A Bintel Brief
Encyclopedia
A Bintel Brief was a Yiddish
advice column. It printed a reader's question (without showing their name) and posted an answer meant to help others as well. The column was started by Abraham Cahan
the editor of Der Forvertz ("The Forward
") in 1906. Yiddish, bintel means "bundle" and brief means a "letter" or "letters".
It was a part of some people's lives to such an extent, much as is radio, television, etc. today, that it has been the subject of books, essays and a Yiddish play. Much as "to Xerox" could be described as a commoditization of a trademarked name, the term "A Bintel Brief" has been known to be used as a generic description.
The original printed Yiddish format continued at least until 1970, but it still lives on, albeit in a different language and format.
Yiddish language
Yiddish is a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages...
advice column. It printed a reader's question (without showing their name) and posted an answer meant to help others as well. The column was started by Abraham Cahan
Abraham Cahan
Abraham "Abe" Cahan was a Lithuanian-born American socialist newspaper editor, novelist, and politician.-Early years:...
the editor of Der Forvertz ("The Forward
The Forward
The Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...
") in 1906. Yiddish, bintel means "bundle" and brief means a "letter" or "letters".
It was a part of some people's lives to such an extent, much as is radio, television, etc. today, that it has been the subject of books, essays and a Yiddish play. Much as "to Xerox" could be described as a commoditization of a trademarked name, the term "A Bintel Brief" has been known to be used as a generic description.
The original printed Yiddish format continued at least until 1970, but it still lives on, albeit in a different language and format.