So I just checked, yet again, and here’s exactly what Wikipedia says about the family of Solomon Rabinovich (aka Sholem Aleichem):
“In 1876, after graduating from school in Pereyaslav, he spent three years tutoring a wealthy landowner’s daughter, Olga (Golde) Loev (1865 – 1942).[4] On May 12, 1883, they married, against the wishes of her father. They had six children. Their son, Norman Raeben, became a painter and an influential art teacher and their daughter Lyalya (Lili) Kaufman, became a Yiddish writer. Lyalya’s daughter Bel Kaufman, also a writer, was the author of Up the Down Staircase, which was also made into a successful film.”
Even though one of Rabinovich’s daughters is listed in the “Further Reading” section as the author of a book called My Father, Sholom Aleichem, there’s nothing about this daughter in the section on his family, and there’s certainly no Wikipedia page for her!
And lest you think I rely too much on Wikipedia, note that the Jewish Virtual Library (& multiple other sources) say even less!
Yesterday I gave a presentation at Chicago Limmud called “Sholem Aleichem’s Women,” and I received wonderful feedback from an excellent and very attentive audience. In 3 weeks (on March 11th), I will give an updated version of this same presentation (incorporating feedback from the Limmudniks).
So very soon, my “new” information about Sholem Aleichem’s daughters will be posted on Wikipedia (& probably elsewhere as well), but I’m “planting a flag right now” so we can all remember how little anyone cared about any of Sholem Aleichem’s daughters before I made an issue of it.
More soon 🙂
Sounds interesting! Wish I was in Chicago to hear this at Limmud. I’ve just completed a short story collection that’s an homage to Sholem Aleichem and I’d love to know more of your research, learn more about les belles de S.A. Any chance you have a written text? Thanks,
Ellen Golub (elkele@gmail.com)
Sheynem Dank, Ellen. I appreciate your interest!
The 3/11/12 presentation @ KAMII (in Chicago) will be recorded and filmed, and I will post text at that time too.
Where are you writing from?
Zay gezunt,
Jan
i am Marie Waife Goldberg’s grandaughter
Wendy,
Your great-grandfather’s work has had an enormous impact on me– &, of course, the Jewish people. I would like to know more of what happened to your family, where people settled, how it feels to be an heir to such a legacy, how S.A. has impacted your life. What do you do?