Sholem Aleichem in America
Image by Riverside Films
By Ezra Glinter, Nate LaveyJune 30, 2011
Though Sholem Aleichem is widely known for his depictions of Eastern European shtetl life, the famed Yiddish writer spent a number of years living and writing in America. In a new documentary titled “Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness,” director Joseph Dorman details the life of Sholem Aleichem, from his early successes to his many, painful failures.
After first coming to America in 1906, Sholem Aleichem returned to Europe disheartened, having failed to find success in the Yiddish theater. But only a few years later he returned and found work as a columnist for the Yiddish newspaper Der Tog. Sholem Aleichem’s death and funeral in 1916 was occasioned by a massive outpouring of grief and was a major event in the development of American Jewish identity. The Forward met with Dorman on Manhattan’s Lower East Side to discuss the difficult, but fruitful years Sholem Aleichem spent living in America.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
