Kasrilevka or Kasrilevke ( yi, קסרילבקה, קאסרילעװקא) is a fictional '' shtetl'' introduced by a

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

author Sholem Aleichem. Located "exactly in the middle of that blessed

Pale Pale may refer to: Jurisdictions * Medieval areas of English conquest: ** Pale of Calais, in France (1360–1558) ** The Pale, or the English Pale, in Ireland *Pale of Settlement, area of permitted Jewish settlement, western Russian Empire (179 ...

", it is an idealized town of "little Jews" (''die kleine mentsheleh''), who met their misfortunes with humor and the ultimate belief in justice. It has become an archetype ''shtetl''. Other famous imaginary places of Sholem Aleichem are Yehupetz (for

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

) and Boiberik (for Boyarka)."Signposts to the Middle of Nowhere"
'' The Forward'', March 17, 2010 The name of the ''shtetl'' is derived from the Yiddish word ''kasril'' / ''kasrilik'', an optimistic pauper, as Sholem Aleichem wrote: "However, there is still another name – kasril, or kasrilik. That name is spoken in a different tone altogether, almost a bragging tone. For instance, "Oh, am I ever a kasrilik!" A kasrilik is not just an ordinary pauper, a failure in life. On the contrary, he is a man who has not allowed poverty to degrade him. He laughs at it. He is poor, but cheerful."Sholom Aleichem
"The Town of the Little People"
/ref>

Dan Miron Dan Miron ( he, דן מירון, born 1934) is an Israeli-born American literary critic and author. An expert on modern Hebrew and Yiddish literature, Miron is a Professor emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is currently the Leonar ...

remarks that it is based on the Hebrew name Kasril or Katriel ( " God is my crown " or " God surrounds and supports me " ) The prototype of Kasrilevka was a Ukrainian town of Voronkov of the Russian Empire (now village , Ukraine), where Sholem Aleichem grew up.

, "The Literary Image of the Shtetl", ''Jewish Social Studies'', New Series, Vol. 1, No. 3, 1995, pp. 1-43, The town continues the tradition of humorous Jewish towns, such as the fictional Chelm of the " Wise Men of Chelm" popularized by Isaac Bashevis Singer and Kabtzansk "Kabtzansk" is loosely meaning "Pauperville", from yi, קבצנ, "pauper", "beggar" of Mendele Mocher Sforim. A detailed glimpse at Voronko, the prototype of Kasrilevka, may be found in ''Funem Yarid: lebns-bashraybungen'' ( yi, פונעם יאריד, "Back from the Fair: Descriptions of Life," 1915) - the unfinished Sholem Aleichem's autobiographical novel. ''Fumen Yarid'' describes not a real Voronkov, but something resembling Kasrilevka.

makes a comparison of the real Voronkov from the memoir ''My Brother Sholom Aleichem'' of writer's brother Wolf Rabinovich , with its fictionalized image. Early Sholem Aleichem's feuilletons published in ''Dos Yidishe Folksblat'' in 1886-1887 anticipated Kasrilevke.

Stories involving Kasrilevka

Kasrilevke is the place for numerous author's novellas, short stories, sketches and plays and its description, rich in detail, was a considerable part of his work. *'' Dreyfus in Kasrilevke'' (1902) *''A Yom Kippur Scandal'' *''

Motl, Peysi the Cantor's Son ''Motl, Peysi the Cantor's Son'', subtitled ''The Writings of an Orphan Boy'' (מאָטל פּייסי דעם חזנס; כתבֿים פֿון אַ ייִנגל אַ יתום — ''motl peysi dem khazns; ksovim fun a yingl a yosem''), is the last n ...

'' *''The Town of the Little People'' *''Kasrilevka'' was the title of the 1935 collection of Sholem Aleichem's stories printed in Yiddish in Moscow *"Der Zeyger" (1900; "The Clock That Struck Thirteen," 1900) *"Kasrilevker Tramvay," "Kasrilevker Hoteln," "Kasrilevker Restoranen," "Kasrilevker Vayn un Kasrilevker Shikirim," "Kasrilevker Teater," "Kasrilevker Sreyfes," and "Kasrilevker Banditn" (" Tram," "Hotels," "Restaurants," "Wine and Drunkards," "Theater," "Fires," "Bandits,") collected in English as ''A Guide to Kasrilevke, 1973) *"Ven Ikh Bin Roytshild" (1902; "If I Were

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

", 1979) *"Oysgetreyselt" (1902; "A Yom Kippur Scandal," 1979) *''Inside Kasrilevke'' translated by Isidore Goldstick (1948) includes:Review of ''Inside Kasrilevke'', Literary Essays and Reviews: Collected Works of A.M. Klein, edited by Usher Caplan and M.W. Steinberg, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2019, pp. 67-70. **''Dos Naye Kasrilevke'' (New Kasrilevka) **''Kasrilevke Nisrofim'' (The Burned-Out People of Kasrilevke) **''Kasrilevke Moshav Z'kenim'' ( Home for the Aged in Kasreilevke) *Relatives of Tevye the Dairyman, including his wife Golde and their distant relative

Menachem-Mendl ''Menahem-Mendl'' ( yi, מנחם מענדל) is a series of stories and in Yiddish by Sholem Aleichem about hilarious exploits of an optimistic ''shlemiel'' Menahem-Mendl, who dreams of getting rich. They are presented as an exchange of letters b ...

hail from Kasrilevka, as hinted in the story "Eighteen from Pereshchepena".''Tevye the Dairyman and The Railroad Stories'', 2011,
"Eighteen from Pereshchepena", p. 24
/ref> *''The Further Adventures of Menachem-Mendl: (New York—Warsaw—Vienna—Yehupetz)''

Notes

References

{{reflist Fictional populated places in Russia Shtetls Sholem Aleichem