The Troublesome Aspect of the Sweetest Lullaby: The Racial Background of the Iconic Yiddish Song “Rozhinkes mit Mandlen” (Raisins and Almonds)
The Troublesome Aspect of the Sweetest Lullaby: The Racial Background of the Iconic Yiddish Song “Rozhinkes mit Mandlen” (Raisins and Almonds)
Author(s): Gil RibakSubject(s): Social Sciences, Jewish studies, Jewish Thought and Philosophy, Cultural Anthropology / Ethnology
Published by: Centre for Advanced Study Sofia (CAS)
Keywords: Yiddish; theater; literature; Jewish history; race; Blackness; Avrum (Abraham) Goldfaden; imagery; lullabies; Holocaust
Summary/Abstract: This paper examines one of the most popular songs in Yiddish culture, “Rozhinkes mit Mandlen” (Raisins and Almonds). Very few of the song’s enthusiasts know that the song is taken from a Yiddish play, where a laughable Black character appears before the song is performed. The paper focuses on the play’s representation of color and why this example is significant not only to the study of the dynamics of racism but is also essential for exploring cultures: how does one group of people imagine another group which it has never met, and what can we learn from it about the ways knowledge about race, hierarchy, and difference is created and transmitted?
Journal: CAS Sofia Working Paper Series
- Issue Year: 2026
- Issue No: 17
- Page Range: 1-12
- Page Count: 12
- Language: English
