Proste Yiddish - Simple Yiddish

Note: This episode was recorded and released 12th December before the horrors at Bondi. We are grieving, shocked and angry - there is far too much violence in this world. May we all work together towards a world where everyone can live in safety and dignity. Episode 10  // Season 6 חנוכּה How has it taken this long for us to have a Khanike/Chanukah/Hannukah episode?? Well here it is and just in ti...

Episode 9  // Season 6 קלעז־קאַנאַדאַ און אַ ביסל נײַעס In this episode we have a lovely little report from KlezKanada. Thanks to Miri Villerius and Jessica "Eshke" Kirzane for putting this together. And after a long break from talking about myself I'm back with a little life update about my move to the coast. --- If you’re interested in attending KlezKanada's 2026 Summer Retreat...

Episode 8  // Season 6 ייִדן און ייִדיש אין בראַזיל מיט גוסטאַװאָ־גרשום עמאָס און קלאַראַ רחל גרײף In this episode we hear from Yiddish teachers Gustavo-Gershon Emos and Clara Rokhl Greif with a special report from Brazil. They discuss the history of Jews and Yiddish in the country as well as the contemporary Yiddish scene.  Transcript There is a full transcript for this episode here with links to...

Episode 7  // Season 6 לערנען זיך ייִדיש׃ אַן אינטערװיו מיט יאַנקל קראַקאָװסקין We’re back!!! I had a great time chatting with Jake (Yankl) Krakovsky for this interview. We discuss how Jake learned Yiddish and got into translation. This is an excerpt from a longer interview - I hope to release a little more in a few weeks as a bonus episode. Transcript There isn’t a full transcript for this episod...

after a long unexpected break we're back! thanks for sticking with us! Episode 6  // Season 6 שרײַבן נײַע לידער׃ יאָסל לאַנדאַ & קנידעקל New songwriting in minority languages. In this episode we hear from Yosl Landau about the process he used to write new songs in Yiddish for his band Yosl and the Yingels . And I discuss the film Kneecap , about a hiphop group from Belfast who write songs...

Episode 5  // Season 6 אַן אינטערװיו מיט אַניע קױפֿמענטשען I had a great time talking to Annie Kaufman all about her new translation of Ben Gold’s book Avreml Broide .  Annie speaks clearly and slowly so although this is an interview episode it’s not as hard as some of them - give it a go and remember you can slow it down if needed.  Buy the English translation Your Comrade, Avreml Broide here!  ...

Bonus Episode  // Season 6 דער גאַנצער אינטערװיו מיט אַקטיאָר און קולטור טוער חײם װאָלפֿען. This bonus episode is a full version of the interview from episode 4 with Hy Wolfe, Yiddish actor and hard working cultural activist.  In this extended version Hy talks more about his career as an actor, the history of the Yiddish theatre and a collection of Yiddish theatre script excerpts which he is editi...

Episode 4 // Season 6 אַן אינטערװיו מיט אַקטיאָר און קולטור טוער חײם װאָלף. An interview with Hy Wolfe, Yiddish actor and hard working cultural activist.  You can find out more about Hy on his website here and about CYCO here . CYCO is also on Facebook. This is an edited version of our interview - I’ll release a full version soon.  Transcript Reading along with the transcript helps a lot with unde...

Episode 3 // Season 6 מיר הערן פֿון סאַשע פּאַליאַן װעגן אַן עטנאָגראַפֿישע עקפּעדיציע. און אַ ביסל פּאָעזיע פֿון אונדזער מיסטעריעזער מענטש. A guest contribution from Alexandra Polyan all about her first ethnographic expedition.  And some poetry from our mysterious mentsh. You can read more about the expedition here and hear interviews here . Alexandra’s current project is on Soviet Yiddish literatur...

Episode 2 // Season 6 װײסט איר װעגן "די פֿלײש ריאָטס"? אונדזער גאַסט יאָרדאַן דערצײלט אַ ביסל װעגן זײער אַ טשיקאַװע געשיכטע און מיר האָבן נאָך אַ מיסטעריעזער מענטש. Do you know about the “Meat riots” of 1902? Our guest Jordan Weinstock shares a bit of this fascinating history of women’s activism. And Mysterious Mentsh is back - who is this figure from Yiddish culture? Transcript Reading along with...

Episode 1 // Season 6 מיר זײַנען צוריק מיט זײער אַ פֿײַנעם עפּיזאָד רעקאָרדירט אױף דער ייִדיש װאָך פֿון ליליע װײַצמאַן. We’re back with something new for the show - Lily Weitzman has put together a special program for us at the Yiddish Vokh  - hear from different participants about what they like to get up to at this Yiddish retreat.   Lily is also active with the Boston Workers Circle - check out...

Episode 10 // Season 5  צװײ געסט װאָס רעדן װעגן הײַנטצײַטיקע ייִדיש קולטור! בלומע רעדט װעגן קװיר ייִדישקײט און שמא רעדט װעגן קװיר הײװי־מעטאַל. גװאַלדיק! A bumper episode with two guests talking about contemporary Yiddish culture! I have a little rant about the importance of speaking Yiddish, even when your Yiddish isn’t perfect, and how grateful I am that so many learners share recordings with me....

Episode 9 // Season 5  מיר רעדן װעגן די סאָװעטישע ייִדן װאָס מען האָט דערהרגעט דעם 12טן אױגוסט 1952. און איך לײען אַ ביסל פֿון אַ ליד פֿון פּרץ מאַרקיש. An episode in honour of the 12th of August, when people remember the Soviet Jews murdered by Stalin's regime on this date in 1952. Why is this night referred to as “The night of the murdered poets”? I discuss the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee...

Episode 8 // Season 5  מיר הערן פֿון צװײ געסט װעגן אַרומפֿאָרן. מאַרני האָט רעקאָרדירט אַ קלאַנג־טור און מלך רעדט װעגן פֿאָרן אױף ייִדיש סוף־װאָך. Today’s episode is all about travel. Our social-media maven Marnie, leads us on a wonderful audio tour of Yellowstone and Yiddish student Melekh describes his trip to Yiddish Sof-Vokh UK. Transcript Find all the relevant links, improve your reading and...

Episode 7 // Season 5  אַ ליטעראַרישער עפּיזאָד. אונדזער גאַסט לאָרענץ רעדט װעגן אַ נײַ בוך און איך רעד װעגן באַשעװיסען.  A literary special - our guest Lorenz talks about an English book, “When the Angels Left the Old Country” by Sasha Lamb (2022) and I talk about the sometimes controversial Yiddish literary figure, Isaac Bashevis Singer. Transcript Find all the relevant links, improve your readi...

Episode 6 // Season 5  אונדזער גאַסט הײַנט איז אַנדרײ און ער רעדט װעגן ביראָבידזשאַן - אַ סאָװעטישע ייִדישלאַנד?  און איך רעד װעגן שפּאַצירן און װאָס איך האָב געזען לעצטנס אין אַ פֿאָרשטאָט נישט װײַט פֿון מײַן הײם. Our guest this week is Andrey @andreymilo , a Moscow-born Yiddish student who tells us a little about the history of Birobidzhan, a very interesting part of Soviet and Yiddish history....

Episode 5 // Season 5  די מאַמע רעדט װעגן װען זי איז אָנגעקומען אין אױסטראַליע און געגאַנען אין שול אַרײַן. און איך רעדט װעגן מײַנע טײַערע חבֿרטע אַני, און װי זי האָט געבױט איר אײגענע הױז. My mum is back and this time she talks about when she arrived in Australia and was sent straight off to school. And I talk about my dear friend Annie and how she built her own home, despite having no experience...

Episode 4 // Season 5 אין דעם עפּיזאָד רעדט יוסף לאַנדאַו װעגן פּרוּװן צו דערציען זײַן קינד מיט ייִדיש און איך רעד אַ ביסל װעגן ייִדישפּאָפּ. Joseph Landau is our guest, and he talks about raising his son with Yiddish, even though it’s not his own first language. And following our recent star moment in the Forverts article about free Yiddish learning materials , I talk about another of the listed...

Episode 3 // Season 5  מינע־ליפֿשע רעדט װעגן אַ פּאָר פֿאַרװײַלערישע ביכער און איך רעד װעגן אַ װיכטיקן פֿיגור פֿון געשיכטע - אַ מענטש װאָס איז געװען אַ גרױסער מאַכער אין די אוניאָנס. This episode our guest is Meena-Lifshe Viswanath who tells us about a few Yiddish page-turners - fiction in some surprising genres. And in our Mysterious Person I describe someone an important figure from American lab...

Episode 2 // Season 5  אונדזער ערשטע טעלעװיזיע רעצענזיע! פּראָסטע ייִדיש איז איצט אַ פּאָפּ־קולטור פּראָגראַם! און איך רעד װעגן די ייִדישע טראַדיציע פֿון געבורטסטעג.. אָדער נישט? In this episode - our first television review - Jorie Slodki reviews a new Netflix animated series. Proste Yiddish is now a pop-culture podcast!  And I talk a little about birthdays in the Jewish tradition (or not!) Trans...

Episode 1 // Season 5  תּמרה מיקנער איז צוריק! זי רעדט װעגן דעם ייִדישן טעאַטער אין לאָנדאָן און איך רעד װעגן די אַלע אַקטיװיטעטן אױף ייִדיש סוף־װאָך אױסטראַליע. This week’s special guest is Tamara Micner who returns to talk about Yiddish theatre and some recent happenings in London. I’ve just returned from Yiddish Sof-Vokh Australia so we play a game where you can guess which activities I took pa...

Episode 10 // Season 4  מיר הערן פֿון עמאַ ברעסלאָן װעגן איר פֿאָרשונג און אַ ביסל װעגן כאַװער פּאַװער. In this episode we hear from Emma Breslow about her research on Jewish-English and other topics! And in Vos Leyent Men I talk a little about the Communist writer of children’s literature, Chaver Paver. See more about Emma and her research here: https://www.emmabreslow.com/research This episode i...

Episode 9 // Season 4  אַ באַזונדערער עפּיזאָד און אַ ביסל װעגן עספּעראַנטאָ. It's kind of a special anniversary.. well not too big a deal. Indulge me as I talk a little about starting the podcast. And a section about Esperanto and it’s connection to Yiddish. Transcript Find relevant links, improve your reading and learn new vocab in the Yiddish transcript:  https://tinyurl.com/ProsteTranscrip...

Episode 8 // Season 4  פּסח איז אױס אָבער איך טראַכט נאָך אַלץ װעגן פּסח. אין דעם עפּיזאָד הערן מיר װעגן הגדות, סדרים און אליהו הנבֿיאן. Pesach is over but I’m still thinking about Pesach! In this episode we hear about haggadahs, seders and a very important figure in Jewish culture, Elijah the prophet. Transcript Find relevant links, improve your reading and learn new vocab in the Yiddish transcri...

Episode 7 // Season 4  טאַמאַראַ גליסאָן־פֿרידבערג רעדט װעגן ייִדיש אין מעקסיקע און לײענט פֿאָר אַ ליד פֿון יענקב גלאַנצען. איך װעל אײַך געבן אַן ענטפֿער צו מיסטעריעזער מענטש. Tamara Gleason Freidberg is our guest in this episode, with a great segment about Yiddish in Mexico. Tamara talks a bit about Yiddish culture in Mexico and reads a poem from Yankev Glants.  And of course, there’s the answer...