I Read That Movie @ the Library: YENTL

For March, our "page-to-screen" book club, I Read That Movie @ the Library, is reading the Isaac Bashevis Singer short story "Yentl the Yeshiva Boy," which was first published in 1962 in the Jewish cultural magazine Commentary. Participants are invited to read the story, then come for a screening of the 1983 film adaptation Yentl, produced, directed by and starring Barbara Streisand. The movie won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), and Streisand became the first woman to be nominated for and to win the Golden Globe for Best Director.

The story is about a young woman in early 20th century Poland who wants to escape marriage and the roles normally thrust upon women in her culture. Yentl seeks to pursue religious studies, including texts ordinarily off-limits for girls and women, which she was secretly taught by her recently deceased rabbi father. To achieve her goal, she dresses in her father's clothes, adopts the name Anshel, and goes off to study in yeshiva, a school of Jewish learning.

The story is available online through the following link, and hard copies are also available for pickup at the Humanities Desk on the 2nd floor of the Central Library: Yentl the Yeshiva Boy, A Story

The screening (including popcorn, drinks, and other snacks) will take place on March 29 at 2:00 p.m. in Room L-56, followed by a discussion about the story and the film. Even if haven't read the story, you are welcome to join us to watch the movie and participate in the conversation!