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.

"She Had Friends All Over the World": How Beyle Kept Her Home Full of Art and Yiddish

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Esther Gottesman, granddaughter of Yiddish poet Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman and daughter of Itzik Gottesman, describes the vibrant scene of people, art and Yiddish in her grandmother's home. She explains Beyle's "Old World authenticity" and willingness to share art and ideas that attracted so many visitors and friends.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Esther Gottesman.

This excerpt is in English and Yiddish.