In Memory of Avraham Sutzkever
On November 29, 2010, at Beit Vilna, a commemoration of the late poet Avraham Sutzkever, one of the most important Yiddish poets in the second half of the 20th century, on the anniversary of his passing. Hadas Kalderon, actress and granddaughter of Sutzkever read his poems and told the story of his rescue from the forest. In between, Prof. Moti Zelkin lectured on his work in the re-opened Vilna archives and the Beit Vilna's choir performed Chanukah songs.
In Memory of Avraham Sutzkever/ Shloshim (30 days after a person's demise) in memory of Avraham Sutzkever/by Shoshana Reshef
In February 2010, I was invited to an event on the 30th anniversary of the death of Avraham Sutzkever, which took place at the Tzavta Theater in Tel Aviv. I did not have high expectations, but since this is the poet Avraham Sutzkever who grew up, was educated and created in Vilnius, Jerusalem, Lithuania, I hoped to hear and learn more about the city that is also the city where I was born.
The thing that surprised me most was the size of the audience. Friday! Midday! Besides the gallery of celebrities including President Shimon Peres, the Minister of Education, the Chairman of Yad Vashem, the Chairman of Bet Shalom Aleichem, the Mayor of Tel Aviv and his predecessor, there were many other well-known figures, not to mention security officers. Many in the audience were older people who spoke Yiddish but, surprisingly, there were also many young people. The theater hall was full and there was not a single available seat; all these people had come to pay their last respects to Avraham Sutzkever, the renowned Yiddish poet.
The entire event was conducted in Yiddish with simultaneous translation to Hebrew. The speeches and reading excerpts, including that of his granddaughter, the actress Hadass Kalderon, were both interesting and moving.
President Peres' speech was especially touching. Beyond the fact of the significance he attached to the Yiddish language, he also introduced a great deal of humor into his speech. Here is one of the jokes he mentioned: And this is what he said about Yiddish, Avraham Sutzkever's language: "Hebrew – what is Hebrew? Hebrew is the Holy Tongue in which we talk to the Almighty. And what is Yiddish? Yiddish is the language we speak when we argue with Him." (Of course, it sounds much better in Yiddish….)
Time passes. Once the State was established, Yiddish was overtaken by Hebrew, and there were even people who thought that it would become extinct. However, in recent years, there is evidence that the language is alive and kicking. Yiddish is taught at universities and in groups and the Yiddishshpiel Theater has been operating successfully for quite some time.
The large audience and the great interest in Avraham Sutzkever's poetry are further evidence of the importance of Yiddish as witnessed by the event in memory of the great poet
Contact us:
Our Facebook
