The Dybbukast: “The New World”
In The Dybbukast’s fifth episode of the season, presented in collaboration with Lilith, they 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 here or listen below.
“The New World” Learning Resources
Learn more about:
- “The New World” by Esther Singer Kreitman, translated by Barbara Harshav
- Esther Singer Kreitman
Articles and stories from Lilith:
- “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
theatre dybbuk creates provocative performances and innovative educational encounters that explore Jewish thought to illuminate universal human experience. Through a combination of performed readings and interviews with artists and scholars, theatre dybbuk’s podcast, The Dybbukast brings these creations and their historical contexts to life, all while revealing their relationships to issues still present today.
