Helsinki, Finland Image by iStock

If you find yourself in Finland in February, join Rukhl Schaechter, editor of the Yiddish Forward (Forverts), at the southern capital for Limud Helsinki, an annual Jewish cultural learning festival. The programs, which run the weekend of February 2 and 3, are diverse and plentiful, and Schaechter will lead three.

The first talk, “How the Yiddish Forward Is Being Transformed in the New Millennium,” will delve into how Schaechter and her staff have increased the publication’s online presence. The Yiddish Forward has an active YouTube channel and social media, which are constantly updated with international podcasts, translated articles and subtitled videos. Hasidim, the largest Yiddish-speaking community today, notably read the Forverts on their smartphones for the latest Yiddish news, analyses, cooking shows and music videos.

Schaechter will also present “The Powerful Role Women Played in the Yiddish-Speaking Shtetl.” There she will explore how although women in Ashkenazi Jewish societies often played a subordinate role to their husbands in public, they were the leaders at home. They were the more vocal partner and often the breadwinners as well as typically determining their children’s religious affiliations.

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The last discussion is about everyone’s favorite subject: food. “What Gefilte Fish and Other Classic Ashkenazi Dishes Were Like In the Old Country” will be a delicious look at the past of an iconic Jewish food. And the history is not what you might imagine!

Buy tickets here.

To find out how to become a friend of the Forward and get notices of events like these, email Robbie Caplan.

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