Mar 21, 2023
Todros Geller illustration for Alte Vegn by Selig Heller, published in Chicago in 1926.
INTRODUCTION
Jews have been illustrating their sacred texts for centuries, a tradition based on the rabbinic principle of hiddur mitzvah (beautifying mitzvot). Medieval Jews expanded this practice of embellishment to secular texts, not only because of tradition but also because they had discovered other benefits of illustrated texts. In one influential example, Meshal Ha-Kadmoni, a book of Jewish animal fables written by Yitzhak Ben Shlomo Ibn Shatulah in the late thirteenth century, the author explains his inclusion of illustrations: “And in order that my Meshal ha-Kadmoni should please the children too and be loved by them, and that they should eagerly read my stories, I have adorned them with beautiful pictures and illustrations.”1 Whatever their reasons may be, since the time that printing large numbers of books became possible, many Jewish authors and publishers all over the world have documented their appreciation of Jewish art by including it in their publications, even though doing so could be costly or time consuming.
Shabes has long been a source of inspiration for Jewish artists and writers, and its many literary and visual depictions pair beautifully with the tradition of reading and studying on the sabbath. Shabes traditions are frequently depicted in Yiddish books, but in many cases the illustrations chosen for publication were created in a different time and place. The examples below were chosen because the illustrations were created specifically for the literary works they were paired with.
Historical examples of literature and art inspired by Shabes can also shed light on the experiences and traditions of Jewish communities. Each of these poems about Shabes from the early and mid-twentieth century were written by immigrants from Eastern Europe and published in the United States. I chose these examples because they give us a window into the traditions of the places the authors came from and also provide context about how these customs were presented when they were published for an audience of Jewish immigrants as well as Jews born in the United States. As each of these poems describes a unique Shabes experience, each of the illustrations provides a depiction of a different ritual or element: the synagogue, study, candle lighting, prayers, hospitality, mourning, and joyous dancing are all represented here.
Tools for learning about illustrated Yiddish books:
The Noah Cotsen Library of Yiddish Children’s Literature2 has a list of their titles (in English) that gives a brief synopsis of each book, describes what reading level the book is appropriate for, and often indicates if the book has illustrations, sometimes listing the name of the artist. This list contains only children’s books, however, many of the artists who were prolific illustrators of Yiddish children’s books (some examples: Note Kozlovsky, Zuni Maud, Yosel Cutler, Aaron Goodelman, Bentsye Mekhtom, Sarra Shor, Joseph Tchaikov, Issachar Ber Ryback) also illustrated other types of texts (adult fiction and nonfiction, textbooks, etc.). This list is particularly helpful if you want to use Yiddish children’s books to build literacy skills.
The Yiddish Book Center’s Full-Text Search (OCR) tool3 makes it easy to search for specific authors, artists, and publishers (in Yiddish). This is also a good way to search for topics of interest, which is how I usually stumble upon illustrations that I wouldn’t have found otherwise because many Yiddish books simply don’t include any information about the illustrations and the artists who made them. Even with the incredible tools that we have, to a large extent it is still true that, if you want to find depictions of specific subjects in Yiddish books, you are going to have to read a lot of Yiddish books about that subject.
The Yiddish Book Center’s basic English search function4 is also helpful if you want something less complex than the OCR tool. Using this tool to search for the names of authors and publishers works quite well, and often the name of the author and/or publishing house will be linked to their other works. Artists, however, unless they were also authors, are rarely included in the main listing for a book unless they were particularly well known.
1. Boris Aronson 1 1 Boris Aronson (1898-1980) was the son of a rabbi, born in Kiev and trained in art from a young age and became an apprentice of Aleksandra Ekster who was part of the Russian Constructivist school. He was a founding member of the Jewish socialist Kultur Lige in Kiev. Aronson moved to the Lower East Side in 1923 and began designing sets and costumes for Maurice Schwartz’s Yiddish Art Theatre and ARTEF Arbeter Teater Farband (Workers’ Theater Association). He had a lifelong career as a theater designer on Broadway and won six Tony Awards for Scenic Design. illustrations for the Henry Rosenblatt 2 2 Henry Rosenblatt (1878-1956) was born Rishoshe, Podolia and studied with a village teacher before moving to the U.S. in 1892, eventually settling in Los Angeles. He worked briefly in a sweatshop before attending a school for public school teachers. His first published poems appeared in Forverts in 1900. He was part of a group of young poets known as “Di Yidishe Yugend” (Jewish Youth). poem “Shabbat Erev,” published in Leyenbikher far Idisher Shul by Israel Steinbaum in New York in 1924. 3 3https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yiddish-books/spb-nybc208259/steinbaum-israel-leyenbikher-far-der-idisher-shul-vol-5 The poem describes inviting a poor, lonely, pious Jew to Shabes dinner. The guest remembers his love for his family and sheds a tear into his wine before falling asleep to dream about them.
These Boris Aronson illustrations depict the inside of a synagogue on shabbat. The more detailed of the two drawings shows a man holding a Torah scroll standing in front of a mizrach which is decorated with deer, flowers, and a lamp stand. The other illustration shows a group of men standing in front of a Torah ark beneath a large chandelier.
In his long career, Boris Aronson was most known for his modernist and avant garde art. These two drawings are more directly inspired by traditional Ashkenazi synagogue art and design.
2. Todros Geller 4 4 Todros Geller was born in Vinnytsia and studied art in Odessa. In 1906 he moved to Montreal and in 1918 he moved to Chicago where he studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He was an influential part of the Chicago Jewish Left and an active antifascist for the rest of his life and taught many prominent Jewish artists. During the 1930s he was employed by the WPA and was commissioned to travel to the southwest and depict Native Americans. In 1940 he began working at the South Side Community Art Center along with many other Chicago artists. He passed away in Chicago in 1949. illustrations for Alte Vegn by Selig Heller 5 5 Selig Heller (1894-1970) was born in Volpa and moved to the United States in 1906 at age twelve. He studied literature at Ohio State University and later settled in Chicago and began publishing poetry and literary criticism in Yiddish. His writings appeared in Feder, Di Velt, Yiddisher Arbeter Velt, Der Tog, Zukunft, Fraye Arbeter Shtime, Kurier and Gezelten., published in Chicago in 1926. 6 6https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yiddish-books/spb-nybc207157/heller-selig-alte-vegen-lider These illustrations accompany a series of Selig Heller poems about the sabbath: “Shabbat,” “Freytag tzu Nakhts” (Friday Nights), “Shabbat in Der Friah” (Shabbat in the morning), and “Shabbat tzu Nakhts” (Saturday Nights). In these poems, Selig Heller describes traditions for each portion of Shabes, including Friday evening cholent, waking up the children on Saturday morning, and going for a stroll on a Saturday afternoon. The illustrations depict Jews reading books, another Shabes tradition described in Selig Heller’s poetry.
Todros Geller illustration for Alte Vegn by Selig Heller, published in Chicago in 1926.
3. Saul Raskin 7 7 Saul Raskin (1878-1966) was born in Prymorsk and studied lithography in Odessa. He moved to New York in about 1905 and began writing and creating cartoons for Freie Arbeiter Stimme, Die Zukunft, Dos Naye Lebn, and Forverts. He believed that art education should not be limited to wealthy Jews and gave lectures and museum tours for the Arbeter Ring. After 1917 he became a Zionist and traveled to Israel several times in the 1920s and 1930s. illustration for Bebzik 8 8https://www.yiddishbookcenter.... by Henry Rosenblatt 9 9 Henry Rosenblatt (1878-1956) was born Rishoshe, Podolia and studied with a village teacher before moving to the U.S. in 1892, eventually settling in Los Angeles. He worked briefly in a sweatshop before attending a school for public school teachers. His first published poems appeared in Forverts in 1900. He was part of a group of young poets known as “Di Yidishe Yugend” (Jewish Youth). , a series of rhymed stories published in New York in 1940 about a young boy who is born in the shtetl. This illustration is for a poem called “Vayse Oygn” (“White Eyes”) about a shabbat evening where Bebzik’s father invites a guest who is an old blind man who was the last person left in the synagogue. Bebzik’s mother and grandmother worry that he will be frightened by their guest, but instead he is delighted, and the old man smiles and sings a song.
4. Illustration for a Nachum Yud 10 10 Nachum Yud (Yerusalimchik) (1888-1966) was born in Mogilev, Belarus and began writing in Russian. He began focusing on Yiddish after moving to Warsaw and his first Yiddish poems were published in 1913. He moved to the U.S. in 1916 and contributed to many publications, becoming a member of the editorial staff of Forverts. He became known for his fables and poems that were especially beloved by children. poem “Freytik tsu Nakht” (“Friday Night”). He describes his father leaving for shul while his mother lights candles, prays for her family. This illustration was published in 1954 by the New York Arbert Ring in Dos Lebedike Vort Leyenbukh far dem Dritn Lernyor by S. Yefroikin. 11 11https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/yiddish-books/spb-nybc208300/yefroikin-s-bass-hyman-b-dos-lebedike-vort-leyenbukh-far-dem-dritn-lernyor This illustration was made by P. Sharon.
5. Illustration by Chane Segal-Zakuta (Anette Zakuta)
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Chane Segal-Zakuta (Annette Zakuta) was born in Montreal in 1929 and was the daughter of Jacob Isaac Segal (Y.Y. Segal). In a 2016 interview with Yiddish Book Center, Segal-Zakuta explains that her parents spoke Yiddish at home but did not encourage their children to learn it, which she later regretted. She became interested in art at a young age. These illustrations for Lider Far Yidishe Kinder were made and published several years after Y.Y. Segal’s sudden death in 1954. Segal-Zakuta passed away in Montreal in 2020.
, the daughter of Jacob Isaac Segal
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Jacob Isaac Segal / Y.Y. Segal (1896-1954) was born in Solobkovits, Podolia to a scholarly family. His father, who was a scribe and a cantor, died when Segal was very young. Segal grew up very poor but had a traditional Jewish education. His family moved to Volhynia and it was there that he was very impacted by a traumatic event when he was 13 years old. Someone at the marketplace accused him of stealing from the pocket of a gentile and Segal was almost beaten to death by police. In 1911 he moved to Montreal, Canada where he worked as a tailor and a teacher and also began writing Yiddish poetry. He went on to publish many volumes of poetry.
, in Lider far Yidishe Kinder, a collection of his work published by the New York Arbeter Ring in 1961, several years after he had passed away.
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14https://www.yiddishbookcenter.... This illustration appears with a poem about the days of the week who spend all week chasing after one another until they all head home on Saturday.
