I Am All Immigrants was first conceived when my mom died a couple of years ago.  While going through her belongings, I found a small folded piece of brown paper, no more than a 2-inch square.  When I carefully opened it, it was an announcement of my grandfather’s birth, in Yiddish and written in Hebrew letters by the local Rabbi in 1895.I also found his Bar Mitzvah tallit, also pretty worn and tattered. (the background images) This started me on a journey of exploring my past, my heritage, and my family’s immigration.

Growing up in suburban New Jersey, the majority of my community was very “modern” and Jewish and mostly 2ndor third generation Americans, rarely giving any thought to where our forefathers came from.

Due to the recent political climate, I have become more interested in my ancestry having gone so far as having my DNA done.  All of this brought me to create this piece which although is of Jewish ancestry, can apply to the majority of people in this county.