WATCH ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ as You've Never Heard It Before
This first-of-its-type production is the most authentic-sounding yet on Broadway – even though most of the cast couldn’t speak a word of Yiddish when they signed up
Yiddish literature
The Last of the Bundists: A Farewell to Yitzhak Luden
Yitzhak Luden, the last member of the Israeli Bund, the Jewish socialist movement, has died at 95
The Meshuggener Who Keeps the Last N.Y.C. Yiddish Bookstore Alive
Only 150,000 Americans speak Yiddish as their mother tongue, but the man running New York’s sole Yiddish bookstore says anyone who thinks the language is dying must schlep to Queens to witness its revival
A Look at the History of the Yiddish Literature in America
Hagit Cohen examines the physical and ideological ground that made possible Yiddish literature's rare flowering, and explores the formation of secular U.S. Jewish identity
God as Protagonist: Jewish Classics Through a Theological but Relevant Lens
In his rather radical survey of Jewish literature from antiquity to the last century, Adam Kirsch highlights the importance of eclectic religious and worldly texts and authors for synagogue-shy Jews today.
This Day in Jewish History 1858: 'Divine' Actor Who Is the Reason the Word Shmendrick Exists Is Born
Comic genius Sigmund Mogulesko wowed New York, never mind that he apparently didn't speak English.
The Best Books of 2016 - and 5776
The most interesting books published this year, plus some Hebrew publications worth your time.
This Day in Jewish History 1724: Grieving Widow Whose Book Sheds Rare Light on Jewish World Dies
Glueckl of Hameln wrote of her perfectly pious husband, helping Chmielnicki survivors – and her own 'ethical will.'
Let’s Circumcise Hitler: Literary Fantasies in the Summer of Trump and Brexit
Israeli author Lavie Tidhar’s unsettling alternative history novel treats the Holocaust as pulp fiction, and is an eerie read in this election cycle and after the U.K.’s shocking vote.
When Jewish Boxers Were Lords of the Ring
Author Mike Silver has done an impressive job in digging up a chapter in American sports that virtually has been forgotten, and shows that the term 'Jewish boxer' is not an oxymoron.
From Kugel to Kreplach: A Foray Into the Evolution of Jewish Cuisine
In 'Rhapsody in Schmaltz,' author Michael Wex wittily guides us along the byways of Jewish cookery, with an accent on culinary Yiddishkeit. Sephardim, however, are left with empty plates.
Yiddish-speaking 'Superheroes' Take on Stalin in Tarantino-inspired Romp
Paul Goldberg deftly blends murder with mirth in his new novel 'The Yid,' while describing the adventures of a wild and crazy gang in the virulently anti-Semitic Soviet Union of the 1950s.
Yiddish Is Making a Comeback – and for Good Reason
While learning Hebrew is practical, Yiddish offers modern Jews a powerful way of connecting to our culture and religion.
Kvell on This! 2015 Was the Most Yiddish Year of All
You may have thought Yiddish was a dead or dying language, but, surprisingly, it has made an impressive comeback over the past year.
This Day in Jewish History 1982: A Yiddish Writer Dies, Not That His Widow Told Anybody
Inna Grade’s jealously hoarded every syllable written by Chaim Grade, refusing to allow his work to be published after his death. Nor was it, until hers.
This Day in Jewish History 1904: Cuckolded Yiddish Actor Shoots His Very Young Wife, Kills Self
Her family had urged Emma to drop the much older Moishe Finkel; she lied to them and married him, and then fell for a man her age.
In the First Hebrew City, a Final Farewell to Yiddish
In a two-day event held this week, the Tel Aviv municipal library unloaded its entire Yiddish book collection.
This Day in Jewish History 1910: ‘Trashy’ Yiddish Playwright of Dubious Character Dies
Did Moshe Horowitz really convert to Christianity, or was that an evil tale spread by his haters? Whatever the case, he didn’t mind utilizing the rumor for his own ends.
This Day in Jewish History: 'Joys of Yiddish' Author Dies
Leo Rosten also wrote 'The Education of H*Y*M*A*N K*A*P*L*A*N,' in which he provided laughs as well as insight into the world of immigrants to the U.S.
This Day in Jewish History / January 29, 1969 The First Professor of Yiddish in the United States Dies
Max Weinreich, who escaped the Nazis by luck, went on to translate Homer and Freud into Yiddish and to write the definitive history of the language.
Yiddish 'Holocaust Surviving' Scripts to Reunite Online
New Web portal to include some 250,000 pages of documents and 4,200 books that 'survived' the Holocaust.
A Stenographer for His People’s Soul
Sholem Aleichem, the subject of Jeremy Dauber’s new biography, aspired to be 'A writer of the people ... a mirror in which the rays of his epoch and generation are reflected.’
You Don't Have to Be Jewish to Be Mad ... but It Helps
Most of the iconic American satire magazine's creators were of the Mosaic persuasion.
In Eastern Russia, the Idea of a Jewish Autonomy Is Being Brought Back to Life
Is the recent decision by Moscow to resettle the failed, far-flung Jewish Autonomous Region serious? Some scoff, but one government official hopes that this time the plan will work.
How Yiddish Could Save the Jewish People
Language, not marriage or religious practice, is key to community: In these polarized times, we need something that will keep us together no matter what we say.
Poem of the Week / Moses Gives a Snappy Reply
Karen Alkalay-Gut discovers why Moses seemed to stutter.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Shtetl
'Monologues from the Kishke,' touches your heart and other parts; a rare Yiddish play today that celebrates the culture of Eastern European Jews instead of mourning its decline.
Poland Returns Yiddish Writer's Works Confiscated by Communists to Daughters
Letters, newspaper articles and poems taken by communist authorities after writer was sentenced to prison on fabricated charges in 1963, are reclaimed after prolonged legal battle.
This Day in Jewish History / Extra, Extra! Yiddish Newspaper Prints!
The first issue of Yiddishe Zeitung (Jewish Times) hit newsstands in New York City on this day in 1870.
This Day in Jewish History 1908: Farewell to the Father of Modern Yiddish Theater
The prolific writer Abraham Goldfaden launched the golden age of Yiddish theater with his amusing, and probing, plays and productions.