Translations also appear in journals such as bridges, in geveb, pakn treger, and on the yiddish book centers website. Its books, its library, its programs invite you to experience a world that has almost disappeared,the world of yiddish culture. The new york public library yiddish book center yizkor book collection includes 650 digitized yizkor books from the collections of the two institutions. In the course of his studies, lansky realized that untold numbers of irreplaceable yiddish books were being discarded by americanborn jews unable to read the language of their. He joined the workers circle staff in 1993, and has been developing curricula and leading classes for workers circle students of all ages ever since. When he was a 23yearold graduate student, lansky stumbled upon an alarming fact. 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.
You have 270 students learning yiddish at the workmens circle new yorks leading center for yiddish language instruction. Written in yiddish, hebrew, or both, they are a crucial resource for research in east european. The national yiddish book center was founded in 1980 by macarthur fellow aaron lansky, who continues to lead the organization as its president. As of september 2012, vaisman is both director of the yiddish language institute at the book center and adjunct assistant professor of yiddish at hampshire. A history from colonial times to today by pamela s. Explore our digital yiddish library of more than 11,000 titles, and our diverse collections, including contemporary oral histories, lectures, yiddish audiobooks, and more.
Yiddish books by women in english translation poetry hayah rahel andres. He is preceptor in yiddish at harvard university and has also taught yiddish language and culture at cambridge university, columbia university, moscow state university, the naomi prawer kadar yiddish summer program at tel aviv university, the yiddish book center, the yiddish summer program in warsaw, and elsewhere. A life in fact and fiction is a lecture series by professor jeremy dauber, the atran professor of yiddish language, literature, and culture in the department of germanic languages at columbia university, specializing in yiddish and jewish literature, american jewish culture and american studies. The workers circle is new yorks leading center for yiddish language instruction, and the largest provider of yiddish language classes in the u.
The yiddish book center s podcast includes conversations with jewish culture makers, plus news and stories related to yiddish literature, language, and culture amherst, ma. Aug 09, 2014 the national yiddish book center s headquarters is on the campus of hampshire college in amherst, mass. An informal survey uncovered roughly 900 women writers in yiddish primarily in book form, without even attempting to document those who wrote for the press. Oct 17, 2007 acknowledging yiddishs very long and often very fraught past, dr. The first major exhibit on new yorks yiddish theater, it recaptures that vibrant world through original artifacts, costumes, photographs, ephemera, and documents, as well as multimedia presentations of film and audio of some of the great. 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. 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. Additionally, i thinkmore than nearly anywherethe yiddish book center manages to walk an amazing line, delivering an institution which is both scholarly and entertaining, both an endless resource for serious scholars and a perfectly welcoming and easy to navigate world for the complete newbie. Jewish presence in eastern europe, 20042012 will be in the yiddish book centers brechner gallery through october 15, 2017. The burning child creates a psychic mapping of vienna through an exploration of its architectural interiors, set against the backdrop of austrias troubled past. Until recently, 15 of these books have been available and. 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 2007 american community survey on language use counted just 158,991 people who spoke yiddish at home in the united states, a drop of. Sep 09, 2014 the 2007 american community survey on language use counted just 158,991 people who spoke yiddish at home in the united states, a drop of nearly 50 percent from 1980 to 2007.
This engaging, often funny documentary chronicles the adventures of an enterprising 23yearold named aaron lansky, who rallied together an international network of volunteers and set out to rescue the worlds yiddish books. From the bowery to broadway is a copresentation of the museum of the city of new york, the yivo institute for jewish research, the national yiddish book center, and the national yiddish theaterfolksbiene. Email march update from the yiddish book center yiddish. Beginning with the centers 40th anniversary in 2020, and continuing for each of the next ten years, the center will select an annual theme. The yiddish book center is a copresenter of the exhibit new yorks yiddish theater. Buy books make a donation about cyco our blog calendar of yiddish events history of yiddish for beginners yiddish links cyco publishing housecyco records tel. Yiddish language the workers circle the workers circle. A veritable treasure of magnificent jewish music originally published in the united states during the period 19251955 has virtually disappeared from print.
Our students including teens and young adults share a passion for the. Part of the yiddish book centers online lecture series sholem aleichem. National yiddish book center in amherst, ma librarything. Acknowledging yiddishs very long and often very fraught past, dr. Yiddish book center store 1021 west street amherst, ma 01002 42564900 ext. Yiddish book scholarships have supported undergraduates, graduates, readers and teachers in their ongoing study of yiddish literature. Stream tracks and playlists from yiddishbookcenter on your desktop or mobile device. From the bowery to broadway, now at the museum of the city of new york.
Episode 46 november, 2012 yiddish book center amherst massachusetts. Kolya borodulin is the director of yiddish programming at the workers circle kolya has been teaching yiddish since 1988, just three months after he began learning the language himself. Yiddishbookcenter yiddish book center free listening. Harry bochner, editors of the new comprehensive yiddish english dictionary, visit with aaron lansky and share the story behind their soontobereleased dictionary. Home the yiddish book centers great jewish books teacher. Charity navigator rating for national yiddish book center. Meet our yiddish instructors the workers circle the.
Stream tracks and playlists from yiddish book center audio on your desktop or mobile device. This 45minute tour takes the visitor through the yiddish book centers museum exhibits and allows them to. Yiddishbookcenter yiddish book center free listening on. Youll find accounts of a trip to collect the donated library of a yiddish author. For more information please visit the yiddish book center is a nonprofit organization working to t. Additional funding for this site has been provided by the applebaum foundation and by yiddish book center members. The story behind the newly released comprehensive yiddish english dictionary professor solon beinfeld and dr.
Aug 17, 2016 women writers in yiddish constitute a significant group, both creatively and demographically. Read on for more information about the family who donated the volumes and the significance of this special addition to the yiddish book centers collection. The center s internship program has given dozens of students a valuable foundation for notable careers in the fields of jewish studies and education. National yiddish book center is rated 3 out of 4 stars by charity navigator. 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. The yiddish book center was founded in 1980 by aaron lansky, then a twentyfouryearold graduate student of yiddish literature and now the centers president. National yiddish book center is a libraries, historical societies and landmark preservation charity located in amherst, ma. In 1973, a group of students helped to organize the nations first college course on the holocaust, thinking the unthinkable. As of september 2012, vaisman is both director of the yiddish language institute at the book center. In early february, the yiddish book center fellows traveled to new york city to pick up a donation of more than one thousand yiddish books from the personal library of yiddish author moyshe shtarkman. New yorks yiddish theater museum of the city of new york. About this site the yiddish book centers great jewish. The yiddish book center is a nonprofit organization working to recover, celebrate, and regenerate yiddish. 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.
Curated by edna nahshon and accompanied by a book of the same name. Yiddish book center is a member of vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them. Nov 14, 2012 thats why the college and the national yiddish book center partnered to create a yiddish language class, with a teacher shared by the two institutions. This page features brief clips from the centers extensive audio library. The national yiddish book centers headquarters is on the campus of hampshire college in amherst, mass. Students of jewish studies may focus on a specific aspect of. The noah cotsen library of yiddish childrens literature comprises 800 titles, including works by major yiddish writers and yiddish translations of classics. Below are yiddish books by women translated into english in book form, arranged by genre. Thats why the college and the national yiddish book center partnered to create a yiddish language class, with a teacher shared by the two institutions.
Created by teachers for teachers, the yiddish book centers great jewish books teacher resources is an evergrowing collection of textual, audio, and visual materials designed to support those who want to teach modern jewish literature and culture at secondary schools, universities, and elsewhere. Yiddish book center audio free listening on soundcloud. The story behind the newly released comprehensive yiddishenglish dictionary professor solon beinfeld and dr. Dear friend, take a look at our fellows blog, tsum yarid, for a glimpse of the many projects underway at the book center. The steven spielberg digital yiddish library includes more than 11,000 yiddish titles available to read online or download free of charge.
Part of the yiddish book center s online lecture series sholem aleichem. Yiddish book center amherst 2020 all you need to know. Yizkor memorial books document the history of jewish communities destroyed in the holocaust. In the early years in america, the yiddish theater overflowed with corrupt and. The yiddish book centers podcast includes conversations with jewish culture makers, plus news and stories related to yiddish literature, language, and culture amherst, ma. Our instructors, led by our master teacher kolya borodulin, are experts in the field. The yiddish book center is a nonprofit organization that works to tell the whole jewish story by rescuing, translating, and disseminating yiddish books and presenting innovative educational programs that broaden understanding of modern jewish identity.
This page features brief clips from the center s extensive audio library. A special collaboration with the national yiddish book center amherst, ma in the 1980s and 90s, the jpl recorded some of montreals last europeanborn native yiddish reading the most popular yiddish books, creating the worlds largest collection of unabridged yiddish audio books. It is one of ten western massachusetts museums constituting the museums10 consortium. In effect, yiddish theater arrived in new york city in its infancy and was nurtured there at the turn of the century by its greatest audience the largest, most heterogeneous aggregation of jews in the world. Harry bochner, editors of the new comprehensive yiddishenglish dictionary, visit with aaron lansky and share the story behind their soontobereleased dictionary. How a mensch from massachusetts saved yiddish literature for generations to come by sue macy. One alumnus of that course, coorganizer aaron lansky, went on to found the national yiddish book center, now the worlds largest collection of yiddish books and located adjacent to the hampshire campus. Additional funding for this site has been provided by the applebaum. It is a light and airy structure that recalls a wooden synagogue in one of eastern europes. The yiddish book center was founded in 1980 by aaron lansky, then a twentyfouryearold graduate student of yiddish literature and, as of 2016, the center s president. Wolfe, for whom yiddish is both a passion and a way of life, describes a world of subversive yiddish culture that continues to exist globally.