Blog
Essays, interviews, listicles, podcasts, and much more, covering all aspects of Yiddish culture.
Blog
In praise of “איז”, a Loveable, Adorable, but also Tragic Yiddish Word With Many Meanings
The word איז is both funny and sad, like Yiddish itself. It comes from somewhere in Eastern Europe.
Mar 16, 2022
Blog
Three Giants of Modern Jewish Literature at YIVO: Excerpts from the Diary of Ezekiel Lifschutz
Ezekiel Lifschutz’s diary from his time as YIVO chief archivist in the 1960s offers striking evidence of the institute’s importance in the wider Jewish world. In these passages, we see the personalities of three giants of modern Jewish literature — Yiddish poet Abraham Sutzkever, English novelist Saul Bellow, and Hebrew writer Shai Agnon — and their relationships to the Yiddish language.
Mar 09, 2022
Interview
Samderin un Shisbezem: An Interview with Harry Potter Translator Arele Viswanath
Arele Viswanath shares the challenges and innovations of translating Harry Potter into Yiddish.
Feb 16, 2022
Blog
“Oy, Mamelige!”: Mamaliga’s Dos Gildn Bletl
Mamaliga’s debut album is an exciting, subtle, and intricate addition to Boston’s klezmer offerings.
Feb 09, 2022
Blog
The Latest Yiddish Translations, 2021
A roundup of translations published in 2021.
Jan 13, 2022
Blog
A Winter Vacation, sof kol sof
We’re (belatedly) taking a winter publishing break. There’s plenty to read while we’re away.
Dec 24, 2021
Blog
It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Khanike
Yiddish Chanukah Carols rises above the level of spoof because of its committed engagement with both the original and new materials. Each track so that it settles comfortably between Desser’s new Chanukah lyrics and the recognizable Christmas original.
Dec 24, 2021
Blog
Dos vort in der virtueler yidisher gas: How Online Social Spaces Are Strengthening Transnational Yiddish Community
As Yiddish and klezmer events moved online over the past two years, some Yiddishists doubted whether they could translate to a screen. But it is structured spaces, not physical encounters, that facilitate opportunities for connection — which I and many others found a way to replicate online.
Dec 23, 2021
Blog
A Different Type of Seminary: Priests, Cyclists, and Other Tourists Visit the Lublin Yeshiva
The preserved pages of the guest book of Lublin’s renowned yeshiva tell us about the remarkable range of cyclists, Esperantists, local rabbinical students, Catholic seminary students, Hasidic rabbis, and Revisionist Zionists who all came to visit in the 1930s.
Dec 17, 2021
Interview
Ten Unanswered Questions: An Unconventional Interview with Eve Adams
Ned Katz’s sensitive new biography of Eve Adams highglights the challenges faced by LGBTQ people in early 20th-century America and raises lingering questions about the role that Judaism and the Jewish community played in Adams’ life. In response, Noam Sienna asks some questions that perhaps only Adams could answer.
Dec 13, 2021