The 1790s marked the beginning of modern Yiddish drama, with the publication of two brilliant satires: Isaac Euchel’s Reb Henokh, oder vos tut men damit? (Reb Henokh, or What’s to be Done About It? [1792]) and Aaron Halle-Wolfssohn’s Laykhtzin und fremelay (Silliness and Sanctimony [1796]). Theatre historian and translator Joel Berkowitz will discuss Wolfssohn’s play in the context of Jewish Enlightenment polemics and the development of modern Yiddish drama. His remarks will be followed by the reading, in both Hebrew and Yiddish, of a key scene from the play that highlights the centrality of gender and music among elite Jewish circles in enlightened Berlin. The translation of the scene to be read from Laykhtzin und fremelay appended to this program is taken from Landmark Yiddish Plays: A Critical Anthology, ed. and trans. by Joel Berkowitz and Jeremy Dauber. SUNY Series in Modern Jewish Literature and Culture. 2006. It is presented here by kind permission of the translators.
