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Lesson 2 of 8·Sholem Aleichem’s Tevye the Dairyman

Making the Center Hold

By introducing the character of Menachem Mendl into Tevye’s world, Sholem Aleichem prompts us to ponder everything from the nature of modern capitalism to the defiant optimism of the Jews.

Taught By

Ruth R. Wisse
Ruth R. Wisse is professor emerita of Yiddish and comparative literatures at Harvard and a distinguished senior fellow at Tikvah. Her memoir Free as a Jew: a Personal Memoir of National Self-Liberation, chapters of which appeared in Mosaic in somewhat different form, is out from Wicked Son Press.

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1 of 8 The Creation of Tevye

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Making the Center Hold

Taught By

Ruth R. Wisse

1 of 8 The Creation of Tevye

2 of 8 Making the Center Hold

3 of 8 Today’s (Modern) Children

4 of 8 Assault: Revolution

5 of 8 Assault: Intermarriage

6 of 8 Assault: Materialism

7 of 8 America: The False Hope

8 of 8 Conclusion: Lekh-Lekho

1 of 8 The Creation of Tevye

2 of 8 Making the Center Hold

3 of 8 Today’s (Modern) Children

4 of 8 Assault: Revolution

5 of 8 Assault: Intermarriage

6 of 8 Assault: Materialism

7 of 8 America: The False Hope

8 of 8 Conclusion: Lekh-Lekho

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