Dream Apart

By benjamin rosenbaum The Overview

Dedicated to Avraham & Hanalee Lampert, Avraham & Basha Gelman, and Michael Dream Apart gives us demons and wedding jesters; betrothals and pogroms;
Rosenbaum, who left the shtetl; and to those they left behind. mystical ascensions and accusations of murder; rabbis’ daughters running away
to be actresses or bandits or boy soldiers; the sounds of the shofar ringing
A game of belonging outside belonging through cramped and muddy streets, of cannon fire, of the wolf’s footfalls in the
Illustrations by Ezra Rose snowy pine forest; asking “What do you do next?”
Released 2018
In Dream Apart you play a Jew of the shtetl, a little mostly-Jewish market town
Dream Apart was written on the ancestral lands of the Piscataway; and also in the Eastern European countryside. In the cities, the industrial revolution has
in Europe, on lands that have welcomed a tapestry of shifting peoples since begun. Prussia, Russia and the Hapsburgs have devoured the small countries
Paleolithic times. between them. Surrounded by an often hostile Christendom, by wild forests
in which anything might creep, and by the invisible creatures of the Unseen
World—angels, demons, ghosts, and dybbuks—we Jews of the shtetl try to
outwit or outlast those who would do us harm. We feud and reconcile, bargain
and gossip, celebrate and mourn, and snatch a little joy and love while we can.
Life in the shtetl is sweet as raisin pastries and bitter as horseradish: may it be the
Divine Will that it endures another season...

Jewish fantasy of the shtetl.

Immerse yourself in a fantastical version of history.
Content warnings: violence, war, oppression, anti-Semitism.
For 3-6 players across 3-4 hours.
 Dream Apart

Welcome to The
SHTETL
Circle 2 BLESSINGS
friends among the peasants, a bustling market,
a favorable imperial decree, wise sages,
visionary leaders, a sympathetic goyish priest,
a secret benefactor, holy relics, fellowship,
solidarity, an unprecedented opportunity,
leverage with the nobles, robust health

Circle 3 CURSES
hauntings, oppressive laws, ritual humiliations,
a pogrom brewing, demonic possessions, bandits,
war, plague, a murder, famine, crop failure,
dissension, false accusations, confiscations,
conspiracies, something monstrous

Scrawl notes as you need.

Draw a map to the right.

some things you might draw

the market square, the main synagogue,
the breakaway chassidic synagogue,
the inn and its stables, the mikveh,
the goyish church and its churchyard, the mill,
the peasants’ huts, the road to the manor,
a garrison, the borders of the wild forests
 Dream Apart Choose a Name Tips
♀ Khaya, Malka, Rayna, Shifra-Tzirel, Taibeleh • Find people in their moments of weakness or
Introducing the ♂ Khaim, Meishl, Sholom, Yosl, Zalman need, and offer them costly bargains.
• Explore deviance, debt, and secrets.

sorcerer
Choose A Look & an outlook • Make your character fallible and relatable.
calculating eyes, dead eyes, arresting eyes,
charming eyes, earnest eyes, terrified eyes Lure
Whenever someone tells you a secret that gives you
The world teems with spirits. They whisper in our ears pious, tormented, cynical, Lurianist, Frankist, leverage over them, they gain a token.
— devils that tempt us, angels that soothe, ghosts Sabbatian
that hunger to seize back life. Everyone hears the
whispers, whether they know it or not. The Sorcerer Choose an origin story
whispers back. witch’s apprentice, got the better of a bargain, SPEND A TOKEN
followed a false messiah, born with the gift, Strong Moves
The Sorcerer is an unnerving individual. a dead twin’s whispers, danced with Lilith • Get out of harm’s way.
Their power is mysterious, fraught, and otherworldly. • Move unseen.
Choose 2 of the unseen whose • Discover a secret name, human or otherwise.
names you know • Compel obedience with a secret name.
the tempting whisperer, the protector in childbirth, • Forgive someone who wronged you.
the ghost of the miller’s wife, the record-keeper,
the thieves’ helper, the prince of fire, a pagan faerie, • Ask “What do you secretly desire right now?”
the red-winged poisoner, the finder of the lost • Ask “What do you wish I would do next?”

choose What The Spirits Regular Moves

revealed to You • Take action, leaving yourself vulnerable.
the murderer’s name, the abbot’s plot, • Stare into someone’s eyes without blinking.
the time and manner of your death, • Listen in on the gossip of spirits.
a spell for inducing passion, the rebbetzin’s secret vice, • Make a powerful bargain with demons or ghosts,
the coming massacre, the heretical truth with a terrible or unexpected price.
• Seek intimate seclusion with someone.
Choose 2 shtetl relationships
the Rabbi fears you, the Rebbe enjoys your company, • Ask “Who longs for you?”
a lover spurned you, the goyishe peasants come to you, • Ask “What price would you pay for that?”
your estranged spouse despises you, Gain A TOKEN
a rival mystic challenges you Weak Moves
• Provoke others’ enmity, suspicion, or distrust.
Choose one to ask left • Reap the consequences of meddling with the
• What secret did I learn about you yesterday? Unseen World.
• Why do you seek my help, and what are you • Invite a spirit to possess someone you care about.
play to find out afraid it will cost? • Tell someone your secret name.
Will you redeem others, or lead them to ruin? • Give in to fear, greed, or malice, to your peril.
What price will you pay for the knowledge you seek?
Where do your obsessions come from? • Ask “What makes me vulnerable in this situation?”
 Dream Apart Choose a Name Tips
♀ Bayla, Dvorl, Gittel, Zelda, Zusa • Use social power, reputation, and charisma to put
Introducing the ♂ Faivish, Velvel, Yonah, Zusman yourself in the center of the action.
• Sometimes take foolish risks, unpopular positions,

matchmaker
Choose A Look & an outlook and reckless gambles.
laughing eyes, sharp eyes, resentful eyes, rueful eyes, • Make your character fallible and relatable.
sparkling eyes, eyes that dissect pretense
Your game: reconciling irreconcilable demands, turning Lure
goats into darlings, knowing everyone’s price and romantic, skeptic, opportunist, haredi, pietist, Musar Whenever someone relies on you to mediate a
everyone’s vice! Let the rabbis of the bet din pontificate: dispute or secure their happiness, they gain a token.
it’s the gossip of the market square and the mikveh Choose 2 useful allies
which is the shtetl’s lifeblood… and you own that. a crafty apprentice, a lovestruck blacksmith,
giggling schoolgirls with inquisitive ears,
The Matchmaker is a persuasive individual.
the rebbetzin, a wealthy merchant
Their power is social, material, and contingent. SPEND A TOKEN
Strong Moves
Choose 1 that you lack and • Get out of harm’s way.
desperately want, and 1 that • Persuade mutually hostile groups to ally for now.
you have in abundance • Alter the shtetl’s opinion of something.
true friends, wealth, learning, a reputation for piety, • Forgive someone who wronged you.
a clear conscience, faith in the World to Come, • Fall out of love.
self-control, true love, self-respect
• Ask “What is your greatest fear?”
choose what they call you • Ask “Who or what do you secretly love?”
behind your back
a humorless prude, an indulgent fool, Regular Moves
a sucker for any pretty face, vulgar and unrefined, • Take action, leaving yourself vulnerable.
miserly and cruel • Know the value of something.
• Poke your nose into other people’s business.
Choose 2 shtetl relationships • Make introductions and manage clients.
the rival matchmaker is out to ruin you, • Cave to someone’s demands.
your sister knows your secret,
your daughter is in love with a goy, • Ask “What do you need right now?”
your son was drafted by the czar,
you owe the miller money Weak Moves Gain A TOKEN
• Alienate and make enemies of people
Choose one to ask left • Stubbornly refuse to reconcile, at significant cost.
• How has our relationship changed recently? • See one of your schemes go terribly awry.
• Why have I been sizing you up lately? • Accidentally encounter the Unseen World.
play to find out • What have you been trying to persuade me of? • Fall in love. (While in love: desperately avoid doing
What threatens the shtetl’s peace, and your role? anything that would dismay your beloved.)
Whose happiness do you prioritize?
Do you sow harmony, or jealousy and discord? • Ask “Why do you resent me?”
 Dream Apart Choose a Name Tips
♀ Khannah, Miriam, Ruti, Tovah, Tzipporah, Zula • When anyone is hurt or silenced, decide if you will
Introducing the ♂ Binyamin, Khatskl, Tevye, Tzvi heal, support, or stand up for them.

midwife
• Sometimes be so driven, rash, or grief-stricken
Choose A Look & an outlook that you cause trouble for yourself and others.
strong hands, gentle hands, restless hands, callused • Make your character fallible and relatable.
hands, stubborn hands
Lure
Birth is always in the shadow of death — blood, pain, pragmatist, idealist, traditionalist, pantheist, Musar, Whenever someone places themselves under your
labor, Lilith plotting to steal infant breath. And yet, Nachmanidean care, or follows your advice, they gain a token.
in that first breath, the world and all its joy are born
anew. This is where the Midwife stands: in the balance. Choose 2 advantages
a remarkable sense of smell, perfect memory,
The Midwife is a resourceful individual. prodigious strength, keen eyesight, quick reflexes, Strong Moves SPEND A TOKEN
Their power is material, reactive, and humane. unending patience, an unreadable expression, • Get out of harm’s way.
humility, an unflappable sense of humor • Save the life of a patient, or ease someone’s pain.
• Overpower someone, for their own good.
Choose what you’ve seen • Reveal that someone present owes you a debt.
a wolf cub born to a woman, a brutal murder, • Fall in love. (While in love: see, keenly and
the abbey’s secret catacombs, three talking ravens, compassionately, your beloved’s true nature).
armies on the move nearby, a demon’s bride,
a desperate girl, a cottage deep in the forest • Ask “Who do you need to forgive?”

Decide who you’ve angered Regular Moves

• the rabbinical council, by defying a ban • Take action, leaving yourself vulnerable.
• your child, by vetoing a marriage arrangement • Listen compassionately
• the tailor’s guild, by speaking up for • Brew a stimulant, relaxant, or abortifacient
the apprentices • Forgive someone who wronged you.
• the market women, by defending the prostitutes • Announce a pregnancy, miscarriage, or birth.
• your sister, with your intrusive advice
• Ask “What aren’t you telling me?”
Choose 2 shtetl relationships • Ask “What kind of trouble are you in?”
the goyish peasants come to you,
the goyish priest suspects you, Weak Moves Gain A TOKEN
your daughter has run away, • Make an error of judgement, endangering
the city-educated doctor resents you, someone under your care or protection.
you are a young bride’s only hope, • Succumb to depression, guilt, or shame.
your lover broke your heart • Trust someone you shouldn’t.
play to find out • Interfere with an ally out of scruples.
How can you cope with the suffering you witness? Choose one to ask left • Accidentally encounter the Unseen World.
Where does your stubborn sense of justice come from? • What have you come to me for recently?
Does your life have balance? • What terrible event did we live through together? • Ask “What loss do you blame me for?”
 Dream Apart Choose a name Tips
♀ Esther, Glukel, Mirl, Shayna, Shira • Pursue bold schemes, immoderate appetites,
Introducing the ♂ Alchonon, Dovid, Mordekhai, Motke, Yossi, Zelig outrageous beauty, and improbable adventures.
• Explore the tensions between individual and
Choose A Look & AN OUTLOOK

klezmer
community, between joy and duty.
nimble hands, furtive hands, lovely hands, rough • Make your character fallible and relatable.
hands, soft hands, bold hands
Lure
mercenary, opportunistic, philosophical, libertine, Whenever someone offers you a new gig, or is
Is it that you break too many hearts? Too many rules? chassid, maskil moved to change by your practice of an art, they
Too many promises? You’ve been chased onto the gain a token.
roads by dogs, Jews, goyim, and your own restless Choose 3 arts you practice
nature. Still, every wedding or Purim, the shtetl needs fiddle, clarinet, song, dance, seduction,
you. To spin joy from its suffering. picking pockets, flattery, horn, drums, balalaika, Strong Moves SPEND A TOKEN
gambling, fencing stolen goods, confidence games, • Get out of harm’s way.
The Klezmer is a charming individual. leading prayers, officiating at weddings, poetry, • Defuse a tense situation with jokes or beauty.
Their power is artful, ephemeral, and inspiring. storytelling, sleight of hand, purimspiel, theater • Pull off an impossibly daring stunt.
• Find one of your contacts in an unexpected place
Choose 2 contacts in the • Fall out of love.
outside world
the Pinsker rebbe, the Bandit Queen, • Ask “How could I make you admire me?”
the lieutenant of the regiment, • Ask “What do you have that I might want?”
the Cossack leader’s bride, a band of revolutionaries,
a band of Romany horsetraders, a traveling magician, Regular Moves
a theater manager in Odessa • Take action, leaving yourself vulnerable.
• Entertain with one of your arts.
choose What you long for • Show up where you’re least expected.
love, revenge, reconciliation, wealth, adventure, • Lie fairly convincingly.
respect, renown, homecoming • Bolt for the nearest exit.
Choose 2 shtetl relationships • Ask “What are you thinking about right now?”
your estranged father resents you,
the rabbi’s daughter longs for you, Weak Moves Gain A TOKEN
the boy whose heart you broke wants to kill you, • Blunder into a bad situation, totally unprepared.
your mentor wants to control you, • Lie unconvincingly, or get caught with no alibi.
your erstwhile spouse wants you back • Spectacularly screw up a hustle, prank, or gambit
• Fall in love. (While in love: do foolish, desperate
play to find out Choose one to ask left things to win or impress your beloved).
How do your creations and exploits affect the shtetl? • What did I borrow from you recently? • Accidentally encounter the Unseen World.
Can you resist temptations and distractions from what • How did I capture your attention yesterday?
you truly long to create? • Why don’t you trust me? • Ask “How have I earned your ire?”
 Dream Apart Choose a name Tips
♀ Bruria, Fruma, Yentl • Argue passionately for your standards and
Introducing the ♂ Eli, Ephraim, Menakhem, Mendl, Meyer, Moysheh interpretations, and rebuke those who fail them.
• Bring forward epistemic, ethical, and legal

SCHOLAR
Choose A Look & an outlook dilemmas, and make them matter.
pensive face, austere face, joyful face, stern face, • Make your character fallible and relatable.
inquisitive face, youthful face, weary face
Lure
The Law is a Tree of Life for those who cling to rationalist, traditionalist, skeptic, misnagid, Whenever someone comes to you for knowledge,
it, nourishment in the wilderness. Our temple is Maimonidean, maskil or is guided by your interpretation of the Law, they
destroyed, our people scattered among the nations. gain a token.
What we have: the Law, and those who study it. Our Choose 2 areas of expertise
glory, our burden. agricultural law, protective amulets, ritual purity,
Gentile sciences, mystical ascension, property law,
The Scholar is a discerning individual. family law, ritual slaughter, portents of the Messiah Strong Moves SPEND A TOKEN
Their power is discursive, methodical , and • Get out of harm’s way.
constraining. choose 2 great temptations • Deduce a hidden truth.
ultimate knowledge, fame and honor, • Persuade someone with reason and learning.
proving yourself superior to your rivals, • Enter or confront the Unseen World, with
the lusts of the body, wealth and influence, determined preparation and knowledge.
despair and self-loathing • Fall in or out of love. (While in love: make unwise
choices for love, but pursue them with great vigor
decide what brings salvation and skill).
• we must return physically to Jerusalem to pray
• we must decode the secrets of the Book of Creation • Ask “What do you wish I would do next?”
• we must suffer our deserved exile humbly
• we must build a truly just society on Earth Regular Moves
• we must stand up to our enemies with valor • Take action, leaving yourself vulnerable.
• Peform (or scorn) obligatory daily rituals.
Choose 2 shtetl relationships • Advise someone on a point of fact or law.
your feuding children break your heart, • Look for solace in ritual and contemplation.
your mentor conspires on your behalf, • Peform a deed of lovingkindness.
your rivals spread rumors,
the court weighs a ban against you, • Ask “What troubles you?”
the one you love ignores you,
the people seek your legal opinions Weak Moves Gain A TOKEN
• Admit wrongdoing and ask for forgiveness.
Choose one to ask left • Insist on contentiously debating a minor point.
• What problem did I solve for you? • Withdraw into your studies, avoiding
• What have I failed to ask your forgiveness about? responsibility.
play to find out • Attract unwanted attention, human or otherwise.
Will you be forced to revise your interpretations? • React with rigid dogmatism and resentment.
Will you yield to your temptations?
How creative or rigid are you? • Ask “What temptation am I at risk of succumbing to?”
 Dream Apart Choose a name Tips
♀ Dverye, Golda, Yudit, Yael • Bring your traumas and unfinished business
Introducing the ♂ Avrum, Ber, Herschel, Leyb, Sasha, Shimshon into play.

soldier
• Explore themes of alienation, regret, and
Choose A Look & an outlook homecoming.
scarred face, empty face, yearning face, open face, • Make your character fallible and relatable.
haunted face, innocent face
Goyim they draft at 18, Jews at 12. Six years of drills Lure
and beatings to try and get the yid out. Or did you cynic, romantic, survivor, Bundist, nationalist, Whenever someone gives you an opportunity to
lie your way in? Then hunger, marching, torn bodies proto-Zionist prove yourself to the shtetl, they gain a token.
in the mud. Now you’ve come back, to a place you
barely remember... Choose 3 skills from the war
tactics, sharpshooting, staying awake for days,
Strong Moves SPEND A TOKEN
The Soldier is a lost individual. passing as a goy, passing as male, dueling,
Their power is violent, suspect, and hard-won. embezzlement, brawling, interrogation, • Get out of harm’s way.
hard drinking, enforcing discipline with brutality, • Kill someone.
inspiring followers by example and appeals to honor, • Eavesdrop undetected on a conversation.
looting and scavenging, gambling, • Forgive someone who wronged you.
suppressing all emotion • Fall in or out of love. (While in love: conceal your
love, taking secret risks on your beloved’s behalf).
Choose 2 you brought back
a loaded pistol, a rifle with fixed bayonet, • Ask “How are you vulnerable to me right now?”
three pounds of shrapnel in your body, • Ask “What should I be on the lookout for?”
a chest of looted silverware, nightmares,
the memory of forbidden love, tuberculosis, Regular Moves
syphilis, a saber, a forbidden book • Take action, leaving yourself vulnerable.
• Try to take part in the normal life of the shtetl.
CHOOSE What haunts You most • Use a skill or object brought back from the war.
his feverish face, the moment before the blast, • Draw a weapon.
what you did in Sevastopol, your mother’s wish, • Chafe against the shtetl’s rules and limits.
the screams
• Ask “What do you remember about me, from before?”
Choose 2 shtetl relationships
Weak Moves Gain A TOKEN
your true love married another,
your siblings resent your return, • Get drunk at the worst possible time.
your best friend fears you, a casual lover is using you, • Confuse the present with the horrors of the past
a stranger’s face has stolen your heart • Demand an explanation from someone
• Accidentally encounter the Unseen World.
Choose one to ask left • Fail to react at a crucial moment.
play to find out • Why do you wish I had never come back?
Can you overcome your past and find your way back? • How did you get me to let my guard down, • Ask “Why are you sorry that I returned?”
Are you a guardian, a troublemaker, or a trainwreck? if only for a moment? • Ask “Whose motives should I second-guess right
Do you miss the war? now?”
 Dream Apart Dream Apart

You also play the sources

market The head of the yeshiva can barely drag his pair of peasant boots across the floor,
while the student’s coarse shoes are slipping off his bare feet. That’s all that remained
of the famous yeshiva! .... So be it: they would fast, mortify their flesh, and open all the
gates of the universe—with its mysteries, spirits, and angels!
— I. L. Peretz, “The Kabbalists”

My mother pawned the silver sabbath candlesticks and her silk shawl, which, as she
Forbidden to farm, we find other solutions. A few of us serve the interests of the had told us, had been a wedding present from her grandmother. She took several
powerful -- as tax collectors, estate agents, financiers, advisors — so that when rubles, bundled me into an old sheepskin coat... and we were off to the city.
the goyish peasants rise up against their oppression, it’s killing us that sates their — Israel Rabon, “The City Doctor”, tr. Leonard Wolf
discontent. Others are millers, tailors, shoemakers, bakers, blacksmiths, distillers,
tavernkeepers, carters, peddlers, rag-pickers, beggars, thieves, and prostitutes. Among us Tartakovsky had the nicknames Yid-and-a-Half and Nine Holdups. He
was called Yid-and-a-Half because no one Jew could contain so much insolence and
The lords own the land; the peasants work the land. We are landless, go-betweens, so much money as Tartakovsky. He was taller than the tallest policeman in Odessa
living by wit, grit, and moxie. Eating potato peels and kasha, but maybe just one good and he weighed more than the fattest Jewess. And he was nicknamed Nine Holdups
deal away from dining on goose and white bread... because [our gang] had held up his place not ten or eight times, but exactly nine.
— Isaac Babel, “In Odessa”

Reb Isaac earned his living with [a cane that had once belonged to Rabbi Chozkele
Circle 2 desires Pick up when of Kuzmar]. Women who were having difficult pregnancies borrowed it; it was also
competition, complicity, luxury, Someone enters the market, tries used to cure children suffering from scarlet fever, whooping cough, and croup, and
uncomfortable bargains, suffering to make a deal, lacks something was reputed to be helpful in exorcising dybbuks, stopping hiccups, and finding buried
without, the big score, honest dealing, important, or is enjoying material treasure.
less for some and more for others, comfort. — Isaac Bashevis Singer, “Three Tales”, tr. Ruth Whitman & Cecil Hemley
collapse of supply lines
Trade away when They carried out hot samovars with glasses of tea, sugar and preserves, delicious
Tips You need something material and don’t omelets, fresh, wonderful-smelling butter cakes, and afterwards all kinds of food, the
• Demonstrate how economic immediately know where to get it. most expeensive tarts, rich, fatty soups, roasts, geese, along with the finest wines and
tensions and compromises affect ales. I stood off to the side and marveled at the way, kayn eyn horeh, the rich folks from
the shtetl. Moves Yehupetz eat and drink, God bless them.... The crumbs that fell off that table would
• Introduce customers, suppliers, • Show someone acting foolishly out have fed my children for a week, at least until Saturday.
debtors, creditors, and dependents, of need and desperation. — Isaac Bashevis Singer, Tevye the Dairyman, tr. Aliza Shevrin
with their own agendas, needs and • Present a risky opportunity with an
perspectives. enticing upside.
• Ask compelling questions and build • Introduce a threat to the shtetl’s
on the answers that others give. livelihood or necessary supplies.

After every move, ask “What do you do?”

 Dream Apart Dream Apart

You also play the sources

unseen “Now, now, child! That will do. A holy scroll must not be kissed too long. They are

world
written in black fire upon white fire.”
— S. Ansky, “The Dybbuk”

I dozed inside the mirror. The net had been spread; the victim was ready. Yawning, I
considered my next step. Should I seduce a rabbi’s daughter? deprive a bridegroom of
his manhood? plug up the synagogue chimney? turn the Sabbath wine into vinegar?
— Isaac Bashevis Singer, “The Mirror”, tr. Norbert Guterman
The air is thick with fearsome radiant angels. On every shoulder, a demon whispers
temptations in an ear. Our souls split in three parts when we die — the nefesh and “Before leaving your house, throw the prayer book into the rubbish and spit on the
the ruach linger, longing for mortal flesh, long after the neshama has ascended to its mezuzah.... Then come straight to me. I’ll bear you on my wings from Krashnik to the
reward. And the Divine Will is fractured, exploded in Its own Exile from Itself. Three of desert. We’ll fly over fields filled with toadstools, over woods inhabited by werewolves,
the four Sages who mystically entered Paradise ended up dead, mad, or apostate. over the ruins of Sodom where serpents are scholars, hyenas are singers, crows are
preachers, and thieves are entrusted with the money for charity. There ugliness is
It can offer guidance, protection, transformation... but never safely. Let those who seek beauty, and crooked is straight....”
the Unseen World — or who attract its notice — beware.. “I’m afraid, little devil, I’m afraid.”
“Everyone who goes with us is.”
— Isaac Bashevis Singer, “The Mirror”, tr. Norbert Guterman

Circle 2 desires Pick up when Igrath the daughter of Mahalath [queen of the demons] met Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa
transcendance, intimacy with the living, Someone calls out to angels or [and] said to him, ‘Had they not made an announcement concerning you in Heaven,
implacable justice, leading astray, demons, remembers the dead, or “Take heed of Hanina and his learning,” I would have put you in danger.’ ‘If I am of
destruction & transformation, rebellion, longs for something they can’t or account in Heaven,’ replied he, ‘I order you never to pass through settled regions.’ ‘I beg
cosmic revelation, eternal rest shouldn’t have. you,’ she pleaded, ‘leave me a little room.’ So he left her the nights of Sabbaths and the
nights of Wednesdays.
Tips Trade away when — Pesachim 112b, Talmud
• Describe the subtle impact that You do any of the above, or otherwise
the Unseen World has on everyday encounter the Unseen World. “The angel in charge of Edom has marshalled a clan of demons against you. Satan lies
people and places. in wait also. Asmodeus is undermining you, Lilith and Namah hover at your bedside.
• When people interact with the Moves You don’t see them, but Shabriri and Briri are treading at your heels. If the Angels were
Unseen World, add terrifying, • Enter into someone’s perceptions, not defending you, that unholy crowd would pound you to dust and ashes. But you do
mysterious, and numinous sensory recollections, appetites, and not stand alone, Rabbi of Tishevitz. Lord Sandalphon guards your every step. Metatron
details, resonances, and memories. unconscious associations. watches you from his luminescent sphere. Everything hangs in the balance, man of
• Ask compelling questions and build • Tempt someone with a half-heard Tishevitz...”
on the answers that others give. whisper. “Forgive me, my lord, but I require another sign.... show me your feet.”
• Reveal something hidden. The moment the rabbi of Tishevitz speaks these words, I know everything is lost. We
[demons] can disguise all parts of our body but the feet. From the smallest imp right
After every move, ask “What do you do?” up to Ketev Meiri we all have the claws of geese.
— Isaac Bashevis Singer, “The Last Demon”, tr. Martha Glicklich
 Dream Apart Dream Apart

You also play the sources

goyishe We were all in great danger. But Rebekah was everywhere in front as well as behind

world
and she told us not to despair: she knew for certain that the corpse would be found, for
the servant had sworn on her life and had given her all the particulars.... Meanwhile
the news had spread throughout the town and all sorts of workmen and [riff-raff] in
countless numbers had collected before the door of the murderer’s house. The mob
had decided, “if the Jews find the murdered man, it will be well for them. If not, there
will not remain a Jewish hide.”
— Glückel of Hameln, Memoirs
Fair business dealings, moments of alliance, true friendships: they exist between Jews
and goyim, but they all rest uneasily, as if on melting ice. At any moment, murderous The officer who escorted them said, “They have collected a crew of cursed little Jew
violence can break through. boys of 8 or 9 years old. Whether they are taking them for the navy or what, I can’t say.
At first, the orders were to drive them to Perm; then there was a change and we are
Bishop and Brigadier, peasants and brigands, the chaste Abbess and the trysting driving them to Kazan. I took them over [sixty miles] farther back...It’s dreadful, and
Baroness, all know: that all redemption in this sinful world is from the the Lord Jesus that’s all about it; a third were left on the way’ (and the officer pointed to the earth).
Christ. That the Jews, filthy and conniving, denied Him. That they murdered Him. ‘Not half will reach their destination.’
And the worst thing, the unforgivable thing — the secret wound at the heart of — Russian proto-socialist Aleksandr Ivanovich Herzen, describing a meeting in 1835
Christendom — that they gave birth to Him. That He was theirs first. with a convoy of Jewish children drafted into military service; khappers (press-
gangers) sometimes took children younger than the official minimum of 12 years old

Circle 2 desires Pick up when Some soldiers... were allowed after retirement to trade without having special
universally acknowledged supremacy, Someone enters a goyish place or permission.... Such an old corporal was sometimes used as a shield by Jews from
hierarchy and order, connection and attracts the attention of the goyim, or Lithuania who had no rights to enter Kurzeme and Vidzeme. As a small boy I saw
solidarity, profit, military dominance, you see an opportunity for the goyishe several times an old gray soldier sitting like a king on the load of manufacture in a cart
conversion of the Jews, cathartic world to intrude. owned by a Jew, who paid salary, served and supplied food to this soldier.
violence against scapegoats and — Jēkabs Štūlis, describing life in a Latvian fishing village in the 1850s
outsiders Trade away when
You need to deal with the goyishe [At one side of the oven, traveling] Jews slept for a night and, if they happened to
Tips world, or they come looking for you. spend nights here during the winter festivity, stuck small candles on the bricks while
• Give the goyim names, and give praying.
people reasons to care about and Moves — Jānis Jaunsudrabiņš, recalling his childhood in the 1880s as a poor Latvian
sympathize with them. • Introduce someone who could help Christian farmer
• Make decisions about the privileges, the shtetl, or needs the shtetl’s help.
rights, and restrictions that apply to • Manifest threats of persecution, “One-third will die, one-third will emigrate, and one-third will disappear (i.e. be
different castes of society. exploitation, expulsion or violence. converted).”
• Ask compelling questions and build • Expose factions and tensions among — Konstantin Petrovich Pobedonostsev, adviser to Tsar Alexander III 1881-1893,
on the answers that others give. the goyim, and pressure the shtetl to lay head of the Russian Orthodox Church 1890-1905, on his approach to the
take sides. Jewish question

After every move, ask “What do you do?”

 Dream Apart Dream Apart

You also play the sources

texts & R. Eliezer then said to the Sages, “If the Law agrees with me, let it be proved from
heaven.” Sure enough, a divine voice cried out, “Why do you dispute with R. Eliezer,

traditions
with whom the Law always agrees?” R. Joshua stood up and protested: “The Torah is
not in heaven!” (Deut. 30:12). We pay no attention to a divine voice because long ago
at Mount Sinai You wrote in your Torah at Mount Sinai, `After the majority must one
incline’. (Ex. 23:2)” R. Nathan met [the prophet] Elijah and asked him, “What did the
Holy One do at that moment?” Elijah: “He laughed [with joy], saying, ‘My children have
defeated Me, My children have defeated Me.’”
When the Sages of the Academy debated the matter of the oven of Aknai, a Divine — Baba Mezia 59b, Talmud
Voice spoke from Heaven, saying, “Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus is correct!” But the
scholars retorted, “the Law was given to us; it is not in Heaven.” The prophets handed [the Torah of Moses] down to the men of the Great Assembly....
Shimon the Righteous was one of [its] last survivors. He used to say: The world stands
The tradition, eternal but ever-changing, is a Tree of Life, nourishing those who cling upon three things: on the Torah, on prayer, and on deeds of loving kindness.
to it with serenity, mercy, and wisdom. But the Evil Urge is a scholar too, tempting — Pirke Avot 1-2, Mishna
the arrogant. Applied without lovingkindness, tradition can become tyranny. The
sheltering branches can become a thicket, and seekers can go astray... The twenty-two sounds and letters are the foundation of all things... Air, Water and
Fire... Life and Death; Peace and War; Wisdom and Folly; Riches and Poverty; Grace
and Indignation; Fertility and Solitude; Power and Servitude...Sight, Hearing, Smell,
Speech, Taste, Sexual Love, Work, Movement, Anger, Mirth, Imagination, and Sleep.
Circle 2 desires Pick up when — Sefer Yetzirah (the Book of Creation), ancient mystical text, tr. Wm. Wynn Westcott
infusion of meaning in everything, Matters of law and tradition arise,
human obedience, shared knowledge, there is a debate over what’s right or On the eve of every Sabbath, Rab Hanina and Rab Hoshaiah... used to create a
epiphanies, division of the forbidden what to do, or you have an idea for delicious calf by means of the Sefer Yetzirah, and ate it on the Sabbath.
from the permitted, schism and dispute how the demands of tradition could — Sanhedrin 65b, 67b, Talmud
intrude
Tips R. Kahana said: If the Sanhedrin [assembly of judges] unanimously find [the accused]
• Introduce experts, savants, zealots, Trade away when guilty, he is acquitted.
heretics, and skeptics -- Jewish and You are centrally involved in debates, — Sanhedrin 17a, Talmud
goyish. Make them relatable, and researches, or ceremonies.
give them names. R. Tarfon.... used to say: it is not your responsibility to finish the work, but neither are
• Suggest details of the texts and Moves you free to desist from it.
traditions, for others to flesh out. • Reveal where valuable information — Pirke Avot 2:21, Talmud
• Ask compelling questions and build can be found, and the barriers to
on the answers that others give. getting it. [T]he beadle... proclaimed the peace of the Sabbath. Then [the golem] was seized as if
• Give voice to the tradition. by madness; his eyes rolled and burned like flaming wheels, his breath was visible and
• Introduce a divisive debate about sparkled with wonderful colors, and he began a terrible destruction in the house.
interpretations or practices. — Ludwig A. Frankl, Vaterländische Sagen und Legenden IV, 1836

After every move, ask “What do you do?”

 Dream Apart Dream Apart

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gossip & Her husband Haim-Barukh was... a holy vessel, a blessing from God. He used to sit
for hours with the Rebbe, long may he live, without speaking a word... Well, would

reputation
you talk to such a man about taking a job? Why, then, did people... call him... “Sarah-
Rivka’s husband”? Why did they hang all his wisdom on the pot of peas with yeast that
Sarah-Rivka sold at the market? It was incomprehensible. It caused her, Sarah-Rivka
herself, terrible anguish.
— I. L. Peretz, “The Rebbe’s Pipe”

Our Sages taught that gossip slays three: the speaker, the listener, and the one “The matchmaker Berl-Mikhl told me,” Grandfather went on, “that you drove him
discussed; that the tongue is a sharpened arrow that kills, not merely at forty or fifty away in anger for suggesting a match between your brilliant brother and a sborshchik
cubits, but throughout the heavens and the earth. [tax-collector and representative of the czarist government]. So, let me tell you briefly,
my dear rabbi... either you arrange the match, or find yourself another town.” In this
But the shtetl has a genius for gossip: our neighbors’ doings are as tasty as borscht. instance all of Grandfather’s despotism and wildness was revealed. The rabbi was left
How else will we know who is up and who is down, who is wise and who a fool, who stunned, white as chalk.
to be envied and who to be pitied? Are we not also commanded — not only to love — — Yekhezkel Kotik, Journey to a Nineteenth-Century Shtetl
but also to rebuke our neighbors? Without gossip, how will we know who to rebuke?
Two scandals at once! ...And such an oddly matched pair: the poor cantor’s daughter
and the richest man’s son... Shopkeepers locked up their shops, teachers left their
schoolrooms, workers laid aside their tools, and housewives abandoned their stoves.
Circle 2 desires Pick up when All went to the town center to gather in small circles... It looked just like a Shabbes after
community, intimacy, honor, self- Someone does something shul... Then yet another person... elbowed his way in and posed a perplexing question.
destruction, safety, the moral high transgressive or praiseworthy, defies or “Hear me out, Jews... how is it that our young couple decided to disappear on the very
ground, judgement, compassion, upholds the shtetl’s norms, or shares a same Saturday night that the Yiddish acting company left town?”
defiance, nonconformity, vindication, secret. — Sholem Aleichem, Wandering Stars, tr. Aliza Shevrin
fame, joy in the misfortunes of others
Trade away when If one gazes even at the little finger of a woman with the intent to have pleasure from
Tips You do any of the above, or your it, it is as though he gazed at her shameful place.
• Explore the potential tensions, actions or words command the — Josef Karo, Shulchan Aruch
secrets, disappointments, and attention of the whole shtetl.
dissatisfactions in every relationship. The tongue can be as murderous as the hand.
• Make sure reputation matters Moves — Arachin 15b, Talmud
profoundly in the shtetl. • Offer someone an opportunity to
• Ask compelling questions and build condemn, forgive, rebuke, redeem, Rabbi Hanina said: Jerusalem was destroyed only because the people [there] did not
on the answers that others give. or exclude. rebuke one another.
• Put two people alone together. — Shabbat 119b, Talmud
• Introduce a scandal that others must
decide whether to reveal or cover up.

After every move, ask “What do you do?”

 Dream Apart Dream Apart

You also play the sources

wild “You probably never heard what happened between [the witch of the forest caves,
mother of the bandit king Dobosh] and Rabbi Leib Saras. She was still young and lusty
at the time, a shameless harlot. Well, the rabbi liked to go into the woods and immerse

forest
himself into a pool there before saying his prayers. One morning he looked up and saw
the Dobosh woman standing naked before him with her hair unloosened down her
back. When he cried out the Holy Name, a whirlwind caught hold of her and carried
her to the top of a tree. ‘Rabbi, marry me,’ she called out from the branch from which
she was sitting, ‘and we’ll rule the world together.’”
— Isaac Bashevis Singer, “Three Tales”, tr. Ruth Whitman and Cecil Hemley
Bandits, of course. Lone cottages of woodcutters. Revolutionaries, and who knows if
they’ll want to claim the shtetl, or to burn it. The Roma with their wagons and horses One night, [the Cossacks] drew near in order to torch the city and carry out a slaughter
and fiddles, ready to trade melodies. Fairies and trolls, and stranger things — things among its residents. A tumult arose...and half the [town’s] residents fled to the nearby
the goyim here worshipped, before the Cross found them — hiding in the deep silence. forests. One could already hear the shooting from the direction of Janów.... The
municipal policeman, an older military man, together with the sexton of the cloister,
Beyond the shtetl’s bounds, past the farms, over the rushing brook, its shadow raised an alarm. Banging on the cloister drum, they gave orders in a loud voice, and in
creeps onto acorns and fallen leaves. Sooner or later, perhaps, you too will doing so, gave the impression that there was a large military detachment present. The
have to venture into the Wild Forest. Cossacks .... decided to pull back.
— Wincenty Dawid, recalling the 1863 January Uprising; many Jews sided with
Polish rebels, against the czarist army and the Cossack paramilitaries
Circle 2 desires Pick up when
secrecy, the smell of fear, freedom from Someone wanders into the Wild Forest, In a village, Kovencik, there were tall mountains and deep valleys and even deeper
constraint and custom, return to the old or confronts its creatures or denizens, hidden caves. In one of these caves, the Jews gathered and studied Talmud and the
ways, human flesh and bone, refuge, or you see an opportunity for it to laws.... The goyim..., would tell them when the authorities, who persecuted them, were
revenge, found family intrude its tendrils into the story. coming. The spot was holy to the goyim... [t]hey called it “the Jewish School”.
— Feige Ethel Boim, retelling a legend of Szczebrzeszyn
Tips Trade away when
• Give people a reason to enter the You venture beyond the shtetl, seek out Scarcely had she uttered her wish when the good rabbi leaped out of the window an
Wild Forest. the natural world, or interact with the dashed off into the deep forest... here, he started devouring people.
• Demonstrate the impact of the Wild creatures of the Wild Forest. — “The Rabbi Who Was Turned into a Werewolf”, from the Mayse-Book (1602)
Forest and its denizens on local
plans, traditions, imaginations and Moves
resources. • Put the Wild Forest in someone’s
• Ask compelling questions and build way.
on the answers that others give. • Bring in reports and rumors from the
Wild Forest.
• Offer an opportunity to those
who dare to loosen their grip on
civilization.

After every move, ask “What do you do?”

glossary
moshiach (or messiah) not a divinity, but Rebbe an affectionate name for a
a perfected human, whose promised Chassidic rabbinical leader, often regarded
arrival will usher in universal peace by his disciples as a saintly miracle-worker
Musar proponent of introspection, self- Rebbetzin a Rabbi's wife, often charged
criticism, and strict ethics with the oversight of women's society
abbot leader of a Christian monastery haredi lit. "fearing G-d"; ultra-Orthodox,
Nachmanidean disciple of the medieval Rosh Hashana New Year's festival
angel divine messenger; may be unbending in the face of modernity
jurist and philosopher Nachmanides, Roma, Romany member of a semi-
terrifying or comforting Haskalah secularizing movement
who rejected rationalist explanations nomadic ethnic group, often persecuted
bet din rabbinical court of three rabbis embracing Western education and
of scripture, insisting on traditional by sedentary Christendom; pejoratively
Book of Creation mystical text with science, and seeking political equality
interpretations called "gypsies"
symbolic visions of the Divine world for the Jews
nationalist patriot of one of the ruach literally "breath" or "wind"; one
Bundist of a Jewish socialist movement libertine devoted to the pursuit of
European states; e.g. Poland, which of the three aspects of the human soul,
chassid devotional follower of a personal pleasure
had been a refuge for the Jews until its believed to remain with the body until
hereditary dynasty of populist, kosher suitable for use according to
partition by Russia, Austria, and Prussia. the Day of Judgement
charismatic, miracle-working rebbes Jewish law; meat, for instance, must be
nefesh one of three aspects of the Sabbatian secret follower of the mystic
Christendom lands where Christianity is ritually slaughtered and kept separate
human soul; believed to linger near the Shabbetai Zvi, who claimed to be the
dominant, seen as a unitary civilization from milk. Noun form: kashrut.
body for thirty days after death before messiah and led masses of poor European
Cossacks a militarized Ukranian group, Lilith demoness of Jewish legend,
departing for the afterworld Jews on foot to reclaim Jerusalem; that
originally runaway serfs; feared by Jews Adam's first wife who ran away to birth
neshama one of three aspects of the hu- he was captured, converted, and made a
for their participation in massacres monsters; often imagined as stealing
man soul; believed to depart immediately harem eunuch by the Ottoman emperor,
czar emperor of Russia the souls of infants
at death for the presence of the Divine was interpreted by his followers as a
demon a spirit charged with Lurianist follower of the Kabbalist mystic
Odessa city on the Black Sea, renowned divinely purposed ordeal
tempting humans and leading them Isaac Luria, for whom human piety has
for its beauty and bustle Sevastopol port city on the Black Sea;
to destruction. Angels and demons mystical powers to heal the broken
pantheist believer in the holiness and scene of much carnage, besieged for
answer to the same Divine order; some universe and its shattered Divinity
divinity of the entire universe itself, eleven months during the Crimean War
demons are even pious and scholarly kayn eyn horeh "No evil eye"; said
without a separate, transcendent Divine. Shabbos or Shabbes the seventh day of
epistemic relating to what we know, when praising, to ward off misfortune
pietist follower of a movement empha- the week, devoted to rest, study, and joy;
and how we can know it Maimonidean follower of the
sizing piety, repentance, and prayer productive labor and craft is forbidden
Evil Urge natural human temptation medieval sage Moses Maimonides,
Pinsker from the town of Pinsk shofar ram's horn, blown like a trumpet
to selfishness, excess, and cruelty, who united rational philosophy with
pogrom an anti-Jewish riot on Rosh Hashana, and ten days later, on
tempered by its twin, the Good Urge; Jewish law, regarding many scriptural
proto-Zionist someone proposing to Yom Kippur, when the Gates of Heaven
sometimes seen as a literal demon; but passages as metaphorical
solve European antisemitism by a literal close and human fates are sealed
needed to strive, build, and procreate. mercurial changing moods swiftly
return to Zion (Jerusalem) shtetl "little city", a Yiddish-speaking market
faerie magical otherworldly sprite of maskil literally "enlightener", follower
Purim joyful, carnivalesque spring town in the Eastern European countryside
European folk legend, known to Jews of the Haskalah
festival celebrating the averted genocide Talmud the great compendium of
from goyish folktales mikveh ritual bathhouse used for
of the Book of Esther Jewish law, debate, philosophy, and
Frankist secret follower of Joseph purification, e.g. at the conclusion
purimspiel theatrical spectacles legend, composed 100-600 CE
Frank, a Jewish heretic and supposed of menstruation; center of womens'
celebrating Purim yeshiva school of higher Jewish learning
messiah, accused of orgies, murder, and society in the shtetl
Rabbi an expert in Jewish religious yid the Yiddish word for Jew, used as
denouncing other Jews to the goyim misnagid intellectual and political
law, able to preside over a community a term of respect in Yiddish and as an
Gentile non-Jew opponent of the chassidim, insisting
and interpret the Law. "The Rabbi" may insult by goyim
goy a non-Jew, literally "(other) nation". on the primacy of scholars over
refer to the rabbi of the shtetl's main Yiddish the dialect of medieval German,
Plural goyim, adjective goyish. rabble-rousing miracle-workers
synagogue, often a misnagid with Hebrew, Aramaic and Slavic
golem a magic servant fashioned of mud
admixtures, spoken by the Jews of
Eastern Europe and Russia
Jews
♂ Anshel, Avrum, Chatzkel, Dovid, Dudel, Faivel, Fishke, Gavrel, Haskel, Hirshel, Iser, Koppel, Lazer, Moishe, Motel, Selig, Shimon, Shimmel, Tevye, Velvel, Yankel, Yudel, Zusman
♀ Baila, Bluma, Breindel, Eidel, Faigel, Freyde, Fruma, Gittel, Gluke, Golda, Henda, Henye, Kaila, Kreine, Perele, Raisa, Rayna, Rifka, Ruchel, Shaindel, Sisel, Yutke, Zelda, Zusa
last names are formed with the patronymics bat (daughter of) and ben (son of), e.g. Freyde bat Moishe, Shimon ben Dovid

germans
♂ Dominik, Eckehard, Franz, Gerold, Gustav,
Hartwig, Matthias, Reimund, Ruedi, Timotheus
♀ Christiane, Elise, Friederike, Hanna, Henriette, RUSSIAns
Karen, Luitgard, Marianne, Marita, Raffaela ♂ Alyosha Ilyich, Genya Ivanovitch, Ipatiy Dmitriyevitch,
last names Amsel, Everhart, Geiszler, Maksim Aleksándrovich, Saveliy Olegovitch,
Grimmelshausen, Habich, Kneib, Kunkle, Spartak Ivanovitch, Vitya L’vovich
Müller, Meier, Sulzbach, Von Wegberg ♀ Ekaterina Ilyichna, Irina Ivanovna, Katerina Dmitriyevna,
Kristina Aleksándrovna, Maria Olegovna, Raisa Ivanovna,
Poles Serafima L’vovna
♂ Bogdan, Konstanty, Maciej, last names Antonov(-a= ♀), Golovin(a),
Mariusz, Przemek, Radzim, Lebedev(a), Kuznetsov(a), Markov(a),
Szczepan, Teodor, Łucjan Nikolaev(a), Pushnoy(a), Ryzhov(a),
♀ Apolonia, Asia, Filipa, Gloria, Sokolov(a), Volkov(a), Yezhov(a)
Gosia, Joanna, Lucja, Marta,
Otylia, Teodozja
last names Andrysiak,
Dubanowski, Dubicki, ukranIAns
Gomolka, Jagoda, Klimek, ♂ Alexey Ivanovich, Hryhoriy
Niemczyk, Pasternak, Slaski, Oleksandrovich, Klim Mykhaylovych,
Wolanski Leonid Semenovych, Olexiy Ivanovich,
Pavlo Leonidovich, Yuriy Mykhaylovych
♀ Anastasia Ivanovna, Larysa Oleksandrivna,
HUNGARIANS Liliya Mykhaylovna, Natali Semenovna,
♂ Alajos, Dani, Fabó, Józsi, Krisztián, Ruslana Ivanovna, Svitlana Leonidovna,
Mózes, Teodor, Tivadar, Zoltán, Éliás Yana Mykhaylovna
♀ Anett, Aranka, Cecília, Erzsébet, romanIANS last names Antonov(a= ♀), Boiko, Chayka,
Ilonka, Kamilla, Klára, Kornélia, Linda ♂ Decebal, Haralamb, Holub(a), Kohut(a), Kompaniyets(a),
last names Baráth, Dali, Jakab, Horațiu, Neculai, Ovidiu, Kostyshyn(a), Stasiuk(a), Shevchenko,
Kedves, Király, Tamás, Tóth, Vastag Simon, Theodor, Vasilica, Victor Tereshchenko, Vasylyshyn(a)
♀ Adina, Alex, Claudia, Delia,
Gavrila, Margareta, Natalia, Rodica, Valeria, Victoria
last names Albescu, Anghelescu, Antonescu,
Constantin, Dumitru, Iliescu, Nicolescu, Sala
ROMA
personal names ♂ Babik, Camlo, Durril, Ferka, Lasho, Lolo, Lumas, Kem, Thurles ♀ Araunya, Begonia, Florica, Grauni, Kisaiya, Leanabel, Lela, Minditsi, Tiena, Tsura
nicknames Amal(friend), Bi-lasho(shady), Chavo/a(kid), Čhinbali(cheeky), Godjaver(clever), Phuro(respected elder), Pravi bal(straight hair), Rom Baro(leader)
insulting nicknames Baro Šero(big-headed), Buchlo Nakh(big nose), Dilo(fool), Pušomori (busybody), Šuki (skinny) come-ons Husa, Papin (delectably sexy goose)
family names Badi, Badžo, Banga, Červeňák, Čhureja, Čonka, Daniel, Džugi, Holomek, Horváth, Kaleja, Karela, Lakatoš, Mačho, Mirga, Taragoš, Tokár, Thuleja