Discussing FEAR by Chana Blankshteyn
- Yiddish Shmoozers in Translation
- Apr 7
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 18
SUNDAY, 4/19/2026, 3:00-5:00 PM PACIFIC
What makes the story Fear frightening in itself? How could it have been written so that it would have been less frightening?
What are your thoughts about the last line in Fear: "With every limb and all his senses, he understood the value, the enormous singular power of being, of naked being. . .?"
What does the title mean to the story Do Not Punish Us?
If you recall the stories of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, can you interpret the story Do Not Punish Us as if it were one of his tales but from a feminist point of view?
The First Hand can be thought of as both realistic and redemptive. Can you talk about these two dimensions and their interplay?
What is the relationship between Communism and Hasidism in the story The Decree? Could it be considered a Hasidic story?
In the story, Director Vulman, why does Director Vulman kill himself?
Choose a story to discuss from among Who?, An Incident, Colleague Sheyndele, and Our Courtyard. Why did you select it?
How do the writing of Chana Blankshteyn and Fradl Shtok compare in style, content, and effect upon you as a reader?
Do you agree with the anonymous blurb writer on Amazon (see below) concerning the stories in Fear that "the history may be specific, but the emotions are universal?"
"The nine stories in this volume take place primarily in Vilna, as well as various parts of Europe. As if presaging what was to come, World War I and Russian civil wars are the backdrops to these stories, as Jews and non-Jews find themselves under German occupation or caught up in the revolutionary fervor that promised them much and took away almost everything. . . . The history may be specific, but the emotions are universal." (Amazon.com)
"Chana Blankshteyn almost didn’t make it. Until translator Anita Norich discovered one of only two surviving copies of her book, Blankshteyn (1860?–1939), née Schur, was virtually unknown. Before the Holocaust she had been a writer and activist of some renown, writing fiction as well as essays on political, social, and cultural themes in her native Vilna. Born the youngest child of a wealthy family, she was educated in French and German and studied in Germany and France. She was married and divorced twice, the second time to a diamond merchant with whom she had two children and lived for a time in Kiev. During the First World War she served as a nurse in the Russian army and at age 60, impoverished, she moved back to Vilna where she began writing in Yiddish, a language she had to learn for the purpose. Most of her known work dates from this period". . . . (Yiddish Book Center)
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