Boston Workmen’s Circle Fetes Historic Publication

Members of the Boston Workmen’s Circle community came together on the evening of April 12 for a launch party to celebrate the organization’s publication of Mitchell Silver’s The Veterans of History: A Young Person’s History of the Jews.  

The first publication of the Boston Workmen’s Circle in its over 100-year history, this 336-page work covers a broad sweep of Jewish history from Biblical times to today, providing the historical basis for an exploration of Jewish identity rooted in Jewish cultural literacy and traditions of social justice. The title of the book, The Veterans of History, is taken from a quote from Jewish historian Simon Dubnow, who perished in the Holocaust.

As Education Director of the Boston Workmen’s Circle I.L. Peretz School (popularly known as “the Shule,” Yiddish for school) for nearly two decades, Silver felt the need for a history of the Jews which reflected progressive and universalistic values and beliefs, while remaining deeply Jewishly-committed. Aimed at early teens, The Veterans of History was written to meet that need.

The launch party brought out a cross-section of the Boston Workmen’s Circle community, from Shule students and their parents, to longtime members who helped revitalize the organization a quarter-century ago.  The Workmen’s Circle, founded in 1900 by Yiddish-speaking immigrants, is a national organization “passionately committed to the principles of Jewish community, the promotion of Jewish culture, and the pursuit of social justice.” The Boston Workmen’s Circle Center for Jewish Culture and Social Justice, located in Brookline, maintains a vibrant community life, of which the Shule is an integral part.

Boston Workmen’s Circle President Rosa Blumenfeld opened the evening. Said Blumenfeld, “The Boston Workmen's Circle is delighted to publish The Veterans of History as our very first book. Mitchell Silver, the former director of our Shule, is a brilliant educator and we are lucky to have him as a member of our community. As secular, progressive Jews, The Veterans of History is an invaluable tool to pass on the history of the Jewish people to the next generation.”

Silver gave a reading from The Veterans of History followed by an extended Q&A session. Silver alternately had the audience in stitches (including a memorable anecdote revealing Hilary Clinton’s true identity as a Yiddish-speaking childhood playmate from East New York), and fully engaged in serious discussion of historiography, how to select what to include in a work of history, and writing for a young adult audience. Silver’s background as a professor of philosophy was evident when he spoke of the challenge of identifying historical truth.

The Veterans of History has drawn favorable attention from Jewish educators. Said Dr. David Gordis, President Emeritus of Hebrew College: “… Mitchell Silver has written a rich, lively and informative brief history of the Jewish experience which can be read usefully by readers of all ages. Silver is a liberal and a secularist who clearly loves Jewish community and culture and cares deeply about all people. He is scrupulously objective in describing the triumphs and tragedies of Jewish history from its beginnings to the present, including religious, political, cultural and social dimensions. This is the work of a consummate ‘storyteller’ in the best sense.”

Said Rabbi Moshe Waldoks of Temple Beth Zion in Brookline “Mitchell Silver’s wonderful and engaging summary of the history of the Jews is a useful tool to reach out to our youngsters. I will be recommending it to our b’nai mitzvah as part of their preparation.”