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.
Speaking Yiddish as a Child
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Fay Webern, New York City native and writer of historical, literary non-fiction, describes growing up with Yiddish and discusses the richness of the language.
This is an excerpt from an oral history with Fay Webern.
This excerpt is in Yiddish and English.
Fay Webern was born in New York, New York in 1927.
Other video highlights from this oral history
Speaking Yiddish as a Child
2 minutes 17 seconds
Popcorn and Fundraising at Intermission: Memories of New York Yiddish and English Theaters and Movie Houses
2 minutes 16 seconds
Tragic Story of Her Namesakes in Ukraine
3 minutes 47 seconds
Stories About My Bobe: Sneaking Out of Shul to Skinny Dip, Making a Living Through Depression
2 minutes 39 seconds
Mizele, Mayzele: Yiddish Song for a Lost Baby Tooth
1 minute 6 seconds
Fear of the Black Hand Italian Mafia Between Kids at the Jewish Center
2 minutes
Description of Lavanburg Homes, A Utopian Housing Co-operative in New York
3 minutes 40 seconds
Song About Tsar Nikolai
2 minutes 7 seconds
"Kukh-aleyns”: The Jewish Summer Retreat for Those Who Couldn’t Afford The Catskills
1 minute 23 seconds
My Parents' Arranged Marriage
3 minutes 56 seconds
Mother Getting the Family a Cottage for the Summer
5 minutes 23 seconds
My Mother's Protest to Get into the Lavanburg Homes
5 minutes 59 secondsMore information about this oral history excerpt
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About the Wexler Oral History Project
Since 2010, the Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project has recorded more than 500 in-depth video interviews that provide a deeper understanding of the Jewish experience and the legacy and changing nature of Yiddish language and culture.
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Do you (or someone you know) have stories to share about the importance of Yiddish language and culture in your life?