 She became highly active in intellectual circles, and notably became close friends with Sholem Aleichem, Hayim Nahman Bialik, Mendele Mocher Sforim, and Mark Warshawski.It was Bialik who inspired her to begin collecting Yiddish music and to include it in her concerts.Up to this point, Yiddish music had been performed solely by men, usually hazzans, within concerts.