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…
Yiddish
The Latest
-
Books Jewish Converts in the Russian Empire
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. Ellie R. Schainker, “Confessions of the Shtetl: Converts from Judaism in Imperial Russia, 1817-1906” (Stanford University Press) In Sholem Asch’s novel “Petersburg,” Madam Kvasnetsova, an interesting Jewish woman who has converted to Christianity, owns a house in St. Petersburg and an inn for Jews who come to…
-
Yiddish World Yiddish Summer Weimar Will Highlight the Cultures of Israel
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. This year the theme of the annual festival, Yiddish Summer Weimar, will be “The Other Israel: Seeing Unseen Diasporas.” Besides its usual programming the five-week celebration of Ashkenazi culture will also include a series of concerts and workshops dedicated to the various cultures of Israel and the…
-
Community The Modern Men of Chelm: Demons From The Cookie Jar
Editor’s note: In Ashkenazi Jewish folklore, the (very real) city of Chelm functions as an imaginary town of fools. Many tales from this tradition are entitled “The Wise Men of Chelm.” The following piece continues in that tradition. Tossing and turning, Reb Yankel spent the night struggling with intense nightmares. He could not sleep peacefully….
-
The Schmooze Quiz: Do You Really Know Yiddish Slang?
Unless you’re living under a rock that is somehow impervious to think pieces, you know that we are now living in the “Golden Age of Television”. If you watched the Tony awards Sunday night you heard one winner’s victorious announcement that this is a “Golden Age of American playwrighting”. And if you have been to…
-
Culture Yankel and Leah (Chapter 1)
This originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. Yankel walked up the stairs in the dormitory, to light the Chanukah menorah. He lit a match but it blew out. He lit another one. Outside, a mix of rain and snow was falling. Inside, the ancient cast-iron radiator hissed. Chanukah was late this year – the end…
-
Yiddish World Acclaimed Yiddish Folksinger Arkady Gendler Dies at Age 95
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. The legendary Yiddish folksinger, folklorist and teacher, Arkady Gendler, died at the venerable age of 95 at his home in the Ukrainian city of Zaporozhe on May 22nd. Gendler, a constant ebullient presence at klezmer music festivals around the world, played an important role in the modern…
-
Yiddish World Yiddish Fables As Part of a Kindergarten Curriculum
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. Not long ago, I arrived in a small corner of Eden in rural western Pennsylvania: a bit of forest, a burbling brook, manicured lawns and camp-style wooden cabins and lodges. Displayed in and around the main lodge was all that a young child might desire—charmingly wrought sand…
-
Fast Forward Covfefe? Al Franken Says Trump’s Cryptic Tweet Is Yiddish For ‘Bedtime’
President Trump’s early morning tweet about “covfefe” got many in the media guessing about what the indecipherable typo referred to. But it was no mystery to Al Franken – who humorously interpreted the nonsense word as Yiddish. “A covfefe is a Yiddish term for ‘I got to go to bed now,’” the comedian-turned-Minnesota senator joshed…
Explore
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The Germans have a word for what’s happening in Trump’s America
- 2
Fast Forward It was a historic Jewish night at the Oscars. Why are so many Jews outraged?
- 3
Opinion To avoid a showdown with Vance and Trump, Zelenskyy should have channeled Netanyahu
- 4
Film & TV Mikey Madison is Jewish — is ‘Anora’?
In Case You Missed It
-
Yiddish World Who was the audience for the rhyming Purim play?
-
Fast Forward Adidas just sold off its final Yeezy shoe. Some of the proceeds are going to fight antisemitism.
-
Fast Forward Cincinnati rabbi disinvited from rally against neo-Nazis over his support for Israel
-
Opinion Trump should talk to anyone, anywhere, if it can save our hostages
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
