The World Jewish Congress Yiddish Center has launched several digital education programs for those stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic. Among the initiatives was an online lecture series about Yiddish culture and literature. The series, which was launched with the support of several prominent Jewish organizations, is live-streamed on the Center’s Facebook page and has drawn between 60 and 90 participants per session. As part of the series, the Center also organized several Klezmer music concerts.
Similarly, in March, the Center launched its YiddishTalks video series with the goal of introducing millennials to Yiddish culture, literature, and tradition. The videos, which last six to ten minutes, feature topics such as Yiddish humor, and provide insights into the founders of modern Yiddish, namely, Mendele Mocher Sforim, Y.L. Peretz, and Sholom Aleichem. Currently, the videos are in Russian with English subtitles, but the Center plans to produce several videos in English, Russian, and Yiddish by the end of June.
In April, the Center started creating short visual stories on Facebook dedicated to prominent Yiddish writers, actors, and activists, as well as Yiddish words or notions. Some of the most popular posts were about Haim Grade, one of the leading Yiddish writers of the 20th century; the moving song by Shmerke Kacherginski entitled “Friling”; and a video about Kadia Molodowsky, a Yiddish poet and a teacher. The most recent post was dedicated to the famous Yiddish poet and songwriter Mordkhe Gebirtig, whose song, "S'brent" [It is Burning], is famous for being having been sung in Jewish ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe and for being adopted as the anthem of the Kraków Jewish resistance.
The World Jewish Congress Yiddish Center believes strongly in the preservation and recognition of cultural treasures created in Yiddish and to the continuity of the Yiddish language. The center is also devoted to the creation of new literary, musical, and theatrical work in Yiddish.
https://www.worldjewishcongress.org/en/programs/yiddish-center
The Center was established in Vilnius at the end of 2014 and offers numerous courses and seminars in Yiddish. It is the only institution that aims to introduce the knowledge of the Yiddish language, culture, and heritage in both formal and informal education settings around the world. Since its inception, over 11,000 students have participated in WJC Yiddish Center seminars in Buenos-Aires, São Paulo, Bucharest, Budva, Montreal, and many other locations.
