Dear Mendl, Dear Reyzl: Yiddish Letter Manuals from Russia and America

by Alice S. Nakhimovsky, Roberta Newman

At the turn of the 20th century, Jewish families scattered by migration could stay in touch only through letters. Jews in the Russian Empire and America wrote business letters, romantic letters, and emotionally intense family letters. But for many Jews who were unaccustomed to communicating their public and private thoughts in writing, correspondence was a challenge. How could they make sure their spelling was correct and they were organizing their thoughts properly? A popular solution was to consult brivnshtelers, Yiddish-language books of model letters. Dear Mendl, Dear Reyzl translates selections from these model-letter books and includes essays and annotations that illuminate their role as guides to a past culture.

248 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2014

Reviews

[Jessica Feinstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting!

[Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting bit of history to learn about.

(It should not have taken this long for me to read.)