Aaron Lansky

Aaron Lansky
Aaron Lansky at the Sammy Awards in 2016
Born	(1955-06-17) June 17, 1955 (age 70) New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA
Education	Hampshire College (BA, 1977) McGill University (MA)
Known for	Founding the Yiddish Book Center

Aaron Lansky (born 1955) is the founder of the Yiddish Book Center, an organization he created to help salvage Yiddish language publications. He received a MacArthur Fellowship in 1989 for his work.

Education

Lanksy was born on June 17, 1955, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. ^{[1] [2]}

He graduated from Hampshire College in 1977 with a B.A. in modern Jewish history, and earned an MA in East European Jewish studies at McGill University in Montreal. ^[2]

He was awarded honorary degrees from Amherst College in 1998 and Hebrew Union College, as well as an honorary Doctor of Letters from the State University of New York at Brockport in 2000. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Career

While a graduate student at McGill University, Lansky founded the Yiddish Book Center in 1980. ^[6]

Lansky is the author of Outwitting History (2004), an autobiographical account of how he saved the Yiddish books of the world, from the 1970s to the present day. It won the 2005 Massachusetts Book Award. ^[7] A children's book called “The Book Rescuer: How a Mensch from Massachusetts Saved Yiddish Literature for Generations to Come” also tells his story.

Lansky retired from the Yiddish Book Center in June 2025, after 45 years as its president. ^{[8] [9]}

Notes

1. Aaron Lansky. Detroit: Gale. 2008.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
2. "Aaron Lansky, founder and president". Yiddish Book Center. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
3. "Honorary Degree Recipients". www.brockport.edu. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
4. "Recipients by Name | Honorary Degrees & Awards | Amherst College". www.amherst.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
5. "Aaron Lansky of The Yiddish Book Center". The Stockbridge Library Museum & Archives. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
6. "Our Story | Yiddish Book Center". www.yiddishbookcenter.org. Retrieved 2024-03-21.
7. "Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books A Reading and Discussion Guide" (PDF). The Massachusetts Center for the Book. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 8, 2012. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
8. Silow-Carroll, Andrew (2025-06-08). "Aaron Lansky built a home for 1.5 million Yiddish books. Now he's handing over the keys". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
9. "Staff | Yiddish Book Center". www.yiddishbookcenter.org. Retrieved 2025-10-28.