“Until We Meet Again: Yiddishland’s Final San Diego Gathering Before the Move to La Paz”

Yiddish, once the everyday language of Ashkenazi Jews across Eastern Europe, gave rise to a rich modern literature beginning in the late 19th century. While many of its finest writers remain little known today, one remarkable family stands out: the Singers. Isaac Bashevis Singer is best known to contemporary audiences, being widely translated and awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978. Bashevis’s fame follows that of his prolific older brother, Israel Joshua Singer, who was a pivotal figure in Yiddish literature Their eldest sister, Esther Kreitman, was a gifted author in her own right, but had a very different trajectory from her celebrated brothers.

This talk will provide an overview of modern Yiddish literature and spotlight the extraordinary literary contributions of the Singer family.

Speaker: Our speaker, Steven Leon, is President of Kahal Am, San Diego’s only Humanistic Judaism congregation. A lifelong admirer of Yiddish literature, Steve began collecting Yiddish works after attending a lecture by Isaac Bashevis Singer in the 1960s. He holds a PhD in Mathematics, taught for many years on the East Coast, and has been a Visiting Professor at UCSD. Since moving to San Diego in 2016, he has been active with Oceanids, a nonprofit that supports UCSD student fellowships.

This will be Yiddishland’s final San Diego event this summer, as we prepare to settle into our new home in La Paz, Baja California Sur. Don’t miss it! We look forward to enjoying your good company and fruitful conversation.