Jews on Judaica: Regina Spektor

Today, were lucky enough to speak with the one and only, Regina Spektor. Shes a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter known for beloved songs like Fidelity and Samson. But before her music career took off in the early 2000s, she was an immigrant kid growing up in the Bronx. At nine years-old, her Jewish family left Russia as refugees, seeking greater religious freedom amongst other opportunities. In a defining momentby 2006, her fourth studio album was released, Begin to Hope, featuring a portrait of her wearing a Star of David necklace.

Reginas immense thoughtfulness, intellectualism, and characteristic big-hearted empathy were on full display throughout our entire conversationastonishing us with her open-ended generosity of spirit and singular perspective on music, Judaism, and community. Read on and get to know this incredible artist.

Via Maris: Do you have any memories of Judaica pieces from your childhood before you immigrated?

We didn't have many actual items because, in the Soviet Union at the time, it was still illegal to have religion in your life. But, I do remember that my grandmother would somehow get matzah for us every Passover. So, wed have that, but we didnt know any of the ruleslike the matzah was sitting on the table right next to the bread. I didnt know anything about the story or the meaning, but I always knew my grandmother had a connection at the Moscow Synagogue, she was on some kind of list, and getting that box of matzah was a big deal.

Another thing that stood out to me is that when we were leaving, there were rules of what you could bring out of the country. And there was a limit, in grams, on the amount of gold each family was allowed to take. I remember that an old family ring was melted and made into a Star of David necklace for my mom. My mom was so excited that she was going to go through immigration and wear this Jewish emblem because she couldnt do that here. And I remember seeing the necklace again years later and thinking it was so thinit wasnt even a substantial amount of gold or really that well madebut, it was something that was like, yes, we are Jews.

What was your Jewish refugee experience like when your family landed in New York?

We were flown from Moscow to Vienna with a bunch of other Soviet refugees. In Vienna, each family went through a process of interviews and health records, and then we flew to Italy. Some people were stuck in Italy for a month, others could be there for over a year just waiting. It was different for each family, and we were traveling as a party of six (my dad, mom, aunt, cousin, and grandma). My brother was the first American-born in our family, and the first to have a bris that wasnt illegalsuch a big deal! We were in Italy for a good couple of months, but then we finally got to America.

We moved to the Bronx. In the Kingsbridge Center Israel, a synagogue in the Bronx, they had just opened a little Russian resettlement office. We were in the first five families processed in that area of the Bronxwe were on the front page of the Bronx Times. My dad kept the newspaper.

My parents were really interested in learning about Judaism for the first time in their lives and properly participating. They were excited to start keeping kosher, and they sent me and my cousin to yeshivathe community gave us a full scholarship and we got to have this amazing experience. We started at the school before we knew English, so we learned as we went along. In my mind, it was this very colorful and warm time. Wed go to synagogue on Shabbat, and friends' houses on Rosh Hashanah, and it was just blowing our minds because we couldnt believe that people were so open and comfortable here.

Of course, the addendum to that piece is that hate crimes in New York City are up in huge numbers. When I arrived here as a nine year-old, to this magical land where you could be a Jew and wear a kippah or wear a black hat, or whatever you chose, never did I think that New York City could become a place where people had to be afraid to walk around as Jews and be worried about hate crimes. As a refugee, thats been a difficult thing for me to reconcilethis is supposed to be the good place. And if this is happening in the good place, then thats very heartbreaking.

As youve grown into a Jewish adulthood in America and you've expanded your own family, have you been able to collect pieces of Judaica along the way or start new rituals?

Its interesting because we know that our loved ones and spending time together are the most important things, but also so much of our connection to our loved ones and between the generations is forged through these very tangible items. Like, this is the prayer book I had when I was ten and that I can show to my son. Or, these are the candlesticks that were given to us on our wedding and we use them for Shabbat every week.

I remember when I was sixteen, I went on this creative teens trip to Israel (called Nesiya), and thats really where I started to sing. I bought myself all kinds of little silver jewelry pieces that were very traditional and typical and teenage, but they just felt so right. And then, I remember years later having a photoshoot to make the cover for my record, Begin to Hope, and I wanted to wear my Star of David necklace. For years after, I would meet people and they would thank me for not straightening my curls or theyd tell me how much it meant to them that I wore that necklace on the record cover. I think these things are very powerful, they ground you, theyre wonderful connectors.

When my brother was graduating 8th grade, I got him a huge Shofar from this store in Riverdale. It made this nice warm sound, but he never really connected with it, and it always ended up in my house. I actually used to play it at certain shows, and it felt so nice to share that part of myself with audiences. Im always interested in those moments where you can create a bridge between people and expand their understanding.