Mother Sara has
faith in her son Jakie: "If Jakie knew his father was so sick
- he would come." Yudelson then looks for Jakie, hoping to
convince him to return home and take his father's place at the
synagogue for Yom Kippur. He finds Jakie during a backstage
rehearsal, and he implores him: "Tomorrow, the Day of
Atonement - they want you should sing in the synagogue, Jakie."
Jack responds: "But my father - he doesn't want me to sing,
does he?" Yudelson tells Jakie that his father is gravely
ill and that his father, the Cantor, cannot perform on
the eve of Yom Kippur, the most sacred of holy days. Yudleson
wants Jakie to take over for his father: "But Jakie, your
singing would be like sunshine to your Papa...Jakie, remember
--- a son's a son no matter if his Papa throws him
out a hundred times!"
This proves to be a great dilemma for
Jakie. This request forces him to make a terribly difficult
choice--does he goes on
opening night, or does he become dutiful to his father and
sing "Kol Nidre" at the synagogue during Yom Kippur?
Jack is bewildered--he has waited for this show business
break for years, and now he is being asked to give it up. Jack
feels Yudelson's words even more when he says, "Would you be the first
Rabinowitz in five generations to fail your God?"
The next afternoon is the dress rehearsal for the show. Back on
the Lower East Side, on the eve of Yom Kippur, Yudelson tells
the Jewish elders that they have no Cantor on Yom Kippur, the
Day of Atonement.
Meanwhile, Cantor Rabinowitz is very sick and is seen lying in
his bed. He tells his wife that he cannot perform at the
synagogue on Yom Kippur eve.
He says to her, "My heart is breaking, Mama. I cannot sing. My son
came to me in my dreams - - he sang Kol Nidre so beautifully.
If he would only sing like that tonight - surely he would be
forgiven."
Yudelson returns to
the theater with Mrs. Rabinowitz, once again to implore her
Jakie to take his father's place that evening at the
synagogue. Jack realizes that he has a very big decision to
make. "It's a choice between giving up the
biggest chance of my life --and breaking my mother's heart - -I
have no right to do either." Mary repeats the words that
Jack once said to her. She asks, "Were you lying when you said your career came before
everything?"
Yudelson tells Jack that he must sing
tonight. Jack says that he hasn't sung Kol Nidre since he was
a small boy. He is reassured by Yudelson that he can never
forget what he learned as a child. His mother leaves the
ultimate decision up to him. The show producer tells him
that he would be a fool to give up this big chance to become a
Broadway star.
Jakie and his father Cantor Rabinowitz |
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When the curtain
is about to go up, the audience is told that there would be no
performance that evening. This one time, Jack returns to
sing in his father's place at the synagogue, becoming
Jakie Rabinowitz once again. The opening night for the
Broadway show is cancelled and Jackie sings "Kol Nidre"
in the synagogue.
From his bed,
his father listens
to Jakie lead the Yom Kippur congregation and sing "Kol Nidre." Cantor
Rabinowitz believes his son has returned to his roots, so to
speak, and he forgives him. His last
words are, "Mamma, we have our son again." In a
super-imposed image, we see the spirit of Jack's father at his
side in the synagogue. Mary describes Jack perfectly: "- a
jazz singer - singing to his God."
Hear Jolson sing
"Kol Nidre" beautifully by clicking on the earphones icon here
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