Sholem Aleichem

Solomon Naumovich Rabinovich, better known under his pen name Sholem Aleichem (1859 –  1916), was a leading Yiddish author and playwright. He was born in 1859 in Pereyaslav and grew up in the nearby shtetl of Voronko, in the Poltava Governorate of the Russian Empire (now in the Kiev Oblast of central Ukraine). The musical Fiddler on the Roof, based on his stories about Tevye the Dairyman, was the first commercially successful English-language stage production about Jewish life in Eastern Europe. The Hebrew phrase שלום עליכם (shalom aleichem) literally means "[May] peace [be] upon you!", and is a greeting in traditional Hebrew and Yiddish. Sholem Aleichem moved to New York City again with his family in 1914. The family lived in the Lower East Side, Manhattan. Sholem Aleichem died in New York in 1916.

Ambassador Yosef Shagal, Israel Maimon, Chaim Chesler, Gilad Sharon

Gilad Sharon and Chaim Chesler at the conference

Gilad's Sharon's session at Limmud FSU Belarus 2014 conference

Chaim Chesler and Gilad Sharon at Limmud FSU Belarus

Gilad Sharon speaks about his father at the conference

Gilad Sharon, with his father in the background

Celebrating Sholem Aleichem's 150th Birthday in His Hometown

Carrying a cake and translations of Sholem Aleichem's works, about 50 young activists from the Jewish community of Kiev, Ukraine celebrated the famous Yiddish writer's 150th birthday in his hometown of Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky in 2009.

"It's heartwarming that it is the younger generation that is celebrating Sholem Aleichem's anniversary," said Chaim Chesler, the founder of Limmud FSU, which sponsored the trip. "They are attracted to his works because of the timelessness of his humor. And that after all is what has kept the Jewish people alive all these years despite what we've gone through our humor and our belief."

Limmud FSU also held an event March 5 in Beit Shalom Aleichem in Tel Aviv with Mayor Ron Huldai. The writer’s birthday was celebrated with approximately 200 Limmud FSU volunteers from all over Israel, including a large group of young Russian-speaking Jews from Ashkelon, the coastal city often the target of terrorist missile fire. Shmulik Atzmon, founder of the Yiddishshpiel Theater, accompanied by his daughter Anat Atzmon, presented selected pieces from Sholem Aleichem’s work.

“Limmud FSU is made up of the young Russian-speaking Jewish volunteers who exude so much energy,” Limmud FSU Chair Matthew Bronfman said at the Tel Aviv event. “The events that Limmud FSU holds are not the actual goal. The idea is to light a spark that is preserved by the lasting connections with and among the activists, so that spark will become a genuine flame. Limmud FSU connects people from different backgrounds and age groups. That’s the most important and most wonderful thing about this organization – the pluralism that each and every one can connect to. I am grateful for the opportunity to be part of this wonderful organization.”

One more special event was held in New York Synagogue, with Bel Kaufman, the granddaughter of Aleichem, was the guest of honour. “I remember him with humor and warmth,” she said of her grandfather, 150 years after his birth. “He wanted us to enjoy life despite his own difficulties. He taught us to walk on our hands. He played games, and he made us laugh.”

Congressman Jerrold Nadler paid special tribute as well. He told the audience that Sholem Aleichem stories were an important part of his childhood. “My father read them to me. They taught me about the world of Eastern Europe, the world of my grandparents, a civilization that no loner exists. These stories set the standard for Yiddish literature,” he said.