It’s sometimes tempting to draw a neat line between Hebrew and Yiddish literature, especially since they were frequently driven by competing ideological and artistic impulses. But as we’ve seen, the division is often not so clear. Many Yiddish writers started out writing in Hebrew and only later switched to Yiddish, translating their early works along the way. Then there were writers who wrote primarily in Hebrew but also occasionally in Yiddish—it’s sometimes said that the first Yiddish writer to win the Nobel Prize was not Isaac Bashevis Singer in 1978 but S. Y. Agnon in 1966, since he originally wrote in that language. But the Hebrew writer who exercised the greatest influence on his Yiddish peers was undoubtedly Hayim Nahman Bialik. Though best known as a Hebrew poet par excellence, Bialik also occasionally wrote in Yiddish, and his work was quickly translated. For his Yiddish admirers, Bialik exercised an influence nearly as great as someone like I. L. Peretz. In honor of his birthday, which was last week, let’s take a look at this great Hebrew—and Yiddish—writer.

Each month we ask a member of our staff or a special friend to select favorite stories, books, interviews, or articles from our online collections. This month’s picks are by Eve Glazier, the project assistant for the Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project.

Danny and Robin Greenspun, longtime supporters and the first donors of cryptocurrency to the Center, share their passion for the Yiddish Book Center