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”A poignant look at the trials and triumphs of young love in the shtetl. Jacob Dinezon’s lyrical story brings this bygone world to life.“ —Maggie Anton, author of Rashi’s Daughters.

When Hershele, a poor but brilliant yeshiva student, is invited for a weekly charity meal by a rich widow, he comes face-to-face with Mirele, the widow’s pretty, bright, and strong-willed daughter. As the two innocently come to know each other, they fall in love.

Are they ”bashert“—soul mates destined to be together? Or will rigid class differences, shtetl politics, and a ruthless marriage broker tear them apart?

This bittersweet love story, written in 1891, provides a vivid and insightful exploration of our great-grandparents’ lives in 19th century Eastern Europe: how they lived, how they loved, and how they tried to remain faithful to their Jewish way of life in the face of modern ideas and a changing world.

Jacob Dinezon (1852?-1919) is considered the “Father of the Jewish Realistic Romance.” Translated from the Yiddish by Jane Peppler and edited by Scott Hilton Davis.

Paperback, Jewish Storyteller Press, 2016

9780979815676

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