YIDDSH 10 Chapter Notes - Chapter Week 1 Reading: The Huffington Post, Dara Horn, Virtual Shtetl
Week 1
● Though Yiddish cinema would gain technical proficiency from the widespread presence
of Jews at all levels of the film industry, it was still less a relative of world cinema than it
was child of Yiddish stage
○ First Yiddish movies and most Yiddish 1930s films were adaptions, the rest
employing, stars, writers, and conventions of the Yiddish stage
● In Europe, the Yiddish stage was the province of the young and modern
○ Mainly attended by new jewish proletariat (esp. Women leaving village to work)
● In America, audience was more universal as the Yiddish stage not only provided
entertainment but also an antidote for homesickness and source of collective identity
● The development of a public Yiddish culture in the Russian Empire coincided with a
heightened anti-semitism
Week 2
● S. Angsky embarked on an expedition to gather Jewish folklore and served as a medical
aide during WWI to jewish communities in war-torn areas
○ Der Yidisher Khurbn “The jewish catastrophe” reflected the intensity of his return
to jewish world
■ Includes story of how he got kicked out of Liozno for apparently
“contaminating the minds of the Jewish youth” with secular works
(englightenment ideas of Haksalah)
● “Hattot Ne’urim”, which questions whether there is a God
● Not accepted by the shtetl elders, who were more traditional,
backwards thinking
■ Ansky was inspired by the ideas of Haksalah, Jewish enlightenment
○ “A Half Year wtih Ansky”
■ Ansky was considered by Lunksy to be the patriarch of the Jewish literary
world
● Formed the Historic Ethnographic Society
Week 4
● Chava; a chapter from Sholom Alecheim’s stories of Tevye
○ Chava is in love with Fedka, an up and coming writer; they share a love of
literature
○ Tevye learns from the Christian priest that Fedka loves Chava and wants to
marry her; They have eloped; Fedka being a non-Jew, this enrages Tevye
■ Golda (his wife) knew all along, but Fedka never listens to her, and only
responds with quotes from the Holy book
● Element of sexism during this time; women have no deciding
factors on her future
● Men see themselves superior
○ "'What did you think? That I should let myself be led by a
woman? That I would live according to your female
reason?
○ Tevye and Golda mourn their daughter for seven days as if she were dead
■ Tevye tries to forget her completely; is completely devastated
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○ While riding, Chava appears on the side of the road, eager to tell her father
something, trying to stop the horse
■ Tevye says “giddyup” and rides away; as he does, Chava calls out to him,
and his mind is filled with doubts
● What if Chava is unhappy and whats to return home?
● If all men are equal, why did God create Jews and non-Jews and
make them hate each other
■ Tevye rides away; doesn’t see Chava again
● “Teaching Tevye” by Dara Horn
○ Tevye the dairy mean is very misappropriated in The Fiddler on The Roof; the
book is nothing like the popular image
■ In the book, Tevye lives in a village, without any Jews around; in the
movie, Tevye lives in a shtetl surrounded by Jews
■ In the book, Tevye’s far more uneducated and much more of an
ignoramus (in the movie he’s often quoting from the holy Book; in the
novel, he quotes the most common phrases and often incorrectly);
■ Tevye confronts tradition not with sentimentalism but with questioning
God why his life is so full of misfortune and undeserved suffering
○ Stories of Tevye are comedic
■ voice of Tevye himself, who recounts each undeserved catastrophe with
humor that can come only from a certain level of cultural comfort
● He’s relatable (endless references to jewish sources), has bitter
humor
● Believes in God, despite his suffering
● His optimism and faith in God makes him a model for many also
facing their own private obstacles
○ Around 2002, during rise of anti-Israel sentiment and anti-Semitism, Tevye
becomes even more relevant and sought to as a model for Jewish people
■ “Rolls with the punches” with optimism; incredible inner strength and
endurance; ability to force meaning of the absurdity of what is the Jewish
condition
■ But his character can serve as a universal model as well for anyone
facing toil and hardship
■ intimacy with holiness that allows us to confront God in our darkest
moments, unafraid to remember that our old God lives, and laughs
● Huffington Post: There’s More To Shtetl Humor Than Tevye the Dairyman
○ Prior to WWII, Yiddish language (and film) were booming!
■ Sholom Alecheim’s Tevye the Dairyman becomes basis for Tevye (1939)
and Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
■ Documentary: Sholom Alecheim: Laughing in the Darkness=captures a
world of literature almost wiped off the planet by Nazis during WWII
■ “Sholem Aleichem was, in fact, a modern master of the short story and
especially the monologue, so much so that he could take his intuitive
understanding of common Yiddish speech, place that speech in the
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Though yiddish cinema would gain technical proficiency from the widespread presence of jews at all levels of the film industry, it was still less a relative of world cinema than it was child of yiddish stage. First yiddish movies and most yiddish 1930s films were adaptions, the rest employing, stars, writers, and conventions of the yiddish stage. In europe, the yiddish stage was the province of the young and modern. Mainly attended by new jewish proletariat (esp. In america, audience was more universal as the yiddish stage not only provided entertainment but also an antidote for homesickness and source of collective identity. The development of a public yiddish culture in the russian empire coincided with a heightened anti-semitism. S. angsky embarked on an expedition to gather jewish folklore and served as a medical aide during wwi to jewish communities in war-torn areas. Der yidisher khurbn the jewish catastrophe reflected the intensity of his return to jewish world.
