SOURCE: Madison, Charles A. “Isaak Laybush Peretz: The Father of Modern Yiddish Literature.” In Yiddish Literature: Its Scope and Major Writers, pp. 99-133. New York: Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1968.

In the following essay, Madison focuses on Peretz's major works, also discussing the themes Peretz explored in his stories and poems.

There are evidences that Peretz's family was one of the Sephardic group of Spanish Jews who settled in Poland not long after their expulsion in 1492. His immediate ancestors were anti-Hasidic, and a number of them were scholars and businessmen of high repute. Although his parents were not as wealthy as their predecessors, they adhered to the family's charitable tradition.

Isaak Laybush, born in Zamoscz in 1852, received the usual training in Hebrew lore. Bright and thoughtful, he in his early teens exhibited feats of learning that gained him the plaudits reserved for a prodigy. Even at this time he...