What a man, right? Israeli actor Chaim Topol once estimated that he played the role of Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof more than 3,500 times. As the face of Tevye in the movie, many of us claim Topol as our Tevye, the one that got us to fall in love with the story, the face of the simple milkman that people of all cultures can relate to as a parent and person of faith.
Topol’s recent passing has me thinking a lot about the meaning of the story. Currently, I’m in a local production of Fiddler on the Roof. I’m a semi-professional actor. That basically means that I work a day job but my evenings are all spent on paid and unpaid stages. I’m especially drawn to classic musicals that celebrate times and cultures gone by. Fiddler has been especially meaningful.
I grew up in a culture of faith, not as strict and orthodox as the faith of Tevye, but similar in how central our traditions are to our identity as children of progenitors who sacrificed more than everything. We talk to God in prayer and perform our sacraments in ways that make us unique as a people.
So, I really like Tevye. I like the way he talks and laughs with God, how he complains and then reconciles. I laugh at how he flirts with the idea of vanity, that if being rich is a curse, “then may God smite me with it! That I may never recover!” On the other hand (see what I did there) I tear up when he laments for his daughter Chava, “If I bend that far I will break.” He’s a wonderful character.
Topol’s baritone voice is the quintessential Tevye, the one that sticks to my head whenever I quote “Tradition!” on the regular. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what makes him so iconic, but in the light of his death I got to thinking about where Topol comes from. His father was from Russia, born a generation after the Pogroms. Topol was born not long after the Holocaust. Surely he must have carried the generational pride and trauma with him as he played out the scenes, carrying the cart and mourning his lame horse. I don’t think I can even begin to pick up all the symbolism in his performance.
We’re lucky to have Topol’s performance as Tevye frozen in time in the movie. He’s our Tevye, and though he may be gone, I’m sure the character he helped bring to life for millions of us will live on forever.
