Yes it is a lovely story, based on the stories of Shalom Aleikum (sp?), pseudonym of an early 20th century Jewish author. He was a totally secular Jew, was very anti-clerical, and despised the old semi-peasant traditions which are sentimentalized in the musical. He was also a virulent socialist. Very much a progenitor of the sort of liberal Jewish person who now finances the Democrat party. Fortunately, almost nothing of his prejudices are seen in Fiddler, so you can really forget about them, unless you are tempted to read his original stories, in which case it is good to remember where he is coming from.
Well, he was coming from at time when the Socialist revolution seemed like a good idea!