Yiddish in ale lender! Yiddish Summer Programs Roundup 2025

United States

YIVO-Bard Uriel Weinreich Summer Program in Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture (New York, NY or online)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: Program runs from June 22–August 1, 2025. Course offerings, cost, and application deadlines are not yet posted for summer 2025 and will be forthcoming in the spring.

Description: A six-week intensive program which offers Yiddish language classes and rich instruction in Yiddish culture, history, and literature, this program is offered in both in-person and virtual formats, with the in-person program conducted at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York, NY. An offshoot of the Uriel Weinreich Summer Program, YIVO offers the Yiddish Civilization Lecture Series as part of their curriculum, with Tuesday lectures given in English and Thursday lectures given in Yiddish. This lecture series is virtual.

Levels: Language and literature classes range from beginner to advanced.

Housing: Not included in tuition cost. A limited number of dormitory-style rooms are available through NYU for the duration of the six-week program for in-person students. Locally-based students are welcome to commute to YIVO. Rates are not yet published for summer of 2025.

Additional Offerings: One-week refresher course offered June 17-21. To learn more, visit this link.

Chicago YIVO Society (Chicago, IL or online)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: The Chicago YIVO Society offers two spring-summer program options, both on Zoom: an Advanced Beginner course and an Intermediate course. The Advanced Beginner course runs from May 8–July 24, 2025, meeting Thursdays 6:30-8pm CST, and the Intermediate course runs from May 21–July 16, 2025, meeting Wednesdays 6:30-8pm CST. Rates range from $135-210 depending on the program length, and financial aid is available. For more information, visit the program website.

Description: Learn Yiddish in a fun, serious, and dynamic group setting in classes taught by Yiddish scholars and professors. Offered virtually, these courses make use of both textbook material and literature to offer students a glimpse into Yiddish prose while enforcing linguistic foundations.

Levels: Advanced Beginner, Intermediate

Worker’s Circle Yiddish Classes (online)

Information about summer 2025 courses have yet to be published.

Yiddish Book Center — Steiner Summer Yiddish Program (Amherst, MA)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: Program runs from June 8–July 25, 2025. There is no tuition fee, but students are responsible for housing and dining costs through residential college (total: $3,000). Opportunity for intermediate students to serve as interns and receive a stipend and housing subsidy. Application deadline is February 3, 2025, and admissions decisions are sent out March 11, 2025. For more details, visit the logistics page.

Description: A seven-week intensive for students aged 18-25, the Steiner Summer Yiddish Program conducted at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, MA provides a full year’s-worth of language courses and multiple cultural enrichment opportunities. This immersive experience allows for students to expand their knowledge of written and spoken Yiddish amongst a cohort of similarly-motivated peers, tuition free. Students also have the coveted opportunity to attend Yidstok: The Festival of New Yiddish Music, organized by the Yiddish Book Center. (Information about Yidstock 2025 has yet to be published.)

Levels: Beginner and intermediate classes are offered, and no prior knowledge of Yiddish is needed for the beginner class.
Housing: Students are required to live in dormitories of Hampshire College, a residential college adjacent to the Yiddish Book Center. Visit the logistics page for more information.

Europe

Yiddish Summer Weimar (Various cities)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: Programming runs from July 12–August 17, 2025.
Description: Characterized by its emphasis on music and dance and programming in various locations, Yiddish Summer Weimar combines workshops, events, and festivities that run the gamut of Yiddish artistic expression. With more than 12,000 people in attendance at over 100 events and 14 workshops as part of Yiddish Summer Weimar 2024, this year’s programming includes a wealth of festivities and cultural immersion, and it concludes with Festival Week (August 12–17). More details about this year’s programming have yet to be published, but their website and social media are continuously updated, and subscribers to their newsletter (link found on this webpage) will get the latest programming information.

Levels: Unspecified, but the wealth of events encompasses a wide range of arts and culture that speak to different levels of fluency.

Housing: Yiddish Summer Weimar partners with the Leonardo Hotel Weimar to provide housing for the program’s participants in Weimar. The Labyrinth Hostel is also a suggested venue, and more information about booking and rates can be found here. Registration deadlines have yet to be announced. For attendees who speak conversational Yiddish (intermediate or above), the Yiddish Hoyz is another housing option compatible with the other workshops and available for one or two weeks in August. See below under camps.

Additional Offerings: See below.

2-Week Hasidic Yiddish Language Program at Yiddish Summer Weimar 2025

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: Course runs from July 16–21, 2025 & July 24–29, 2025. Participation in both weeks of programming is strongly encouraged, and tuition fees are dependent on duration of program, and discounted rates are offered for participants in need. Tuition is discounted for students under the age of 18.

Description: This two-week intensive is composed of standard language instruction in the mornings and informal Yiddish-learning through immersion in the afternoons. This course is accessible to students of all levels, and this year, there will be instruction of Standard Yiddish with an added focus on contemporary Hasidic Yiddish, a variety of the language spoken by roughly one million people worldwide. Students will work with materials including historical Hasidic texts, modern Hasidic literature, nigunim, Hasidic pop music, traditional and contemporary film, and more.

Levels: Three levels of instruction (beginner, intermediate, advanced) are offered. Beginners must attend the full duration of the program.

Housing: Housing is not included in program tuition.

Summer Seminar in Yiddish Language and Culture (Warsaw, Poland)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: Seminar runs from June 30–July 18, 2025. Students can choose between the two-week and three-week program, where students experience 40 and 60 hours of language instruction, respectively. Each program has a standard and discounted tuition rate, with the three-week program (including 60 h language courses) at 680 euros / $750, (470 euros / $530 with scholarship) and two-week program (including 40 hours of language courses) at 520 euros / $560 (370 euros / $400 with scholarshio). Participants may apply for a scholarship exempting them from paying a part of the seminar tuition. Students, PhD students, individuals with Jewish organizations and Jewish studies, artists working in the field of Jewish art are all eligible to apply. The scholarship form can be found in the application form. Applications must be submitted by May 30, 2025, and scholarship applications are due April 30, 2025.

Description: In its 23rd year, this three-week summer seminar in Yiddish offers language classes at four levels, lectures on the Yiddish language and culture, workshops, tutorials, and other activities. Each year, leyners gather in Warsaw’s Muranów district to focus on a thematic aspect of Yiddish culture. This year’s focus? The Yiddish Press.
Levels: Language classes are offered at levels 1-4. Other aspects of the program are accessible to all four levels.
Housing: Not included in the price of tuition.

Yiddish Language and Literature in Paris (Paris, France)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: The course runs from July 7–25, 2025. Tuition and registration information is forthcoming and will be available on their website.

Description: Organized by the Paris Yiddish Center – Medem Library, this program is intended to give participants of all levels the opportunity to expand their skills with a community of similarly-interested students. The program offers robust all-day programming with language study in the morning and a selection of cultural and artistic activities in the afternoon, including workshops, guided tours, and lectures, as well as organized excursions and social events.

Levels: There are classes spanning levels 1-5, ranging from beginner to highly advanced.

Housing: Housing and dining is not provided through the program.

Jewish Music Institute — Ot Azoy (London, UK)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: Program runs from August 17–22, 2025. Tuition cost is dependent on age range and registration date. Standard tuition is £260 (reduced to £230 if registered before June 1), and for students and adults aged 65+, tuition is £190 (reduced to £175 if registered before June 1).

Description: The Jewish Music Institute’s Yiddish Language, Song, and Culture Immersion program, based in Central London at the University of London, comprises classroom language learning and exposure to Yiddish music, theater, poetry, and film. Separated into two different “schools,” the language and song schools run during the week, where sessions on Yiddish writing, reading, and speaking are offered, as well as song master classes, concerts, film, and discussion sessions.

Levels: Courses are offered at four levels, and everybody ranging from budding leyners to avid Yiddishists are encouraged to attend.

Housing: Students are responsible for finding housing accommodation, but discounted housing is available through the University of London. Contact the JMI to learn more.

Intensive Yiddish Language Course (Vilnius, Lithuania)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: This intensive runs from August 3-15, 2025. Tuition is €350 per student, and registration is available through this form.

Description: Hosted by the Sholem Aleichem ORT Gymnasium in Vilnius—in the heart of the ‘Jerusalem of the north!’—professors Dov-Ber Kerler and Anna Vershik, both of the former Vilnius Summer Institute, and Dr. Yuri Vedenyapin will lead students through the intensive.

Levels: The course is offered at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Beginners need not have any knowledge of the Yiddish language, though knowledge of the Hebrew language, while not required, would be helpful.

Housing: There is no explicit description of housing for the program. Contact [email protected] for more information.

Israel

Tel Aviv University — Naomi Prawer Kadar International Yiddish Summer Program (Tel Aviv, Israel)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: The program will run from July 8–25, 2025. Tuition is $1,450 with an application fee of $60. Full-time students are eligible for scholarships ($800 for B.A. and M.A. students; $950 for PhD. candidates), and housing cost subsidies are available for undergraduate and graduate students. Visit the program description for information about the application progress.

Description: This 5-day-a-week program (not including a Yiddish field trip every Friday) involves 80-hours of for-credit language and literature instruction and cultural programming at the beginner, intermediate, or advanced level, depending on the student’s level. Hosted by Tel Aviv University, students are in close proximity to a wealth of research and cultural resources.

Levels: Language instruction offered at Beginner (I), Intermediate (II), and Advanced (III) levels.

Housing: Housing is not included in the cost of tuition, nor available at the university. Students are responsible for finding housing arrangements, but subsidies are available for undergraduate and graduate students.

Additional Offerings: The Jona Goldrich Advanced Research Seminar is a one-week program for graduate students, scholars, writers, and select undergraduate students whose research incorporates Yiddish primary sources. This is a tuition-free, housing cost-subsidized program that is capped at 18 students. Details about the application process (including deadlines) can be found on the program website under “The Jona Goldrich Advanced Research Seminar” heading.

Festivals and Music Programs

Shtetl Berlin (Berlin, Germany)

Save the date! This Berlin-based grassroots festival is running from June 10–15, 2025, with more details forthcoming.

KlezKanada — Summer Retreat (Lac Supérieur, QC, Canada)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: This year’s retreat will take place from August 18–24, 2025. To register, you must visit the registration form page.

Details: Celebrate KlezKanada’s 30th Anniversary amongst the Laurentian mountains participating in a vibrant practice of Yiddish culture and arts. To get a sense of what this year’s programming might look like, check out the 2024 retreat schedule.

Housing: Participants can choose between camping ($1,100), offsite passes ($1,200), standard rooms ($1,700), and premium rooms ($2,000-2,800). Scholarship applications and a work-exchange program are available, and family registration is discounted.

Additional offerings: Every third Sunday of the month, KlezKanada hosts a monthly klezmer jam. For details about the venue and upcoming dates, click here.

Klezcadia (Victoria, BC, Canada, but fully hybrid)

Dates: June 10-15, 2025

Description: The second annual iteration of this new festival on the klezmer circuit includes daytime workshops, daily Yiddish language workshops, lectures about Yiddish culture. and evening concerts with a variety of West Coast klezmer luminaries and Yiddish teachers. This festival requires daily COVID testing and masking. Free and accessible to participants both in person and online (via Zoom or YouTube livestream) from around the world.

Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków (Kraków, Poland)

Dates: June 24–29, 2025

Description: The 34th Jewish Culture Festival: Kuzmir is dedicated to Kazimierz (in Yiddish, “Kuzmir”), Kraków’s Jewish quarter, for its potent spiritual legacy. For an eloquent remark on the choice to honor Kuzmir, read the words of Janusz Makuch, creator of the Jewish Culture Festival. More details about this year’s festival are forthcoming.

KlezCummington (Cummington, MA)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: KlezCummington will be held from July 4–6, 2025. Sign up for their email list to receive information about registration and scheduling.
Description: A three-day festival dedicated to honoring the connection between land, language, music, dance, and ritual, the festival creates a vibrant community gathering surrounding Yiddishkayt on 14-acres of land owned by artist Emmett Leader, co-founder of KlezCummington.

Levels: The festival is accessible to all Yiddish-enthusiasts, novices to fluent speakers.

Housing: Housing is not offered through the festival, but they do provide a list of suggestions to find accommodations.

Safed Klezmer Festival (Jerusalem, Israel)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: This year’s festival is set to take place in mid-August, but further details have not yet been published.

Details: Eight stages in the Old City’s Jewish Quarter and Artists Quarter comprises the Safed Klezmer Festival, where a variety of Klezmer and traditional Jewish music will be showcased to all admirers of Yiddish culture and history.

Housing: Housing is not provided by the festival.

Additional offerings: A list of additional August events in Israel is available here.

Ashkenaz Festival (Toronto, CA)

Information about Ashkenaz Festival 2025 has yet to be published.

Klezfest 2025 (London, UK)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: Klezfest 2025 will take place from August 20–22, 2025, with an in-person registration opening on August 19. Full-rate tuition is £175, reduced tuition for students and low-income participants is £125, and the supporter tuition rate (includes a donation for subsidized costs) is £225.

Description: A unique opportunity to dive into the world of klezmer music, this program emphasizes communal learning and performance while honing participant’s skills and knowledge in klezmer composition and technique. This year’s program includes Klezmer Orchestra, Yiddish Dance with Sayumi Yoshida, Nigunim and Repertoire Sessions, and Evening Jams and Socials.
Levels: Students must be proficient in their instrument, but may not have any experience with Klezmer music. The pace of the course will be determined by the group.

Housing: Housing is not provided by the program.
Additional offerings: The Jewish Music Institute offers a concurrent program, Klezmer Youth, for children aged 8-18 to gain exposure to klezmer music. Click here to learn more about the 2024 program.

Yidstock: The Festival of New Yiddish Music (Amherst, MA)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: Mark your calendars—Yidstock 2025 will run from July 10–13, 2025. Concert passes are $275 per person, or $230 for Yiddish Book Center members. Tickets for individual events range in price. For a full list of event tickets, click here. A Livestream Concert Pass is also available for virtual access (provides access to concerts only).

Description: A four-day festival featuring the modern faces of Yiddish music, Yidstock presents the musicians and performers that define today’s Yiddish arts. The festival program includes seven concerts, four workshops, nine talks, and two special tours.
Levels: Open to all, leyeners and admirers alike.

Housing: Click here for dining and accommodation options.

Kadimah & Melbourne Klezmer School — Term 2 (Victoria, Australia)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: The second term of the Melbourne Klezmer School will run from May 4–July 3, 2025. Visit their website for weekly meeting dates and session times. Whole term and single session registration is accepted, with a whole term tuition of $200 and a single session tuition fee of $30. Must sign up by 7:30pm on the night prior to the session.

Description: Learn the technique and the repertoire of Klezmer music through once-per-week class sessions. This program is intended for instrumental or vocal enthusiasts ages 12-adult, from the intermediate to professional level.

Levels: Intermediate to professional.
Housing: This program is intended for local participants who can commute to Kadimah in Melbourne, Australia.

Additional Offerings: Information about Sof-Vokh Oystralye 2025 has yet to be published. For a brief overview of last year’s programming, look at this infographic.

Sof-Vokh Oystralye (Victoria, Australia)

This program will run May 16-18 2025. Further information about Sof-Vokh Oystralye 2025 has yet to be published. For a brief overview of last year’s programming, look at this infographic.

The Workers Circle — Trip to Yiddishland (Dutchess County, NY)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: The retreat is offered from August 18–24, 2025. Rates range from $600-$1,820, depending on room selections. This price includes meals, classes and rooms. To reserve a spot, you can either make a $600 deposit per person or pay in full.

Description: A seven-day, six-night retreat offering five levels of Yiddish classes, dance and klezmer, theater and music workshops, concerts, and children’s programs, participants will experience a week-long cultural immersion complete with Yiddish yoga and bingo, nightly evening concerts and cabaret, with pool, lake, boating, tennis, and more.

Levels: All are welcome, non-speakers and fluent speakers alike.

Housing: The retreat will take place at the Circle Lodge on Lake Sylvan in Hopewell Junction, New York.

Additional Offerings: Click here to explore both summer and year-round event options.

Yiddish Café Trust — Yiddish Sof-Vokh UK (Birmingham, UK)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: Held from June 20–22, 2025. Tickets can be purchased here, which include accommodation, all meals, and all activities.

Description: Yiddish Sof-Vokh 2025 will be the 4th-annual weekend of Yiddish immersion hosted by the Yiddish Café Trust. Around 60 attendees from across the United Kingdom gather for a broad range of workshops, talks, discussions and activities. Sof-Vokh creates the opportunity to meet with old friends and experience Yiddishkayt in a community of interested Yiddishists. A highlight of Sof-Vokh is its open-mic sessions, where participants can participate (or contribute their applause).

Levels: Unspecified, but all from “keen learners to native speakers” are welcome. Ticket page indicates that only Yiddish is spoken during the conference.

Housing: The program will be hosted at the Hillscourt in Birmingham, where accommodation is included in the ticket price.

Additional Offerings: The Yiddish Café Trust’s monthly open-mic night has served as a cultural staple.

Yidish-vokh (Copake, NY)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: Yidish-Vokh 2025 will run from August 15–21, 2025. Participants can attend for as long or as short of a time as they’d like. Yidish-vokh offers pay-what-you-can scholarships and a 15% room discount for first-time attendees. Registration will open in the spring, where price will be advertised.

Description: The only annual week-long language-immersion retreat in the US, this 45-year old retreat attracts around 170 participants each year. Made up of a community of Yiddish enthusiasts, this retreat is led by its participants, creating a unique and tight-knit environment. A complete schedule will be published in early August. For any unanswered questions, visit this in-depth FAQ page.

Levels: Participants must be able to speak Yiddish. Reading and writing skills are not required, but helpful.

Housing: The retreat will take place at the Berkshire Hills Eisenberg Camp in Copake, New York, where participants will stay. Participants may also commute if they are local.

Yiddish Hoyz at Yiddish Summer Weimar (YSW)

Dates, Rates, and Deadlines: Participants can sign up for one or both weeks. Week 1 is August 3-10 and week 2 is August 10-18. Registration costs €420 for either week or €350 "early bird" rate for those who register by the end of June. Registration will be open until the spots are full (8-10 per week). The price includes accommodation, vegetarian lunch cooked by the festival staff at the Other Music Academy (OMA), and breakfast during week 2. Admission to YSW workshops and concerts is not included, but there are many free "mini-workshops" during week 2 in which Yiddish Hoyz residents are encouraged to participate.

Description: This residential Yiddish immersion program, happening for the first time in 2025, is aimed at intermediate, advanced, and native Yiddish speakers looking for an opportunity to use the language actively in an informal setting outside the classroom. Participants commit to speaking only Yiddish on the premises of the Yiddish Hoyz, but may speak other languages elsewhere and at the festival, so this is a hybrid, part-time immersion model. The application consists of a simple 3-5 minute audio recording in Yiddish. Residents will take part in a variety of Yiddish-speaking activities of their own choosing, including cooking and eating together, nature walks, board games, Yiddish film nights, etc., but are free to structure their days as they see fit and may attend a regular YSW workshop (not included) while living at the Hoyz.

The less structured, relaxing Week 1 begins with 5 nights at a shared house in a village near Weimar and ends with two nights in Weimar, where participants may attend the Shtim fun Harts evening on Friday night and/or the Saturday night Dance Ball. Week 2 coincides with the YSW festival week. The "Hoyz" will be located at the European Youth Education Center and residents will spend most of their time elsewhere, participating in the activities of festival week, many of them in or related to Yiddish. The daily schedule for week 2 includes a group breakfast followed by a session for Hoyz-mates. The available mini-workshops at the OMA include three Yiddish-language sessions per day – singing, reading contemporary poetry, and an informal "farbreng" hangout for Yiddish speakers, and there will also be a Yiddish lunch table at the OMA. The last day is the grand celebration of the YSW's 25th anniversary with many outdoor concerts.

Levels: Suitable for conversational Yiddish speakers, intermediate or above. The application process to confirm the participants' level consists of a simple 3-5 minute voice recording.

Housing: Included, and indeed integral to the concept.