Dos Yiddish Kol

This show features an interview with Efraim (Froyim) Kessler, who, at age 105, is the oldest person ever interviewed on The Yiddish Voice. In the interview Kessler, who was born in Bilgoray, Poland, in 1916, recalls various aspects of his youth, including encounters with the Nobel Prize-winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer and Rabbi Aharon Rokeach, the Belzer Rebbe. He also recalls surviving the Spanish flu. (We learned after the interview that he also survived Covid-19.)

Efraim Kieslowicz was born and raised in Bilgoray (Polish spelling: Biłgoraj) on July 27, 1916, one of nine siblings. His father was a rabbi and also ran a grain mill and grocery store. He became an electrician in prewar Poland. He spent the war years in various places in the Soviet Union, including Chukotka in the Russian Far East and Samarkand and Tashkent in Uzbekistan. After the war, he spent several years in a DP camp in Ebensee, Austria. He arrived in the USA in 1952, spending several years in New York and elsewhere before arriving in Los Angeles, where he has lived until now. Along the way, he anglicized his name to be Fred Kessler. In 1960, he started his own electrical contracting business, Fred Kessler Electric, later called Robert Kessler Electric when his son took over the business. He was for decades a member of the shtibl known as "Rabbi Moskovitz's shul" on Fairfax St. in Los Angeles, and has been a member of Young Israel of Los Angeles for over 40 years. He now resides with his son Michael in Los Angeles. The interview took place in September 2021.

Also on tonight's show, Kolya Borodulin, director of Yiddish Programming at Workers Circle in New York, talks about the upcoming virtual program, Vinter in Yidishland. We'll also hear the Yiddish Voice debut of a new Yiddish version of the Dolly Parton song Jolene, performed by the Israeli singer and actress Ronit Asheri. Finally, to observe Tu Bishvat, which fell two days ago, from our archives: Miriam Libenson Z"L: a talk in honor of the holiday Tu Bishvat, the holiday of the trees, originally broadcast in 1994, followed by music related to Tu Bishvat and/or to trees, generally.

• Music:
  • Ronit Asheri: Jolene (Music and original English lyrics by Dolly Parton, Yiddish lyrics by Leyzer Burko)
  • Victor Berezinsky: Tu Bishvat
  • Ruth Levin: A Hoykher Boym (Lyrics Shike Driz, Music by Leibu Levin)
  • Hilda Bronstein: Afn Veg Shteyt A Boym (Lyrics by Itzik Manger)
  • Dudu Fisher: Unter Beymer (Lyrics by Alexander Olshanetsky, Music by Moishe Oysher)
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air date: January 19, 2022

This show is a special Shloyshim program in memory of Israel (Izzy) Arbeiter ז״ל, Holocaust survivor and founder and former long-time president of the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston, who passed away Oct. 29, 2021, at the age of 96. This show is sponsored by The American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston and Descendants.

The first part features remarks in memory of Izzy, while the second contains excerpts of his recordings for The Yiddish Voice.

Remarks:

• Janet Stein Calm, President The American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston and Descendants (with remarks read in Yiddish by Dovid Braun);

• Tania Lefman, Holocaust survivor, long-time friend of Arbeiter's, and treasurer of the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston;

• Rabbi Moshe Waldoks of Temple Beth Zion, Boston, who officiated at Arbeiter's funeral; and

• Dovid Braun, a co-host of The Yiddish Voice and director of the YIVO Yiddish Summer Program

Recordings of Izzy Arbeiter for The Yiddish Voice:

• excerpt of Izzy's interview in 2005 discussing early life and family in Plock, Poland;
• excerpt of Izzy's interview in 2019 discussing one episode of nearly miraculous survival in 1942 in the midst of the Holocaust;
• excerpt of Izzy's interview in 1995 discussing the opening of the New England Holocaust Memorial and his personal history as a survivor;
• excerpt of Izzy's greeting for Passover in 2020 (recorded March 31, 2020)

Music:

• Shimon Yisraeli: Zog Nit Keyn Mol (lyrics: Shmerke Kaczerginski)
• Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air date: December 8, 2021

• David Forman and Jordan Kutzik are interviewed about the recently published children's book The Clever Little Tailor/דאָס קלוגע שנײַדערל. The book was written by Solomon (Shloyme) Simon and originally published in the 1930's. This new edition of the book features a translation into English side by side with the Yiddish original. David Forman, the author's grandson, did the English translation. Jordan Kutzik, who is also chairman of the Yugntruf - Youth for Yiddish organization, led the project to publish this book. For additional info on the book, visit: https://yiddishchildrensbooks.com/products/the-clever-little-tailor-by-solomon-simon
• The interview is 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/outro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

The Yiddish Voice/דאָס ייִדישע קול lost a great friend. Izzy Arbeiter passed away this past Friday, Oct 29 2021, at the age of 96. To mark this sad loss, we are replaying our 2005 interview that was led by our late cohost Iosif Lakhman.

See also:

• Boston Globe: Israel Arbeiter, 96, Holocaust survivor who believed ‘there is never enough remembering’
• Forward: Remembering Izzy Arbeiter, the Holocaust survivor honored by Germany, by Linda Madchan
• Legacy.com obituary: ISRAEL "IZZY" ARBEITER

Music:

• Anna Monka: Zog Nit Keymol (The late singer, a former member of the famed Bielski partisans, recorded this song, also known as Partizaner Lid, exclusively for The Yiddish Voice in 2009.)
• Wolf Krakowski:Yeder Ruft Mikh Zhamele
• Wolf Krakowski: Varshe
• Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Sosye Fox (Sandy Fox) of Vaybertaytsh interviews Meyer Dovid (Mark David), host of The Yiddish Voice / דאָס ייִדישע קון, and vice versa. Thanks to In Geveb for putting this together. See also/related:

• Yiddish Podcasts in Conversation: Vaybertaytsh and Dos Yidishe Kol -- article about this interview in In geveb
• Episode 59: ?דער ייִדישער פּאָדקאַסט – װוּהין | The Yiddish Podcast Today /October 13, 2021 -- version of the same interview for the Vaybertaytsh / װײַבערטײַטש Podcast
• This feels very meta. In a great way. -- Tweet by Miriam Udel

Music:

• Ladytron: Blue Jeans (Vaybertaytsh intro, excerpt)
• Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air date: October 13, 2021

• Recorded at Yugntruf's Yidish-Vokh in Copake, NY, in August 2021: Ruth Kohn, Libby Pollak and Dovid Braun telling jokes in Yiddish

• Best of Rosh Hashona - Announcements and well-wishes for the new year from sponsors and friends and a High Holidays mix of recent and past audio highlights. Enjoy!

  • Eli Dovek, proprietor of Israel Book Shop (from 2009)
  • Holocaust survivors Tania Lefman and Mary Ehrlich, on behalf of the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors (AAJHS) of Greater Boston. Note: the annual Hazkore (Holocaust Memorial) will be virtual only at 11 AM on Sun Sep 12 at 11 AM; for details, consult JCRC Boston.
  • Sholem Beinfeld, cohost of the Yiddish Voice and co-chief editor of Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary
  • Dovid Braun, cohost of the Yiddish Voice and Academic Director of [YIVO Summer Program] (https://summerprogram.yivo.org/)
  • Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath, chair of the board of the The League for Yiddish/די ייִדיש-ליגע
  • Cheryl Moore/Moore Family/Cheryl Ann's Bakery
  • Leyzer Maimon, Holocaust survivor and Rabbi at Young Israel of Mill Basin, Brooklyn, NY (from 2020)
  • Motl Murstein, Holocaust survivor in Brookline, sings Afn Pripetshik and Hobn Mir a Nigndl (from 2019)
  • Hasia Segal ז"ל, late cofounder and cohost of the Yiddish Voice (from 2007)
  • Max Gelerman ז"ל, proprietor of The Butcherie (from 2005)
  • Iosif Lakhman ז"ל, late cohost of the Yiddish Voice (from 2007)
  • Avrom Cohen ז"ל chants Rosh Hashonah/Yom Kippur tefilas and talks about his life and about being a bal tefila (from 1997)
  • Mordkhe Schaechter ז"ל, late Yiddish scholar, discusses Yiddish-language idioms and greetings tied to holidays Rosh Hashonah, Yom Kippur, and Succos (from 1997)

• Music:

  • Cantor Simcha Koussevitzky: Zochreinu L'Chaim
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air date: September 1, 2021

Highlights:

• Zelda Polofsky, a Holocaust survivor from a shtetl near Vilna, interviewed by Dovid Braun, discussing her early life, both before and during the Holocaust.

• Announcements and well-wishes for the new year (Rosh Hashona) from sponsors and friends.

• Music:

  • Goldie Malavsky: Zochreinu L'Chayim
  • Shmuel Malavsky and Family: B'Rosh Hashonah"
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air date: August 25, 2021

Listen to the Yiddish Voice recorded live at the annual Yiddish Week (Yidish-Vokh) in Copake, NY, in the foothills of the Berkshire mountains. There, every year, the organization Yugntruf - Youth for Yiddish creates summer colony, where Yiddish-speaking people from all parts of the world gather each year to enjoy a week of summer vacation entirely in Yiddish. We played a game show-type game, listened to jokes told by Ruth Kohn, and heard a musical performance by the famed Schaechter-Tekhter duo (sisters Reyna and Temma Schaechter), accompanied on piano by their dad, the highly accomplished musical director and composer Ben (Binyumen) Schaechter. Guests on the show, in approximate order of appearance: Eli Grodko, Dovid Braun, Christa Whitney, Ruth Kohn, Yankl-Peretz Blum, Perl Teitelbaum, Meylekh Viswanath, Reyna Schaechter, Temma Schaechter, Binyumen Schaechter (piano), Isaac Bleaman.

In addition, we heard many announcements and well-wishes for the new year (Rosh Hashona) as well as some holiday music.

• Music:
  • Sholom Katz: Zochreinu L'Chayim
  • Theo Bikel: Di Yontevdike Teg
  • Leybele Waldman: Der Nayer Yor
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Special thanks to Yugntruf: visit yugntruf.org

Recording date: August 15, 2021 Air date: August 18, 2021

Interview with Hershl Hartman, discussing his work as a Yiddish journalist, an educator in secular Yiddish-oriented schools, and a translator from Yiddish to English. Hershl Hartman was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1929. He has been a leader at the Sholem Community in Los Angeles for more than fifty years, serving as Education Director/Vegvayzer since 1967. Between 1967 and 1985, he was also the school’s principal. Hartman holds degrees in Secular Jewish education and in Yiddish journalism. As a younger man, he became the first American-born Yiddish newspaper reporter, having written for the Morgen Freiheit when it was a New York City daily with a print run in the thousands. In recent years, he has worked as a professional translator from English to Yiddish, translating both literary works, including poetry, and personal documents and correspondence. His literary translation work has appeared in the online Yiddish studies journal In Geveb (https://ingeveb.org/people/hershl-hartman), and he contributed to the translation of the book The Jews of Felshtin (https://felshtin.org/). The interview was recorded via Zoom on July 9, 2021.

• Music:
  • Lillian Lux: Vashtis Kloglid (with Mike Burstyn as narrator; lyrics by Itzik Manger)
  • Chava Alberstein Rabeynu Tam (lyrics by Itzik Manger)
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air Date: July 28, 2021

From our archive: The Yiddish Voice from July 24 2013, with Gitu Cycowitz (Jerusalem) and Rabbi Shmuel Posner (Boston).

Air Date: July 21 2021 (originally aired July 24 2013)

Interview with Irene Zisblatt, who was one of the participants in the film The Last Days, released in 1998, about the Holocaust in Hungary. The Yiddish Voice spoke to Irene recently (late June 2021) via Zoom. Irene was born in Polena, Czechoslovakia, which was in Hungary during WWII and is now in Ukraine. Irene survived the Holocaust, including Auschwitz, as she describes in the film and to some degree in the interview. The film The Last Days, was originally released on DVD in 1998. It was rereleased in 2021 in a restored print on Blu-Ray disk and also through Netflix. Info:

• The Last Days (1998) on Netflix
• The Last Days (1998) Wikipedia page

From our archive: 2015 interview with Dovid Mermelstein, who died the previous day (Tuesday, July 6, 2021). The Yiddish Voice spoke to Dovid in Miami, FL, in August 2015 and aired the interview shortly thereafter. Dovid was born in Kivjazd, Czechoslovakia, which was in Hungary during WWII and is now in Ukraine. He survived the Holocaust, including Auschwitz and Ebensee. In recent decades, he was a leader of the survivors in the Miami, FL, area and an internationally known activist on behalf of survivors in order to get restitution from the US government for property looted from Hungarian Jews during the war, as well as serving as a vocal critic of the Claims Conference on behalf of his fellow survivors. Info:

• Times of Israel article: David Mermelstein, Holocaust survivor and restitution champion, dies at 92
• Miami Herald obituary (via Legacy.com): David Mermelstein 1928 - 2021
• Forward article: David Mermelstein, Holocaust survivor who fought Nazi-era insurance companies, dies at 92

• Music:
  • Cookie Segelstein (violin), Pete Sokolow (piano): Hora Serba (instrumental, excerpt)
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air Date: June 7, 2021

• Most of this week's show was taken up with the second part of our interview with Rachel Rojanski, discussing her book Yiddish in Israel: A History, published in English by Indiana University Press in 2020. The discussion is in Yiddish. Last week's show (May 26 2021) presented the first part of the discussion. The second part aired this week on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. Rachel Rojanski is Associate Professor of Judaic Studies at Brown University. She is author of Conflicting Identities: Labor Zionism in North America 1905-1931 (in Hebrew) as well as many articles on political and cultural history of East European Jewish immigrants in the U.S. and Israel. About the book (blurb):

  Yiddish in Israel: A History challenges the commonly held view that Yiddish was suppressed or even banned by Israeli authorities for ideological reasons, offering instead a radical new interpretation of the interaction between Yiddish and Israeli Hebrew cultures. Author Rachel Rojanski tells the compelling and yet unknown story of how Yiddish, the most widely used Jewish language in the pre-Holocaust world, fared in Zionist Israel, the land of Hebrew. (Additional publisher info here: https://iupress.org/9780253045140/yiddish-in-israel/)

• The interview was led by Sholem Beinfeld, professor of history emeritus at Washington University, St. Louis, and co-chief editor of the Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary.

• Also, from our archive we heard an excerpt of our 2016 interview with Gitl Shaechter-Viswanath and Hershl Glasser, editors of Comprehensive English-Yiddish Dictionary. (Interviewed by Dovid Braun and Iosif Lakhman ז״ל) Additional info here: https://englishyiddishdictionary.com

• To close, we aired a series of songs with words by the late poet Itzik Manger, whose 120th birthday was observed by lovers of Yiddish literature the world over this past Sunday, performed by various singers and musicians.

• Music:

  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz
  • Molly Picon and Simche Fostel: Yidl Mitn Fidl
  • Gadi Yagil: Di Elegye fun Fastrigose
  • Rosalie Gerut and Betty Silberman: Sarah's Lullabye and Hagar's Lament (Sores Viglid Hogers Kloglid)
  • Chava Alberstein: Dona Dona
  • Moyshe Oisher: Afn Veg Shteyt A Boym
  • Itzhak Perlman, Dov Seltzer, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: Afn Veg Shteyt A Boym (instrumental)

Air Date: June 3, 2021

• Most of this week's show was taken up with the first part of our interview with Rachel Rojanski, discussing her book Yiddish in Israel: A History, published in English by Indiana University Press in 2020. The discussion is in Yiddish. This week's show (May 26 2021) presented the first part of the discussion, with the second part set to air the following Wednesday, June 2, 2021 (and later be made available via podcast). Rachel Rojanski is Associate Professor of Judaic Studies at Brown University. She is author of Conflicting Identities: Labor Zionism in North America 1905-1931 (in Hebrew) as well as many articles on political and cultural history of East European Jewish immigrants in the U.S. and Israel. About the book (blurb):

  Yiddish in Israel: A History challenges the commonly held view that Yiddish was suppressed or even banned by Israeli authorities for ideological reasons, offering instead a radical new interpretation of the interaction between Yiddish and Israeli Hebrew cultures. Author Rachel Rojanski tells the compelling and yet unknown story of how Yiddish, the most widely used Jewish language in the pre-Holocaust world, fared in Zionist Israel, the land of Hebrew. (Additional publisher info here: https://iupress.org/9780253045140/yiddish-in-israel/)

• The interview was led by Sholem Beinfeld, professor of history emeritus at Washington University, St. Louis, and co-chief editor of the Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary.

• Also, we heard from Dovid Braun, Summer Program Academic Director at the Yivo Institute, giving an overview of the upcoming 2021 incarnation of the venerable Uriel Weinreich Summer Program in Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture. Info online here: https://summerprogram.yivo.org/

• Music:

  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz
  • Outro instrumental music: Itzhak Perlman, Dov Seltzer, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: Afn Veg Shteyt A Boym

Air Date: May 26, 2021

• Online Concert Announcement: May 15, 2021: Arbeter Ring's A Besere Velt chorus with special guests - see: https://www.circleboston.org/abetterworld
• Avremi Zaks, Jerusalem-based radio journalist and host of Israel's weekly Yiddish radio show Kan Yiddish, speaks about recent news in Israel, including the latest war and the Miron tragedy this past Lag Baomer.
• Rav Izchak Kin talks about the Shavuos holiday (from our archive, originally recorded and aired in 2017).
• Music:
  • Louis Danto: Shavuos Iz Gekumen
  • Lori Cahan-Simon and Michael Alpert: Peysekh Avek
  • Cindy Paley: Shvues
  • Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman: Shvues-Lid
  • Moshe Kusevitsky: Korutz M'chomer
  • Louis Danto: Shabbos, Yontev un Rosh Chodesh
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air Date: May 12, 2021

• Interview with developers of the Yiddish course on the language-learning app Duolingo: Meena Viswanath, brothers Isac Polasak and Israel Polasak; Sholem; and Yosi (@MudnerParshoyn on Twitter). The interview was recorded on April 11, 2021, over Zoom and is entirely in Yiddish. Participating in the interview are historian Prof. Sholem Beinfeld, along with regular host Mark David. For more info, here are several links:

  • Home page of Duolingo
  • Duolingo's Yiddish course announcement
  • Forverts article in Yiddish: ייִדיש־„דואָלינגאָ‟ דיאַלעקטן־קשיא רופֿט אַרויס טיפֿן אינטערעס

• Miriam Libenson z"l: a talk on the Holiday Lag Ba'Omer by our dear late collaborator, from our archive, originally recorded and aired on May 24, 2000.

• Music:

  • Martele Friedman: Afn Pripetshik
  • Tova Ben-Zvi: Arum Dem Fayer
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Extended version of interview with Miriam Trinh, which was shortened due to time limitations on the original broadcast.

Extended version of interview with Avremi Zaks, which was shortened due to time limitations on the original broadcast.

We observe יום העצמאותּ Yom Haatsmaut with three guests who all currently reside in Jerusalem, Israel:

• Mrs. Gisel (Gitu) Cycowicz, Auschwitz survivor originally from Chust, Czechoslovakia, discussing her personal history and reflections on this year's Yom Hazikaron/Yom Haatsmaut.
• Avremi Zaks is the host of Kan Yiddish, which is sponsored by the National Authority for Yiddish Culture in Israel (https://www.yiddish-rashutleumit.co.il/), and which is broadcast in Israel on public radio at frequencies 104.9 FM and 105.3 FM every Friday at 4 p.m. and on 101.5 FM at midnight from Saturday to Sunday. Audio archives of the Kan Yiddish radio show can be accessed online here: https://www.kan.org.il/radio/program.aspx/?progid=1136 See also their Facebook group: Yiddish Radio ייִדיש ראַדיאָ. Note: shortened due to time constraints —the full-length interview will be released presently as a bonus podcast.
• Dr. Miriam Trinh is Editor-in-Chief of Afn Shvel, organ of the League for Yiddish (ייִדיש-ליגע) and a lecturer in Yiddish language and literature at Hebrew University in Israel, as well as at various intensive Yiddish programs internationally. In 2018 she and her husband Eliezer Niborski jointly created a new center for Yiddish culture in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv called יאָ (“yes”) — ייִדיש-אָרט (Place for Yiddish). Featuring Sholem Beinfeld as interviewer. Note: shortened due to time constraints —the full-length interview will be released presently as a bonus podcast.
• Music:
  • Dovid Eshet: Yerusholayim Shtot fun Gold (lyrics and music by Naomi Shemer)
  • Dovid Eshet: Yerusholayim Shtot fun Ayzn /Yorusholayim Shal Barzel (lyrics: Meir Ariel, Music: Naomi Shemer)
  • Dudu Fisher: Vu Ahin Zol Ikh Geyn (lyrics: Igor S. Korntayer)

Air date: April 14 2021

In this show we observe Yom HaShoah with part 2 of a fantastic new interview with Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter, discussing his experiences as a boy growing up in Lodz, Poland, later relocating to Warsaw, surviving the Warsaw Ghetto as well as deportation to the Majdanek death camp. This week's show the second part of the discussion, with the first part having aired the previous Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Pinchas Gutter is well known as a Holocaust survivor, and frequently serves as a speaker and educator in various forums around the world. He was the first survivor to create a lifelike hologram of himself for the USC Shoah Foundation's Dimensions in Testimony project. For more info on Pinchas Gutter visit:

• Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinchas_Gutter
• Shoah Foundation Page: https://sfi.usc.edu/survivor/pinchas-gutter

We also played an extended selection of Holocaust-related songs as part of today's broadcast.

• Music:
  • Shimon Yisraeli: Zog Nit Keyn Mol
  • Avrom Brun: Vos Darfn Mir Veynen
  • Chava Alberstein: Friling
  • Avrom Brun: Shtiler, Shtiler
  • Margaret (Martele) Friedman: Es Brent
  • Chava Alberstein: Unter Dayne Vayse Shtern
  • Henry Sapoznik: Itzik Vitnberg
  • Dudu Fisher: Vu Ahin Zol Ikh Geyn
  • Adrienne Cooper: Shtiler, Shtiler
  • Michael Alpert: S'Iz Geven a Zumertog
  • David Waletzky: Yisrolik
  • Josh Waletzky: Yid, Du Partizaner
  • Josh Waletzky: Shtil Di Nakht
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air Date: April 7, 2021

In this show we finish out Pesach and transition to Yom HaShoah with a fantastic new interview with Holocaust survivor Pinchas Gutter, discussing his experiences as a boy growing up in Lodz, Poland, later relocating to Warsaw, surviving the Warsaw Ghetto as well as deportation to the Majdanek death camp. This week's show presents the first part of the discussion, with the second part airing the following Wednesday, April 7, 2021. Pinchas Gutter is well known as a Holocaust survivor, and frequently serves as a speaker and educator in various forums around the world. He was the first survivor to create a lifelike hologram of himself for the USC Shoah Foundation's Dimensions in Testimony project. For more info on Pinchas Gutter visit:

• Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinchas_Gutter
• Shoah Foundation Page: https://sfi.usc.edu/survivor/pinchas-gutter

• Happy Passover! א כשרן און געזונטן פסח!

• Happy Passover and thanks to friends, participants, and sponsors of this show:

  • Israel Book Shop https://www.israelbookshop.com/ (Eli Dovek recorded Mar 28 2007)
  • The Butcherie https://www.butcherie.com/ (Max Gelerman ז״ל recorded Mar 28 2007)
  • Cheryl Ann's Bakery http://cherylannsbakery.com/
  • AAJHS of Greater Boston http://www.generationsafterboston.org/ (Mary Erlich recorded Mar 17 2021)
  • Leah Shporer-Leavitt, Boston (recorded Mar 17 2021)

• Music:

  • Meshugga Beach Party: Dayenu
  • Malavsky Sisters: Tayere Malke
  • Moishe Oysher: Eliahu Hanovi
  • Sholom Katz: Mole Rachamim
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air Date: March 31, 2021

• Happy Passover! א כשרן און געזונטן פסח!
• Happy Passover and thanks to friends, participants, and sponsors of this show:
  • Israel Book Shop https://www.israelbookshop.com/ (Eli Dovek recorded Mar 28 2007)
  • The Butcherie https://www.butcherie.com/ (Max Gelerman ז״ל recorded Mar 28 2007)
  • Cheryl Ann's Bakery http://cherylannsbakery.com/
  • AAJHS of Greater Boston http://www.generationsafterboston.org/ (Mary Erlich recorded Mar 17 2021)
  • Leah Shporer-Leavitt, Boston (recorded Mar 17 2021)
  • Gitu Cycowicz, Jerusalem (recorded Mar 17 2021)
  • Sholem Beinfeld, Cambridge, MA (recorded Mar 23 2021)
  • Esti Shnek, Haifa (recorded Mar 24 2021)
  • Dovid Braun, Leonia, NJ (recorded Apr 1 2020)
  • Motl Murstein, Los Angeles (recorded Apr 7 2020)
• Interviews
  • Mrs. Gisel (Gitu) Cycowicz (part 2), Holocaust survivor originally from Chust, Czechoslovakia, discussing her personal history and current doings today in Israel erev Pesach.
  • Mrs. Esti Shnek (nee Jahr) Holocaust survivor originally from Jasina, Czechoslovakia, discussing her personal history and current doings today in Israel erev Pesach.
• Also featuring extended remarks on Pesach by
  • Sholem Beinfeld, midway through the first hour. Prof. Beinfeld is cohost of The Yiddish Voice, co-editor-in-chief of Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary, and Professor Emeritus of history at Washington University in St. Louis.
  • Dovid Braun, from 2020, in middle of 2nd half-hour. Braun is YIVO Summer Program Academic Director and co-president of the Sholem Aleichem Cultural Center (Bronx, NY).
• Music:
  • Meshugga Beach Party: Dayenu
  • Malavsky Family: Ho Lakhmo Anyo and Fir Kashes
  • Moishe Oysher: Chad Gadyo
  • Richard Tucker: Tal Bo
  • Richard Tucker: Tal Tein
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air Date: March 24, 2021

• Happy Passover! א כשרן און געזונטן פסח!
• Happy Passover and thanks to friends, participants, and sponsors of this show:
  • Israel Book Shop https://www.israelbookshop.com/ (Eli Dovek recorded Mar 28 2007)
  • The Butcherie https://www.butcherie.com/ (Max Gelerman ז״ל recorded Mar 28 2007)
  • Cheryl Ann's Bakery http://cherylannsbakery.com/
  • AAJHS of Greater Boston http://www.generationsafterboston.org/ (Mary Erlich recorded Mar 17 2021)
  • Leah Shporer-Leavitt, Boston (recorded Mar 17 2021)
  • Gitu Cycowicz, Jerusalem (recorded Mar 17 2021)
  • Rabbi Moshe Kesselman, Los Angeles (recorded Mar 17 2021)
• Interviews
  • Rabbi Moshe Kesselman talks about various topics regarding this year's Pesach.
  • Mrs. Gisel (Gitu) Cycowicz (part 1), Holocaust survivor originally from Chust, Czechoslovakia, discussing her personal history and current doings today in Israel erev Pesach.
• Music:
  • Barry Sisters: Passover Medley
  • Meshugga Beach Party: Dayenu
  • Sidor Belarsky: In Dem Land Fun Piramidn
  • Sidor Belarsky: Der Seyder
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air Date: March 17, 2021

Interview (part 2) with Mike Burstyn, discussing the recently released stream of Megillah Cycle, which premiered February 21. The first part aired the previous Wednesday, February 24, 2021.

Burstyn directed Megillah Cycle and performed three of its roles. The show is his adaptation of Itzik Manger’s famed Megile-Lider (Poems of the Megillah), a book published in Warsaw in 1936 as a playfully anachronistic version of the Book of Esther and the traditional Purim-shpil. Burstyn's connection to this material is long and deep, having begun his career as a child actor in the famed Burstein family of Yiddish singers and actors who staged the original Megillah of Itzik Manger, a Yiddish-language musical that became an overnight sensation in Israel in the 1960s, and eventually came to Broadway. From that success Burstyn went on to stardom in Israeli film and TV/film/theater internationally in English, Hebrew, Yiddish and other languages, as well as being a singer with a great many recordings to his credit, also in English, Yiddish, Hebrew and other languages. For more info on Mike Burstyn, visit: https://www.mikeburstyn.com

Besides Burstyn, the cast of Megillah Cycle features Shane Baker (Tevye Served Raw), Yidlife Crisis performers Eli Batalion (Stage Fright) and Jamie Elman (California Dreamin’), Avi Hoffman (Too Jewish?), Daniel Kahn (Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish), Lia Koenig (Shtisel), Noah Mitchel (My Favorite Year), Eleanor Reissa (Those Were the Days), Joshua Reuben (Shakespeare in Yiddish), Allen Lewis Rickman (A Serious Man), Yelena Shmulenson (Orange Is the New Black), and Suzanne Toren (From Door to Door).

The streamed production of Megillah Cycle, presented in Yiddish with English-subtitled translation, also features interspersed English rhymes written by the late Joe Darion (Man of La Mancha). Original artwork is by Adam Whiteman, with music, editing and technical supervision by Uri Schreter. It was produced by Shane Baker, executive director of the Congress for Jewish Culture. For more information and to view the stream, visit CongressforJewishCulture.org.

Participating in the interview are historian Prof. Sholem Beinfeld and Yiddish scholar Dovid Braun, along with regular host Mark David.

• Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz
• Other music:
  • Soundtrack excerpts from Megillah Cycle, composed by Uri Schreter, featuring Abigale Reisman on violin
  • Mike Burstyn:Fastrigoses Elegye, from The Megillah of Itzik Manger (Israeli cast album)
  • Mike Burstyn: Flits Feygele, from The Megillah of Itzik Manger (Israeli cast album)
  • Cast:Gevald, from The Megillah of Itzik Manger (Israeli cast album)
  • Mike Burstyn and Cast: Di Goldene Pave, from The Megillah of Itzik Manger (Israeli cast album)
  • Lillian Lux: Fastrigoses Mame, from The Megillah of Itzik Manger (Israeli cast album)

Air date: March 3, 2021

אַ פֿריילעכן פּורים!

Interview (part 1) with Mike Burstyn, discussing the recently released stream of Megillah Cycle, which premiered February 21. The second part will be airing the following Wednesday, March 3, 2021.

Burstyn directed Megillah Cycle and performed three of its roles. The show is his adaptation of Itzik Manger’s famed Megile-Lider (Poems of the Megillah), a book published in Warsaw in 1936 as a playfully anachronistic version of the Book of Esther and the traditional Purim-shpil. Burstyn's connection to this material is long and deep, having begun his career as a child actor in the famed Burstein family of Yiddish singers and actors who staged the original Megillah of Itzik Manger, a Yiddish-language musical that became an overnight sensation in Israel in the 1960s, and eventually came to Broadway. From that success Burstyn went on to stardom in Israeli film and TV/film/theater internationally in English, Hebrew, Yiddish and other languages, as well as being a singer with a great many recordings to his credit, also in English, Yiddish, Hebrew and other languages. For more info on Mike Burstyn, visit: https://www.mikeburstyn.com

Besides Burstyn, the cast of Megillah Cycle features Shane Baker (Tevye Served Raw), Yidlife Crisis performers Eli Batalion (Stage Fright) and Jamie Elman (California Dreamin’), Avi Hoffman (Too Jewish?), Daniel Kahn (Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish), Lia Koenig (Shtisel), Noah Mitchel (My Favorite Year), Eleanor Reissa (Those Were the Days), Joshua Reuben (Shakespeare in Yiddish), Allen Lewis Rickman (A Serious Man), Yelena Shmulenson (Orange Is the New Black), and Suzanne Toren (From Door to Door).

The streamed production of Megillah Cycle, presented in Yiddish with English-subtitled translation, also features interspersed English rhymes written by the late Joe Darion (Man of La Mancha). Original artwork is by Adam Whiteman, with music, editing and technical supervision by Uri Schreter. It was produced by Shane Baker, executive director of the Congress for Jewish Culture. For more information and to view the stream, visit CongressforJewishCulture.org.

Participating in the interview are historian Prof. Sholem Beinfeld and Yiddish scholar Dovid Braun, along with regular host Mark David.

• Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz
• Other music (excerpts):
  • Soundtrack excerpts from Megillah Cycle, composed by Uri Schreter, featuring Abigale Reisman on violin
  • Cast: Excerpt of Dos Lid Funem Loyfer, from The Megillah of Itzik Manger (Israeli cast album)

Air date: February 24, 2021

• A discussion between Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter and historian Prof. Sholem Beinfeld on the topic of the powerful role of the woman in the Eastern European shtetl.
• Schaechter argues women in Jewish traditional life are often stereotyped as passive and invisible particularly in the public sphere, while they were in fact highly respected and relied upon within the family, and, because they were often the primary breadwinners, they wielded financial power as well. She notes the matrilineal character of traditional Jewish society and that Ashkenazi Jewish last names are often based on matriarchal first names.
• This program is part of the Dr. Thomas Zand Forward Event Series.
• Music
  • Shoshana Ron:Kum Leibke Tantzn (lyrics by Mordkhe Gebirtig)
  • Chava Alberstein: Rabeynu Tam (lyrics by Itzik Manger)
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air Date: February 17, 2021

• Tonight's show is an interview with Sasha Lurje and Zisl Slepovitch, who discuss the Songs From Testimonies project, which collects and records songs and poems discovered in the testimonies of the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University. The songs are sung in a variety of languages, including Yiddish, Polish, and French, from both the prewar period as well as from the ghettos and camps during the war. All were found among individual testimonies recorded by survivors for the Fortunoff Archive. The Archive's musician-in-residence, Zisl Slepovitch, took the songs, conducted research about their origins, and then arranged and recorded versions with his ensemble, featuring singer Sasha Lurje. The project has resulted in two albums, Where Is Our Homeland? Songs From Testimonies in the Fortunoff Video Archive, Vol. 1, released in 2019, and שרײַ, הערצעלע, שרײַ! Cry, My Heart, Cry!, Songs from Testimonies, Volume 2, which was just released in 2021 for streaming and download and is soon to be available on CD and vinyl.

• This past week, on Jan 27, Slepovitch and Lurje streamed live to debut and introduce the most recently recorded songs, along with video recordings of the musicians performing, COVID-style in video boxes. The live-stream replay is available now on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/101650124837284/videos/530750214557627/

• For additional information and to hear the music from the Songs From Testimonies project, visit: https://fortunoff.library.yale.edu/education/songs-from-testimonies/

• Zisl Slepovitch, producer and artistic director of the recordings, arranged all the tracks and also contributed as composer, lyrics translator, additional vocalist, and musical instrumentalist on most of the tracks. A native of Minsk, Belarus, he is a musicologist (Ph.D., Belarusian State Academy of Music); a multi-instrumental klezmer, classical, and improvisational musician; a composer and poet; and a music and Yiddish educator. He is a founding member of the critically acclaimed bands Litvakus, Minsker Kapelye, and Zisl Slepovitch Trio. Additional info at his web site: http://dmitrislepovitch.com

• Sasha Lurje, the main vocalist of the recordings, is an internationally renowned Yiddish singer, born in Riga, Latvia, and now based in Berlin, Germany. She is the featured singer of several Yiddish music bands and projects, including Forshpil, Litvakus, STRANGELOVESONGS with Daniel Kahn, Semer Ensemble, and You Shouldn’t Know from It. Additional info at her web site: https://sashalurje.com

• Music:

  • Zisl Slepovitch Ensemble featuring Sasha Lurje: In Dinaverke
  • Lily M. (Fortunoff interviewee/survivor): In Dinaverke
  • Liubov K. (Fortunoff interviewee/survivor): In Dem Kleinem Dorf Von Smiltschenz
  • Zisl Slepovitch Ensemble feat. Sasha Lurje: In Dem Kleinem Dorf Von Smiltschenz
  • Zisl Slepovitch Ensemble feat. Sasha Lurje: Walc François
  • Zisl Slepovitch Ensemble feat. Sasha Lurje: W Pociągu Jest Tłok
  • Peretz H. (Fortunoff interviewee/survivor): W Pociągu Jest Tłok
  • Zisl Slepovitch Ensemble feat. Sasha Lurje: Shtubuneltsto
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Je...