Leybl Botwinik, Yetta Kane (Pt. 2)

• Leybl Botwinik is a writer of science fiction, poetry and songs (in both Yiddish and English) who grew up in Montreal’s vibrant Yiddish cultural scene. He is the son of the late Dovid Botwinik, a composer of Yiddish songs, music educator, and Yiddish activist, and the brother of Sender Botwinik, a Yiddish educator, choral director, and music producer. Now living in Israel, Leybl has passed on the Yiddish language and culture to his children. In this episode, he shares stories from his Yiddishist upbringing as well as personal experiences and reflections on the October 7 massacre. The interview was conducted via Zoom on May 30, 2025 (Erev Shabbos/Shvues).

• Rebbetzin Yetta Kane, a Holocaust survivor, grew up in Miadziol (Yiddish: Miadl – מיאַדל), a small town in Belarus. She recounts memories of her childhood and how her family survived the Holocaust by hiding in the forests of Belarus with the partisans. Yetta and her late husband, Rabbi and Cantor David Kane, co-authored the memoir How to Survive Anything: The Life Story of David and Yetta Kane. This is Part 2 of our interview, recorded at her home in the Los Angeles area on April 8, 2025. Part 1 aired on April 23, 2025.

• Music:

  • Chava Alberstein: Friling
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS from Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air Date: June 11, 2025