Intensive Beginner I&II Yiddish

Class starts Mar 5 6:00pm-7:30pm

Tuition: $850 | YIVO members: $675**
Students: $425 (Must register with valid university email address)

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This is a live, online course held weekly on Zoom. Enrollment will be capped at about 15 students. All course details (Zoom link, syllabus, handouts, assignments, etc.) will be posted to Canvas. Students will be granted access to the class on Canvas after registering for the class here on the YIVO website. This class will be conducted in Yiddish and English.

Instructor: Reb Noyekh (Noah Barrera)

Who should take this course?
This course is appropriate for those who are new to Yiddish or would like a review.

What topics will this class cover?
This intensive course will present the Yiddish alef-beys (alphabet) as well as basic Yiddish grammar. It will cover units 1 through 8 of the Colloquial Yiddish textbook. Students will engage in listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities. Among the grammar topics covered in this course are: the present tense (regular and irregular verbs), the past tense (formed with hobn), imperatives, and the case system (nominative, accusative, and dative).

Is knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet required?
No, knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet is not required. However, students who have no prior experience with reading and writing the Yiddish or Hebrew alphabets are highly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Yiddish alphabet before class, as the course will move at a fast pace. The tools and videos provided here will be helpful in getting a handle on reading and writing the alef-beys, and are designed for independent use.

Course Materials:

This course will use the textbook Colloquial Yiddish by Lily Kahn (Purchase). The audio files for the textbook are available free of charge on the publisher's website.

Recommended:

Basic Yiddish by Rebecca Margolis (Purchase). This book features additional grammar exercises and explanations that might be helpful to students.

Questions? Read our 2023 Spring Classes FAQ.

Reb Noyekh is a Yiddish educator, writer, translator, and YouTube content creator. A native of California, he began learning Yiddish at UC Santa Cruz where he majored in Jewish Studies. He later studied and taught in the YIVO zumer program for several years and coordinated and taught Yiddish language classes at Der Arbeter Ring in New York. His articles and original stories have appeared in the Yiddish Daily Forverts, Afn Shvel, and elsewhere. His academic translation, together with Nathaniel Deutsch, of Abraham Rechtman's ethnographic account of the Ansky expedition, will soon be published by Indiana University Press. Reb Noyekh is also a prolific YouTube content creator; together with his partner Gustavo Emos, he has created over 100 hours of Yiddish content on YouTube.

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