October 06, 1995 - Glebe Report

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The voices of Yiddish women writers are heard By Sharon Abron Drache FOUND TREASURES, STORIES BY YIDDISH WOMEN WRITERS Edited by Freida Forman, Ethel Raicus, Sara Silberstein Swartz, Margie Wolfe Second Story Press, 392 pages, $13.95 (paper) Found Treasures, Stories by Yiddish Women Writers is advertised as: "The First Collection of its Kind!" I admit this caused me concern; primarily the gnawing question, "Why?" Besides, I am already familiar with English translations of two rather prominent female Yiddish writers, the late Rochl a.k.a. Rachel Korn (1898-1982) and Chava Rosenfarb (1923). Since their writings have appeared in their own publications as well as numerous anthologies, I have always assumed there was no problem publishing women Yiddish writers. Further, I had read a novel, several years ago, by Isaac Bashevis Singer's sister, Esther Singer Kreitman, entitled Esther, and my false assumption was that this novel was the only work she chose to have in print. In this trailblazing publication, for which Second Story Press is to be heartily congratulated, the introduction by Irena Klepfisz explains how muzzled female Yiddish writers were. In the late 1800s and early 1900s on through World War II, when these women were as prolific as they could be, their work rarely appeared. Not only were they suppressed, their literary territory was usurped by male Yiddish writers, actively competing for the same audience. In a riveting exposé of the meteoric rise of the male literary triumvirate, Mendle Mokher Sforim, a.k.a. Shalom Jacob Abramovich (1835-1917); I.L. Peretz, (1852- 1915) and Sholem Rabinovich, a.k.a. Sholem Aleichem (1859-1963) of Fiddler on the Roof fame, Irena Klepfisz reveals that all three initially published in Hebrew, but deliberately switched to Yiddish, because of the growing interest in classical Yiddish literature, which began as a female-centered phenomenon. Men prayed in Hebrew and wrote in Hebrew, especially with the revitalization of the ancient Biblical language coinciding with the birth of the modern pop- ulist Zionist movement. Kepfisz writes, "What better way to show that contemporary Yiddish literature was not a continuation of, but a break from its illiterate and women's roots, than to fictionalize Mendele, at fifty-two, as its 'zeyde/ grandfather' (and creator) and Sholem Aleichem himself, at twenty-nine, as his 'eynikl/ grandson'? Klepfisz accuses these male authors of actively attempting to transform the mame-loshn, (translated mother-tongue) from matrilineal to patrilineal, to mirror the rabbinic dynasties, whose legitimacy and fame were rooted in Hebrew. Too bad if women had been banished to the balconies of the synagogues, prevented from reading Hebrew, only permitted to read Yiddish, usually the popular 16th century text, Tsene Urene on the Sabbath, while their spouses read Hebrew in the synagogues. Klepfisz makes it obvious that this book, intended for the masses, became the primary text for Jewish women, which they in turn appropriated as a solid foundation for modern Yiddish literature. All the stories in this current collection confirm Klepfisz's thesis; the themes are grim, almost always about women seeking desperately to improve their lot both at home and in the workplace. They are stifled first by their fathers, then by their husbands. If there is one pervasive plea from the eloquent stories, it is death to the Patriarchy as a solely legitimate heir of the Yiddish literary tradition from the 16th century on! What surprises is how light and enthralling the stories are, the female authors, like birds singing from gilded cages (golden on the inside, i.e. their voices) one cannot help but acknowledge that their great art has indeed sprung from acute suffering and deprivation. The contribution by Esther Singer Kreitman is heart-rending. She was raised in a Hasidic milieu similar to and yet totally different from her famous brothers Nobel Laureate, Isaac Bashevis Singer (1978) and Joseph Singer, both so much more prolific and well known than her during their lifetimes. In Kreitman's story, The New World, the protagonist, a Jewish daughter, is not only sent away from her father's house; she spends her first three years living under a foster family's kitchen table ... so much for being seen and not heard; she was not even seen! In a short introduction to Kreitman's story, her son acknowledges that his mother was prone to long and deep depressions which he be- lieves may have been caused by her own early childhood ostracism. One of my favourite stories is The Zogerin by Rokhl Brokes (1890- 1945) translated by Shirley Kumove (well known for her 1985 work, Words Like Arrows, Yiddish Folk Sayings (University of Toronto Press). In this tale, The Zogerin, Gneyse, prays for decades for the souls of her illiterate, but financially more secure coreligionists. The more she prays on their behalf, the poorer she becomes, even though they do pay her a pittance for her holy utterances. She becomes bitter and withdraws from the synagogue to find comfort in her chosen selfimposed madness. Another tale, 'Through the Eyes of Childhood, by MaIke Lee (1904- 1972), translated by Ethel Raicus and Sara Silberstein Swartz is about a young woman's struggle to be a poet, also a highly autobiographical piece, which examines Lee's father's disapproval of her talent: "Only my father hated my words. How dare a Jewish daughter consort with such wickedness; she must CASUAL FOOTWEAR 860 BANK ST. OTTAWA Just South of 5th Avenue 231-6331 Footwear for LADIES MEN CHILDREN BOOKS have demons in her heart. A Jewish daughter must not make rhymes." Her father tried to burn her poems, but her mother rescued them. "My mother understood me. These were her poems too." Lee was sent from her Galician shted to America, where perhaps her blasphemy could be tolerated. When she landed in New York the editor and publisher of the Yiddish Journal, Der Tog, urged her to write in Yiddish. She published seven volumes of poetry in New York, Buenos Aires and Tel Aviv. She also wrote a memoir from which this current selection is taken, Durkh Kindershe Oygn (Through the Eyes of Childhood), and a book of short stories for children. In all, eighteen Yiddish women writers are represented in this superb anthology, including Canadians Ida Maze, Chava Rosenfarb and Rachel Korn. Fifteen translators are also involved, including the brilliant essayist, Irena Klepfisz, whose scholarly introduction sheds new light on the true life force behind the tradition known as Yiddish Literature. 0.4Aoks of Englaml ACTIVE AIR 'Pilot' $1 602° DRESS CASUALS WEEKEND CASUALS ACCESSORIES A ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVE MINI STORAGE Hume Trading Company Limited MINI STORAGE SPACE From $20.00 per month. Security fenced outside storage also available from $15.00 per month for cars, boats, and trailers. Call A Acceptable Alternative Self Storage at 822-7666. 4863 Bank St. Serving the Glebe for over 36 years. October 6, 1995 Globe Report-27
CHURCH NEWS St. Matthew's Anglican Church growing & changing BY DAVID FARR St. Matthew's Church, founded almost a century ago with the beginning of residential settlement in the Glebe, has grown and changed with its community. The Glebe is one of Ottawa's oldest suburbs. It was occupied in the 1890s, after street car tracks were laid south along Bank Street, thus allowing members of the expanding public service to move to the southern outskirts of old Ottawa. The churches came to the Glebe in this original wave of settlement. First were the Presbyterians, appropriate in view of the fact that the Glebe was still clergy reserve property owned by St. Andrew's Church on Wellington Street. The Anglicans followed, building the first St. Matthew's Church in 1898. The Baptists were only a few months behind, with the Methodists and the Roman Catholics appearing in the new century. The first St. Matthew's was a frame building of grey-blue clapboard siding located on First Avenue at the southeast corner of what is now the church's parking lot. It was designed by J.W.H. Watts, an architect who had lost his civil service job when the government changed and was in the process of establishing a new career as a fashionable architect, the designer of mansions for the lumber barons. Churches in the English ecclesiastical tradition were Watts' specialty, however, One still stands in the Glebe: Glebe-St. James United Church at First Avenue and Lyon Street, built to Watts' design in 1906. The first St. Matthew's was a much simpler building, its most distinctive feature being magnificent hammer-beam trusses supporting the roof. Although periodically enlarged over the years, the building could not keep pace with the burgeoning congregation. By the end of the 1920s there were 675 families on the parish roll and 500 children in the Sunday School. It was time for a new church. The decision to construct a new building could not have come at a more inopportune time. It was made in January 1929, when the parish had a reserve of only $29,000 with which to construct a building estimated to cost $237,000. The balance would have to be collected, pledged or borrowed. At the beginning of fundraising came disaster. The New York stock market crash of October 1929 wiped out savings of many Ottawa residents. The Depression and reduced incomes followed. It was a critical moment for St. October 6, 1995 Globe Report-28 Matthew's. When the financial collapse occurred, the parish hall was almost completed but the walls and roof of the church were still unfinished. The popular and energetic fifth rector, Robert Jefferson, later to be bishop of Ottawa, urged completing the task and the parish agreed. The present church was opened in December 1930, one of the largest and most beautiful modified Gothic structures in the Anglican diocese. Seating 1100 people and built of creamy Indiana limestone, it was the design of Cecil Burgess, an Ottawa architect who had a great sensitivity to the forms of English church architecture. Throughout the years that followed, St. Matthew's Church served as a social and cultural centre for the Glebe when Ottawa had a few such amenities and there was no television. The Sunday School was large and active; scouting and guiding were the priorities of every child; community and club dinners and bridge parties were a frequent occurrence; dances and plays offered regular entertainments for young and old. St. Matthew's musical tradition began in the late 1950's under a beloved seventh rector, Eric Osborne. Archdeacon Osborne loved church music and liturgy, especially the music sung in the English cathedrals by choirs of men and boys. Through his enthusiasm a young organist and Choirmaster, Gerald Wheeler, came from England in 1956 to form a male choir. He also designed a fine new organ, a monument to those in the congregation who had died in the two world wars. Thus was established one of the best-known choirs in the Ottawa area that at Christmas and Easter attracts many who are not members of the parish. In recent years a womens' and girls' choir has been created to sing separately or in partnership with the men and boys. In recent years St. Matthew's has turned to the larger Ottawa community to carry out a mission of service. Under the eighth rector, Canon Keith Calder, a Glebe Clothing Shop was set up to sell used clothing, and a self-help group, Operation Rainbow, was formed to help those temporarily unemployed. The church's 90th birthday brought about the establishment of a home for women who were victims of domestic violence. Harmony Flouse, launched in 1987, consists of ten small apartments in which battered women and their children can find shelter. An ambitious project in affordable non-profit housing, launched under its ninth rector, Illustration by John Leaning Canon Lydon McKeown, was to have provided 30 apartments, some subsidized, some reserved for women from Harmony House and some let at market rents. However the Ontario government has now withdrawn promised funding for the project. The church is looking at alternative ways to take advantage of the site which is provided by the parish hall and the Prot parking lot reached from First Avenue. David Farr, a long-time member of Carleton University's Histoiy Department is the author of "A Church in the Glebe, St. Matthew's, Ottawa, 1898-1988," from which this article is drawn. The book is available from the church office, 217 First Avenue, for $10. WHATCOMES DOWN... MUST GO OUT THE 1995 FALL LEAF & YARD WASTE COLLECTION - *ea CZ 4tv, . r.. 0.4 , s. A WA/ I-- OTTAWA Garbage day from Oct. 10 to Nov.10 SOME PICK-UP DELAYS MAY OCCUR DUE TO ENTHUSIASTIC PARTICIPATION! Help us be more efficient, use reusable containers or compostable bags. Plastic bags are not accepted in Ottawa, Gloucester and West Carleton. CALL 560-1335 Ottawa-Carleton A PARTNERSHIP IN PROGRESS
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Page 3 and 4: NEWS Playgroup to become Glebe Coop
Page 5 and 6: EDITORIAL NOTES Giving thanks for o
Page 7 and 8: GNAG NEWS Community Centre renovati
Page 9 and 10: GCA GCA represents the views of our
Page 11 and 12: CAPITAL COLUMN Nominate special per
Page 13 and 14: SKATE'S BEAT Pistol training course
Page 15 and 16: NEWS Regional Councillor report cos
Page 17 and 18: (31ebe gpothecarg 778 Bank Street (
Page 19 and 20: Recycling for our community PAPER R
Page 21 and 22: ARTS Songs of Experience at A Sourc
Page 23 and 24: SCHOOL NEWS Corpus Christi news BY
Page 25 and 26: SCHOOL NEWS Glebe leaders show thei
Page 27: OBSERVATION POST John Greer BY COUR
Page 31 and 32: (Octobei. WORDS South Branch Librar
Page 33: .41.1* Ali rOP4' GLEBE FITNESS PROG

October 06, 1995 - Glebe Report

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