At first, when your father-in-law tells you he is taking you to the schvitz, you are not quite sure you heard him correctly. “The what?” you say. “The schvitz!” he repeats. “What’s a schvitz?” you ask. “A schvitz is a schvitz!” he says, as if the meaning of the word were contained, matryoshka doll-like, inside…
If you’re a Cleveland Jewish man and have never been to The Schvitz, you are a disgrace. Real Cleveland Jewish men will regularly malign you, impugning your Jewish bona fides. The Schvitz is at East 116 Street and Luke, off Kinsman Road (a lousy neighborhood). The Schvitz has no sign. The Schvitz’s official name is…
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