This volume marks the first-ever collection in English by Avraham Reisen (1876-1953), the Yiddish short story master whose Chekhovian poignancy and scope have made him one of the twentieth century's most popular Yiddish writers. Like Sholom Aleichem, Reisen was a cultural hero to the Jewish people and a legend in his own time. With a wonderfully direct, humorous, unsentimental, and folkloric style he recreates scenes from a civilization now lost--that of the shtetl in Eastern Europe. He writes about poor and struggling Jews ...
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This volume marks the first-ever collection in English by Avraham Reisen (1876-1953), the Yiddish short story master whose Chekhovian poignancy and scope have made him one of the twentieth century's most popular Yiddish writers. Like Sholom Aleichem, Reisen was a cultural hero to the Jewish people and a legend in his own time. With a wonderfully direct, humorous, unsentimental, and folkloric style he recreates scenes from a civilization now lost--that of the shtetl in Eastern Europe. He writes about poor and struggling Jews with insight, compassion and humor, about their spiritual values, social justice and sense of community. His hundreds of short fictions dealing with life in the shtetl create an unforgettable portrait of Jews in Eastern Europe, and the 27 stories presented here are among his best. In the title story a young traveling preacher inadvertently makes a sensation in a town notorious for its harsh criticism of sermons. Other stories include Matza for the Rich, a testament to the fact that mentchlichkeyt (decency) was not universally practiced in the shtetl; Lost His Voice, where a cantor fears he can no longer sing; and The Experienced Bride, in which a shtetl-born mother tells her American daughter about the tradition of match-making. The book concludes with a glossary explaining the meaning of various Yiddish words and phrases.
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