“Hasidic literature”
Article
A Narrow Path: Language and Longing for a Holy Place that is Lost
Aviv Luban
For the nascent Polish Braslev Hasidic movement, the events of 1917 and their aftermath severed the group from its Holy Place: the grave of Reb Nakhmen in what is now Uman, Ukraine. This geopolitical reality elicited a unique literary and spiritual response in the form of an impassioned prayer, penned by Reb Yitskhok Brayter (c. 1886-1942), a leader of that community.
Jan 27, 2019
Special Issue
Religious Thought in Yiddish
Articles, translations, resources
This special issue of In geveb, edited by Ariel Evan Mayse, Naomi Seidman, Marc Caplan, and Daniel Reiser, explores a range of theological, philosophical, and other religious themes as presented in a wide variety of Yiddish writings.
Jan 2019
Blog
Seizing the Means of Cultural Production: Hasidic Representation in Contemporary Yiddish Media
Rose Waldman
Literary production in Yiddish is booming, but because most of it is coming from Hasidic communities, scholars often overlook it.
Apr 27, 2018
Texts & Translation
אין צײַט פֿון פֿאַרנומענעם פּױלן
In Occupied Poland
Moyshe Aftergut
Translation by Shifra Epstein
A summary of the first pirem-shpil or “Purim play” written, produced and performed by Bobover Hasidim in the United States after the Second World War.
Feb 14, 2017
Special Issue
“The Great Call of the Hour”
Hillel Zeitlin’s Yiddish Writings on Yavneh
An introduction to the writings by Hillel Zeitlin on the intentional, neo-Hasidic community he tried to create in Warsaw in the 1920s.
Feb 2017
Article
Weaving The Revolution: I. L. Peretz The Social Protest Writer
Adi Mahalel
In this peer-reviewed article, Adi Mahalel follows Peretz's search, through new literary styles, for new forms of revolutionary politics.
May 22, 2016
Article
“The Great Call of the Hour”: Hillel Zeitlin’s Yiddish Writings on Yavneh
Arthur Green and Ariel Evan Mayse
An introduction to the writings by Hillel Zeitlin on the intentional, neo-Hasidic community he tried to create in Warsaw in the 1920s.
Mar 08, 2016
Blog
A Hasid Turns Modern: A YIVO Autobiography, Conclusion
Rose Waldman
The fifth and final post in an investigation of an autobiography found in the YIVO archives from 1930s Poland: why do we need to read these autobiographies today?
Jan 31, 2016
Blog
A Hasid Turns Modern: A YIVO Autobiography, Part 4
Rose Waldman
The fourth in a series of five posts about an autobiography found in the YIVO archives from 1930s Poland: suicide and the modern library of a maskil.
Jan 24, 2016
Blog
A Hasid Turns Modern: A YIVO Autobiography, Part 3
Rose Waldman
The third in a series of five posts about an autobiography found in the YIVO archives from 1930s Poland: the cheder years!
Jan 18, 2016
Blog
A Hasid Turns Modern: A YIVO Autobiography, Part 2
Rose Waldman
The second in a series of posts about an autobiography found in the YIVO archives from 1930s Poland: RJ's hatred of women but love for the hasidic tale!
Jan 10, 2016
Blog
A Hasid Turns Modern: A YIVO Autobiography, Part 1
Rose Waldman
The first in a series of posts about an autobiography found in the YIVO archives from 1930s Poland.
Jan 04, 2016
Texts & Translation
חנניה, מישאל ועזריה בתוך כּבֿשן־האש
Ḥananiah, Mishael and Azariah in the Fiery Furnace (The Daniel-Shpil)
Translation by Shifra Epstein
A new translation of a purim-shpil performed by the Bobover Hasidim in New York in 1987 with audio and photographs of the performance offers a unique glimpse into contemporary hasidic culture.
Nov 03, 2015
Texts & Translation
מיקווה און מיצווה
Mikvah and Mitzvah: Melancholia and the Spiritual Life
R. Aaron of Karlin
Translation by Ariel Evan Mayse and Daniel Reiser
A Hasidic homily from the eighteenth century by R. Aaron of Karlin. The message is simple and speaks to the heart of Hasidic thought: sadness may have some limited utility, but depression is always a destructive force that inhibits spiritual growth.
Aug 10, 2015