Contact
For more information contact Jeff Tecosky-Feldman.
- jtecosky@haverford.edu
- (610) 896-1199
Organizers
- Prof. Jeff Tecosky-Feldman
- Prof. Dan Gillis
- Prof. Sid Perloe
In Memoriam Seth Brody and Mel Santer
This informal gathering meets periodically to enjoy film, music and speakers encompassing Yiddish and Eastern European culture. It is not necessary to speak or understand Yiddish to fully enjoy these events.
Meetings are held Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. (promptly!) in Chase Hall Auditorium except for March 29 which is on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in nearby Stokes Auditorium.
NOTE: These programs will be held during inclement weather UNLESS the campus is closed, which happens only rarely. Please call Campus Security (610-896-1111) to check.
Spring 2020 Schedule
Wednesday, February 12
Chase Hall Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.
Theodore Bikel:In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem (2014)
A documentary directed by John Lollos and narrated by Alan Alda. Portraits of two beloved icons, Sholom Aleichem and Theodore Bikel, are woven together in this enchanting documentary. The two men have much in common: wit, wisdom and talent, all shot through with deep humanity and Yiddishkeit. Film provided by The National Center for Jewish Film, www.jewishfilm.org. In English (75 minutes–we showed this previously in 2015).
Wednesday, March 18
Chase Hall Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.
Richard Lenatsky Performance
Richard Lenatsky returns with a stirring program of Yiddish songs, accompanied by Sender Botwinik on the keyboard. Richard always provides rich details of the history and meaning of each musical piece, as he weaves them into an intriguing story. English translations provided.
Sunday, March 29
Stokes Hall Auditorium, 2:00 p.m.
Zisl Slepovich: Where is Our Homeland
Zisl Slepovich, internationally renowned multi-instrumentalist, returns for a musical afternoon to present his most recent project, the new CD “Where is Our Homeland,” which includes songs based on testimonies of Holocaust survivors in the Fortunoff Archive at Yale. Slepovich is a composer, arranger, translator, and music and Yiddish educator. He is the founder and leader of the Litvakus band, the Zisl Slepovich Trio, and is involved in the music of many productions by the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene. Most recently Zisl appeared in Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish directed by Joel Grey, and helped in the "resuscitation" of the music from "The Sorceress, ("Di Kisherfmakherin”) by Avrom Goldfadden just staged in New York City.
Wednesday, April 22
Chase Hall Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.
The Light Ahead (Fishke the Lame (1939)
This film tells the tale of impoverished and disabled lovers Fishke and Hodel as they dream of life in the big city of Odessa, free from the poverty and stifling old-world prejudices of the shtetl. Based on Mendele Mokher Seforim's story of love frustrated by small-town ignorance, this luminous allegory of escape marries Edgar Ulmer's masterful direction with superb acting by members of New York's Artef and Yiddish Art Theaters. Film provided by The National Center for Jewish Film, www.jewishfilm.org.Yiddish with English subtitles (94 minutes – we showed this previously in 2005).
Directions
Enter the campus by the College Ave (back) entrance which is near Haverford Rd (NOT the Lancaster Ave/Rt 30 main entrance), and make an immediate left; park in any spot marked FACULTY/STAFF. Follow the path between Stokes Hall and the Dining Center which leads to Chase Hall on your right. The entrance is accessible with no steps.
Chase Hall
Stokes Hall
Support the Festival
We need your contribution to support this ongoing celebration of Yiddish culture, so please either make a gift online or send a check made out to Haverford College, with Yiddish Culture Festival written on the check or on an accompanying note to: Haverford College, Advancement Services, 370 Lancaster Ave, Haverford, PA 19041.