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Downtown puppet theater company Great Small Works and scholar Edward Portnoy (Rutgers University) team up to present the Modicut Project—a radical reinterpretation of Modicut, the first Yiddish language puppet theater in the U.S. (1925-1933).

For years, American Jewish composers have been integrating klezmer and Yiddish folk songs into new classical music, inventing a new form of artistic and cultural Jewish expression.

What are the secret lives of books? In the Vilna Ghetto, Yiddish poets Abraham Sutzkever and Szmerke Kaczerginski and others risked their lives to rescue Jewish treasures from destruction and looting by the Nazis.

Sutzkever came of age in Vilna in the 1920s and 30s when Yiddish poetry was the favored creative outlet of its Jewish youth. For him, poetry—but only if good enough—was more than self-expression.

On August 12, 1952, thirteen Jews were murdered by Stalin’s regime, falsely accused of treason and espionage. Half of these Jews were celebrated Yiddish writers and artists.

Former students, colleagues, family, and friends of the celebrated Yiddish language teacher, linguist and scholar gather in his honor for this annual commemoration.

If you were lucky enough to see the Great Small Works’ work-in-progress version of their reinterpretation of Modicut, the first Yiddish language puppet theater in the U.S., you’ll definitely want to return for this world premiere.

In 1938, Fania Lewando, the proprietor of a popular vegetarian restaurant in Vilna, published a Yiddish vegetarian cookbook including 400 recipes, impassioned essays about the benefits of vegetarianism, and lush full-color drawings of vegetables and fruit.

Two legends come together at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research’s 13th Annual Heritage Gala: Theodore Bikel and Sholem Aleichem. Theodore Bikel – world-renowned actor, singer, author, and activist – was honored with YIVO’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his commitment to popularizing Yiddish culture. YIVO also announced the creation of the Sholem Aleichem Family Legacy Collection donated in memory of Bel Kaufman, Sholem Aleichem’s granddaughter, by her children, Thea and Jon Goldstine. The collection includes rare family treasures.

Join us for a screening of director Asaf Galay’s documentary, The Muses of Bashevis Singer, about Yiddish writer Singer’s ‘harem’ of translators and their vital role in his creative work. Q&A to follow.