Season 2, Episode 5
In our fifth episode of the season, presented in collaboration with Lilith magazine, we explore the Yiddish short story “The New World,” written by Esther Singer Kreitman in the first half of the twentieth century. The English translation by Barbara Harshav, which you can hear excerpts from in the episode, was published in Lilith in 1991.
Dr. Anita Norich, Professor Emerita of English and Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan, takes us through the story, while also discussing the author’s life and the ways in which her work speaks to the themes and complexities in Yiddish literature. She also touches on the role that societal assumptions about gender have played in the lack of awareness around Yiddish fiction written by women.
Read the transcript for "The New World."
THE TEAM
Hosted by Aaron Henne
Scholarship provided by Anita Norich, PhD
Edited by Mark McClain Wilson
Story editing by Julie A. Lockhart with Aaron Henne
Featuring the voice of Diana Tanaka, with support from Rachel Leah Cohen, Perry Daniel, Joe Jordan, Julie A. Lockhart, Rebecca Rasmussen, Rena Strober, and Mark McClain Wilson
Theme music composed by Michael Skloff and produced by Sam K.S.
Transcription by Dylan Southard
"The New World" Learning Resources
Learn more about:
"The New World" by Esther Singer Kreitman, translated by Barbara Harshav
Articles and stories from Lilith Magazine:
"Esther—The Unknown Sister" by Patty Grossman
“Do Not Punish Us" by Chana Blankshteyn, translated by Anita Norich
"Esther Singer Kreitman" by Clive Sinclair
“Women Sing of Family Violence” by Adrienne Cooper with Sarah Mina Gordon
“Opening the Yiddish Pantheon to Women” by Julia Wolf Mazow
Referenced in the episode:
Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne
Bilgoraj, Poland
The Dance of the Demons by Esther Singer Kreitman
Exercises For Educators:
"The New World" for Youth Learners (PDF)
"The New World" for Adult and Teen Learners (PDF)
Watch with captions on YouTube:
ABOUT OUR EPISODE PARTNER
Independent, Jewish & frankly feminist since 1976, Lilith’s mission is to be the feminist change-agent in and for the Jewish community: amplifying Jewish feminist voices, creating an inclusive and positive Judaism, spurring gender consciousness in the Jewish world and empowering women, girls and trans and nonbinary people of every background to envision and enact change in their own lives and the larger community.
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