(Sholem Aleichem (1859-1916) was a Yiddish novelist and pl...)
Sholem Aleichem (1859-1916) was a Yiddish novelist and playwright who wrote humorous tales about common Russian Jews who lived in small towns. His stories, especially Tevyes Daughters, formed the basis for the musical Fiddler on the Roof. This collection contains five humorous stories: The Clock Fishel the Teacher An Easy Fast The Passover Guest Gymnasiye
From the Fair: The Autobiography of Sholom Aleichem
(The first complete translation of the great Yiddish write...)
The first complete translation of the great Yiddish writer's autobiography includes newly discovered chapters that round out Aleichem's third-person narrative of his life, career, and times and of people and places along the way
Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor's Son (Penguin Classics)
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For the 150th anniversary of the birth of the "Jewis...)
For the 150th anniversary of the birth of the "Jewish Mark Twain,"a new translation of his most famous works
Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor's Son are the most celebrated characters in all of Jewish fiction. Tevye is the lovable, Bible-quoting father of seven daughters, a modern Job whose wisdom, humor, and resilience inspired the lead character in Fiddler on the Roof. And Motl is the spirited and mischievous nine-year-old boy who accompanies his family on a journey from their Russian shtetl to New York, and whose comical, poignant, and clear-eyed observations capture with remarkable insight the struggles and hopes and triumphs of Jewish immigrants to America at the turn of the twentieth century.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
(Collects two dozen of the great Yiddish writer's cleveres...)
Collects two dozen of the great Yiddish writer's cleverest, funniest, and most profound and touching stories, half of which are newly translated, and provides an introductory commentary on Aleichem's achievement
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An uproarious, sprawling masterpiece by a grand Yiddis...)
An uproarious, sprawling masterpiece by a grand Yiddish storyteller. O, The Oprah Magazine
Translated in full for the first time, one hundred years after its original publication, the acclaimed epic love story set in the colorful world of the Yiddish theater. Wandering Stars spans ten years and two continents, relating the adventures of Reizel and Leibel, young shtetl dwellers in late nineteenth-century Russia who fall under the spell of a traveling acting company. Together they run away from home to become entertainers themselves, and then tour separately around Europe, ultimately reuniting in New York. Wandering Stars is an engrossing romance, a great New York story, and an anthem for the magic of the theater.
Tevye the Dairyman and The Railroad Stories (Library of Yiddish Classics)
(Of all the characters in modern Jewish fiction, the most ...)
Of all the characters in modern Jewish fiction, the most beloved is Tevye, the compassionate, irrepressible, Bible-quoting dairyman from Anatevka, who has been immortalized in the writings of Sholem Aleichem and in acclaimed and award-winning theatrical and film adaptations.
And no Yiddish writer was more beloved than Tevyes creator, Sholem Rabinovich (18591916), the Jewish Mark Twain, who wrote under the pen name of Sholem Aleichem. Beautifully translated by Hillel Halkin, here is Sholem Aleichems heartwarming and poignant account of Tevye and his daughters, together with the Railroad Stories, twenty-one tales that examine human nature and modernity as they are perceived by men and women riding the trains from shtetl to shtetl.
By Sholem Aleichem - Tevye the Dairyman and The Railroad Stories (New edition) (9.1.1996)
(For New condition books in our store; You will be the fir...)
For New condition books in our store; You will be the first user. You will be the first to open the book cover. For Used condition books in our store; It shows signs of wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. There are no problems in page content and in the paper. There are no problems except minor faults. All pages and cover are intact , but may have aesthetic issues such as price clipping, nicks, scratches, and scuffs. Pages may include some notes and highlighting. For all our books; Cargo will be delivered in the required time. 100% Satisfaction is Guaranteed!
Tevye's Daughters: Collected Stories of Sholom Aleichem
(Tevye's Daughters is the book that was made into the bloc...)
Tevye's Daughters is the book that was made into the blockbuster play and movie, Fiddler on the Roof. This movie brought us such famous and universally recognizable songs as If I were a Rich Man, "Matchmaker, Matchmaker Make me a Match", Tradition" and "Sunrise, Sunset". Trvye the dairyman is one of the most delightful and amusing characters in all of fiction, and this chronicle of Tevye and his daughters is, beyond question, the great Jewish humorist's masterpiece. Tevye was baffled by his daughters. That he had seven daughters and no sons-well, that was God's will, and Tevye loved them all dearly. And the girls-ah, their world revolved around papa and they gave him all their devotion. But as they grew up, they saw that the world was big and changing, that there were other ideas and other people. What made it so difficult for Tevye was not that they were such fine and lovely girls - dark-eyed Beilke, laughing Sprintze, brave Hodel - but that they had minds and wills of their own. Tevye couldn't quite understand that - it wasn't supposed to be that way. His gay heart was heavy at times, and the girls mixed tears with their laughter. When you have read this book, you will know why many Jews refer to Sholom Aleichem not as "the great Jewish humorist," but rather as one of "the greatest writers of our time." There are short stories in this book too: "If I Were Rothschild," "The Littlest of Kings," and a dozen others that display Sholom Aleichem's wonderful storytelling gift at its best.
Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich, better known under his pen name Sholem Aleichem, was a popular author, a humorist noted for his many Yiddish stories of life in the shtetl. He is one of the preeminent classical writers of modern Yiddish literature.
Background
Sholem Aleichem was born as Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich on February 18, 1859 in Pereyaslav, Russian Empire (modern-day Ukraine) into a wealthy family of timber merchants to Menachem-Nukhem Rabinovich and Chaye-Esther.
The family relocated to the neighboring Jewish town of Voronkovx when he was young, but a failed business deal forced the family to move back to Pereyaslav.
His childhood was further truncated with his mother’s death due to cholera epidemic, when he was just 13. He started writing at the age of 15, completing a Jewish version of ‘Robinson Crusoe’.
Education
He completed his schooling from a local Russian secondary school, with distinction, in 1876, and became a private tutor to Olga (Hodel) Loev for the next three years.
Career
In 1879, he became a local reporter for ‘Ha-Tsefirah’, a Hebrew weekly. During 1881 and 1882, he published his articles dealing with Jewish education in the Haskalah-related ‘Ha-Melits’.
Even though he desired to write in Russian or Hebrew, but later switched to Yiddish after analyzing its better accessibility with the Jewish masses.
He released his first Yiddish novel, ‘Tsvey shteyner’ (Two Gravestones), in 1883, under the penname ‘Sholem Aleichem’, a Hebrew greeting meaning ‘peace be upon you’ in Yiddish.
He helmed his first feuilletonistic sequence as a series of documents - ‘Di ibergekhapte briv af der post’ (Letters Intercepted at the Post Office), during 1883-84.
In the coming years, he penned more feuilletonistic sequences, such as ‘An ibershraybung tsvishn tsvey alte khaveyrim’ (A Correspondence between Two Old Friends; 1884) and ‘Kontor gesheft’ (Office Business; 1885).
He authored six full-length fictional works during 1884-89, including ‘Natashe’ (1884, re-titled ‘Taybele’ later on), ‘Sender Blank un zany gezindi’ (Sender Blank and his Family, 1888), and ‘Yosele solovey’ (Yosele the Nightingale, 1889).
He compiled two issues of almanac, ‘Di Yidishe Folksbibliotek’ (The Yiddish Popular Library) during 1888-89, as an inspiration for young Yiddish writers. The third issue could not be published as he lost his entire money in stock gambling.
Due to lack of financial resources, he reduced his literary productivity during the 1890s, producing only one short novel, ‘Meshiekhs tsaytn’ (The Days of the Redeemer) in 1898.
It was only in 1899 that he started earning through his writing with the launch of Yiddish publication ‘Der yud’ and authored some of his most notable works as monologues, holiday narratives, children stories and Kasrilevke tales.
He penned stories for kids that were narrated by an adult through the voice of a child, some being ‘Der zeyger’ (The Clock, 1900), ‘Di fon’ (The Banner, 1900), ‘Afn fidl’ (The Violin, 1902), and ‘Der esreg’ (The Citron, 1902).
His monologues included ‘Gendz’ (Geese, 1902), ‘Funem priziv’ (From the Draft, 1902), ‘Gimenazye’ (High School, 1902), ‘Finf un zibetsik toyzent’ (Seventy-Five Thousand, 1902), and ‘A nisref’ (Burnt Out, 1903), among others.
His holiday stories were based on traditional Jewish holidays and were often published on the eve of the festivals. ‘Af Peysekh aheym’ (Homebound for Passover) released in 1903 was one such poignant creation.
He moved out of portraying stories set amidst small-town and hamlet scenes and adopted Kasrilevke images, focusing on misery and poverty with miracles, as depicted in ‘Ven ikh bin Roytshild’ (If I Were Rothschild, 1902).
He switched to theatre in the hope of meeting his financial needs and staged his first drama ‘Tsezeyt un tseshpreyt’ (Scattered and Dispersed) in 1903 in Warsaw, Poland.
In 1905, he left Russia during the Russian Revolution and went to Lemberg, after which he moved to London via Geneva in 1906, before finally settling in New York City.
He returned to Geneva in 1908 and spent the next three months traveling through Ukraine and Belorussia performing his one-man act. Subsequently, he fell ill with acute hemorrhagic tuberculosis and was hospitalized for two months.
Still financially unsound, he recovered and got support from his fans and friends, during which he wrote lengthy novels, like ‘Der mabl’ (The Deluge), ‘Blonzhende shtern’ (Wandering Stars), and ‘Der blutiker shpas’ (The Bloody Hoax).
He contracted tuberculosis and diabetes and died on May 13, 1916 in New York.
His funeral included around 100, 000 mourners - one of the largest funerals in the history of New York City. He was interred two days later at Old Mount Carmel Cemetery, Queens.
Achievements
His ‘Stempenyu’, written in 1888, is counted among his best novelistic concepts and literary works, narrating the love story between a musician and religious woman.
Towards the end of the 19th century, he created two literary characters – Menakhem Mendl and Tevye, which formed central figures in several of his stories.
In 1901, he published the monologue ‘Dos tepl’ (The Pot) which eventually became his forme maitresse and led to the release of a series of monologues that blended comedy with tragedy to perfection.
His Tevye stories were adapted into theatrical plays during the 1960s across the United States, Israel, and Soviet Russia.
Two monuments, one each in Kiev and Moscow, have been constructed in his honor.
Israel, Soviet Union, Romania, and Ukraine issued postage stamps commemorating this celebrated author.
Quotations:
"Life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor. "
"You see how it is, my dear friends. There's no pleasing everyone. It's hopeless to even try, and the more you play the peacemaker, the less peaceful things become. "
"This is an ugly and mean world, and only to spite it we mustn't weep. If you want to know, this is the constant source of my good spirit, of my humor. Not to cry, out of spite, only to laugh out of spite, only to laugh. "
"One cannot live on potatoes alone. It is said that one wants bread with potatoes. And when there's no bread, a Jew takes his stick, and goes through the village in search of business. "
"I never turn down a drink. Among friends it’s always appropriate. A man is only a man as they say, but brandy is still brandy. You’ll find that in the Talmud too. "
"It is an old custom amongst Jewish children, to become war-like on the 'L'ag Beomer. ' They arm themselves from head to foot with wooden swords, pop-guns and bows and arrows. They take food with them, and go off to wage war. "
"There are people who have never been taught anything, and know everything, have never been anywhere, and understand everything, have never given a moment's thought to anything, and comprehend everything. 'Blessed hands' is the name bestowed on these fortunate beings. The world envies, honours and respects them. "
Personality
Apart from writing in Hebrew, Yiddish and Russian languages, he was well-versed with other languages, including Ukrainian and Polish.
He was nicknamed as ‘Jewish Mark Twain’ by the Yiddish and American-English journalists upon his arrival in New York City in 1906.
Connections
He married Olga Loev, daughter of a rich estate owner, in 1883 and relocated to Belaia Tserkov.
The couple inherited the land estate after Olga’s father died in 1885 and shifted to Kiev in 1887. However, he lost the entire wealth in the stock market in 1890 and became bankrupt.
The couple had six children – daughter Ernestina (1884), daughter Lyala (1887), daughter Emma (1888), son Elimelech (1889), daughter Marusi (1892), and son Nochum (1901).
