“archives”

Blog

Freidus, Borokhov, and the Café Royal

Zachary M. Baker

Baker explores the career of Abraham S. Freidus, a reclusive, pioneering, and Yiddish-theater-loving Judaica librarian. His research reveals the tight nexus that existed a century ago between a small coterie of Eastern European-born Judaica librarians in the United States; their philanthropic patrons of Central European background; and the largely male, Yiddish-speaking readers who frequented the important Jewish libraries of that era. 

Interview

The Promise and Peril of Digital Research in Yiddish: An Interview with Gerben Zaagsma

Elena Hoffenberg

Elena Hoffernberg interviews Gerben Zaagsma about his path to studying Yiddish in the Spanish Civil War; the potency and the frustrations of digital research; and the future of digital studies and Yiddish.

Blog

Asch Remembered: Sholem Asch Hoyz in Bat Yam

Yaakov Herskovitz

Sholem Asch’s arrival at the small house at 50 Arlozorov Street in the coastal town of Bat Yam, near Tel Aviv, was to be his final move in over two decades of travels. Six decades later, the house has been carefully restored and reopened as a museum.

Blog

The YIVO Layoffs and the State of the Field: A Roundup of Perspectives and Call for Submissions

The Editors

We are interested in pieces that place the recent events at YIVO in the context of discipline-wide trends, historical, economic, scholarly and otherwise, and that help us think through the broader forces that produced this moment and its possible ramifications. 

Blog

Vilner Yidishistn in Their Natural Habitat

Saulė Valiūnaitė

Saulė Valiūnaitė offers a glimpse into the storied Velfke's restaurant, a gathering place for Yiddish writers, actors, and artists in interwar Vilne.

Blog

Call for Submissions: Briv funem Arkhiv

The Editors

Our new Briv funem arkhiv section will feature short pieces about interesting, significant, funny, or surprising archival finds. 

Blog

The Bais Yaakov Project: An Interview Between David Shneer, Basya Schechter and Naomi Seidman

David Shneer

An interview with Naomi Seidman, Chancellor Jackman Professor of the Humanities at the University of Toronto, and Basya Schechter, musician and founder of Pharoah’s Daughter, who are working on their compelling project called The Bais Yaakov project.

Blog

Body of Language, Transforming the Language and Culture Archive of Ashkenazic Jewry: An Interview between David Shneer, Rob Adler Peckerar and Alexx Shilling

David Shneer

David Shneer interviews Rob Adler Peckerar and Alexx Shilling about their project to bring embodied artistic interpretation to bear on a linguistic archive. 

Blog

When the Stakes Were High and the Odds Were Low: On seeking publication and combing the archive

Shoshana Olidort

On taking revenge against negligent editors in the archive. 

Texts & Translation

קאָמיטעט צו זאַמלען מאַטעריאַלן װעגן ייִדישן חורבן אין פּױלן, 1939. ביולעטין נומער 3

Committee for the Collection of Materials on the Destruction of the Jews in Poland, 1939. Bulletin no. 3

Translation by Joshua Price

A bulletin produced by the Vilna Komitet in 1939, included in Miriam Schulz's recent book, Der Beginn des Untergangs: Die Zerstörung der jüdischen Gemeinden in Polen und das Vermächtnis des Wilnaer Komitees ("Before the bow that was drawn": The Vilna Komitet and its documentation of the destruction of Polish Jewry), presented here in a new translation. 

Article

'Before the bow that was drawn': The Vilna Komitet and its documentation of the destruction of Polish Jewry, 1939–1940/41

Miriam Schulz

Translation by Joshua Price and Miriam Schulz

A translation of the introduction of Miriam Schulz's recent book, Der Beginn des Untergangs: Die Zerstörung der jüdischen Gemeinden in Polen und das Vermächtnis des Wilnaer Komitees ("Before the bow that was drawn": The Vilna Komitet and its documentation of the destruction of Polish Jewry).

Blog

“What a ‘Medina’ is Amerikay”: Postvernacular Yiddish in Nineteenth-Century America

Shari Rabin

In mid-nineteenth century America, early use of postvernacular Yiddish helped Jews locate themselves in the culture. 

Pedagogy

Evaluate What You Don't Understand: Teaching Practical Skills in the Archives

Sarah Ponichtera

An activity designed to teach archival skills. 

Blog

"Are We Normal?": Mail from Isaac Bashevis Singer's Fans

Danielle Winter

A librarian discovers that Isaac Bashevis Singer's fans wrote letters as compelling as the novels they loved. 

Blog

Jews in the Archives: A Conversation with Gennady Estraikh

Sarah Ellen Zarrow

Gennady Estraikh speaks with Managing Editor Sarah Ellen Zarrow about the groundbreaking project “A Comprehensive History of the Jews of the Soviet Union,” a seven-year initiative led by researchers in NYU’s Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies.

Interview

"Eight Volumes in Dour Maroon": Josh Fogel on Translating the Leksikon

Madeleine Cohen and Dade Lemanski

The Leksikon fun der nayer yidisher literatur, which is full of hard-to-find biographical and bibliographical information about Yiddish writers, is tough to access outside institutions or from the far side of a paywall. By methodically translating and posting entries from the Leksikon online, Josh Fogel is working to change that. 

Blog

Second Avenue Meets Broadway: New York’s Yiddish Theater at MCNY

Saul Noam Zaritt

An interview with Stefanie Halpern, assistant curator of the current exhibition on New York’s Yiddish Theater at the Museum of the City of New York.

Blog

Yehoash’s Scroll: A Calligraphed Megiles Ester

Shifra Epstein

In honor of Purim, a fine calligraphed scroll of Yehoash's translation into Yiddish of the Book of Esther, completed by the poet's daughter Chava.

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?

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.

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!

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!

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.