- HomeHome
- New York's Yiddish Theater New York's Yiddish Theater
- Poland's Yiddish TheaterPoland's Yiddish Theater
- The Dybbuk and the Theater Museum The Dybbuk and the Theater Museum
- Visionaries of Poland's Yiddish Avant-GardeVisionaries of Poland's Yiddish Avant-Garde
- Literary Theater Troupes/Miniature TheaterLiterary Theater Troupes/Miniature Theater
- Yiddish Plays on Poland's Avant-Garde StageYiddish Plays on Poland's Avant-Garde Stage
- Translations and AdaptationsTranslations and Adaptations
- THE ERK Yiddish Theater Museum ( Warsaw 1926)THE ERK Yiddish Theater Museum ( Warsaw 1926)
- TimelineTimeline
- AboutAbout
The Vilna Troupe's Dybbuk
Title
The Vilna Troupe's Dybbuk
Subject
The Dybbuk has been referred to as the Romeo and Juliet of the Yiddish theater. It takes place in the towns of Brinnits and Miropolye around the turn of the century. At its core is the unspoken love between Khonen, a poor, orphaned yeshiva student, and Leah, the daughter of Sender, the town's rich man, who prepares to marry her into a still wealthier family. Amid fasting and kabbalistic manipulations designed to win the hand of his beloved, Khonen falls dead. As the wedding ceremony reaches its climax, Khonen's spirit enters Leah in the form of a dybbuk (a spirit, literally, a Hebrew loanword meaning to cleave) and refuses to leave. Teh Holy Mirpolyer Tsadik convenes a court before which Sender and the soul of Khonen are summoned. It emerges that when Khonen and Leah were yet unborn, their fathers pledged to marry them to each other. Sender begs forgiveness for his transgression of the oath, but his contrition is not accepted and the lovers will not part: Leah dies to be with Khonen.
From this tightly structured plot-line, An-ski weaves many threads of exposition and digression that include Hasidic lore and philosophy, and, through them, explores questions of divine justice and the redeemabilty of man. He also weaves in history and folk material that he, no doubt, amassed from the expeditions he lead through seventy towns and cities in the Ukrainian provinces of Volhyn, Podolia, and Kiev.
From this tightly structured plot-line, An-ski weaves many threads of exposition and digression that include Hasidic lore and philosophy, and, through them, explores questions of divine justice and the redeemabilty of man. He also weaves in history and folk material that he, no doubt, amassed from the expeditions he lead through seventy towns and cities in the Ukrainian provinces of Volhyn, Podolia, and Kiev.
Description
The Dybbuk has been referred to as the Romeo and Juliet of the Yiddish theater. Its takes place in the towns of Brinnits an Miropolye around the turn of the century. At its core is the unspoken love between Khonen, a poor, orphaned yeshiva student, and Leah, the daughter of Sender, the town's rich man, who prepares to marry her into a still wealthier family. Amid fasting and kabbalistic manipulations designed to win the hand of his beloved, Khonen falls dead. As the wedding ceremony reaches its climax, Khonen's spirit enters Leah in the form of a dybbuk (a spirit, literally, a Hebrew loanword meaning to cleave) and refuses to leave. Teh Holy Mirpolyer Tsadik convenes a court before which Sender and the soul of Khonen are summoned. It emerges that when Khonen and Leah were yet unborn, their fathers pledged to marry them to each other. Sender begs forgiveness for his transgression of the oath, but his contrition is not accepted and the lovers will not part: Leah dies to be with Khonen.
From this tightly structured plot-line, Anski weaves many threads of exposition and digression that include Hasidic lore and philosophy, and, through them, explores questions of divine justice and the redeemabilty of man. He also weaves in history and folk material that he, no doubt, amassed from the expeditions he lead through seventy towns and cities in the Ukrainian provinces of Volhyn, Podolia, and Kiev.
From this tightly structured plot-line, Anski weaves many threads of exposition and digression that include Hasidic lore and philosophy, and, through them, explores questions of divine justice and the redeemabilty of man. He also weaves in history and folk material that he, no doubt, amassed from the expeditions he lead through seventy towns and cities in the Ukrainian provinces of Volhyn, Podolia, and Kiev.
Rights
YIVO owns the compilation of content that is posted on this website, which consists of text, images, and/or audio, and video. However, YIVO does not necessarily own each component of the compilation. Some content is in the public domain and some content is protected by third party rights. It is the user's obligation to determine and satisfy copyright or other use restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in YIVO websites.
The materials on this web site may be used for personal, research and educational purposes only. Publication (including posting on the Internet and online exhibitions) or any other use without prior authorization is prohibited. Please visit https://www.yivo.org/Rights-Reproductions for more information about use of materials from this website.
YIVO has employed due diligence in seeking to identify copyright holders of the materials in this compilation. We invite any copyright owners who are not properly identified to contact us at yivomail@yivo.cjh.org.
Citation
“The Vilna Troupe's Dybbuk ,” YIVO Online Exhibitions, accessed April 20, 2024, https://strashunlibrary.yivo.org/items/show/2935.