Jessica Kirzane

Because laughter articulates a hope for survival we offer you once again our Purim issue of In geveb.

Mar 23, 2024

Jessica Kirzane chats with Asya Schulman and Sonia Bloom to learn about the whats, hows, and whys of the programs for training Yiddish language instructors through the Yiddish Book Center: the Yiddish Pedagogy Fellowship, the Yiddish Pedagogy Practicum, and Advanced Yiddish classes for Yiddish teachers. 

Mar 05, 2024

A collection of recent Yiddish poetry published and performed in the wake of the war. 

Feb 15, 2024

As the war in Israel/Palestine continues to unfold, we aim to support our readers, many of whom are teachers and students of Yiddish, as they look for ways to learn about and discuss these events in mame-loshn.

Oct 25, 2023

In geveb and the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University are partnering to fund meaningful scholarship and creative productions based on the unique Yiddish oral histories at the Fortunoff Archive.

Oct 22, 2023

A new Yiddish poem by Ber Kotlerman, composed on Motsei Simchat Torah 5784, and translated by Jessica Kirzane. 

Oct 17, 2023

Shund.org launched in beta mode on August 9, 2023.

Oct 01, 2023

At the 2022 Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) conference this fall, a group of Yiddish instructors came together to discuss the particular challenges of teaching Yiddish language during the war in Ukraine.

Jan 18, 2023

An interview with Polish poet and musician Grzegorz Kwiatkowski.

Nov 02, 2022

a snippet of Miriam Karpilove’s snark

Mar 16, 2022

If you arrived at In geveb’s Purim issue reluctantly because you are not in the mood for laughter, Purim offers an outlet for other feelings as well, such as rage, hope, and despair.

Mar 16, 2022

Schachter calls us to think beyond the androcentric, to imagine and create an understanding of modern Jewish literature that places women at its center.

Feb 02, 2022

Yiddish literature abounds with #MeToo moments — representations of sexual exploitation and misconduct. If our list here, which is by no means complete or exhaustive, uncovered so many troubling scenes, how many more of these scenes unsettle Yiddish literature as a whole? And what does the proliferation of such scenes tell us about the role these dynamics played in the lives of Yiddish speakers –– what they expected from, feared, or experienced in the workplace?

Nov 02, 2021

This teaching guide for Leon Kobrin’s short story “Blessed is the True Judge” offers brainstorming ideas, discussion questions, and essay prompts for high school and college class rooms. 

Oct 28, 2021

In this updated version of our special issue on Race, af Yiddish, we offer a range of texts about local and international Yiddish representations of early twentieth century American racist violence.

Jun 25, 2021

Murphy’s translations of Perl’s stories allow us to appreciate an ever more colorful canvas of modern Yiddish literature.

Feb 28, 2021

Technology glitches and COVID-era difficulties are opportunities to be creative and think on our toes.

Feb 22, 2021

An innovative series of authentic real-world speaking and writing prompts for students finishing their first semester of Yiddish.

Feb 17, 2021

An original children’s story celebrating Yiddish-English translation.

Nov 22, 2020

An interview with translator Ellen Cassedy about her two translations of Yiddish children’s poetry into English: a collection of prewar children’s poems for a book called “Yiddish Zoo” and a collection of Boris Sandler’s “Good Morning” poems for children.

Nov 16, 2020

Jessica Kirzane uses a Forverts advice column to help her students practice lib hobn and other periphrastic verb structures and encourages teachers to borrow the exercise in their own classrooms.

Mar 26, 2020

This teaching guide offers suggestions and reflections from several scholars about teaching erotic Yiddish poetry.

Apr 09, 2019

Feb 13, 2019

A roundup of translations published in 2018. 

Jan 14, 2019

Oct 29, 2018

A short story from Leon Kobrin’s 1903 collection Geto dramen.

May 30, 2018

A bibliography of the output of Yiddish scholarship published in English last year.

Apr 23, 2018

Instructors share their thoughts on teaching with Sholem Aleichem.

Apr 03, 2018

Feb 27, 2018

Feb 12, 2018

Instructors share their thoughts on sharing about their personal lives and commitments while teaching Yiddish language or culture.

Jan 15, 2018

A short description of the many Yiddish language and culture summer programs on offer for 2018.

Jan 08, 2018

Jessica Kirzane discusses a creative writing prompt for students in a course on American Jewish Literature and shares samples of students’ work.

Nov 19, 2017

Yiddish language instructors share their thoughts about teaching Intermediate Yiddish. 

Sep 14, 2017

Participants and facilitators share their thoughts on Yiddish clubs and reading groups. 

May 22, 2017

The second in a series of teaching guides, this one for Maia Evrona’s translation of Yoysef Kerler’s poems “Old Fashioned” and “The Sea” (1979).

Jan 17, 2017

A short description of the many Yiddish language and culture summer programs on offer for 2017. 

Jan 08, 2017

Instructors share their thoughts on teaching Yiddish texts in translation. 

Nov 28, 2016

A discussion of how Feygi Zylberman, a middle school History and Jewish Studies teacher at a Progressive Jewish community day school in Melbourne, Australia, employs Yiddish in her classroom, with a worksheet to use alongside the divorce scene in the film Hester Street (1975).

Nov 14, 2016

The first in a series of teaching guides, this one for Eli Rosenblatt’s translation of Isaac Meir Dik’s introduction to his 1868 adaptation of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852).

Oct 25, 2016

A note from the new Pedagogy Editor about our plans for the Pedagogy section of In geveb for the coming year. 

Sep 11, 2016

The gritty, and controversial 1920s account of a lynching by Joseph Opatoshu.

Jun 21, 2016

What can Opatoshu’s controversial story about a lynching tell us about the complex Jewish encounter with American culture and the potential loss of an ethical tradition.

Jun 21, 2016

Yiddish teachers are always looking for good materials. Here, Jessica Kirzane demonstrates one way to use content from In geveb to structure and enhance her lessons.

Feb 17, 2016

The continued adventures of Miriam Karpilove’s “Lonely Girl” in a new translation by Jessica Kirzane 

Jan 20, 2016

A young woman in New York struggles with the ideals of romantic love. 

Jan 11, 2016

In geveb is sharing a series of games for use in Yiddish language classes.

Nov 01, 2015