Naomi Seidman is one of our most popular teachers and we are thrilled she is returning this fall with this remarkable class.

You’ve no doubt heard of Sholem Aleichem, but perhaps not the other Yiddish writers she will discuss. I’m excited to see two women poets included here. Reading Yiddish is a time traveling experience. Using language, you step into the world of Ashkenazic Jewry, which makes up most of the American Jewish population. I already have many questions that I hope this class will answer.

We are thrilled to be partnering with the Jewish Community Library! If you are not familiar with the Library, take time to visit their website. They are an amazing resource right here in the Bay Area. They reside on Ellis Street in San Francisco and are closed during the pandemic. However, they have a free ebook collection.

Let me share Professor Seidman’s class description and the details for attending.

This class will trace the rise of modern Yiddish literature from the late nineteenth century to the interwar period. We will begin with a short story by each of “di klasiker” (the “Classic” Yiddish writers)—Mendele Moykher Seforim (pen name of Sh. Y. Abramovitsh), Sholem Aleichem, and Y.L. Peretz. For our last class, we will turn to modernist Yiddish poetry by Anna Margolin and Kadya Molodowsky.

Session One (October 6): Mendele Mocher Seforim, “Shem and Japheth on the Train”

Session Two (October 13): Sholem Aleichem, “On Account of a Hat”

Session Three (October 20) Y.L. Peretz, “If Not Higher”

Session Four (October 27) Anna Margolin, “I Was Once a Boy,” and “Epitaph”; Kadya Molodowsky, selections from “Women Songs

Dates: Wednesdays, October 6, 13, 20, 27

Time: 5:30 to 6:30pm

Cost: $100 for the series

Hosted by the Jewish Community Library: https://tinyurl.com/seidmancourse

Enroll via the link above.

Co-presented by KlezCalifornia and New Lehrhaus.

One last thought – have you ever wanted to read these authors in the original? It’s never too late to start. Check out “Beginning Yiddish from Scratch” with Ken Brady. Just look at our class list and scroll down to Beginning Yiddish.