Maalos

Maalos
Type	monthly publication
Political alignment	Haredi Jewish
Language	Yiddish

Maalos (Yiddish: מעלות; lit. "virtues, steps") is a Hasidic monthly magazine published in New York and mostly geared for women featuring a token section devoted to children.^[1]^[2] Maalos was founded by Sarah Jungreisz in 1996.^[3]

The editors have a distinct Yiddish spelling and grammar, and a distinct graphic layout. Many of the articles are written with the goal of fighting against modern assimilation. They also have articles discussing education and psychology.

Although Maalos abides by the same stringent standards as other Hasidic publications—it provides moral instruction, features no images of women, and is anti-Zionist—it places more emphasis on literary excellence than its compatriots. For example, its fiction serials include historical fiction,^[4] YA fiction with a psychological bent,^[5] and articles or stories that employ lyrical language and poetic techniques. The nonfiction pieces run the gamut from well-researched scholarly write-ups to biographies of noteworthy personalities; from self-help columns on marriage, parenting, and business to thought-provoking or controversial essays on mental health and art. Additionally—and perhaps unintentionally—Maalos serves a similar function to the work of pre-World War I classic Yiddish writers like I. L. Peretz and S. Ansky: it documents Hasidic life by highlighting the people, the pressing issues, and the tales that are central to modern-day Hasidim.^[6]

References

^ In the Fold, Tablet, 28 January 2009
^ New York’s Thriving Yiddish Press, Mosaic, 19 December 2018
^ NEW YORK’S YIDDISH PRESS IS THRIVING, Tablet, 4 December 2018
^ See, for example, Der letster (The Last), a historical fiction story published in issues Tammuz and Av, 5758 (1998).
^ See, for example, Ver bin ikh (Who Am I?), a serialized novel published in issues Av 5776 (2016) through Teves 5777 (2017).
^ Waldman, Rose. “Seizing the Means of Cultural Production: Hasidic Representation in Contemporary Yiddish Media.” In geveb (April 2018): Accessed Feb 02, 2019.