Originally published in 1903, Sholem Aleichem’s Moshkeleh Ganev was recently translated into English for the first time by lauded Sholem Aleichem translator Curt Leviant. On Thursday, Oct. 7, at 1 p.m., Leviant, in conversation with Dvora Reich, will give a FREE virtual talk about Sholem Aleichem and this newly re- discovered novel. The lecture is presented by YIVO Institute for Jewish Research.

Moshkeleh Ganev was a first for Yiddish literature featuring as its hero a rowdy, uneducated horse thief. The novel is unique in its focus on the Jewish underclass and portrayal of Jews interacting with non-Jews in the Russian Pale of Settlement. Breaking norms, it centers on Jewish characters on the fringe of respectability.  It was published three times in Poland and in the Soviet Union in the first half of the 20th century, but it was not included in compilations of Sholem Aleichem’s collected works. Upon encountering the forgotten novel a few years ago, Leviant brought the text to light with its very first translation into English. 

For reservations: yivo.org/MoshkelehGanev

Main Photo: Sholem Aleichem statue in Netanya, Israel