“Bontsha the Silent” and “The Shabbes Goy” by I.L Peretz

I.L. Peretz, a towering figure of Yiddish culture, used his stories to challenge Jewish complacency and inspire moral courage. In "Bontsha the Silent," he critiques a culture of docility through a folktale of divine justice, while in "The Shabbes Goy," he satirizes self-defeating Jewish appeasement in the face of hostility. Together, these stories show why Peretz’s fiction remains urgent and enlightening today.