Itzik Gottesman
By Itzik Gottesman
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The Schmooze Chana Mlotek, Yiddish Folksong Scholar, Dies at 91
Yiddish folksong expert, researcher and anthologist Chana Mlotek died on November 4 at age 91. Mlotek maintained a decades-long association with the Forverts and with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, where she was the institute’s music archivist. When I worked with Mlotek at YIVO, people would come to the archives and say, “I only…
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The Schmooze Jewish Folklorist Dov Noy Dies at 92
A version of this post appeared in Yiddish here. When Dov Noy would lecture, often without notes, he would look upwards and seemingly draw his inspiration from the upper spheres. But Noy, who was expert in the folklore of numerous Jewish “tribes,” including Ashkenazim, Sephardim and Middle Eastern Jews, developed his profound knowledge from earthbound…
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The Schmooze Forverts Columnist Tsirl Steingart Dies at 97
A version of this post appeared in Yiddish here. Translated by Ezra Glinter. On May 18 writer, activist and longtime Forverts columnist Tsirl Steingart died in a car accident in Palm Beach, Florida. She was 97 years old. Steingart was born March 11, 1916 in Bialystok, where she was an active participant in the Bundist…
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The Schmooze Now You Can Learn Yiddish From a Robot
A version of this post appeared in Yiddish here. Translation by Ezra Glinter. “Good morning. My name is Nomy. I am a girl. Good morning, Moby! He is a robot.” So begins the first section of YiddishPOP, a new educational website featuring animated videos whose main character is a robot. It’s the result of a…
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The Schmooze ‘Selected Shorts’ Host Isaiah Sheffer Dies at 76
Radio personality Isaiah Sheffer died today in New York at age 76. Sheffer was co-founder and artistic director of the performing art center Symphony Space on the upper west side of Manhattan, and was known nationally as the long time host of the public radio series “Selected Shorts,” which began in 1985. Sheffer started Symphony…
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The Schmooze Yiddish Bookstore Gets a New Home
A version of this post appeared in Yiddish. Over the last three years many Yiddish cultural organizations in New York have relocated to new homes. The Forverts and the Workmen’s Circle/Arbeter Ring sold their building on East 33rd Street in Manhattan and their tenants, including the League for Yiddish, the Folksbiene National Yiddish Theater, Yugntruf–Youth…
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News The Titanic in Yiddish Folklore
One hundred years ago on April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank into the sea as it made its maiden voyage across the Atlantic Ocean from Southampton, England, to New York City. More than 1,500 people died in the freezing waters and the entire world not only talked about this event but also sang about the…
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The Schmooze Yiddish Actress Chayale Ash-Fuhrman Dies at 90
In Yiddish there are some professions or positions that use the diminutive form of a name as a sign of popular endearment. These include Hasidic rebbes, cantors, thieves and actors. This was true of the beloved Yiddish actress Chayele Ash-Furman, who died on March 8 in Northern California at the age of 90. According to…
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