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The Yiddish Book Center

celebrates Yiddish literature and culture to advance a fuller understanding of Jewish history and identity.

People looking at exhibit

The Yiddish Book Center

presents Yiddish: A Global Culture, a groundbreaking exhibition that tells the story of modern Yiddish culture through books, objects, family heirlooms, photographs, music, videos, and more.

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The Yiddish Book Center

is a lebedike velt, a lively world where concerts, performances, films, and public programs draw visitors from near and far to experience Yiddish culture.

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The Yiddish Book Center

recovers books around the globe and uses cutting-edge technology to share them free of charge with eager readers everywhere.

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The Yiddish Book Center

offers educational programs for learners of all ages and skill levels

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The Yiddish Book Center

trains Yiddish translators and, through our own publishing house, brings previously untranslated and unknown Yiddish treasures to English readers.

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The Yiddish Book Center

records oral histories to capture the personal narratives of individuals connected to and influenced by Yiddish language and culture.

Discover A World of Yiddish Culture

אַנטפּלעקט אַ װעלט

Explore the Yiddish Book Center's programs and initiatives

Support our work

װערט אַ שטיצער

Support from our members and donors enables us to continue recovering and sharing Yiddish language and culture. Learn more about ways you can support our work.

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Explore the Steven Spielberg Digital Yiddish Library

זוכט אױס אונדזערע קאָלעקציעס

Search within the Steven Spielberg Digital Yiddish Library.

Or start by viewing popular search terms:

Quick links to commonly asked questions

שאלות־ותּשובֿות

Spotlight

פֿאָקוס

Weekly Reader: Hayim Nahman Bialik

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It’s sometimes tempting to draw a neat line between Hebrew and Yiddish literature, especially since they were frequently driven by competing ideological and artistic impulses. But as we’ve seen, the division is often not so clear. Many Yiddish writers started out writing in Hebrew and only later switched to Yiddish, translating their early works along the way. Then there were writers who wrote primarily in Hebrew but also occasionally in Yiddish—it’s sometimes said that the first Yiddish writer to win the Nobel Prize was not Isaac Bashevis Singer in 1978 but S. Y. Agnon in 1966, since he originally wrote in that language. But the Hebrew writer who exercised the greatest influence on his Yiddish peers was undoubtedly Hayim Nahman Bialik. Though best known as a Hebrew poet par excellence, Bialik also occasionally wrote in Yiddish, and his work was quickly translated. For his Yiddish admirers, Bialik exercised an influence nearly as great as someone like I. L. Peretz. In honor of his birthday, which was last week, let’s take a look at this great Hebrew—and Yiddish—writer.

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December 2024: Handpicked

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Each month we ask a member of our staff or a special friend to select favorite stories, books, interviews, or articles from our online collections. This month’s picks are by Eve Glazier, the project assistant for the Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project.

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Meet Our Donors

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Danny and Robin Greenspun, longtime supporters and the first donors of cryptocurrency to the Center, share their passion for the Yiddish Book Center

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