Description
Tsena u-rena is a book for family reading, the most famous book in Yiddish. The title is the first words of a verse from the Song of Songs: “Arise and watch, daughters of Zion.” The retelling of the text of the Torah (Pentateuch) is intertwined with commentaries, numerous parables and tales taken from midrashim, the Talmud and subsequent Jewish literature. The simplicity and unpretentiousness of the style, the peculiar rhythm and penetration of the feeling contributed to the fact that Tsena u-rena became a popular folk book for family reading. She became the ruler of the thoughts of the Jewish woman, her guide and mentor, acquainted her with the traditions and faith of the people, with the entire inner spiritual world of Jewry. For a long series of generations there was no Jewish home where Tsena u-rena was absent, and every Sabbath a Jewish woman read aloud to her children about the great events of the past and the wise teachings of the great in the people of Israel.
