Tevye the Dairyman by Sholem Aleichem

Between Two Worlds: Exploring Jewish Culture and Religion through Yiddish Literature

Join Tommy Archuleta to discuss Scholem Aleichem’s Tevye the Dairyman. In Scholem Aleichem’s will, he wanted people to read his books in whatever language they felt comfortable with on the day of his death, May 13th. We will discuss how this book is relevant to us today in our community. A copy of the book will be provided to early registrants. Please register below.

Tevye the Dairyman by Sholem Aleichem

Of all the characters in modern Jewish fiction, the most beloved is Tevye, the compassionate, irrepressible, Bible-quoting dairyman from Anatevka, who has been immortalized in the writings of Sholem Aleichem and in acclaimed and award-winning theatrical and film adaptations.

And no Yiddish writer was more beloved than Tevye’s creator, Sholem Rabinovich (1859–1916), the “Jewish Mark Twain,” who wrote under the pen name of Sholem Aleichem. Beautifully translated by Hillel Halkin, here is Sholem Aleichem’s heartwarming and poignant account of Tevye and his daughters, together with the “Railroad Stories,” twenty-one tales that examine human nature and modernity as they are perceived by men and women riding the trains from shtetl to shtetl.

Tommy Archuleta works as a therapist at The Life Link, a community mental health center that serves the homeless and migrant populations of Santa Fe. His poems have appeared in many literary journals and, Susto, his full-length debut collection, published by the Center for Literary Publishing, is a 2023 Mountain/West Poetry Series title. Archuleta is also Santa Fe’s seventh poet laureate, serving throughout 2024 and 2025 respectively. 

Presented as part of the Yiddish Book Center's Public Libraries Program, in partnership with the ALA and funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. Made possible by the Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library.

The Yiddish Book Center’s Public Libraries Program brings Yiddish literature in translation to public libraries across the United States to deepen their engagement with Yiddish literature and Jewish life, religion, and culture, and to foster vibrant cross-cultural dialogue and discussion in their communities.   

Each year, the Center works with 40 libraries in communities across the United States. The current theme is Between Two Worlds: Exploring Jewish Culture and Religion through Yiddish Literature. Visit yiddishbookcenter.org.

The Friends of the Santa Fe Public Library is an independent non-profit organization whose mission is to support the public library by providing funding, advocacy, programming, services, and materials that enrich the diverse community it serves. Visit santafelibraryfriends.org.

For accommodations such as translations, ASL interpreters, or disability needs, please email library@santafenm.gov or call the Library.