“Gabriel Laufer’s translation not only brings to life for the English reader the rich language and extraordinary variety of Yisrael Beider’s Hebrew writings, but also captures something of his spirit, world, and worldview. Only some of Beider’s brilliant work has miraculously survived, but even so, and even through the veil of translation, one can appreciate his greatness. One is in awe of the dedication and generosity of spirit that Laufer invested in the sacred task of translating Beider’s texts. The prose that Laufer reconstructed is engaging and preserves the deliberately archaic and folksy style of the Hassidic tales, while the straightforward translations from poetry humbly transmit the sensitive heart and the keen eye that produced them. The texts are further illuminated by careful footnotes that document publication history, sources, and terminology for each text. Thanks to Laufer’s talents and to Academic Studies Press, this extraordinary material will finally be accessible to all. As a Professor of Modern Hebrew Literature, I can attest that this volume is invaluable for teaching Jewish twentieth-century writings and the Holocaust. One hopes it will motivate further study and translations of Beider’s corpus.”
— Nili Gold, Professor of Modern Hebrew Literature at the University of Pennsylvania
“This book offers a beautiful glimpse into the rich legacy of East European Jewish culture–a world that would be almost inaccessible today, if it was not for the work of translators, like Cassel, Cassedy, and Laufer. Beider's poetry, essays, and letters encompass a wide array of topics: the natural world, anti-Jewish violence, as well as the daily emotional texture of parenting and family life. I thank these translators for putting more of us in touch with Beider's soulful lens on Jewish life.”
— Hannah Pollin Galay, Associate Professor of Yiddish and Holocaust Studies, Tel Aviv University
Yisrael Beider and His Literary Work
Trochenbrod, the Town That Was
Acknowledgements
Notes on the Text
1. POEMS
Nature
A Winter Poem
From the Valley
Cloudlets
Winter in the Countryside
On the Farm
Frost
Between Trickles
A Note from the Countryside
Alone
Alien [country]
On the Way to the Village
In the Village
The Old Doc
Beneath the Crescent Moon
Spring Has Run Away . . .
The Land of Israel
On the Edge
Who Is the Hebrew!
Excursion in the Homeland
Lamentations
“Der Pastukh”—The Shepherd
Family
Father’s Home
Work
Sarah is Departing
Motherly Bliss
The Photograph
To Ya’akov
You are Bar Mitzvah . . .
Oppression
When the Eighth Candle Dies Out
The Orphan
From the Abyss
On the Water
In a Foreign Land
At the Ice Rink
The Fair
Old Age
Old Age
At My Setting Sun
Miscellaneous
Untitled
The Jealousy Is Eating Me
Untitled
If for Each Failure of Mine
Ashmedai
2. ESSAYS
Jerusalem
The Modest One
Today Is Tisha’a be-Av
The Abbreviator, of Blessed Memory (A Khasidic Story)
Rambam and His Gentile Adversary (A Folk Legend)
A Drop in the Sea (From the Recent Past)
Without Bialik
A Jewish Heart . . . Memories from the Recent Past
3. LETTERS
Letter to His Brother Hayim
Letter to Hayim
Letter to His Brother Hayim or Hagai
Letter to Hayim
Letter to an Unnamed Friend in Międzyrzecz
Letter to His Brother Shimon
Letter to His Brothers Zalman and Naftali
[on the Death of Shimon]
Eulogy
Letter to His Mother
References
Appendix: Yisrael Beider’s Family Tree, June 28, 2012
“Gabriel Laufer’s translation not only brings to life for the English reader the rich language and extraordinary variety of Yisrael Beider’s Hebrew writings, but also captures something of his spirit, world, and worldview. Only some of Beider’s brilliant work has miraculously survived, but even so, and even through the veil of translation, one can appreciate his greatness. One is in awe of the dedication and generosity of spirit that Laufer invested in the sacred task of translating Beider’s texts. The prose that Laufer reconstructed is engaging and preserves the deliberately archaic and folksy style of the Hassidic tales, while the straightforward translations from poetry humbly transmit the sensitive heart and the keen eye that produced them. The texts are further illuminated by careful footnotes that document publication history, sources, and terminology for each text. Thanks to Laufer’s talents and to Academic Studies Press, this extraordinary material will finally be accessible to all. As a Professor of Modern Hebrew Literature, I can attest that this volume is invaluable for teaching Jewish twentieth-century writings and the Holocaust. One hopes it will motivate further study and translations of Beider’s corpus.”
— Nili Gold, Professor of Modern Hebrew Literature at the University of Pennsylvania
“This book offers a beautiful glimpse into the rich legacy of East European Jewish culture–a world that would be almost inaccessible today, if it was not for the work of translators, like Cassel, Cassedy, and Laufer. Beider's poetry, essays, and letters encompass a wide array of topics: the natural world, anti-Jewish violence, as well as the daily emotional texture of parenting and family life. I thank these translators for putting more of us in touch with Beider's soulful lens on Jewish life.”
— Hannah Pollin Galay, Associate Professor of Yiddish and Holocaust Studies, Tel Aviv University
Yisrael Beider and His Literary Work
Trochenbrod, the Town That Was
Acknowledgements
Notes on the Text
1. POEMS
Nature
A Winter Poem
From the Valley
Cloudlets
Winter in the Countryside
On the Farm
Frost
Between Trickles
A Note from the Countryside
Alone
Alien [country]
On the Way to the Village
In the Village
The Old Doc
Beneath the Crescent Moon
Spring Has Run Away . . .
The Land of Israel
On the Edge
Who Is the Hebrew!
Excursion in the Homeland
Lamentations
“Der Pastukh”—The Shepherd
Family
Father’s Home
Work
Sarah is Departing
Motherly Bliss
The Photograph
To Ya’akov
You are Bar Mitzvah . . .
Oppression
When the Eighth Candle Dies Out
The Orphan
From the Abyss
On the Water
In a Foreign Land
At the Ice Rink
The Fair
Old Age
Old Age
At My Setting Sun
Miscellaneous
Untitled
The Jealousy Is Eating Me
Untitled
If for Each Failure of Mine
Ashmedai
2. ESSAYS
Jerusalem
The Modest One
Today Is Tisha’a be-Av
The Abbreviator, of Blessed Memory (A Khasidic Story)
Rambam and His Gentile Adversary (A Folk Legend)
A Drop in the Sea (From the Recent Past)
Without Bialik
A Jewish Heart . . . Memories from the Recent Past
3. LETTERS
Letter to His Brother Hayim
Letter to Hayim
Letter to His Brother Hayim or Hagai
Letter to Hayim
Letter to an Unnamed Friend in Międzyrzecz
Letter to His Brother Shimon
Letter to His Brothers Zalman and Naftali
[on the Death of Shimon]
Eulogy
Letter to His Mother
References
Appendix: Yisrael Beider’s Family Tree, June 28, 2012
