How a mensch from massachusetts saved yiddish literature for generations to come by sue macy. The yiddish book center national yiddish book center, located on the campus of hampshire college in amherst, massachusetts, united states, is a cultural institution dedicated to the preservation of books in the yiddish language, as well as the culture and history those books represent. The classic vulcan greeting made famous by his star trek character was inspired by a blessing from the jewish faith, nimoy, who died on friday, told the yiddish book center s wexler oral history. Students will successfully employ various strategies for advanced written and oral communication in yiddish. Oct 17, 2007 acknowledging yiddishs very long and often very fraught past, dr. Leonard nimoy jewish actor best known for his role as spock on the star trek science fiction series explains the jewish story behind the handgesture he made famous through his role as spock.
This site is made possible with support from the jim joseph foundation, which is devoted to fostering compelling, effective jewish learning experiences for youth and young adults in the u. Jul 04, 2012 yiddish book center s wexler oral history project, since 2010 has conducted more than 700 indepth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, looking at the jewish experience in general and yiddish in particular. Stories from the yiddish book center s wexler oral history project. Home the yiddish book centers great jewish books teacher. Uriel weinreichs college yiddish, first published by yivo in 1949, is still a standard textbook for firstyear yidd. Velvel pasternak was interviewed by hankus netsky on august 15, 2011 at his home in new york.
National yiddish book center inc guidestar profile. The 2016 melinda rosenblatt lecture presented by adam kirsch. Yiddish book center store 1021 west street amherst, ma 01002 42564900 ext. Apr 11, 2016 the celebration will also include a storytime and guided public tours of the center. To see the full interview and learn more about the yiddish book center s wexler oral history project, visit. Now, the college campus is where many young students first encounter the yiddish language.
The central role of yiddish played in jewish life, and its eventual decline, are in part attributable to important events and trends in jewish history. Gella schweid fishman yiddish teacher talks about rukhl fishman, her sisterinlaw and a poet. The yiddish book center s wexler oral history project is a growing collection of indepth interviews about. A history from colonial times to today by pamela s. In its 1,000plusyear history, the yiddish language has been called many things, including the tender name mameloshen mother tongue, the adversarial moniker zhargon jargon and the more matteroffact judeogerman. College yiddish by uriel weinreich yiddish book center store. The dybbuk the yiddish book centers great jewish books.
Students earning the minor in yiddish and east european jewish culture are expected to acquire a variety of skills, abilities and understandings. The yiddish for history is find more yiddish words at. The yiddish book center s wexler oral history project is a growing collection of indepth video interviews with people of all ages, exploring yiddish cultural topics and issues of modern jewish identity. Youll find permanent and visiting exhibits, an englishlanguage bookstore, and two performance halls where you can enjoy a yearround schedule of educational programs, concerts, films, and events. In a conversation recorded by the yiddish book center s wexler oral history project, montrealbased surgeon and actor aron gonshor talks about performing the dybbuk in vienna with the dora wasserman yiddish theater. Oral history the brooklyn jewish historical initiative bjhi. Yiddish literature, the body of written works in the yiddish language of ashkenazic jewry. The term yiddish is also used in the adjectival sense, synonymously with jewish, to designate attributes of yiddishkeit ashkenazi culture. National yiddish book center is a libraries, historical societies and landmark preservation charity located in amherst, ma. The yiddish book centers wexler oral history project is a growing collection of indepth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories about the legacy and changing nature of yiddish language and culture offer a rich and complex chronicle of jewish identity. If you respond and have not already registered, you will receive periodic updates and communications from yiddish book center. Rosalyn reyzele kirkels oral history yiddish book center. Oral history films christa whitney, director of the centers wexler oral history project, will screen and then discuss two short films from the projects beyond the books series showcasing yiddish literary figures and their descendants. Through a careful analysis of yiddish phonology, morphology, orthography, and the yiddish lexicon in all its varieties, alexander beider shows how what are commonly referred to as eastern yiddish.
National yiddish book center in amherst, ma librarything. Before the 1946 publication of uriel weinriechs landmark textbook, college yiddish was a term scarcely heard. Beginning with the centers 40th anniversary in 2020, and continuing for each of the next ten years, the center will select an annual theme. For example, in the aftermath of the first crusade in 1096, and the rampant persecution of jews that followed, jews increasingly isolated themselves from nonjewish society. Shandler began by saying, we often measure the state of a language and culture against the past, especially the period immediately before world war ii, when yiddish is the most widely spoken of any jewish language in history and is the center of a vernacular culture. The yiddish book center is a nonprofit organization that works to tell the whole jewish story by rescuing, translating, and disseminating yiddish books and p. Oral history films christa whitney, director of the center s wexler oral history project, will screen and then discuss two short films from the projects beyond the books series showcasing yiddish literary figures and their descendants. The mission of the secular yiddishist camp was to instill a love for yiddish.
Jews take pride in the name the people of the book. About the yiddish book center yiddish book center store. Wexler oral history project of the yiddish book center december at 7. The yiddish book center s wexler oral history project is a growing collection of indepth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories about the legacy and changing nature of yiddish language and culture offer a rich and complex chronicle of jewish identity. Watch jews of various backgrounds describe their passover experience in stories from the collection of the. Gella schweid fishman yiddish teacher describes the first shabes traditions she kept, with a twist. Origins of yiddish dialects alexander beider oxford.
Wexler oral history project yiddish book center store. Additional funding for this site has been provided by the applebaum foundation and by yiddish book center members. Wexler oral history project of the yiddish book center, amherst, massachusetts. Feel free to browse our store, but be aware that the shopping cart is disabled. September 24 this week, we interviewed the eminent literary critic and yale university professor harold bloom about his first language yiddish, his childhood in the east bronx, with occasional outings to the second ave. Literally meaning continuation, camp hemshekh was founded in 1959 by holocaust survivors who had been members of the bund jewish socialist party in eastern europe. A sheynem dank, thanks for registering to receive updates from the yiddish book center to continue exploring, return to the yiddish book center homepage, or browse any of the following wexler oral history project yiddish in translation the shmooze. Whether reciting the torah, telling the story of passover, simply kibitzing or recounting tales of fools and sages, jewish oral tradition runs deep. Velvel pasternak, musicologist and major publisher of jewish music, talks about jewish music. Leonard nimoy explains the unexpected origin of the vulcan.
Founded in 1980 by aaron lansky, the center was one of the first organizations in america dedicated to the preservation of yiddish literature and culture. Give the gift of yiddish book center membership to your friends and family. The project is particularly interested in how yiddish language and culture inform jewish. Barnett zumoff a medical doctor by profession and a yiddish translator and activist, as well as president emeritus of the workmens circlearbeiter ring was interviewed by christa whitney on december 4, 20 at his office at beth israel hospital in new york, new york. National yiddish book center is rated 3 out of 4 stars by charity navigator.
The yiddish book centers wexler oral history project is a growing collection of indepth video interviews with people of all ages, exploring yiddish cultural topics and issues of modern jewish identity. The monumentnational was the center of yiddish theater from 1896 until the construction of the saidye bronfman centre for the arts now the segal centre for performing arts, inaugurated on september 24, 1967, where the established resident theater, the dora wasserman yiddish theatre, remains the only permanent yiddish theatre in north america. The yiddish book centers wexler oral history project is a growing collection of indepth video interviews with people of all ages, exploring yiddish cultural topics and issues of. Adam kirsch explores the fraught history of attempts to define jewish literature and looks for clues to its definition and its future. This book traces the origins of modern varieties of yiddish and presents evidence for the claim that, contrary to most accounts, yiddish only developed into a separate language in the 15th century. Wexler oral history project of the yiddish book center is in east bronx, bronx, new york. This is an excerpt from gabriel weinreichs full oral history.
Yiddish book center amherst 2020 all you need to know. Home wexler oral history project interviews usb flash drive dear members and visitors, we are not currently fulfilling online orders, as the yiddish book center has closed its building to protect visitors and staff during the covid19 pandemic. To see the full interview and learn more about the yiddish book center s wexler oral. Wexler oral history project interviews usb flash drive. Wexler oral history project of the yiddish book center home. Prior to the holocaust, there were 11 million speakers of yiddish among 17 million jews worldwide. Yiddish book center community open house artsboston calendar. Beyond having saved more than one million yiddish books since its founding in 1980, the yiddish book center advances knowledge of the content and literary and cultural progeny of the books its saved through educational programs, translation initiatives, and the wexler oral history. Jewish presence in eastern europe, 20042012 will be in the yiddish book centers brechner gallery through october 15, 2017. The jewish world yiddish book center receives neh grant. The yiddish book centers wexler oral history project a growing collection of indepth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories about the legacy and changing nature of yiddish language and culture offer a rich and complex chronicle of jewish identity. Yiddish and east european jewish culture subject area. The decade of discovery is a new initiative of the yiddish book center designed to foster a deeper understanding of yiddish and modern jewish culture.
It has been in decline since the nazi genocide of the 20th century. Yiddish book center open house may 1 jewish ledger. The son of yiddish linguist max weinrich, gabriel weinreich grew up to become a professor of physics and an episcopal priest. Wexler oral history project of the yiddish book center. This 45minute tour takes the visitor through the yiddish book centers museum exhibits and allows them to.
Gabriel weinreich is a professor emeritus of physics and an episcopal priest. Support the yiddish book center yiddish book center. Wexler oral history project of the yiddish book center october 29 at 7. Its history can be divided into old yiddish literature c. In this compilation from the yiddish book center s wexler oral history project, hear memories of camp hemshekh, a yiddish summer camp. Yiddish book center s wexler oral history project interview with velvel pasternak. Yiddish book center gifts yiddish book center store. Charity navigator rating for national yiddish book center. Visit the yiddish book center and enter a lebedike velt, a lively world of jewish culture. The yiddish book center works to preserve and honor jewish culture through digital and physical yiddish libraries which include yiddish childrens books, yiddish audiobooks and oral histories, and translations of yiddish books into english. The national yiddish book center was founded in 1980 by macarthur fellow aaron lansky, who continues to lead the organization as its president.
The yiddish book center in amherst, has received a major grant from the national endowment for the humanities to support its wexler oral history project, a growing collection of indepth video interviews about the legacy and changing nature of yiddish language and modern jewish culture. Its books, its library, its programs invite you to experience a world that has almost disappeared,the world of yiddish culture. Since 2010, the yiddish book centers wexler oral history project has recorded more than indepth video interviews that provide a deeper understanding of the jewish experience and the legacy and changing nature of yiddish language and culture. The yiddish book center is a nonprofit institution, and its programs are funded by contributions from over 30,000 as of 2005 members, and gifts and grants. The yiddish book center is a nonprofit organization working to recover, celebrate, and regenerate yiddish. The yiddish book center s wexler oral history project is a. Sep 30, 2015 to see more of miriam udels interview, and to learn more about the yiddish book centers wexler oral history project, visit. Sign up for weekly updates from the wexler oral history. When he was a 23yearold graduate student, lansky stumbled upon an alarming fact. The wexler oral history project is a growing collection of indepth video interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories offer a rich and complex chronicle of jewish identity. National yiddish book center jewish virtual library.
Beginning with the center s 40th anniversary in 2020, and continuing for each of the next ten years, the center will select an annual theme. Yiddish book center receives major neh grant for oral. Since 2010, the yiddish book centers wexler oral history project has recorded more than 800 indept. See more ideas about theatre, jewish history and typography poster. Holocaust memory across generations 2016 in this 5 minute talk from the yiddish book centers wexler oral history project, leela corman, graphic artist, describes her experiences as the granddaughter of shoah survivors and talks about the different ways in which each of her grandparents reflected upon and. The yiddish book center in amherst, massachusetts, has received a major grant from the national endowment for the humanities to support its wexler oral history project, a. We are not currently fulfilling online orders, as the yiddish book center has closed its building to protect visitors and staff during the covid19 pandemic. Gabriel weinreich recalls the mutual professional respect between his father, max, and brother, uriel, both renowned yiddish linguists.
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