Hershl Hartman

Interview with Hershl Hartman, discussing his work as a Yiddish journalist, an educator in secular Yiddish-oriented schools, and a translator from Yiddish to English. Hershl Hartman was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1929. He has been a leader at the Sholem Community in Los Angeles for more than fifty years, serving as Education Director/Vegvayzer since 1967. Between 1967 and 1985, he was also the school’s principal. Hartman holds degrees in Secular Jewish education and in Yiddish journalism. As a younger man, he became the first American-born Yiddish newspaper reporter, having written for the Morgen Freiheit when it was a New York City daily with a print run in the thousands. In recent years, he has worked as a professional translator from English to Yiddish, translating both literary works, including poetry, and personal documents and correspondence. His literary translation work has appeared in the online Yiddish studies journal In Geveb (https://ingeveb.org/people/hershl-hartman), and he contributed to the translation of the book The Jews of Felshtin (https://felshtin.org/). The interview was recorded via Zoom on July 9, 2021.

• Music:
  • Lillian Lux: Vashtis Kloglid (with Mike Burstyn as narrator; lyrics by Itzik Manger)
  • Chava Alberstein Rabeynu Tam (lyrics by Itzik Manger)
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air Date: July 28, 2021