I like sharing my Jewish roots with people of all ethnic backgrounds. I grew up on my mother's stories about living on the Lower East Side. As I have conducted tours on the Lower East Side, many of the people I have visited have become my good friends.
You can sip wine with my good friend Norman Schapiro at the kosher winery in New York City. He always has an anecdote about the 'good old days' -- after World War II. Or you can hear Rabbi Spiegel speak about the First Roumanian Amerian Synagogue where Tucker, Merrill, and Peerce got their start as cantors. Or you can hear Al Orensanz speak about the oldest original synaoguge building in New York City, the Norfolk Street synagogue. Or you can always sample goodies at Russ and Daughters where Mark Russ Federman will talk about his mother and two sisters who followed his grandfather into the appetizing business. This is a great place to buy lox!
There is a lot to see and do on the Lower East Side. A tour of two or three hours can only give you a sample of what has been the cradle of Jewish America. When Harry Golden visited the tenement of his youth and saw the Hispanic names on the doorway, hw wrote, 'These, too, are the children of hope and will move on.'