[Fall] Y.L. Peretz and Sholem Aleichem: Two Giants of Modern Yiddish Literature

Instructor: Sheva Zucker

In this course, we shall examine how Y.L. Peretz (1852-1915) and Sholem Aleichem (1859-1916) laid the groundwork for modern Yiddish literature. According to literary critic Ruth Wisse, “With the exception of Theodor Herzl, founder of political Zionism, no Jewish writer had a more direct effect on modern Jewry than Isaac (Yitskhok) Leib Peretz. Peretz may not have promoted any fixed political program, but he tried to chart for his fellow Jews a ‘road’ that would lead them away from religion toward a secular Jewish existence without falling into the swamp of assimilation.” Today Peretz is little known outside scholarly circles. Yet, as his writings will reveal, he remains remarkably relevant to the modern reader.

Sholem Aleichem, on the other hand, is very well known today, not so much directly through his writings but largely due to Fiddler on the Roof. He was, of course, like Peretz, immensely popular in his time. As critic Irving Howe points out, Sholem Aleichem “could make both Jews and Gentiles laugh, and most remarkable of all, … could please every kind of Jew, something probably never done before or since.” He accomplished this feat by portraying an unraveling Jewish world with a combination of folksy humor and pathos that, as we shall see, also speaks directly to us today.

We will concentrate mostly on shorter fiction but will culminate with one novel by Sholem Aleichem at the end.

This class will be taught in English.

Course Materials:
This course will use the following books. Please plan on ordering the books for yourself before class begins.

The I.L. Peretz Reader, edited by Ruth Wisse (Purchase)

Best of Sholem Aleichem, by Sholem Aleichem, edited by Irving Howe and Ruth Wisse (Purchase here, or here)

Tevye the Dairyman and Motl the Cantor’s Son, by Sholem Aleichem, translated by Aliza Shevrin (Purchase)

Sheva Zucker has taught YIVO’s Uriel Weinreich Summer Program in Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture for over two decades. She is the author of the textbooks Yiddish: An Introduction to the Language, Literature & Culture, Vols. I and II, which are used widely in university and adult classes around the world. She has taught and lectured on Yiddish and Yiddish literature on five continents and at major universities, including Columbia, New York University, Duke, Bar-Ilan, and Russian State Humanities University. From 2005 to 2020 she served as the executive director of the League for Yiddish and the editor of its all-Yiddish publication Afn Shvel. Her research and translation work focus mainly on women in Yiddish literature.

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