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.
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Culture 1968, Turbulent Year In World History, Remembered In New Exhibit
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…
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Culture Is An Arizona Family Haunted By A Yiddish-Speaking Ghost?
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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Culture WATCH: Yosl Birstein Gave A Yiddish Voice To Israel’s Charms And Foibles
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. Yosl Birstein was such a terrific storyteller, both in Yiddish and in Hebrew, that he eventually became a legendary figure on the Israeli radio. In this video filmed in 1994, Birstein portrays with authentic Yiddish charm and humor the various characters he met after settling in Israel:…
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Yiddish World Klezmer Singer Daniel Kahn’s Unique Celebration Of Engagement To Dancer Eva Lapsker
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. In the traditional Jewish betrothal ceremony (called tnoyim in Yiddish), the bride and groom barely play a role. The parents of both sides draw up a document detailing all the prenuptial conditions; the parents then sign that document, alongside two “kosher” witnesses. But at the recent engagement…
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Yiddish World WATCH: The Barry Sisters, America’s Most Famous Yiddish Singers, Perform Live
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. The Barry Sisters, Minnie “Merna” Bagelman (1923-1976) and Clara Bagelman (1920-2014), were the most popular Yiddish singers in American history. The sisters initially gained fame thanks to the popular radio show “Yiddish Melodies in Swing,” which began in 1937. The show bridged American and Yiddish culture by…
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Opinion What The Forward’s Receptionist Knows
The Forward’s receptionist, Marina Vinokur, always has a story for me. A 19-year veteran of the Forward, Marina’s stories — which span the Forward’s transition from Yiddish and Russian to English, from print to digital — tend to reveal the underbelly of this hallowed institution. “When we switched from newspaper to magazine, a cranky old…
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Yiddish World Recalling The Unsavory Characters Of Jewish History, From ‘Prophets’ To Murderers
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. Bad Rabbi: And Other Strange but True Stories from the Yiddish Press By Eddy Portnoy Stanford University Press, 280 pages $15.25 When the study of Jewish history began in the 19th century, it had two goals: To create an objective picture of the Jewish past and to…
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Culture Swedish Music Videos Teach Children Yiddish
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. Thanks to Yiddish’s status as an official minority language in Sweden, the Scandinavian nation finances many initiatives to encourage its use. Besides the yearly international Yiddish seminar, a program sponsored by the Yiddish authority in which lecturers and performers from around the world speak to Sweden’s Jewish…
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