‘Faust’ author Goethe’s fascination with Yiddish
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is usually remembered as a towering figure of European culture: poet, playwright, scientist, and all-around genius of the Enlightenment.
His drama Faust opens with a scene that echoes the Book of Job,...
Yiddish with Rukhl — A Forverts Podcast
Beginning in the 1920s and ‘30s, Yiddish radio connected Jews worldwide. In New York City, the Jewish Daily Forverts’ station WEVD — known as “the station that speaks your language” — hosted a wide...
Virginia-based Yiddishists lead first Yiddish festival in Richmond
Virginia’s capital city is having a few big inaugurals this January. Not only will Richmond see the state’s first female governor installed; it will also be seeing the state’s first-ever Yiddish cultural festival.
Richmond Yiddish...
“Yiddish Optimism” by the League for Yiddish
December 2025 / Kislev 5786
Dear good friends,
I am always energized and inspired by Yiddish optimism. In 1979, my father, Mordkhe Schaechter—then executive secretary of the League for Yiddish—wrote in a letter to the executive...
Volunteer of the Month Charlotte Freifeld’s Life: Navy and Judaism
My last volunteer to be featured in 2025 is Charlotte Freifeld. It has been a pleasure to write about these volunteers monthly and showcase the good work they all do in different ways. Charlotte...
The story of Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last hostage in Gaza
The story of Staff Sgt. Ran Gvili, the last hostage in Gaza
The 24-year-old rescued some 100 people and killed 14 Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, having gone out to fight despite a broken...
Yiddish Word of the Week – Verter fun der Vokh: Insectos – Insects...
געוויסע אינסעקטן (אַרײַנגערעכנט פֿליגן, מיסטזשוקעס, טערמיטן און מערעטשקעס) העלפֿן דערצו, אַז אָרגאַנישע מאַטעריע זאָל זיך צעפֿאַלן און צוריקגעבן שפּײַזוואַרג אין דער ערד אַרײַן, וואָס דאָס איז קריטיש צו דער געזונטער וואַקסונג פֿון געוויקסן.
אַנדערע אינסעקטן...
Israeli rabbis visit America, some for first time, to better understand US Jews
“We want to know them, to understand them and to know how to make it easier for them if they will consider making aliyah,” a participant told JNS.
Last month, 17 Israeli rabbis visited the...
Tom Stoppard, award-winning British playwright, dies at 88
Tom Stoppard, the prolific British playwright whose late-in-life discovery of his Jewish roots inspired his 2020 play “Leopoldstadt,” died at his home in Dorset, England, on Nov. 29. He was 88.
His many works include...
Jews in the 20th century made their mark in the United States
The rise of Jew-hatred in America is not only under the guise of anti-Zionism, but it also promulgates the false belief that Jews have exercised too much political power in America and that this...