Lidia’s Pilgrimage
7m
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Who Was She?
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What was the reaction of other Esperantists and Zamenhof's to Lidia’s new faith? What inspired Lidia to travel to teach Esperanto across borders and oceans? Find out in episode 4 of Who was she? Podcast.
TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome to Who was she? Podcast where I, Tara Jabbari share the stories of women throughout Baha’i history. This season is about the life of Lidia Zamenhof, an Esperantist and Baha’i who traveled through three continents to teach languages in efforts to bring unity to humankind.
In the previous episode, we learned how Lidia met Martha Root who became her spiritual mother after Lidia decided to become a Baha’i. However, her new faith was not welcomed by all. Many Esperantists and Jews were not pleased with her decision, and believed she was abandoning her background. For Lidia, she never felt like she was abandoning her Jewish background because for her, it was not a religion.
She revealed that after she became a Baha’i, people accused her of endangering the Esperanto movement, “especially in Poland, if I identified myself, bearing the name of the creator of Esperanto, with a new, unfamiliar and still unrecognized religion.’ But the lack of support didn’t sway Lidia’s passion for her new faith. She explained, ‘I value more highly my sincere relationship to God, whom I recognized revealing Himself in Baha’u’llah than I do pleasing “public opinion.”’
As for Lidia’s family, Adam and Zofia, Martha Root wrote that while they were kind to her, they simply were not very spiritual and did not understand Lidia’s beliefs. She wrote that when Lidia decided not to attend the Universal Congress of Esperanto in 1929 in order to save money for her eventual pilgrimage to Haifa, the most sacred place to Baha'is, her siblings laughed and teased her about it. They preferred she would stop trying to translate Baha’i Writings to Esperanto, to separate the family name Zamenhof from the Baha’i Faith. But they also did not try and keep Lidia away from Baha’is and certainly were hospitable to Martha.
As Lidia continued to read the Baha’i Writings, she realized that while They are originally written in Persian and Arabic, the largest body of translations was in fact in English. Therefore, she must learn English, so she can continue her spiritual journey and to be able to translate the Writings into Esperanto.
She studied English for three hours a week and eventually started to translate the book, Baha’u’llah and The New Era by J.E. Esslmont. Published in 1923, it remains One of the most popular introductory books on the Baha’i FaithEsslemont explains the history and core Teachings of Baha’u’llah including the principle for a universal language and mentions Esperanto as a movement trying to achieve this principle.
Martha Root was so proud of her spiritual daughter, writing, “She is her father’s daughter spiritually as well as physically. She is so just, so modest, so sincere and she is one of the finest translators I have ever met.”
In 1930, Lidia was granted permission to attend pilgrimage to Haifa. Today, on Mount Carmel, the Shrine is adorned with 19 terraces of elaborate gardens, encompassed by a Gold Dome and the Resting Place of The Bab, the precursor to Baha’u’llah and fellow prophet of the Baha’i Dispensation.
But at the time Lidia visited, the Resting Place was a simple structure of stone beside three large cypress trees. Every morning, Lidia came to the Holy Shrines to pray. She wrote of a particular day, “one morning, when I arose after a long prayer my eyes fell on a flower that was lying on the threshold. A red spider, a very tiny one, not larger than a pin head, was running around the calyx of the flower. I stretched out my hand and gave it a careless push with my finger. It seemed to grow still weaker and smaller and it fell down from the flower, down from the Threshold, down toward the ground. But suddenly there happened something that made me stare with a strange feeling: the little spider did not fall to the ground. It stopped half way as if the law of gravity ceased suddenly to exist for him - and then, as if in spite of this law it drew itself higher and higher, till the calyx of the flower gave him refuge again and hid him from my sight. Quick as lightening and dazzling as lightning there came to me a sudden realization that this little spider was a sign sent to me by God. A sign to tell me that a soul who still knew how to keep a ray of faith, be that ray as tiny as a spider’s thread, is not to be lost in despair; even from the depths of a chasm it will be led upward, till it reaches its heavenly abode, till it comes to God.”
Lidia also spent time in Jerusalem, gifting the Hebrew University a manuscript her father had written in the Yiddish language. On her last visit to the Baha’i Shrines, she wrote, “As I was praying, the feeling of despondency began to grow less heavy. Little by little the despondency disappeared. And when it had disappeared a joy came. A joy with no outward care. A joy born in the heart as if the heart was suddenly touched by a smiling sunray. That joy kept growing as a seatide, until it flooded my soul. And still, it kept growing until it was so great that if it were one degree greater, it would simply cause my heart to burst! All sadness, all doubts, all the dark hours of battle were gone and the joy was there, a heaven-sent joy, a divine confirmation. Whoever receives such a confirmation forgets his doubts. Whoever experiences once such joy, cannot be truly unhappy even in the darkest hours of his life.”
Lidia returned to Europe with more drive to not only teach Esperanto but also the Baha’i Faith to bring about universal peace. She will not only teach both of her passions in Europe but it will bring her to other continents.
This has been Who was she? Podcast, follow us on our Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest @whowasshe podcast. And please, rate and subscribe wherever you listen to this podcast. Logo was designed by Angela Musacchio. Music was composed and performed by Sam Redd. I am your host, Tara Jabbari.
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Moved To Her Feet
Partial Transcript:
Welcome, I am your host, Tara Jabbari. Who was she? Podcast will focus on the stories of women throughout history that were active in the Baha’i Faith. This season is about Hazel Scott, a talented musician and activist.
She had evolved in her faith. Having been introduced to the Baha’i Faith by her good friend and famous jazz artist, Dizzy Gillespie, she was interested in learning more. She was particularly intrigued by “progressive revelation.” This is the belief that Manifestations of God represent stages in the spiritual evolution of civilization. These Manifestations include Abraham, Moses, Krishna, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad.
Or as she explained, “Whenever man has been ready to absorb more knowledge, God has revealed it.” Baha’u’llah is the Manifestation of the Baha’i Faith.
Hazel fought nonstop for what was right, she achieved many firsts and her talent was truly one of a kind. In one of the last interviews she ever did, she was asked what is the most important part in her life. Hazel replied, “The important part? When I have been able to transmit that which I have been singularly gifted with…to move an audience to their feet.”
I hope you enjoyed learning about Hazel Scott, I certainly did and hope you are inspired and moved to your feet just like she would want.
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Hazel's Paris
Patrial Transcript:
Recovering from the dissolution of her marriage as well as a second suicide attempt, Hazel was determined to move on with her life in Paris.
The French film industry was interested in Hazel. Now that she felt she had earned more maturity and life experience, she was comfortable actually acting in a role. So she went on set for Le Desordre et la Nuit (Disorder of the Night) where she played a supporting role as a dancer. It was the first time she was playing someone other than herself on screen. Her son shared that after the first day of filming, Hazel came home and announced, “Your Mother does not speak french!” According to Skipper, he knew there was trouble whenever she began a sentence with “your mother.”
It turned out that her accent needed work, not necessarily her language skills so the studio got her a french dialect coach.
That same day, they got the news that Harry Cohn, the president of Columbia Pictures had died. She explained to the cast and crew the whole story of Cohn and his promise that she would never make another movie until the day he died. And now, years after his promise, he died and she was on a set filming. It would become one of her favorite stories to tell, no longer would Cohn threaten her career on the big screen.
Hazel went on to film a couple of other french films. Very nearly including Paris Blues with Sidney Poitier & Paul Newman but ultimately the part went to another. She was still synonymous with being a musician even on the big screen. Hazel said, “Once you played the priest, you can never play the gangster…Everybody just wants me to come on and sing. And I can do so much more than that.”
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A Great Act of Faith
Partial transcript: Between 1950 to 1952, Hazel had nearly lost her reputation and her life. The Red Scare and the HUAC hearings put a toll on her career. The growing attention on her marriage, the loss of work in the United States, and the constant public attention caused Hazel to have a mental breakdown and attempt suicide. Thankfully by May 1952, Hazel was doing better through the best medical care her husband could find her. She was performing and showing the world that nothing could stop Hazel Scott and her immense talent.
Paul E. Magliore, the President of Haiti invited Hazel to attend the 150th anniversary of Haiti’s independence. Hazel gladly accepted as she was an anti-colonialist and felt a kinship with the Haiti people. When years later, Trinidad, her birth country became a free country, her son remembered Hazel went screaming through the house, “We’re free! We’re free!”
In 1955, Hazel wanted to go back to Paris and Adam encouraged the move but would not join her. They already were drifting apart from their marriage and now, they were physically apart. They hadn’t been happy for a while. Adam suggested an open marriage but it was not necessarily to save their marriage. He wanted to keep his family man image for his political look with the freedom of spending time with other women. Hazel did not agree to the proposal. She said, “I couldn’t face a marriage of convenience, especially if it was at my inconvenience.”
Deeply unhappy with the state of her marriage, she decided faith would be the only thing that could help.
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They Saw Red
Partial Transcript:
After Hazel had married Congressman, Adam Clayton Powell Jr. her music career changed from late-night jazz to a more conservative, classical approach which proved to be very successful.
Hazel said goodbye to 1945 and to her mother Alma but 1946 brought new life. On July 17th, Hazel gave birth to a son, Adam Clayton Powell The Third, or affectionately called, Skipper.
She said, “My greatest thrill was the first time I saw Skipper.”
Adam and Hazel were both very busy but they made sure they would be home on weekends. During the week, a housekeeper cared for their son. Skipper, later on, said, “They decided to try to have as normal a life as possible. (Dad) would be in Washington during the week at least January through May, and (Mom) would be traveling a lot but on Saturday and Sunday, we were going to be a family. And so wherever they were, the deal was they would have to get back to New York by Friday night.”
The Powells were famous, being a celebrated and high-profile black power couple. However, behind closed doors, it was not easy, Hazel admitted, “We fought bitterly but loved each other deeply.” She confessed that she did think of ending her marriage in the first year. The constant pressure of everyday life, their bustling careers, and their public persona along with the death of her mother and a new baby were all so much for Hazel. She tried to repress her emotions which would eventually end with almost dire consequences.
Along with all of her responsibilities and attention, she still dealt with constant racism.
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https://shows.acast.com/who-was-she-podcast
Also available on:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/who-was-she/id1548368026
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JJS5J2T/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_H6paGbTR63EK9
https://open.spotify.com/show/78a4pv6tYgad4C0mEftAgB
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https://www.facebook.com/whowasshepodcast
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