Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman
Encyclopedia
Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman (born August 7, 1920) is a Yiddish poet and songwriter.
, Ukraine (then Romania) and settled there when Schaechter-Gottesman was a young child. She was brought up in a multi-lingual environment that included Yiddish, German, Romanian, and Ukrainian; she also studied French and Latin at school. They were a singing family and her mother, Lifshe Schaechter, was known for her wide folk repertoire. Schaechter-Gottesman was sent to Vienna for art lessons, but was forced to return to Czernowitz when the Germans invaded Austria in 1938. In 1941 she married a medical doctor, Jonas (Yoyne) Gottesman, and together they lived out the war in the Czernowitz ghetto, along with her mother and several other family members.
After the war, Schaechter-Gottesman lived several years in Vienna, where her husband had a chief position ("Chefarzt") in the DP camps
in the area. Their daughter Taube was born there in 1950; the family moved to New York in 1951, where the Gottesmans had two other children, Hyam and Itzik. In New York the Gottesmans took part in an experimental Yiddish community in the Bronx
, centered around Bainbridge Avenue. There a half-dozen Yiddish-speaking families bought adjacent houses and reinvigorated the existing Sholem Aleichem Yiddish School. Schaechter-Gottesman became an important member of this community, writing classroom materials, plays and songs for the school as well as editing a magazine for children ("Kinderzhurnal") and a magazine of children’s writings ("Enge-benge").
Schaechter-Gottesman’s first book of poetry, "Mir Forn" (We’re Travelling) appeared in 1963. Her books, eight in total, have appeared regularly since then. They include poetry for adults, children’s books and song books. She has recorded three CDs of her songs and one recording of folk songs. Her work does not revolve around a single theme but ranges widely from Eastern European subjects to contemporary New York, and from lighthearted children’s fare to such sombre reflections as "Di Balade Funem Elftn September" (The Ballad of September 11). Her best-known single work is "Harbstlid" (Autumn Song). Schaechter-Gottesman’s songs have been performed by Theodore Bikel
, Adrienne Cooper, Theresa Tova, Lucette van den Berg, Susan Leviton, Michael Alpert
, Lorin Sklamberg, Sharon Jan Bernstein, Fabian Schnedler, Massel-Tov and others. A song written for her nephew, "Binyumele’s Bar Mitsve", was adapted by Adrienne Cooper for her daughter as "Sorele’s Bas Mitsve" and was recorded on the CD Mikveh.
Schaechter-Gottesman continues to serve as a resource for researchers of both Yiddish folk and art music. She has been recorded and interviewed numerous times and participated in such cultural events as KlezKamp
, KlezKanada
, Buffalo on the Roof, Ashkenaz Festival, and Weimar KlezmerWochen. "Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman: Song of Autumn", a 72 minute film by Josh Waletsky, was released summer 2007 as part of the League for Yiddish's Series "Worlds Within a World: Conversations with Yiddish Writers". A new collection of her poetry, "Der tsvit fun teg" (The Blossoms of Days) was released in the autumn of 2007.
family has been productive in the field of Yiddish culture. Her mother, Lifshe Schaechter-Widman, wrote a memoir, "Durkhgelebt a Velt" (A Full Life) in 1973, as well as serving as an informant for folk song researchers with her recording "Az Di Furst Avek" (When You Go Away). Her brother, Mordkhe Schaechter
, was the world’s leading Yiddish linguist. Her son, Itzik Gottesman, is an editor of The Forward
and the Tsukunft
, and a scholar of Yiddish folklore. Her niece, Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath
is also a Yiddish poet; nephew Binyumen Schaechter
is a composer and musical director in Yiddish and English; and niece Rukhl Schaechter is a journalist with The Forward
. Her granddaughter, Esther Gottesman, teaches children Yiddish and sings on Shaechter-Gottesman's most recent release, "Fli mayn flishlang" (Fly, Fly My Kite).
Biography
She was born in Vienna into an Eastern-European, Yiddish-speaking family; her family left for CzernowitzChernivtsi
Chernivtsi is the administrative center of Chernivtsi Oblast in southwestern Ukraine. The city is situated on the upper course of the River Prut, a tributary of the Danube, in the northern part of the historic region of Bukovina, which is currently divided between Romania and Ukraine...
, Ukraine (then Romania) and settled there when Schaechter-Gottesman was a young child. She was brought up in a multi-lingual environment that included Yiddish, German, Romanian, and Ukrainian; she also studied French and Latin at school. They were a singing family and her mother, Lifshe Schaechter, was known for her wide folk repertoire. Schaechter-Gottesman was sent to Vienna for art lessons, but was forced to return to Czernowitz when the Germans invaded Austria in 1938. In 1941 she married a medical doctor, Jonas (Yoyne) Gottesman, and together they lived out the war in the Czernowitz ghetto, along with her mother and several other family members.
After the war, Schaechter-Gottesman lived several years in Vienna, where her husband had a chief position ("Chefarzt") in the DP camps
Displaced persons camp
A displaced persons camp or DP camp is a temporary facility for displaced persons coerced into forced migration. The term is mainly used for camps established after World War II in West Germany and in Austria, as well as in the United Kingdom, primarily for refugees from Eastern Europe and for the...
in the area. Their daughter Taube was born there in 1950; the family moved to New York in 1951, where the Gottesmans had two other children, Hyam and Itzik. In New York the Gottesmans took part in an experimental Yiddish community in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, centered around Bainbridge Avenue. There a half-dozen Yiddish-speaking families bought adjacent houses and reinvigorated the existing Sholem Aleichem Yiddish School. Schaechter-Gottesman became an important member of this community, writing classroom materials, plays and songs for the school as well as editing a magazine for children ("Kinderzhurnal") and a magazine of children’s writings ("Enge-benge").
Schaechter-Gottesman’s first book of poetry, "Mir Forn" (We’re Travelling) appeared in 1963. Her books, eight in total, have appeared regularly since then. They include poetry for adults, children’s books and song books. She has recorded three CDs of her songs and one recording of folk songs. Her work does not revolve around a single theme but ranges widely from Eastern European subjects to contemporary New York, and from lighthearted children’s fare to such sombre reflections as "Di Balade Funem Elftn September" (The Ballad of September 11). Her best-known single work is "Harbstlid" (Autumn Song). Schaechter-Gottesman’s songs have been performed by Theodore Bikel
Theodore Bikel
Theodore Meir Bikel is a character actor, folk singer and musician. He made his film debut in The African Queen and was nominated for an Academy award for his supporting role as Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones ....
, Adrienne Cooper, Theresa Tova, Lucette van den Berg, Susan Leviton, Michael Alpert
Michael Alpert
Michael Alpert is a klezmer singer and multi-instrumentalist and has been called a key figure in the klezmer revival of the 1970s and 1980s....
, Lorin Sklamberg, Sharon Jan Bernstein, Fabian Schnedler, Massel-Tov and others. A song written for her nephew, "Binyumele’s Bar Mitsve", was adapted by Adrienne Cooper for her daughter as "Sorele’s Bas Mitsve" and was recorded on the CD Mikveh.
Schaechter-Gottesman continues to serve as a resource for researchers of both Yiddish folk and art music. She has been recorded and interviewed numerous times and participated in such cultural events as KlezKamp
KlezKamp
KlezKamp is a yearly Klezmer music and Yiddish culture festival which takes place in late December in New York State. Founded in 1984, participants come from all over the world, but especially the East Coast of the United States and Canada, for a week of immersion in the culture and the chance to...
, KlezKanada
KlezKanada
KlezKanada was founded in 1996 to teach, nurture and present to a broad public the best of Jewish traditional arts and Yiddish/Jewish culture. Arising from the wellsprings of Jewish culture and expertise unique to Montreal and Canada, over the past decade KlezKanada has grown into an event with...
, Buffalo on the Roof, Ashkenaz Festival, and Weimar KlezmerWochen. "Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman: Song of Autumn", a 72 minute film by Josh Waletsky, was released summer 2007 as part of the League for Yiddish's Series "Worlds Within a World: Conversations with Yiddish Writers". A new collection of her poetry, "Der tsvit fun teg" (The Blossoms of Days) was released in the autumn of 2007.
Awards
In 1998 Schaechter-Gottesman was inducted into the People's Hall of Fame at City Lore in New York; and in 2005 she received a National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship, one of the highest cultural honors given by a United States government agency. She was the first Yiddish poet or musical figure to receive this honor.Family
The entire Schaechter-GottesmanSchaechter-Gottesman
The Schaechter-Gottesman family is a leading family in Yiddish language and cultural studies.Members include:*Lifshe Schaechter-Widman*Mordkhe Schaechter - Yiddish linguist, teacher, and writer...
family has been productive in the field of Yiddish culture. Her mother, Lifshe Schaechter-Widman, wrote a memoir, "Durkhgelebt a Velt" (A Full Life) in 1973, as well as serving as an informant for folk song researchers with her recording "Az Di Furst Avek" (When You Go Away). Her brother, Mordkhe Schaechter
Mordkhe Schaechter
Itsye Mordkhe Schaechter was a leading Yiddish linguist, as well as a writer and educator who spent a lifetime studying, standardizing and teaching the language. Dr...
, was the world’s leading Yiddish linguist. Her son, Itzik Gottesman, is an editor of The Forward
The Forward
The Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...
and the Tsukunft
Tsukunft
Tsukunft or Cukunft or Zukunft was the youth organization of the General Jewish Labor Union . It was founded in the year 1910 and in the year 1916 it was officially called Yugnt-Bund Tsukunft. Their newspaper was the Yugnt veker. In 1921 Tsukunft suffered a split, in which a pro-Communist group...
, and a scholar of Yiddish folklore. Her niece, Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath
Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath
Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath is a Yiddish-language poet who was born in The Bronx, New York, USA. She grew up in a Yiddish-speaking home and attended Yiddish schools as a child. She began writing poetry, much of which was published in the journals Yugntruf and Afn Shvel, in 1980...
is also a Yiddish poet; nephew Binyumen Schaechter
Binyumen Schaechter
Binyumen Schaechter is a Yiddish composer and performer, as well as conductor of the Jewish People's Philharmonic Chorus and the Pripetshik Singers, an ensemble of native-Yiddish-speaking children. They have performed at Lincoln Center, Shea Stadium, Synagogues, and JCC's across the Northeast...
is a composer and musical director in Yiddish and English; and niece Rukhl Schaechter is a journalist with The Forward
The Forward
The Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...
. Her granddaughter, Esther Gottesman, teaches children Yiddish and sings on Shaechter-Gottesman's most recent release, "Fli mayn flishlang" (Fly, Fly My Kite).