Yiddish : A Nation of Words

by WEINSTEIN, MIRIAM

• ISBN13: 9780345447302
• ISBN10: 0345447301
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2002-08-01
• Publisher: Ballantine Books

Summary

About a thousand years ago, European Jews began speaking a language that was quite different from the various tongues and dialects that swirled around them. It included Hebrew, a touch of the Romance and Slavic languages, and a large helping of German. In a world of earthly wandering, this pungent, witty, and infinitely nuanced speech, full of jokes, puns, and ironies, became the linguistic home of the Jews, the bond that held a people together. Here is the remarkable story of how this humble language took vigorous root in Eastern European shtetls and in the Jewish quarters of cities across Europe; how it achieved a rich literary flowering between the wars in Europe and America; how it was rejected by emancipated Jews; and how it fell victim to the Holocaust. And how, in yet another twist of destiny, Yiddish today is becoming the darling of academia.Yiddishis a history as story, a tale of flesh-and-blood people with manic humor, visionary courage, brilliant causes, and glorious flaws. It will delight everyone who cares about language, literature, and culture.

Author Biography

Miriam Weinstein grew up in the Bronx following World War II, a time and place where Yiddish was standard fare. Once a documentary filmmaker, she is now a freelance journalist whose features have won several awards from the New England Press Association. She lives in Manchester, Massachusetts with her husband, and has two grown children

Table of Contents

Timeline	xi
Cast of Characters	xii
A Note on Yiddish Spelling	xiii
Map of Yiddish Lands	xiv
Introduction: Talking Jewish	1	(8)
Part 1. Birth and Growth
Long as the Jewish Exile	9	(16)
Poland: Rest Here	25	(7)
Shtetl: A Separate World	32	(10)
Enlightenment and Hasidism: The Head and the Heart	42	(15)
Part 2. The Modern Era
Eastern Europe: Opening the Gates	57	(14)
The Road to Czernowitz: The Politics of Language	71	(13)
Russia: Kissed by a Thief	84	(16)
The Soviet Union: Marching and Singing to Birobidzhan	100	(12)
Israel: Language Wars in the Holy Land	112	(17)
America: The Golden Land	129	(17)
Poland: Drinking in the World	146	(14)
Eastern Europe: Language as History	160	(13)
Part 3. Annihilation
Singing in the Face of Death	173	(18)
Part 4. Aftermath
Europe: Life from the Ashes	191	(11)
America: Golden Land, Goyish Land	202	(15)
Russia: The Heartthrob Yiddish Poet	217	(12)
Israel: A New Nation, a New Tongue	229	(12)
Part 5. Present and Future
Europe and Israel: Bulletins from Now	241	(16)
America: Preserving Tomorrow's Song	257	(18)
Glossary	275	(4)
Sources	279	(12)
Acknowledgments	291	(2)
Index	293