Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the Yiddish language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews in Europe and still spoken by many Hasidic Jews today.
For more stories on Yiddishkeit, see Forverts in English, and for stories written in…
Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of the Yiddish language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews in Europe and still spoken by many Hasidic Jews today.
For more stories on Yiddishkeit, see Forverts in English, and for stories written in…
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. Few people today know that in the 1950s, Yiddish programming on Israeli radio had half a million listeners every evening. Even Jews from abroad would listen, including those behind the Iron Curtain, where Jews would seek out ways to listen to the banned transmissions on their transistor…
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. The American singer Paul Robeson is mostly remembered today for his hauntingly beautiful bass voice, his groundbreaking career as an actor and as his political activism and involvement in the Communist party. Often forgotten is his mixed and tragic role in Yiddish literary history. Besides his musical…
(JTA) HOPEWELL JUNCTION, N.Y. (JTA) — The kids at Camp Kinder Ring mostly do what kids do at any Jewish summer camp. They hang out by the lake, play sports, goof off, find discreet places to, um, go on walks. But for an hour each day, groups of Jewish adolescents here eagerly do what few…
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. A unique Yiddish immersion program in Paris has begun its second semester. Its students, graduate students and postgraduates, praise it wholeheartedly. At the new Paris Yiddish Center’s program for intermediate and advanced students, each participant receives 15 hours of instruction in language and literature each week. They…
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. In this moving video, we learn about the dramatic life of the great Yiddish poet from the former Soviet Union, Yosef Kerler, in both his own words and through the eyes of his son, the poet Boris Karloff. In one scene, Kerler describes the terrifying moment when…
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. For hundreds of years, books played a powerful role in the lives of Vilna’s Jews. The city was home to the two most influential publishing houses of religious and secular books, Romm and B. Kletskin, as well as the great Strashun Library. Several synagogues, houses of study…
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. This year marks 50 years since the tumultuous year of 1968. In New York, a unique new exhibit at the Steven Kasher Gallery highlights iconic photographs of that memorable year. Among them are a number of images portraying Jewish celebrities, Israel and Jewish-related themes. The exhibition “Day…
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. Usually, reports of alleged paranormal events feature people who suspect that their house is haunted, or believe that they’ve seen a UFO or received a signal from a long deceased relative. Rarely, however, is the main focus of such a report a Yiddish word. But that’s just…
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