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
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Culture Protesting an Anti-Immigration Bill, and More Forward Looking Back
100 Years Ago With only seven senators voting against it, the Burnett anti-immigration bill now has an excellent chance of becoming a law. It is likely that it will pass with a large majority in the House as well. While it’s true that the bill has been amended and is now not as bad is…
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Culture ‘The Best Hope For Yiddish is in Israel:’ An Interview With Scholar Avrom Nowerstern
The following article originally appeared in the Yiddish Forverts. It was translated from the Yiddish by Meena Viswanath. Dr. Avrom Nowerstern, the long-standing Yiddish teacher and researcher, is the director of Beth Shalom Aleichem in Tel Aviv. He was born in Argentina in 1951 and moved to Israel in 1969. Nowerstern is no newcomer to…
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The Schmooze 2016, As Told Through Yiddish Curses
In a previous article I explained how people misuse Yiddish and Yiddish curses in American English. Though written to accurately reflect the correct form of Yiddish curses, the following are not meant in any way to poke fun of or make light of the sad events and tragedies of the past twelve months. Rather they…
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The Schmooze Why Don’t People Use Yiddish Curses Properly, in English?
As often happens when a popular Yiddish-related article is making the rounds, I received multiple Facebook messages asking what I thought of Gersh Kuntzman’s article in the New York Daily News declaring “farkakt” the best word to describe 2016. I wasn’t impressed. Kuntzman’s article is a pretty typical example of what I, for lack of…
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Culture The Plight of WWII Jewish Refugees in Shanghai, and More Forward Looking Back
100 Years Ago There was joy in the offices of the Hachnosas Orchim (Welcoming of Guests) organization on East Broadway in New York City this week. A group of about 200 immigrants from northeastern Poland and Lithuania had arrived, and their relatives were helping them enjoy the bounty of this land. Many of the immigrants…
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Community Dreideling Down in Dixie
A friend from Georgia once joked to me, “Everyone down here celebrates Christmas, even if you don’t celebrate Christmas.” The meaning of a Christmas tree in a Jewish home is different in a rural Southern town than it is in a Northern industrialized city. The story of Jewish assimilation and acceptance in the South has…
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Community WATCH: A Moving Yiddish Hanukkah Song For 2016
Among the numerous meanings Hanukkah has accrued over the centuries, the one that feels most urgent to me now is the opportunity to recall that bravery in the face of tyranny need not be confined to Jewish history. The tired, poor and huddled masses still yearn to breathe free, and Hanukkah is a reminder that…
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Fast Forward First Hasidic Female Judge Sworn In — to ‘God Bless America’ in Yiddish
(JTA) — Rachel Freier of Brooklyn officially became the first Hasidic woman to be sworn in as a judge in the State of New York. Freier, a mother of six and former lawyer who practiced commercial and residential estate law, was sworn in Thursday as the Civil Court judge in Kings County’s 5th judicial district,…
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Culture Is Elon Musk Jewish?
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News How did the ADL conclude that Elon Musk didn’t give a Nazi salute? It isn’t saying.
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Fast Forward Elise Stefanik decries ‘antisemitic rot’ in United Nations, backs Elon Musk at confirmation hearing
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Fast Forward Trump lifts sanctions on West Bank settlers, earning praise from the Israeli right
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