Yiddishist San Diego organization now has a home
Image by YAAANA
By Forverts Staff October 25, 2021
Yiddish enthusiasts in the San Diego, California region will soon have a meeting place of their own for events related to the Yiddish language and culture.
The Yiddish Arts and Academics Association of North America, or YAAANA, has rented a space at 1128 Wall Street in La Jolla, a seaside neighborhood of San Diego. The general public is invited to the dedication (khanukes-habayis, in Yiddish) of the new Yiddish cultural center, on November 14th at 12:30 pm PT, where a mezuzah will be affixed to the doorpost.
“We will have lectures here, workshops, dramatic readings and exhibits,” explained the organization’s director, Jana Mazurkiewicz Meisarosh. “There will also be a cafe where people can drink tea or coffee while reading books in Yiddish, Hebrew, or English that they find on our bookshelves..”
Meanwhile, the gallery has already opened with its first exhibit: works by artist Seymour Rosenthal. The artwork is, incidentally, for sale, and the proceeds will be used to help cover the cost of renting the space.
Mazurkiewicz Meisarosh hopes that locals will be able to help out, even if simply by providing wooden stools, benches and tables. For more information, contact Jana Mazurkiewicz Meisarosh here.
A message from Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forverts' 127-year legacy — and its bright future.
In the past, the goal of the Forverts was to Americanize its readers, to encourage them to learn English well and to acculturate to American society. Today, our goal is the reverse: to acquaint readers — especially those with Eastern European roots — with their Jewish cultural heritage, through the Yiddish language, literature, recipes and songs.
Our daily Yiddish content brings you new and creative ways to engage with this vibrant, living language, including Yiddish Wordle, Word of the Day videos, Yiddish cooking demos, new music, poetry and so much more.
— Rukhl Schaechter, Yiddish Editor
