The boston globe almost everyone knows a little yiddish, a word or two, a joke perhaps, but what do they really know of the history, the tragedies, and bitter controversies that characterized a language now on the u. Robert feder, zl attorney, native yiddish speaker, and longtime yiddish book center member was interviewed by michael yashinsky on december 18, 2015 at. Buy books make a donation about cyco our blog calendar of yiddish events history of yiddish for beginners yiddish links cyco publishing housecyco records tel. Menachem mendel writes a letter to shalom aleichem s. The yiddish book center is a nonprofit organization that works to tell the whole jewish story by rescuing, translating, and disseminating yiddish books and p.
Teaching the students, training the teachers rakhmiel peltz. Yariv houvras on research in age of corona rabbi yonah bookstein. Pesach burstein sonny boy, polish shtetl, columbia 1928 youtube. The yiddish book center national yiddish book center, located on the campus of hampshire college in amherst, massachusetts, united states, is a cultural institution dedicated to the preservation of books in the yiddish language, as well as the culture and history those books represent. Showman whether belting out a yiddish ditty or a broadway favorite, burstyn radiates charm. This firstever popular history of yiddish is so full of life that it reads like a biography of the language. Dan burstein books list of books by author dan burstein.
When you read all these finalballot stories, youll know why michael a. Mike began performing on stage at yiddish theaters from childhood, in musicals and melodramas produced by. She is also a twotime alumna of the yiddish book centers steiner summer yiddish program, and a. Buy a cheap copy of the yiddish policemens union book by michael chabon.
Yiddish books through the national yiddish book center, in amherst. Pesach burstein, a yiddish actor whose singing, dancing and. Audio recording, library of congress online catalog. Explore our digital yiddish library of more than 11,000 titles, and our diverse collections, including contemporary oral histories, lectures, yiddish audiobooks, and more. Bursteins success led to a 20year contract with columbia records, for which he cut 300 disks that gave his voice and hallmark whistle recognition wherever yiddish was spoken in the world. Burstein was released by apex publications on november 1, 2008. In 1968, he was seen in the yiddish musical the megilla of itzik manger, and in 1970 he appeared in inquest, a. The steven spielberg digital yiddish library includes more than 11,000 yiddish titles available to read online or download free of charge. The best 54 yiddish songs 3cds set by mike burstein, lilian lux, et al audio cd. Join us for a reading, discussion and performance of some of the leading yiddish resistance songs and poems from the holocaust era. The komediant meaning the actor more so than comedian tells the story of the burstein family, yiddish stage actors both in europe and the u.
Indirectly, the komediant is also a survey of the life of the yiddish theater of the 1920s. He has appeared two other times on broadway, under the name mike burstein. He is an awardwinning journalist and author of thirteen books on global economics, technology, and. The burstein family name was found in the usa, the uk, and canada between 1891 and 1920. It is one of ten western massachusetts museums constituting the museums10 consortium.
The amazing adventures of a man who rescued a million yiddish books in 1980, a twentythreeyearold student named aaron lansky set out to rescue the worlds abandoned yiddish books before it was too late. Burstyns father, pesach burstein, was a matinee idol in poland when yiddish theater impresario boris tomashefsky brought him to america in 1923. The great 100 jewish books from the yiddish books center. Pesach burstein ran away from home in poland to join a traveling yiddish theater troupe, and wandered from country to country. Mike burstein, lilian lux, henri gero, rozita landwer. Complete texts and translations of more than 36 songs. With your library card, its easier than ever to choose from more than 300,000 ebooks on simplye, the new york public librarys free ereader app. Bruce adler, 63, star of broadway and second avenue the. The father who passed away many years ago 1986, pesach burstein, his wife lillian lux, the son mike and the daughter, susan. Sung variously by shmuel rodensky, chava alberstein, yaffa yarkoni, mike burstein, dora and perla mager, nehama lifschitz, miri sorianu, chaim polani and male chorus.
The yiddish policemens union book by michael chabon. The most iconic books set in 150 countries around the world. Avi hoffman, actor, reflects on his role models who became his colleagues in yiddish theatre. Bursteins short story collection i remember the future. Burstein is also the founder of millennium technology ventures, a new yorkbased venture capital firm that invests in innovative new technology companies. Lea koenigs, mannerisms, facial expressions and movements are a true incarnation of the depth, beauty and comic tragedy which has been attributed to. Dan burstein is the worlds leading expert on the fiction of dan brown. Photo by rose eichenbaum to older israelis, mike burstyn is kuni leml, the character that made him a star in a series of comedies in the.
The most burstein families were found in the usa in 1920. His first cousin was borsch belt comedian, jay lester. Alexis aaeng is a graduate of the university of colorado boulder, where she received a dual degree in history and jewish studies and wrote her undergraduate thesis about yiddish radio. This was about 33% of all the recorded bursteins in the usa. I will always remember you yiddish tango busrtein and lux. Contributors the yiddish book centers great jewish. Twentyfive years and one and a half million books later, hes still in the midst price. He was born in new york city to the late yiddish language actors, pesach burstein and lillian lux.
About this site the yiddish book centers great jewish. Mike began performing on stage at yiddish theaters from childhood. The jews of the sitka district have created their own little world in the alaskan panhandle, a vibrant and complex frontier city that moves to the music of yiddish. Arriving in new york in 1924, pesachke burstein, the dancingsinging comedian, quickly became a leading figure in the golden era of yiddish theater.
He was born in new york city to the late yiddishlanguage actors, pesach burstein and lillian lux. Mike burstyn to star in the adventures of hershele. Burstein is best known for the musical acts she produced. At once a gripping whodunit, a love story, and an exploration of the mysteries of exile and redemption, the yiddish policemens union is a novel only michael chabon could have written. The international stage, film and television star mike burstyn has just been cast to play the title role in the world premiere of a new musical, the adventures of hershele ostropolyer, which the.
In 1920 there were 51 burstein families living in new york. This interview was conducted in english and yiddish. He particularly remembers going to see his very first broadway play as a young boy and the thrill of getting to meet mike burstein burstyn, one of his acting heroes. For a thousand years yiddish was the glue that held a people together. Mike burstein, lilian lux, henri gero, rozita landwer, yossele rosenblatt, dudu fisher, sense, yaacov shapiro, max perlman, elisheva edelson the best 54 yiddish songs 3cds set music. Lillian lux burstein, an internationally acclaimed doyenne of the yiddish theater, died in new york last week of natural causes. Gain access to digital resources for all ages, including ebooks, audiobooks, databases, and more.
Yiddish policemens union by michael chabon abebooks. It is a unique, fascinating documentary which tells us the life story of the famous legendary family. For sixty years jewish refugees and their descendants have prospered in the federal district of sitka, a temporary safe haven created in the wake of the holocaust and the shocking 1948 collapse of the fledgling state of israel. We had the exceptional good fortune to have some sit down time with mike burstyn in his home. The great 100 jewish books from the yiddish books center judges. Burstyn was a yiddish theater star performing for a shrinking and aging audience and longed to have a mainstream broadway career, and in 1980 he got his wish. Where there is thora there is wisdom mike burstein7. Created by teachers for teachers, the yiddish book centers great jewish books teacher resources is an evergrowing collection of textual, audio, and visual materials designed to support those who want to teach modern jewish literature and culture at secondary schools, universities, and elsewhere. For yom hashoah, the shoah in yiddish poetry and song with yiddish and broadway star mike burstyn, the son of yiddish theater actors pesach burstein and lillian lux. On february 19, 2010, the science fiction and fantasy writers of america announced that the title story from the collection had been nominated for the 2009 nebula award for best short. S 62960, mike burstyn yiddish folk songs album art mike burstein chava alberstein mike burstein chava alberstein yiddish folk songs. Lillian lux burstein, 86, yiddish theater giant the forward. Mike burstein shares many of these qualities, and he also brings to the. Yafac members today include actors mike burstyn son of lillian lux burstein and pesachke burstein and rick grossman son of diana goldberg and irving grossman, and tvstagescreen writer melanie mintz granddaughter of lyricist, playwright and actor jacob.
They played wherever yiddishspeaking audiences survived, including argentina, uruguay, south africa, poland and israel, to which the family made. Since 2010, the yiddish book centers wexler oral history project has recorded more than 500 indepth video interviews that provide a deeper understanding of the jewish experience and the legacy and changing nature of yiddish language and culture. Yiddish theatre consists of plays written and performed primarily by jews in yiddish, the language of the central european ashkenazi jewish community. Mike burstyn is an israeliamerican actor, and the son of yiddish theater actors.
Mike burstyn a yiddish interview for yiddishlives org. At its height, its geographical scope was comparably broad. His yiddishtheater parents, pesachke burstein and lillian lux, drafted young motele and his twin sister, susan zisele, into their musical comedy act while touring the postwar world. New york had the highest population of burstein families in 1920. Bruce adler, a twotime tonynominated actor who transitioned from the yiddish theater to the broadway stage, died friday, july 25, in davie, fla. For sixty years jewish refugees and their descendants have prospered in the federal district of sitka, a temporary safe haven created in the wake of the holocaust. The descendants of the yiddish stars resting here continue the creative legacy. I remember the future is a remarkable collection, displaying all of his many strengths. Michael burstein is an israeliamerican actor known onstage as mike burstyn.