Help produce a lost Jewish song!
Donation protected
Born in the small Romanian village of Romoli in 1922, my grandmother, Rachel, lived quite a life. Growing up in pre-Holocaust Transylvania, she was one of few family members to survive the horrors of Auschwitz and the Nazi Death Marches, to return to Viseu de Sus, Romania, to marry and start a family. Yet more persecution lay in store under the Communist regime, eventually leading her family to Israel, where she would live until her passing in March 2017.
In her later years, my grandmother would start to speak of her childhood in rural Romania. Among the stories retold, was a song: a timeless piece of Jewish folk culture dating back to a world that is lost. This Yiddish song, "In Vilden Vald" ("In the Woods") tells the story of a lost lamb, searching through the harsh wilderness for its mother and comforting home. The verses, equating the lamb with the Jewish People and their eternal quest for tranquility in the Land of Israel, illustrate the everlasting hope and faith that were characteristic of so many generations of Jews, both of Europe and around the globe.
After extensive online research, I was unable to find a reference to this song anywhere else in the world. A simple recording from my grandmother's kitchen is the only remnant of this music and what it represents. This piece of Jewish folk history danced with death at Auschwitz, and survived to be renewed and revived.
With your support, I would like to have the song professionally arranged, produced, and recorded to be distributed to the world. Hiring musicians and a producer, and paying for studio time can be cost prohibitive. Additionally, I will commission new verses, in the original Yiddish as well as Hebrew, to represent the Jewish people's return to their Land, symbolizing that the hope of the lost generations is not lost, but alive and thriving!
I would be eternally grateful for any support in making this project a reality. Not only does such an undertaking have tremendous historical and cultural value, but it would be such a meaningful way to honor my grandmother's life and legacy. Thank you all for your support and encouragement, and I can't wait to share the final product!
In her later years, my grandmother would start to speak of her childhood in rural Romania. Among the stories retold, was a song: a timeless piece of Jewish folk culture dating back to a world that is lost. This Yiddish song, "In Vilden Vald" ("In the Woods") tells the story of a lost lamb, searching through the harsh wilderness for its mother and comforting home. The verses, equating the lamb with the Jewish People and their eternal quest for tranquility in the Land of Israel, illustrate the everlasting hope and faith that were characteristic of so many generations of Jews, both of Europe and around the globe.
After extensive online research, I was unable to find a reference to this song anywhere else in the world. A simple recording from my grandmother's kitchen is the only remnant of this music and what it represents. This piece of Jewish folk history danced with death at Auschwitz, and survived to be renewed and revived.
With your support, I would like to have the song professionally arranged, produced, and recorded to be distributed to the world. Hiring musicians and a producer, and paying for studio time can be cost prohibitive. Additionally, I will commission new verses, in the original Yiddish as well as Hebrew, to represent the Jewish people's return to their Land, symbolizing that the hope of the lost generations is not lost, but alive and thriving!
I would be eternally grateful for any support in making this project a reality. Not only does such an undertaking have tremendous historical and cultural value, but it would be such a meaningful way to honor my grandmother's life and legacy. Thank you all for your support and encouragement, and I can't wait to share the final product!
Organizer
Aaron Tessler
Organizer
Washington D.C., DC