Clik here to view.
Larry David and the Boundaries of American Judaism
EX88_488 Jack Kugelmass discusses the boundaries of American Judaism through the creation of an us and them dynamic. He references the Jewishness of American television, and Curb Your Enthusiasm in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Jocularity of Jewish Culture
EX88_493 Jack Kugelmass discusses the jocular behavior within Jewish communities.
View ArticleClik here to view.
Scanned this week: from Jewish humor to natural selection
Among the gems scanned this week are a compendium of Jewish humor, a 1901 pamphlet outlining the theory of natural selection, and a book of historical essays.read more
View ArticleClik here to view.
Laughing at Oneself
EX123_803 Andrei Malaev-Babel - theater director and grandson of writer Isaac Babel - discusses the necessity of being able to laugh at oneself. Specifically, he references a common tendency to take...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Shaped by The Simpsons
EX132_599 David Schlitt, 2010-11 Yiddish Book Center Fellow, philosophizes on the impact "The Simpsons" had on him growing up, for both his Jewish and secular identity.
View ArticleClik here to view.
Read Like Mad
EX174_1745 Catherine Madsen, bibliographer at the Yiddish Book Center, offers her advice for future generations: "Just keep reading."
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Future of Yiddish: Are We Laughing With Yiddish Or Laughing At Yiddish?
EX316_1844 Moishe Dolman - political organizer and frequent visitor to the Montreal Jewish Public Library - assesses the state of Yiddish today, drawing on examples from Yiddish theater, stories, and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Reading Sholem Aleichem in Russian and Yiddish
EX341_1467 Agnieszka Ilwicka, Yiddish Book Center Fellow, remembers listening to her father read Sholem Aleichem stories in Russian and describes reading those stories in Yiddish for the first time.
View ArticleClik here to view.
"At Least They Made Fun of It!": Generational Differences in Attitudes Toward...
EX361_2766 Itay Zutra, the I. L. Peretz Folk School Yiddish Teaching Fellow at the University of Manitoba, speaks about how older Israelis view Yiddish as something effeminate, sentimental and weak...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Consequences of Using Yiddish in a German Class
EX387_2901 Helen Kurzban, Brooklyn-born native Yiddish speaker, remembers the time she used a Yiddish word in her German class.
View ArticleClik here to view.
"Hak Mir Nisht Keyn Tschaynik!": My Favorite Yiddish Phrase
EX446_2706 Joseph Heller, summer 2013 Steiner student, shares his favorite Yiddish phrase, "Hak mir nisht keyn tschaynik," and tells an amusing anecdote concerning his brother, his mother and a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Reclaiming My Roots Through Stories
EX441_2702 Beatrice Garrard, summer 2013 Steiner student, describes her journey of connecting to her Jewish roots through stories and folk tales, which she says possess "a meaningful message with a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I Feel Closer and Closer to my Family
EX471_2883 Danielle Winter, bibliographer and fellow at the Yiddish Book Center, speaks about the particular sense of connection she feels with Yiddish and German over Hebrew. The study of Yiddish...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lipschtick's Traveling Rabbi Shpiel
EX477_2871 Amanda Lundquist, artist and 2013-2014 Yiddish Book Center fellow, speaks about her Borscht Belt-influenced queer theater troupe, Lipschtick. She remembers how their performance in a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Humor and Poetry: Sherwin Kaufman Inspired by Grandfather Sholem Alechem when...
EX538_3749 Sherwin Kaufman, grandson of Yiddish writer Sholem Alechem, discusses how his grandfather's humor is part of his drive to write poetry. Then, he reads two limericks he wrote about his...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Legacy of Humanity and Humor: What I Learned from Sholem Alechem
EX538_3675 Sherwin Kaufman, grandson of Yiddish writer Sholem Alechem, talks about his inheritance - gifts of a sense of humor, and an understanding of humanity.More from this narrator: Sherwin Kaufman
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Jewish Mark Twain
EX539_3354 Bel Kaufman, z"l, granddaughter of Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem and author of award-winning novels, retells the mythical story of her grandfather meeting Mark Twain, although she concedes...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“A Herring Is Also A Fish”: On Yiddish, Insecurity, and Being A Yiddishist in...
EX505_2960 Miriam Udel, assistant professor of German Studies and Jewish Studies at Emory University, invokes a Yiddish expression to offer advice on what it means to be a Yiddishist: on the one hand,...
View Article
