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GAIL ZIMMERMAN
Arts Entertainment Editor
CANDLE #1:
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In the history of the Jewish people,
Yiddish has served as far more than a
way to communicate. The language
has linked Jews with their past, their
spiritual universe and their far-flung
family members.
In her book, Yiddish: A Nation of
Words (Streerforth Press; $26),
Miriam Weinstein has written a pop-
ular history of Yiddish that spins a
tale nothinc, short of miraculous: the
saving of a people through speech.
"For a thousand years, this was the
standard Jewish story," she writes.
"Yiddish was the secret handshake,
the golden key. It was the language
that defined a world and a people.
Yiddish means 'Jewish.' Its words
were, simply, the sound of Jewish
life."
CANDLE #2:
FOR THE HISTORY BUFF
The three-volume The Encyclopedia
of Jewish Life Before and During the
Holocaust (New York University
Press; $395/$325 if ordered before
12/31/01) chroniCles the people,
habits and customs of more than
6,500 Jewish communities that
thrived in the early part of the 20th
century. Forever changed by the
Holocaust, these communities range
from small villages to large urban
centers.
Based on research conducted by
Yad Vashem and incorporating the
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Weinstein's history ranges far
beyond Europe. The story she tells
moves through North America to
Israel to the Russian-Chinese border,
and from the end of the first millen-
nium of the Christian era to the pres-
ent day.
The Massachusetts-based first-time
author grew up the Bronx post-World
War II, where Yiddish was common
fare. She is a former documentary
filmmaker and now a freelance jour-
nalist.
work of 80 international scholars, the
encyclopedia is condensed from the
original 30-volume Hebrew edition.
It contains 600 photographs and
illustrations, 17 pages of maps, a
chronology and an index of commu-
nities.
"Each community had its own
characteristics and problems, its
roots, its challenges and its ambi-
tions," writes Elie Wiese] in the fore-
word. "To understand the extent of
the unprecedented crimes committed
against the Jewish people in Europe is
not enough, one must also seek to
understand the life of this people
before the catastrophe."
Editor in chief Dr. Shmuel Spector
is the former secretary general of Yad
Vashem and is currently director of
the Encyclopedia of Jewish
Communities project at Yad Vashem.