Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky

By Forverts Staff March 18, 2020

Read this article in Yiddish

As COVID-19 continues to affect individuals and societies around the world, the YIVO Institute for Jewish research has decided to offer all its online courses free of charge.

“YIVO wants to help keep our spirits lifted and provide content to sustain our minds and souls,” said Jonathan Brent, YIVO’s Executive Director and CEO.

As a public service during this pandemic, the Forward is providing free, unlimited access to all coronavirus articles. If you’d like to support our independent Jewish journalism, click here to make a donation.

The courses, part of YIVO’s Shine Online Educational Series, include:

• Discovering Ashkenaz: Jewish Life in Eastern Europe, a survey of the 1,000-year history of Jews in Eastern Europe, taught by Prof. Sam Kassow

• Folksong, Demons and the Evil Eye where you’ll explore the music, folktales, rituals, and superstitions of the Jews in prewar Eastern Europe, taught by Prof. Itzik Gottesman

• A Seat at the Table: A Journey into Jewish food featuring hundreds of never-before-seen archival objects, lectures by leading scholars and video demonstrations of your favorite Jewish recipes by renowned chefs.

• Oh Mama, I’m In Love: The Story Of the Yiddish Stage where you’ll learn about the greatest Yiddish actors, producers, designers, and playwrights, including Molly Picon, Paul Muni and Stella Adler

To register for any of the free Shine online courses click here.

The public is also encouraged to take advantage of YIVO’s other free online resources:

• Watch hundreds of lectures, conferences, book talks and concerts, featuring award-winning scholars, writers and artists

• Explore YIVO’s prewar Vilna online collections

• Access the world’s most comprehensive free online encyclopedia of Ashkenazi civilization

• View its online exhibitions, including treasures from its archival and library collections

• Search the YIVO Digital Asset Guide for access to photos, audio and video recordings, online galleries, Yiddish theater works and books

This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.

We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.

This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.

With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.

The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.

Don't just read the Forward - invest in it. Make a matched gift today.

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$120 $180 $360 OTHER AMOUNT