Yentl Trivia Quiz

Answer: Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand directed, co-wrote, co-produced, and starred in the movie "Yentl" (1983). Streisand tried to make it her next movie after the completion of "Funny Girl" (1968). The screen rights were gained and Ivan Passer was hired to direct the film, but he backed out before shooting began because he was worried that Streisand's age and star status would detract from the film.

Streisand continued to try to have the film made. It was reimagined as a musical, and the main character was aged to reflect her own aging. She finally reached an agreement with Orion Pictures to direct and star in the film. Not long after this agreement was reached, the studio got cold feet because it was worried that the film would not succeed at the box office. Production was, once again, halted.

The production of "Yentl" was started again in 1982 when a new agreement was reached after United Artists merged with MGM. The film was produced at the Lee International Studios of London. The movie was Streisand's directorial debut.

Answer: Judaism

"Yentl" tells the story of an Ashkenazi Jewish woman living in 1904. She and her family live in a shtetl, a Yiddish term for a small town. Shtetls (or shtetels) were areas that were surrounded by the non-Jewish majority, and were set up predominantly for Ashkenazi Jewish populations.

The shtetls existed in Eastern Europe before the Holocaust. Shtetls in Eastern Europe were destroyed by the Nazis in WWII.

Answer: Yes

It is based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's short story "Yentl, the Yeshiva Boy". The book was originally published in Yiddish in 1962. An English translation was then published in 1983.

Answer: Poland

The movie "Yentl" tells the story of a young woman living in Yanev, Poland in 1904. Yanev is actually a fictional city. The outdoor scenes for the movie were filmed in Roztyly, Czech Republic. Roy Walker, Academy Award-winning production designer, constructed a set there that consisted of a bustling market square, a synagogue and several main streets, out of a few wooden houses that were found next to an actual pig farm.

Answer: Her father

In 1904, it was against the Jewish custom in her community for girls to learn the Talmud. However, she was desperate to learn the Holy scripture so her father taught her in secret. She bucks the system with this education, and also refuses to be married off to a man, a custom for the girls of her age.

Unfortunately, her father dies and leaves her still yearning to learn the Talmud, so she takes matters into her own hands by cutting her hair and disguising herself as a man so that she can continue her studies.

Answer: Anshel

When Yentl cuts her hair short and takes on the identity of a man, she must take on a man's name. At the beginning of the movie, Yentl had dressed as a woman and performed some of the "woman's work" for her father. When he passes away, she begins dressing like a man.

She also chooses to begin using the name "Anshel", her late brother's name. She continues this disguise while she goes off to study the Talmud.

Answer: A traditional Jewish school

A yeshiva is a traditional Jewish school that focuses on teaching the children who attend the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law). The Torah and Jewish philosophy are taught as well. Traditionally, these schools were only open to boys and young men, but today, all non-Orthodox yeshivas are also open to girls and young women. In Orthodox Judaism in the early 21st century, girls do not attend yeshivas. Once Yentl's father had passed away and she had disguised herself as a young man, she was forced to go to the yeshiva to continue learning the Talmud.

Another bit of trivia about yeshivas - Barbra Streisand actually attended the Yeshiva of Brooklyn. It is a Jewish girls' school in New York City. She started attending that yeshiva when she was five years old and attended for three years, from 1946-1949.

Answer: Avigdor and his fiancée, Hadass

Once she is at the yeshiva, Yentl makes a few friends. She meets Avigdor and his fiancée, Hadass. Unfortunately, Avigdor's brother had passed away. His family told everyone that he had died from consumption. However, he had actually died of suicide, something that could have brought shame to the family. Word gets out about the actual cause of Avigdor's brother's death, so Hadass' family cancels the wedding.

They worry that Avigdor's family is tainted with insanity.

Answer: Yes

Once the engagement between Avigdor and Hadass is broken up by her family, they decided that she should marry Anshel (the disguised Yentl). Yentl remains committed to learning the Talmud and cannot break her disguise, because then she would no longer be allowed to study at the yeshiva.

She also really likes having Avigdor as a friend. So, she marries Hadass under the pretence of being a man so she can continue her studies, and so that Avigdor does not leave town. The marriage is not consummated because Anshel tells Hadass that it is a sin to be with another man if you love another.

In this case, Hadass still loved Avigdor when she first married Anshel, so consummation would have been wrong.

Answer: United States

The story becomes quite complicated towards the end of the movie. Hadass begins to develop romantic feelings for Anshel, but at the same time, Anshel is developing romantic feelings for Avigdor. At one point, Avigdor and Anshel go on a trip that requires them to stay in the same lodging together.

There, Yentl reveals her true identity to Avigdor. The two kiss, but Avigdor breaks away when he remembers that Anshel is married to Hadass. Yentl assures him that the marriage was never consummated. Avigdor proposes to Yentl, but she turns him down because she realizes that she wants more from life than being a wife.

The marriage between Anshel and Hadass is annulled and Avigdor and Hadass get married. In the final scene of the movie, Yentl is seen on a boat that is heading for America where she can have more freedom.

She sings the song "Papa, Watch Me Fly" to end the movie.