WHO WAS SHALOM ALEICHEM?
The most beloved of modern Jewish writers, Sholem Aleichem developed a literary style and an approach to life that became so popular many readers assumed it was the style of Jewishness itself. Born Sholem Rabinovitch in 1859, in a small city in Ukraine, he adopted the pen name Sholem Aleichem a term of democratic greeting that extended welcome to readers of all ages, regions, and persuasions. The 1880s when he began publishing were years of mass Jewish migration and socio-political upheaval. The author was part of that process of change. But his humor seemed to suggest that Jews were sufficiently resilient and essentially united to weather all storms and outmaneuver all enemies.
