Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich (; May 13, 1916), better known under his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Sholem Aleichem (

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

and , also spelled in Soviet Yiddish, ;

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and ), was a

author and playwright who lived in the Russian Empire and in the United States. The 1964 musical ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...

'', based on Aleichem's stories about Tevye the Dairyman, was the first commercially successful English-language stage production about Jewish life in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

. The

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

phrase שלום עליכם ( shalom aleichem) literally means " aypeace eupon you!", and is a greeting in traditional Hebrew and Yiddish.

Biography

Solomon Naumovich (Sholom Nohumovich) Rabinovich () was born in 1859 in Pereiaslav and grew up in the nearby ''

shtetl or ( ; , ; Grammatical number#Overview, pl. ''shtetelekh'') is a Yiddish term for small towns with predominantly Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazi Jewish populations which Eastern European Jewry, existed in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. The t ...

'' of Voronkiv, in the

Poltava Governorate Poltava Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. It was officially created in 1802 from the disbanded Little Russia Governorate (1796–1802), Little Russia Governorate and had its capital in Polt ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now in the

Kyiv Oblast Kyiv Oblast (, ), also called Kyivshchyna (, ), is an Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in central and northern Ukraine. It surrounds, but does not include, the city of Kyiv, which is administered as a city with special sta ...

of central

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). (Voronkiv has become the prototype of Aleichem's Kasrilevka.) His father, Menachem-Nukhem Rabinovich, was a rich merchant at that time.. However, a failed business affair plunged the family into poverty and Solomon Rabinovich grew up in reduced circumstances. When he was 13 years old, the family moved back to Pereiaslav, where his mother, Chaye-Esther, died in a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic. Sholem Aleichem's first venture into writing was an alphabetic glossary of the

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

s used by his stepmother. At the age of fifteen, he composed a Jewish version of the novel ''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' ( ) is an English adventure novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. Written with a combination of Epistolary novel, epistolary, Confessional writing, confessional, and Didacticism, didactic forms, the ...

''. He adopted the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

''Sholem Aleichem,'' a

variant of the

expression '' shalom aleichem,'' meaning "peace be with you" and typically used as a greeting. In 1876, after graduating from school in Pereiaslav, he began to work as a teacher. During 1877-1880 in Sofijka village,

Bohuslav Bohuslav (, ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city on the Ros (river), Ros River in Obukhiv Raion, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Bohuslav urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: 17,135 (2001). It is ...

region, he spent three years tutoring a wealthy landowner's daughter, Olga (Hodel) (1865–1942). From 1880 to 1883 he served as crown rabbi in Lubny. On May 12, 1883, he and Olga married, against the wishes of her father, whose estate they inherited a few years later. Their first child, a daughter named Ernestina (Tissa), was born in 1884. In 1890, Sholem Aleichem lost their entire fortune in stock

speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, good (economics), goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable in a brief amount of time. It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hope ...

and fled from his creditors. Daughter Lyalya (Lili) was born in 1887. As Lyalya Kaufman, she became a Hebrew writer. (Lyalya's daughter

Bel Kaufman Bella Kaufman (May 10, 1911 – July 25, 2014) was an American teacher and author, well known for writing the bestselling 1964 novel ''Up the Down Staircase.'' Early life Bella's father, Michael Kaufman (Mikhail Y. Koyfman) and her mother, Lal ...

, also a writer, was the author of '' Up the Down Staircase'', which was also made into a successful film.) A third daughter, Emma, was born in 1888. In 1889, Olga gave birth to a son. They named him Elimelech, after Olga's father, but at home they called him Misha. Daughter Marusi (who would one day publish "My Father, Sholom Aleichem" under her married name Marie Waife-Goldberg) was born in 1892. A final child, a son named Nochum (Numa) after Solomon's father was born in 1901 (under the name Norman Raeben he became a painter and an influential art teacher). After witnessing the

pogrom A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...

s that swept through southern

in 1905, including Kiev, Sholem Aleichem left

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

(which was fictionalized as Yehupetz) and emigrated to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he arrived in 1906. His family set up house in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, but when he saw he could not afford to maintain two households, he joined them in Geneva in 1908. Despite his great popularity, he was forced to take up an exhausting schedule of lecturing to make ends meet. In July 1908, during a reading tour in Russia, Sholem Aleichem collapsed on a train going through

Baranowicze Baranavichy or Baranovichi is a city in the Brest Region of western Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Baranavichy District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has a population of 170,817. ...

. He was diagnosed with a relapse of acute hemorrhagic

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and spent two months convalescing in the town's hospital. He later described the incident as "meeting his majesty, the Angel of Death, face to face", and claimed it as the catalyst for writing his autobiography, ''Funem yarid'' rom the Fair He thus missed the first Conference for the Yiddish Language, held in 1908 in Czernovitz; his colleague and fellow Yiddish activist Nathan Birnbaum went in his place. Sholem Aleichem spent the next four years living as a semi-invalid. During this period the family was largely supported by donations from friends and admirers (among his friends and acquaintances were fellow Yiddish authors I. L. Peretz, Jacob Dinezon, Mordecai Spector, and Noach Pryłucki). In 1909, in celebration of his 25th Jubilee as a writer, his friend and colleague Jacob Dinezon spearheaded a committee with Dr. Gershon Levine, Abraham Podlishevsky, and Noach Pryłucki to buy back the

publishing rights A publishing contract is a legal contract between a publisher and a writer or author (or more than one), to publish original content by the writer(s) or author(s). This may involve a single written work, or a series of works. In the case of musi ...

to Sholem Aleichem’s works from various publishers for his sole use in order to provide him with a steady income.''Guide to the Sutzkever Kaczerginski Collection, Part II: Collection of Literary and Historical Manuscripts RG 223.2'', YIVO Institute for Jewish Research,

' At a time when Sholem Aleichem was ill and struggling financially, this proved to be an invaluable gift, and Sholem Aleichem expressed his gratitude in a thank you letter in which he wrote, Sholem Aleichem moved to New York City again with his family in 1914. The family lived at first in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

at 110

Lenox Avenue Lenox Avenue – also named Malcolm X Boulevard; both names are officially recognized – is the primary north–south route through Harlem in the Upper Manhattan, upper portion of the New York City boroughs of New York City, borough ...

(at 116th Street) and later moved to 968 Kelly Street in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

. His son, Misha, ill with tuberculosis, was not permitted entry under United States immigration laws and remained in Switzerland with his sister Emma. Sholem Aleichem died at his Bronx apartment in 1916. He is buried in the main (old) section of Mount Carmel Cemetery in Queens, New York City.

Literary career

Like his contemporaries

Mendele Mocher Sforim Mendele Mocher Sforim (, ; lit. "Mendele the book peddler"; January 2, 1836, Kapyl – December 8, 1917 .S. Odessa), born Sholem Yankev Abramovich (, ) or S. J. Abramowitch, was a Jewish author and one of the founders of modern Yiddish and Heb ...

, I.L. Peretz, and Jacob Dinezon, Sholem Rabinovitch started writing in

, as well as in

. In 1883, when he was 24 years old, he published his first

story, צוויי שטיינער ''Tsvey Shteyner'' ("Two Stones"), using for the first time the pseudonym Sholem Aleichem. By 1890 he was a central figure in Yiddish literature, the vernacular language of nearly all East European Jews, and produced over forty volumes in Yiddish. It was often derogatorily called "jargon", but Sholem Aleichem used this term in an entirely non-pejorative sense. Apart from his own literary output, Sholem Aleichem used his personal fortune to encourage other Yiddish writers. In 1888–89, he put out two issues of an

almanac An almanac (also spelled almanack and almanach) is a regularly published listing of a set of current information about one or multiple subjects. It includes information like weather forecasting, weather forecasts, farmers' sowing, planting dates ...

, די ייִדישע פאָלקסביבליאָטעק ''Di Yidishe Folksbibliotek'' ("The Yiddish Public Library") which gave important exposure to young Yiddish writers. In 1890, after he lost his entire fortune, he could not afford to print the almanac's third issue, which had been edited but was subsequently never printed. '' Tevye the Dairyman'', in Yiddish טבֿיה דער מילכיקער ''Tevye der Milchiker'', was first published in 1894. Over the next few years, while continuing to write in Yiddish, he also wrote in Russian for an Odesa newspaper and for '' Voskhod'', the leading Russian Jewish publication of the time, as well as in Hebrew for ''Ha-melitz,'' and for an anthology edited by YH Ravnitzky. It was during this period that Sholem Aleichem contracted

. In August 1904, Sholem Aleichem edited הילף : א זאַמלבוך פיר ליטעראטור אונ קונסט ''Hilf: a Zaml-Bukh fir Literatur un Kunst'' ("Help: An Anthology for Literature and Art";

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, 1904) and himself translated three stories submitted by

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using pre-reform Russian orthography. ; ), usually referr ...

(''Esarhaddon, King of Assyria''; ''Work, Death and Sickness''; '' The Three Questions'') as well as contributions by other prominent Russian writers, including

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

, in aid of the victims of the

Kishinev pogrom The Kishinev pogrom or Kishinev massacre was an anti-Jewish riot that took place in Kishinev (modern Chișinău, Moldova), then the capital of the Bessarabia Governorate in the Russian Empire, on . During the pogrom, which began on Easter Day, ...

Critical reception

Sholem Aleichem's narratives were notable for the naturalness of his characters' speech and the accuracy of his descriptions of

life. Early critics focused on the cheerfulness of the characters, interpreted as a way of coping with adversity. Later critics saw a tragic side in his writing. He was often referred to as the "Jewish

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

" because of the two authors' similar writing styles and use of

s. Both authors wrote for adults and children and lectured extensively in Europe and the United States. When Twain heard of the writer called "the Jewish Mark Twain," he replied, "Please tell him that I am the American Sholem Aleichem."

Beliefs and activism

Sholem Aleichem was an impassioned advocate of Yiddish as a national Jewish language, which he felt should be accorded the same status and respect as other modern European languages. He did not stop with what came to be called "Yiddishism", but devoted himself to the cause of

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

as well. Many of his writings present the Zionist case. In 1888, he became a member of Hovevei Zion. In 1907, he served as an American delegate to the Eighth Zionist Congress held in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. Sholem Aleichem had a fear of the number 13. His manuscripts never had a page 13; he numbered the thirteenth pages of his manuscripts as 12a. Though it has been written that even his

headstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The u ...

carries the date of his death as "May 12a, 1916", his headstone reads the dates of his birth and death in Hebrew, the 26th of Adar and the 10th of Iyar, respectively.

Death

Sholem Aleichem died in New York on May 13, 1916, from tuberculosis and diabetes, aged 57, while working on his last novel, '' Motl, Peysi the Cantor's Son'', and was buried at Old Mount Carmel cemetery in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

. At the time, his funeral was one of the largest in New York City history, with an estimated 100,000 mourners. The next day, his will was printed in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' and was read into the Congressional Record of the United States.

Commemoration and legacy

Sholem Aleichem's will contained detailed instructions to family and friends with regard to burial arrangements and marking his '' yahrtzeit''. He told his friends and family to gather, "read my will, and also select one of my stories, one of the very merry ones, and recite it in whatever language is most intelligible to you." "Let my name be recalled with laughter," he added, "or not at all." The celebrations continue to the present day, and, in recent years, have been held at the Brotherhood Synagogue on Gramercy Park South in New York City, where they are open to the public. He composed the text to be engraved on his tombstone in Yiddish, given here in transliteration: In 1997, a monument dedicated to Sholem Aleichem was erected in

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

; another was erected in 2001 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. The main street of

Birobidzhan Birobidzhan ( rus, Биробиджан, p=bʲɪrəbʲɪˈdʐan; , ), also spelt Birobijan ( ), is a town and the administrative centre of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Russia, located on the Trans-Siberian Railway, near the China–Russia bord ...

is named after Sholem Aleichem; streets were named after him also in cities in Ukraine, including

Odesa Odesa, also spelled Odessa, is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern ...

Vinnytsia Vinnytsia ( ; , ) is a city in west-central Ukraine, located on the banks of the Southern Bug. It serves as the administrative centre, administrative center of Vinnytsia Oblast. It is the largest city in the historic region of Podillia. It also s ...

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, and

Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( ; see #Names, below for other names) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, administrative center of Zhytomyr Oblast (Oblast, province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding ...

. In New York City in 1996, East 33rd Street between Park and Madison Avenue is additionally named "Sholem Aleichem Place". Many streets in Israel are named after him. Postage stamps of Sholem Aleichem were issued by Israel ( Scott #154, 1959); the Soviet Union (Scott #2164, 1959); Romania (Scott #1268, 1959); and Ukraine (Scott #758, 2009). An

impact crater An impact crater is a depression (geology), depression in the surface of a solid astronomical body formed by the hypervelocity impact event, impact of a smaller object. In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal c ...

on the planet Mercury also bears his name. On March 2, 2009, 150 years after his birth, the

National Bank of Ukraine The National Bank of Ukraine ( ; NBU []) is the central bank of Ukraine. Created in 1991 from the Ukrainian operations of the Soviet Gosbank, the NBU employs over 12,000 people, making it one of the largest employers in the financial sector in ...

issued an anniversary coin depicting and celebrating Aleichem.

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

has a Jewish school named after him and in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

a Yiddish school, Sholem Aleichem College is named after him. Several Jewish schools in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

were also named after him. In

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

a library named BIBSA – Biblioteca Sholem Aleichem was founded in 1915 as a

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

institution by a local Jewish group. Next year, in 1916, the same group that created BIBSA founded a Jewish school named Escola Sholem Aleichem; it closed in 1997. BIBSA had a very active theatrical program in Yiddish for more than 50 years since its foundation and consistently performed Sholem Aleichem plays. In 1947 BIBSA became Associação Sholem Aleichem, under which name it continues to exist. Both the library and club became communist institutions due to a normal transition of power in the founding group, although non-communist members left to found their own school, Colégio Eliezer Steinbarg, in 1956. It is named after the first director of Escola Sholem Aleichem, a Jewish writer born in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

who immigrated to Brazil. In the Bronx, New York, a housing complex called The Shalom Aleichem Houses was built by Yiddish speaking immigrants in the 1920s, and was recently restored by new owners to its original grandeur. The Shalom Alecheim Houses are part of a proposed historic district in the area. On May 13, 2016, a Sholem Aleichem website was launched to mark the 100th anniversary of Sholem Aleichem's death. The website is a partnership between Sholem Aleichem's family, his biographer Professor Jeremy Dauber, Citizen Film, Columbia University's Center for Israel and Jewish Studies, The Covenant Foundation, and The Yiddish Book Center. The website features interactive maps and timelines, recommended readings, as well as a list of centennial celebration events taking place worldwide. The website also features resources for educators. Hertz Grosbard recited many of his works in so called "word concerts". A reading in Yiddish of his monologue ''If I Were a Rothschild'' and several others can be found o
the Grosbard Project
The writer's brother, Wolf Rabinovich, published the memoir "My Brother Sholom Aleichem" in Kyiv,

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

, in 1939.Wolf Rabinovich, ''Mayn Bruder Sholem Aleykhem'', Kiev, Melukhe-farlag, 1939 Sholem Aleichem's granddaughter,

, by his daughter Lala (Lyalya), was an American author, most widely known for her novel, '' Up the Down Staircase'', published in 1964, which was adapted to the stage and also made into a motion picture in 1967, starring Sandy Dennis.

Published works

Portrait of Shalom Aleichem by Mitchell Fields

English-language collections

* ''Tevye's Daughters: Collected Stories of Sholom Aleichem'' by Sholem Aleichem, transl Frances Butwin, illus Ben Shahn, NY: Crown, 1949. The stories which form the basis for ''

''. * ''The Best of Sholom Aleichem'', edited by R. Wisse, I. Howe (originally published 1979), Walker and Co., 1991, . *''Tevye the Dairyman and the Railroad Stories'', translated by H. Halkin (originally published 1987), Schocken Books, 1996, . *''Nineteen to the Dozen: Monologues and Bits and Bobs of Other Things'', translated by Ted Gorelick, Syracuse Univ Press, 1998, . *''A Treasury of Sholom Aleichem Children's Stories'', translated by Aliza Shevrin,

Jason Aronson Jason Aronson was an American publisher of books in the field of psychotherapy. Topics dealt with in these books include child therapy, family therapy, couple therapy, object relations therapy, play therapy, depression, eating disorders, per ...

, 1996, . * ''Inside Kasrilovka, Three Stories'', translated by I. Goldstick, Schocken Books, 1948 (variously reprinted) * ''The Old Country'', translated by Julius & Frances Butwin, J B H of Peconic, 1999, . * ''Stories and Satires'', translated by Curt Leviant, Sholom Aleichem Family Publications, 1999, . *''Selected Works of Sholem-Aleykhem'', edited by Marvin Zuckerman & Marion Herbst (Volume II of "The Three Great Classic Writers of Modern Yiddish Literature"), Joseph Simon Pangloss Press, 1994, . * ''Some Laughter, Some Tears'', translated by Curt Leviant, Paperback Library, 1969, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 68–25445.

Autobiography

* פונעם יאריד ''Funem yarid'', written 1914–1916, translated as ''The Great Fair'' by Tamara Kahana, Noonday Press, 1955; translated by Curt Leviant as ''From the Fair'', Viking, 1986, .

Novels

* '' Stempenyu: A Jewish Novel'', originally published in his ''Folksbibliotek'', adapted 1905 for the play ''Jewish Daughters''. * '' Yosele Solovey'' (1889, published in his ''Folksbibliotek'', first English translation: ''The Nightingale'' (1985)) * ''Tevye's Daughters'', translated by F. Butwin (originally published 1949), Crown, 1959, . * '' Mottel the Cantor's son''. Originally written in Yiddish. English version: Henry Schuman, Inc. New York 1953, Translated by Tamara Kahana (6a), the author's grand daughter. * ''In The Storm'' * '' Wandering Stars'' * ''Marienbad'', translated by Aliza Shevrin (1982, G.P. Putnam Sons, New York) from original Yiddish manuscript copyrighted by Olga Rabinowitz in 1917 * ''The Bloody Hoax'' * '' Menahem-Mendl'', translated as ''The Adventures of Menahem-Mendl'' by Tamara Kahana, Sholom Aleichem Family Publications, 1969, . * ''Moshkeleh Ganev'', translated as ''Moshkeleh the Thief'' by Curt Leviant, University of Nebraska Press, 2021, .

Young adult literature

* ''The Bewitched Tailor'', Sholom Aleichem Family Publications, 1999, .

Plays

* ''The Doctor'' (1887), one-act comedy * (''The Divorce'', 1888), one-act comedy * (''The Assembly'', 1889), one-act comedy * (1889), one-act play * (1894), a satire on brokers and speculators * (''Scattered Far and Wide'', 1903), comedy * (''Agents'', 1908), one-act comedy * (''Jewish Daughters'', 1905) drama, adaptation of his early novel ''Stempenyu'' * (''The Golddiggers'', 1907), comedy * ('' It's Hard to be a Jew'' / ''If I Were You'', 1914) * (''The Big Lottery'' / ''The Jackpot'', 1916) * , (''Tevye the Milkman'', 1917, performed posthumously)

Stage

*"The World of Sholom Aleichem

Television

"The World of Sholom Aleichem" Airdate: December 14, 195

Channel: WNTA-TV Channel 13, New York City *Written by Arnold Perl *Directed by Don Richardson *Produced by David Suskind & Henry T. Weinstein Included 3 short tele-plays: * "A Tale of Chelm" a folktale (author unknown) * "Bontche Schweig" by I.L. Peretz * "The High School" (aka "Gymnasium") by Sholem Aleichem. Starring: *

Gertrude Berg Gertrude Berg (born Tillie Edelstein; October 3, 1899 – September 14, 1966) was an American actress, screenwriter, and producer. A pioneer of classic old-time radio, radio, she was one of the first women to create, write, produce, and star in a ...

as Hannele ('The High School') * Morris Carnovsky as Rabbi David ('A Tale of Chelm'); Presiding Angel ('Bontche Shveig'); Aaron Katz ('The High School') * Sam Levene as Narrator *

Zero Mostel Samuel Joel "Zero" Mostel (February 28, 1915 – September 8, 1977) was an American actor, comedian, and singer. He is best known for his portrayal of comic characters including Tevye on stage in ''Fiddler on the Roof'', Pseudolus on stage and o ...

as the Melamed ('A Tale of Chelm') * Nancy Walker as Rifkele ('A Tale of Chelm') *

Charlotte Rae Charlotte Rae Lubotsky (April 22, 1926 – August 5, 2018) was an American character actress and singer whose career spanned sixty-six years. Rae was known for her portrayal of Edna Garrett in the sitcoms ''Diff'rent Strokes'' and its spin-o ...

as Angel ('A Tale of Chelm') *

Lee Grant Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, during the mid-1920s) is an American actress, documentarian, and director. In a career spanning over seven decades, she won an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Directors Guil ...

as Avenging Angel ('Bontche Shveig') * Jack Gilford as Bontshe Shveig ('Bontche Shveig') * Henry Lascoe as Dodi the Innkeeper ('A Tale of Chelm'); Principal ('The High School')

Miscellany

* ''Jewish Children'', translated by Hannah Berman, William Morrow & Co, 1987, . * numerous stories in Russian, published in ''Voskhod'' (1891–1892)

References

External links

The Official Sholem Aleichem Website
* * *
Haaretz article
''A stenographer for his people's soul''
The complete works of Sholem Aleichem (searchable and editable; Yiddish letters only).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aleichem, Sholem 1859 births 1916 deaths 19th-century American Jews 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American novelists 19th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis 20th-century pseudonymous writers American male novelists American satirists American satirical novelists American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent American Zionists Deaths from diabetes in New York (state) Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Switzerland Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Russian satirists Russian satirical novelists Hebrew-language writers Hovevei Zion Jewish American novelists Jewish dramatists and playwrights Jewish Ukrainian writers People from Pereiaslav People from Pereyaslavsky Uyezd Tuberculosis deaths in New York (state) Ukrainian Zionists Ukrainian satirists Ukrainian satirical novelists Yiddish-language literature Yiddish-language novelists Yiddish-language satirists Yiddish-language writers