MAY 4 • 2023 | 41

a Yiddish text that his wife’s 
family found written in the 
inside of a tallit or tefillin 
bag in fabric marker, and it 
was a Holocaust testimony. 
It was a story of somebody 
telling how that person 
survived the Holocaust. I was 
able to translate that.”
Pais-Greenapple, a Wayne 
State University graduate, 
has presented multiple 
lectures about his work and 
studies. One was for the 
Jewish Historical Society of 
Michigan at Berkley Coffee 
in Oak Park. Another was 
through a Limmud Michigan 
gathering at Wayne State 
University. Jewish Senior Life 
presented his program, as 
well.
He said the audience 
reactions were very positive. 
There were people who had 

grandparents involved in 
the Yiddish theater. 
“It was fascinating 
to hear about these 
experiences and make 
personal connections with 
these people,” said Pais-
Greenapple, who also has 
made and introduced 
short films. Incandescent 
Hearts, about a same sex 
couple, was screened 
at the Capital City 
Film Festival in 2019 
Lansing. 
“I’ve started writing 
scripts about Yiddish 
history, and one tells of 
a Jewish street musician,” he 
said. “The hope is to get it 
produced at some point. 
“I have a novel in the 
works about a Detroit Jewish 
family in the 1930s. It grew 
out of a fascination with 

stories that don’t 
get told. It brings various 
cultural elements of the 
times together,” added the 
versatile artist.
“Every so often, when I 
have time in my classroom, 

I teach my students about 
Yiddish. It’s a way to access 
my own history and help 
the children understand the 
significance of Yiddish in 
Jewish history.”
Pais-Greenapple’s fiancée 
is Hannah Mills, whom he 
met at the Yiddish Book 
Center. She works at the 
Zekelman Holocaust Center 
in Farmington Hills, where 
she helps train descendants 
of Holocaust survivors to 
speak at the museum.
“This is a way for stories 
still to be told,” he said. 
“Hannah is the grandchild of 
a survivor, so what she does 
is a mix between oral history 
and therapy.” 

A playbill from a 
Yiddish production 
by Mirele Efros

Yiddish. It’s a way to access 
my own history and help 
the children understand the 
significance of Yiddish in 
Jewish history.”

is Hannah Mills, whom he 
met at the Yiddish Book 
Center. She works at the 
Zekelman Holocaust Center 
in Farmington Hills, where 
she helps train descendants 
of Holocaust survivors to 

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