Yiddish Stories Old & New Edited and Translated By I. Howe & E. Greenberg

For the Jews in eastern Europe during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries life was dangerous and difficult. Yet in spite of endless adversities, these people built up a rich culture full of spiritual meaning and beauty. Yiddish was the language they spoke. While reflecting their values, their humor, their place in society, and their concept of God, these stories create beings such as the poor conjuror who, appearing in a Polish village, turns out to be the Prophet Elijah; Rabchik, a Jewish dog, who finds blows instead of bones; the gentle hearted immigrant Jews laboring in turn of the century New York City; and a young Jewish boy dreaming of orchards in his devastated Warsaw Ghetto. The editors, in their introduction on Yiddish literature and culture end with an observation on the close family life these people enjoyed and the affection they had for their young ones: "Through their love of children they signaled to themselves and to the future the kind of warm hearted life they would have wanted to lead if only circumstances had made it possible.

Title: Yiddish Stories Old & New Edited and Translated By I. Howe & E. Greenberg