==The Dybbuk==

===General Background===

Scene from the 1937 film "The Dybbuk"

The Dybbuk, or Between Two Worlds, was a play written by Yiddish author S. Anski in 1914. The play explores the concept of the dybbuk, a Yiddish possessing spirit believed to be the soul of a dead person. Considered a crucial play in the development of Yiddish theatre, The Dybbuk was based off the research of S. Anski as he traveled to Jewish shtetls in Russia and Ukraine and recorded the folk tales and stories he heard during his travels. The play was later adapted into a film in 1937, which became one of the most popular Yiddish films ever made ((Greenspoon, 1998)).

===Plot Summary===

"The Beggars Dance" - Scene from "The Dybbuk"

Sender is a rich merchant whose daughter, Leah’le, falls in love with Hannan, a scholar. Sender, however, prefers a rich suitor for his daughter instead of Hannan. Hannan then studies the mystical arts of the Kabbalah in desperation. When it is announced that a suitable man for Leah’le has been found, Hannan suddenly drops dead. On her wedding day, Leah’le goes to a graveyard to invite the spirit of her dead mother to attend the wedding. She is drawn to Hannan’s grave

and suddenly feels different after leaving the graveyard. Under the wedding canopy, she then suddenly cries to her fiancé “You are not my bridegroom!” She then rushes back to the graveyard to the graves of a bride and groom who were murdered before their wedding. She opens her mouth and a man’s voice begins to speak, saying “I have returned to my predestined bride, and I shall not leave her.” The Dybbuk has possessed her. Leah’le visits the home of a Hassidic sage who attempts to exorcise the dybbuk, but after several failed attempts, she asks the chief rabbi of the city for help. The chief rabbi arrives and begins to desecribe a dream he had, where Nisn, the dead father of Hannan, demanded that Sender be called upon the rabbinical court. The court is prepared and a chalk circle is drawn on the floor. The sprit of Nisn appears within the circle. Nisn speaks to the rabbi and describes a very old pact made between Sender and himself that their two children would get married in the future. Sender, however, broke the pact by denying Hannan his daughter’s hand in marriage. The rabbis attempt to rectify this by ordering that Sender must give away half of his possessions and money to the poor. The dybbuk, however, does not acknowledge this. As most of the crowd leaves to prepare for the wedding, Leah’le stays behind within the chalk circle of protection. Hannan’s image appears before her, and she leaves the circle, which offered her safety, in order to be with her lover. It is assumed that she dies as well when she leaves the circle and joins Hannan in death ((Greenspoon, 1998)).

Click here to learn about Yiddish literature in New York