YIVO Institute for Jewish Research

Read in Yiddish by David Rogow

"Bontshe the Silent" And Other Selections From Yiddish Literature

Available from:

Fanya Gottesfeld Heller CJH Book Store
15 West 16th Street
New York, NY 10011
917-606-8220

The Jewish Book Center
of the Workmen's Circle
45 East 33rd Street
New York, NY 10016
212-889-6800
800-922-2558

CD ($15) | Cassette ($10.50)

List of Readings on the Recording

Introduced by Cynthia Ozick and David Fishman. Co-produced by David Rogow and Lisa Epstein. English synopses by Paul Glasser.

1. Bontshe the Silent by Yitskhok Leybush Peretz
2. Rebbe Nahman of Bratslav Speaks to His Secretary, Rebbe Nathan by Yankev Glatshteyn
3. The Slaughterer's Knife and the Saw by Eliezer Shteynberg
4. Cock-A-Doodle-Do by Isaac Bashevis Singer
5. It's a Lie by Sholem Aleichem
6. Jacob Meets Rachel by Itsik Manger
7. Haman Can't Sleep by Itsik Manger

Listen to Excerpts from the Recording

Note: To hear the audio excerpts you must have RealPlayer version 6.0 or higher installed on your system. The player can be downloaded for free from the RealPlayer Home Page.

Here, the narrator is a rooster who explains how the one word of his language, cock-a-doodle-do, is far more meaningful than the incessant chatter of people. The wisdom of a rooster can teach people many things, which he illustrates with tales of his five wives.

Manger's anachronistic twist gives a new interpretation to a biblical story: in order to impress each other, Jacob and Rachel put on airs, attempting to speak like Viennese bourgeoisie.