Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Books

YIVO Encyclopedia Launches Online Edition

Geese were a staple of Jewish life in Eastern Europe and Jewish women knew how to get the most out of their fowl of choice. The feathers were sold as quills for writing and stuffing for bedding, fat used as an alternative to butter or the Jewish version of lard, and the birds themselves were served up roasted, stuffed or sautéed, and, on special occasions, made into foie gras. So says an article in The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe, a multi-volume work whose online version launches today, bringing to the public a plethora of articles, original documents, images, and recordings about Jewish life in Eastern Europe — all free of charge.

Originally released in hardcover form by Yale University Press in 2008, the encyclopedia covers 1,000 years of Jewish history in Eastern Europe, with more than 1,800 articles on every topic imaginable — from religion to literature, and from politics to popular culture. The article on geese is one of many that address unlikely subjects as a way of drawing readers into the world of East European Jewry.

Full disclosure: I’ve worked on this encyclopedia project, first as an editorial assistant on the hardcover edition and later as an archival researcher for the electronic book. And I’ve been counting down to the launching. Call me a geek, but I’m pretty gleeful about this no-cost alternative to the $400 hardcover set which gives scholars, students and the lay public easy access to all the original articles included in the hardcover version, plus some. Added features in the electronic edition include archival materials like handwritten letters and manuscripts by famous Jewish personalities in politics and the arts such as Leon Trotsky, Sholom Aleichem and I.J. Singer, as well as interactive maps and dozens of audio and video recordings that depict slices of Jewish life in Eastern Europe, from weddings to political events and from cantorial performances to street scenes. Check it out here.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.