Rukhl Schaechter is the Yiddish editor of the Forward and the producer of the YouTube series, “Yiddish Word of the Day.” She loves cooking, Israeli folk-dancing and talking to her grandchildren.
Rukhl SchaechterYiddish/Forverts Editor
By Rukhl Schaechter
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Yiddish World Gella Fishman Made Sure That Yiddish Wasn’t Shoved Aside
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. About two years ago Gella Fishman, the Yiddish teacher and archivist who passed away last month, called me one evening and asked indignantly: “How could it be that YIVO is now sending all its letters out without a single word in Yiddish?” Although I had been receiving…
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Yiddish World VIDEO: A Yiddish Newsroom During the Eventful Summer of ‘76
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. In the summer of 1976, against the backdrop of the dramatic Entebbe Operation, the Bicentennial celebrations on the Hudson River and the nomination of Jimmy Carter for President at the Democratic National Convention in New York, the Yiddish Forward, then located at its historic building in the…
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Yiddish World EU Surprisingly Comes To Israel’s Aid With Anti-BDS Move
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. Among the many holidays in the Jewish calendar, May could easily be called Israel Month. It begins with Memorial Day, which commemorates the fallen soldiers of the Israeli Defense Forces, and is followed immediately by Yom Haatzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. Several weeks later comes Jerusalem Day, celebrating…
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Yiddish World Want To Know Where Yiddish Is Going? Ask Directions In Israel
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. During a recent trip to Israel, my 31-year old son, Naftali, spent an afternoon taking in the sights of Tel Aviv. Although he’s a fluent Hebrew speaker, he was curious whether any of the merchants or passers-by knew Yiddish, too, and decided to check it out. Entering…
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The Schmooze WATCH: Lipa Schmeltzer, AKA The Hasidic Lady Gaga, Shakes Up Purim
The stereotype-defying Orthodox singer and composer, also known as the Hasidic Lady Gaga, talks to the Yiddish Forward at his latest concert in Manhattan.
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Fast Forward WATCH: Meet This Gunslinging, Yiddish-Speaking Klezmer Scholar
Watch this Yiddish-speaking performer and scholar of klezmer music discuss his love of competition shooting, his experience at gun shows in an Ohio military camp and his personal gun collection.
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Opinion The Battle Over What To Call Your Grandma
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. On January 15, 2017, I — the mother of three adult sons — finally became a grandmother. Following the Jewish tradition, the new parents, Menachem and Emily, chose not to divulge the name of the infant boy until the bris. So when the rabbi announced that my…
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Culture Here Are the Top 10 New Yiddish Words
The Comprehensive English-Yiddish Dictionary, edited by Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath and Paul Glasser, is full not only of familiar words but a smattering of new ones as well. We picked our top ten favorite Yiddish neologisms. Designated Driver = der nikhterer shofer Hate Crime = der sine-farbrekhn Printer = der opdruker Flip-Flops = fingershikh Jabbing Pain =…
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