Yiddish literature encompasses all those

belles-lettres is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. The phrase is sometimes used pejora ...

written in

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

, the language of Ashkenazic Jewry which is related to

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. Hig ...

. The history of Yiddish, with its roots in

central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

and locus for centuries in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

, is evident in its literature. It is generally described as having three historical phases: Old Yiddish literature; Haskalah and Hasidic literature; and modern Yiddish literature. While firm dates for these periods are hard to pin down, Old Yiddish can be said to have existed roughly from 1300 to 1780;

Haskalah The ''Haskalah'', often termed Jewish Enlightenment ( he, השכלה; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western Euro ...

and

Hasidic Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism ( Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of conte ...

literature from 1780 to about 1890; and modern Yiddish literature from 1864 to the present.

Old Yiddish literature

Yiddish literature began with translations of and commentary on

religious text Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...

s. (See article on the

Yiddish language Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...

for a full description of these texts.) The most important writer of old Yiddish literature was Elijah Levita (known as Elye Bokher) who translated and adapted the chivalric romance of

Bevis of Hampton Bevis of Hampton ( fro, Beuve(s) or or ; Anglo-Norman: ; it, Buovo d'Antona) or Sir Bevois, was a legendary English hero and the subject of Anglo-Norman, Dutch, French, English, Venetian,Hasenohr, 173–4. and other medieval metrical chival ...

, via its Italian version, Buovo d’Antona. Levita’s version, called Bovo d'Antona, and later known with the title '' Bovo-bukh'', was circulated in manuscript from 1507, then published in Isny (Germany) in 1541. This work illustrates the influence of European literary forms on emerging Yiddish literature, not only in its subject but in the form of its stanzas and

rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB r ...

, an adaptation of Italian ottava rima. Nonetheless, Levita altered many features of the story to reflect Judaic elements, though they rest uneasily with the essentially Christian nature of chivalry. (For a discussion of the tension between Christian and Jewish elements in the Bovo-bukh, see chapter two of

Michael Wex Michael Wex (born September 12, 1954) is a Canadian novelist, playwright, translator, lecturer, performer, and author of books on language and literature.Born to Kvetch''.) A number of Yiddish epic poems appeared in the 14-15th centuries. The most important works of this genre are the '' Shmuel-Bukh'' and the '' Mlokhim-Bukh'' – chivalric romances about king

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and other Biblical heroes. The stanzaic form of these poems resembles that of the ''

Nibelungenlied The ( gmh, Der Nibelunge liet or ), translated as ''The Song of the Nibelungs'', is an epic poem written around 1200 in Middle High German. Its anonymous poet was likely from the region of Passau. The is based on an oral tradition of Germani ...

''. Following the example of other European epics, the ''Shmuel-Bukh'' was not simply recited, but sung or chanted to musical accompaniment; its melody was widely known in Jewish communities. Far from being rhymed adaptations of the Bible, these old Yiddish

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

s fused the Biblical and

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

ic material with European courtly poetry, thus creating an

Ashkenazic Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

national epic, comparable to the ''

'' and

The Song of Roland ''The Song of Roland'' (french: La Chanson de Roland) is an 11th-century '' chanson de geste'' based on the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 AD, during the reign of the Carolingian king Charlemagne. It i ...

. Another influential work of old Yiddish literature is the ''Mayse-bukh'' (“Story Book”). This work collects ethical tales based on Hebrew and rabbinic sources, as well as folk tales and legends. Based on the inclusion of a few non-Jewish stories, scholars have deduced that the compiler lived in the area that is now western Germany during the last third of the 16th century. It was first published in 1602. These instructional stories are still read in highly religious communities, especially among the Hasidim. A commentary written for women on the weekly parashot by Rabbi Jacob ben Isaac Ashkenazi in 1616, the ''

Tseno Ureno The ''Tz'enah Ur'enah'' ( ''Ṣʼenā urʼenā'' "Go forth and see"), also spelt Tsene-rene and Tzeno Ureno, sometimes called the ''Women's Bible'', is a Yiddish-language prose work of c.1590s whose structure parallels the weekly Torah portions a ...

'' (צאנה וראינה), remains a ubiquitous book in Yiddish homes to this day. Women wrote old Yiddish literature infrequently, but several collections of tkhines (personal prayers which are not part of liturgy) were written by women such as Sara Bas-Tovim and Sarah Rebekah Rachel Leah Horowitz, both in the 18th century. The most extensive text by a woman from this era is the memoir of the 17th-18th century Glikl of Hameln, a family document that was not published until 1896.

Hasidic and Haskalah literature

Hasidic stories

The rise of

popular mysticism in the 18th century gave rise to a specific kind of literary work. Alongside its scholarly

thought In their most common sense, the terms thought and thinking refer to conscious cognitive processes that can happen independently of sensory stimulation. Their most paradigmatic forms are judging, reasoning, concept formation, problem solving, an ...

were hagiographic stories venerating its

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets v ...

. This gave storytelling a new centrality in

Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonia ...

as a form of

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogni ...

, and spread the movement's appeal. These anecdotal or miraculous stories personified new Hasidic doctrines of the saintly intermediary, Divine Omnipresence, and the hidden

value Value or values may refer to: Ethics and social * Value (ethics) wherein said concept may be construed as treating actions themselves as abstract objects, associating value to them ** Values (Western philosophy) expands the notion of value beyo ...

of the common folk. As one master related of his visit to

Dov Ber of Mezeritch Dov Ber ben Avraham of Mezeritch ( yi, דֹּב בֶּער מִמֶּזְרִיטְשְׁ; died December 1772 OS), also known as the '' Maggid of Mezeritch'', was a disciple of Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer (the Baal Shem Tov), the founder of Hasidi ...

, "I went to see how the Maggid tied up his shoelaces". A story of the

Baal Shem Tov Israel ben Eliezer (1698 – 22 May 1760), known as the Baal Shem Tov ( he, בעל שם טוב, ) or as the Besht, was a Jewish mystic and healer who is regarded as the founder of Hasidic Judaism. "Besht" is the acronym for Baal Shem Tov, which ...

, Hasidic founder, represents this:

The saintly prayers of the Baal Shem Tov and his close circle were unable to lift a harsh Heavenly decree they perceived one
New Year New Year is the time or day currently at which a new calendar year begins and the calendar's year count increments by one. Many cultures celebrate the event in some manner. In the Gregorian calendar, the most widely used calendar system ...
. After extending the prayers beyond time, the danger remained. An unlettered shepherd boy entered and was deeply envious of those who could read the holy day's prayers. He said to God "I don't know how to pray, but I can make the noises of the animals of the field." With great feeling he cried out, "Cock-a-doodle-do, God have mercy!" Immediately, joy overcame the Baal Shem Tov and he hurried to finish the prayers. Afterwards, he explained that the heartfelt words of the shephard boy opened the Gates of Heaven, and the decree was lifted.

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

was reserved for Torah study and prayer, the vernacular Yiddish stories of different masters were compiled in Yiddish or Hebrew writing, beginning with "Shivchei HaBesht"-"In Praise of the Baal Shem Tov" (1815 Yiddish translation from Hebrew compilation of 1814). In the 20th century

Martin Buber Martin Buber ( he, מרטין בובר; german: Martin Buber; yi, מארטין בובער; February 8, 1878 – June 13, 1965) was an Austrian Jewish and Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism ...

publicised Hasidism to the secular world through its stories, mediated through his own

Neo-Hasidic Neo-Hasidism, Neochassidut, or Neo-Chassidus, is an approach to Judaism in which people learn beliefs and practices of Hasidic Judaism, and incorporate it into their own lives or prayer communities, yet without formally joining a Hasidic group. ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. ...

. Previous Kabbalistic themes, accepted without emphasis in Hasidism, entered Eastern European Jewish

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

in tales of

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrectio ...

and possession, and were commonly adapted by later secular Yiddish writers. Meanwhile, the mysticism of Hasidism as well as the culture of wider traditional Judaism, were parodied by Haskalah Yiddish literature.

Hasidic parables

Within the works of

Hasidic philosophy Hasidic philosophy or Hasidism ( he, חסידות), alternatively transliterated as Hasidut or Chassidus, consists of the teachings of the Hasidic movement, which are the teachings of the Hasidic ''rebbes'', often in the form of commentary on the ...

, another storytelling form was used - insightful parables to illustrate its new mystical interpretations. The

used short, soulful analogies, alluded teachings and encouraging anecdotes in first reaching out to revive the common folk, while parables of other masters were integrated within their classic works of Hasidic thought. The distinct parables of

Nachman of Breslov Nachman of Breslov ( he, רַבִּי נַחְמָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב ''Rabbī'' ''Naḥmān mīBreslev''), also known as Reb Nachman of Bratslav, Reb Nachman Breslover ( yi, רבי נחמן ברעסלאווער ''Rebe Nakhmen Breslover'' ...

comprise a complete literary form that stand alone with their own commentary, in Yiddish original and Hebrew translation. In one example of former Hasidic parable, the Baal Shem Tov explained the mystical meaning of blowing the ram's horn on the New Year:

A King sent his son away from the palace to learn new skills. Regrettably, the son lost his royal ways, and forgot his home tongue. After years in exile he remembered his true calling, and desired to return to the palace. Upon approaching the gates, the guards no longer recognised the King's son and refused him entry. At that moment the King appeared on the balcony and saw the commotion of the son at the gates, but also did not recognise his son who now appeared in peasant clothing. In distress, as the son could no longer remember the royal language, he cried out a heartfelt wordless call from his soul. Immediately, the King recognised his voice and delighted in being reunited with his son.

Rabbi Nachman’s 13 ''Sippurei Ma'asiyot'' Wonder-Tales of 1816 take mystical parable to a self-contained literary purpose and art. Where the analogies of other masters have direct messages, Rabbi Nachman's imaginative, intricate tales, that can involve stories within stories, offer layered

mystical Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

and devotional commentaries, or literary readings. Rabbi Nachman alluded to some meanings when he orally told each tale in Yiddish. He saw their roots in ancient

Aggadic Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism ...

mystical articulation, by saying that this concealed form was how Kabbalah was taught orally before Shimon bar Yochai explained it, though the Tales are unique in

Rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. However, the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic w ...

. He took to storytelling as redemptive activity once other paths had been blocked, such as the death of his son in whom he saw Messianic potential; "the time has come to tell stories", he said. Rabbi Nachman saw his role as innovative, and his teachings focus on the redemptive scheme of

rectification Rectification has the following technical meanings: Mathematics * Rectification (geometry), truncating a polytope by marking the midpoints of all its edges, and cutting off its vertices at those points * Rectifiable curve, in mathematics * Recti ...

"In the tales told by the Nations of the World are hidden sparks of holiness, but the tales are confused and spiritually out of order, so that the sparks remain hidden."

The thirteenth tale, "The Seven Beggars", is the most intricate. The story told on the seventh day is missing and Rabbi Nachman said that it would only be known when the

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

comes. The Tales, documented in Yiddish with Hebrew translation by Nathan of Breslov, amongst other Hasidic storytelling have had the strongest effect on the development of Yiddish literature.

Haskalah

During the same years as the emergence of Hasidism, the most influential secular movement of Jews also appeared in the form of the

. This movement was influenced by the Enlightenment and opposed superstition in religious life and the antiquated education given to most Jews. They proposed better integration into European culture and society, and were strong opponents of Hasidism. Writers who used their craft to expound this view were

Israel Aksenfeld Israel Aksenfeld ( yi, ישראל אקסענפעלד, c. 1787 in Nemirov, Podolia Governorate, Russian Empire – c. 1868 in Paris, France) was a Yiddish writer. Although he spoke other languages perfectly (Hebrew, Russian, Polish, German, poss ...

, Solomon (or Shloyme) Ettinger and Isaac Mayer Dick. Aksenfeld was at first a follower of Reb Nachman of Bratslav, but later abandoned Hasidism and became a strong opponent of it. His novel ''Dos shterntikhl'' (“The head-scarf”), published in 1861, portrays the Hasidic world as intolerant and small-minded. Only five of his works were published because of opposition from Hasidic leaders. His work is realist and shows the influence of 19th century

Russian literature Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia and its émigrés and to Russian-language literature. The roots of Russian literature can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were composed. By the ...

. Ettinger was a physician who wrote plays, including what is considered the most important of the Haskalah era, “Serkele”. His satiric style shows the influence of European drama: one scholar speculates that he read

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

. Isaac Mayer Dick (1808–1893) wrote

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

which sold tens of thousands of copies in book form. His role in literary development is as significant for creating a readership for

as for the content of his work, which tends to the didactic. He also wrote in

, including the outstanding

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

ic parody, “Masseket Aniyyut” (“Tractate Poverty”).

Modern Yiddish literature

The classic Yiddish writers

Modern Yiddish literature is generally dated to the publication in 1864 of Sholem Yankev Abramovitsh's novel ''Dos kleyne mentshele'' ("The Little Person"). Abramovitsh had previously written in Hebrew, the language in which many proponents of the Haskalah communicated with each other, until this publication. With this novel, originally published serially in a Yiddish newspaper, Abramovitsh introduced his

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", "doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a different ...

, the character of Mendele Moykher Sforim ("Mendel the Book Peddler"), the character who narrates this and many succeeding stories. Abramovitsh himself is often known by this name, and it appears as the "author" on several of his books, producing a complex set of relations between the author, the persona and the readership which has been explored most thoroughly by Dan Miron. Abramovitsh's work is ironic and sharp, while maintaining the voice of a folksy narrator. His work critiques corruption inside the Jewish community and that imposed on it from Russian and Polish governing institutions. He also continues the tradition of Haskalah literature with his attack on superstition and outmoded traditions such as

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...

. His extraordinary parody of the

picaresque The picaresque novel ( Spanish: ''picaresca'', from ''pícaro'', for "rogue" or "rascal") is a genre of prose fiction. It depicts the adventures of a roguish, but "appealing hero", usually of low social class, who lives by his wits in a corru ...

, ''Kitser masoes Binyomen hashlishi'' ("The Brief Travels of Benjamin the Third"), published in 1878, was his last great work and provides one of his strongest critiques of Jewish life in the

Pale of Settlement The Pale of Settlement (russian: Черта́ осе́длости, '; yi, דער תּחום-המושבֿ, '; he, תְּחוּם הַמּוֹשָב, ') was a western region of the Russian Empire with varying borders that existed from 1791 to 19 ...

. Abramovitsh's influence lay in two factors. First, he wrote in Yiddish at a time when most Jewish thinkers tended to Hebrew or a non-Jewish language such as German. Secondly, as Dan Miron demonstrates, Abramovitsh brought Yiddish belles lettres firmly into the modern era through the use of rhetorical strategies that allowed his social reform agenda to be expressed at the highest level of literary and artistic achievement. The outpouring of Yiddish literature in modernist forms that followed Abramovitsh demonstrates how important this development was in giving voice to Jewish aspirations, both social and literary. The most important of the early writers to follow Abramovitsh were Sholem Rabinovitsh (popularly known by his alter-ego,

Sholem Aleichem ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Pereiaslav, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = New York City, U.S. , occupation = Writer , nationality = , period = , genre = Novels, sh ...

), and

I. L. Peretz Isaac Leib Peretz ( pl, Icchok Lejbusz Perec, yi, יצחק־לייבוש פרץ) (May 18, 1852 – April 3, 1915), also sometimes written Yitskhok Leybush Peretz was a Polish Jewish writer and playwright writing in Yiddish. Payson R. Stevens, Cha ...

. Rabinovitsh's best-known works are the stories centering on the character

Tevye the Dairyman Tevye the Dairyman, also translated as Tevye the Milkman ( yi, טבֿיה דער מילכיקער, ''Tevye der milkhiker'' ) is the fictional narrator and protagonist of a series of short stories by Sholem Aleichem, and various adaptations of th ...

. Written over many years and in response to the variety of Jewish catastrophes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the stories epitomize Rabinovitsh's style, including his signature style of "laughter through tears". I. L. Peretz brought into Yiddish a wide array of modernist techniques he encountered in his reading of European fiction. While himself politically radical, particularly during the 1890s, his fiction is enormously nuanced and allows multiple readings. His work is both simple and caustic, more psychological and more individualistic than Abramovitsh or Rabinovitsh's. For these reasons, he is considered the first true modernist in Yiddish literature. He wrote primarily stories of which "Bontshe shvayg" (Bontshe the Silent) is one of his best known. As with much of his work, it manages to convey two apparently opposing messages: sympathy for the oppressed with critique of passivity as a response to oppression. Together, Abramovitsh, Rabinovitsh and I. L. Peretz are usually referred to as the three "classic" Yiddish writers ("di klasiker" in Yiddish). They are also nickednamed respectively the "grandfather", the "father" and the "son" of Yiddish literature. This formulation erases the fact that they were all roughly contemporaneous and are best understood as a single phenomenon rather than as distinct generational manifestations of a tradition. Nonetheless, this formulation was propounded by the classic writers themselves, perhaps as a means of investing their fledgling literary culture with a lineage that could stand up to other world literatures they admired.

Literary movements and figures

Dramatic works in Yiddish grew up at first separately, and later intertwined with other Yiddish movements. Early drama, following Ettinger’s example, was written by

Abraham Goldfaden Abraham Goldfaden (Yiddish: אַבֿרהם גאָלדפֿאַדען; born Avrum Goldnfoden; 24 July 1840 – 9 January 1908), also known as Avram Goldfaden, was a Russian-born Jewish poet, playwright, stage director and actor in the languages Yid ...

, and

Jacob Gordin Jacob Michailovitch Gordin (Yiddish: יעקב מיכאַילאָװיטש גאָרדין; May 1, 1853 – June 11, 1909) was a Russian-born American playwright active in the early years of Yiddish theater. He is known for introducing realism an ...

. Much of what was presented on the Yiddish stage were translations from European repertoire, and as a result much of the earliest original writing in Yiddish owes as much to German theatre as to the classic Yiddish writers. While the three classic writers were still at their height, the first true movement in modern Yiddish literature sprang up in New York. The “Sweatshop Poets,” as this school has come to be called, were all immigrant workers who experienced first hand the inhumane working conditions in the factories of their day. The leading members of this group were Morris Rosenfeld,

Morris Winchevsky Morris Winchevsky (Yiddish: מאָריס װינטשעװסקי; born as Leopold Benzion Novokhovitch; August 9 1856–March 18 1932), also known as Ben Netz, was a prominent Jewish socialist leader in London and the United States in the late 19th ...

, David Edelstadt and Joseph Bovshover. Their work centers on the subject of proletarian oppression and struggle, and uses the styles of Victorian verse, producing a rhetoric that is highly stylized. As a result it is little read or understood today. Simultaneously in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

a group of writers centered around I. L. Peretz took Yiddish to another level of modern experimentation; they included

David Pinski David Pinski (Yiddish: דוד פּינסקי; April 5, 1872 – August 11, 1959) was a Yiddish language writer, probably best known as a playwright. At a time when Eastern Europe was only beginning to experience the industrial revolution, Pins ...

S. Ansky Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport (1863 – November 8, 1920), known by his pseudonym S. Ansky (or An-sky), was a Jewish author, playwright, researcher of Jewish folklore, polemicist, and cultural and political activist. He is best known for his play ' ...

, Sholem Asch and I.M. Weissenberg. A later Warsaw group, “ Di Chaliastre” (“The Gang”) included notables such as

Israel Joshua Singer Israel Joshua Singer (Yiddish: ישראל יהושע זינגער ; November 30, 1893, Biłgoraj, Congress Poland — February 10, 1944 New York) was a Polish-Jewish novelist who wrote in Yiddish. Biography He was born Yisruel Yehoyshye Zinger ...

Peretz Hirshbein Peretz Hirshbein ( yi, פרץ הירשביין;7 November 1880, Melnik, Kleszczele, Grodno Governorate – 16 August 1948, Los Angeles) was a Yiddish-language playwright, novelist, journalist, travel writer, and theater director. Because ...

Melech Ravitch Zechariah Choneh Bergner () (27 November 1893 – 20 August 1976), better known by his pen name Melech Ravitch (), was a Canadian Yiddish poet and essayist. Ravitch was one of the world's leading Yiddish literary figures after the Holocaust. Hi ...

and Uri Zvi Grinberg (who went on to write most of his work in Hebrew). Like their New York counterpart,

Di Yunge Di Yunge was the first major literary movement of Yiddish poetry in America. During the early 20th century, their work emphasized romanticism, individualism, subjectivism, and free and indirect expression. History Yiddish literature was most p ...

(“The Young Ones”), they broke with earlier Yiddish writers and attempted to free Yiddish writing, particularly verse, from its preoccupation with politics and the fate of the Jews. Prominent members of Di Yunge included Mani Leib,

Moyshe-Leyb Halpern Moyshe-Leyb Halpern (January 2, 1886 – August 31, 1932) was a Yiddish-language modernist poet. He was born and raised in a traditional Jewish household in Zlotshev, Galicia and brought to Vienna at the age of 12 in 1898 to study commer ...

H. Leivick H. Leivick (Yiddish: ה. לײװיק; pen name of Leivick Halpern, December 25, 1888 – December 23, 1962) was a Yiddish language writer, known for his 1921 "dramatic poem in eight scenes" '' The Golem''. He also wrote many highly political, ...

, and the prose writers

David Ignatoff David Ignatoff (; 15 October 1885 – 26 February 1954), born David Ignatovski (), was a Russian-born American Yiddish author and playwright. A member of the Di Yunge literary movement, Ignatoff wrote short stories, novels, plays, and children ...

Lamed Shapiro Levi Yehoshua Shapiro (Yiddish: ל. שאַפּיראָ, born 1878, died 1948), better known as "''Lamed'' Shapiro", (''lamed'' is the Yiddish name of the letter ל), was an American Yiddish author. His stories are best known for such themes as mu ...

and Isaac Raboy. Just a few years after Di Yunge came into prominence, a group called “

In Zikh IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independ ...

” (“Introspection”) declared itself the true avant garde, rejecting metered verse and declaring that non-Jewish themes were a valid topic for Yiddish poetry. The most important member of this group was

Yankev Glatshteyn Jacob Glatstein (1896–1971) yiddish יעקב גלאטשטיין was a Polish-born American poet and literary critic who wrote in the Yiddish language. His name is also spelled Yankev Glatshteyn or Jacob Glatshteyn. Early life Glatstein was bor ...

. Glatshteyn was interested in exotic themes, in poems that emphasized the sound of words, and later, as the Holocaust loomed and then took place, in reappropriations of Jewish tradition. His poem “A gute nakht, velt” (“Good Night, World,” 1938) seems to foresee the tragedy on the horizon in Eastern Europe. In

Vilnius, Lithuania Vilnius ( , ; see also #Etymology and other names, other names) is the capital and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the munic ...

(called Vilna or Vilne by its Jewish inhabitants, and one of the most historically significant centers of Yiddish cultural activity), the group “ Yung Vilne” (“Young Vilna”) included Chaim Grade,

Abraham Sutzkever Abraham Sutzkever ( yi, אַבֿרהם סוצקעווער, Avrom Sutskever; he, אברהם סוצקבר; July 15, 1913 – January 20, 2010) was an acclaimed Yiddish poet. ''The New York Times'' wrote that Sutzkever was "the greatest poet o ...

and . Grade’s short story “Mayn krig mit Hersh Raseyner” (“My Quarrel With Hershl Rasseyner”) is one of the classic post-Holocaust Yiddish stories, encapsulating the philosophical dilemma faced by many survivors. Sutzkever went on to be one of major poets of the 20th century. Chagal and Der Nister

During the radical turn of the 1930s, a group of writers clustered around the U. S. Communist Party came to be known as “Di Linke” (“The Left Wing”). This group included Moishe Nadir,

Malka Lee Malka Lee (Yiddish: מלכה לי) (July 4, 1904 – March 22, 1976) was an American poet and author. She is the author of ''Durkh Kindershe Oygn'' (''Through the Eyes of Childhood''), published in 1955 and dedicated to her family, who were k ...

and Ber Grin. In Canada, a similar group was known as the Proletariat school of writers, exemplified by Yudica. In

the Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

, Yiddish literature underwent a dramatic flowering, with such greats as

David Bergelson David (or Dovid) Bergelson (, russian: Давид Бергельсон, 12 August 1884 – 12 August 1952) was a Yiddish language writer born in the Russian Empire. He lived for a time in Berlin, Germany before moving to the Soviet Union following ...

Der Nister Der Nister ( yi, דער נסתּר ֹor דער ניסטער, "the Hidden One"; 1 November 1884 – 4 June 1950 in a Soviet Gulag) was the pseudonym of Pinchus Kahanovich ( yi, פּנחס קאַהאַנאָוויטש), a Yiddish author, philoso ...

Peretz Markish Peretz Davidovich Markish ( yi, פּרץ מאַרקיש ) (russian: Перец Давидович Маркиш) (7 December 1895 (25 November OS) – 12 August 1952) was a Russian Jewish poet and playwright who wrote predominantly in Yiddish. ...

and Moyshe Kulbak. Several of these writers were murdered during a Stalinist purge known as the Night of the Murdered Poets (August 12–13, 1952), including

Itzik Fefer Itzik Feffer (10 September 1900 – 12 August 1952), also Fefer (Yiddish איציק פֿעפֿער, Russian Ицик Фефер, Исаàк Соломòнович Фèфер) was a Soviet Yiddish poet executed on the Night of the Murdered Poet ...

and Leib Kvitko. Bergelson is considered by many an underrated genius whose work in the modernist novel may be among the most interesting examples of the form. Important Soviet writers who escaped persecution include Moyshe Altman, Ikhil Shraybman, Note Lurie,

Eli Schechtman Eli Schechtman (or Shekhtman or Shechtman) ( yi, עלי שעכטמאן; September 8, 1908 – January 1, 1996) was a Yiddish writer. He defined the purpose of his work as follows: "My mission in Jewish literature was and still is ... to show to th ...

, Shike Driz, Rivke Rubin, Shira Gorshman, and others. There appears to have been no rhyme or reason to explain why certain writers were not persecuted, as all these writers pursued similar themes in their writing and participated in similar groupings of Jewish intellectuals. Certain male writers also did not associate with a particular literary group, or did so for a short time before moving on to other creative ethics. Among these were

Itzik Manger Itzik Manger (30 May 1901, Czernowitz, then Austrian-Hungarian Empire – 21 February 1969, Gedera, Israel; yi, איציק מאַנגער) was a prominent Yiddish poet and playwright, a self-proclaimed folk bard, visionary, and 'master tailor ...

, whose clever re-imaginings of Biblical and other Jewish stories are accessible and playful but deeply intellectual. Other writers in this category are Joseph Opatoshu, I. B. Singer (who is always called “Bashevis” in Yiddish to distinguish him from his older brother), I. J. Singer and Aaron Zeitlin. Many of the writers mentioned above who wrote during and after the 1940s responded to the Holocaust in their literary works—some wrote poetry and stories while in ghettos, concentration camps, and partisan groups, and many continued to address the Holocaust and its aftereffects in their subsequent writing. Yiddish writers known best for their writings about the Holocaust include Yitzhak Katzenelson, Y. Shpigl, and Katsetnik.

Female authors in Yiddish literature

An interesting feature of Yiddish literature in its most active years (1900–1940) is the presence of numerous

women writers Women have made significant contributions to literature since the earliest written texts. Women have been at the forefront of textual communication since early civilizations. History Among the first known female writers is Enheduanna; she is also ...

who were less involved in specific movements or tied to a particular artistic ideology. Writers such as

Celia Dropkin Celia Dropkin ( yi, ציליע דראַפּקין, – August 18, 1956) was a Russian-born American Yiddish poet, writer, and artist. Biography Dropkin was born in Bobruysk, Russian Empire to an assimilated Russian-Jewish family. In Yiddish ...

Anna Margolin Anna Margolin ( yi, אַננאַ מאַרגאָלין) is the pen name of Rosa Harning Lebensboym (1887–1952) a twentieth century Jewish Russian-American, Yiddish language poet. Biography Born in Brest, then part of the Russian Empire, ...

, Kadia Molodowsky,

Esther Kreitman Hinde Ester Singer Kreytman (31 March 1891 – 13 June 1954), known in English as Esther Kreitman, was a Yiddish-language novelist and short story writer. She was born in Biłgoraj, Vistula Land to a rabbinic Jewish family. Her younger brother ...

, Katie Brown and Esther Shumiatcher Hirschbein created bodies of work that do not fit easily into a particular category and which are often experimental in form or subject matter. Margolin’s work pioneered the use of

assonance Assonance is a resemblance in the sounds of words/syllables either between their vowels (e.g., ''meat, bean'') or between their consonants (e.g., ''keep, cape''). However, assonance between consonants is generally called ''consonance'' in America ...

and consonance in Yiddish verse. She preferred off-rhymes to true rhymes. Dropkin introduced a highly charged erotic vocabulary and shows the influence of 19th century Russian poetry. Kreitman, the sister of I. J. and I. B. Singer, wrote novels and short stories, many of which were sharply critical of

gender inequality Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in which men and women are not treated equally. The treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology, or cultural norms prevalent in the society. Some of these distinctions are empi ...

in traditional Jewish life. In the developing Yiddish literary scene in Europe and the United States in the first decades of the twentieth century, women writers were regarded by literary critics as a rare phenomenon, at the same time that editors of newspapers and journals, especially those of the socialist and anarchist press, were eager to publish women's work, as a hallmark of modernity and in the hope of boosting circulation; however, a few leading male writers and editors, including

Avrom Reyzen Avrom Reyzen (Yiddish: אַבֿרהם רייזען; April 8, 1876 – April 2, 1953), known as Abraham Reisen, was a Yiddish writer, poet and editor, and the elder brother of the Yiddishist Zalman Reisen. Reyzen was born in Koidanov (Minsk, ea ...

and Aaron Glanz-Leyeles, expressed the view that women writers had a particular contribution to make to the emerging American Yiddish literature. Women writers such as

Yente Serdatzky Yente Serdatzky (also Serdatsky and Sardatsky; Yiddish: יענטע סערדאַצקי; September 15, 1877 – May 1, 1962) was a Russian-born American Yiddish-language writer of short fiction and plays, active in New York City. Early life Serdatz ...

and Fradl Shtok, found a limited degree of recognition for their work but ultimately were out of step with their male literary peers and came to an impasse in their writing careers. Shtok, at first known for her poetry, especially for being among the first Yiddish poets to write sonnets, garnered disappointing reviews for her collection of short stories (''Gezammelte ertseylungen'', 1919) that were innovative in the way they incorporated the subjectivity, including erotic desires, of female characters.

Isaac Bashevis Singer and the Nobel Prize

The awarding of the

Nobel Prize in Literature ) , image = Nobel Prize.png , caption = , awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature , presenter = Swedish Academy , holder = Annie Ernaux (2022) , location = Stockholm, Sweden , year = 1901 , ...

Isaac Bashevis Singer Isaac Bashevis Singer ( yi, יצחק באַשעװיס זינגער; November 11, 1903 – July 24, 1991) was a Polish-born American Jewish writer who wrote and published first in Yiddish and later translated himself into English with the help ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 ...

helped cement his reputation as one of the great writers of world literature. Many readers of Yiddish, however, are convinced that there are many finer writers among Yiddish literature, including his brother. Chaim Grade believed himself overlooked by the English-speaking world.

Cynthia Ozick Cynthia Ozick (born April 17, 1928) is an American short story writer, novelist, and essayist. Biography Cynthia Ozick was born in New York City, the second of two children. She moved to the Bronx with her Belarusian-Jewish parents from Hlusk, ...

's short story "Envy; or, Yiddish in America" implies a similar emotion on the part of a Yiddish poet, generally taken to be based on

. Some Yiddish critics complained of the excessive sex and superstition in Singer's work, which they felt brought Yiddish literature in general into disrepute. In addition, Singer's habit of presenting himself to the American press as the last or only Yiddish writer was irksome to the dozens of writers still living and working at the time. But in spite of these squabbles (which to some extent continue, years after the death of the protagonists), most scholars of Yiddish today would agree that the awarding of the Nobel Prize to Singer brought an unprecedented amount of attention to Yiddish literature, and has served to heighten interest in the field generally. Many scholars believe it to be a justified prize on the basis of the part of Singer's oeuvre that is available in translation, which represents his most accomplished works.

Contemporary writing in Yiddish and influenced by Yiddish literature

The last prewar European-born writers who published or are still publishing in the early 21st century include the Canadian authors Chava Rosenfarb, Simcha Simchovitch (1921-2017) and Grunia Slutzky-Kohn (1928-2020); Israeli writers including Tzvi Ayznman (1920-2015), Aleksander Shpiglblat (1927-2013), Rivka Basman Ben-Hayim, Yitzkhok Luden, Mishe Lev (1917-2013), Yente Mash (1922-2013), Tzvi Kanar (1929–2009), Elisheva Kohen-Tsedek (born 1922) and Lev Berinsky (born 1939); and American poet-songwriter Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman, and poets and prose masters Yonia Fain (1913–2013) and Moyshe Szklar (editor of the Los Angeles Yiddish literary periodical Khezhbn; 1920-2014), as well as the prolific feuilletonist and playwright Miriam Hoffman. Writers of the "younger" postwar born generation comprising those born in the late 1940s through 1960s (many hailing from the former Soviet Union) include Alexander Belousov (1948–2004), Mikhoel Felsenbaum, Daniel Galay, Moyshe Lemster,

Boris Sandler Boris Sandler ( yi, באָריס סאַנדלער; born January 6, 1950, in Beltz) is a Yiddish-language author, journalist, playwright and lyricist and the former editor of the Yiddish edition of the '' Forward''. Early life; career beginnin ...

(who edited the Yiddish "Forverts" edition of

The Jewish Daily Forward ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialist newspaper, '' ...

from 1998 to 2016), Velvl Chernin, Zisye Veytsman, Heershadovid Menkes (pen name of

Dovid Katz Dovid Katz (Yiddish: , also , Hirshe-Dovid Kats, , born 9 May 1956) is an American-born, Vilnius-based scholar, author and educator, specializing in Yiddish language and literature, Lithuanian Jewish culture, and the Holocaust in Eastern Europe. ...

), and Boris Karloff (pen name of Dov-Ber Kerler, editor of "Yerusholaymer Almanakh"). A younger generation of writers who began to come to the fore in the 21st century includes poets Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath, Yermiyahu Ahron Taub and Yoel Matveyev in the US, Yisroel Nekrasov in Saint Petersburg, Haike Beruriah Wiegand in London, Thomas Soxberger in Vienna, and the prose writers Boris Kotlerman in Israel and Gilles Rozier (editor of "Gilgulim") in Paris. The earlier works of some of the younger generation authors were collected in the anthology "Vidervuks" (regrowth), published in 1989. Recent works of many of contemporary authors appeared in 2008 in Paris ( Gilgulim: naye shafungen) and Jerusalem ( Yerusholaymer Almanakh). A new generation of Yiddish writers has emerged from the

and

Haredi Haredi Judaism ( he, ', ; also spelled ''Charedi'' in English; plural ''Haredim'' or ''Charedim'') consists of groups within Orthodox Judaism that are characterized by their strict adherence to ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions, in oppos ...

movements of contemporary Orthodoxy. The author known only by the pseudonym Katle Kanye writes blistering satire of current halakhic literature as well as poetry and thoughtful commentary on Hasidic life. Another example of a

Yiddish blog-writer is Natirlich. Spy thrillers in Yiddish have become a popular genre within Hasidic communities. European literatures have had a strong influence on Yiddish literature, but until the late 20th century there was little return flow into English, except through bilingual writers who chose to write in English, such as

Anzia Yezierska Anzia Yezierska (October 29, 1880 – November 20, 1970) was a Jewish-American novelist born in Mały Płock, Poland, which was then part of the Russian Empire. She emigrated as a child with her parents to the United States and lived in the ...

and Ab Cahan. The poet Irena Klepfisz, who was born to Polish-speaking Jewish parents in Nazi-occupied Poland and learned Yiddish in school after immigrating to the United States, is influenced by the language in her work and also translates poetry from the Yiddish. Currently, many young writers with little knowledge of Yiddish have been influenced by Yiddish literature in translation, such as

Nathan Englander Nathan Englander (born 1970) is an American short story writer and novelist. His debut short story collection, ''For the Relief of Unbearable Urges,'' was published by Alfred A. Knopf, in 1999. His second collection, ''What We Talk About When We ...

and

Jonathan Safran Foer Jonathan Safran Foer (; born February 21, 1977) is an American novelist. He is known for his novels '' Everything Is Illuminated'' (2002), '' Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close'' (2005), '' Here I Am'' (2016), and for his non-fiction works ''Eati ...

. An exception is

Dara Horn Dara Horn (born 1977) is a Jewish American novelist, essayist, and professor of literature. She has written five novels and in 2021, released a nonfiction essay collection titled ''People Love Dead Jews'', which was a finalist for the 2021 Kirkus ...

, who has studied both Yiddish and Hebrew and draws on both of these traditions in her English-language novels. The last Yiddish language writers in the former Soviet Union were Aleksandr Bejderman in Odessa and Yoysef Burg in Chernivtsi, both of whom are deceased. Literary works written originally in other languages continue to be translated and published in Yiddish.

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

's ''Index Translationum'' database lists 98 foreign-language books published in Yiddish translation since circa 1979, in a number of countries including Israel, the USA, Romania, Germany, and the USSR.Index Translationum: translations into Yiddish
- lists 98 items, as of 2013-01-06. The index starts in 1979; however, several items in the list far predate that year.