Yiddishlands: A Memoir

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david g. roskies Yiddishlands David G. Roskies is a native of Montreal, where his home was a salon for writers, actors, and artists, and where he came under the spell of Yiddish culture. Educated at Brandeis and the Hebrew University, Mr. Roskies is the Sol and Evelyn Henkind Professor of Yiddish Literature at the Jewish Theological Seminary. A former Guggenheim recipient, Mr. Roskies was also awarded the Ralph Waldo Emerson Prize from Phi Beta Kappa for his book Against the Apocalypse. Yiddishlands is his first book without footnotes. Mr. Roskies lives with his wife and son on the Upper West Side of Manhattan . Most mornings he can be seen riding to work on his bicycle. Other times, he resides in Old Katamon, Jerusalem, where he goes on foot. also by david g. roskies The Jewish Search for a Usable Past A Bridge of Longing Against the Apocalypse Nightwords edited by david g. roskies Everyday Jews by Yehoshue Perle Scribblers on the Roof (with Melvin Jules Bukiet) The World According to Itzik (with Leonard Wolf) The Dybbuk and Other Writings by S. Ansky The Literature of Destruction The Shtetl Book (with Diane K. Roskies) Yiddishlands Yiddishlands a memoir David G. Roskies wayne state university press Detroit © 2008 by David G. Roskies, Detroit, Michigan 48201. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without formal permission. Manufactured in the United States of America. 12 11 10 09 08 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Roskies, David G., 1948— Yiddishlands : a memoir / David G. Roskies. p. cm. The Rebbe Elimeylekh — The Dybbuk — Cafe Rudnitsky — Bread — Prayer for the Tsar — Scribal errors — Malvina’s roses — The watercarrier — Yeast — Beloved fatherland — The black canopy — May day — The wooden box — The last Seder night — Lisbon — Playing solitaire — The soirée — Cape Cod — Double feature — Male bonding — Etudes — Sutzkever’s address — Leybl’s ark — Between two mountains — Kotsk — The sale of Joseph — The two bulvanes — Yom Kippur — New York Jew — Partisans’ hymn — The menorah — Dream house. ISBN-13: 978-0-8143-3397-6 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8143-3397-4 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Roskies, David G., 1948– 2. Roskies, Masha, 1906– 3. Jews—Québec— Montreal—Biography. 4. Yiddishists—United States—Biography. 5. Jewish scholars—United States—Biography. 6. Mothers and sons. 7. Montréal (Québec)—Ethnic relations. I. Title. F1054.5.M853R678 2008 974.7'10049240092—dc22 ∞ Portions of this manuscript have appeared in Commentary, Maggid: A Journal of Jewish Literature, and The Pakn Treger. Publication of this book was made possible through the generosity of the Bertha M. and Hyman Herman Endowed Memorial Fund. Designed by Isaac Tobin Typeset by The Composing Room of Michigan, Inc. Composed in Farnham Our Rabbis taught: Thirteen things were said of the morning bread: It is an antidote against heat and cold, winds and demons; instills wisdom into the simple, causes one to triumph in a lawsuit, enables one to study and teach the Torah, to have his words heeded, and retain scholarship; he [who partakes thereof] does not perspire, lives with his wife and does not lust after other women; and it kills the worms in one’s intestines. Some say, it also expels jealousy and induces love. —babylonian talmud, Baba Metsia 107b Der iker iz der pas-shákharis. The most important thing in life is your morning bread. —masha welczer roskies ...