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Calendar of EventsUnless otherwise noted, all events will take place at the National Yiddish Book Center, on the campus of Hampshire College, Route 116, Amherst, Massachusetts. You don't need to know Yiddish to enjoy our programs! Tickets for Sunday events are available online until Friday at 3:30 pm. Tickets for evening events are available online until 1 hour before showtime. Space is limited, and all programs are filled on a strictly first-come, first-served basis. For additional information, or reservations, please phone us at 413-256-4900. Friday, July 3rd Closed for Independence Day  Sunday, July 5th - FilmLove Comes Lately Based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's writings, this whimsical tale from director Jan Schütte follows charmer Max Kohn (Otto Tausig), an 80-year-old author who escapes life's doldrums by losing himself in his imagination. Elizabeth Peña portrays Max's daffy cleaning lady, while Rhea Perlman, Barbara Hershey and Tovah Feldshuh play the women in his romantic orbit. (86 min.) 2:00 p.m. Cost: $6 Paper Bridge Summer Arts Festival Sunday, July 12th - ConcertThe Music of Marty Levitt with Dave Levitt and Hankus Netsky Colorful Brooklyn-born bandleader and clarinetist Marty Levitt kept klezmer music alive on the New York scene in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. In this lively program of dance music and conversation, Hankus Netsky, Dave Levitt and his all-star klezmer band presents the fascinating story and musical legacy of the Levitt dynasty. Reservations suggested. Click here to read about the Discovery Project's salute to Marty Levitt. 2:00 p.m. Cost: $10  Monday, July 13th - WorkshopWrite Your Memories Would you like to share your personal history with your children and grandchildren? Do you want to learn how to begin writing, what to include, and how to make it interesting? Madeleine Blais, Pulitzer-Prize winning author, helps you write your memoir. Pre-registration required. 10:00a.m. Cost: $10  Monday, July 13th - TalkNahma Sandrow on Yiddish Drama in a Yiddish World Nahma Sandrow, author of Vagabond Stars: A World History of Yiddish Theater and God, Man and Devil: Yiddish Plays in Translation, as well as the award-winning off-Broadway musical Kuni-Leml, presents an overview of the life and times of Yiddish theater. 2:00 p.m. Cost: $6  Monday, July 13th - WorkshopTranslate Your Memories Would you like to find out what a family letter, postcard, journal entry or recipe says in Yiddish? Bring it to our Yiddish translators, and we will help open the door to your family history. Pre-registration required.
 Monday, July 13th - Film and DiscussionGod, Man and Devil (Got, mentsh un tayvl) In this allegory based on the play by Jacob Gordin, poor, pious Torah scribe Hershele Dubrovner has a life that glorifies God until Satan, disguised as a business partner, turns him into a greedy, dishonest factory owner. Film introduced by Nahma Sandrow, with discussion following screening. (B&W; Yiddish w/ English subtitles; 1949; 100 min.) 8:00p.m. Cost: $8  Tuesday, July 14th - FilmMirele Efros This sophisticated film version of Jacob Gordin’s stage classic faithfully recreates Jewish life in turn-of-the-century Poland. Berta Gersten is memorable as Mirele, a wealthy, proud widow whose devotion to her children extends to hand-picking a wife for her eldest son. The resulting power struggle between the matriarch and her daughter-in-law for control over family and business explores the complexities of loyalty and pride. (B&W; Yiddish w/ English subtitles; 1939; 80 min.) 10:00a.m. Cost: $6  Tuesday, July 14th - TalkNahma Sandrow – The Life and Times of Jacob Gordin In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the death of Yiddish playwright Jacob Gordin, Nahma Sandrow explores his life and work.
 Tuesday, July 14th - WorkshopPreserve Your Memories Would you like to learn how to archive letters, postcards and photographs? Bring them with you, and Barbara Blumenthal, Rare Book Specialist at the Smith College Library, will show you how to safely archive them for future generations. 4:00 p.m. Cost: $5  Tuesday, July 14th - PerformanceThe Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company “Up Close and Personal” Through live dance, multi-media presentation, and interactive dialogue, choreographer Carolyn Dorfman takes us on a journey of faith, survival and renewal. Dorfman reveals her inspiration for The Legacy Project, drawing on Jewish history, philosophy, music and liturgy to create work that is personal yet powerfully universal. Reservations suggested. 8:00pm Cost: $18 Wednesday, July 15th - WorkshopWrite Your Memories Would you like to share your personal history with your children and grandchildren? Do you want to learn how to begin writing, what to include, and how to make it interesting? Madeleine Blais, Pulitzer-Prize winning author, helps you write your memoir. Pre-registration required. 10:00a.m. Cost: $10  Wednesday, July 15th - TalkHankus Netsky – Yiddish Theater Music The Yiddish theater was an important cultural institution for immigrant Jews and also a catalyst for extraordinary creativity by Jewish composers and performers. Hankus Netsky introduces the significant figures of this genre and traces the evolution of their music. 2:00 p.m. Cost: $6  Wednesday, July 15th - ConcertBetty Silberman, Hankus Netsky and Ilene Stahl Join this exciting new trio for an evening of Yiddish song and contemporary klezmer music. Native Yiddish speaker and vocalist Betty Silberman has performed with Shirim and the Klezmer Conservatory Band and in numerous Yiddish theater productions throughout the US. Reservations suggested. 8:00p.m. Cost: $18 Thursday, July 16th - WorkshopPreserve Your Memories Would you like to learn how to archive letters, postcards and photographs? Bring them with you, and Barbara Blumenthal, Rare Book Specialist at the Smith College Library, will show you how to safely archive them for future generations. Pre-registration suggested. 10:00 a.m. Cost: $5  Thursday, July 16th - TalkAdrienne Cooper and Marilyn Lerner Adrienne Cooper and Marilyn Lerner discuss the development of their timely musical project exploring songs of war and peace within and beyond the context of the Jewish experience.
Thursday, July 16th - WorkshopTranslate Your Memories Would you like to find out what a family letter, postcard, journal entry or recipe says in Yiddish? Bring it to our Yiddish translators, and we will help open the door to your family history. Pre-registration suggested.
 Thursday, July 16th - ConcertEvery Mother’s Son: Jewish Songs of War and Peace – Adrienne Cooper and Marilyn Lerner This multi-media concert is sung in Yiddish, English, Ladino and Hebrew, with projections by Mor Erlich, Israeli animator and filmmaker. Vocalist Adrienne Cooper and composer/pianist Marilyn Lerner mine rich veins of traditional music and twentieth-century texts on the experience of war and the struggle to make peace, with songs by Hanoch Levin, Sh. Kacerginski, Brecht, Weill and Hanns Eisler, Phil Ochs, and folk poets. Reservations suggested. 8:00 p.m. Cost: $18  Sunday, July 19th - ConcertSinger-songwriter Laura Wetzler Original story songs, worldbeat Jewish music, and great classics of American song. Laura’s critically acclaimed CD, “Kabbalah Music,” was recommended in NPR commentator Tom Moon’s book 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. Reservations suggested. 2:00 p.m. Cost: $10  Sunday, July 26th - Artist TalkHand To Hand: Photographs by Zeva Oelbaum Oelbaum discusses the inspiration and the process behind her toned gelatin silver prints depicting fragments of endpapers from old books, passed down from generation to generation. Oelbaum is a New York-based photographer represented in numerous private and public collections, including the Museum of the City of New York, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Museum of Jewish Heritage. She teaches at the International Center of Photography and is the author of two books, Flowers in Shadow: A Photographer Rediscovers a Victorian Botanical Journal and Blue Prints: The Natural World in Cyanotype Photographs. 2:00 p.m. Cost: $6  Sunday, August 2nd - ConcertTraditional Jewish and Klezmer Music Brandon Seabrook (mandolin) and Yaeko Miranda Elmaleh (violin) perform Jewish music from the Eastern European, Gypsy and klezmer traditions. Reservations suggested.
 Sunday, August 9th - FilmThe Last Chapter This 1966 documentary portrays pre-war Jewish life in Poland, using rare archival footage to depict the richness of Jewish culture in the shtetl and the cities of Bialystok, Cracow, Vilna and Warsaw. (B&W; 85 min.)
 Sunday, August 16th - FilmSamuel Bak: Painter of Questions In 2001, painter Samuel Bak returned to his hometown of Vilna (now Vilnius, Lithuania). There he walked the streets of the ghetto where he was interned with his parents during the Holocaust and visited the nearby forest where his father and grandparents were murdered. This 2003 documentary explores Bak’s work and life through the lens of his childhood experiences. (48 min.) 2:00 p.m. Cost: $6  Sunday, August 23rd - FilmMamele This 1938 musical comedy embraces Jewish life in Lodz in all its diversity – with tenements and unemployed Jews, nightclubs and gangsters, and religious Jews celebrating Sukkos. Molly Picon stars as a young woman who promises her dying mother that she will care for her family. The musical score includes Picon’s trademark song, “Abi Gezunt.” (100 min.; B&W; Yiddish w/ new English subtitles) 2:00 p.m. Cost: $6  Sunday, August 30th - ConcertSongs My Mother Never Taught Me This one-woman musical memoir, written and performed by singer/storyteller Deborah Karpel, blends theatrical monologue, character acting, and a rich musical exploration of secular Jewish culture. Directed by OBIE award-winning actor/director David Drake with Patrick Farrell on piano and accordion. Reservations suggested. 2:00 p.m. Cost: $10 Sunday, September 6th TBA Sunday, September 13th Member's Day Spend the day at the Book Center during our fall foliage season. Tour the new Kaplen Family Building, picnic under the apple trees (and pick a few apples), browse our Yiddish and English books, listen to the unique international sound of Daniel Kahn and the Painted Bird and get an update on Book Center activities from president and founder Aaron Lansky.
11:00am - 4:00pm Cost: Free
2:00 p.m. Cost: $6
2:00 p.m. Cost: $6
2:00 p.m. Cost: $10 |
| The National Yiddish Book Center Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Building • 1021 West Street • Amherst MA 01002 • Phone 413-256-4900 • Fax 413-256-4700 • Contact |
