Through educational, cultural and engagement programs, the Committee for Yiddish, UJA Federation fosters and promotes Yiddish language and culture – indeed the entire Ashkenaz tradition – as a vibrant part of contemporary Jewish life and as a vital link between the Jewish past and future.
Committee for Yiddish
Related Events
Upcoming
January 12, 2025
In this talk, Mark L. Smith will speak about the Yiddish historians as a previously unrecognized group and the characteristics that make them noteworthy.
Archived
November 3, 2024
In her lecture, Pollin-Galay will discuss language experiences in the Warsaw Ghetto as an example of the larger phenomenon of “Khurbn Yiddish.”
Archived
September 19, 2024
An homage to the great European Yiddish cafés and coffeehouses, this in-person event will feature a Yiddish concert performed by Theresa Tova – Canada’s reigning diva of Yiddish song, with accompanist David Warrack.
Archived
June 2, 2024
In this lecture, Samuel Glauber will introduce the forgotten genre of Yiddish fortune-telling manuals.
Archived
April 14, 2024
What began as pamphlets of names immediately after the war soon evolved into thick and rich depictions of individual East European Jewish communities made up of testimonies, stories, sketches, poetry, maps, recipes, folklore and much more.
Archived
December 3, 2023
CFY invites you to join scholar and translator Anastasiya Lyubas for an online English-language discussion of her most recent book, Montage: Works by Debora Vogel.
Archived
November 5, 2023
CFY invites you to our annual Yiddish-Language Holocaust Education Lecture on Zoom with Special Guest Speaker Dr. Sheva Zucker.
Archived
October 15, 2023
These annual awards recognize the finest books with Jewish themes and subjects by Canadian authors.
Upcoming
January 12, 2025
to March 23, 2025
Learn, refresh, and improve your speaking, reading, and writing language skills with experienced instructors in a fun and stimulating learning environment.
Archived
August 27, 2023
In this Yiddish-language talk, Ber Kotlerman will discuss the role of Yiddish culture and his childhood home, Birobidzhan, in his most recent book, “Koydervelsh.”
Archived
June 2, 2023
A live radio broadcast of the newest Weiser/Kaplan opera!
Archived
March 5, 2023
Using videos, photos, and more, Eli will review for us Hasidic dances specific to weddings, Shabbat, holidays, and other occasions, with examples of Hasidic movements and gestures that are the cornerstones of the movement language.
Archived
January 29, 2023
Historian and Yiddish scholar Kalman Weiser will speak with Professor Joshua Fogel about translating an essential reference work of Yiddish literature.
Archived
March 1, 2023
As part of Women’s History Month, and to celebrate Lenka Lichtenberg’s recent Juno Nomination, The Payadora Tango Ensemble presents Silent Tears: The Last Yiddish Tango.
Archived
February 16, 2023
This virtual lecture will highlight the occupations and preoccupations of Toronto’s early Yiddish-speaking immigrants between 1900-1920.
Archived
December 4, 2022
Jane Peppler has been researching mostly forgotten Yiddish theater songs for more than a decade. Through the use of animation, she has enticed modern audiences to listen to these obscure but evocative and very funny songs.
Archived
November 6, 2022
An online Yiddish-language Holocaust Education Lecture with world-renowned Yiddish scholar Professor Yitskhok Niborski
Archived
October 23, 2022
Heartbreaking and heartwarming human interest stories of desertion and reunification, with insight into an often overlooked aspect of the Jewish immigration story.
Archived
May 22, 2022
No less than miracles, fierce dedication, and surprising ingenuity led to the gathering, safeguarding, and ultimately making widely accessible a most precious collection of Jewish manuscripts and books.
Archived
April 24, 2023
to June 22, 2023
Don’t miss your chance to dive into a world of Yiddish! All classes and workshops will be offered on Zoom.
Archived
January 27, 2022
This concert will feature new Yiddish songs based on testimonies of Canadian Holocaust survivors, composed by the leading musicians Aviva Chernick, Lenka Lichtenberg, Olga Mieleszczuk, & Payadora Tango.
Archived
January 9, 2022
to March 13, 2022
A series of three English-language lectures with Prof. Kalman Weiser about Yiddish language and Yiddish studies. Co-presented with the California Institute for Yiddish Culture and Language.
Archived
September 26, 2021
Please join the UJA Committee for Yiddish and the California Institute for Yiddish Culture and Language (CIYCL) for a live virtual interview with Prof. Goldie Morgentaler.
Archived
January 6, 2022
to March 17, 2022
Don’t miss your chance to dive into a world of Yiddish! All classes and workshops will be offered on Zoom.
Archived
August 15, 2021
Join us for a free Yiddish class (or two) on Zoom and find out what learning Yiddish is all about!
Archived
August 3, 2021
Please join us in celebrating the publication of Prof. Yoshiji Hirose’s latest book.
Archived
July 18, 2021
Dovid Katz will speak in deeply personal terms about his first visit to his ancestral Lithuania and Belarus in 1990, and how the trip changed the focus of his life and work for the ensuing thirty years.
Archived
June 6, 2021
This lecture will provide examples of Yiddish-language Hasidic creativity in internet forums, podcasts, and in print, including Der Veker, a Hasidic journal in which Justin (Yankev) Jaron Lewis has published articles.
Archived
May 2, 2021
During the late 1800s and early 1900s thousands of Yiddish-speaking Jews arrived in Canada. This talk will explore their first impressions as presented in their own personal Yiddish narratives.
Archived
January 10, 2021
Presenting U of T Research Fellow Anastasia Lyubas in conversation with Miri Koral from the California Institute of Yiddish Culture and Language in a live Zoom event.
Archived
April 20, 2021
to June 22, 2021
A theatrical workshop facilitated by award-winning performer, director, and playwright, David Gale.
Archived
April 18, 2021
to June 7, 2021
Online spring 2021 classes are about to start, so don’t miss your chance to dive into a world of Yiddish.
Archived
November 28, 2020
to November 29, 2020
The Toronto Jewish Film Society is presenting a second showing of The Gender Lady: The Fabulous Dr. May Cohen, and a special live Zoom Q & A with Drs. May Cohen, Barbara Lent and Cheryl Levitt.
Archived
October 29, 2020
to October 31, 2020
TJFF presents an eclectic collection of wonderful new shorts films from around the world, produced in the Yiddish language.
Archived
November 1, 2020
This talk explores the rich Yiddish literary culture that flourished in exile in interwar Berlin.
Archived
October 15, 2020
Vivian Felsen will tell us the story of how she came to discover the mostly forgotten yet truly remarkable literary activity of Kensington Market.
Archived
October 13, 2020
to October 19, 2020
Looking to explore a unique Jewish culture through language? The opportunity to learn Yiddish online this fall is here!
