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.

Why I Attended Hebrew School

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Gerry Tenney, musician and activist, describes his reasons for attending Hebrew school and being "miffed" by the shift from Ashkenazi to Sephardi pronunciations of Hebrew.

This is an excerpt from an oral history with Gerry (Gershn Yankl) Tenney.

This excerpt is in English and Yiddish.

This interview is part of the Yiddish and the Arts: musicians, actors, and artists series.

Other video highlights from this oral history

"Di Arbuzn (The Watermelons)": A Soviet Yiddish Folk Song

2 min 34 sec

"Mir Zaynen Do (We Are Here)": Every Yiddish Word is Like a Blow to Nazis and Fascism

1 min 3 sec

Gerry and Leslie Tenney Sing "Mayer Khazer," A Soviet Yiddish Folk Song

2 min 33 sec

"Lomir Zikh Iberbetn (Let's Reconcile)": Uniting a Family Through Yiddish Song

1 min 52 sec

Gerry and Leslie Tenney Sing "Shtil di Nakht iz Oysgeshternt (Quiet, the Night is Full of Stars)"

2 min 3 sec

Finding a Young Jewish Political Community in the 1950s

4 min 31 sec

More information about this oral history excerpt

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