The 'Yiddish Voice' Podcast

Part 1: Last July 13 we aired a quick interview with Gitu Cycowics just hours after her meeting with President Biden at Yad Vashem to get her first impressions, and she made us promise to let her come back to look back when she was not so tired and had time to think about things. We reached her by phone at her home in Jerusalem on Aug. 25, 2022.. Gitu -- a/k/a Giselle (Gita) Cycowicz (née Friedman) -- who was born in 1927 in the town of Chust in the Carpathian Mountains, then part of Czechoslovakia, survived Auschwitz and other camps, later starting a new life in the USA, and eventually getting her PhD in psychology. In her later years, she moved to Israel and then worked for decades for AMCHA (https://amcha.org), helping with the psychological needs of her fellow survivors. On Weds., Jul. 13, 2022, she was one of two Holocaust survivors invited to meet President Joseph Biden at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. Here is a YouTube from the live stream of Gitu meeting Biden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q96DZT4qMXs&t=731s Here is Gitu's page at Yad Vashem: https://www.yadvashem.org/blog/i-have-to-tell-my-story-giselle-cycowicz.html Part 2: Judy Altmann, born and raised in Jasina, Czechoslovakia, fondly recalls her home and family life in her town at the eastern edge of Karpatorus, which belonged to Czechoslovakia from 1918 to 1939, Hungary during WWII, and now Ukraine. She worked in her family's general store, which served the lumber industry workers from the tiny surrounding villages. She recounts her mother's cooking talents and describes the dish known locally in Yiddish as ריפּינייִק Ripinyik, probably closest to Potatonik. (She sometimes refers to potatoes as ריבלעך (riblekh).) At the end, she summarizes her Holocaust experiences. In 1944, she and her parents and practically all Jews of the town were taken to Auschwitz. In her family's case, they were first made to stay for several days without shelter in the Jewish cemetery. From there they were taken to a ghetto in Mateszalca (Hungary ) for several weeks. Finally, they were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau. She survived, but her parents and most of her family were killed. We reached Judy by phone at her home in Stamford, CT, on Aug. 31, 2022. Air date: August 31, 2022 Happy New Year! אַ גוט געזונט יאָר Please patronize our sponsors! Enjoy these vintage greetings from our sponsors: Eli Dovek ז"ל, late proprietor of Israel Book Shop (from 2009) Max Gelerman ז"ל, late proprietor of The Butcherie (from 2005)

Interview with acclaimed performing artist Eleanor Reissa discussing her recently published memoir The Letters Project: A Daughter's Journey. In 1986, after her mother's death, Reissa discovered fifty-six letters written by her late father. She set them aside for forty years before finally having them translated, which led to set her on a journey to her father's history during the Holocaust, which had been largely hidden from her. The book can be found in bookstores and online, including Eleanor Reissa's website eleanorreissa.com and Amazon. An audio version of the book, with Reissa's own narration, is also available through Audible. Eleanor Reissa is an American actress, singer, theatre director, playwright, librettist, choreographer, translator, and author based in New York City, who performs in both Yiddish and English. For more information on Eleanor Reissa and The Letters Project visit: eleanorreissa.com The interview is conducted by Yiddish Voice co-host Lillian Shporer-Leavitt, a daughter of Shoah survivors who grew up speaking Yiddish and graduated from the Boston Workmen's Circle Yiddish Shule. A former computer business analyst and software trainer, she is an experienced Yiddish teacher and translator, having taught at the Workmen's Circle, Gann Academy of Greater Boston, Boston University Hillel, and Brandeis University. In addition, she has subtitled Yiddish films for the National Center for Jewish Film and translated Yizkor (memorial) books for the Jewish Genealogical Society. Music/Spoken Word recordings: Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman: Zumerteg Zvee Scooler: Vakatsye in di Berg Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air date: August 17, 2022

We continue our summer rerun season with a panel discussion of the tragic events of August 12, 1952, in Moscow, with Gennady Estraikh, Jana Mazurkiewicz Meisarosh, and Sholem Beinfeld, which was originally aired August 12, 2020. Air date: July 27, 2022 PS: you can still find the original podcast in our archive: https://the-yiddish-voice-podcast.zencast.website/episodes/estraikh-mazurkiewicz-meisarosh-beinfeld-august-12-1952

Part 1: We took a temporary break from our summer rerun season to bring our dear listeners breaking news, of a sort, from the real world: we reached friend of the show Gitu Cycowics hours after her meeting with President Biden at Yad Vashem to get her first impressions. Gitu -- a/k/a Giselle (Gita) Cycowicz (née Friedman) -- who was born in 1927 in the town of Chust in the Carpathian Mountains, then part of Czechoslovakia, survived Auschwitz and other camps, later starting a new life in the USA, and eventually getting her PhD in psychology. In her later years, she moved to Israel and then worked for decades for AMCHA (https://amcha.org), helping with the psychological needs of her fellow survivors. Today (Weds., Jul. 13, 2022) she was one of two Holocaust survivors invited to meet President Joseph Biden at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. We are thankful for sharing with us her first impressions of that experience hours after it took place. Here is a YouTube from the live stream of Gitu meeting Biden: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q96DZT4qMXs&t=731s Here is Gitu's page at Yad Vashem: https://www.yadvashem.org/blog/i-have-to-tell-my-story-giselle-cycowicz.html Part 2: We continue our summer rerun season with an interview of Diego Rotman, interviewed by Sholem Beinfeld, discussing the famed Yiddish actors and comics Shimon Dzigan and Yisroel Schumacher. The interview was originally aired in March, 2022. Air date: July 13, 2022 PS: you can still find the original podcast containing the Diego Rotman interview aired on Mar. 2, 2022, in our archive: https://the-yiddish-voice-podcast.zencast.website/episodes/diego-rotman-dzigan-schumacher

This week we listen back to our February 2018 interview with Zvi Gitelman, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan, author and editor of numerous books, including A Century of Ambivalence: The Jews of Russia and the Soviet Union, 1881 to the Present (2001) and The New Jewish Diaspora: Russian-speaking Immigrants in the United States, Israel and Germany (2016), speaking with Sholem Beinfeld. Air date: July 6, 2022 PS: you can still find the original podcast containing this interview aired on Feb. 7, 2018, in our archive: https://the-yiddish-voice-podcast.zencast.website/episodes/zvi-gitelman

This week we listen back to our March 2020 interview with Elissa Bemporad, author of the book Legacy of Blood: Jews, Pogroms, and Ritual Murder in the Lands of the Soviets (Oxford University Press, 2019), interviewed by Sholem Beinfeld. Today we're re-airing the entire interview. It was originally aired in two parts in amid the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, and may have gotten a bit lost in the shuffle. But in case you missed it or just want to relisten, it's still as interesting and relevant today, if not more so, considering today's war between Russia and Ukraine in the news. Air date: June 29, 2022 PS: you can still find the original podcasts containing this interview aired on Mar. 18 and Mar. 25, 2020, in our archive: Part 1: https://the-yiddish-voice-podcast.zencast.website/episodes/covid-19-with-berger-schaechter-plus-author-elissa-bemporad Part 2: https://the-yiddish-voice-podcast.zencast.website/episodes/covid-19-avremi-zak-author-elissa-bemporad-cont-eli-rosen-unorthodox-s-yiddish-consultant

This week, we're listening back to a favorite Yiddish Voice interview from the past: our interview with famed American-Israeli actor and singer Mike Burstyn, discussing the streamed production Megillah Cycle as well as many aspects of Yiddish theater and his history with it, originally aired in February 2021. Air date: June 22, 2022 PS: you can still find the original podcast containing this interview, and the original podcast with part 2 of this interview, in our archive: Part 1: https://the-yiddish-voice-podcast.zencast.website/episodes/the-megillah-and-mike-burstyn Part 2: https://the-yiddish-voice-podcast.zencast.website/episodes/the-megillah-and-mike-burstyn-part-2

This week, we're listening back to a favorite Yiddish Voice interview from the past: our interview with Rachel Rojanski, author of Yiddish in Israel: A History. This is part 1 of the interview, originally aired in May, 2021. This podcast includes a current (June 2022) announcement: Event announcement: Linda (Libe) Gritz announces the forthcomingBostoner Arbeter Ring Chorus concert, featuring Lorin Sklamberg and Paulina Shepherd. Info: https://circleboston.org/peace-freedom A Besere Velt Yiddish Chorus: Singing For Peace & Freedom Concert: June 18, 2022 It removes a dated interview and adds as a bonus several fantastic Yiddish-in-Israel-realated commercial recordings at the end that you won't want to miss. Enjoy! Air date: June 15, 2022 PS: you can still find the original podcast containing this interview and some other dated stuff, and the original podcast with part 2 in our archive: Part 1: https://the-yiddish-voice-podcast.zencast.website/episodes/rachel-rojanski-yiddish-in-israel-part-1-dovid-braun-yivo-summer-program-2021 Part 2: https://the-yiddish-voice-podcast.zencast.website/episodes/rachel-rojanski-yiddish-in-israel-part-2-and-comprehensive-english-yiddish-dictionary

Interview with Sheldon (Shulem) Londner, discussing growing up speaking Yiddish as the child of Holocaust survivors, and later joining and eventually leading the Los Angeles Yidish-Leyenkrayz (Yiddish reading circle), which started in the 1990's and, under his leadership, has met on Zoom practically every week during the Covid Pandemic. Event announcement: Linda (Libe) Gritz announces the forthcoming Bostoner Workers Circle Chorus concert, featuring Lorin Sklamberg and Paulina Shepherd. Info: https://circleboston.org/peace-freedom Music: Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Outro instrumental music: Itzhak Perlman, Dov Seltzer, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: Afn Veg Shteyt A Boym Air Date: June 8, 2022

Dr. Sheva Zucker presents her new bilingual audio album The Golden Peacock: The Voice of the Yiddish Writer, which she edited and produced. It was originally published in 2001 in an all-Yiddish CD format. In 2021, it was released as a revised bilingual edition, making it available either as MP3 files or as two audio CDs. The set now includes the voices of twelve Yiddish writers and a 138-page book that contains the work of each writer in Yiddish with parallel text in English, a biography of each writer in English and Yiddish as well as notes in English about each selection. Hear the voices of Celia Dropkin, Yankev Glatshteyn, Rokhl Korn, Aron Glanz-Leyeles, H. Leivick, Kadya Molodowsky, Itzik Manger, Avrom Sutzkever, Sholem-Aleichem, Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman, Yekhiel Shraibman and Elie Wiesel. English is read by Sheva Zucker and Trudie Kessler, Professor Emeritus of Voice and Acting at The Theatre School/DePaul University, Chicago. Sheva Zucker served as the executive director of the League for Yiddish and editor-in-chief of its publication Afn Shvel from 2005-2020. She is the author of the textbooks Yiddish: An Introduction to the Language, Literature & Culture, Vols. I & II, and has taught Yiddish language and literature for over two decades in the Uriel Weinreich Summer Program in Yiddish Language, Literature and Culture. For more info: https://shevazucker.com The interviewer, Lillian ("Leah") Shporer-Leavitt, is a frequent cohost of The Yiddish Voice and an experienced Yiddish translator and teacher. She has taught Yiddish for many years at various institutions in the Boston area, including Workers Circle and Gann Academy. Music: Sidor Belarsky: Babi Yar (lyrics by Shike Driz, music by Rive Boyarska) Theresa Tova: Mayn Khaverte Mintsye (lyrics and music by Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman) Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air date: May 25, 2022

Joseph Alexander, a 99-year-old Holocaust survivor now living in Los Angeles, originally from Kowal, Poland, talks about his Holocaust experiences. We recorded this interview with him via Zoom on May 17, 2022. Miriam Libenson ז״ל: Lag B'Omer (from our archive, originally recorded and aired in the 1990's) Music: Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Outro instrumental music: Itzhak Perlman, Dov Seltzer, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: Afn Veg Shteyt A Boym Air Date: May 18, 2022

Tonight's show aired on the night after Yom HaZikaron and on the eve of Yom HaAtsmaut. We present a new interview with Yehuda Neufeld, an Israeli war veteran, now living in Los Angeles, who was wounded in Israel's war with Egypt arising out of the Suez Crisis of October 1956. We also heard from our archives: Hasia Segal ז״ל on the Boston Zionist hero Dewey Stone. We also heard music related to Israel and mothers, in honor of Mother's Day, which falls the following Sunday. Music: Barry Sisters: Exodus David Esheth: Yerusholayim Shtot fun Gold (music Naomi Shemer, origin Hebrew lyrics Naomi Shemer, Yiddish translation Dovid Esheth) Barry Sisters: Vu Ahin Zol Ikh Geyn (lyrics: Igor S. Korntayer) Dudu Fisher: A Yidishe Mame Marilyn Michaels: Mamele Moishe Oysher: *Afn Veg Shteyt A Boym" (Lyrics: Itsik Manger) Dudu Fisher: Mamenyu Dudu Fisher: A Brivele Der Mamen Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air Date: May 4, 2022

Tonight's show aired on the eve of Yom HaShoah. We present a new interview with Naftali (Tuli) Deutsch, an Auschwitz survivor, as well as recordings of three others from past years. They are Al (Zoli) Langer, Rokhl Zicherman, and Matele Friedman ז״ל. All of these survivors were born in Carpathian Ruthenia, then in Czechoslovakia, now known as Zakarpatska Oblast, in the western part of Ukraine. Naftali Deutsch is the author of A Holocaust Survivor: In The Footsteps Of His Past, his auto-biography. Info here: https://holocaustsurvivorbook.com Announcement: The American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston invites you to Boston's 2022 Virtual Community Holocaust Commemoration of Yom HaShoah, Sunday, May 1, 2022, at 2:00PM Eastern. Info and registration here: https://www.jcrcboston.org/yh2022/ Music: Shimon Yisraeli: Zog Nit Keyn Mol (lyrics: Hirsch Glick) The following sung by Matele Friedman, recorded by The Yiddish Voice on January 1, 2020: Es Brent (Words and music by Mordkhe Gebirtig) The following sung by Rokhl Zicherman, recorded by The Yiddish Voice in January 2019: In Auschwitzer Lager Holocaust 'Dem Milners Trern' Abraham Brun: Why Need We Cry? Dudu Fisher: Vu Ahin Zol Ikh Geyn (lyrics: Igor S. Korntayer) Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air Date: April 27, 2022

Happy Passover! ‫אַ זיסן און כּשרן פּסח און אַ גוטן מועד!‬ Happy Passover and thanks to friends, participants, and sponsors of this show: Israel Book Shop (Eli Dovek recorded Mar 28 2007) The Butcherie (Max Gelerman ז״ל recorded Mar 28 2007) Cheryl Ann's Bakery, featuring kosher and pareve breads and pastries American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston (Tania Lefman, Treasurer, co-sponsor of Boston's 2022 Virtual Community Holocaust Commemoration of Yom HaShoah, Sunday, May 1, 2022, at 2:00PM Eastern. Info and registration here: https://www.jcrcboston.org/yh2022/ League for Yiddish (Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath, Chair of the Board) Dovid Braun, Leonia, NJ Sholem Beinfeld, Cambridge, MA Leah Shporer-Leavitt, Newton, MA Motl Murstein, Brookline, MA Boston Workers Circle Yiddish Committee, (Linda Gritz, Somerville, MA) Fishl Kutner, from Der Bay, IAYC, and Fishl's Yiddish Group Featured Interview: Pinchas Gutter, Warsaw ghetto & Majdanek survivor; author: MEMORIES IN FOCUS; USC Shoah Foundation hologram witness (https://iwitness.usc.edu/dit/pinchas). For additional info see Shoah Foundation's info page on Pinchas Gutter: https://sfi.usc.edu/survivor/pinchas-gutter and Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinchas_Gutter Music: Moishe Oysher: Chad Gadyo Moishe Oysher: Got Iz Eyner (Mu Asapru) Michael Silverman: Dayenu (instrumental) Sholom Katz: Keil Moleh Rachamim Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air Date: April 20, 2022

Happy Passover! ‫אַ זיסן און כּשרן פּסח!‬ Happy Passover and thanks to friends, participants, and sponsors of this show: Israel Book Shop (Eli Dovek recorded Mar 28 2007) The Butcherie (Max Gelerman ז״ל recorded Mar 28 2007) Cheryl Ann's Bakery, featuring kosher and pareve breads and pastries American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston (Tania Lefman, Treasurer, co-sponsor of Boston's 2022 Virtual Community Holocaust Commemoration of Yom HaShoah, Sunday, May 1, 2022, at 2:00PM Eastern. Info and registration here: https://www.jcrcboston.org/yh2022/ League for Yiddish (Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath, Chair of the Board) Dovid Braun, Leonia, NJ Sholem Beinfeld, Cambridge, MA Leah Shporer-Leavitt, Newton, MA Motl Murstein, Brookline, MA Boston Workers Circle Yiddish Committee, (Linda Gritz, Somerville, MA) Fishl Kutner, from Der Bay, IAYC, and Fishl's Yiddish Group Hy Wolfe, from CYCO Yiddish Bookstore and Publishing House Featured Interview: Dov-Ber Kerler, writer and poet, professor at Indiana University, co-director of the AHEYM project, with his thoughts on the war in Ukraine. He also read out a short poem of his, a kind of response to the Hebrew poem They Say There's A Land (אומרים ישנה ארץ) by Shaul Tchernichovsky. Kerler frequently publishes his poetry under the pen name Boris Karloff (באָריס קאַראַוו) here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/berkale For more info on Kerler and AHEYM: https://aheym.com/contact/ Music: Moishe Oysher: Chad Gadyo Moishe Oysher: Got Iz Eyner (Mu Asapru) Michael Silverman: Dayenu (instrumental) Barry SIster: Chad Gadyo (in the style of Moishe Oysher) Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air Date: April 13, 2022

Happy Passover! ‫אַ זיסן און כּשרן פּסח!‬ Happy Passover and thanks to friends, participants, and sponsors of this show: Israel Book Shop (Eli Dovek recorded Mar 28 2007) The Butcherie (Max Gelerman ז״ל recorded Mar 28 2007) Cheryl Ann's Bakery, featuring kosher and pareve breads and pastries American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston (Tania Lefman, Treasurer, co-sponsor of Boston's 2022 Virtual Community Holocaust Commemoration of Yom HaShoah, Sunday, May 1, 2022, at 2:00PM Eastern. Info and registration here: https://www.jcrcboston.org/yh2022/ League for Yiddish (Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath, Chair of the Board) Dovid Braun, Leonia, NJ Sholem Beinfeld, Cambridge, MA Leah Shporer-Leavitt, Newton, MA Motl Murstein, Brookline, MA Boston Workers Circle Yiddish Committee, (Linda Gritz, Somerville, MA) Fishl Kutner, from Der Bay, IAYC, and Fishl's Yiddish Group Hy Wolfe, from CYCO Yiddish Bookstore and Publishing House Featured Interview: Hy Wolfe, executive director of CYCO Yiddish Bookstore and Publishing House, talks about the organization's campaign to survive and thrive as New York City's last secular Yiddish book store, helped by Friends of CYCO Books, a new organization and web site, and thanks to recent publicity such as the New York Review of Books article The Joy of Yiddish Books. Besides heading up CYCO, Wolfe is a veteran actor, director, and singer, both in English and Yiddish. More info at HyWolfe.com. Music: Moishe Oysher: Got Iz Eyner (Mu Asapru) Hy Wolfe: Es benk zikh nokh di kinder yorn (Childhood Years) Marthe Schlamme: Zog Maran Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air Date: April 6, 2022

Happy Passover! ‫אַ זיסן און כּשרן פּסח!‬ Happy Passover and thanks to friends, participants, and sponsors of this show: Israel Book Shop (Eli Dovek recorded Mar 28 2007) The Butcherie (Max Gelerman ז״ל recorded Mar 28 2007) Cheryl Ann's Bakery, featuring kosher and pareve breads and pastries American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston (Tania Lefman, Treasurer, co-sponsor of Boston's 2022 Virtual Community Holocaust Commemoration of Yom HaShoah, Sunday, May 1, 2022, at 2:00PM Eastern. Info and registration here: https://www.jcrcboston.org/yh2022/ League for Yiddish (Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath, Chair of the Board) Leah Shporer-Leavitt, Newton, MA Gitu Cycowicz, Jerusalem Sholem Beinfeld, Cambridge, MA Motl Murstein, Brookline, MA Interviews Mrs. Gisel (Gitu) Cycowicz, Holocaust survivor originally from Chust, Czechoslovakia, and now living in Jerusalem, discussing recent events Erev Pesach. Motl Murstein, Holocaust survivor recalls his home towns of Pyesk and Volozhin, and sings a Yiddish song (we'll try to name that tune presently: watch this space) Dovid Braun discusses forthcoming Yivo Summer-Program (repeat from previous week). More info here: https://summerprogram.yivo.org Music: Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air Date: March 30, 2022

Hear all about the upcoming 2022 YIVO Summer Program from Dovid Braun, the summer program's academic director. There's still time to register, for in person or online classes. For more info, check out their web site: https://summerprogram.yivo.org Hear an interview with Lilly Segelstein, an Auschwitz survivor who was born in Klitsherkes (קליטשערקעס), then in Czechoslovakia, and today's Kliucharky, a village in Ukraine, near Mukacheve in Zakarpattia Oblast. Lilly is the mother of Cookie Segelstein, who assists her mother on this interview. Cookie is the acclaimed Klezmer violinist of Veretski Pass, whose music is featured in the latter part of the show. Hear greetings for Pesach from sponsors and friends! Motl Murstein, Holocaust survivor in Brookline (from 2020) Max Gelerman ז"ל, proprietor of The Butcherie (from 2005) Cheryl Moore/Moore Family/Cheryl Ann's Bakery Eli Dovek, proprietor of Israel Book Shop (from 2009) Music: Veretski Pass: Veretskier Kolomeyke Veretski Pass: Segelsteins Geveyn Veretski Pass: Papir is Dokh Vays Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air Date: March 23, 2022

Interview with Gennady Estraikh discussing the war in Ukraine. Estraikh, who was born in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, is a professor at NYU who specializes in Jewish intellectual history, Yiddish language and literature, and Soviet Jewish history. He has written numerous books, academic papers, and journal and newspaper articles in English, Russian, Ukrainian, and Yiddish, notably for the Yiddish Forverts. He served as managing editor of the famed Yiddish literary journal Sovetish Heymland from 1988 to 1991. His books include Yiddish Culture in Ukraine (Kyiv: Dukh i Litera, 2016, in Ukrainian) and Transatlantic Russian Jewishness: Ideological Voyages of the Yiddish Daily Forverts in the First Half of the Twentieth Century (Academic Studies Press, 2020). The interview took place over Zoom on Friday March 4, 2022, and was led by Sholem Beinfeld, regular contributor to The Yiddish Voice, co-Editor in Chief of the Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary, and Professor of History, Emeritus, Washington University in St. Louis. Music: Emil Gorovets: Reyzele Tatiana Vayntraub: Gitara Sidi Tal: Nokhemke Emil Gorovets: Ikh Bin a Yid Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air date: March 9, 2022

Diego Rotman, author of The Yiddish Stage as a Temporary Home: Dzigan and Shumacher’s Satirical Theater (1927-1980), discusses the famed Yiddish comedy duo Shimon Dzigan and Yisroel Schumacher in an interview with Sholem Beinfeld, Professor Emeritus of the Department of History at Washington University in St. Louis, and a co-host of The Yiddish Voice. For further info: Home page for this book's English translation at the publisher, De Gruyter Home page for this book's Hebrew original, הבמה כבית ארעי: התאטרון של דז'יגאן ושומאכר (1980-1927) , at the publisher, Magnes Press דזשיגאַן און שומאַכער: אױף דער בינע פֿונעם ייִדישן גלות (Review article in Yiddish by Michael Krutikov, published in the Yiddish Forverts, April 16, 2021) Diego Rotman's home page at Hebrew University's Department of Theatre Studies Yivo Encyclopedia page on Dzigan and Schumacher Music: Wolf Krakowski: Yeder Ruft Mikh Zhamele Intro and Outro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air Date: March 2, 2022

The show presents an interview with Eddie (Avrum) Hoffman, who survived Auschwitz, slave labor at a Krupp factory in Breslau (Wrocław), a death march, and the last days at Ebensee, the brutal Mathausen subcamp.Eddie Hoffman was born in February, 1929, in Sevluš, Czechoslovakia, one of three brothers. The town was in the Subcarpathian Ruthenia part of Czechoslovakia and was also known in Yiddish as Seylesh (סעליש) and in Hungarian as Nagyszőlős. It is now called Vynohradiv and is in Ukraine. His father ran a small shoe manufacturing business, and his mother ran a small general store. In 1944 his father left the family to join the partisans fighting against the Nazis, never to be heard from again, and he and his mother and brothers were deported to Auschwitz. He was the only immediate family member to survive the Holocaust. He eventually settled in Los Angeles, where he owned and managed several bars and restaurants. He now resides with his wife in Orange County, near Los Angeles. The interview took place at his home in October, 2021. The interview with Eddie is dedicated to the memory of Arthur Machlovitz ע״ה, also an Auschwitz survivor from Subcarpathian Ruthenia, from the town of Iza. He was long-time friends and a former business partner with Eddie and was friendly with Yiddish Voice host Meyer Dovid, and so he introduced them in a way: they met at Arthur's funeral in the summer of 2021. Also on this show we sadly announced the passing of Mrs. Margaret (Matele) Friedman ע״ה, who died just two days earlier (Feb. 21, 2022). She was friends with Yiddish Voice host Meyer Dovid, had been featured on several of our broadcasts over the years, and was known in the community for her wonderful singing ability, especially in Yiddish. Also an Auschwitz survivor from Subcarpathian Ruthenia, after the way she returned to the area and married and started a family in Seylesh, and lived there for more than twenty-five years under the Soviets, before the family moved to the US in the 1970's. ‮געבענטשט זאָל זײַן איר אָנדענק!‬ Music: The following were sung by Matele Friedman and recorded by The Yiddish Voice on Jan 1 2020: Fraytik Tse Nakhts (Composed by Shuli Hollender, Matele's first cousin, who died right after the liberation.) Vu Nemt Men A Bisele Mazl Af Dem Pripetshok (Oyfn Pripetchik) (Words and music by Mark Warshawsky) Intro and Outro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Extended episode: this episode is slightly longer than 1 hr 23 minutes. Thanks to the generosity of our radio station WUNR 1600 AM (Brookline, MA) for allowing us to exceed our usual one-hour time slot. Air Date: February 23, 2022

This show features an interview with Efraim (Froyim) Kessler, who, at age 105, is the oldest person ever interviewed on The Yiddish Voice. In the interview Kessler, who was born in Bilgoray, Poland, in 1916, recalls various aspects of his youth, including encounters with the Nobel Prize-winning author Isaac Bashevis Singer and Rabbi Aharon Rokeach, the Belzer Rebbe. He also recalls surviving the Spanish flu. (We learned after the interview that he also survived Covid-19.) Efraim Kieslowicz was born and raised in Bilgoray (Polish spelling: Biłgoraj) on July 27, 1916, one of nine siblings. His father was a rabbi and also ran a grain mill and grocery store. He became an electrician in prewar Poland. He spent the war years in various places in the Soviet Union, including Chukotka in the Russian Far East and Samarkand and Tashkent in Uzbekistan. After the war, he spent several years in a DP camp in Ebensee, Austria. He arrived in the USA in 1952, spending several years in New York and elsewhere before arriving in Los Angeles, where he has lived until now. Along the way, he anglicized his name to be Fred Kessler. In 1960, he started his own electrical contracting business, Fred Kessler Electric, later called Robert Kessler Electric when his son took over the business. He was for decades a member of the shtibl known as "Rabbi Moskovitz's shul" on Fairfax St. in Los Angeles, and has been a member of Young Israel of Los Angeles for over 40 years. He now resides with his son Michael in Los Angeles. The interview took place in September 2021. Also on tonight's show, Kolya Borodulin, director of Yiddish Programming at Workers Circle in New York, talks about the upcoming virtual program, Vinter in Yidishland. We'll also hear the Yiddish Voice debut of a new Yiddish version of the Dolly Parton song Jolene, performed by the Israeli singer and actress Ronit Asheri. Finally, to observe Tu Bishvat, which fell two days ago, from our archives: Miriam Libenson Z"L: a talk in honor of the holiday Tu Bishvat, the holiday of the trees, originally broadcast in 1994, followed by music related to Tu Bishvat and/or to trees, generally. Music: Ronit Asheri: Jolene (Music and original English lyrics by Dolly Parton, Yiddish lyrics by Leyzer Burko) Victor Berezinsky: Tu Bishvat Ruth Levin: A Hoykher Boym (Lyrics Shike Driz, Music by Leibu Levin) Hilda Bronstein: Afn Veg Shteyt A Boym (Lyrics by Itzik Manger) Dudu Fisher: Unter Beymer (Lyrics by Alexander Olshanetsky, Music by Moishe Oysher) Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air date: January 19, 2022

This show is a special Shloyshim program in memory of Israel (Izzy) Arbeiter ז״ל, Holocaust survivor and founder and former long-time president of the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston, who passed away Oct. 29, 2021, at the age of 96. This show is sponsored by The American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston and Descendants. The first part features remarks in memory of Izzy, while the second contains excerpts of his recordings for The Yiddish Voice. Remarks: Janet Stein Calm, President The American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston and Descendants (with remarks read in Yiddish by Dovid Braun); Tania Lefman, Holocaust survivor, long-time friend of Arbeiter's, and treasurer of the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors of Greater Boston; Rabbi Moshe Waldoks of Temple Beth Zion, Boston, who officiated at Arbeiter's funeral; and Dovid Braun, a co-host of The Yiddish Voice and director of the YIVO Yiddish Summer Program Recordings of Izzy Arbeiter for The Yiddish Voice: excerpt of Izzy's interview in 2005 discussing early life and family in Plock, Poland; excerpt of Izzy's interview in 2019 discussing one episode of nearly miraculous survival in 1942 in the midst of the Holocaust; excerpt of Izzy's interview in 1995 discussing the opening of the New England Holocaust Memorial and his personal history as a survivor; excerpt of Izzy's greeting for Passover in 2020 (recorded March 31, 2020) Music: Shimon Yisraeli: Zog Nit Keyn Mol (lyrics: Shmerke Kaczerginski) Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz Air date: December 8, 2021

David Forman and Jordan Kutzik are interviewed about the recently published children's book The Clever Little Tailor/דאָס קלוגע שנײַדערל. The book was written by Solomon (Shloyme) Simon and originally published in the 1930's. This new edition of the book features a translation into English side by side with the Yiddish original. David Forman, the author's grandson, did the English translation. Jordan Kutzik, who is also chairman of the Yugntruf - Youth for Yiddish organization, led the project to publish this book. For additional info on the book, visit: https://yiddishchildrensbooks.com/products/the-clever-little-tailor-by-solomon-simon The interview is conducted by Sholem Beinfeld, a regular contributor to The Yiddish Voice, co-Editor in Chief of the Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary, and Professor of History, Emeritus, Washington University, St. Louis. Music: Intro/outro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz