Calumet Editions

The Inheritance (Yurusha)

Author:

As a boy, Elliot Rosen watched his grandfather write and sketch in secret Yiddish journals—then the book vanished after his death. Decades later, it resurfaces through family hands, shadowed by silence and sudden loss. Now married, Elliot takes responsibility to translate it, revealing Yisroel Ayzik Rosen’s remarkable immigrant survival story: tearful, funny, uplifting, and ultimately spiritual.

a story of struggle, hope and faith

—Sheila Klige review on Amazon

Description

A young boy, Elliot Rosen, watched his Zayda (grandfather) writing in Yiddish and drawing pictures with his fountain pen in a book that was kept hidden and secret. After his Zayda’s death in 1948 the book was kept from the young boy’s eyes. In 1960, when the boy’s Bubba (grandmother) died, the book was taken by the boy’s oldest uncle Max, and no one wanted to talk about it. In 1979, Uncle Max gave the book to his youngest brother, Dave (the boy’s father), and the next day, Max died. The young boy, now a married man, took the book and made it his responsibility to get it translated. Now, after many decades, Elliot Rosen has been able to bring the amazing story of survival and life’s journey of Yisroel Ayzik Rosen (Israel Rosen) to the public. This extraordinary work about a man whom Neal Karlen describes as a mensch in the book’s brilliant foreword, might only be one man’s story, but it is also every immigrant’s story in one way or another. It is tearful, painful, and sometimes depressing, yet funny, uplifting and ultimately spiritual.

Product Details

PublishedSeptember 25, 2023
ImprintWisdom Editions
LanguageEnglish
Print length310
ISBN-13978-1960250988
Dimensions6 x 0.78 x 9 inches

Here is the honest, unvarnished story of a life of great challenges and great joys. Israel’s voice comes through the pages to touch the reader’s heart.

—David Wolpe, Max Webb Rabbi Emeritus of Sinai Temple, Los Angeles, California

A remarkable man… a gifted storyteller. I think historians will welcome this account of one immigrant Jew’s struggles to make it in the new land… I have never read anything quite like this diary.

—Arnold Eisen, Chancellor Emeritus and Professor, The Jewish Theological Seminary

This is the diary of a Jewish newcomer to America in the early 1900s. Israel Rosen details the struggles and successes of leaving the Ukraine and finally settling in Philadelphia with his family. Now, over a hundred years later, his grandson Elliot Rosen had the diary translated for all of us.

—Janet Merran, verified review on Amazon

The Inheritance is a story of struggle, hope and faith. Israel Rosen, a Jew, was born in the Ukraine in the later part of the 19th century. He experienced antisemitism, poverty and a constant battle to improve the lives of himself and his family, even though he experienced illness most of his life. I felt that Israel was sitting right beside me telling me about his life. I laughed and I cried. P.S. The book has a happy ending!

—Sheila Klige, verified review on Amazon

Authentic and genuine in both the story and the writing style you’ll get a true sense of times gone by. The story touches on every human emotion from pain to pride as Israel journeys through his life from his childhood in Ukraine to his adult life in the United States. Met with constant obstacles he is determined to live a life of values—consciously grateful for what he has.

—Leah R, verified review on Amazon