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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Yiddish
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Fast Forward Frank London’s Yiddish Opera Will Premiere In Cuba
RIO DE JANEIRO (JTA) — A new opera based on an 86-year-old Yiddish poem about a Taino indigenous chief who resisted the Spanish invaders will have its premiere in Havana next month. “Hatuey: Memory of Fire,” will first be performed in Havana on March 3, reported the New York Times. Composed by Frank London of the Klezmatics, the…
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Life Why My Yiddish-Speaking Family Celebrates ‘English-Speaking Day’
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. When I got married, I decided to speak Yiddish to my children, and not just any Yiddish, but my husband’s “heymish Yiddish”; in other words – Hasidic Yiddish. I was able to carry out my plan quickly since I was marrying a divorced father of three, so…
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Community Making Chelm Great Again
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. Lately, the people of Chelm had been afraid. A number of townspeople, afflicted by poverty and unhappiness,…
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Culture An Anti-Immigration Bill Becomes Law, And More Of The Forward Looking Back
100 Years Ago After a long and difficult struggle, the enemies of free immigration have won a battle. The Burnett Anti-Immigration Bill will become law despite a presidential veto, and will go into effect in May. However, those who support free immigration can take a bit of solace because the anti-immigration forces were compelled to…
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Opinion The Battle Over What To Call Your Grandma
This article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. On January 15, 2017, I — the mother of three adult sons — finally became a grandmother. Following the Jewish tradition, the new parents, Menachem and Emily, chose not to divulge the name of the infant boy until the bris. So when the rabbi announced that my…
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Opinion Terms of Endearment: What Should We Call Our Grandmothers?
In a recent essay in the Forward, new grandmother Rukhl Schaechter wrote of her fondness for being called “Bubbe,” the Yiddish term for grandmother. But Schaechter lamented that “the B-word” is now “seen as a vestige of a previous era, causing modern, educated women to run the other way.” Beyond Jewish-specific titles for grandmothers to…
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Culture A Deadly Explosion In Chicago, And More Of The Forward Looking Back
100 Years Ago A massive gas explosion rocked the heart of the Jewish ghetto on the West Side of Chicago. At least 40 people were killed and hundreds were wounded in the blast, which occurred in the early morning hours on the 800 block of West 14th Place while most of the residents were sleeping….
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Community Remembering Yosl Bergner
This article originally appeared on Plus61J. Yosl Bergner never wanted to visit the places of his imagination. Many years ago, when I suggested a trip together to retrace the travels of his poet father, Melech Ravitch, across the Australian outback – a 1933 search for a homeland for German Jewish refugees – Yosl refused to…
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