Local shutterbug on nationwide journey
By Charlotte Friedland
March 14, 2008

The diverse, colorful histories of America's Jewish communities have long been a source of fascination for East Brunswick resident Dr. Saul Landa.

An avid photographer and traveler, Landa decided to blend these passions in a project that will keep him hopping from one city to the next, camera in hand. His goal is to produce a book that will explore Jewish enclaves across America, creating a vivid picture of each selected community's past and present. To accomplish this, he will interview elders, historians, leaders, and youth. Through vintage photographs and current photos of these same locations, the richness of each local history will unfold.

Landa is not your typical adventurer.

"In my other life, I'm a quiet-living dentist," he said, smiling. To be exact, he is a professor of dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania and Chief of Cosmetic Dentistry and lecturer at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch. He is also an ordained Orthodox rabbi, yet he has always had a penchant for hiking -- and an irrepressible wanderlust that has led him to quests all over the world, including summating Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

In his avocation as a photographer, Landa has published numerous pictures in The Jewish State and other Jewish newspapers. His work appeared in magazines and textbooks, and he maintains a stock photo company called JI --...Judaic Images. These opportunities to record Jewish communal life pictorially gave rise to the concept of his book.

Tentatively titled A Timeless People: A Photo Tapestry of American Jewish Life, the collection of photographs and narratives aims to provide a sensitive and moving look at American Jewish life, emphasizing the common threads that bind Jews to each other and generation to generation. It will feature holiday observances, lifecycle events, and the institutions of Jewish heritage -- synagogues, cemeteries, schools, and libraries -- that have enabled Jews to maintain their lifestyle for more than 350 years on American soil.

There are 25 cities on Landa's potential wishlist, each chosen for its unique history. The stories of featured communities will reveal the perseverance, the drive, and sometimes the sheer uncanny providence, that enabled them to strike their roots and grow.

His first stop will be in Bangor, Maine, where Jewish settlers first arrived in the 1840s. Planning this trip for mid-March, the author/photographer hopes to capture the joyous atmosphere of Purim holiday celebrations on film.

"Purim is the zaniest day on the Jewish calendar," he noted. "The costumes, masks, mishloach manot -- even the raucous Megillah-reading -- provide lots of color and emotion. It's a photographer's paradise!"

His research will go deeper than facades, however. The author is looking for what makes each Jewish community tick, why and how it developed over the years. By creating a prototype of a book chapter about Philadelphia, he was able to hone the research methods and journalistic techniques that he will use in cities across the nation. Landa quickly discovered that his easygoing style and genuine interest brings out the best in his interviewees. Dry historical information quickly gives way to a plethora of warm personal recollections.

"Before you know it, we're discussing family trees and fascinating details of peoples' lives," he said. "I love the research and the folks I meet as much as the photography."

Exploring archives and attics for clues to the past, sifting through boxes of old pictures and synagogue newsletters, and tracking down community leaders requires substantial motivation. But this project is, first and foremost, a labor of love.

"Everywhere I go, there is diversity, yet I feel at home," Landa said. "I make new friends and keep snapping pictures, from the bubbe baking challah to the newborn baby at his brit. Eventually, this book will embrace everyone like a great big family album."

Dr. Landa and his wife, Marlene, have begun their research and plan to visit each target city, searching out long-time residents who have been Jewishly active. Anyone with contacts in the following cities is encouraged to write to him at slanda99@comcast.net: Boston; Lower East Side, N.Y.C.; Baltimore; Washington, D.C.; Newport; Providence; Chicago; Cincinnati; St. Louis; Milwaukee; Minneapolis; Des Moines; Detroit; Atlanta; Charleston; Birmingham; New Orleans; San Antonio; Memphis; Chattanooga; Denver; Phoenix, San Francisco; Seattle; Portland, Oregon.

"This project promises to be quite an odyssey," Landa said, his eyes shining. "Once we're on the trail, who knows what we'll find?"