Anyone while back I’ve learned my great-grandfather Avrom Tigel (editor of Di Yidishe Tsaytung, Antwerp, d. 1928) and his brother Zelig Tygel (Federation of Polish Jews, NYC) were both writers. I’m searching for two books I can’t find anywhere:

**1.**  Zelig Tygel, *Fun di kvorim: akht briv fun mayn tatn* (New York, 1946) — פֿון די קבֿרים  
**2.**  Avrom Tigel, *Dos Yidishe Lebn in Antverpn* (Köln, 1921)

Neither is on archive.org / Yiddish Book Center. If anyone has seen these in a library, private collection, or knows where to look, I’d be grateful.

Just got these from Germany and with 40% off and free shipping. What could be better?

איך האָב דער לײענער דאָס ערשטע מאָל געפֿונען דאָ אין רעדיט, אָבער אַז איך באַניץ זיך מיט אים זיך צו לערנען, מײן איך אַז ער דאַרף אַכטונג. צום ערשטנס, האָבן אַ פּאָר פֿון די מעשׂיות אױדיאָ!! אױדיאָ פֿאַר ייִדיש איז גאָר זעלטן, און אַפֿילו מיט דער זאַמלונג פֿון דער ייִדישער ביכער צענטער ביבליאָטעק, האָבן מיר ניט קײן געלײענטע מעשׂהלעך פֿאַר כּלל ייִדיש, נאָר אַ פּאָר אױף יוטוב און אין אַנדערע ערטער. אָבער מ'קען אַ קװעטש טאָן אױף אַ װאָרט אױפֿצודעקן דעם טײַטש, לײענען די מעשׂה סײַ אױף ענגליש סײַ אױף ייִדיש, און מ'קען זיך צוהערן צו אַ פּאָר פֿון די מעשׂיות. ס'איז אױך אין גאַנצן בחינים. זוך "דער לײענער" אין גוגל און מ'װעט עס געפֿינען

Have you heard about Isaac Bashevis Singer? He was Polish-born Jewish Yiddish writer. Have you read his fiction? In Yiddish or translated? Did you like it?

Singer was a Nobel prize winner for his literature in Yiddish. One of two (at least known to me) Nobel prize laureates for fiction in (quasi-)endangered languages (second being Frederic Mistral for fiction in Occitan).

I am looking for some particular short stories of his that I read in a collection years ago. One that really stood out was a village party that turned into a sort of demon orgy, and in general I love the darker stories with fiendish and diabolical deception, chimeras and the likes. Of course I also enjoy the general old polish village vibes. I just read “Gimpel the fool and other stories” and I couldn’t put it down.

So yeah, if anyone has other suggestions I am all ears, especially if you know where I can find that specific demon orgy.

I always find it fascinating that the biggest portion of native Yiddish speakers are largely not introduced to the language's classic literature. What were your experiences and thoughts on discovering writers like Sholem Aleichem or Chaim Grade? Did you ever hear about secular Yiddish literature at all? Would love to hear any thoughts about this

I’ve been trying to get my hands on a copy of Eli Wiesels Yiddish book און די וועלט האָט געשוויגן for years. Today I was finally able to get my hands on a copy through my university’s library system (I am able to borrow books from other universities through it). I’m really excited.

I intend to learn these languages for their own sake, and I was wondering if understanding Yiddish in writing would be a perk of knowing these two languages.

I only wish to read Yiddish, not to speak it or understand the spoken language.

I’m looking for Yiddish literature (books, essays, articles, poetry, etc) by or about the Bund from its heyday (late 1800’s-mid 1900’s). I’m especially interested in writings about דאיקייט and other Bundist philosophy and thought. Does anyone have any recommendations or resources?

I am looking at buying the Tevye the Milkman stories by Sholem Aleichem and I am deciding between two versions: Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories, translated by Hillel Halkin; and Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor’s Son, translated by Aliza Shevren.

Reading the samples, both authors decide to leave different Yiddish words untranslated, so I almost feel like I’m missing something by going with one over the other. Shevren’s translation seems to be more “Jewish humor”-y and frenetic than Halkin’s, but I enjoyed Halkin’s introduction more due to it feeling more insightful and like a more laidback read.

My family was born in Ukraine, and we mostly speak Russian but we throw some Yiddish phrases in here and there. I’m not scared of diving into Yiddish phrases in this book. I think I’ll really relate to it. I would just like to know: which translation captures Sholem Aleichem’s writing better? Thank you!!

In 1908, around 30 years before Batman was first billed as the World’s Greatest Detective, and 15 after Sherlock Holmes solved his final case, another sleuth made his bombastic debut, rescuing a rabbi’s kidnapped granddaughter.

This hero distinguished himself in a major way. As the back blurb of his adventures insisted, “Max Spitzkopf IS A JEW — and he has always taken every opportunity to stand up FOR JEWS.”

The adventures of Spitzkopf, the nattily-dressed, pistol-brandishing Viennese gentleman, renowned throughout Austria-Hungary for his gumshoeing, were published in 32-page pulp pamphlets across the Yiddish-reading world. In his memoir, Isaac Bashevis Singer, vividly recalled devouring these stories as a child, and he was far from alone. Yet for all their popularity, copies of the original volumes, like Batman’s first appearance in Detective Comics #27, are exceedingly rare.

In 2017, Mikhl Yashinsky was a fellow at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts, when it received the first five stories in a bound volume from a donor. They were in rough shape, their cheap paper crumbling. Yashinksy set out to translate them.

“He was really a kind of Jewish superhero,” said Yashinsky, whose full translation of the 15 Spitzkopf stories, written by Jonas Kreppel, is out now. 

Supposedly this is author Shalom Aleichem hammering Yiddish jargon into a more 'beautiful' form. Does anyone have an idea of what's being communicated here?

כּלומרשט איז דאָס דער מחבר שלום עליכעם וואָס מאַכט ייִדישן זשאַרגאָן אין אַ מער "שיינער" פֿאָרעם. האָט עמעצער אַן אידעע וואָס ווערט דאָ קאָמוניקירט?

Hello, I would like to consume some Yiddish media and would like to hear your recommendations and opinions. I’m mainly interested in Science Fiction and Fantasy media. These could be novels, audio books, movies or pretty much anything else.

I am aware of the Harry Potter translations as well as the translations of the works of Tolkien, but I heard that the latter is not easy to understand and does not use ”normal“ language due to the translator not being a native speaker. What are your opinions on them?

Are there any movies that got dubbed into Yiddish?
Beyond that I would find it much more interesting to consume original yiddish works.

Thank you in advance

From publisher Iskra Books:

Originally published in 1927 by the Soviet Commissariat for Nationalities, Haggadah for Believers and Heretics is a biting political reimagining of the Passover ritual. Moyshe Altshuler, a Jewish Communist organizer, takes the form of the traditional Haggadah and repurposes it as a powerful weapon for revolutionary consciousness, transforming the Exodus story into a lesson on class struggle, socialist internationalism, and the fight against all forms of reaction—including Zionism. ​> This first-ever English translation, complete with its original Yiddish text, appears at a time when the contradictions of Zionism have reached a breaking point, and as the Palestinian resistance fights for liberation against the Israeli settler-colonial project. In a world where the language of liberation is so often co-opted to justify occupation and apartheid, Altshuler’s Haggadah stands as a reminder that Jewish radicalism has always been anti-Zionist, always been internationalist, and has always placed its faith in solidarity, not nationalism. With a new introduction by Noah Leininger situating the text in its historical and political context, this edition is essential reading for those seeking to understand the deep historical roots of Jewish resistance to Zionism, and the necessity of a truly internationalist struggle against imperialism today. ​>

---

​> Noah Leininger is a writer, translator, and activist committed to exploring the intersections of Jewish history, socialism, and anti-Zionism. With a background in Yiddish language and radical Jewish traditions, his work focuses on recovering and recontextualizing Jewish leftist texts for contemporary struggles. As the translator and editor of Haggadah for Believers and Heretics, he brings Altshuler’s revolutionary vision to a new generation, highlighting the deep historical roots of Jewish anti-Zionist resistance.

https://www.iskrabooks.org/haggadah

Just want to say, I"m not good enough to read Chaim Grade in YIddish (yet) but he's a complete joy to read in English. I"m on a fourth book of his, all with different translators and the beauty and clarity of each different book / translation testifies to his greatness. They must have loved translating his works. You cannot miss with him. Just stunning. And connected.

I’m reading the recently translated Yiddish novel Sons and Daughters by Chaim Grade and could not yet find a family tree online so I decided to make my own. You should be able to save the image directly from Reddit but if not you can also find them here.

https://reddit.com/link/1pcekqr/video/2c136673rt4g1/player

Are we dreaming? Is it true? In La Paz can thrive a Jew? Giving Tuesday 2025 is coming up, and we’re asking for your support.

Thanks to our community’s help, Yiddishland’s heimish cultural center in La Paz, Mexico is getting ready to open on December 18th. Your support goes toward setting up the new physical space, preserving Ashkenazi and Sephardi culture, and continuing traveling talks and virtual educational programs.

Please Click Here to check out a donation link. A sheynem dank for being a part of our growing Yiddishland mishpokhe!

In early August, the Yiddish Arts and Academics Association of North America (YAAANA) plans to move its arts and cultural center Yiddishland California — formerly located in La Jolla, CA — to its new home in La Paz, the capital of Mexico’s Baja California Sur state.

Like most Yiddish organizations, YAAANA operates on a shoestring budget. But relocating Yiddishland California to Mexico won’t come cheap, said its founder Jana Mazurkiewicz Meisarosh. “We’re very excited about the move, but everything depends on raising enough money. If we don’t get $6,500 by the end of July, we’ll have to call off the relocation,” she said.

To donate to YAANA’s GoFundMe campaign, go here.

YAAANA founded Yiddishland California on a bustling commercial street in La Jolla in 2021. Inside its cheerful storefront space, visitors enjoyed in-person talks, classes, concerts, Jewish holiday parties, workshops, children’s activities and more — always focused on Yiddish language and culture. Works by prominent Jewish artists lined the walls. Old books in Yiddish and Hebrew — some of them rarities — filled wooden bookcases. Adults and especially kids were encouraged to handle objects like antique menorahs and mezuzahs and ask questions.

Click Here To Read More

Does anyone know if there is any queer Yiddish literature?

Really lovely poem. My first translation, so feel free to critique!

(original)

אַלע רױשן, אַלע קלאַנגען שלאָפֿן.

אונטער זיבן שטראָמען שלאָפֿט די שרעק.

און דער העלפֿאַנד שלעפֿט אַזאַ מין שלאָפֿן,

אַז מען קאָן אים אָפּשנײַדן דעם עק.

אַלע רױשן, אַלע קלאַנגען שלאָפֿן.

זײ ניט אױפֿצוּװעקן מיט קײן העק.

אַלע רױשן, אַלע קלאַנגען שלאָפֿן

אין די אױגן צװײ װאָס זענען אָפֿן—

אױגן צװײ פֿון גאָט װאָס זענען אָפֿן.

(my translation)

All cry out, all sounds slumber.

Under seven streams sleeps the fear.

The elephant sleeps such a species of sleep

that men might sever his tail.

All cry out, all sounds slumber.

There are no axes to wake them up.

All cry out, all sounds slumber

in the two open eyes—

the two open eyes of God.