“Old Yiddish”

Glikl of Hameln—or Glikl bas Judah Leib, as she is also called—began to nudge at my thoughts two years ago. 

May 21, 2026

I stumbled backwards into the topic of tkhines and almost accidentally ended up on a yearlong (or really, year-plus) study of Yiddish-language women’s prayers. It was only then, after I’d already submitted the paper and the art piece and the final reflection, that I decided it might be time to actually learn some of the language I’d been studying around for more than twelve months.

Feb 23, 2026

The introduction previews how contributions expand our knowledge of Old Yiddish literature, while also shedding light on the study of popular culture, intercultural exchange, and gender.

Jul 12, 2024

Through translation and creative writing - in the form of found poems - Dalia Wolfson explores the experiences of the women reciting tkhines in the Early Modern period.

Jul 12, 2024

Aya Elyada interviews Chava Turniansky and discusses her career, her research, and the state of the field of Old Yiddish language and literature.

Jul 12, 2024

A report on the process of creating a scholarly edition of the Old Yiddish Arthurian romance Viduvilt.

Jul 12, 2024

Focusing on a retelling of Joshua 12:7–24, this study demonstrates the role of the epic in the representation of biblical themes in Old Yiddish literature.

Jul 12, 2024

Language politics are embodied by a rabbi-turned-werewolf in a mayse from one of the most influential and popular early modern Yiddish books.

Jul 12, 2024

By presenting rewritten Hebrew fables without an authorial frame-story, the Kü-bukh presents morals that are the very opposite of what could be expected.

Jul 12, 2024

Seamlessly integrating historical analysis and contextual exploration of the “Red Jews” motif with investigations into counter-histories, this work delves into literary motifs and societal dynamics.

Jul 12, 2024

Placing Glikl's writing alongside writings by other contemporary women in central Europe reveals what characterized their shared literary and cultural context.

Jul 12, 2024

A Yiddish translation of a Protestant morning hymn reveals interreligious and intercultural exchange of religious poetry and music.

Jul 12, 2024

Oct 24, 2019

A review of Claudia Rosenzweig's new critical edition of the bove-bukh.

May 25, 2017

Jerold Frakes’s recent English anthology makes early Yiddish epic accessible to a broad audience for the first time. 

Oct 05, 2016