Intensive Beginner I&II Yiddish

This is a live, online course held twice weekly on Zoom. Enrollment will be capped at about 15 students. All course details (Zoom link, syllabus, handouts, assignments, etc.) will be posted to Canvas. Students will be granted access to the class on Canvas after registering for the class here on the YIVO website. This class will be conducted in Yiddish and English.

Instructor: Mikhl Yashinsky

Who should take this course?
This course is appropriate for students who are new to Yiddish or would like a review.

What topics will this class cover?
"One can find in the Yiddish tongue and in the Yiddish spirit expressions of pious joy, lust for life, longing for the Messiah, patience, and deep appreciation of human individuality." This course will provide an introduction to speaking the rich language Isaac Bashevis Singer paid tribute to with those words. Through innovative materials from In Eynem—a new textbook co-authored by the instructor—including Yiddish songs and film clips, students will become familiar with elements of Yiddish grammar and conversation, build speaking, reading, and writing skills, and develop a further appreciation of the language's "quiet humor and gratitude for every day of life" (again, the words of Bashevis).

Is knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet required?
No, knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet is not required. The first two class sessions will include instruction/review of the Yiddish alphabet. However, students who have no prior experience with the Yiddish or Hebrew alphabets are highly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Yiddish alphabet before class, as the course will move at a fast pace. The tools and videos provided here will be helpful in getting a handle on reading and writing the alef-beys, and are designed for independent use.

Course Materials:
This course will use the textbook In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol I & II by Asya Vaisman Schulman, Jordan Brown, Mikhl Yashinsky. (Purchase)

Born in Detroit and educated at Harvard, Mikhl Yashinsky is an actor-director, writer, and Yiddish teacher and translator. He recently appeared with the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene in the Drama Desk-winning Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof, directed by Joel Grey, and in The Sorceress (a New York Times Critic’s Pick), for which performance he was hailed by the Times for giving a “keen, if malevolent, psychology” to the title role. Forthcoming publications include his translation of the memoirs of theatrical pioneer Ester-Rokhl Kaminska (Syracuse University Press), and In eynem (Yiddish Book Center), a new Yiddish textbook he co-authored. He has taught Yiddish at the University of Michigan and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, and taught the language this summer through YIVO’s Summer Program. In 2019, he was named to the Forward 50, the historic newspaper’s annual list of “influential, intriguing, and inspiring” American Jews. www.yashinsky.com

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