Uriel Weinreich Summer Program Testimonial: Aleksandra Szczepan

The Differences in the Familiar

by ALEKSANDRA SZCZEPAN, Summer Program ‘25
2025 Centennial Scholar

I come from a place where Yiddish used to be commonly spoken and heard on the streets, namely the historic region of Galicia, from a place that used to be a shtetl. This influenced my experience in the Summer Program in multiple ways. Firstly, I had a chance to learn how close Yiddish is to my native loshn, Polish, and how these two languages grew together and developed a shared imagination, sensitivity, and sense of humor. Spotting the differences in the familiar was therefore for me one of the most important lessons of the program and enjoying glimmers of recognition – one of its biggest joys.

Thanks to the Program, I was able to immerse myself in a living environment of spoken Yiddish, a Yiddish not so much of documents but of instant reactions and shared jokes, which was an eye-opening experience. Secondly, coming from a different geography made me particularly curious about the space and the Summer Program greatly nourished this interest. I enjoyed learning about and walking through Jewish and Yiddish New York from the past and present during the organized trips to the Lower East Side, CYCO Yiddish Bookstore, or Yiddish theatre, and discovering often invisible layers of the city’s topography. I hope that in the future I will be able to be a guide for colleagues I met in the Program who want to visit this other geography that I know by heart, the Eastern European one. Finally, as a researcher and literary scholar, I particularly appreciated the Summer Program’s focus on introducing the students to the abundance of Yiddish literature from various periods and places, as well as the opportunity to meet the truly excellent scholars and pedagogues who make up the Program’s team. A sheynem dank!

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