THIS DAY - March 2, 1859 - Sholem Aleichem was born

02.03.2021

The founder of modern Jewish literature Sholem Rabinovych (real name of the writer) was born on March 2, 1859 in Pereyaslav (modern Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky). He spent his childhood in the village of Voronkiv in the Kyiv region, where his family family moved due to their difficult financial situation. At the age of 15, Sholem first became acquainted with the novel "Robinson Crusoe" and wrote his own, Yiddish-language version of this novel ("Jewish Robinson Crusoe"), which received rave reviews among writers. This moment determined his entire future - the young man decided to become a writer, taking the pseudonym Sholem Aleichem (translated from Hebrew - "Peace be with you!", A traditional Jewish greeting).

After graduating from school in 1876 for 3 years he was the tutor of Golde (Olga) Loeva - daughter of a wealthy Jewish businessman. A feeling flared up between the teacher and the student, which caused girl's father indignation, who was dissatisfied with the young man's poverty. Sholem lost his job and was forced to break up with his beloved wife - only 6 years later they were able to marry. After his father-in-law's death, Sholem inherited a large inheritance, but used it unwisely, eventually losing all his funds and moving first to Romania and then to France. However, by that time (early twentieth century) he had already gained popularity as the author of poems and prose texts in Yiddish. The writer published the almanac "Die Yiddishe Volksbibliotek" (Jewish Public Library), helping young authors and paying them considerable fees. This edition combines the works of the best writers of the time - Mendele Mocher Sforim, Isaac Leib Peretz, Jacob Dinezon and, of course, short stories by Sholem Aleichem.

For a long time the writer lived in Odessa, where he became interested in the ideas of political Zionism. He personally wrote several popular pamphlets explaining the goals of Zionism, and collaborated with newspapers that supported the movement. After witnessing the Jewish pogroms in 1905, he was forced to move with his family to Switzerland, later to Germany and Denmark, and then to the United States. In 1909, in honor of Sholem Aleichem on the occasion of his 50th birthday, a special committee of writers was established to assist in obtaining royalties from various newspapers and magazines where he was published. A complete collection of his works was soon accepted for publication, which ultimately provided the author with a good financial position.

Despite numerous relocations from country to country, the Jewish writer continued to write: in particular, he completed work on a series of short stories "Tevye the Milkman", "Menachem Mendel", "Motl, Peysi the Cantor's Son", several short stories, the comedy "The Big Win". autobiographical novel "From the Fair". However, even then he was seriously ill - tuberculosis, which eventually led to his death on May 13, 1916. Sholem Aleichem was buried in Brooklyn Cemetery in New York in a huge crowd - as if the whole country was saying goodbye to a prominent Jewish writer.

The name of the writer is honored in the names of topographic objects in different cities of Ukraine and around the world. In Dnipro, one of the city's central streets, where one of the largest Jewish community centers in the world "Menorah" is located is named after the Master of Jewish Literature.

Based on the works of Sholem Aleichem, a large number of theatrical productions were staged in Ukraine and abroad. Thus, the American musical film "Violinist on the Roof" (1971), based on the works of a Jewish writer, won 3 awards of the American Film Academy ("Oscar"), in particular for best screenplay. The play "Tevye-Tevel" staged by the Ivan Franko National Academic Drama Theater (premiered in 1989) deserves special attention, the main role of which was played by the outstanding Ukrainian actor of theater and cinema B. Stupka. As a tribute to the brilliantly played role of Tevye the Milkman, the play was excluded from the theater's repertoire after the actor's death.

You can get acquzinted with Sholem Aleikhem's works in the library of Museum "Jewish Memory and Holocaust in Ukraine":

Iryna Radchenko