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.

Dancing in Maurice Schwartz's Last Play

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Naomi Leaf Halpern – Jewish dancer and centenarian – shares her experiences of being in Maurice Schwartz's last play and describes her impression of him.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Noami Leaf Halpern.

This excerpt is in Yiddish.

Noami Leaf Halpern was born in Jerusalem, Palestine in 1914.

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This interview is part of the Yiddish and the Arts: musicians, actors, and artists series.

Other video highlights from this oral history

Losing the Gefilte Fish

1 min 15 sec

"They Knew A War Was Coming": Zionism At Home and Leaving Palestine Before World War Two

1 min 29 sec

It was Heaven: Camp Kinderwelt

1 min 40 sec

Stories from the Road: A Jewish Dancer's 1930s European Tour

3 min 47 sec

Dancing in the Ziegfeld Follies

1 min 44 sec

The Beauty of a Jewish Life

1 min 18 sec

Choreographing and Performing Dances about the Women of the Tanakh

1 min 30 sec

Find What Makes You Feel Good to Be Alive: Advice from a Centenarian

1 min 10 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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