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Yiddish Book Center, Community Open House
April 16 @ 10:00 am - 4:00 pm EDT
The day’s events include the 2023 Melinda Rosenblatt Lecture, In the Midst of Civilized Europe: Jews and Ukraine in Times of War presented by Jeffrey Veidlinger at 2 p.m. and the opening of our newest exhibit, Ray Faust: A Life in Paintings
All events are free and open to the public.
Full Schedule:
All Day Exhibit Opening Ray Faust: A Life in Paintings
A talented artist and writer, Ray Faust (1900-1993) was dedicated to Yiddish—the language and culture. Whether with pen or brush, she recorded what she remembered about growing up in her beloved hometown in Poland, Tomashov-Lubelsk (Tomaszów Lubelski). Ray immigrated to the United States in 1920 and lived in the Bronx.
Made possible with support from the Brechner Family.
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. Scavenger Hunt
Go on a Yiddish adventure together on our family–friendly Scavenger Hunt!
Designed for kids of all ages, explore and discover Yiddish language and culture by following the clues throughout the Center. Certificates available for all our young detectives.
11:00 a.m. Public Tour
A 45 minute, guided public tour of the Center’s museum exhibits, led by Yiddish Book Center fellows.
12:00 p.m–2:00 p.m. Holyoke Hummus Food Truck
Holyoke Hummus is back with their popular food truck. Order your lunch and take a seat at one of our outdoor picnic tables.
12:15 p.m. Public Tour
A 45 minute, guided public tour of the Center’s museum exhibits, led by Yiddish Book Center fellows.
2:00 p.m. The 2023 Melinda Rosenblatt Lecture: In the Midst of Civilized Europe: Jews and Ukraine in Times of War, presented by Jeffrey Veidlinger
Jeffrey Veidlinger’s talk will look at the historical fate of Jews in Ukraine during times of war, with a focus on the pogroms of the First World War, the Holocaust, and the Russo-Ukrainian War of 2022.
Jeffrey Veidlinger is Joseph Brodsky Collegiate Professor of History and Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan. His most recent book, In the Midst of Civilized Europe: The Ukrainian Pogroms of 1918–1921 and the Onset of the Holocaust (2021), won a Canadian Jewish Literary Award, was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award, was shortlisted for the Lionel Gelber Award, and was longlisted for the Wingate Literary Prize. It was named a top book of the year by Kirkus, the Times Literary Supplement, El Mundo, and El Espanol. He is also the author of the award-winning books The Moscow State Yiddish Theater: Jewish Culture on the Soviet Stage (2000), Jewish Public Culture in the Late Russian Empire (2009), and In the Shadow of the Shtetl: Small-Town Jewish Life in Soviet Ukraine (2013). Veidlinger is chair of the Academic Advisory Council of the Center for Jewish History, a member of the academic committee of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, a member of the executive committee of the American Academy for Jewish Research, and a former vice-president of the Association for Jewish Studies.
Community Day is partially funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
What is the Yiddish Book Center? Well, we’re not really a library, or a bookstore (though we’ve got one of those). And though we offer a lot of educational programs we aren’t, strictly speaking, a school. Maybe the best way to get an idea of who we are is to take a tour of the Center and see all of the things we do. That’s something best done in person, but like everything else these days, you can do it virtually as well.
