The Journals of Yaacov Zipper, 1950 1982: The Struggle for Yiddishkeit

Following his death at age eighty-three, it was discovered that for over three decades Yaacov Zipper had kept a journal. Replete with compelling character sketches of many of Montreals Jewish leaders, most of whom Zipper seems to have disliked, his diary provides a personal account of Montreals post-war years. A writer, lecturer, and community activist, Zipper was principal of the Jewish Peretz School from the 1920s until his death. His life was dedicated to keeping both the Yiddish language and the school alive - and every day of his existence, according to his journals, was a struggle to achieve those goals. While written as a personal diary, in truth this is the story of the sad but inevitable death of Yiddish Montreal. Providing a first-hand account of the Yiddish speaking immigrants who gave Montreal its unique vibrancy, the journals offer an invaluable description of an era that saw the community transformed from a raw immigrant population clustered in the working-class neighbourhoods along the Main to a largely English-speaking society living in the new middle-class districts in the western reaches of the city. Zippers commentary provides important insights on the passing of cultural Yiddishkeit and its replacement by what he saw as vacuous religiosity and empty materialism.