Bel Kaufman Granddaughter of the great Sholom Aleichem Date of Birth: 10.05.1911 Country: USA

1. Biography of Bel Kaufman
2. Childhood Memories
3. Knowledge of the Holocaust
4. Writing Career
5. Sholom Aleichem Foundation
6. Sholom Aleichem Readings
7. Revival of Yiddish
8. Uniting Jews Worldwide
9. Secular and Orthodox Jews
10. Sholom Aleichem's Descendants

Biography of Bel Kaufman

Bel Kaufman, the granddaughter of the great Sholom Aleichem, is the main character of our conversation. We discussed her life and work, her views, as well as her close and distant relatives who continued the legacy of Sholom Aleichem. Bel, who has been living in America for over 80 years, still retains the language of her Odessa childhood. However, she asked me to correct her "terrible Russian" when publishing the interview and complained that she loves the Russian language but has no one to speak with. She feels like she is forgetting it. Bel will turn 92 in May.

Childhood Memories

Bel was born in Berlin, and when she was three years old, her family moved to Odessa. She vividly remembers the revolution in 1917 when she was eight years old. She saw a frozen and dead man on the street in a strange position. The next day, his boots were gone, and on the third day, his pants disappeared. Such things happened frequently, and they no longer surprised Bel. She also remembers waiting in line for green bread made from peas because there was a shortage of flour. Another memory is when she was pushing her baby brother in a stroller, and two young women in leather jackets, known as "new women," took the stroller away, leaving Bel with her brother in her skinny arms, saying, "We also have children!" She walked home crying so much that her brother's blanket became wet. When her mother asked what happened, Bel replied, "They also have children!"

When she was twelve years old, her family emigrated to America, and she had to quickly learn English as she was placed in a first-grade class with six-year-olds.

Knowledge of the Holocaust

During World War II, Bel was already married to Mr. Goldstein. They had two children: Jonathan, born in 1942, and Tia, which means goddess in Latin, born in 1944. She lived a different, American life and had limited knowledge of the tragedy of the Jewish people and the Holocaust. The only source of information for her was the American newspapers.

Writing Career

Bel started writing at a young age. Her first poem, titled "Spring," was published in the Odessa children's magazine "Kolokolchiki" when she was seven years old. She then wrote a long prose drama at the age of nine. In America, she wrote love poems in English, similar to what many of her peers were writing at that time. In high school, she wrote for the school magazine, and in college, she wrote for the college magazine. Her short stories were later published in popular publications, including the well-known men's magazine "Esquire." She was the first woman to be published in that magazine. Since then, she has been writing under the name Bel.

One of her most famous novels, "Up the Down Staircase," was an accidental creation. She never intended to write novels but focused on short stories and teaching English and literature. However, a magazine editor invited her for lunch and suggested she write a novel based on one of her short stories. Initially, she refused, but the publishing company offered her an advance, and she needed the money as her mother was dying of cancer. She took the advance and quickly spent it. Left with no choice, she started writing the novel. She never expected it to become such a success and was even afraid that she would be fired from her university job for mocking the administration in the book. However, it was the opposite. One day, she woke up famous, and the novel, published in 1964, is still in print today.

After "Up the Down Staircase," she wrote her second novel, "Love, etc," thirteen years later. She believes it is even better than her first novel and explores different aspects of love. The novel had a large print run but did not reach the seven million copies of "Up the Down Staircase."

Bel also became a lecturer and popularizer of literature. She discovered her talent for public speaking and found that people were interested in hearing her. She often spoke about her grandfather and his works.

Sholom Aleichem Foundation

"Sholom Aleichem Foundation" was established after Bel married Sydney Gluck, who became the president of the foundation. The foundation popularizes, translates, and publishes Sholom Aleichem's books, including small and affordable books in English. The foundation also organizes Jewish festivals in various cities and countries. They recently organized a festival in Kiev, with another one planned in Paris and Prague.

Sholom Aleichem Readings

The Sholom Aleichem Readings, which used to be held in Bel's apartment, now take place in a synagogue, allowing anyone interested to attend. Bel hopes that the tradition of the readings will continue as long as the Sholom Aleichem family is alive.

Revival of Yiddish

Bel believes that there is hope for the revival of Yiddish. Yiddish theater and Yiddish classes are still present in America, and many universities teach Yiddish as well. In Israel, Yiddish was abandoned in favor of Hebrew, but now more Jews are sending their children to schools where Yiddish is taught. Bel herself studied Yiddish in school when she arrived in America. However, she admits that she is not a prophet and doesn't know what the future holds for the language.

Uniting Jews Worldwide

Bel is unsure how it is possible to unite Jews scattered around the world and believes it is something to dream about.

Secular and Orthodox Jews

Bel believes that being a true Jew does not require praying every morning or having a kosher kitchen. These are just rituals. What matters is feeling like a Jew and knowing Jewish culture, literature, and history.

Sholom Aleichem's Descendants

Bel shares stories about her relatives, the descendants of Sholom Aleichem. Her mother, Lilia Kaufman, was also a writer, publishing over a thousand stories in the newspaper "Forverts." Bel's father, Mikhail Kaufman, was a doctor who also wrote poetry and translated Sholom Aleichem's works. Bel's daughter, Tia, was a ballet dancer but chose to pursue a career in psychology. Her son, Jonathan, is a renowned mathematician and professor at Penn State University. He has a daughter who is also a mathematician and teaches at a university in Ohio.

Bel's brother, Sherwin, started writing songs after retiring from medicine. His son, Kennon, is a lawyer, and his other son, Keith, is a doctor. Bel's Aunt Ernestina was married to Berkovich, who translated Sholom Aleichem's books into Hebrew. They had a daughter named Tamara, who worked as a translator and was an active contributor to the Sholom Aleichem Museum in Tel Aviv. Unfortunately, Tamara passed away around six years ago.

Bel also talks about her relatives in Denmark, the children and grandchildren of Emma, another daughter of Sholom Aleichem. Her nephews, Emet and Herz, are involved in the theater, with Herz being a famous writer and playwright. Her niece, Rosa, previously worked in the theater but now wants to become a teacher. All of them have children of their own.

Finally, Bel mentions her younger sister, Marusi, who lived in New York and took care of the children in the family. Marusi played a significant role in Bel's life, and she has fond memories of her.