L ifestyle /C ulture
Concert to Celebrate Yiddish Language, Culture
M USIC
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
THE YIDDISH BALLAD “A
brivele der mamen” dates to
more than a century ago, written
during a time of uncertainty
for many Jewish families who
became separated; while some
braved the journey to Ellis Island
to build a new life in the United
States, others stayed behind
in Eastern European shtetls,
awaiting good news and money
from their loved ones overseas.

In the song, a mother requests
that her son, who recently
immigrated to New York, write
her a letter to let her know that
he’s alive and well — “Nisht
farges dayn mamen,” she pleads,
“Don’t forget your mother.”
The lesson of the song is similar
to that of Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s
in the Cradle,” and both espouse
the message of the importance of
always treasuring the relationship
between parent and child, lest it
becomes too late.

Though “A brivele der mamen”
is more than 100 years old, Temple
Adath Israel on the Main Line
Cantor Elizabeth Shammash still
believes it’s a song that should be
heard by today’s audiences and
is a reflection of the enduring
relevance of Yiddish.

“Yiddish is alive and well,”
she said.

Shammash will perform “A
brivele der mamen” on March
2 and 3 in Philadelphia as part
of “Yiddishe Nightingale,” a
multimedia concert celebrating
Yiddish music and history.

Baltimore-based Beth El
Congregation Cantor Thom
King and National Yiddish
Theatre Folksbiene Artistic
Director Zalmen Mlotek will
perform alongside Shammash.

The program is part of
Philadelphia-based nonprofit
Lyric Fest’s 2022 season, meaning
it will be heard by both Jewish
and non-Jewish audiences.

“We’re thrilled that this is
going to reach not only the Jewish
community in the environs
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM Cantors Thom King and Elizabeth
Shammash (standing) rehearsing with
National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene Artistic
Director Zalmen Mloktek
but also the song community
that comes to our concerts to
learn new things and hear these
stories,” Lyric Fest founder
and Artistic Director Suzanne
DuPlantis said.

The concert gets its name
from “Yiddishe Nightingale,”
a song by Irving Berlin that
inspired DuPlantis.

The program was funded largely in
part by Jewish donor Michael
Leeds and will be Lyric Fest’s
first Yiddish show.

The performance’s broad
audience underlies the poten-
tial universal impact of Yiddish,
performers said.

“Whether they understand the
words or not, there’s something
about the music; there’s
something about the musical
themes themselves — based on
the modes, based on many, many,
many songs that were written as
folk songs as just pure expressions
of people’s feelings,” Mlotek said.

Though knowledge of
Yiddish is not required for
attendance, English supertitles
will be projected on the stage
for each song.

The music performed will
range from traditional nignim
(melodies) from the mid-1800s to
King’s performance of the Yiddish
version of “If I Were a Rich Man”
Cantor Elizabeth Shammash of Temple Adath Israel on the
Main Line
Courtesy of Elizabeth Shammash
music was a departure from
their usual repertoire.

“Yiddish is a folk language. ...

It’s not liturgical, so much as it is
sort of — I like to think of them
as devotional pieces,” King said.

Through song, audiences can
get the “flavor” of the Yiddish
language, Shammash said.

“It’s just such a beautiful, fun,
expressive language,” she said.

“The music is really the same.”
The concert will take place
on March 2 at the Academy of
Vocal Arts and on March 3 at
Adath Israel. Both performances
begin at 7 p.m. The program will
debut on March 1 at Beth El
Congregation in Baltimore. Proof
of COVID vaccination, including
a booster shot, is required for
entry. The March 3 concert is free
for Adath Israel members. l
from the Folksbiene’s 2018 adapta-
To Shammash and King,
tion of “Fiddler on the Roof.”
both of whom have cantorial srogelberg@jewishexponent.com;
Performed in chronological backgrounds, learning Yiddish 215-832-0741
order, the songs reflect 150 years
of Yiddish history, Mlotek said:
Yiddish songs were performed as
part of Purim spiels in Russia and
Poland in the mid-19th century
As seen in the
and evolved into operettas that
Netflix series
reflected life and history.

Pretend During the time of Jewish
It’s A City
immigration to the U.S.,
the music, like “A brivele der
mamen,” reflected changing
family structures, culture and
assimilation. As more Jews assimilated
in the U.S., English made its
way into Yiddish theater music;
in Europe, Jews wrote Yiddish
lullabies to soothe their young
children enduring the trauma of
the Holocaust.

“Each one (song) has its own
particular, interesting story,”
Mlotek said.

According to Shammash, the
music is just as relevant as ever.

“We’re not
reviving something dead,” Shammash
said. “This issue of immigration
is front and center: How do we
treat the stranger? How do we
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