The Yiddish Course - Lesson 1

[@darkstarmobile]

My wife is Jewish and speaks Yiddish fluently. I want to learn it in my free time to surprise her. ❤

[@jennyhirschowitz1999]

Yiddish in Mexico is intellectually alive and well. Miss jenny

[@annchurchill2638]

I'm not Jewish but I married into a Jewish family, so I had to learn Yiddish in self defence.They would talk about me in YIddish and laugh ;so I learned Yiddish.It's easy.

[@septemberdawn1]

I am so thankful that you put these lessons online. I am the grandchild of Ashkenazi Jews from Warsaw, now living in London, England I have picked up some phrases from my Mother, but always wanted to learn properly. Thank you so so much xxx

[@danielwdavies4992]

Hello. I have the exact same heritage as you and would love to make contact with you. Is that possible?

[@mojojeinxs9960]

Half my family follows the Jewish faith the other half Catholic. I am Catholic. I love Yiddish!!. Work in a personal care home there is a sweet Jewish women I talk Yiddish with.

[@esterherschkovich6499]

I am from a mix background but new a few words in Yiddish.I did my DNA as as Adopted,find my family on my Father's side come from Russia and Austro-Hungarian Empire🙂✡

[@morehn]

You know Jews go by the mother's side, right?

[@darbimeyer]

That’s a mixture !

[@camilayael6427]

@@morehn it does but patrilineal Jews still have a Jewish ethnic background and in a reform synagogue we are considered jewish.

[@morehn]

@@camilayael6427 what happens when you mix a patrilineal Jew with a non Jew and then the child doesn't want to be Jewish?

[@marvinisrael1671]

I wanted to go to Schule but I was sent to Hebrew School because my mother thought that the Schule was Communist. I wanted to make my Bar Mitzvah speech in Yiddish, but the rabbi of the German Jewish synagogue absolutely forbade it. At that age I wasn't aware of the prejudice of German Jews against East European Jews. At age 84 I'm ready to learn Yiddish. After I exhaust the free resources of DuoLingo and KZbin, I'll probably enroll in Zoom courses given either by YIVO or the Workers Circle. If I lived in a big city I'd take University courses.

[@mariascheu817]

I think speaking Jiddisch during Bar Mitzvah the rabbi didn't allowed that, for Hebrew is the speach for holyness.

[@liamberlin6413]

als deutschsprachiger Mensch, kann ich mindestens 60 % ohne Probleme verstehen.

[@mariascheu817]

How I love her saying 'a strichele'.

[@cassyvorster466]

I'm South African and my mom speaks Yiddish sometimes. My grandmother and my mother worked for Jewish business and learnt there. My son has Jewish family and I'm here to learn more so I can pass it on. It's not too dissimilar to Afrikaans as many of the root words are the same.

[@jennyhirschowitz1999]

Klink baie dieselfde as Afrikaans….. I was raised in a rural SouthAfrican community, granddaughter of Yiddish speaking Lithuanian immigrants during the worst years of apartheid…… went to the local Afrikaans school……..the vernacular yiddish of the jewish farming community became infused with Afrikaans and fanagalo……too racist to mention here. Thank you for yor comment….. miss Jenny in manhattan

[@plumcrazypreston2797]

Afrikaans is a Germanic language akin to Dutch. Yiddish is a Germanic langauge influnced by Hebrew other Indo-European langauge families except Greek and Celtic.

[@rebekahwhisler6579]

I am 50% European Jewish but I was raised Christian my mother taught me a few words hear and there but I wish I had learned more

[@anthonyjohndemaria185]

Great teacher, Yep!

[@briannanicole4166]

Shalom shalom I am eager to learn i am adopted and my birth family are Jewish descent from kiev Ukraine escaped the Holocaust so I desire to learn for my roots Thank you for this

[@Rivershines]

I love this class! And thank you for all the warm chatting and stories I love this because it’s the culture I love so much as well as the language!

[@landrea]

Sheine Itale. From Buenos Aires !!!! I know few word thank my Zeide , Tate, Bobe, and more. I watch Shtizel. My grandgranfather was a ultraorthodox Rab. Long story and I do jewish tours in Buenos Aires in english:-)

[@pauleiwalsh]

What a great teacher

[@ezspi]

I am not Jewish. I have not had any background in others speaking Yiddish. I am excited to learn the language because there are places in Israel I hope to visit and I think it necessary to begin the journey by learning the language. With that said, I am looking forward to learning from your course.

[@RealYehud]

Hebrew is the language of israel my friend

[@williamberg2547]

Thank you, good lesson. Very similar to German, I had no Idea.

[@Genevafenty]

😮 I'm late with this but, I have no other way to learn Yiddish right now. I have Ashkenazi Jewish blood. 16% while my mom has 30%. So I want to embrace that part of me, as much as I do my African-Barbadian-American blood.

[@sondratuckfelt8672]

Good luck , my friend and fellow mixed human being. Learning is always good. May you be proud of your Jewish heritage along with your African. May you be blessed with wisdom and kindness.

[@bernardwechsler4595]

Speaking about Yiddish names, my name is Bernard, which in Hebrew would be Dov, but my mother and grandmother used to call me Berale, pronounced [beralə], the diminutive from Berl (you know: "Yidl mitn fidel, Berl mitn bas"...) This was 85 years ago in Romania, where we spoke Yiddish at home. When my mother gave birth to me in the Jewish hospital of Bucharest, she wanted to name me Bercu, like my father (because I was born an orphan, my father died a few months before my birth). The doctor told her that it is a modern world, name him Bernard. But she never called me the "official" Bernard, I was always Beralə to her and my family... It was a world ago, soon was the war, the Holocaust, and a third of our community was murdered, the surviving people left for Palestine, and then for Israel, and nobody spoke the sweet, funny Yiddish. I forgot the language, only my name still resonates with that murdered, disappeared Yiddish culture...

[@bluebee5266]

I thought it was "Aryeh mit'n bass"...? Anyway, what a great movie, and thank you for your post!❤

[@saraleigh5336]

A dank for your bittersweet post,

[@Love-is-a-verb]

My maternal grandmother and great grandmother spoke Yiddish. I really never thought it was important to learn…Because we were American. Now that they are both gone I wish I would have listen/learned. It is a dying language that hope I can re-intrench myself into.

[@Bearyboo87]

I really want to thank you for putting these up! I have found out my Great Grandfather and his Son my Grandfather were Ashkenazi about a decade ago now and I've been slowly piecing together the story but its been slow going. He completely abandoned his heritage after he got to Australia and found out his wife and daughters he sent ahead didn't make it. My father beat me more times than I can count and the night I stood up to him when I was 13 my Grandfather left me a bloody mess and ripped my name out of the big old family bible. I found a pay phone called my mum then hid in a nearby park the 4 or so hours it took her to come get me. Haven't spoken to my grandparents since, my father I've spoken to a few times. I tried to invite him to my wedding, I put a photo of my fist and second child in my grandparents letter box with their name and my phone number, No calls. I know they still live there. I don't say this for sympathy so much as to so you can see why the story is difficult to piece together and how insurmountable the task of returning to that well really is, yes? 22 year's on the intergenerational trauma stops here I reckon I might not be a proper Hebrew but I can learn our language at least in part to pass on to my 3 sons, I already teach them from the Torah as my wife does the Pentetuch and add historical/cultural contexts to the more Antisemetic crap that flows forth.

[@kcreativek]

Thank you 🙏🏻 for these lessons because I’ve always wanted to learn 💙

[@НаталияСмолина-ы3и]

🤗🤗🤗🌻

[@g-li]

I was so happy you gave a Jiddish name to the woman who said she wasn't Jewish, that was so beautiful! I watched this video because I love German, German varieties and Jewish culture. So I can definitely understand some Yiddish but I would never have dared to participate in such an event because I would have felt people would have felt suspicious, distrustful and wanting to exclude me. (Like why are you here, some kind of a spy or what? Because I think Jews can rapidly feel suspicious, uncomfortable and threatened. And also: this is for Jews, you're not one of us, Jewish culture is not for everyone, assimilation and all this.) But the way you just treated her like just any other member just made me like you even more Miriam

[@judithnewman4903]

OzMoses is my favourite way of learning.

[@Lana-fh6qb]

Miriam,G-d bless you! You are the great teacher, I learned so much from your lesson.

[@eileenfishman9737]

Without the visual of rocking back and forth and hands flying in all directions the rabbi spoke very well

[@marvinisrael1671]

@Eileen Fishman He's so used to davening that he can't stop. It's driving me crazy.

[@ramseynammari8459]

I'm LOVING this!!!!

[@eleoluck]

Thank you . I want to learn, step by step ... Dank

[@julianoruivodemoraisschuer4872]

I absolutely loved the class. Wish I had been part of this group. Simply excellent!

[@257rani]

I love to learn Yiddish

[@mauricewolfthal7500]

The many respondents who expressed an interest in learning or improving their Yiddish have a resource on youtube that is easily accessible. Theese are not formal classes. The Houston Yiddish Vinkl has been recording its weekly sessions, in which there are songs with lyrics and discussions, followed by readings from a variety of sources, with discussions. You can listen to them as often as you wish. Look for Houston Yiddish Vinkl to find a list of sessions going back to January.

[@feral_vlogs]

thank you!

[@esterherschkovich6499]

Happy I found you 🙂yet before I knew my true heritage,I was drawn to Spanish and Portuguese Synagogues,yet had a feeling I should learn some Yiddish🙂

[@canal_changeling]

Where are those?

[@taylorbaratka6883]

Greetings from Pittsburgh!!!!!

[@Lana-fh6qb]

I deeply regrette that I did not learn Yidish more from my grandmother.I was young and didn't see any point of learning it.

[@canal_changeling]

Outstanding content.

[@MrTalkingzero]

I was watching an Israeli TV show which said to have audio in Hebrew and subtitles in English. However, when young people spoke, I couldn't understand them because I don't speak Hebrew but I could understand the old people? What's going on? Turns out they were speaking Yiddish and with my knowledge of German, Russian and some Latin I could understand quite a bit. Thank you so much for the lessons. God bless you!

[@patrickbrown1186]

Shtisel!

[@MrTalkingzero]

@@patrickbrown1186 yes!

[@levzhitnitsky7227]

YOU ARE WELL DONE

[@becalee33]

Thank you for this channel! I have always been fascinated with the Jewish Faith. I tried converting, but its very hard. "sprache" I wish I could pick up the 'sprache'.

[@michaelthomasbanschitz3749]

it beginns with daitsch ..love it!

[@michaelthomasbanschitz3749]

Yiddish .. has got some bömische and wienerische words.. i love it!

[@mariascheu817]

That's so true. I am non Jewish, German, and trying to learn Jiddisch. Far wos? Ich hob lieb de sprach. And I find some expressions and melody which reminds me of my beloved grandmother born in Austria-Hungaria in a place, which now is at the border of Poland and Tschech Republic. In my German ears it often sounds very funny and based somehow. Grinzeug, in German it would be grünzeug, green stuff for vegetables, that's perfect.

[@marcossoares1354]

You take a long time with a gabgab.Thanks!!!

[@Robespierre-lI]

I'm a historian with a hobby in learning writing scripts and languages. I would be curious to hear from Yiddish / Hebrew speakers on these two questions: If I already know German (Hochdeutsche) at about a B1/B2 level (in American terms that is the intermediate collegiate level), but have no knowledge of academic or modern Hebrew, how far might simply learning the Hebrew script get me towards understanding Yiddish? Also, are there any obstacles to be aware of when learning the Hebrew script for Yiddish? Most online learning sources are for academic/literary Hebrew pronuciations and I imagine the Yiddish uses of the script might be different? I am learning the Hebrew script now.

[@fennecabumukallalabdulmasi3867]

Sholem oleykhem Ems, as Yiddish is rooted in mediaeval souabian accent, not in Mittehochdeutsch, which is the root of nowadays Hochdeutsch you may find it hard without knowledge of souabian. Now, as I married a German Fräulein (not only in the Bluegrass song, I didn't just sing it, I really did it and became the father of our two sons... 😅) who is from a family of two souabian parents lately I made this test with her: 😅 I showed her the KZbin-Clip from Tankcommander SGT Yonathan (IDF) explaining how to load a tankgrenade into the sledge and prepare the TNT for propulsion. He explains it in Yiddish mixed with a few polish words for the more modern technical parts (which mediaeval souabians didn't have words for cuz these things didn't exist before the war of 30 years and the peasants wars from which many Jews fled to the polish kings who were at that time more tolerant than the raging souabian peasants, BTW: Dr. Martin Luther was against these resurging peasants, but they didn't listen to him, although he had himself written a book against the Turks and the Jews...) but very few polish words with in fact Latin roots mostly. Result: My souabian wife now perfectly knows how to load a 44 kg grenade into the sledge of a Merkavah-tank, as she had nearly understood all of the Yiddish explanation of SGT Yonathan, apart of "Sholem oleykhem khoverim!" in the beginning, which is just Yiddish pronounced ivrit. But the rest in pure Yiddish, she had completely understood, including the polish word "demonstratsiya"... So learning souabian (Schwäbisch) instead of Hochdeutsch would probably help you better to understand Yiddish. But apart of that linguistic detail, my proposition would be to just try to get an invitation from a Jewish family living in eastern France or in the quarter juif in Paris and you'll learn really quick cuz Yiddish is easier to learn by heart than by sophisticated head. See what I mean? Hochdeutsch is a quite sophisticated dialect of Hannover. Yiddish is more a Bobeloshn or Mameloshn like Schwäbisch. Yiddish and Schwäbisch are learnt with the help of love, not with the help of a Germanistikprofessor... 😅 ❤ 😊

[@jer6151]

After 70 years, I want to learn Yiddish. My grandparents, and parents would use it so we children wouldn’t know what they were talking about. Just from normal conversation, we learned some words, “your Punic is covered with Schmitz.” “I’m not leaving the house in this schnatta.”” I never really learned Hebrew, and I always felt it should be spoken in shul out of respect. I know this sounds crazy (mashugana, see we did pick up some of what we weren’t to know 😊) but people often mistake my surname as German, and don’t realize I find this uncomfortable, it’s really Bavarian Jew.) Besides, i’m getting extremely forgetful, and I need to exercise my brain. Any help you can offer, I would be truly appreciative.

[@EvaLasta]

Im also trying to learn yiddish my grandparents speak it. My grandpa is gonna be 98 and I want to speak to him in Yiddish! Hes a holocaust survivor from Poland

[@Lagolop]

I think you mean "your ponim is covered with Schmitz". Schmata, not "schnatta".

[@yochananlowen]

@EvaLasta @@EvaLasta

[@livetoinspire8188]

Here you can learn with a fun way kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKHLZ2SIa9uBY7c

[@DanielleOConnor-q1x]

Yes

[@andyarken7906]

I like that Yiddish uses the proper way to build "formal you", like some Swiss German dialects, but unlike Standard German.

[@uliwehner]

why is that the "proper way"? because it uses the second person rather than the 3rd person? would that not be the romance way?

[@andyarken7906]

@@uliwehner It used to be the way to address nobles (not just in Switzerland), while the other way was used for the bourgeoisie. And it makes more sense for a polite form - use a plural to indicate 'you and the people you represent' rather than 'these persons I would rather not address directly'. But mostly because my own way to speak is obviously correct and everybody else is wrong by default (in short, I was mostly joking :) ).

[@uliwehner]

@@andyarken7906 understood. I was merely interested in understanding the logic. clearly you are wrong, since the "proper way" is how we say things in Unterfranken :)

[@andyarken7906]

@@uliwehner Somehow your logic is appealing to me :) What is the Unterfränkisch way of "polite you"? Does it go with the Standard German way, or is there another one? I read there are even dialects in Germany that use "Er" (which sounds really dismissive to me when it is used in period movies: Schweige Er jetzt!).

[@uliwehner]

@@andyarken7906 i have been gone for over 20 years now. But i only recall the sie und du. We have enough struggles with: hartes d und weiches d. Kardoffel zum beispiel. Oder hartes und weiches b. Bumbernickl zum beispiel. Oder dem genitiv..... :)

[@avraham2158]

I wanna study Yiddish too but cannot find a teacher... 😞

[@daphnagoldreich68]

Is there lesson #2?

[@lucindalove7606]

Hi! Click on the channel, then go to “playlist” click on it, scroll down til you see “Yiddish Course” and click on it. There are 4 classes. 😊

[@reahayman1024]

Where can I get a copy of the material for this lesson please?

[@danarosenthal6348]

Speaking Jewish can also mean Ladino Shoutout to our Sephardic and Ladino-speaking friends

[@deborah393]

Are the handouts available for these videos?

[@aldinaatic9360]

some Yiddish words sound realy like dutch ones :)

[@2.3_44XD--]

I'm half German and one day i heard a channel from Luxemburg wow i thought it was a yiddish channel. And you're right some words sound dutch some swiss too

[@drizomrred9687]

I need to know if I should learn Yiddish or Hebrew.

[@DrDissection]

Hi there i want to learn yiddish i understand lover german so it probalby helps with learning yiddish. My grandma learned how to speak lover german and back in the nazi time she couldnt progrersss in the Bund deutsher meadels bec

[@aldinaatic9360]

veverke is indeed a slavic word..vjeverica we say here haha so cute name for squirrel

[@ambrid5837]

Yes while driving...krech'ing!

[@Patrick-Mickk]

Patrick M 0 seconds ago Hi I live in Pittsburgh too we’re are you from squirrel hill? My heart broke for the people in the Tree of life temple. I’m very interested in learning Yidish though.

[@tonnyengert]

that is a ayen at 37:59 minute and a E sound as in bed, not ay sound and it is confusing about the start sound of saying only the letter.

[@johnminehan1148]

I've heard the "Finster" thing in a couple of places . . . .

[@plumcrazypreston2797]

Is HEBREW also "Jewish"?

[@braziltokyoschool]

איך וואָלט ווי צו לערנען ייִדיש אַמאָל

[@dennischeng7514]

Imaging I can speak this language.

[@sabaideemai1]

How do you say Toast in Yiddish ? Is it sucharkes ?

[@noahstern4900]

In Hebrew it is possible to begin a word with a vowel. When a ו (vav) prefix occurs before a labial consonant or any consonant beginning with a shva the vav becomes an וּ (/u/ vowel called a shuruk). Some grammarians argue that even this is not a true exception and view it as functioning in a dual role of consonant and vowel (vav and suruk).

[@johnminehan1148]

I would have thought Ladino (or more realistically, remnants of it) would be more common in Mexico . . . .

[@leszekwolkowski9856]

although I have jewish roots, a secular jew once asked me "ahm 'Leszek' isn't that yiddish?" I told him a half truth so he'd leave me alone.

[@ramblingsonlife7558]

❤️ Reconnection - love

[@levzhitnitsky7227]

MY FATHER AND mother used iddish only wgen they want that we cccccccccccchildr did not understend what thay tacked about. Thats was very pity

[@janemichelson7636]

Played this today. Thank you. Where could I obtain the flash cards you were using? I am in London, England (in lockdown ). I can speak some German which is being really helpful. Brilliant lesson-left at break-out room stage

[@levzhitnitsky7227]

hou i can conacted whith you

[@Lana-fh6qb]

My daughter's name Natanella

[@TheDutchVander]

26:14 (just marking my place XD)

[@naomiburn8386]

(For next time, please have someone sit in your seat, then focus the camera on their face and lock the focus. Auto focus doesn’t work well for these situations - your books are (almost) in focus and your beautiful face is not.)

[@naomiburn8386]

Still, the lesson is wonderful. Thanks.

[@sophamalough1]

23:45

[@kablekane5493]

I like the word וועווערקע. It sounds so silly in English lmao

[@patsyhairston8277]

Get on with it geeezzzzz

[@IcelandExplorer]

Yiddish is medieval Bavarian! It is not from Rhein Westfalen or Mainz. I m from Ukraine and have got some Jewish ancestry. Trying to learn this a bit. I speak Ukrainian and Russian, studied Hebrew too.

[@DanielleOConnor-q1x]

Yes I don't farshteyn Yiddish they spoke amd didn't want us to know

[@kandacepatterson7965]

All the rocking rocking oye ...making me machegene

[@six1622]

14:10

[@benshaw2644]

Yiddish alphabet on this video starts at kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXXQpnivg5KWbZI

[@DanielleOConnor-q1x]

Yes I don't farshteyn

[@akhnaton1502]

A muslim passed here 😎😊

[@greenfloatingtoad]

שלום עליכם

[@akhnaton1502]

​@@greenfloatingtoad Shalom alychem

[@3000XtotheMoon-v5j]

Say I am learning Yiddish for fun... 😅 Oy vey...

[@felixfelicitus2411]

Yikes. Yikes.

[@tiny1424]

Get to the point instead of talking so much in introduction