THE YIDDISH BOOK CENTER'S
Wexler Oral History Project

A growing collection of in-depth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories about the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture offer a rich and complex chronicle of Jewish identity.

Where? Why? What Does it Mean?: The Depth of Itzik Manger's Poetry

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Full Oral History Interview

  • Jack Wolofsky, co-founder of KlezKanada, reflects on Yiddish poet Itzik Manger, and what his writing reveals about the Jewish psyche.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Jack Wolofsky.

This excerpt is in Yiddish and English.

Jack Wolofsky was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1931.

This interview is part of the Beyond the Books: Yiddish writers and their descendants and Beyond the Books: Yiddish writers and their descendants Yiddish and the Arts: musicians, actors, and artists and Yiddish and the Arts: musicians, actors, and artists series.

Other video highlights from this oral history

Where? Why? What Does it Mean?: The Depth of Itzik Manger's Poetry

Where? Why? What Does it Mean?: The Depth of Itzik Manger's Poetry

4 minutes 39 seconds
The Keneder Adler and Imperial Tobacco

The Keneder Adler and Imperial Tobacco

2 minutes 38 seconds
Rediscovering the Story of a Drowned Aunt

Rediscovering the Story of a Drowned Aunt

8 minutes 5 seconds
Mischief at the Keneder Adler (Canadian Eagle) Yiddish Newspaper

Mischief at the Keneder Adler (Canadian Eagle) Yiddish Newspaper

3 minutes 49 seconds
"In der Heym": Home Was Still Russia to My Grandparents After They Moved to Montreal

"In der Heym": Home Was Still Russia to My Grandparents After They Moved to Montreal

5 minutes 36 seconds
"Before Wolosfky, a Settlement; After Wolofsky, a Community": My Grandfather Founded The Keneder Adler (Canadian Eagle), Montreal's Yiddish Newspaper

"Before Wolosfky, a Settlement; After Wolofsky, a Community": My Grandfather Founded The Keneder Adler (Canadian Eagle), Montreal's Yiddish Newspaper

5 minutes 48 seconds
Singing Yiddish Folks Lider (Folk Songs) at Home

Singing Yiddish Folks Lider (Folk Songs) at Home

1 minute 21 seconds
The Strike: Students Organizing Against Anti-Semitism in Montreal

The Strike: Students Organizing Against Anti-Semitism in Montreal

4 minutes 37 seconds
The First Jewish Army in Two Thousand Years

The First Jewish Army in Two Thousand Years

2 minutes 34 seconds
The Birth of KlezKanada

The Birth of KlezKanada

3 minutes 26 seconds
Authors at the Office of the Keneder Adler (Canadian Eagle) Yiddish Newspaper

Authors at the Office of the Keneder Adler (Canadian Eagle) Yiddish Newspaper

3 minutes 28 seconds
Speak From Your Roots: On Culture, Heritage, and Making Life Meaningful

Speak From Your Roots: On Culture, Heritage, and Making Life Meaningful

4 minutes 43 seconds
( of highlights)

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About the Wexler Oral History Project

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Since 2010, the Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project has recorded more than 500 in-depth video interviews that provide a deeper understanding of the Jewish experience and the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture.

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