Teaching Guide for Jonah Rosenfeld’s “Cholera” (trans Mines)

A Note on the Author

Jonah Rosenfeld, born around 1880, spent his childhood years in Chartorysk, Volhynia, Russian Empire (present-day Staryi Chartoryisk, Ukraine). Rosenfeld’s father was a melamed whose salary was insufficient to support his family. ^{1 1} Shmuel Charney, “Yonah Rozenfeld: Byografish-Kritiker Araynfir,” in Geklibene Verk, ed. Chaim Grade (New York: CYCO-Bikher Farlag, 1955), 1. As a child, Rosenfeld barely got enough to eat, let alone decent clothes or shoes. ^{2 2} T. Ts. Goldberg, “Jonah Rosenfeld,” Der Tog, July 15, 1944, Jonah Rosenfeld archive RG 647, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, New York.

Rosenfeld had a traditional, religious Jewish education: cheder until he was 12, followed by a year of yeshiva. Tragically, however, when he was about 13, his parents died of cholera (probably the same epidemic as the one fictionalized in this story). His brothers sent him to Odessa to apprentice to a lathe operator, and Rosenfeld worked in that trade for the next ten years. ^{3 3} Varshavski, “Rozenfeld, Yonah,” col. 347.

The apprenticeship system in Russia at that time was cruel and inhumane. Apprentices were bought and sold like slaves; they virtually belonged to their boss and were unable to look elsewhere for work until their term of apprenticeship ended. ^{4 4} A. Mukdoyni, “Books and Writers,” Jonah Rosenfeld archive RG 647, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, New York. The clipping omits the newspaper title and date. Young Jonah was overworked, inadequately fed, and made the butt of practical jokes. According to his later recollections, his boss “beat me for four whole years with sticks and poles, but despite that I came out alive, unharmed.” ^{5 5} Quoted in Schwarz, “Trials,”193.

During Rosenfeld’s years in Odessa, he read and wrote nothing. He had no one to write to, and he had no idea that a thing like literature existed – that one could write for no one and everyone, just for the sake of writing. But one day, when Rosenfeld was around 22, he was feeling especially lonely and, sitting down to write a letter, he found his literary inspiration: “This hand, which had never written anything to anybody, this hand, which from the age of twelve years on … had never held a pen, just kept going and going.” ^{6 6} Charney, “Yonah Rozenfeld,” 2. Unless otherwise indicated, translations from Yiddish originals in this introduction are my own. A year or two later, Rosenfeld published his first story, “Dos Lernyingl” (“The Apprentice”), which appeared in St. Petersburg’s daily Yiddish newspaper Der Fraynd in 1904. ^{7 7} Jan Schwarz. “Rozenfeld, Yona,” in YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, http://www.yivoencyclopedia.or... (accessed June 22, 2022).

After Rosenfeld’s literary debut, he devoted himself to literature, publishing stories in various newspapers and literary journals. His first collection, Shriftn (Writings), appeared in 1909, followed by two more collections in 1910 and 1912. In 1921, he emigrated to New York, where he became a major literary contributor to the leading American Yiddish-language newspaper, Forverts. He died in New York on July 9, 1944.

Temperamentally, Rosenfeld was a seeker, constantly striving to understand the world and the people around him. ^{8 8} According to M. Osherovich, “Jonah Rosenfeld thought every person was a riddle, almost impossible to understand. He sought to portray their most deeply buried secrets. In his thinking as well as in his writings, he was original: in both was an odd mixture of deepness and naiveté.” (“Jonah Rosenfeld: Life and Writings of the Yiddish Writer,” Forverts, July 12, 1944, Jonah Rosenfeld archive RG 647, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, New York). However, despite his best attempts to understand people, he had learned as a child that he could depend on no one but himself, and even in later life he remained stubbornly independent and somewhat of a recluse. He seems to have been as independent in his art as he was in his personal and professional lives. There is a general consensus among his critics that he had few, if any literary influences. Isaac Bashevis Singer claimed that Rosenfeld had no literary influences whatsoever. ^{9 9} Yitskhok Bashevis, “Jonah Rosenfeld and his Place in Yiddish Literature,” Forverts July 5, 1964, Jonah Rosenfeld archive RG 647, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, New York. Rosenfeld himself declared, “Everything I wrote, I tore out of myself. … Everything must come from the self.” ^{10 10} Quoted in S. Dingal, “Jonah Rosenfeld: A Month after his Death.” Der Tog, Aug. 9, 1944, Jonah Rosenfeld archive RG 647, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, New York.

Rosenfeld was known even by his contemporaries as a psychological writer. While external events, even dramatic ones (such as the epidemic described in “Cholera”) are important to his stories, his characters’ thoughts, emotions, and motivations – often subconscious ones – are more important yet. Plot is subordinate to psychology, as characters struggle to survive, spiritually or physically, in their hostile worlds. Death, or the threat of death, is a constant presence, affecting the fate of individuals and sometimes entire communities.

“Cholera” foretells certain elements of the coronavirus pandemic that began in 2019. Parts of the story may ring surprisingly true to present-day readers: the rumors and fears of impending catastrophe, the rationalizations – “either there was no plague, or, if there was, it was nothing to worry about” – the townspeople’s suspicion of government and medical authorities, and the threats not only to life, but to established traditions and daily routines. As the plague advances into the town, it becomes clear that certain segments of society – women, the elderly, the poor – suffer disproportionately, while members of the wealthier classes buy themselves out of danger. Social divisions are exposed: pious Jews against the less pious, older women against younger women, rich against poor.

Rosenfeld’s novella “Cholera” first appeared serially in the Forverts, beginning September 23, 1923. It was later anthologized as “Di mageyfe” in Vol. 5 of Rosenfeld’s six-volume collection Gezamlte shriften (New York, 1924), and later as “Di Kholyere” in Vol. 1 of the eight-volume collection Geklibene verk (Vilnius, 1929). “Di Kholyere” was reprinted, slightly revised, in the posthumous one-volume Geklibene verk (New York, 1955). My translation is based on the 1955 version. The four segments here are excerpts from the longer work. A translation of the entire novella, together with an expanded version of this introduction, are found in “A Plague of Cholera” and Other Stories by Jonah Rosenfeld, Syracuse University Press, 2024. ^{11 11} Adapted from the introduction to “A Plague of Cholera” and Other Stories by Jonah Rosenfeld, translated by Rachel Mines, copyright Syracuse University Press, 2024. Reproduced with permission from the publisher.

Bibliography

Jonah Rosenfeld Archive RG 647, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, New York.

Charney, Shmuel. “Yonah Rozenfeld: Byografish-Kritiker Araynfir.” In Geklibene Verk, edited by Chaim Grade, 1-9. New York: CYCO-Bikher Farlag, 1955.

Schwarz, Jan. “Rozenfeld, Yona.” In YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. http://www.yivoencyclopedia.or....

Schwarz, Jan. “The Trials of a Yiddish Writer in America: Jonah Rosenfeld’s Autobiographical Novel.” Prooftexts 18, no. 2 (1998): 187-206.

Varshavski, I. “Rozenfeld, Yonah.” In Leksikon fun der Nayer Yidisher Literatur, vol. 8, edited by Shmuel Charney and Jacob Shatzky, cols. 347-50. New York: Congress for Jewish Culture, 1956-1981.

Reading activities and discussion questions

Part 1 Summary and themes

We are introduced to the town of Chartorysk, which in 1893, was part of the Russian empire. As the impending cholera epidemic claims its first victims, the town is visited by five government officials, sanitation experts who are well-versed in the scientific methods of the time. The Jewish population reacts to the visitors and their scientific methods of fighting the plague with distrust and suspicion. As the epidemic closes in on the town, Jews and Christians react to tragedy in their own ways. This section presents a study in contrasts: science versus religion, governments versus populations, Jews versus Christians.

Part 1 Background reading

1893 cholera pandemic

“1881-1896 Cholera Pandemic.” This Wikipedia article provides some general background information on the cholera pandemic that took place in 1881-1896. Scientific advances of the time – sanitation and quarantine measures, isolation of the cholera bacterium and the first vaccine against cholera – are outlined. Some readers may be surprised that scientific methods to combat cholera were in place in the late 19th century. This article places the activities of Rosenfeld’s Russian authorities in their historical context.

“What Hamburg’s Missteps In 1892 Cholera Outbreak Can Teach Us About COVID-19 Response.” This article further contextualizes Rosenfeld’s novella and directly compares the response of Hamburg’s government to that city’s 1892 cholera epidemic to more recent government responses to the 2019 coronavirus pandemic.

Russia in the Time of Cholera, John P. Davis, 2018. Detailed background information on the cholera epidemic in Russia at the end of the 19th to the early 20th century. Russian physicians “confronted cholera in a broad and sophisticated way, essentially laying the foundations for the system of public health that the Soviets successfully used to defeat cholera [in the 1920’s].”

History and social organization of the shtetl:

“Shtetl.”Background information on the history and culture of the shtetl in Poland, also of relevance to other Eastern European and Russian shtetls. The social hierarchies of the Jewish population and relations between Christians and Jews are outlined. Shtetl life was complex, and understanding some of the social, religious, and historical complexities is necessary in order to appreciate Rosenfeld’s depiction of the Jews and Christians of Chartorysk.

“Shtetl.” As the author of this article claims, “the common stereotype of the shtetl as a harmonious community is misleading.” Rosenfeld’s novella depicts numerous examples of Jews clashing or quarreling with each other and their government representatives. Social friction was not unique to Chartorysk, whose inhabitants are depicted in nuanced ways that are psychologically realistic.

“The Shtetl: Between Myth and Reality.” As the author points out, “for a lot of us, when we try to envision or to imagine these shtetls … we often think about Fiddler on the Roof, or other popular representations.” This podcast (the transcription is included), together with the previous two readings, dispels the myth that the shtetl was a place of bucolic simplicity and harmony, and provides historical and social context in which to situate Rosenfeld’s novella.

Part 1 Discussion/essay questions

- What is the Russian government’s strategy for dealing with the impending cholera epidemic? Were you surprised by their methods? Do any of these methods seem familiar to you? How effective do you think they would have been?

- How do the townspeople react to the actions of the government officials? Why do you think they react in the ways that they do?

- How does the narrator describe Jewish-Christian relationships? Does anything about the nature of these relationships surprise you? If so, what, and why?

- Why do the Jews, even more than the Christians, distrust the government?

- Does anything about this section remind you of events that took place during the early years of the coronavirus pandemic? What are some of the similarities and differences?

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Part 2 Summary and themes

We discover that of the town’s Jewish population, far more females than males fall victim to the plague. An informal “cabal” of the town’s Jewish women, presumably assuming that God has sent the plague to punish wrongdoers, tries to fight the plague in the only way its members know – by trying to root out sin and punish the sinners. We also learn of other strategies the Jews use to battle the plague, such as reciting psalms, fasting, and various other folk remedies. These strategies seem far more successful when practiced by the well-off, who suffer comparatively fewer losses than the lower socioeconomic classes, even as the number of victims continues to grow. Like Part 1, Part 2 also presents a study in contrasts: Women versus men, older women versus younger women, poor versus rich.

Part 2 Background reading

The mikvah

“Mikveh.” This brief introduction to the history and tradition of the mikvah may be useful for instructors and/or students who would like some basic information.

Jewish folk remedies (including against plague)

“Health and Healing.” Some of the shtetl-dwellers’ reactions to the cholera epidemic in Rosenfeld’s novella may be surprising or confusing to many present-day readers. Scientific approaches to medicine and public health were taught in 19th-century universities, but folk traditions were still practiced by most ordinary people, Jews and Christians alike. This article provides important background information for readers who may be tempted to brush off Rosenfeld’s shtetl dwellers as superstitious and ignorant; rather, their world view was typical of shtetl Jews and their Christian neighbours.

A Frog Under the Tongue: Jewish Folk Medicine in Eastern Europe, Marek Tuszewicki, 2021. This book on Jewish healing includes chapters on biblical and Talmudic traditions, feldshers and healers, tsadikim and physicians, demons and witches, and the evil eye, among others.

Part 2 Discussion/essay questions

- Why do you think more women than men affected by the plague?
- Why do the women assume that one of their number has committed some sort of sin?
- Why do the women think that rooting out sins will help stop the plague?
- What are some of the folk remedies used to combat the plague?

-The town’s rich population suffers less from the plague than the poor. What reasons do the townspeople give for this? From a present-day perspective, why do you think the poor suffer disproportionally?

- Which remedies do you think have a better chance of stopping the plague: the scientific remedies described in Part 1, or the folk remedies described in Part 2? What do you think Rosenfeld is telling us about the Jewish population of Chartorysk and their traditional ways? Do you agree with him? Why or why not?

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Part 3 Summary and themes

The High holidays approach, and the cholera epidemic tightens its grip on the town. As young mothers become victims, their husbands, families, and neighbours also suffer. Nevertheless, despite the worsening tragedy, the rituals of the holiday and of ordinary life continue. As three pious men enter the mikveh for their ritual bath on Erev Rosh Hashonah, they discover that the bathhouse, normally a place of solace and pleasure, has been malignantly transformed, revealing itself as a site of contagion and death.

Part 3 Background reading

The High Holidays

For readers with little or no knowledge of Jewish holidays, the following two books provide general background information on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, two major holidays that form the background of Part 3.

Art Waskow, Seasons of our Joy (JPS, 2012).
Irving Greenberg, The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays (Touchstone, 1993).

The mikvah and the bathhouse

“Mikveh.” This brief introduction to the history and tradition of the mikvah may be useful for instructors and/or students who would like some basic information.

“Personal Hygiene and Grooming.” The mikvah was of central importance in ritual purification for both men and women. While women used the mikveh more often, this article also mentions a tradition among Hassidic men of immersing themselves in the mikveh on Shabes and Erev Yom Kippur, among other times. The bathhouse was another important, though more secular, institution in the shtetl.

Part 3 discussion/essay questions

- Why (aside from, possibly, historical reasons) is this section of Rosenfeld’s story set during the High Holidays? Discuss the symbolism of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in relation to the cholera epidemic.

- Part 3 answers, at least in part, the question posed in Part 2: why do more women than men fall victim to the cholera?

- What does the symbolism of the polluted mikveh suggest to you, and why?

- What is Rosenfeld suggesting about traditional Jewish religious practice? Do you agree or disagree with his position, and why?

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Part 4 Summary and themes

Before this section of the story begins, the town’s elders have decided that the only way of stopping the cholera epidemic was to hold a wedding in the cemetery. The so-called cholera wedding was not a literary invention of Rosenfeld’s, but historical reality: during a time of disaster, a community might marry two of its “undesirable” citizens (who were looked down on for reasons of poverty and/or mental or physical disability) in the Jewish cemetery. People believed that, due to the great mitsvah of performing such a wedding, God would end the disaster and spare the community. As Section 4 opens, the day of the wedding has arrived, and the couple, Senderl and Yenta, are being entertained by their guests, all of whom are eager to partake of the mitsvah and thus avoid falling victim to cholera. As evening approaches, the town’s entire Jewish population escort the couple to the cemetery, where the wedding takes place. Afterwards, the citizens walk back into town, convinced that the cholera epidemic has been stopped in its tracks. They prepare to spend the night in the synagogue celebrating their victory over the plague.

Part 4 Background reading

Sukkes:

For readers with little or no knowledge of Jewish holidays, the following two books provide general background information on Sukkes (Sukkot):

Art Waskow, Seasons of our Joy (JPS, 2012).

Irving Greenberg, The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays (Touchstone, 1993).

Cholera wedding:

“Black Wedding.” A brief introduction to the history and practice of cholera weddings.

Jews and Pandemics from the Bible to Covid-19 by Jeremy Brown (Oxford University Press, 2022), Chapter 10, “So They Will Not Be Depressed; The Black Wedding” discusses the tradition of cholera weddings.

“The Cholera Wedding and its Meaning for our Time.” A brief description of the history and tradition of cholera weddings and their possible relevance, in terms of their function of strengthening community bonds, in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

“A Long-Forgotten Jewish Remedy for the Coronavirus Outbreak.” Cholera weddings were not only performed in Eastern Europe; they were also performed elsewhere, including Safed and Jerusalem (1865); Philadelphia (1918); and Winnipeg, Canada (1918).

“The Plague Wedding.” A brief account of a cholera wedding that took place on March 18, 2020, in Bnei Brak in Israel.

Plague Weddings.” Essentially a summary of Chapter 4, Stepchildren of the Shtetl, linked below.

Stepchildren of the Shtetl, Natan M. Meir, (Stanford UP, 2020). Chapter 4 is devoted to the history and practice of cholera weddings, which seem to have first been practiced in the 1830s and were well established by 1865.

"A Wedding in the Cemetery," English translation of a Joseph Opatoshu short story featuring a cholera wedding.

Part 4 discussion/essay questions

- What is the rationale behind the cholera wedding?

- Does anything about the description of the bride and groom surprise you? Are the townspeople genuinely fond of the couple? If not, why are people so eager to give the couple gifts and fawn over them?

- Do Senderl and Yenta love each other? Why do you think they consent to the wedding?

- At the end of the story, has the cholera wedding achieved its purpose? What do the townspeople think? What does Rosenfeld imply? What do you think?

The full text of the story “A Plague of Cholera” and an expanded version of this introduction can be found on the publisher’s website: “A Plague of Cholera” and Other Stories by Jonah Rosenfeld.