Located "exactly in the middle of that blessed Pale",[1] it is an idealized town of "little Jews" (kleyne mentshelekh), who met their misfortunes with humor and the ultimate belief in justice.
"[1] Dan Miron remarks that this term is based on the Hebrew name Kasril (Modern Hebrew: Katriel) ("God is my crown" or "God surrounds and supports me") [6] The prototype of Kasrilevka was the Ukrainian town of Voronkov of the Russian Empire (now village Voronkiv, Ukraine) where Sholem Aleichem grew up.
[8] A detailed glimpse at Voronkov, the prototype of Kasrilevka, may be found in Funem Yarid: lebns-bashraybungen (Yiddish: פונעם יאריד, Back from the Fair: Descriptions of Life, 1915), Sholem Aleichem's unfinished autobiographical novel.
[6] Early Sholem Aleichem's feuilletons published in Dos Yidishe Folksblat in 1886-1887 anticipated Kasrilevke.
[12] Kasrilevke is the place for numerous author's novellas, short stories, sketches and plays and its description, rich in detail, was a considerable part of his work.