The Yiddish Book Center's

Wexler Oral History Project

A growing collection of in-depth interviews with people of all ages and backgrounds, whose stories about the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture offer a rich and complex chronicle of Jewish identity.

Sholem Berger on the Importance of Being Open as a Yiddish(ist) Community

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Zackary Sholem Berger - doctor by day, Yiddish translator, blogger, and activist by night - reflects on the perceived exclusivity of some Yiddishist events and why Yiddishists should a welcoming community.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Zackary Sholem Berger.

This excerpt is in Yiddish.

Zackary Sholem Berger was born in Washington, D.C. in 1973.

This interview is part of the Beyond the Books: Yiddish writers and their descendants Yiddish in the Academy: scholars, language instructors, and students series.

Other video highlights from this oral history

Meeting Dr. Mordkhe Schaechter

2 min 29 sec

Itche Goldberg's Ideology

1 min 50 sec

Translating Dr. Seuss and other Children's Literature into Yiddish

3 min 2 sec

Yiddishism and Multifaceted Jewish Identity

4 min 15 sec

The Roles of Literature and Spoken Language in Transmission

2 min 15 sec

Rethinking the Idea of Yiddishland

3 min 14 sec

Without an Audience in Mind: Sholem Berger on Writing (Yiddish) Poetry

2 min 36 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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