Yiddish Folktales

Tuition: $450 | YIVO members: $350**
Students: $225 (Must register with valid university email address)

This is a live, online seminar held weekly on Zoom. Enrollment will be capped at about 15 students. All course details (Zoom link, syllabus, handouts, 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 mainly in Yiddish.

Instructor: Vera Szabó

Course Description:
Yiddish folktales, originally solely an oral tradition, were collected by folklorists in Eastern Europe in the early part of the 20th century. Folklore in general and folktales in particular let us “hear” directly from people in the past. By studying folktales, this class will allow for a glimpse into the spoken language, thoughts, desires, fears, and fantasies of those who told and listened to them.

In this class, folktales will be read in Yiddish. The course discussion will be conducted mainly in Yiddish, with some English when necessary. This class is open to anyone with fluency in reading Yiddish. Language and storytelling exercises will aid students in expanding their vocabulary and enhancing their spoken fluency.

Who should take this course?
This course is designed for students with an advanced-beginner or intermediate knowledge of Yiddish. Those who have taken at least Beginner IV Yiddish, Intensive Beginner III&IV Yiddish, or any of the beginner levels in the Summer Program are especially encouraged to register.

Course Materials:
The instructor will provide some handouts digitally throughout the class on Canvas. Students should purchase the following required books:

• Yidishe folks-mayses by Y. L. Cahan (View online or download).
• Yiddish Folktales edited by Beatrice Weinreich (Purchase).

All students studying Yiddish at YIVO are eligible for a student discount for online access to both Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary by Bochner/Beinfeld and Comprehensive English-Yiddish Dictionary by Schaechter-Viswanath/Glasser. Students taking this class should obtain online access and/or the print versions of the dictionaries.

Vera Szabó was born and raised in Budapest, Hungary. She holds an M.A. in Yiddish Studies from Columbia University as well as an M.A. in English and German Studies from ELTE University, Budapest.

She has taught Yiddish language, literature and folklore at various universities in the US (University of Michigan, Stanford, the University of Washington) and in Israel (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) as well as in various intensive summer programs (NYU/YIVO, Vilna, and Tel Aviv University.) She currently teaches various levels of Yiddish at Beth Shalom Aleichem.

Vera also translates literary and non-literary texts from Yiddish and Hungarian into English. Her research interest is Yiddish folklore. A certified yoga teacher, Vera has been teaching yoga in Yiddish for the past five years in Jerusalem, where she resides. More information on her website: www.verele.com

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