Sholem Aleichem

Monument and Prize

There are solid reasons to believe that Sholem Aleichem, our Yiddish classic writer, deserves far more attention than he has received. His collected works were never published in a full academic edition; his archives were never systematically researched and catalogued. Even his comprehensive and accurate biography has not been written yet. By his efforts, Dr. Mark Zilberquit, a public figure and a publisher, hopes to initiate the complex and long process of filling these gaps.

Two charity foundations established and led by Dr. Zilberquit, the Heritage Projects Foundation (USA) and the Yiddish Culture Preservation Foundation (Israel), in cooperation with the Tel Aviv University (TAU), are currently working on two relatively short-term projects that will, hopefully, signal the beginning of taking Sholom Aleichem’s name to a new level. A monument dedicated to this great writer is planned to be erected on the university’s premises, and an international literary prize named after him is to be established.

The Monument

According to the plan, the campus of the Tel Aviv University is going to be adorned by a replica of Sholem Aleichem’s statue created by Yuri Chernov (original family name Opendak), a renowned Russian sculptor of Jewish background. The original sculpture is located in the historical Jewish quarter of Moscow, near the old Polyakov Synagogue (now remodeled and known as the Bolshaya Bronnaya Synagogue) and the former building of the GOSET Theater, where plays based on Sholem Aleichem’s works, directed by Solomon Mikhoels, were staged up until the theater’s closure in 1948. 

Choosing the Tel Aviv University is not a coincidence. It is home to the Jona Goldrich Institute for Yiddish Language, Literature and Culture, and of the Museum of the Jewish People (ANU), where a unique archive related to Solomon Mikhoels (The Zuskin Collection) is stored.

Erecting a monument of Sholem Aleichem may be viewed as a kind of epigraph to our entire project of preserving the Yiddish culture and paying, at the same time, a tribute to its past. As for now, TAU is certainly one of the main modern research centers of Yiddish literature in the world. The university has regular language courses and organizes annual Yiddish festivals, which include conferences, lectures and concerts gathering thousands of participants.

This monument should become a dominant symbol of the entire complex dedicated to the Jewish and Yiddish tradition – from its past to its ongoing development. It should be viewed not just as a physical bronze-made tribute to the great writer, but as a symbol of his eternal memory, of his works, as a starting point of organization and expansion of educational, scientific and literary programs and awards, which may include scholarships for students of various levels (from bachelor to PhD programs), who dedicate their studies to Sholem Aleichem’s legacy and to other Yiddish writers, as well as for authors of new original Yiddish works.

Sholem Aleichem Prize

Besides scholarships and grants, we are planning to establish an international literary prize named after Sholem Aleichem. This award will be given for achievements in writing Yiddish texts belonging to three separate nomination fields: original literary works, series of journalist articles and literary studies. For this purpose, we are planning to organize special juries at the Tel Aviv University.