This show recalls the tragic events in the USSR of August

The so-called Night of the Murdered Yiddish Poets took place on

Gennady Estraikh is the Rauch Clinical Professor of Yiddish

Jana Mazurkiewicz Meisarosh is the founder and CEO of YAAANA

Sholem Beinfeld, regular contributer to the Yiddish Voice,

Music:

• Emil Gorovets: In Vinter Farnakhtn, words by Dovid Hofshteyn, music by Emil Gorovets, musical arrangement and piano accompaniment by Zalmen Mlotek

Air Date: August 12, 2020

1. Meet Diana Cohen (a/k/a Dina Godiner). She is the first cousin of a famous journalist, the late Daniel Schorr. She's also the first cousin of a not-so-famous violinist, the late Semyon Godiner. In 2008, Diana and Daniel had not met nor heard of their cousin, who grew up in the former Soviet Union and was now living in Israel. The Yiddish Voice got them together! How? Well, to find out, listen to that amazing story, told by Dina, and find out more about her interesting life. You'll also hear some of Semyon's voice and music, as well as an excerpt from Daniel Schorr's historic journalistic coup: interviewing Nikita Khrushchev! To hear even more from Dina (in English), here's her Wexler oral history video: https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/oral-histories/interviews/woh-fi-0000320/diana-cohen-2012

Music:

• Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman: Zumerteg, words and music by Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman, musical arrangement by Binyumen Schaechter, violin accompaniment by Alicia Svigals, guitar accompaniment by Meyshke Alpert

Air Date: August 5, 2020

1. Rav Moshe Kesselman is the rabbi of Congregation Shaarei Tefila in Los Angeles. He talks about Tisha B'Ov, the Jewish day of fasting and communal mourning that begins the same evening (July 29) as this show goes out on the radio. He was interviewed via Zoom the day before the show from his home in Los Angeles.

• Music:

• Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air Date: July 29, 2020

This is Miriam Libenson's 1995 talk for Tisha B'Ov. This is a supplementary bonus podcast of the Yiddish Voice.

This week's Yiddish Voice presents an interview, in Yiddish, with the creator of the recently published Yiddish translation of the first of theHarry Potter book series, Arun ("Arele") Viswanath (אַרעלע ווישוואַנאַט).

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is the wildly popular first novel in the Harry Potter series, written by British author J. K. Rowling. The book was first published in 1997. The Yiddish edition, with the title הערי פּאָטער און דער פֿילאָסאָפֿישער שטיין (Harry Potter un der filosofisher shteyn), was published by Olniansky Tekst in 2020 and immediately sold out its first print run. A second printing has since sold out as well. A third printing is planned but delayed due to COVID-19. The publisher web site for information and future purchases is here: https://harrypotter.olniansky.com

Arun “Arele” Schaechter Viswanath is the grandson of the prominent Yiddish linguist and professor Dr. Mordkhe Schaechter. He grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, in a Yiddish- and Tamil-speaking home. He has stated that his desire to translate Harry Potter grew from a strong feeling that a translation of such a popular children’s novel into Yiddish would be a boon and a resource for Yiddish students and teachers, Yiddish-speaking children and parents, and the Yiddish world more broadly. Arun lived for a time in the Boston area as a Harvard undergrad majoring in linguistics, and he now resides in New York and works in high tech as an operations strategist and data analyst.

Viswanath was interviewed by regular Yiddish Voice contributor Lillian ("Leah") Shporer-Leavitt, who prepared by reading the entire Yiddish translation, having already read every Harry Potter book in the series with her children. Leavitt, a daughter of Shoah survivors, grew up speaking Yiddish and graduated from the Boston Workmen's Circle Yiddish Shule. A former computer business analyst and software trainer, she is an experienced Yiddish teacher and translator, having taught at the Workmen's Circle, Gann Academy of Greater Boston, Boston University Hillel, and Brandeis University. In addition, she has subtitled Yiddish films for the National Center for Jewish Film and translated Yizkor (memorial) books for the Jewish Genealogical Society.

Excerpts of Harry Potter in Yiddish! (and English)

• Music:

• Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone movie soundtrack (short excerpts), composed and conducted by John Williams