Di zogerin

"No, I say — enough is enough!" After years of being shafted socially and economically by her community, a zogerin (women's prayer leader) finally cracks, turning her talent for oratory into a biting condemnation of the hypocrisy of the women around her.

It was an honor to bring Rokhl Brokhes’ short story to life through voiceover and image with the Congress for Jewish Culture.

A hartsikn dank to Irena Klepfisz for thinking through the text with us over Zoom; Annabel Cohen for sharing research on women's religious practice in Eastern Europe; Abigale Riesman for graciously jumping in to record the beautiful violin solo; Malky Goldman for gentle and thoughtful coaching; Uri Schreter for everything from mic consultations to editing and assembling to composing; and akhren akhren khovev, Shane Baker for... nu, alts!

The “vaybershul” still from the film will be displayed in the Yiddish Book Center’s new permanent exhibition (Yiddish: A Global Culture) beginning October 15th, 2023. You can also read more about the film in the Forverts.

For more about zogerins, see:

• “Leybeshekhe the 'Cemetery Jewess' of Kremenits” (Annabel Cohen)

• “The Zogerke’s Vort” (Dalia Wolfson)