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.

The Famous Sholem Aleichem

Watch now:

Mitchell Waife, grandson of Yiddish author and playwright Sholem Aleichem, discusses the level of fame which his grandfather achieved during his lifetime and the admiration he received from other artists, including Marc Chagall.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Mitchell Waife.

This excerpt is in English.

Mitchell Waife was born in 1923. Mitchell died in 2015.