Written by Shlomit Ovadia of JCC Denver
It’s not often that you meet an award-winning Jewish journalist who has covered everything from feminism and environmentalism to Bollywood films while living in India. And whose stint in radio in Israel was preceded by a childhood immersed in the intellectual counterculture of Habonim.
“I’m a bit older than you so I have a good excuse,” she says after my ogling at her impressive collection of life and career experiences. But I need to hold back from asking too many questions about off-topics, like the time she lived in a yogi monastery nestled within the towering peaks of the Himalayas.
Theodore Bikel
Aimee Bikel is on a country-wide tour to honor her late husband, Theodore (Theo) Bikel, with a performance at the Mizel Arts and Culture Center on Thursday, November 14, at 7:00 pm. The love of her life, Theo lived under the Nazi regime in Austria before fleeing to pre-established state of Israel and later immigrating to the United States. In his adult life, Theo rose to fame as a successful Broadway actor (best known for his portrayal of Fiddler on the Roof’s Tevye, and Academy-award and Hollywood Walk-of-Fame movie and television star, and musician who often sold-out places like Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl.
Theo was always openly proud of his Jewish identity, and Aimee explains how it shaped his work with labor, civil rights, and anti-segregation and amnesty groups, in addition to countless leadership positions and demonstrations that landed him in prison on more than one occasion. Theo’s life was defined by a perpetual pursuit of tikkun olam—or, repairing the world—a central Jewish value that demands from us the responsibility of agency.
“We met at a shabbat dinner,” Aimee recalls of their first encounter. “I was mildly interested in Theo because I knew he was a big star, but I was mainly there to meet the parents of the late Daniel Pearl.” Yet no sooner did the two lock eyes than their romantic journey inevitably took its course with the force of a rushing river.
Of their 38-year age gap, Aimee says, “turns out that when you fall in love, age has nothing to do with it.”
After Theo passed in 2015, “There was way too much to let everything he stood for, and did, just sit on a shelf somewhere. What he stands for and taught continues to be relevant, and I wanted to bring that to the public,” Aimee adds.
True to her word, Aimee founded the Theodore Bikel Legacy Project— a nonprofit organization that hosts events and activities that combine art, music, and social justice.
Now, in honor of what would be Theo’s centennial year, Aimee is traveling around the country sharing his story. Her purpose: to uplift and inspire audiences by covering Theo’s life, career, and legacy. Her program includes video material of his singing and acting, excerpts from the book they co-authored, and many other moments of his great celebrity mixed in with lessons about tikkun olam.
“For Theo, being Jewish always went together with fighting for justice and how he used every platform to advocate for a better world.”
Join Aimee on November 14 at the Mizel Arts and Culture Center for a riveting performance of her program and stick around for a Q&A panel to follow, with a focus on BIPOC issues.
Leading up to this event is the showing of documentary, Shared Legacies premiering on November 7 at 7:00 pm. The film is a supplement to Aimee’s program and covers historical Black-Jewish cooperation during the turbulent Civil Rights era of the 60s.
“I hope they will be inspired by his clear moral compass – viehavta lireiach hakemocha – to love your neighbor as yourself. Remembering someone is a blessing. That’s what I experienced with Theo, and I hope you will, too.”
Tickets are offered on a sliding scale. Purchase here.
