“The Book Rescuer: How a Mensch from Massachusetts Saved Yiddish Literature for Generations to Come”
By Sue Macy, illustrated by Stacy Innerst
Simon and Schuster, New York, 2019, 48 pages, Grades 3-5.
Immigrants bring new customs and languages to the United States. Languages different than English also distinguish them.
Large populations of Jewish immigrants begin arriving in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. Most of these Jewish immigrants are from Germany, Poland and Eastern Europe. This branch of the Jewish family, known as Ashkenazi Jews, speak Yiddish at home. Yiddish has a medieval German language structure and contains a mixture of Hebrew and Slavic words. Yiddish is written in Hebrew.
In large East Coast cities in the United States, such as New York or Boston, American Jews commonly spoke Yiddish. However, many American Jews desire to integrate into American society. With this impetus, the second and third generations of these immigrants begin to see Yiddish as backward. This viewpoint imperils the future of the language.
Young Aaron Lansky listens to the story of his grandmother’s immigration from Eastern Europe. She tells him about the ship bringing her to America. Carrying her paper suitcase filled with her down pillow and some prized Yiddish books, she looks forward to arriving in the United States.
Her older brother meets her on arrival. Opening her suitcase, he sees the Yiddish books and promptly throws them into the ocean. He confidently tells her that English is the only language needed to be successful in America. This staggers the young girl. Her brother just destroyed her cultural treasures. Aaron cannot believe anyone could be so foolish.
The grandmother then tells the young man about the trials their people endured in Europe. No matter how deprived their lives were, the people knew the value of reading. Since they spoke Yiddish, they collected Yiddish books. The history of their lives is written in Yiddish books, stories and plays. Yiddish preserved the cultural lifeblood of Eastern European Jews. Without knowing Yiddish, it is impossible to truly understand centuries of Jewish life. The story bewilders Aaron. Almost no American Jews his age have much knowledge of Yiddish.
Soon after his grandmother’s story, he makes a decision: He will learn Yiddish and try to preserve the Yiddish language. His opportunity soon arrives. He sees an old man about to bury boxes of old Yiddish books. The old man tells him no one wants these books, and they deserve a dignified burial. Aaron tells the old man that he will take the books. This pleases the older gentleman.
However, what do you do with boxes of old books? An idea begins to form. When people hear that Aaron is collecting Yiddish books, he receives boxes upon boxes of titles. Now he needs to do something. What is it?
Does Aaron learn Yiddish? Can he help preserve the language of his ancestors? Have you ever tried to save something that was important for your family? Why is that so important? How does Aaron Lansky make such a valuable contribution to Jewish and American life? To find out the answers to these and other questions, go to the library and check out this delightful book, “The Book Rescuer” by Sue Macy.
Today, a number of Yiddish words are part of English. For example, the words bagel, glitch, kosher and klutz derive from Yiddish. Less common words such as mensch (virtuous man) and schlep (scrounging around) are still used. Schlep has such a great sound, as do many Yiddish words. Today, many people are searching for their own cultural histories. We all came from somewhere and it is important to know our own history. Sue Macy tells us the story of a visionary Massachusetts boy’s quest to find his own past. In the process, he saved a language. Raise your thumb and first two fingers together and say, “What a mensch.” Enjoy!
