Shalom Aleichem and the History of Yiddish Literature Dr. Henry Abramson
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- Опубликовано: 18 апр 2012
- Jewish history lecture by Dr. Henry Abramson on Shalom Aleichem, one of the most prominent Yiddish writers of the late 19th-early 20th century. Part of the Jewish Biography as History lecture series at www.henryabramson.com.
Absolutely fascinating
Thank you! Could you please do more things about Yiddish?
Dr. Abramson I want to thank you very for putting your lectures up online. I have read your book, A Prayer For Government, and it was very informative for my graduate studies in the Ukrainian-Jewish inter-ethnic relationship. I have a question on regards to Sholem Aleichem, since Sholem was born in the Poltava guberinia is it reasonable to assume that he probably had a knowledge of the Ukrainian language or Surzhyk?
Excellent, thank you!
You're very welcome!
Sholem! I've been enjoying several of these lectures, learning so much; so, a groissn dank!
Just one minor point: צאינה וראינה "GO OUT n see" is from Song of Songs, not Proverbs. "Come n see" is the zoharic תא חזי.
Also, to nicely tie together the two ends of the lecture: The main street of Birobidzhan is named after Sholem Aleichem.
Again,
Sholem
Mr.Abramson(or anyone else) can you please tell me which book of S.Aleichem should i buy. I saw that there are three in Amazon. Which is the best? Are there any other books in English about eastern Europe Jewish life before the 1917 revolution?
Sholom Aleichem's autobiography, From the Fair, is now available as an eBook from Plunkett Lake Press.
I wonder...are there many people in Israel who can speak Yiddish(and Ladino) ?
To avoid the Wikipedia syndrome, I watched another video on Yiddish before watching yours. Both were informative to me because my previous knowledge of the language was limited to Billy Crystal and Brooklyn Jewish until yesterday.
Both lectures were criticized by the same linguist who even claimed the rabbi who spoke in the previous video was a self-hating Jew. Since I'm a "Gentile," I would suspect I missed something subtle, but I've watched too many of your videos and heard too much in how you both appreciate your Jewish backgrounds to accept the criticism as more than petty.
I heard you use the term "creole" in your talk and found nothing critical in its use. As you spoke, it seemed like Yiddish is much like English in how it freely borrows from other languages.
These two lectures have shown me that Yiddish did progress beyond the status of creole because quite late, scholars and writers determined to "put it in writing" - to preserve what had been an oral tradition for centuries. I guess English could have been considered creole for awhile after the Norman Invasion.
Just wanted to thank you again for an informative, good humored lecture. I've never heard you criticize Wikipedia, but I got the sense from early comments of yours that you encourage us to consult other sources. And I get the same sense that your lectures are meant to encourage us to look further if not deeper at the topics you discuss. To me, the scholarship you display and your references are sufficient, but at least your humility comes through and you never portray yourself as the "ultimate and definitive source." Maybe it's a Jewish thing, on your part, but I so appreciate it.