This past weekend I finished Aaron Lansky’s book Outwitting History. I found his prose that related the details of his twenty- year project to rescue Yiddish books a compelling tale.
I was so taken with all that Lansky accomplished, rescuing 1.5 million books- when early estimates predicted he wouldn’t find more than 70,000 titles- that I decided to visit the National Yiddish Book Center the same day that I finished his book.
I’ve lived in the Pioneer Valley for the past 8 years and while traveling through Hampshire College on the Five College bus system, I often passed by the Center. I assumed I’d always visit the Center, I just never made it.
Boy was I glad I have!
The design of the Center was designed according to Lansky’s narrative to resemble an Eastern European shtetl or village. The building is comprised of over a dozen smaller buildings whose pitched roofs do resemble the varied look of a village.
I was overwhelmed by the incredible history captured and preserved by Lansky and his crew of volunteers and supporters from 1980 on to the present.
As a visitor, I browsed through the stacks, peered into boxes delivered/donated to the Center that had arrived on the day of my visit. I saw the crate where Yiddish books from Zimbabwe traveled in to reach Amherst, Massachusetts. I saw Dr. Seuss books translated from English to Yiddish. I saw old advertisements in English selling Kosher foods and drinks.
For any bibliophile this book and a visit to the Center is a must!