Yiddish in France: A Conversation with Rachel Ertel

Yiddish in France YIDDISH IN FRANCE: A CONVERSATION WITH RACHEL ERTEL by Jean Baumgarten Jean Baumgarten is a research director at the French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (National Center for Scholarly Research). He is the author of Introduction a fa litterature yiddish ancienne (paris: Le Cerf, 1993) and an editor of the volume Mille ans de cultures ashkenazes (paris: Liana Levi, 1994). 125 [Rachel Ertel is the author of various works on such topics as shted life (I.e shtetl: la bourgade juive de Pologne [Paris: Payot, 1982]), the Jewish literary avant-garde in Eastern Europe (Khaliastra et la modernite europeenne [Paris: Lachenal & Ritter" 1989]), and the poetry of the Shoah (Dans la langue de personne: poesie yiddish de l'aneantissement [Paris : Seuil, 1993]), as well as Jewish American literature (Le roman juif americain: une ecriture minoritaire [Paris: Payot, 1980]). She is a French translator of Avrom Sutzkever and other major Yiddish writers, and teaches in the Department of Judeo-American Studies at the University of Paris VII, where she has established a center for Yiddish studies. Professor Ertel also edits a series, Domaine yiddish, which publishes the great works of modern Yiddish literature in French translation. As one of the main players in the renewal of interest in Yiddish language and culture in France, Ertel provides vital keys for understanding the particular history of Yiddish in that country and the state of Yiddish studies there. She also sketches for us a panorama of Yiddish literary creativity within the context of French culture generally. ' -Jean Baumgarten] J. B.: Let us begin by looking at the paradoxical situation of Yiddish in France as compared to the Central and Eastern European 126 SHOFAR Spring 1996 Vol. 14, No.3 countries, where a continuous Jewish presence allowed the development of Yiddish culture over the long run. The paradox is that, on the one hand, the presence ofJews in France over the course of time has been discontinuous, most notably because of the expulsions , and Yiddish has thus occupied no more than a marginal position, both historically and socially; on the other hand, we must not downplay the importance of France in the Yiddish world, because, for example-and this is of major significance-the oldest traces of Judeo-German are to be found in the glosses within Rashi 's commentaries. How shall we characterize the particular place of France within "Yiddishland"? R. E.: Indeed, Yiddish has always played a marginal role here, especially because the "French Israelites" [as the well-assimilated French Jews called themselvesl ) stood in the foreground of Jewish life. Let us recall some major events: after the waves of expulsions starting in the Middle Ages and the resultant gaps in the history of Jews in France, Yiddish returned in the 1880s, when immigrants began to settle in Western Europe in the aftermath of pogroms and various forms of political discrimination, especially in Russia. Between the two world wars, this wave of immigration grew stronger. At that point, Yiddish speakers came to constitute an expanding social group and the language took on greater cultural importance as ever more journals, books, and newspapers were published, theatrical events staged, and cultural centers founded. Paris turned into a hub for Yiddish writers, poets, actors, with some remaining and others traveling onward, mostly to the United States. That time also saw the emergence of Yiddish-speaking labor unions within the Jewish workers' movement. In the milieus frequented by immigrants, the importance of Yiddish grew as a means of both general communication and literary expression. J. B.: During the nineteenth century, there existed a community that formed a kind of cultural entity unto itself. That was A1sace, a region where Yiddish played a significant role, especially in the countryside. Is there a parallel to be drawn with other areas of Europe, where, at the time, Jewish proponents of the Enlightenment fought against "Jargon" [zhar.gon, a widespread pejorative name for Yiddish), while for a large proportion of the Jewish population Yiddish constituted a mainstay of culture and everyday life? 'All material appearing henceforth in brackets, as well as in the footnotes, has been added by the translator. Yiddish in France 127 R. E.: It...