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March 23, 2018

Itzik Manger’s Forgotten Biblical Fantasies

Can Yiddish literature be delightful?

While Yiddish literature has more than its share of humorists, writes Dara Horn, their work inevitably tends to have a “bitter edge.” By contrast, Horn finds the work of Itzik Manger (1901-1969) not just funny, but “delightful” and filled with “joyous humanity.” She cites his novel The Book of Paradise, set in the heavenly Garden of Eden where angels, biblical characters, departed saints, and the souls of ordinary folk mingle with souls, like that of the protagonist Shmuel-Aba, who have not yet been born:

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March 23, 2018

  1. Lessons for the U.S. from Israel’s 2007 Bombing of the Syrian Nuclear Reactor

    An inside view from Washington.

  2. In Attempting to Solve the Israel-Palestinian Conflict, Less Is Usually More

    The case for limited goals.

  3. To Move Forward on Syria, Abandon Illusions First

    The Syrian Humpty Dumpty can’t be put back together.

  4. Itzik Manger’s Forgotten Biblical Fantasies

    Can Yiddish literature be delightful?

  5. How the Growth of Jewish Education in Postwar America Brought Polarization

    The ultra-Orthodox/Modern Orthodox schism.