Aaron Lansky, who rescued 1.5 million Yiddish books and founded the Yiddish Book Center, is retiring
He went looking for Yiddish books as a grad student. He ended up saving a whole world of literature, language and culture
Yiddish Book Center
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Forverts in English Magnificent permanent exhibit opens at Amherst’s Yiddish Book Center
Among the many displays are a 1918 Yiddish linotype press and a replica of the great Yiddish writer Y.L. Peretz’s study in Warsaw
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Culture At a Yiddish music festival in bucolic Massachusetts, tradition is everything — and nothing
I attended Yidstock's 10th anniversary and found klezmer puns, folk dance flourishes and closed-toed sandals galore.
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Forverts in English Steven ‘Shmuel’ Spielberg’s epic contribution to Yiddish culture
On December 18, iconic film director Steven Spielberg, will turn 75. No doubt, admirers of his work round the world will mark the event by watching some of his greatest movies, including “The Color Purple”, “Jaws” and “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”. Others will return to movie theatres after a long plague-driven break, to catch his newest…
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Culture How classic Yiddish tales are being brought back to life — and in English too!
David Forman’s newest book is an old one. Rich with tales of giants, the Tudor court and highwaymen besieging a humble Jewish village, “The Clever Little Tailor” is the first English translation and bilingual edition of Yiddish writer Solomon Simon’s 1933 collection of stories about Shnayderl the tailor. The book is noteworthy for having the…
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Culture With a New Director, Klezkanada Looks to the Future
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. Since its founding in 1996, more than 10,000 people have attended Klezkanada, the annual festival of Jewish culture and Klezmer music held in Quebec’s Laurentian mountains. Despite Klezkanada’s ambitious scale (besides music it features theatrical workshops, Yiddish classes, creative writing seminars and concerts), the organization never had…
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Forverts in English Fyvush Finkel Tells His Grandfather’s Best Joke
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. The legendary actor Fyvush Finkel, who got his start in Yiddish theater and later made the transition to the English stage and television, died a little over a year ago. The last surviving star of the heyday of America’s Yiddish theater, he was still performing only weeks…
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The Schmooze Yiddish Book Center to Receive National Award
A version of this post appeared in Yiddish [here.][1] On April 24 Yiddish Book Center founder and president Aaron Lansky announced that his organization will receive the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The award will be presented by First Lady Michelle Obama in a ceremony at the White House on May 8. The…
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