6: Nonfiction excerpt, Ruth Wisse's “I. L. Peretz and the Making of Modern Jewish Culture,” 1991.

6: Nonfiction excerpt, Ruth Wisse's “I. L. Peretz and the Making of Modern Jewish Culture,” 1991.

From resource kit: I. L. Peretz's "Bontshe the Silent"

In this excerpt from her book on Peretz, professor Ruth Wisse describes how over the course of the 20th century, some Jewish readers, including her own mother, viewed Bontshe positively.

Suggested activity: Read the excerpt. Discuss: according to Wisse, why did Jewish readers see Bontshe fondly? How do you feel about interpreting Bontshe as a “model of humility”?

Source: Ruth Wisse, I. L. Peretz and the Making of Modern Jewish Culture (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1991), 51.