A not so dead language: Olga Miekeszczuk performs Yiddish concert in Jerusalem - review

Olga (Avigail) MieleszczukZionist Confederation HouseJerusalemJuly 4

Well before her July 4 concert, the name Olga (Avigail) Mieleszczuk caught the attention of music lovers in Jerusalem, which made up the full house that attended her appearance at the Confederation House in Jerusalem last week.

A venue for multi-cultural events, the Confederation House advertised the event in the Hebrew press, and Mieleszczuk was interviewed in the Hebrew press and in The Jerusalem Post’s local publication, In Jerusalem.

It was not so much Mieleszczuk’s name that caught the eyes of readers, but the name of the program, which was written in Yiddish.

Although the letters of the Yiddish alphabet are identical to those of the Hebrew alphabet, the written languages of the two are different. Yiddish is written phonetically – Hebrew is not. Thus the title of the program, “A Maydele Fun Poilin,” (“A Little Girl from Poland”) practically leapt out of the page.

What was intriguing for many was the fact that Mieleszczuk is a Catholic-born convert to Judaism who has not only picked up the nuances of Yiddish expressions and body language, but also speaks fluent Hebrew without a trace of a Polish accent. 

Accompanied by a three-piece klezmer-style band with which she has a genuinely fond rapport, Mieleszczuk also proved her merit as a narrator, instrumentalist, actress, and dancer. 

Reminiscent of Warsaw Jewish cabaret singers

Her performance was reminiscent of Warsaw Jewish cabaret singers of the 1930s who can be seen in a fascinating ongoing film about pre-war Jewish Warsaw at the Kibbutz Lohamei Hagetaot museum.

The kibbutz this year celebrates the 75th anniversary of its establishment. Its key founders were survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto. As it happens, Mieleszczuk was born and raised in Warsaw.

Her performance, especially when she dances in one spot, is reminiscent of that of veteran male Yiddish singer Mendy Cahan, who uses very similar choreography and flails his arms in the same movements as Mieleszczuk.

But she can do far more acrobatics with her voice – even to the extent of sounding like a nightingale or a deep-throated Yemenite vocalist.

Mieleszczuk started her recital with the perennial favorite Itzik Manger’s “Oifn Veg Shteyt a Boim” (“On the way stands a tree”), which before she sang, she read a Hebrew translation of the lyrics. But once she started singing, the audience was with her all the way, mouthing the words and swaying in time to the melody.

When she sang more lively songs adapted from Polish and Ukrainian folk songs, most of which were familiar, they cheered and clapped in time to the music, just like “teeny boppers,” though the average age was around 80.

This says a lot about the importance of Yiddish to people of the third age of European extraction. Confederation House is far from the easiest place to get to – and the fact that they made the effort speaks volumes.

Because of the date, Mieleszczuk wanted to include a number that would honor American Independence Day, and before she even named it, there were American immigrants in the audience who instantly shouted “Bei Mir Bistu Shein,” which was sung by the Barry Sisters. Curiously, no one mentioned Sophie Tucker’s famous rendition of “My Yiddishe Mama.”

Mieleszczuk sat that one out while pixie-like violinist Aliza Keren, with a big grin on her face, did the honors. The other highly talented members of the band were wind instrumentalist Ittai Binnun and accordionist Artem Nizhnik.

It was over, all too soon.

Mieleszczuk is a multi-talented performer, and the audience simply couldn’t get enough of her. She returned to the stage for a one-song encore, which she had sung earlier in the evening. 

Yiddish has been eulogized for decades as dead or dying, but to paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of its demise are premature. 

There are places where Yiddish theater and Yiddish concerts are attended by audiences who are much younger than 80, and people are still writing Yiddish books and poems. Mieleszczuk’s performance added to the idea that Yiddish is still a living and breathing language.