How to Remember the Shoah
Almost unimaginably, the writer Aharon Appelfeld, who survived the Shoah as a child, put love at the center of his memory of that time: For
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On “The Work-Room, L’Atelier”: Yaron Elyakim, Michael Handelsaltz
‘Sensitive direction […] The director’s main achievement is in her discrete work with the group of actresses, who succeeded under her guidance to create, not
On “In the Bloom of Her Days”: Idit Zartal, Michael Handsaltz, Tzafrira Levine-Nir
Most attempts to translate Agnon into the language of theatre have so far ended in some degree of failure. In most cases, quiet, intimate reading
Larger than Life
You don’t see many books these days like Pinchas Govrin’s We Were As Dreamers. At a glance the book looks foreign on a local bookshelf;
Selichot in Krakow: Migrations of a Melody
The only one of my mother’s melodies to remain is the sing-song of the shamash from the Rem’uh [Rabbi Moses Isserles] Synagogue in Krakow, as he
Between Two and Four
Every day between two and four the little girl was left by herself. The first few moments of those two hours—hours that would soon
Love on the Shore: Reviews
Le Figaro: “Impeccable playwright that she is, Michal Govrin has created an inevitable love storm. Each character is a prisoner of his or her personal
The greatest pleasure in working in the theatre – is involvement with human beings…
A chamber play, involving only two actors […] is difficult by its very nature to decode onto the stage. In this too, Michal has succeeded
The Emigrants in the Jerusalem Khan
The human tragedy of exile is presented here in the gloomy corner of a dank basement. Each of the characters has his own reason for
Extracts from reviews on The Name by: Aharon Appelfeld, The Providence Journal, David Rosenberg, Grace Shulman
Aharon Appelfeld: “Govrin has done something many have tried but could not accomplish: writing about a religious experience in an authentic religious language, a full
What’s in a Name
What does it mean to repent? According to R. Joseph Soloveitchik’s Halachic Man, repentance is “the severing of one’s psychic identity with one’s previous ‘I,’
Some Reflections on Transmitting the Memory of the Shoah and its Implications, Particularly in Israel
Introduction I would like to thank Prof. Saul Friedlander for his bountiful lecture and to personally thank him for agreeing to come as the guest
The Case of the Jewish Biography
Coming from Israel, where the genre of biography is much less popular, almost nonexistent, in comparison with the phenomenon in the United States, I feel
Review by KIRKUS
A sophisticated Paris-based architect faces emotional and professional obstacles when she returns to her native Israel with her two young sons to work on a
Ha’aretz newspaper Week’s End review
‘snapshots’The concept of the shmita – the sabbatical year if the land – as a utopian, innovative notion is central to Michal Govrin’s novel ‘Hevzekim’
Press Release
“While always dynamic and compelling, Snapshots also breaks through to introspection, subtle feelings, and the explosion of stereotypes, offering us a new understanding of Israel,
A conversation with Michal Govrin, author of SNAPSHOTS
1. Both Ilana’s father and your father were pioneers of the state of Israel, and Ilana’s father’s writings in the book are based on your
The Blessed Choice of Uncertainty
The last few years have seen the growing use of the term “narrative”. The word “narrative” has become so common that there is almost no
Utopia’s Double Life
Michal Govrin’s new book joins Smadar Hartzfeld’s novel Inat Omri, 1994, and Ronit Matalon’s novel Sarah, Sarah, 2000, which focus on a love affair between
Where are the individual voices?
Discussions will soon be held on modernizing and renovating the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, built immediately following World War II. After returning from there last
Stephane Moses – Le Passeur Among the Ruins
I’m moved to be part of these two days dedicated to Stephane Moses, who was, for me, a major teacher, and a very close friend.
Excerpt from: Israeli Poetry as Prayer
From protesting God’s injustice to blaspheming is but a small step. Michal Govrin’s 1995 novel, Hashem (The Name), is one long prayer by Amalia, a
Hold On to the Sun Reviews
The Feminist Press, NY, 2010. This is a strong, brave and ever-shifting book – essays that trace the powerful narratives of family, history, and memory,
“Exile” by Frederic Brenner
Introduction “Exile” was read while on a journey. My journey vis-a-vis Frederic Brenner’s journey into Exile. And like every journey, at least on the surface,
Devari-m Series (In Hebrew)
Editors: Michal Govrin and Menachem Lorberbaum Carmel Publishing House and “Halamish” Association, Jerusalem The following were published in the Devari-m Series:
The Harvest of Folie
The 7 Beggars companyAn adaptation of Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav’s tales Directing and adaptation: Michal GovrinProduction: Judith Graves MillerMusic: Daniel ShalitSet and costumes: Abraham Pincas, Joelle
Hitkansut for Yom HaShoah
As the generation of Holocaust survivors passes, we must find new, meaningful ways to commemorate the Shoah. Similar to the Passover seder, Hitkansut is guided
The Condemned Man’s Bicycle
Translated and directed by: Michal Govrin Set: Moshe Sternfeld Cast: Neta Plotzky, Yosi Ronen, Roby Frid, Gadi Breyer, David Menachem
“Gog and Magog” – Laboratory Work
The creating artists: Michal Govrin – establishment of the Gog and Magog laboratory, writing and directingFrida Klepfholtz – design and presentationOrna Millo – installation and
In Search of the Story
I. Blind Date I first met Shlomith in the Fall of 1976 at café Savion in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Rehavia. It was a blind
Variations on Morning
The first part of the show consists of two short plays by Samuel Beckett: Breath and An Act Without Words No. 2The second part of
Mercier and Camier
Hebrew Translation: Mulli Meltzer Adaptation and Directing by: Michal GovrinSet and props: Doron LivneCostumes and props: Anat PalenkerLighting: Ben-Zion MunitzMovement: Raffi GoldwasserPoster & Programme Design:
The Seder of This Night
Organized the Seder of the night: Frida Kalpholz, Michal Govrin, Doron Livne, Orna MilloSet the table: Frida KlepfholzIlluminated the Seder: Alan BachinskyOrganized the music: Steven
The Journey of the Year
Performance – students of the theater department of the Hebrew University, in collaboration with the Khan Theater Department of Theatre in The Hebrew University, Jerusalem
But There Was Love: Shaping the Memory of the Shoah (in Hebrew)
What is the role of the memory of the Shoah in the face of a changing present? How can we shape it as a social
In the Bloom of Her Day
Directed by: Michal GovrinSet: Frida Goldberger-KlapholtzMusic: Max SternCostume: Judith WestmorPerformed by: Rachel Levi “In the Bloom of Her Days” is a theatrical adaptation of one
Love on the Shore (in French and German Translation)
During a summer in the early sixties, in a disco on the Ashkelon beach, three people fall in love. Esther, who was educated in a
Happy Days
Hebrew Translation: Mulli MeltzerDirecting: Michal GovrinSet and Costumes: Frieda Klapholtz, Doron LivneLighting: Avi Tzabari cast: Winnie: Hana MeronWillie: Uri Levi In “Happy Days”, one of
We Were As Dreamers (In Hebrew)
Edited by: Michal GovrinIntroduction by: David Assaf In Pinchas Govrin’s (1904 – 1985) memoir, We Were As Dreamers, the story of one family caught in
Facing Evil – Thoughts on a Visit to Auschwitz
Discussions are currently underway about restoring the Auschwitz Museum, which was established on the grounds of the concentration camp two years after World War II.
The Journey to Poland
In late October 1975, when I was in my early twenties and completing my doctorate in Paris, I went to Poland. An almost impossible journey
The Work-Room, L’Atelier
Translated and directed by: Michal GovrinSet: Moshe SternfeldCostumes: Genia MalkinMusic: Josef TalLighting: Michael Lieberman The Cast: Leon: Shmuel SegalHelen: Rachel ShorSimone: Dalia FriedlandMadame Laurence: Ada
The Emigrants
Directed and translated by: Michal GovrinMusic: Joseph TalCostume and set: Moshe SternfeldLighting: Ben-Zion MonitzMotion: Rut Ziv-Eyal Cast:Shabtai Konorty -AAAvinoam Mor-Haim -ZZ The time is the
The Work-Room, L’Atelier
Translated and directed by: Michal Govrin Set: Moshe Sternfeld Costumes: Genia Malkin Music: Josef Tal Lighting: Michael Lieberman The Cast: Leon: Shmuel Segal Helen: Rachel
Words’ Bodies (In Hebrew)
Words’ Bodies I say tree, sap, leaves’ noise, wind’s dryness through needles, earth in straw, a crumb from the furrows I say piece of sky,
That Very Hour (In Hebrew)
The poems in “That Very Hour” exist on the border between reality, thought, and feeling. The material manifests while traveling through intimate, or very foreign,
Hold On to the Sun
A richly varied collection of short stories, legends, a novella, and essays. In this portrait of the artist as a young woman, Michal Govrin offers
Body of Prayer
Jacques Derrida, Michal Govrin, David Shapiro Design: Kim Shkapich Read and download the full book The “Advanced Concepts” course has been an integral component of
The Passion of Jerusalem (in Hebrew)
At the heart of the Jerusalem myth lies passion: the figure of a woman and the man who chooses her out of the intensity of