Preservation of Yiddish Culture

Preservation of Yiddish Culture and Heritage

Сохранение культуры идиша

אָפּהיטן אונדזער ייִדישע קולטור־ירושה

לשמור על תרבות היידיש

Yiddish Studies Across the World

 Yiddish Studies Across the World

This list may be incomplete. Please inform us about active academic or informal Yiddish study programs for children or adults that are not listed below.

Argentina

Argentinian YIVO, Buenos Aires

Online international Yiddish courses at all levels.
https://iwo.org.ar/cursos-seminario-internacional.html

Australia

Sholem Aleichem College, Melbourne

A Yiddish day school for kindergarten and primary school age. Established in 1947.
https://www.sholem.vic.edu.au/

Monash University, Melbourne

Undergraduate studies of Yiddish language and literature
https://handbook.monash.edu/search?q=Yiddish

Austria

University of Vienna

Belgium

University of Antwerp

Free University of Brussels

Yiddish studies on all levels
https://iej.site.ulb.be/fr/yiddish/in-english

Canada

McGill University, Montreal

University of Toronto

Undergraduate courses on Yiddish culture, literature and society.
https://german.utoronto.ca/yiddish-studies/

Committee for Yiddish, Toronto

Online and offline Yiddish classes and programs
https://www.committeeforyiddish.com

Kultura Collective, Toronto

Yiddish Vinkl, Toronto

Free meet-ups for people interested in the Yiddish language and culture
http://www.yiddishvinkl.com/

Peretz Centre, Vancouver

University of Manitoba, Winnipeg

University of Ottawa

China

Peking University, Beijing

Beginner Level Yiddish Studies
https://english.pku.edu.cn/

Germany

University of Potsdam

Courses of Yiddish language, literature and culture
https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/js-rw/institut/jewish-languages/lia-martyn-phd

Salomo Birnbaum Society, Hamburg

Yiddish courses for students with different levels
https://www.birnbaum-gesellschaft.de

Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf

Bachelor and Master programs in Yiddish culture, language and literature
BA program
MA program

University of Trier

Yiddish studies, including a unique program of the historical Western dialects
https://www.uni-trier.de/index.php?id=982

Jewish Adult Education Centre, Frankfurt am Main

Free University of Berlin

Summer Program for Yiddish Language and Literature
http://www.yiddishberlin.com/

Heidelberg University

Beginning, intermediate and advanced Yiddish
https://www.uni-heidelberg.de/en/study/all-subjects/jewish-studies

France

Paris Yiddish Center

Yiddish courses and programs on various academic levels, offline and online.
https://www.yiddishparis.com
https://cours.yiddish.paris/

Sorbonne University, Paris

National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO), Paris

Undergraduate and graduate Yiddish studies
http://www.inalco.fr/langue/yiddish

Hungary

Central European University. Budapest

Beginner and intermediate Yiddish
https://jewishstudies.ceu.edu/

Israel

Leyvik House, Tel Aviv

A leading center for studying Yiddish language, literature and culture.
https://www.leyvik.com

Tel Aviv University

Intensive international summer program of Yiddish studies
https://en-humanities.tau.ac.il/naomiyiddish/

Sholem Aleichem House, Tel Aviv

Yiddish courses on different levels
https://bethshalomaleichem.co.il/

Hebrew University, Jerusalem

Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan

Japan

Tokyo University of Foreign Studies

Netherlands

Yiddish Foundation, Amsterdam

Classes of Yiddish language and literature
http://www.stichtingjiddisj.nl/

University of Amsterdam

Bachelor’s level Yiddish courses
https://www.uva.nl/en/

Crescas Center, Amsterdam

Poland

Center for Yiddish Culture, Warsaw

Academic and informal Yiddish studies on many levels
http://jidyszland.pl/en/

Yiddish Culture Center in Warsaw and Łódź

Yiddish courses and international summer Yiddish language and culture seminars
http://shalom.org.pl/en/centrum-kultury-jidysz-2/

University of Wrocław

Bachelor’s, Master’s and doctoral degrees in Jewish and Yiddish studies
https://judaistyka.en.uni.wroc.pl/

Jagiellonian University, Krakow

University of Warsaw

Russia

Moscow Jewish Community Center

Beginner level Yiddish classes
https://mjcc.ru/news/idish/

Centre for Jewish Studies, European University, St. Petersburg

Yiddish studies on all levels
http://judaica.spb.ru/en/

Jewish Community Centre, St. Petersburg

Beginner level Yiddish studies, lectures for advanced students
http://www.jew.spb.ru/

Lyceum 23, Birobidzhan

Beginner level Yiddish classes for children
http://23-school.ru/

Jewish Cultural Youth Center, Birobidzhan

Beginner level Yiddish classes, cultural events
https://ducek.ru/

Sweden

Lund University

Beginner, intermediate and advanced Yiddish studies
https://www.sol.lu.se/en/jiddisch/

League for Yiddish in Sweden, Stockholm

Yiddish classes, cultural evenings, seminars and lectures
http://www.jiddischforbundet.se/

Switzerland

Institute for Jewish Studes, Basel University

Yiddish studies within the theological course
https://jewishstudies.unibas.ch/

Ukraine

National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Kyiv

Ukrainian Catholic University, Lviv

United Kingdom

University College London

Elementary and intermediate Yiddish studies, including classes in Yiddish
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/study-abroad-at-ucl/modules/hebr0044/1819

University of Oxford

Undergraduate and graduate Yiddish studies
https://www.mod-langs.ox.ac.uk/yiddish

United States

YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, New York

Yiddish courses on several levels, summer and winter programs, lectures and events
https://www.yivo.org/Yiddish

Workers Circle, New York

Offline and online Yiddish classes
https://www.circle.org/

Columbia University, New York

Basic, undergraduate and graduate Yiddish courses
https://germanic.columbia.edu/programs/yiddish

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Beginning and intermediate Yiddish, Yiddish literature
https://germanic.sas.upenn.edu/languages/yiddish

Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York

Yiddish studies on all levels
https://jewishstudies.bard.edu/yivo/

Yiddish Farm, New Hampton, New York

Yiddish immersion program with fun activities and organic farming
https://yiddishfarm.org

League for Yiddish, New York

Yiddish classes, educational events
https://leagueforyiddish.org/programen.html

Yiddish Book Center, Amherst, Massachusetts

Online Yiddish classes for beginners, series of lectures on Yiddish literature and culture
https://www.yiddishbookcenter.org

Yugntruf, New York

Yiddish immersion programs for advanced students and native speakers
https://yugntruf.org

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

Yiddish language and linguistics
https://courses.cornell.edu

University of California, Santa Cruz

Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts

Stanford University, California

Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

Basic and intermediate Yiddish courses
https://judaicstudies.yale.edu/

University of California, Berkeley

Elementary, intermediate and advanced Yiddish studies; graduate programs
https://german.berkeley.edu/yiddish-studies/

University of California, Los Angeles

Gratz College, Melrose Park, Pennsylvania

Basic Yiddish and conversational skills classes
https://www.gratz.edu/academics/degree/continuing-education/hebrew

University of Chicago, Illinois

Beginning, intermediate and advanced Yiddish studies
https://ceeres.uchicago.edu/languages/yiddish

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

University of Texas at Austin

Basic and intermediate Yiddish, courses in Yiddish literature, theater, film, and culture
https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/languages/yiddish.html

University of Kentucky, Lexington

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

Basic, intermediate and advanced Yiddish studies
https://krieger.jhu.edu/modern-languages-literatures/hebrew-and-yiddish/

University of Maryland, College Park

Beginners Yiddish
https://jewishstudies.umd.edu/

Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

Elementary, intermediate and advanced Yiddish studies
https://germanic.indiana.edu/undergraduate/yiddish-studies/

Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Ohio State University, Columbus

Undergraduate Yiddish studies
https://germanic.osu.edu/yiddish-ashkenazic

New York University, Manhattan

Yiddish on all levels, mainly for PhD students
https://guides.nyu.edu/yiddishstudies

Seattle Central College, Washington

Elementary and intermediate Yiddish studies
https://ce.seattlecentral.edu/category/language-academy/yiddish

Yiddish Events Calendar

Yiddish Events Calendar

Yiddish Events Calendar

At the beginning of February 2023, the Yiddish Forward newspaper in New York launched a new supplement: a global calendar of events, primarily lectures, concerts and conferences, held in Yiddish or directly related to this language. The materials in the calendar are published primarily in English (sometimes in Yiddish) and mainly address English-speaking audiences. It briefly describes future events for several months in advance.

The Yiddish Forward is the oldest Yiddish publication still in existence, established in 1897. Since 2019, it ceased its paper publication and has been operating as a Yiddish supplement to the Forward newspaper, an English publication based in New York (also online only since 2019).

Spring Courses for Yiddish Speakers

Spring Courses for Yiddish Speakers

Spring Courses for Yiddish Speakers

The New York branch of the Workers’ Circle (Der Arbeter Ring) announced the registration for the spring courses of video lectures for Yiddish speakers and advanced students. The online classes will be held in Yiddish, starting from the end of February and will continue until June. The program will cover such diverse subjects as the grammar of literary Yiddish, the history of Yiddish literature and theater, and practical advice on writing literary texts in this language. Lecturers invited come from the USA, Israel, France and Argentina. Future participants are welcome to sign up on the organization’s website.

Translations from Yiddish: 2022

Translations from Yiddish: 2022

2022 Translations from Yiddish

In Geveb, the bilingual English-Yiddish online journal specializing in Yiddish cultural studies, has been reviewing translations from Yiddish into other languages over the last few years. Recently, it published the new list of 2022 translations composed by Dalia Wolfson. This list contains bibliographic information about 53 books: 18 of these have been published in English, 8 in Polish, 5 in each Hebrew and Lithuanian, 4 in each French and Russian, 2 books in each German, Chinese and Spanish, one book has been translated into each Greek, Belarusian and Czech.

In addition to individual books, dozens of translations from Yiddish into various languages were also published during the year of 2022 in periodicals and anthologies. Such translations appeared last year, in addition to those listed above languages, also in Ukrainian and Dutch. The list includes as well translations published not on paper, but in electronic format.

Most of the authors whose works were translated from Yiddish belong to previous generations: Mendele Moykher-Sforim, Yitskhok-Leybush Peretz, Sholem Aleichem, Chaim Grade, Anna Margolin, Isaac Bashevis Singer, Jacob Glatshteyn, Avrom Sutzkever, Melekh Ravitch, Osher Shvartsman, Joseph Opatoshu, Yisroel Amiot, Celia Dropkin, Shira Gorshman, Avrom Karpinovitch, Binem Heller, Moyshe-Leyb Halpern, Itzik Manger, Kaczerginski, Kadia Molodowsky, Alter Kacyzne, Debora Vogel, Leyb Kvitko, Esther Kreitman, Yisroel Rabon, David Bergelson, Peretz Hirshbein, Peretz Markish, Mani Leib, Avrom Reyzen, Israel Joshua Singer, Moyshe Kulbak, Yitzkhok Katzenelson, and others.

At the same time, it is pleasant to note that the new In Geveb translation list also includes works by contemporary Yiddish writers: Rivka Basman Ben-Hayim, Boris Sandler, Velvl Chernin, Moishe Lemster, Ber Kotlerman, Hirshe-Dovid Katz, Katle-Kanye, Sholom Berger, Bruria Wiegand, Evgeny Kissin, Shiri Shapira, Emil Kalin, and Eli Sharfstein.

It should be added that a number of literary translators from Yiddish mentioned in the In Geveb list also write their own original works in Yiddish. These include Yermiyahu Ahron Taub who translates into English; Marek Tuszewicki into Polish, Yisroel Nekrasov and Yoel Matveyev into Russian, and David-Omar Cohen who translates from Yiddish into Dutch.

Farbindungen 2023

Farbindungen 2023

Farbindungen 2023

The Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies at the Toronto University announces registration for a two-days program of online events focusing on the future development of Yiddish and scientific research of this language. The program will take place on February 19 and 20. According to the organizers, the main target audience are graduate students, advanced undergraduates and early career professionals who will get an opportunity to look toward the future of Yiddish and Yiddish Studies, to participate in interactive workshops and moderated paper panels.

The organization Farbindungen, which means “Connections” in Yiddish, was established in 2022. Its first winter conference focused on international team work of scholars and other creative personalities whose activities are related to the Yiddish language. The schedule of the upcoming program has been posted on the Farbindungen website.

New Performance by Yiddishpil

New Performance by Yiddishpil

New Performance by Yiddishpil

On January 8, a new performance was premiered by the Tel Aviv theater Yiddishpil, entitled Zikhroynes fun Motl Peyse dem khazns (The Memories of Mottl, Peysi the Cantor’s Son), based on Sholem Aleichem’s classic novel. The new musical drama was written by the Israeli playwright Rami Rosen (1944-2019) and directed by Yonatan Esterkin, starring two actors, Yaacov (Yankele) Bodo and Yonatan Rosen. The performance is entirely in Yiddish, subtitled in Hebrew and Russian. It will run until February 19.