The 'Yiddish Voice' Podcast

Part one our interview with Mindl Cohen, Editor-in-Chief of In Geveb, the online journal of Yiddish studies (ingeveb.org), as well as Harvard University's new Yiddish teacher. Part 2 will air next week. Special guests Leye Leavitt, Sholem Beinfeld, and with a cameo appearance by Rivke David, joining regular host Meyer David live in studio! Henceforth Leye/Sholem/Rivke/Meyer.... Greetings for the New Year Holidays from our Sponsors were read by Leye Yiddish Cultural and Educational happenings closer to and farther from Boston were announced by Sholem, Meyer, and Leye Leye gave a more in-depth report on Yiddish teaching at Boston Workmen's Circle this Summer. Special cameo appearance by Rivke, who endorsed her former Yiddish teacher Leye, as well as Arbeter Ring chorus, having sung with them in the past. Leye related her sublime Israel/Jewish travel experience from her summer Meyer related bits of his terrific summer experience at Yidish-Vokh Sholem and Leye Leavitt discussed their as yet unknown but hopefully soon to be roles as subtitlers of the forthcoming reissue of arguably the greatest Yiddish film of all time, Yidl Mitl Fidl. Music: high holiday music by Malavsky Family, Cantor Sholem Katz; excerpts of songs that honor workers, in honor of our American holiday Labor Day: Mayn Rue Platz (Nikitov), Dem Milners Trern (Sidor Belarsky), Di Shvue (Mlotek Bundist Yugnt Khor)

Khaye Torenberg: interview with the former director of Mexico City's Colegio Israelita de Mexico, the first Jewish day school in Mexico Binyumin Schaechter -- well-known musician, composer, arranger, songwriter -- gives a report on his recent appearance at a Yiddish conference in Stockholm Hy Wolfe -- actor, singer, co-president of the Hebrew Actors' Foundation -- talks about recent developments with the organization and his vision for its future Music: selections from the Milken CD Great Songs of the Yiddish Stage: Volume 1: Abraham Ellstein & Other Songwriters of His Circle (http://www.milkenarchive.org/music/albums/view/great-songs-of-the-yiddish-stage-volume-1) Air Date: August 23, 2017

Khane-Faygl Turtletaub reads her own story that appeared in a recent issue of the Yiddish Forward. See http://yiddish.forward.com/articles/204545/i-needed-this-dog-like-a-hole-in-the-head/?p=all Fanya Brantsovsky talks about the Vilnius Yiddish Institute, which just ended its 17th summer session, and a bit about herself. Joel Wollman, a collector of antiques, was interviewed about rare photographs which were recently published in the July 2017 issue of the Yiddish Moment Magazine. See http://momentmagazine.org for info. Maykhl (tasty dish) Ripinyik: Judy Altmann from Stamford, CT, originally from Jasina, Czechoslovakia (pre-WWII), continues our mini series on a mysterious Yiddish word. She recalls a baked dish named "Ripinyik", a Yiddish word that seems to be only known to former inhabitants of the shtetl Jasina (as it was known in pre-WWII Czechoslovakia): listen to the recipe: if you have heard of this dish by another name, or you've heard of this dish by this name, please contact the Yiddish Voice and let us know: [email protected] More info on this "maykhl" will be given in a later broadcast. Air Date: August 16, 2017

Sholem Beinfeld is special guest host live in studio, discusses various topics, including the song "Rokhl mevako al boneho", which we audition through the Yiddish Song of the Week (https://yiddishsong.wordpress.com/2017/07/21/rokhl-mevako-al-boneho-performed-by-esther-korshin/) Excerpts of Max Kohn's 2012 interview with the late Eli Wiesel in recognition of his first yortsayt Excerpts of the late Iosif Lakhman's 2012 talk about the murdered Soviet-Yiddish writers for upcoming 65th anniversary of 12 August 1952, or the "Night of the Murdered Poets" Kolye Borodulin is interviewed by phone about forthcoming Arbeter Ring (Workmen's Circle) "Yiddishland" adult summer camp and Fall 2017 Yiddish Internet classes Maykhl (tasty dish) Ripinyik: Esti Shnek from Haifa, Israel, originally from Jasina, Czechoslovakia (pre-WWII), starts our mini series on a mysterious Yiddish word. She recalls a baked dish named "Ripinyik", a Yiddish word that seems to be only known to former inhabitants of the shtetl Jasina (as it was known in pre-WWII Czechoslovakia): listen to the recipe: if you have heard of this dish by another name, or you've heard of this dish by this name, please contact the Yiddish Voice and let us know: [email protected] More info on this "maykhl" will be given in a later broadcast. Air Date: August 9, 2017

An excerpt of our 2006 interview with Simcha Simchovitch in recognition of his recent passing and of the upcoming 65th anniversary of the 12th of August 1952, also known as the Night of the Murdered Poets. Excerpts of our 2016 interview with Fishl Goldig, which we aired without his music. This time we have a lot less of his talk, but a bit more of his music. Interview with Danny Finkelman, executive-producer of "Menashe", the hit Yiddish-language film. Additional featured music: Mame-Loshn, CD by Nikitov, featuring Yiddish translations of English pop hits Air Date: August 2, 2017

Menashe Lustig is the both the star of the new film "Menashe" but the story is also based partially on his real life. We interviewed him this past May 2017 when the film had its opening at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA. Now that it's starting a national run on Los Angeles and New York, we are reairing the interview once again. Related links: Menashe (Film) on IMDB Menashe (Film) Wikipedia page In the second half of our show, we turn to sad semi-holiday Tisha B'Ov, which falls this coming week on Monday night and Tuesday, by featuring some of the best presentations from past years, namely, the late Miriam Libenson's 1995 presentation for Tisha B'Ov and excerpts from a much more recent (2010) interview about Tisha B'Ov in our time with Rabbi Simon Jacobson of the Meaning Life Center (https://www.meaningfullife.com/). Air Date: July 26, 2017

Various topics discussed with interesting guests. Sholem Beinfeld was live in studio. He is the co-chief editor of the recently published Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary, Professor Emeritus of History from Washington University in St. Louis, and serves on the Yiddish Committee of the Boston Workmen's Circle. Joining on the phone were Boris Sandler, the acclaimed Yiddish author and recently retired editor of the Yiddish Forverts, and Leye Shporer-Leavitt, Yiddish teacher and translator. Air Date: July 19, 2017

A special "Shloyshim" program in memory of Iosif Lakhman, beloved co-host of our program, who also extremely active and involved "retirement" life since coming to Boston from the former Soviet Union in 1991. Participants in the show included Sholem Beinfeld, Dovid Braun, Misha Khazin, Lillian (Leye) Shporer-Leavitt, Dina (Dobe) Ressler, and Mark David. We heard excerpts of a broadcast of the Yiddish Voice from August 2012 featuring Iosif Lakhman in studio for the 60th anniversary of the 12 August 1952 "night of the murdered Yiddish poets", the killing of the leading Soviet Yiddish poets and writers on orders from Stalin, an event which Iosif was a masterful in memorializing for our community. Note that there are also "cameo" appearances by the Yiddish activist Arele Viswanath and the Yiddish language and literature professor Elke Kellman in this excerpt. Also, by the way, the full broadcast is currently featured and available for download from the online Forverts article in the links below. We also heard excerpts of Iosif Lakhman's 2013 interview by Aaron Lansky, founder and president of the Yiddish Book Center. Thanks to the Wexler Oral History Project and the Yiddish Book Center for making this video and making excerpts available to us. See link below for Iosif Lakhman's Oral History for additional audio, video, and info. Related links: Iosif Lakhman, Yiddish Cultural Activist in Boston, Has Died -- in Yiddish -- obituary in the Forverts written by Misha Khazin. Iosif Lakhman's Oral History -- in Yiddish -- Iosif Lakhman's 2013 interview for the Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History project. (Note: Aaron Lansky, founder and president of the Yiddish Book Center, conducted this interview with Lakhman.) Dear Dad -- in Russian -- a touching open letter from Iosif Lakhman's daughter Zina Lamm, looking back on their lives together. The letter was published on the web site of the Massachusetts Club of Russian-Speaking Scientists, of which Lakhman had been an active member until the very end. Air Date: July 12, 2017

Jeanette Friedman is a writer, a publishing services consultant, a Holocaust education expert -- author of Why Should I Care?: Lessons From the Holocaust -- and a 2G and social activist who speaks her mind. She's proud of her yikhes and of the many religious gedoylim in her family, although she herself is off the derekh. We reached her for a wide-ranging interview at her home in Pennsylvania. Air Date: July 5, 2017

A special "Shloyshim" program in memory of Gella Schweid Fishman, master Yiddish teacher and archivist of the secular Yiddish school movement in the USA. Participants in the show include Dovid Fishman, Dov-Ber Kerler, Rukhl Schaechter, Dovid Braun, and Mark David. Fishman, who is Gella Fishman's son, is Professor of Jewish History at Jewish Theological Seminary. Kerler is Professor of Jewish Studies and Germanic Studies at Indiana University. Rukhl Schaechter is Editor of the Yiddish Forward newspaper and web site yiddish.forward.com. Braun and David are regular participants on the Yiddish Voice. Thanks for audio excerpts of Gella Fishman's 2016 interview by Christa Whitney, director of the Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History Project. Thanks to Christa and Wexler! See link below additional audio, video, and info. Related links: Gella Fishman Fought Hard for the Dignity of Yiddish -- editorial in Yiddish by the Forverts Yiddish Teacher and Archivist Gella Schweid Fishman Has Died (Yiddish) -- obituary in Yiddish in the Forverts written by Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath Yiddish Teacher And Archivist Gella Schweid Fishman Has Died (English) -- obituary in English in the Forward written by Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath Gella Schweid Fishman's Oral History -- 2016 interview by the Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History project Air Date: June 21, 2017

Daniel Galay wrote about the sorry recent demise of the daily Yiddish-language broadcast in Israel in his recent article in the Yiddish Forward (Forverts), titled (in translation) "Troubling Fate For Israeli Yiddish Radio". The article is here: http://yiddish.forward.com/articles/204522/troubling-fate-for-israeli-yiddish-radio/ We reached Daniel Galay by phone in Israel. Daniel Galay is Chairman of Leyvik House (http://www.leyvik.org.il/), the Association of Yiddish Writers and Journalists in Israel, as well as a composer and pianist. Also on this week's show: We continue with an excerpt of an interview with Hasia Segal, the late former co-host of the Yiddish Voice, which was recorded at her summer home on Cape Cod (Massachusetts) in 2008. We also continue with an excerpt of an interview with Arieh London that we first aired in 2010, the late former host of Kol Israel (Israel state radio), who recently passed away. Article in Forverts: http://yiddish.forward.com/articles/204381/lively-yiddish-radio-host-arie-london-has-died/ Air Date: June 14, 2017

Iosif Lakhman, co-host of this Yiddish Voice radio show and podcast, died yesterday (June 6, 2017). Dovid Braun gives a short announcement of his death, which was sudden, and no funeral details were available. A Shloyshim (memorial) program is planned and will be announced in the coming weeks. The featured interview on this show is with Avremi Zak, who worked for the Yiddish service of Kol Israel, the Israel Broadcast Authority (IBA)'s radio service, until its recent closing. We cover the closing of IBA, as well as other recent events in Israel. Also on this week's show: We announce sadly that Arieh London, the former host of the Yiddish service of Kol Israel, died recently. We present a short excerpt of an interview he did with the Yiddish Voice in 2010. We play an excerpt of an interview with Hasia Segal, the late former co-host of the Yiddish Voice, which was recorded at her summer home on Cape Cod (Massachusetts) in 2008. Air Date: June 7, 2017

Special guests and special themes: Shvues and Yom Yerusholayim: Rabbi Itzchak Kin of Los Angeles, originally from Israel, talks about the holiday Shvues, as well as his memories of Jerusalem and the Six-Day War Israel and Trump's Visit: discussed by Ruth Shulman of Tel Aviv and Gitu (Giselle) Cycowicz of Jerusalem Air Date: May 24, 2017

Gella Schweid-Fishman died yesterday (May 16, 2017). Dovid Braun gives a short announcement of her death, including funeral details, as well as some details about the life of the beloved Yiddish activist. See also this article (in Yiddish) in Forverts: http://yiddish.forward.com/articles/204111/yiddish-teacher-and-archivist-gella-schweid-fishma/ The featured interview on this show is with Professor Dovid Roskies. It is a slightly shortened version the interview that we originally aired Nov. 30, 2017. Also on this week's show: We announce that sadly the daily Yiddish radio shows that for decades have been a part of the Israeli state broadcasting service, better known as Kol Israel, have been canceled. They will apparently be "replaced" by a weekly show. Various music is also performed, notably by the Dutch band Nikitov, which is on tour and will be playing several concerts this month on the East Coast of the USA, including a few in Boston. More info here: http://nikitov.com Air Date: May 17, 2017

On the Yiddish Voice tonight we have a very interesting guest. He's an actor and entertainer, but no ordinary one. He is a Chareidi Jew, specifically a Skverer Chossid. In his relatively short life he has suffered no small amount. He's a widower. He not only lost his wife, but then they wanted to take his son away from him. All that and more make up the plot of a new movie named "Menashe", in which this man, whose name stage name is Menachem Lustig, play the leading role. Menachem Lustig is our guest with an interview on this week's show. Also on this week's show: In honor of Israel Independence Day (Yom Haatsmaut): from our archives: Hasia Segal talks about a relatively unsung hero of Israel, and a Bostonian, the late Dewey Stone. News report by Avremi Zaks via Kol Yisrael in Jerusalem (http://www.iba.org.il/world/) Air Date: April 26, 2017

For Yom HaShoah (Holocaust commemoration day), which occurs this year on Apr. 23, 2017, we present interviews conducted today with Holocaust survivors Yakob Basner and Judy Altmann. Basner was born and raised in Riga, Latvia. He survived the Riga ghetto, five concentration camps, and a death march. We reached Basner by phone at his home in Seal Beach, CA. Altmann was born and raised in Jasina, Czechoslovakia, a small town in the Carpathian mountains (now Yasinya, Ukraine). She survived Auschwitz, labor camps, and a death march to the Bergen Belsen concentration camp. We reached Altmann by phone at her home in Stamford, CT. Air Date: April 19, 2017

Interview with the Sylvia Bialik, organizer of the "Yiddish Idol" ("Der Yidisher Idol") in Mexico City, a Yiddish singing and songwriting competition whose submission deadline comes later this month (April 23, 2017). See also "Der Yidisher Idol" web site (in Spanish and English): http://deridisheridol.com Also on this week's show: Pesach music and Pesach greetings from sponsors and friends. Hasia Segal: Di Veltlekhe Hagode (highlights of the Arbeter Ring haggadah; from 1991) Air Date: April 12, 2017

Interview with the reporter known as Jake Turx, Whitehouse correspondent for Ami Magazine. His question about anti-semitism at the first press conference of President Donald Trump on Feb. 16 caused a stir because Trump became angry at him, cutting him off, telling him to sit down, and accusing him of dishonesty. "A Jewish Reporter Got to Ask Trump a Question.", read a New York Times headline on Feb. 17, 2017, "It Didn’t Go Well." (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/17/us/politics/trump-press-conference-jake-turx.html) See also Jake Turx's page at Ami Magazine: http://www.amimagazine.org/author/jake-turx/ And follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeTurx Also on this week's show: Pesach music and Pesach greetings from sponsors and friends. News report by Avremi Zaks via Kol Yisrael in Jerusalem (http://www.iba.org.il/world/) Air Date: April 5, 2017

Replays of some of our best Pesach presentations: Hasia Segal: Di Veltlekhe Hagode (highlights of the Arbeter Ring haggadah; from 1991) Rav Avrhohom Marmorstein: Passover Q&A (from 2015) Myer Loketch: Pesach, Chometz, and Chaim Brisker (from 2007) Pesach music by Bruce Adler, Richard Tucker, and Moyshe Oysher Pesach greetings by Dovid Braun, Iosif Lakhman, Misha Khazin, Shimshon Ehrenfeld, Eli Dovek, and Max Gelerman (z"l). News report by Avremi Zaks via Kol Yisrael in Jerusalem (http://www.iba.org.il/world/) Air Date: Mar. 29, 2017

Interview with Esti Shnek (maiden name: Jahr), born in Jasina, Czechoslovakia, in 1924, survivor of Auschwitz, and now a resident of Haifa, interviewed at her home in February 2017. News report by Avremi Zaks via Kol Yisrael in Jerusalem (http://www.iba.org.il/world/) From the archives: Hasia Segal interviews Brukhe Kipnis, daughter of famed Yiddish writer Itzik Kipnis (from the 1990's). (This is the second part of the interview: the first part aired the previous week.) Further info: http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Kipnis_Itsik Air Date: Mar. 22, 2017

Interview with Myrna Rabinowitz and music from her new CD "Lullabies And Longings". Further info: http://www.myrnarabinowitz.com/2.html News report by Avremi Zaks via Kol Yisrael in Jerusalem (http://www.iba.org.il/world/) From the archives: Hasia Segal interviews Brukhe Kipnis, daughter of famed Yiddish writer Itzik Kipnis (from the 1990's). Further info: http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Kipnis_Itsik Air Date: Mar. 15, 2017

Purim music and best of past presentations on Purim from our archive by Miriam Libenson, Hasia Segal, Iosif Lakhman, Michael Wex. News report by Avremi Zaks via Kol Yisrael in Jerusalem. From the archives: Hasia Segal: Purim and Jewish Humor (from 2008, same as last week, but longer: full 16 1/2 minutes) Air Date: Mar. 8, 2017

Holocaust survivor, educator, and author Moshe Avital discusses his book Not To Forget, Impossible to Forgive. (Part 2) For further information: www.mosheavital.com (originally aired on Nov. 2, 2016) From the archives: Hasia Segal: Purim and Jewish Humor (from 2008) Air Date: Mar. 1, 2017

Holocaust survivor, educator, and author Moshe Avital discusses his book Not To Forget, Impossible to Forgive. (Part 1) For further information: www.mosheavital.com (originally aired on Oct. 26, 2016) From the archives: Hasia Segal reads the Sholom Aleichem story "Nakhes fun Kinder" for Purim. Air Date: Feb. 22, 2017