Deciphering Handwritten Yiddish Documents
Tuition: $240 | YIVO members: $180**
Students: $120 (Must register with valid university email address)
This is a live, online course held weekly on Zoom. Enrollment will be capped at about 15 students. All course details (Zoom link, syllabus, handouts, assignments, etc.) will be posted to Google Classroom. Students will be granted access to the class on Google Classroom after registering for the class here on the YIVO website. This class will be conducted in Yiddish.
Instructor: Eliezer Niborski
Who should take this course?
This course is appropriate for Yiddish students at the high intermediate level and above who are comfortable expressing themselves in Yiddish.
What topics will this course cover?
במשך די זעקס באַגעגענישן וועלן מיר באַטראַכטן געשריבענע דאָקומענטן פֿון פֿאַרשיידענע צײַטן און סבֿיבֿות. דורכן דערקענען און באַשרײַבן אַ ריי כאַראַקטעריסטישע עלעמענטן אין יעדן טעקסט, וועלן מיר אָנקלײַבן די נייטיקע כּלים און טעכניקעס זיך צו פֿאַרמעסטן מיט אַ ברייטער גאַמע מאַטעריאַלן. דערבײַ וועלן מיר זיך אויך באַקענען מיט עטלעכע גרויסע אַרכיוון וואָס האַלטן זאַמלונגען ייִדישע כּתבֿ־ידן.
פֿון איין וואָך אויף דער צווייטער וועלן די אָנטייל־נעמער קריגן פֿאַרשיידענע פּראַקטיציר־ און צוגרייט־געניטונגען.
אָנטייל־נעמערס וואָס האָבן בײַ זיך געשריבענע דאָקומענטן מיט אַ היסטאָרישן, ליטעראַרישן צי אַפֿילו משפּחהדיקן אינטערעס און זענען בעלנים זיי צו באַאַרבעטן בחבֿרותא ווערן געמוטיקט זיך צו ווענדן מיט זיי צום לערער.
דער וואַרשטאַט ווערט געפֿירט נאָר אויף ייִדיש און איז פֿאָרויסגעזען פֿאַר אָנטייל־נעמערס וואָס קענען זיך שוין אויסדריקן גענוג באַקוועם און זיכער אויף דער שפּראַך.
Over the six sessions of this course, we will examine handwritten Yiddish documents from various times and places. By identifying and describing a number of characteristic elements in each text, we will assemble the necessary tools and techniques to contend with a wide range of materials. We will also acquaint ourselves with several important archives that maintain collections of handwritten Yiddish documents.
Between sessions, participants will be assigned exercises to practice the skills learned in class.
Participants who have their own handwritten Yiddish documents of historical, literary, or even familial significance and who would like to work on these documents with the group are encouraged to discuss them with the instructor.
This workshop will take place entirely in Yiddish and is intended for participants who can express themselves comfortably and confidently in Yiddish.
Is knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet required?
Yes, knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet is required.
Course Materials:
All course materials will be provided by the instructor.
Questions? Read our 2026 Summer Classes FAQ.
Eliezer Niborski was born in Buenos Aires to a secular Yiddish-speaking family and grew up in Paris, where he entered the Yiddish cultural circles linked to the Medem Library. Alongside higher studies in mathematics, he started teaching Yiddish in his youth and participated in various Yiddish lexicographical and bibliographical projects. He has taught Yiddish in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Vilna, Baltimore and New York and is currently involved in the preparation of a new Yiddish-Hebrew dictionary.
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