Youngish & Yiddish is jump-starting a revolution, where old-school shtetl meets the young Jewish enthusiast.
Youngish & Yiddish is run by a group of dedicated and meshugenah young professionals and graduate students who have come together to bring the Yiddish cultural revival to Philadelphia.
Youngish & Yiddish aims to expose Jewish young adults to the richness and diversity of the world of Yiddish by emphasizing the ongoing and renewed vitality of Yiddish language, Klezmer music, and other forms of expression inspired by the mameloshn.
All events of Youngish & Yiddish are aimed at young adults in their 20s and 30s.
The kick-off Youngish & Yiddish series in March, 2006 was planned in partnership with The Collaborative, The Renaissance Group of Federation, The Jewish Graduate Network, and Temple Beth Zion-Beth Israel. Since then, many other groups continue to join with us to bring the rich world of Yiddish to young adults.
Our programs are eye-opening, exciting, and enlightening – an all around tuchas-kicking extravaganza.
Nu, tell me more about Yiddish!
Yiddish is a hybrid language that has been spoken by the Ashkenazic Jews of eastern and central Europe since the Middle Ages. Yiddish is mostly German in its linguistic structure and vocabulary, but it is written in Hebrew characters. Originally, Hebrew words pertaining to Jewish religious life were added to German. Later, when the bulk of European Jewry moved eastward, Slavic words were added. Yiddish today is about 85 percent German, 10 percent Hebrew, 5 percent Slavic, with traces of Romanian, French, and other elements.
Yiddish originated in the Rhineland cities of Germany in the early Middle Ages (c.1000-1250). The first recognizable Yiddish texts date from the 14th century. Yiddish spread all over Europe over the next few centuries. More Jews have spoken Yiddish than any other language. Prior to the Holocaust, Yiddish-speakers accounted for 75 percent of world Jewry, or about 11 million people. During the Holocaust, about 75 percent of the world's Yiddish speakers were killed. Today, Yiddish is spoken by about 4 million Jews, located primarily in Argentina, Canada, France, Israel, Mexico, Romania, and the United States.
Source: Lisa Katz on About.com
A shaynem dank!
Thanks to our dedicated volunteers: Julie Allmayer, Beth Becker, Mark Chaitowitz, Jason Chinitz, Josh Deutch, Julie Erlichman, Jay Fabrikant, Jill Friedman, Amy Geldzahler, Jennifer Glaser, Hillary Menkowitz, Ilana Sherer, April Rosenblum, Evelyn Tauben, Jason Weinberg, Joel Wallenberg
The Youngish & Yiddish Series has been made possible by The Commission on Campus Projects: Hillel of Greater Philadelphia, The Student Initiatives Committee of Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life Encouragement Grants, The Renaissance Group of Federation, The Collaborative, The Jewish Graduate Student Network, The Sholom Aleichem Club and Anonymous donors.
A shaynem dank to our partners who have made Youngish & Yiddish a reality: Ross Berkowitz, Deby Engelmyer, Amanda Goldstein, Addie Lewis, Donna Rosenthal and Temple Beth-Zion Beth Israel, Adina Steinberg, and Leah Wenger.
A hartziken dank to special helpers of Youngish & Yiddish: Mark Alsher, Mitch Chanin, Steven Moss, Craig Schwartz, Susan Watts, Bob Blacksburg, and Miriam Steinberg.
Original logo and flyer design: Hillary Menkowitz
Site Designed and maintained by: Kevin Wheeler of Sawken Media
