WATCH: So many Yiddish words for ‘imbecile’

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Read this article in Yiddish
On October 19th more than 1,000 people tuned in to watch the Forward’s first online gala.
One of this year’s features was an online auction. One of the offerings people could bid on – a private Yiddish lesson with Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter – went up to $720. The evening also included greetings from celebrities including former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg and actress Mayim Bialik, as well as various musical and comic routines by talented performers.
A highlight of the evening was a sketch featuring Yiddish actors Allen Lewis Rickman and Yelena Shmulenson. The married comic duo taught viewers a number of colorful Yiddish expressions that not only demonstrated the clever irony and sarcasm of eastern European Yiddish speakers, but was also downright hilarious.
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
