Every now and again, there is a sudden thirst for Yiddish among people who go on trips to Eastern Europe to discover their roots, who want to read Yiddish literature in the original and not in translation, or who come across letters and other documents that had been kept by grandparents or great grandparents in a suitcase or a shoe box and want to be able to read them as a means of finding a connection with their forebears.
There are all kinds of reasons. And there are still people writing books, poetry, and plays in Yiddish, available at the Beit Leyvik Bookstore in the Beit Leyvik Center in Tel Aviv, which also stocks a large selection of second-hand copies of Yiddish literature.
Yiddish literature is also available at the Shalom Aleichem House, the Yung Yidish cultural center and library, and the Center for Yiddish Culture at Lewinsky College – all in central Tel Aviv. There are other Yiddish outlets elsewhere.
Leyvik House, which is the headquarters of the Association of Yiddish Writers and Journalists in Israel, also has a large collection of Yiddish-English dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries with other languages and Yiddish, and trilingual and purely Yiddish dictionaries.
One of the best currently available is the Comprehensive English-Yiddish Dictionary, edited by Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath and Paul Glasser. Containing nearly 50,000 entries and 33,000 subentries, it emphasizes Yiddish as a living language spoken worldwide. It is based on the work of the late Mordkhe Schaechter, who collected and researched spoken and literary Yiddish in all its varieties, and this landmark dictionary reflects his vision for present-day and future Yiddish usage.
The richness of dialect differences and historical developments are noted in entries ranging from “agriculture” to “zoology.” It includes words and expressions that can be found in classic and contemporary literature, newspapers, and other sources of the written word, as well as those that have long been used by professionals and tradesmen in synagogues, at home, in intimate life, and wherever Yiddish-speaking Jews have lived and worked.
In a conversation about Yiddish that was recently heard in a Jerusalem synagogue, one of the parties said his grandfather had lived in five different countries without moving from home because the borders kept changing. Each time his grandfather’s town came under the jurisdiction of another country, the education system and the language of tuition changed.
His grandfather had been among those students who could not cope with learning a new language every couple of years, nor could many other children, regardless of the country from which they came. The only language they had in common was Yiddish, the language of communication.
By the way, not only Jews are fascinated by Yiddish. Quite a number of non-Jews in different countries, including Japan, also study Yiddish.
■ AFTER 17 years as a foreign media consultant to the Tourism Ministry, Lydia Weitzman called it quits at the end of last week and chose not to renew her contract. Although she will miss the challenges and the friendships she developed with colleagues in the ministry and members of the press, the time has come to search for new horizons and different paths.
Despite the ups and downs along the way and the constant pressure to meet deadlines and respond to journalists’ queries, she found it “an enormous honor and a privilege to promote Israel as a tourism destination to the foreign media based in Israel,” and she loved the many memorable press tours around the country. “It was one hell of a ride,” she said, “but now, it’s time to recharge, reboot, and relax.”
A look into child victims of tragedies in Israel
■ THERE HAS been considerable focus on children this past year, partly due to the fact that children were kidnapped and murdered by Hamas, displaced from their homes, killed or seriously injured in traffic accidents, and because insufficient provision was made for children with special needs.
Thus, it comes as no surprise that one of this year’s recipients of the Ruth Rappaport Prize for Women Generating Change through their noteworthy achievements in public, social, community, or economic spheres in Israel is someone deeply connected with child health and welfare.
Dr. Efrat Bron-Harlev, the director of Schneider Children’s Medical Center for Israel, part of Clalit Health Services, was one of the women chosen to receive the $25,000 prize in recognition of her ground-breaking innovations in pediatrics and her uncompromising dedication to children’s health.
She has implemented her vision, which has turned Schneider into more than a hospital but a focal point for hope, research, medical innovation, and high medical ethics. Bron-Harlev, who sees her career as a mission, did not keep the prize money for herself but donated it to Schneider.
■ POLITICS IS everything in Israel, even in religious organizations. Aish, which was originally known as Aish HaTorah, was founded in 1974 as a Jewish outreach organization, and it now operates on five continents and maintains 26 full-time branches. Its stated goal is to provide opportunities for Jews of all backgrounds to discover their heritage in an atmosphere of open inquiry and mutual respect.
The Aish World Center is headquartered in Jerusalem’s Old City, where last week it showed the premiere of a documentary film, Frontline Warriors, which features the personal journeys of Shabbos Kestenbaum, Eden Yadegar, and Eli Tsives, all of whom have spent the past 16 months combating antisemitism and anti-Israel protesters on their respective campuses.
The film contains footage from the trio that has not been previously seen, as well as in-depth interviews.
It was produced by Aish CEO Rabbi Steven Burg, COO Rabbi Elliot Mathias, and CCO and Spokesperson Jamie Geller.
But there was more to the event than showing viewers the hatred that Jewish students on American university campuses have to contend with on a daily basis.
Those featured in the film and the panelists who spoke there and at the American premiere last week have joined together to become candidates on the Aish Ha’am slate for the World Zionist Congress elections that began on March 10.
The World Zionist Congress elections appear to have become more urgent for American Jewish organizations than ever before, as well as for Israelis of American background. At the conclusion of the event in Jerusalem, many of those attending registered to vote with Aish in the World Zionist Congress elections.
Just as a number of Knesset members are non-Zionists, American ultra-Orthodox Jews who are non-Zionists but want to have some influence in Israel are urging their fellow religionists to vote in the World Zionist Congress.
An ultra-Orthodox organization called Eretz Hakodesh (note the Ashkenazi pronunciation) has taken up the challenge to protect all things holy in the Holy Land. In its fliers, it warns, “The Kosel, our Yeshivos, our way of life – everything we hold sacred is under attack. Your vote stands between the radical Left and Kedusha.”
■ FOR PROMINENT Israelis in America, all roads lead to Miami, where they meet with Gabe Groisman, who conducts Standpoint, a podcast on Jewish affairs and Israel. Among his recent guests was Israel’s ambassador to the US, Yechiel Leiter, with whom he discussed the future of the Middle East, the Muslim Brotherhood, and United States relations with regard to Israel and Iran.
Leiter said it is very clear that Israel’s goal is to not leave Hamas standing. “I heard very early in the war people saying, ‘Well, you can’t destroy an idea.’ Well, of course, you could destroy an idea. Where’s the Nazi idea today?”
As for the Muslim Brotherhood with which Israel is in a battle of ideas, specifically Hamas, one of its offshoots, Leiter said, “What we’ve got to do is to take military power away from this murderous organization. Hamas has to be destroyed the same way the Nazis were destroyed.”