The Guardian

Chaim Topol: the Fiddler on the Roof star showed Jews their origin story

Every now and then a celebrity passes away and it feels like a death in the family. For me, and many other Jews, the passing of Chaim Topol is one such occasion. Renowned for his portrayal of Tevye, the protagonist of the musical Fiddler on the Roof, Topol came to represent the archetypal Ashkenazi Jewish patriarch, yiddle-diddling his way into the collective consciousness.

I can still remember the first time, now 30-odd years ago, that I saw

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