By the Stove

A little fire in the hearth, and the whole of childhood comes back.

"By the Stove" (Vozle pechki) is the Russian voice of one of the most beloved songs in the Yiddish world, the lullaby-like classic known to generations as "Oyfn Pripetshik." In the original, a little fire burns in the hearth, the room is warm, and an old teacher patiently leads small children through the letters of the alphabet. The melody is gentle and circling, the kind a family hums without thinking, and it has traveled with Jewish communities across more than a century and many borders.

The song was written by Mark Warshawsky, a folk poet and composer who lived from 1848 to 1907 and worked in Kyiv, where he set this scene of children learning their first letters by the warmth of the stove. He wrote many of his songs quietly, almost privately, never quite believing he was a real poet, and yet "Oyfn Pripetshik" became one of the tenderest and most enduring songs in the whole tradition, carried from kitchen tables to concert halls and remembered far beyond the world it was born in.

In this recording the song is sung in Russian by Elechka, with new Russian lyrics. It is part of a project that set out to carry these Jewish songs into Russian so that listeners who never knew Yiddish could still feel them, hosted on the RIGLI channel and produced by Vladimir Kin. The arrangement keeps the original's quiet, hearth-side warmth and lets the melody do its old, familiar work.

These Russian recordings are also where the larger story began. The English-language musical film JEWISH grew out of these very originals, the same songs and the same spirit, reshaped for a new audience and a new language while keeping their roots in this older music.

What is striking, in the comments left under the song, is how many people of different backgrounds describe the same feeling. Tens of thousands of listeners have found their way to this version, and again and again they write not about technique but about a grandmother by the stove, a grandfather teaching the alphabet, a childhood that suddenly returns. A song about learning to read becomes, for many, a song about remembering.

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What listeners say

Real comments left under the recording on YouTube, translated into English, with the original Russian beneath each one.

I do not know what it is about this song that makes me cry every time I hear it. I remember my wonderful father, who was a wonderful grandfather to my daughter. I never knew either of my own grandfathers, sadly. One died in the siege, the other was killed near Leningrad. And I had just one grandmother, to whom I owe my life no less than to my parents.

Не знаю, что в этой песне такого, что заставляет меня плакать каждый раз, когда я её слушаю. И вспоминаю своего замечательного папу, который был чудесным дедушкой для моей дочки.А дедушек я,своих не знала ни одного, к сожалкнию. Один умер в блокаду, второй погиб под Ленинградом. И была у меня всего одна бабушка, которой я обязана жизью не меньше, чем моим родителям.

@Наталия-ц4д2ф
I listen and I cry. I am 61, but I remember my happy childhood and my wonderful, kind grandfather, who raised me. It is a pity my grandchildren do not have a grandfather like that. People like him simply do not exist anymore. He was honest, kind, caring, wise, a very decent man. But he is in my heart! A wonderful song, beautifully performed. I love all of your songs, really. Thank you!

Слушаю и плачу .... мне 61, но вспоминаю свое счастливое детство и замечательного доброго дедушку, который меня растил... жаль ,что у моих внуков нет такого дедушки. Да и людей подобных ему сейчас просто нет. Честный, добрый, заботливый, умный, очень порядочный был человек. Но он есть в моем сердце! Чудесная песня, исполнение превосходное. Мне вообще нравятся все песни в вашем исполнении. Благодарю!

@irinasun9849
I remembered myself by the stove, with my grandpa, and the ABC book. I shed a few tears.

вспомнила себя у печки, с дедулей.. и Азбукой... Всплакнулось ((

@medeo911
My goodness, what a spellbinding voice. I listen to this song again and again. And the tears flow. And nothing but memories. Jewish songs are full of life; when you listen, the soul weeps. Thank you for this performance.

Боже мой,какой завораживающий голос. Слушаю и переслушиваю эту песню. И слёзы текут. И сплошные воспоминания. Еврейские песни -жизненные, слушая душа плачет. Спасибо за такое исполнение.

@СофьяДанюкина
Jewish songs are beautiful, melodic, tender. The voice is enchanting and reaches deep into the soul. You want to listen and listen. And you remember your own closest, dearest people. I had never heard this song before. Thank you for such a warm performance, and for the chance to listen to Jewish music and songs.

Еврейские песни прекрасные, мелодичные, нежные. Голос завораживает и проникает в душу. Хочется слушать и слушать. И вспоминаешь своих самых близких родных Песню эту раньше не слышала. Спасибо за такое тёплое исполнение и за то, что есть возможность слушать еврейскую музыку и песни.

@СофьяДанюкина
Thank you, this song is about my childhood. By the stove with my grandpa, he taught me the alphabet. So I am not the only one with a memory like this. It touched me.

спасибо, песня про моё детство. у печки с дедулей он меня учил азбуке.Значит не у меня одной такое воспоминание.Тронуло...

@НатальяИсаева-э2ь
Me and my grandfather. He was not my blood relative, he was my mother's stepfather, but he was my beloved grandfather. I still cry to this day.

Я и мой дедушка,он мне был не родной,отчим моей мамы,но это был любимый дедушка,до сих пор плачу.

@a-lq9tn
I remember my grandfather, Grigory. It was just as it is in this song.

... 💓Дедушку вспоминаю, Григория, так и было, как в этой песне.

@ГалинаТолстова-ы3л
Thank you! I listened and quietly sang along. I remember my grandmother, with whom I read books by the stove when I was staying with her in the village.

Благодарю! Слушала и тихо подпевала. Вспоминаю свою бабушку с которой я читала книжки у печки, когда я гостила у неё в деревне.

@ludmilalazareva6287
You would think there is only a drop of Jewish blood in me. And yet this is how the soul answers, with a lump in the throat. I have lost count of how many times I have listened. Thank you!

Казалось бы - капля крови во мне еврейской. А вот так отвечает душа, что просто ком в голре.. Слушаю уже не знаю в какой раз. Спаибо!

@Витус-ж9г
An extraordinary voice. Precious. A very, very talented singer.

Необыкновенный голос. Драгоценный. Очень очень талантливая певица.

@lisasimpson305
A wonderful, calm song, and a lovely voice.

Чудесная, спокойная песня, и голос хорош.

@musorinabronislava1627