(Jewish Group) The Yiddish professor and female Orthodox rabbi sharing Yiddish children's literature

[Behind the Aegis]

The Yiddish professor and female Orthodox rabbi sharing Yiddish children’s literature with the world

A jack of many trades is sometimes a master of them all

Speaking with Miriam Udel, the Yiddish professor at Emory University in Atlanta who is reacquainting the world with Yiddish children’s literature, you quickly notice something remarkable. In one moment she sounds like a literary scholar and in the next, a Talmudic sage. It’s not all that surprising considering her background: Udel has a doctorate from Harvard University in comparative literature and rabbinical ordination from an orthodox yeshiva.

Yiddish speakers often say: “A sakh malokhes, veynik brokhes,” meaning that a jack-of-all-trades is typically blessed with few successes in life. Udel’s career runs contrary to the proverb. Her expertise in Talmud adds depth to her work on modern Yiddish children’s literature, and her academic training informs her rabbinical interpretations.

But what led an Orthodox Jew to embrace Yiddish children’s literature’s secular and leftist values? And how did an avowed feminist not only end up on the women’s side of the mechitza but become one of fewer than 100 orthodox female rabbis?

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Want a real challenge? Here's the article in Yiddish!