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Moshkeleh the Thief: A Rediscovered Novel
This first English translation of Sholom Aleichem’s rediscovered novel, Moshkeleh the Thief, has a riveting plot, an unusual love story, and a keenly observed portrayal of an underclass Jew replete with characters never before been seen in Yiddish literature.
The eponymous hero, Moshkeleh, is a robust chap and horse thief. When Tsireleh, daughter of a tavern keeper, flees to a monastery with the man she loves—a non-Jew she met at the tavern—the humiliated tavern keeper’s family turns to Moshkeleh for help, not knowing he too is in love with her.
For some unknown reason, this innovative novel does not appear in the standard twenty-eight-volume edition of Sholom Aleichem’s collected works, published after his death. Strikingly, Moshkeleh the Thief shows Jews interacting with non-Jews in the Russian Pale of Settlement—a groundbreaking theme in modern Yiddish literature. This novel is also important for Sholom Aleichem’s approach to his material. Yiddish literature had long maintained a tradition of edelkeyt, refinement. Authors eschewed violence, the darker side of life, and people on the fringe of respectability. Moshkeleh thus enters a Jewish arena not hitherto explored in a novel.
The eponymous hero, Moshkeleh, is a robust chap and horse thief. When Tsireleh, daughter of a tavern keeper, flees to a monastery with the man she loves—a non-Jew she met at the tavern—the humiliated tavern keeper’s family turns to Moshkeleh for help, not knowing he too is in love with her.
For some unknown reason, this innovative novel does not appear in the standard twenty-eight-volume edition of Sholom Aleichem’s collected works, published after his death. Strikingly, Moshkeleh the Thief shows Jews interacting with non-Jews in the Russian Pale of Settlement—a groundbreaking theme in modern Yiddish literature. This novel is also important for Sholom Aleichem’s approach to his material. Yiddish literature had long maintained a tradition of edelkeyt, refinement. Authors eschewed violence, the darker side of life, and people on the fringe of respectability. Moshkeleh thus enters a Jewish arena not hitherto explored in a novel.
88 pages, Paperback
Published September 1, 2021
11 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
Sholom Aleichem
288 books190 followersRussian-born American humorist Sholem Aleichem or Sholom Aleichem, originally Solomon Rabinowitz, in Yiddish originally wrote stories and plays, the basis for the musical
Fiddler on the Roof
.
He wrote under the pen name, Hebrew for "peace be upon you."
From 1883, he produced more than forty volumes as a central figure in literature before 1890.
His notable narratives accurately described shtetl life with the naturalness of speech of his characters. Early critics focused on the cheerfulness of the characters, interpreted as a way of coping with adversity. Later critics saw a tragic side. Because of the similar style of the author with the pen name of Mark Twain, people often referred to Aleichem as the Jewish version of Twain. Both authors wrote for adults and children and lectured extensively in Europe and the United States.
He wrote under the pen name, Hebrew for "peace be upon you."
From 1883, he produced more than forty volumes as a central figure in literature before 1890.
His notable narratives accurately described shtetl life with the naturalness of speech of his characters. Early critics focused on the cheerfulness of the characters, interpreted as a way of coping with adversity. Later critics saw a tragic side. Because of the similar style of the author with the pen name of Mark Twain, people often referred to Aleichem as the Jewish version of Twain. Both authors wrote for adults and children and lectured extensively in Europe and the United States.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
June 13, 2021
"Moshkeleh the Thief: A Rediscovered Novel" by Sholom Aleichem was serialized in a Warsaw Yiddish newspaper in 1903. The plot filled with adventure, cliffhangers and heartfelt emotion kept readers eagerly awaiting subsequent installments of the story. This short novel introduces the reader to Moshkeleh an inhabitant of the shtetl of Mazepevke, a small, insular Jewish town in the Russian Pale of Settlement in the late nineteenth century.
Moshkeleh was a ganev, a thief. Like his father (Yoineh the Prophet) before him, he stole horses for a living. Although the Prophet tried to furnish Moshkeleh with a proper Jewish education, his son preferred the stable to school. "A horse...was worth ten times more than the teacher." He was part of the lower class of the shtetl, however, was famous for his feats of strength. When a thief or thug was needed, villagers would sing his praises. "...when it came to blows, clouts and punches, he had achieved renown." Being lauded as village protector would not enable him to "make a match". Moish, the crooked money lender was a true ganev, but he was considered to be honorable. After all, money talks.
Tsireleh, the tavern owner's youngest daughter, was not inclined to marry a husband chosen by the matchmaker. She had become acquainted with the new liquor tax collector, Maxim Tchubinski, a non-Jew. Would she be willing to leave her village, her parents, and travel far from home? What of Moshkeleh, the outcast, who feels she is the love of his life? Only grief and humiliation would follow you, Tsireleh, if the matchmaker does not make you a match!
Moshkeleh the Thief is a novel about a member of the underclass of society within the small community of Mazepevke. Perhaps, monied thieves like a butcher with a rigged scale or a baker whose bread is "light", would be so-called model citizens. Moshkeleh cannot catch a break. A matchmaker would not make a match for a scoundrel like him! This highly recommended tome is a most delightful gem!
Thank you University of Nebraska Press/ Jewish Publication Society via Edelweiss for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Moshkeleh was a ganev, a thief. Like his father (Yoineh the Prophet) before him, he stole horses for a living. Although the Prophet tried to furnish Moshkeleh with a proper Jewish education, his son preferred the stable to school. "A horse...was worth ten times more than the teacher." He was part of the lower class of the shtetl, however, was famous for his feats of strength. When a thief or thug was needed, villagers would sing his praises. "...when it came to blows, clouts and punches, he had achieved renown." Being lauded as village protector would not enable him to "make a match". Moish, the crooked money lender was a true ganev, but he was considered to be honorable. After all, money talks.
Tsireleh, the tavern owner's youngest daughter, was not inclined to marry a husband chosen by the matchmaker. She had become acquainted with the new liquor tax collector, Maxim Tchubinski, a non-Jew. Would she be willing to leave her village, her parents, and travel far from home? What of Moshkeleh, the outcast, who feels she is the love of his life? Only grief and humiliation would follow you, Tsireleh, if the matchmaker does not make you a match!
Moshkeleh the Thief is a novel about a member of the underclass of society within the small community of Mazepevke. Perhaps, monied thieves like a butcher with a rigged scale or a baker whose bread is "light", would be so-called model citizens. Moshkeleh cannot catch a break. A matchmaker would not make a match for a scoundrel like him! This highly recommended tome is a most delightful gem!
Thank you University of Nebraska Press/ Jewish Publication Society via Edelweiss for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 14, 2021
Thank you to Edelweiss for providing me with an ARC of this book. I am offering my honest opinion voluntarily.
Let me start by saying that I grew up with Sholom Aleichem books around the house for as long as I can remember. The name probably doesn’t ring any bells for you, but you’re probably familiar with his most famous work — Tevye the Dairyman, which was adapted into Fiddler on the Roof.
This is a short story, and I want to point out that it’s clearly geared towards readers who have some understanding of Yiddish. There are a few Yiddish terms that are preserved in translation without a glossary provided to define them, so it may not be as enjoyable to a reader without a background that involves at least minimal Yiddish. (If this is you, and you decide to read it but have questions, feel free to contact me and I’ll explain what I can). I grew up in a household where both of my parents spoke Yiddish fluently, and while I don’t speak it myself, I did pick up a fair bit. The narrative style was different from what I’m used to reading in modern fiction, but enjoyable nonetheless. It was written as though the narrator was speaking directly to the reader.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story. In just 88 short pages, the author managed to portray the grittier side of shtetl life that is often overlooked in this genre. He also created vivid and likable characters, incorporated humor, and built an intriguing plot that I couldn’t help but want to find out what happened next. This was a read that gave me strong nostalgia vibes, and made me wish that my dad was still alive to share with — he would have loved it.
Let me start by saying that I grew up with Sholom Aleichem books around the house for as long as I can remember. The name probably doesn’t ring any bells for you, but you’re probably familiar with his most famous work — Tevye the Dairyman, which was adapted into Fiddler on the Roof.
This is a short story, and I want to point out that it’s clearly geared towards readers who have some understanding of Yiddish. There are a few Yiddish terms that are preserved in translation without a glossary provided to define them, so it may not be as enjoyable to a reader without a background that involves at least minimal Yiddish. (If this is you, and you decide to read it but have questions, feel free to contact me and I’ll explain what I can). I grew up in a household where both of my parents spoke Yiddish fluently, and while I don’t speak it myself, I did pick up a fair bit. The narrative style was different from what I’m used to reading in modern fiction, but enjoyable nonetheless. It was written as though the narrator was speaking directly to the reader.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story. In just 88 short pages, the author managed to portray the grittier side of shtetl life that is often overlooked in this genre. He also created vivid and likable characters, incorporated humor, and built an intriguing plot that I couldn’t help but want to find out what happened next. This was a read that gave me strong nostalgia vibes, and made me wish that my dad was still alive to share with — he would have loved it.
June 5, 2021
A reprint of a neglected novella from the author of the "Fiddler on the Roof" stories – and so much more besides. Our titular character is a bit of a vagabond, a noted horse thief and enforced bachelor, who, we are told out of the blue, gets to marry one of the town's most desirable lasses. With an episodic, stop-start structure, and extensive flashbacks, the piece (which originally came out in parts in a Yiddish newspaper, and is presented here in a translation for the first time ever) gets to show us how. The levity, the fact the hero was a bit of a chancer, and the way some episodes seemed to go down a narrative cul-de-sac, all reminded me a little of "Till Eulenspiegel", which in fact is no bad thing, even if there doubtlessly are better comparisons to be made. Add the Ukraine-based Jewish shtetl flavour to proceedings, and you have a quite appealing, if not utterly memorable, read. But the fact it was practically lost and this is its second audience ever made me feel quite privileged to have had its company.
December 1, 2021
An entertaining novella of a horse-thief in the Russian Pale Settlement. The horse-thief is the son of a master horse-thief in the village. He is a handsome young man, but not acceptable in village society. However, the daughter of the tavern owner runs off to a monastery with a non-Jew who has fallen in love with her - mostly because she has no desire to lead the traditional dreary life she sees her sisters living. She wants something different. Her family turns to Moshe for help. The result is entirely unexpected.
November 10, 2024
short and simple story but interesting to ponder / fun to read something originally written in yiddish. it’s rly fun to read ashkenazi jewish literature and makes me excited to explore it more
January 5, 2026
Fantastic short story. Really has all the elements of what life was like for Jews, living in the shtetl.
October 9, 2021
It's more a story than a novel. Enjoyable. Incomplete. Epic it ain't.
August 15, 2022
Originally serialized in a Yiddish newspaper, this book wasn't included in Sholom Aleichem's collected works possibly because it deals with the shadier side of life in the shtetl and it was the first book to do that.
Moshkeleh Ganev is a horse thief and even though he will always use his great strength to protect the underdog, he is still a thief and no woman will have anything to do with him and he is shunned by other Jews, unless they need his help. "Ganev," in fact, isn't a name but a word for thief and was given to him by his community.
Chaim Chosid has many daughters, all but the youngest married to Jewish men, a fate the youngest daughter, Tsireleh, doesn't want. She runs off with a non-Jew she met at her father's tavern and Chaim hires Moshkeleh steal her back from the monastery where she has been left.
Moshkeleh does accomplish this but since he had always loved her, takes her to another village where they can be together and she is fine with this. Tsireleh can never return to her own village because of who Moshkeleh is, but she couldn't have gone back anyway after leaving with a non-Jew.
What I liked about this book is that the ending is not contrived and, as always, Aleichem writes about real people in real situations. It's entertaining and honest. What I didn't like about it was that some parts could have used more explanation. It was a serial, so maybe Aleichem didn't have the space he needed to go into more detail as the book is only fifty-seven pages.
Still,, why didn't Tsireleh and her Gentile boyfriend get married once they ran off instead of dropping her off at a monastery and disappearing from the story? And why did she leave with a Gentile anyway since there doesn't seem to have been any love involved and she was trying to escape a life of endless childbearing?
Regardless of all that, I thought it was an excellent book and left me wishing I could read Yiddish so I could read it in the language in which it was written.
Moshkeleh Ganev is a horse thief and even though he will always use his great strength to protect the underdog, he is still a thief and no woman will have anything to do with him and he is shunned by other Jews, unless they need his help. "Ganev," in fact, isn't a name but a word for thief and was given to him by his community.
Chaim Chosid has many daughters, all but the youngest married to Jewish men, a fate the youngest daughter, Tsireleh, doesn't want. She runs off with a non-Jew she met at her father's tavern and Chaim hires Moshkeleh steal her back from the monastery where she has been left.
Moshkeleh does accomplish this but since he had always loved her, takes her to another village where they can be together and she is fine with this. Tsireleh can never return to her own village because of who Moshkeleh is, but she couldn't have gone back anyway after leaving with a non-Jew.
What I liked about this book is that the ending is not contrived and, as always, Aleichem writes about real people in real situations. It's entertaining and honest. What I didn't like about it was that some parts could have used more explanation. It was a serial, so maybe Aleichem didn't have the space he needed to go into more detail as the book is only fifty-seven pages.
Still,, why didn't Tsireleh and her Gentile boyfriend get married once they ran off instead of dropping her off at a monastery and disappearing from the story? And why did she leave with a Gentile anyway since there doesn't seem to have been any love involved and she was trying to escape a life of endless childbearing?
Regardless of all that, I thought it was an excellent book and left me wishing I could read Yiddish so I could read it in the language in which it was written.
August 13, 2021
Moshkeleh is the one person in the Schtetl who everyone tries to avoid. He is attracted to the daughter of the Tavern keeper but knows he has no chance because of his reputation of being a horse thief (and anything else that isn't nailed down).
When the Tavern keepers daughter flees to a nunnery and threatens to convert her family is at it's whits end. She left the schtetl because she is in love with a goy, and knows she will never be able to marry him if she doesn't convert, which will mean losing her family.
The tavern keeper calls on Moshkeleh for his help (because he is unscrupulous), he knows that Mosh deals with the neighboring Poles all the time and speaks their language. This is where this story diverges from most of Scholem Aliichem tales in that Mosh is not the typical condescending Jew. He is an aggressive man who likes to get his dealings over anyone he deals with.
How Mosh is able to get into talk with the daughter and to connive his way into her head is very interesting and different from other Aleichem stories that include the neighboring Poles.
When the Tavern keepers daughter flees to a nunnery and threatens to convert her family is at it's whits end. She left the schtetl because she is in love with a goy, and knows she will never be able to marry him if she doesn't convert, which will mean losing her family.
The tavern keeper calls on Moshkeleh for his help (because he is unscrupulous), he knows that Mosh deals with the neighboring Poles all the time and speaks their language. This is where this story diverges from most of Scholem Aliichem tales in that Mosh is not the typical condescending Jew. He is an aggressive man who likes to get his dealings over anyone he deals with.
How Mosh is able to get into talk with the daughter and to connive his way into her head is very interesting and different from other Aleichem stories that include the neighboring Poles.
September 5, 2021
This rediscovered novella by the great Yiddish storyteller Sholom Aleichem is unlike his other tales. Instead of telling the story of poor pious Jews living in the Russian Pale, it sets forth the saga of the love story between a horse thief and the youngest daughter of a tavern owner who runs away to marry a Goy because she doesn’t want to marry a pious Jew as her mother and sisters did, and be relegated to a life of working and raising babies while her husband studies the Torah.
The story is amusing and moves quickly. It resembles a fairy tale in structure and plot.
The story is amusing and moves quickly. It resembles a fairy tale in structure and plot.
October 21, 2021
No one seems sure why Sholem Aleichem’s short novel “Moshkeleh the Thief: A Rediscovered Novel” (The Jewish Publication Society), which was serialized in 1903 and first released in book form in 1913, was never translated into English. That mistake has been rectified in a translation by Curt Leviant.
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/past...
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/past...
October 12, 2021
I loved this book. I would love to see the Yiddish version as I am so curious which Yiddish words I might recognize and what English words or expressions they were translated to. It has made me want to reread my favourite Sholom Aleichem stories. I also love the artwork on the cover and have become a fan of the artist Star Imerlishvili.
October 20, 2021
Wry wit and a distinctively-voiced character in Moshke make this story a charmer; strange coda at the end, or perhaps this was the beginning of another story? A bit surprising, very cinematic, so enjoyable.
December 28, 2021
This was short but delightful - despite the mystery. More description than plot, and a good deal of amusing breaking of the 4th wall (as it were) - but plot as well. Very glad to have gotten it as a holiday gift from my dear Jojo.
March 27, 2022
Since the author died in 1916, anything I might praise or denigrate will not be heard. This novel is hardly even a novella. It is a short story with a yiddisha flavor and folksy charm. A slice of the lives of Jews in the shtetl from the author who inspired “Fiddler on the Roof.”
December 3, 2021
A fast-paced novella set in the Pale. It has the feel of a fairytale in how the story is set up and delivered.
January 23, 2022
I was laughing out loud at this short story - I haven’t read any Sholom Aleichem as an adult- Now I look forward to reading some more of his writing.
May 8, 2022
A colloquial, humorous, and engaging novella!
March 16, 2023
Amusing.
September 12, 2024
The novel has been presented as some sort of rediscovered literary treasure. Yet, nothing in this short novel explains let alone justifies such an exaggeration.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews