Uriel Weinreich Summer Program Testimonial: Tara Neuwirth, '84 & ‘22

A Lifechanging Summer

by TARA NEUWIRTH, Summer Program ‘84 & ‘22

In June 2022 I participated in my second Uriel Weinreich Summer Program in Yiddish Language, Literature and Culture in New York. My first program was 39 years ago, when I was a graduate student at Yale, studying Russian literature with a minor in Yiddish literature. I spoke no Yiddish, and Yale taught no Yiddish – but YIVO did! I then completed my Yiddish minor—the first-ever at Yale—and moved on to a career directing intensive language programs and international education at UCLA, none of which included Yiddish. Fast forward 39 years. I retired from UCLA and quickly returned to YIVO and Yiddish. First, in Spring 2022, I took an online Yiddish course from my original YIVO teacher from 1983, Sonia Dratwa-Pinkusowitz. I was thrilled to find that she still teaches for YIVO; she helped me revive the Yiddish I thought I had forgotten. After that, I was ready to enroll in the summer program in New York.

Both summer programs were life-changing. The extraordinary Yiddish learning experience was just what I remembered from 39 years ago: six weeks of daily immersion in living Yiddish language and literature classes taught by teachers speaking beautiful, rich Yiddish. My classmates (3 undergrads, 5 grad students, 3 retirees) were dedicated and excited about Yiddish. They were also inclusive, adventurous, and determined to speak as much Yiddish as possible. It was a joy (and lots of work!) to study and keep up with them.

The additional Yiddish cultural component was even richer than before. Daily core classes were augmented by optional electives, lectures, and field trips. Yes, there were Yiddish field trips! -- to the CYCO Book Center; to a Yiddish play in the Lower East Side Play Festival, and written by one of our YIVO instructors; to a zingeray (Yiddish sing-along) in the Bronx. There were more electives available than time to take them, so I chose two: The Emergence of Modern Yiddish Culture (in person) with Professor Joshua Karlip (Yeshiva University) and Abraham Joshua Heschel, and more in Yiddish with Professor Jonathan Boyarin (Cornell University). There were also offerings on Yiddish theater, Yiddish music, Yiddish Literature of Love, Research methods with YIVO archivists (which I hope to take in a future summer). And there was more: we had access to YIVO’s public Yiddish Civilization Lecture Series, with twice weekly live online lectures in Yiddish and English by important scholars in the field.

Thanks to my excellent literature instructor, Josh Price, (who currently teaches Yiddish at Yale!) I discovered Yiddish writers I had never read before, including brilliant 20th century women writers (Fradl Shtok, Malka Lee) who were not published as extensively as male writers, and who deserve attention. We also got a look at YIVO’s online archive of mostly unpublished/untranslated materials of Chaim Grade, which, as YIVO Executive Director Jonathan Brent pointed out when he visited our class, are waiting for discovery by future researchers, translators, and scholars.

I came away from my second YIVO summer program as enthralled by Yiddish language, literature, and culture as I was in my twenties. I also gained a deeper understanding of the urgent need to read and translate, to support Yiddish pedagogy, and to disseminate the wealth of Yiddish history and culture to future generations. Throughout its storied history, YIVO has made this possible. The summer program brings Yiddish to life and provides us with the tools we need. I plan to continue learning with YIVO online through the year and hope to be back in New York next summer!

Learn more about the Uriel Weinreich Summer Program in Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture.