Lea Koenig and Yaniv Goldberg on Yiddish Theater

Interview with Lea Koenig (ליאַ קעניג), one of Israel’s most beloved stage actresses, together with Yaniv Goldberg, author of The Stage of Her Life: Conversations with Actress Lea Koenig on Theater and Her Life.

The program focuses on Koenig’s long career in Yiddish theater as well as Israeli Hebrew-language theater, TV and film. Born into a Yiddish theatrical family, Koenig became known internationally for her work in both Yiddish and Hebrew. Goldberg’s book, published in late 2025 by Academic Studies Press of Newton, Massachusetts, grew out of years of conversations with Koenig about her life, her artistry, her Yiddish background and her central place in Israeli cultural life.

Dr. Yaniv Shimon Goldberg is a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University and an expert on the Yiddish language and Jewish theater. He is also a rabbi, attorney, theater director and scholar of law and theater whose work includes research on legal issues in Yiddish drama. Goldberg's reading of brief excerpts from his introduction to the book (in English) are interspersed at a couple of points during the interview.

The interview included actors and Yiddish activists Mikhl Yashinsky and Hy Wolfe as special guest co-hosts. We did the interview on Zoom on May 6, 2026. Yaniv and Lea participated from Lea's home in Tel Aviv; Mikhl was on tour in Australia; and Hy was at his home in New York City.

• Music
  • Lea Koenig: Hulyet Hulyet Kinderlekh (recorded live in 1989)
  • Lea Koenig: Dray Tekhterlekh (recorded live in 1989)
  • Lea Koenig: Afn Pripetshik (recorded in 2023)
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air date: May 27, 2026