Episodes
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Arele Schaechter Viswanath, the translator of the Harry Potter book series into Yiddish, was interviewed about, and read excerpts from, his translation of the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which was recently published by Olniansky Press (Sweden, 2024) under the Yiddish title הערי פּאָטער און די קאַמער פֿון סודות. Arele works in the field of strategy and analytics at tech companies in New York City, while "moonlighting" as a Yiddish translator. His previous translations include the first Harry Potter book (הערי פּאָטער און דער פֿילאָסאָפֿישער שטיין); Do you know Pippi Longstocking? (צי קענסטו פּיפּי לאַנגשטרימפּ); and Uh-oh! (געוואַלד). To purchase the latest Harry Potter book in Yiddish in the US we suggest you either email CYCO Yiddish Book Center at [email protected] or visit the League for Yiddish Store's Harry Potter book 2 page. For non-USA orders, we recommend purchasing directly from the publisher Olniansky Press's Harry Potter page.
Lillian Shporer-Leavitt (לאה), co-host of The Yiddish Voice, led the interview with Arele, as she previously did for the first book in 2020. Lillian grew up in Boston in a Yiddish-speaking home and has been teaching and translating Yiddish in the Boston area for several decades.
Our show ended with a selection of Hanukkah recordings. Happy Hanukkah! אַ פֿריילעכן חנוכּה
Music:
Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzJohn Williams: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Complete Motion Picture Score (excerpts)A series of Hanukkah in performed by various singers and musicians, including Moishe Oysher and the Pripetshik Singers.Air date: Dec 11, 2024
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Highlights:
Moyshe Hoffman, proprietor of Hoffy's Kosher Restaurant in Antwerp, Belgium, where you can "enjoy Yiddish traditional cuisine". He talks about his restaurant, some personal and family history, and a bit about Yiddish life in Antwerp. We interviewed Moyshe Hoffman at Hoffy's on Nov. 14, 2024. Hoffy's website: https://hoffys.beRichard Fein (רובֿן-יעקבֿ פֿײַן) reads the poem "To My Father" in English, and Sholem Beinfeld reads the Yiddish. This was recorded at Fein's home in Cambridge, MA, on Sept. 20, 2024, as a bonus when we recorded Fein's translations of Avrom Sutzkever's poetry, but it could not be included in that program, so we are now airing it for the first time. (Our podcast with Fein's translation of Sutzkever poems: https://podcast.yv.org/episodes/erev-rosh-hashona-with-sutzkever-poetry-translated-and-read-by-richard-fein-and-sholem-beinfeld)From the archives: Jake Turx (אבֿרהם-יעקבֿ טערקלטויב) - Take a walk back in history to the early days of the first Trump administration with our 2017 interview featuring Turx, senior White House correspondent and chief political correspondent for Ami magazine. Listen to the original podcast here: https://podcast.yv.org/episodes/jake-turxMusic:
Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzAbe Moskowitz: Vu Iz Dos GeseleChava Alberstein: VilnaAir date: Dec 4, 2024
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Missing episodes?
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Highlights:
Rukhl Schaechter (שׂרה-רחל שעכטער), editor of Forverts (a/k/a the Yiddish Forward, פֿאָרווערטס), online at forward.com/yiddish, reflects on 25 years with this Yiddish institution, originally as a writer and now as its editor. She spoke with us on Zoom from her home in Yonkers on Nov. 24, 2024. The Forward is celebrating her anniversary with a Celebrate Our Rukhl event in New York, NY, on Weds., Dec. 4, 2024. Info: https://www.pages.forward.com/rukhl-celebrationMusic:
Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzIntermittent music: Itzhak Perlman, Dov Seltzer, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: Afn Veg Shteyt A Boym (instrumental)Outro music: Dudu Fisher: Afn Veg Shteyt A BoymAir date: November 27, 2024
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Highlights:
Abraham Friedman (אבֿרהם פֿרידמאַן), publisher of Di Tzeitung (די צייטונג), a major weekly newspaper in the Chareidi world, especially among the Chassidic community in New York. In this interview he talks about what his newspaper offers, discusses current events recently covered by his newspaper, and a little about himself. We reached him by phone at his home in Brooklyn on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. Website of די צייטונג: http://ditzeitung.com/ From our archive, outtakes from previously aired interviews that were not previously aired due to time limitations.Samuel Kassow (שמואל קאַסאָוו), professor of history, Trinity College: outtake from an interview originally aired Nov. 1, 2017, on the theme of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and on the occasion of Yivo Institute's Conference on Jews in and after the 1917 Russian Revolution. Original podcast: https://podcast.yv.org/episodes/samuel-kassow-elissa-bemporadJordan Kutzik of Kinder-Loshn Publications, and David Forman, translator of the book Dos Kluge Shnayderl/The Clever Little Tailor: outtake from an interview originally aired in November, 2021. Original podcast: https://podcast.yv.org/episodes/jordan-kutzik-david-forman-dos-kluge-shnayderlthe-clever-little-tailorThe above two interviews were conducted by Sholem Beinfeld, a regular contributor to The Yiddish Voice, co-Editor in Chief of the Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary, and Professor of History, Emeritus, Washington University, St. Louis.Music:
Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzIntermittent/outro music: Itzhak Perlman, Dov Seltzer, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: Afn Veg Shteyt A Boym (instrumental)Air date: November 20, 2024
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אַ גמר חתימה טובֿה! און אַ גוט געבענטשט יאָר!
Highlights:
Rabbi Itzik-Boruch Teitelbaum (Monroe, NY), known as Der Pshiskher Rov, with a vort for erev Yom Kippur. We reached him by phone at his home in Monroe on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024
Interviews with Israelis about Oct. 7, one year on.
Avremi Zaks the host and producer of the weekly Israeli Yiddish radio program "Kan Yidish." He also teaches Yiddish. He was born in Israel and lives in Jerusalem with his wife and children. We reached him by phone in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024.Daniel Galay is a composer, playwright, Yiddish activist, educator, and writer, and Chairman of Leyvik House Yiddish Cultural Center in Tel Aviv. We reached him by phone in Tel Aviv on October 8, 2024. Additional info online:https://www.leyvik.comMiriam Trinh is the editor-in-chief of Afn Shvel, teaching Yiddish language and literature at Hebrew University and online platforms like Workers Circle and YIVO. She has written for the Yiddish Forward (Forverts), including the interview with Tzili Venkert described on our show and a recent article published post-show, "לכּבֿוד יום-הזכּרון זאָל דער געדענק־פּלאַקאַט פֿון קיבוץ בארי נישט לאָזן פֿאַרגעסן." Trinh moved to Israel after high school and resides in Jerusalem with her family. We reached her by phone in Jerusalem on October 9, 2024.Greetings on behalf of the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants of Greater Boston, featuring members Tania Lefman (Treasurer), Mary Ehrlich, Rosalie Reszelbach and Miriam Modricamin.
Greeting from Dovid Braun, co-host. Recorded Oct. 2, 2024, by phone.
Greetings from Eli Dovek ז״ל, late proprietor of our sponsor Israel Bookshop, Brookline, MA.
Greeting from Lillian (Leye) Leavitt, co-host. Recorded Sept. 25, 2024, by phone.
Music:
Cantor Joseph Shapiro: B'Rosh HashonaLeibele Waldman: Der naier yuhrIntro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzAir date: October 9, 2024
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אַ כּתיבֿה וחתימה טובֿה!
Highlights:
Avrom Novershtern (Israel) Professor Emeritus of Yiddish Literature, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. We reached him by phone on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.Eli Sharfstein (Israel) writer and poet. We reached him by phone in Greece, where he was stranded due to cancelations of flights to Israel, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024.Rabbi Itzik-Boruch Teitelbaum (Monroe, NY), known as Der Pshiskher Rov. We reached him by phone at his home in Monroe on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024.Greetings on behalf of the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants of Greater Boston, featuring members Tania Lefman (Treasurer), Mary Ehrlich, Rosalie Reszelbach and Miriam Modricamin.Greeting from Dovid Braun, co-host. Recorded Oct. 2, 2024, by phone.Greetings from Eli Dovek ז״ל, late proprietor of our sponsor Israel Bookshop, Brookline, MA.Greeting from Sholem Beinfeld, co-host. Recorded Sept. 18, 2024, by phone.Greeting from Lillian (Leye) Leavitt, co-host. Recorded Sept. 25, 2024, by phone.Greetings on behalf of the League for Yiddish / די ייִדיש-ליגע by Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath, Board Chair. Recorded Sept. 18, 2024.Greetings on behalf of the Hebrew Actors Foundation and CYCO Yiddish Book Center by Hy Wolfe. Recorded via Zoom Sept. 18, 2024.Music: (Partial List)
Cantor Joseph Shapiro: B'Rosh HashonaMalavsky Family: Kevah KuresSholom Katz: Zochreinu L'ChayimIntro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzAir date: October 2, 2024
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This week, greetings for Rosh Hashona from friends, participants, and sponsors of The Yiddish Voice / דאָס ייִדישע קול, combined with a poetry reading by Richard Fein and Sholem Beinfeld.
אַ גוט, געבענטשט יאָר אַלע אונדזערע צוהערער - לשנה טובֿה
Highlights:
Author and translator Richard J. Fein (Yiddish name: Ruvn-Yankev), along with his friend, collaborator, and regular Yiddish Voice cohost Sholem Beinfeld, read from Fein's book The Full Pomegranate: Poems of Avrom Sutzkever (SUNY Press, 2019), which features Sutzkever's poems in their original Yiddish along with Fein's English translations. Avrom Sutzkever (1913–2010) is widely regarded as one of the greatest Yiddish poets of the 20th century. Richard J. Fein is Professor Emeritus of English at the State University of New York at New Paltz and the author, editor, and translator of many books, including With Everything We’ve Got: A Personal Anthology of Yiddish Poetry. Sholem Beinfeld is Professor Emeritus of History at Washington University in St. Louis, and is perhaps best known as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary (Arumnemik Yidish-English Verterbukh), as well as a translator of Yiddish texts and creator of new subtitles for classic Yiddish movies. For further information on Fein's book The Full Pomegranate, see the publisher's web site: http://www.sunypress.edu/p-6690-the-full-pomegranate.aspx We recorded this at Fein's home in Cambridge, MA, on Sept. 20, 2024.Greetings on behalf of the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants of Greater Boston, featuring members Tania Lefman (Treasurer), Mary Ehrlich, Rosalie Reszelbach and Miriam Modricamin.Greetings from Eli Dovek ז״ל, late proprietor of our sponsor Israel Bookshop, Brookline, MA.Greeting from Sholem Beinfeld, co-host. Recorded Sept. 18, 2024, by phone.Greeting from Lillian (Leye) Leavitt, co-host. Recorded Sept. 25, 2024, by phone.Greetings on behalf of the League for Yiddish / די ייִדיש-ליגע by Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath, Board Chair. Recorded Sept. 18, 2024.Greetings on behalf of the Hebrew Actors Foundation and CYCO Yiddish Book Center by Hy Wolfe. Recorded via Zoom Sept. 18, 2024.Music:
Cantor Joseph Shapiro: B'Rosh HashonaMalavsky Family: Kevah KuresSholom Katz: Zochreinu L'ChayimIntro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzAir date: September 25, 2024
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This week, greetings for Rosh Hashona from friends, participants, and sponsors of The Yiddish Voice / דאָס ייִדישע קול, combined with an exciting new interviews with Rabbi Moshe Waldoks and Holocaust survivor Henry Slucki.
אַ גוט, געבענטשט יאָר אַלע אונדזערע צוהערערלשנה טובֿה
Highlights:
Interview with Rabbi Moshe Waldoks, whose biographical one-man show "You Can Live If They Let You" recently debuted in Boston, amid much acclaim (including a Boston Globe feature article) to sold-out audiences. Recorded Sept. 18, 2024, by phone. Info on Moshe Waldoks on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moshe_WaldoksInterview with Henry Slucki, a Holocaust survivor, professor of psychology at USC, cultural and political activist. Recorded Sept. 18, 2024, via Zoom.Greetings on behalf of the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants of Greater Boston, featuring members Tania Lefman (Treasurer), Mary Ehrlich, Rosalie Reszelbach, and Miriam Modricamin.Greetings from Eli Dovek ז״ל, late proprietor of our sponsor Israel Bookshop, Brookline, MA.Greeting from Sholem Beinfeld, co-host. Recorded Sept. 18, 2024, by phone.Greetings on behalf of the League for Yiddish / די ייִדיש-ליגע by Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath, Board Chair. Recorded Sept. 18, 2024.Greetings on behalf of the Hebrew Actors Foundation and CYCO Yiddish Book Center by Hy Wolfe. Recorded via Zoom Sept. 18, 2024.Music:
Cantor Simcha Koussevitzky: Zochreinu L'ChayimPesachke Burstein: Men ken leben nor men lozt nit (Composer: Joseph Rumshinsky)Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzAir date: September 18, 2024
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This week, interviews with Perl Teitelbaum and Hy Wolfe. We spoke with them in person at 2024 Yugntruf Yidish-Vokh in Copake, NY, on Aug. 21, 2024.
Paula (Perl) Teitelbaum is a Yiddish language at Arbeter Ring, Yivo Institute, and elsewhere. She talked about a new technique she's been using for teaching Yiddish by watching films. A Yiddish singer who has performed on several album, she also shared memories of creating the popular song Vaserl along with co-writer Rukhl Schaechter.
Hy Wolfe is a Yiddish singer and actor, as well as an activist involved in managing several important Yiddish organizations: Hebrew Actors Foundation, Sholem Aleichem Culture Center, and CYCO Yiddish Book Center. He talked about those organizations, and also shared some personal memories from his career on the Yiddish stage.
Music:
Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzPhilip (Fayvl) Yucht, Shifee Lovitt: Vaserl וואַסערל (Arrangement by Andy Statman and his ensemble)Meilech Kohn: Mein Held מײַן העלדAir Date: August 21, 2024
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This week, an interview with Dovid Braun, talking about the Yivo Bard Zumer-Program and a few related matters. Dovid serves as Academic Director for the summer program, which recently concluded, and year-round as Yivo's Academic Director for Yiddish. And we hear from our archive (1995) Miriam Libenson on Tisha B'Ov , which falls this year on the night of Monday, Aug. 12.
Music:Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzAir Date: August 7, 2024
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This week, Arieh Hecht, a patient advocate in Los Angeles, talks about his life as a child of Holocaust survivors originally from Transylvania (Hungary during WWII) and his work as a patient advocate. We spoke with Arieh in person in Los Angeles on July 4, 2024. We begin with a report from the Yivo-Bard Zumer-Program by Nokhem Lerner, who's been a Yiddish teacher there the past two years. We reached Nokhem by phone in the New York area on July 29, 2024.
Music:Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzOutro instrumental music: Itzhak Perlman, Dov Seltzer, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: Afn Veg Shteyt A BoymAir Date: July 31, 2024
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Highlights: Mark ("Marek") Gaysinskiy reports from the Yivo-Bard Zumer-Program; Pnina Sharf, a resident of Los Angeles and a Holocaust survivor from Poland, talks about her life experiences; from Boston's Yiddish past: a performance by the late Cantor Gregor Shelkan, performing a song about what will happen when Meshiekh (the Messiah) comes (recorded in 1999 at the Cantorial concert in honor of Cantor Simon Kandler).
Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzAir Date: July 17, 2024
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Highlights:
A report from the Yivo-Bard Yiddish Summer Program by student Tara Neuwirth, who has attended several times beginning in 1983. This year's Zumer-program kicked off last week and seems off to a good start. We spoke to Tara by phone on July 10, 2024. We hope to hear more from other students and teachers from this and other Yiddish summer courses around the world. Info on the Yivo-Bard Yiddish Summer program here: https://summerprogram.yivo.org
Prof. Sholem Beinfeld, professor emeritus of history at Washington University, St. Louis, gives a brief lecture on Dovid Sfard, Hersh Smolar, and the Yiddish-Communist Milieu in Poland after WWII, and then discusses the topic with Hershl Glasser and Reyze Turner, who translated the book A citizen of Yiddishland: Dovid Sfard and the Jewish Communist Milieu in Poland (Nalewajko-Kulikov, Joanna; Peter Lang International Academic Publishers, Bern, 2020) into English. Book info: https://www.peterlang.com/document/1114288 We recorded the lecture and discussion via Zoom on June 17, 2024. A book by Hersh Smolar, originally in Yiddish, is about to come out this August 2024, translated into Yiddish by Ruth Murphy. Info here: https://www.benyehudapress.com/books/jews-without-yellow-stars/
Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz
Air Date: July 10, 2024
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Meet Itel Landau (maiden family name: Brettler), a Holocaust survivor originally from Vișeu de Sus (Felsővisó in Hungarian, אויבערווישעווע in Yiddish), a shtetl in Transylvania (prewar Romania, Hungary during WWII, now Romania), discussing her life — before, during, and after the Holocaust. Itel was born into a Hassidic family, the Brettlers, who sold manufacturing materials. In 1940, Transylvania was taken over by Hungary. Among other changes, her school days were ended. In the spring of 1944, the Germans occupied Hungary, and soon after she and her family were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. She, her mother, and two sisters were among the few survivors from her large extended family. After the war, she endured years of recovery from Tuberculosis in a sanitarium in France. She eventually married and moved to Bogota, Colombia, where she raised her family. After her children began to attend Yeshivas in New York, she and her family relocated there. She now lives in Manhattan.We reached Itel for this interview by phone on June 6, 2024. For more information, see also Itel's 1988 interview with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Thanks to Reb Yisrael Brettler, coproducer of this episode, who is also Itel's first cousin once removed.
Music:
Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzAir Date: June 19, 2024
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This week, Yiddish poetry lovers are in for a treat: an interview with Sarah Traister Moskowitz with her reading of poems in the collection „דאָס ליד איז געבליבן“ ("The Song Remains") along with her English translations. Sarah is the translator of the collection of poems Dos Lid is Geblibn, or The Song Remains, on the new website thesongremains.org, an anthology of Yiddish poems with English translations from the Nazi German occupation of Poland. The collection is taken from the book of the same name in Yiddish, edited by Binem Heller and originally published in Poland in 1951. In the interview Sarah talks about her life and her connections to Yiddish, the Holocaust, and this collection of poetry. She also reads three of the poems from the collection in Yiddish along with her English translation:
Kapital (Das Kapital) -Sh. ZhirmanAktualie (Actually) -Misha TroyanovLodzh (Łódź) -M. GoldshteynSarah worked for years with child-Holocaust-survivors in Los Angeles and helped produce the book How We Survived: 52 Personal Stories by Child Survivors of the Holocaust, including writing its forward, which she reads from in the Interview. Read more about Sarah Moskovitz at the new website: https://thesongremains.org/translator-sarah-traister-moskovitz/
Also on this week's show: Miriam Libenson ז״ל's presentation for Lag B'Oymer from our archive (originally recorded and aired in the 1990's). Miriam was a poet in her own right, whose poetry often graced our airwaves, as well as such publications as דער טאָג-מאָרגן-דשורנאָל and פּיאָנערן פֿרויען (Der Tog-Morgn-Dzhurnal and Pionern-Froyen).
Music/recordings:
Sarah Gorby: Zog Nit KeynmolRaasche: Arum Dem FayerTova Ben-Zvi: Lag-B'OimerWolf Krakowski: Yeder Ruft Mikh ZiameleWolf Krakowski: VarsheIntro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzAir date: May 22, 2024
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This week we have a new interview with Marvin Zuckerman, who grew up in the Yiddish-speaking milieu of Jewish Labor Bund in Bronx, New York. He became a professor of English at a Los Angeles college and created the well-regarded Yiddish primer Learning Yiddish in Easy Stages and several other books in the field of Yiddish. He translated from the Yiddish the memoir of the prominent Bundist Bernard Goldstein (Twenty Years with the Jewish Labor Bund: A Memoir of Interwar Poland, Perdue University Press, 2016). In the interview he talks about his childhood in his secular-socialist-Yiddishist milieu of the 1930's and 40's; about Bundism's history and place in Jewish history; the bundist perspective, past and present, and in contrast to Communism and Zionism; about his translation of Bernard Goldstein's Bundist memoir; about teaching Yiddish and his Yiddish-language primer; and about Yiddish language and culture generally. The interview was conducted at Zuckerman's home in Pacific Pallisades, CA, on February 22, 2024.
Music/recordings:
Klepfisch Folkskhor: Di Shvue (anthem of the Jewish Labor Bund)Lazar Weiner and Workmen's Circle Chorus: Di ShvueIntro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzAir date: May 15, 2024
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This week we observe Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day) talking with Mike Burstyn, Miriam Trinh, Eli Sharfstein and Avremi Zaks.
Mike Burstyn is a distinguished actor and singer known for his roles in Yiddish, Hebrew, and English theater and film across Israeli, American, and international stages. Recently, he starred in the German comedy drama The Zweiflers, awarded Best Series at the 7th annual Canneseries festival in April 2024. Burstyn first gained prominence in Israel as a child actor with his family's troupe, The Four Bursteins, and later through significant roles in The Megillah of Itzik Manger (1965) and Two Kuni Lemel (1966).
Miriam Trinh is the editor-in-chief of Afn Shvel, teaching Yiddish language and literature at Hebrew University and online platforms like Workers Circle and YIVO. She has written for the Yiddish Forward (Forverts), including the interview with Tzili Venkert described on our show and a recent article published post-show, "לכּבֿוד יום-הזכּרון זאָל דער געדענק־פּלאַקאַט פֿון קיבוץ בארי נישט לאָזן פֿאַרגעסן." Trinh moved to Israel after high school and resides in Jerusalem with her family.
Eli Sharfstein is a contemporary poet and writer living in the Israeli kibbutz Ma’agan Michael. Born in Vilna and moved to Israel in 1972, he is a veteran of the Yom Kippur war. He has published two books of Yiddish poems, פּלוצעם ייִדיש and מײַן ווילנער זאַוווּליק.
Avremi Zaks the host and producer of the weekly Israeli Yiddish radio program "Kan Yidish." He was born in Israel and lives in Jerusalem with his wife and children.
Links mentioned in this episode:
Beit HaLochem (Los Angeles): https://www.israeliwoundedveterans.orgThe Zweiflers TV series starring Mke Burstyn, home pageLeague for Yiddish: https://leagueforyiddish.orgAfn Shvel Issue #400-401 at League for YiddishYiddish Forward (Forverts): https://forward.com/yiddish/Forverts Article on Interview with Tzili Venkert, grandmother of hostage Omar Venkert Yiddish Branzhe: https://yiddishbranzhe.comKan Yiddish (כאן יידיש) archive (Avremi Zaks's Yiddish radio show)Music/recordings:
Dovid Esheth: Yerusholayim Shtot fun GoldM... -
This week, for Yom HaShoah, which falls this year on May 6, we present past interviews with survivors of the Holocaust in Hungary as we mark the deportation of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz in the spring of 1944, 80 years ago. After a brief intro and announcement of Boston's 2024 community Hazkure, we hear:
Mel Mermelstein ז״ל
We had a short but memorable interview with Mel in 2008. Mel lived in Munkacs until May 1944, when he was deported to Aushwitz. He passed away in January 2022 at age 95. See also: Mel Mermelstein Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_MermelsteinZoli Langer and Rokhl Zicherman: repeat of our 2020 Yom HaShoah broadcast: Zoli lived in Ungvar and Rokhl in Tybava until they were deported to Auschwitz in the spring of 1944. A long interview of Zoli is presented with a short interlude of Rokhl singing songs about the Holocaust. Both were interviewed in 2019 and currently (2024) reside in the Los Angeles area.
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This week, Pesach greetings and words of wisdom from Rabbi Yitzchok-Boruch Teitelbaum, Rabbi Moshe Kesselman, and Holocaust survivor Naftali (Tuli) Deutsch, as well as greetings from many of our cohosts, friends, and sponsors, as follows:
Israel Book Shop (Eli Dovek ז״ל recorded Mar 28 2007)American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston (member and Holocaust survivor Tania Lefman, and member and Holocaust survivor Mary Erlich), co-sponsor of Boston's 2024 In-Person and Virtual Community Holocaust Commemoration of Yom HaShoah, Sunday, May 5, 2024, at 10:30 AM Eastern. (Registration required.)League for Yiddish, New York, NY, (Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath, Chair of the Board)Leah Shporer-Leavitt, Newton, MA, co-host of The Yiddish Voice / דאָס ייִדישע קולDovid Braun, Leonia, NJ, co-host of The Yiddish Voice / דאָס ייִדישע קולYankele Bodo, Tel Aviv, Israel, actor and singer (from 2016)Eli Grodko, New Millford, NJ, friend of the show Boston Workers Circle, Brookline, MA (Yiddish committee member Linda (Libe-Reyzl) Gritz)We wish all our cohosts, sponsors, and friends a Happy and Kosher Pesach.
מיר ווינטשן אַלע אונדזערע אונטערשטיצער, פֿרײַנד און באַטייליקטע אַ פֿריילעכן און כּשרן פּסח
Links for this episode:
JCRC Boston's registration for Yom Hahoah 2024: jcrcboston.org/register-for-yom-hashoah-2024Israel Book Shop: israelbookshop.comRabbie Moshe Kesselman's Neros Lehoir website: neroslehoir.orgLeague for Yiddish: leagueforyiddish.orgBoston Workers Circle: circleboston.orgMusic:
Malavsky Family: Ho Lakhmo Anyo and Fir KashesMoyshe Oisher: Dayenu, Chad Gadyo, and Kiddush for PesachIntro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzAir date: April 17, 2024
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This week, Cantor Herschel Fox, long-time chazzan at Valley Beth Shalom Synagogue in Los Angeles and veteran of the Cantorial world as well as the Yiddish stage, and even Yiddish radio. The interview is filled with stories and anecdotes covering many aspects of his life and his illustrious career, including close working relationships with such legends as Molly Picon, Cantor Dovid Koussevitzky, and many others. He also treats us to many insights into Yiddish song and khazones, with many demonstrations featuring his still-strong voice, with wonderful musical phrasing and beautiful Yiddish and Hebrew diction.
The interview was recorded at the home of Herschel and Judy Fox on Mar. 21, 2024. Special thanks to Judy Fox for audio technical assistance.
Links related to Cantor Fox:
Honorary Doctorate fitting cap to cantorial career of Herschel Fox", article in Canada's Jewish Post and NewsJudy & Herschel Fox at FAU Sound Archive, digitized versions of commercial recordings of Herschel Fox, as well as his wife, fellow cantor, Judy FoxHerschel Fox's Oral History, interview by Christa Whitney from 2018 for the Wexler Oral History Project of Yiddish Book CenterMusic:
Moshe Koussevitzky: Sheyiboneh Beys HamikdoshHerschel Fox: Sheyiboneh Beys HamikdoshHerschel Fox: Dem Milners TrernHerschel Fox: Abi GezuntIntro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing WaltzAir Date: April 10, 2024
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