, in her youth, Belle took a secretarial job under McCoy and soon fell for his romantic advances. McCoy fought and was injured in the First World War, and, from his hospital bed, he wrote Belle 52 love letters. When McCoy came home, they began an affair, but Belle was adamant that she could never marry him because doing so would directly oppose her parents' expectations.
Indeed, Belle’s mother cried when her daughter confessed that she had fallen in love with McCoy, and her father was initially opposed to their marriage; but McCoy proved himself worthy of Belle and slowly won their respect. Although he had been raised in a Catholic
church, McCoy undertook the long conversion
process to enter the Jewish faith. After watching the twenty-eight-year-old man undergo circumcision
without anesthesia, Belle’s father said, “He could murder a man, and I would forgive him.”
Not everyone accepted their marriage. Belle’s uncle was disgusted that his niece had married a gentile. Instead of joining the married couple in celebration, her uncle sat shiva, a Jewish mourning ritual that typically accompanies a funeral.
The documentary explores how conflicts due to their diverging cultural backgrounds, were constantly emerging, despite McCoy's conversion. While Belle insisted on keeping a kosher home so her parents could eat at her house, McCoy would forget and mix up the meat and milk pots. He would also attend Catholic
services from time to time and give his children Christmas
presents, but Belle insisted his Christian activities were cultural rather than religious. “As far as I'm concerned,” she says, “he lived and died a Jew.”
Old photographs of the couple and an extended interview with Belle - during which she occasionally stops to sing Yiddish songs - are combined to tell the story of a Belle Demner's long and happy marriage.
1991 in film
The year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November...
by Bob Giges about his 90-year-old Jewish grandmother who fell in love and married an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
-Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
named Bernie McCoy. Interfaith
Interfaith
The term interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels...
marriage has always been an issue in the Jewish community, but in the early twentieth-century it was particularly taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
. My Yiddish Momme McCoy addresses the prejudice
Prejudice
Prejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
s the couple faced and the challenges that their divergent cultures presented them.
Summary
Belle was born in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, in 1900 to strict Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
parents. She was an obedient daughter who speaks about her parents with great respect, admiring their dedication to their religious observance and wanting to live a life of which they approved. However, in her youth, Belle took a secretarial job under McCoy and soon fell for his romantic advances. McCoy fought and was injured in the First World War, and, from his hospital bed, he wrote Belle 52 love letters. When McCoy came home, they began an affair, but Belle was adamant that she could never marry him because doing so would directly oppose her parents' expectations.
Indeed, Belle’s mother cried when her daughter confessed that she had fallen in love with McCoy, and her father was initially opposed to their marriage; but McCoy proved himself worthy of Belle and slowly won their respect. Although he had been raised in a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
church, McCoy undertook the long conversion
Religious conversion
Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...
process to enter the Jewish faith. After watching the twenty-eight-year-old man undergo circumcision
Circumcision
Male circumcision is the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin and ....
without anesthesia, Belle’s father said, “He could murder a man, and I would forgive him.”
Not everyone accepted their marriage. Belle’s uncle was disgusted that his niece had married a gentile. Instead of joining the married couple in celebration, her uncle sat shiva, a Jewish mourning ritual that typically accompanies a funeral.
The documentary explores how conflicts due to their diverging cultural backgrounds, were constantly emerging, despite McCoy's conversion. While Belle insisted on keeping a kosher home so her parents could eat at her house, McCoy would forget and mix up the meat and milk pots. He would also attend Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
services from time to time and give his children Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
presents, but Belle insisted his Christian activities were cultural rather than religious. “As far as I'm concerned,” she says, “he lived and died a Jew.”
Old photographs of the couple and an extended interview with Belle - during which she occasionally stops to sing Yiddish songs - are combined to tell the story of a Belle Demner's long and happy marriage.
See also
- Jewish intermarriage
- Conversion to JudaismConversion to JudaismConversion to Judaism is a formal act undertaken by a non-Jewish person who wishes to be recognised as a full member of the Jewish community. A Jewish conversion is both a religious act and an expression of association with the Jewish people...
- marriageMarriageMarriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
- anti-SemitismAnti-SemitismAntisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
- race relations
- racismRacismRacism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
- JudaismJudaismJudaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...