Beit Sholem Aleichem, Cultural center in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Beit Sholem Aleichem is a Yiddish culture center at 5 Berkovich Street in Tel Aviv, named after the Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem. The building, completed in April 1966, was designed by architect Uriel Kahana, who was married to the writer's granddaughter. It holds lecture halls, a library, exhibition rooms and Sholem Aleichem's archive of about 8,000 letters to and from him, manuscripts of several of his works, and over a century of criticism and research on his writing.
In 1961 a public committee set up in New York by the Jewish Workers' Committee, at the initiative of Sholem Aleichem's son-in-law Yitzhak Dov Berkowitz, resolved to build the house in Tel Aviv and aimed to raise $100,000. The cornerstone was laid on 27 April 1964 and the building, designed by architect Uriel Kahana, who was married to Sholem Aleichem's granddaughter, opened on 15 May 1966 with President Zalman Shazar present. Tel Aviv paved the street beside it for the occasion, later named Berkowitz Street.
The center's name honors Sholem Aleichem, and its archive holds about 8,000 letters to and from him plus manuscripts of several works. Since the early 2000s it has run over twenty Yiddish courses a year, from beginner level to advanced literature, alongside concerts, song evenings and performances by its own cabaret troupe, Esters Kabaret.
The center offers Yiddish language instruction and is accessible by public transportation. Visitors should check in advance what exhibitions and programs are currently running to plan their visit effectively.
The building was designed by architect Uriel Kahana, who was married to Sholem Aleichem's granddaughter. Its archive holds about eight thousand letters written by and to the writer, manuscripts of several of his works, and over a century of criticism and research on his writing.
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