In 1743, Glückel of Hameln, wife, mother, and businesswoman, wrote a detailed memoir in Yiddish to enlighten her descendants about her life as a 17th century Jewish woman in Germany, describing experiences as dramatic as murders, pirates, and even a false messiah!
When Topol Fled From ‘Fiddler’… Twice
Chaim Topol was originally disgusted by ‘Fiddler on the Roof’. Soon after changing his mind, war in Israel took him off the stage…
A Vanishing World: What Will Become of the Yung Yiddish Museum?
The “Yung Yiddish” museum, tucked away inside a massive bus station, is something in between a library and an underground club. Its collections have survived two world wars in Europe. Whether they can survive the disparaging attitude in Israel remains to be seen.
‘Toyve the Black Cantor’ and His 1930 World Tour
When celebrated African-American Yiddish soloist Thomas Larue crossed the Atlantic, he didn’t know what was in store…
How I Found the Lost Ending to a Legendary Author’s Story
Modern technology helped reveal the conclusion to “Falik and His House”, written by renowned Yiddish author Jacob Dinezon nearly 120 years ago
The Wicked Son Runs the Seder: Yiddish Parodies of the Haggadah
They provided annual humorous explorations of religion, politics, current events and much more…
Manmade Climate Change 150 Years Ago? In Yiddish?!
1871 article: “Hardly anybody knows that war affects the weather strongly and causes heavy rain falls, strong winds, thunder and lightning.”
The Ghost Shtetl of Isaac Bashevis Singer’s Youth
30 years after his death, the Nobel laureate’s village is being rebuilt, including a massive replica of a synagogue that was never there
The Making of the Story “Shloyml Boyml and His Lucky Dreydl”
A klezmer-infused children’s book inspired by journeys to the Eastern Bloc and the Black Sea
Robinson Crusoe in the Languages of the Jews
How the classic English novel spread throughout the Jewish world and its many languages
