The Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, Inc. (FJMC) and the Yiddish Arts and Academics Association of North America (YAAANA) have announced a new partnership to increase access and interest in the Yiddish Language as well to promote opportunities to engage in Yiddish Culture.  The cooperation began on December 1, 2020,

The FJMC, during the pandemic, launched a program online to promote Yiddish and provide a platform for Yiddish speakers and those interested in Yiddish to connect with each other.  This affinity group titled Yiddish Alive meets every other Monday and has over 200 participants from across North America and growing.  Al Davis (Northern New Jersey) and Joe Rotstein (Anshei Darom), both fluent Yiddish Speakers, have led the meetings which began in June, and have been interactive with sharing stories, songs, expressions and videos along with participants' personal experiences with Yiddish.

The partnership with YAAANA will allow for expansive creative and innovative Yiddish programming to be available to the Yiddish Alive group.  Further, it provides YAAANA access to an expanded and growing audience for its programming.

Mike Mills, a Past International President of the FJMC and co-coordinator of Yiddish Alive, notes, “we have discovered a large untapped interest in Yiddish, with each meeting more of our members joining. This cooperation will allow us to have access to high quality programs that will bolster participation in Yiddish and Yiddish culture.”

As partners, the FJMC and YAAANA plan to jointly promote and make available their offerings to each other and jointly participate in special events. YAAANA’s winter program was the first to be made available to the FJMC and runs from December 6 – 20th.  Sessions include: Yiddish Courses, Learning Yiddish through song, Yiddish Song Workshops, Children’s Book Reading, Yiddish Yoga and more. Teachers/instructors for this program are located all over the world. As a partner, FJMC receives a discount on all programs that have a fee. 

BACKGROUND

Yiddish Arts and Academics Association of North America (YAAANA) is dedicated to the promotion of Yiddish language and culture by offering Yiddish language classes, theater workshops, song workshops, lectures, events and Jewish holiday celebrations to the broader community.

Yiddish pronounced Yidish-Taytsh,  is a High German-derived language historically spoken by mostly Jews who trace their roots to Eastern Europe.  It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Jewish community with a High German-based vernacular fused with elements taken from Hebrew and Aramaic, as well as Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages. Yiddish writing uses the Hebrew alphabet.  Today, there are over 2 million Yiddish speakers.  There is also theater, music, humor and literature produced in Yiddish.  Many Yiddish words have also found their way into modern English vernacular.