Ezra Glinter

This is a fantastic collection of stories by Yiddish writers - some as well known as Issac Bashevis Singer and Chaim Grade, some forgotten. I found the most enjoyable ones to be set in the shtetls (small villages) of so many countries that turned into other countries that they deserve a mention:
Podberezhi, in what is now Belarus
Stare Boksze, Poland (then part of the Russian Empire)
Ivankiv, in what is now Ukraine
the Polish town of Mszczonow, known in Yiddish as Amshinov, home to a prominent Hasidic movement of the same name
Belaya Tserkov, in present-day Ukraine
Slonim, in what is now Belarus
Okhrimovo, in what is now Ukraine
Pinsk, in what is now Belarus
Tsartorisk, in what is now Ukraine
Shklov, in what is now Belarus
Byaroza, in what is now Belarus
Khorostov, in what is now Ukraine
Zguritse, in what is now Moldova
Belts, in what is now Moldova
The women and men write of happy and miserable marriages, poverty, deprivation, progroms and oppression by soldiers of every nationality, and then of the same (except for the soldiers) in America, the Goldene Medina (The Golden Country). My favorite was Grandfathers and Grandchildren, about a small shul (temple) and its diminishing, aging base of congregants, whose own offspring reject their piety and dedication to learning. When young children and scholars unexpectedly join them in study, their lives are filled with light. This is a brilliant collection with universal appeal. Read it and learn about Jewish life and Jewish lives.… (mehr)