This is 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 Yiddish World, and for stories written in Yiddish,…
Yiddish
The Latest
-
Books A Family Like No Other
The Zelmenyaners: A Family Saga By Moyshe Kulbak, translated by Hillel Halkin, introduction and notes by Sasha Senderovich Yale University Press, 304 pages, $25 Near the end of “The Zelmenyaners,” a novel by Soviet Yiddish writer Moyshe Kulbak, one of the younger characters takes the stand to denounce her family. The proceedings are officially about…
-
Books New Yiddish Dictionary Explores Intracacies of Language
Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary Edited by Solon Beinfeld and Harry Bochner Indiana University Press, 744 pages, $45 The binding of my copy of Uriel Weinreich’s “Modern English-Yiddish Yiddish-English Dictionary” broke sometime between my third and fourth semesters studying the language. The beginning Yiddish student can get by with only the glossary in the back of Weinreich’s…
-
News The Forward Says Good-Bye to Mister Katz
The honorific “Mr.” is applied to just one member of staff at the Forward. Not to Forward Association president and newspaper publisher Samuel Norich, nor to the chairman of the board, Jacob Morowitz, but to a Yiddish copy editor, Louis Katz. The elfin Mr. Katz — or simply “Katz” or “Ketsele,” as he is referred…
-
News David Ben Gurion Defends Israeli Military Rule in Arab Areas
Forward Looking Back brings you the stories that were making news in the Forward’s Yiddish paper 100, 75, and 50 years ago. Check back each week for a new set of illluminating, edifying and sometimes wacky clippings from the Jewish past. 100 Years Ago 1913 Two of the biggest Yiddish theaters in New York have…
-
The Schmooze Dispute Settled Over Yiddish Literary Trove
The dispute over the papers of the late Yiddish writer Chaim Grade has been settled in favor of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and the National Library of Israel, according to a recent press release. The two organizations have also gained control over copyright to Grade’s published work. Grade was one of the most…
-
Life Yenta’s Real Yiddish History
This post is in response to “Yenta’s Dirty Roots,” which ran on The Sisterhood on February 10, 2013. One of the many interesting things about Yiddish is that no one is entirely sure how it started. Though it originated in Medieval Europe, its exact roots are the subject of competing hypotheses among scholars. What isn’t…
-
Books Author Blog: Dreaming in Mother Tongues
Earlier, Hannah S. Pressman wrote about the idea behind “Choosing Yiddish: New Frontiers of Language and Culture” and when she first began to study Yiddish. Her blog posts are featured on The Arty Semite courtesy of the Jewish Book Council and My Jewish Learning’s Author Blog Series. For more information on the series, please visit:…
-
Culture Detectives Bust Teenage Opium Den
Forward Looking Back brings you the stories that were making news in the Forward’s Yiddish paper 100, 75, and 50 years ago. Check back each week for a new set of illuminating, edifying and sometimes wacky clippings from the Jewish past. 100 Years Ago 1913 Detectives from the 5th Street Station were given a tip…
Explore
Most Popular
In Case You Missed It
-
Opinion It’s time for the pro-Palestinian movement to make a radical change
-
Fast Forward NY State Young Republicans chapter disbanded amid racist, antisemitic chat scandal
-
Fast Forward Palestinian man who allegedly participated in Oct. 7 attack on Israel arrested in Louisiana
-
Fast Forward Far-right UK activist Tommy Robinson visits Israel on invite of Diaspora Minister Amichai Chikli
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
