Anna Sheldon

Item Information

Title:
Anna Sheldon
Description:
Anna Sheldon, retired elementary school teacher and native Yiddish speaker born in Warsaw, Poland, was interviewed by Jessica Parker on March 12, 2013 in Boca Raton, Florida. Anna begins the interview discussing her family background. She explains that her mother came from a large prominent, and religious family in Warsaw, Poland. Their surname was Klipfiscz and many members of the family were rabbis; most of the family perished in the Holocaust. On the other hand, she doesn’t know much about her father’s family except that he was the youngest from a large family. She reminisces about her mother whom she describes as “very learned and very ahead of her time,” recalling how her mother spoke eight different languages, knew virtually almost everything about Jewish life and history, and served on many different committees. She also recalls her mother’s emphasis on giving, citing the example of the annual Seder (a Jewish ritual service and ceremonial dinner for the first night or first two nights of Passover) in her family having more than fifty participants despite the family being very small. Anna then moves on to discuss her family and childhood. Although she was born in Poland in 1935, Anna was raised in the United States, growing up in New York City before moving to Miami, Florida at the age of nine. Describing her home as “very Jewish,” Anna relates how she, her parents, and grandmother, all spoke Yiddish at home. She tells a particular story of how when she was a young girl she told her mother in Yiddish: “the school children won’t play with me; I don’t understand English!” Anna also discusses attending a Workmen’s Circle Yidishe Shule in New York City and how that was “very normal.” She then moves on to talk about feeling unique among her peers as a Yiddish speaker growing up in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Miami where hardly anyone except her family spoke Yiddish. Her parents, whom she describes as liberal and European, are the main reason for her being grounded in Yiddish and being steeped in Yiddishkeit (Jewishness or Jewish way of life). She also discusses the importance of the holidays, Jewish food, and going to shul being an important of her growing up. Anna shares a particularly funny and insightful story of how Rabbi Lerman at Temple Emmanuel, would prostrate himself on the bema (pulpit in a synagogue from where the Torah is read) during the Yom Kippur services. Anna further discusses the impact the Holocaust had on her family and how, following in her mother’s footsteps, she is also very active within the Jewish community of Miami. She shares a particular story of her and her mother encountering a rich Yiddish scene in Toronto in the 1990s when traveling with the National Council of Jewish Women. She also explains how she works with the Holocaust Documentation Center in Miami to teach schoolchildren about the Holocaust and the importance of combating hate and prejudice. For her it is important that her own grandchildren know and be proud of their Jewish heritage and take an active stand against prejudice. Toward the end of the interview she reflects on the role of Yiddish in her life and offers advice for future generations of Yiddish learners. For Anna, Yiddish is a significant part of her Jewish identity. She states, “I learned Judaism through Yiddish.” She ends the interview admitting that she doesn’t see a rosy future for Yiddish based on the almost non-existent presence of Yiddish in,Miami, but believes it is important to study Yiddish and encourages younger generations to do so. To learn more about the Wexler Oral History Project, visit: http://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/tell-your-story To cite this interview: Anna Sheldon Oral History Interview, interviewed by Jessica Parker, Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History Project, Boca Raton, Florida, March 12, 2013. Video recording, https://archive.org/details/AnnaSheldon12march2013YiddishBookCenter ( [date accessed] )
Creator:
Yiddish Book Center (Emily B.)
Date:
March 12, 2013
Format:
Film/Video
Location:
Yiddish Book Center
Collection (local):
Oral Histories
Subjects:
Yiddish Book Center
National Yiddish Book Center
Wexler Oral History Project
Nybc
Ybc
Yiddish
Jewish culture
Advice
Family history
Stories about ancestors
Childhood
Jewish Identity
Yiddish language
Yiddish learning
Yiddish revival and activism
Immigration
Migration
Hebrew
Theater
Music
Press
Radio
Career and Professional Life
Jewish professions
Holocaust
Education
Religion and ritual
Family traditions
Jewish holidays
Israel
Zionism
Eastern Europe
United States
Canada
Summer camp
Food and culinary traditions
Transmission
Roots/heritage
Anti-Semitism
Jewish community
Travel
Anna Sheldon
Warsaw
Poland
Toronto
New York
Miami Beach
Heschl Klipfiscz
Yitzhak Klepfiscz
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
National Council of Jewish Women
Holocaust Documentation Center
1940s
1930s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
Reform
Conservative
Reconstructionist
Federation
Jewish Book Festival
Link to Item:
https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org/collections/oral-histories/interviews/woh-fi-0000388
Terms of Use:
Rights status not evaluated.
Contact host institution for more information.
Language:
English