Jordana de Bloeme's Oral History

Jordana de Bloeme, scholar of Eastern European Jewish history, was interviewed by Jessica Parker on December 17, 2013, at the Association for Jewish Studies Conference in Boston, Massachusetts. Jordana grew up in a Jewish home, although her father was not Jewish. They celebrated all the Jewish holidays and Christmas. She grew up in suburban Ottawa and Toronto, Canada. Jordana attended Jewish schools and summer camps, though she describes her Jewish upbringing as untraditional. At York University, she focused on Jewish Studies and became interested in modern Eastern European Jewish history and Yiddish. Jordana shares how she became attracted to the academic sphere. She acknowledges her mentors, such as her first Yiddish teacher, Kalman Weiser, and talks about the YIVO Summer Program and an advanced Yiddish studies course at Tel Aviv University. Jordana reflects on the importance of learning about the interwar Ashkenazi culture at these courses since there is no longer an actual "Yiddishland" that one can visit. Jordana's dissertation focused on secular Yiddish education in interwar Vilna. She shares how her academic work has given her a way to relate to her Jewishness through a historical, linguistic, and cultural lens. Jordana explains the feelings generated when she first encountered the moldy, unread Jewish documents in the archives in Vilnius. Turning to her own specific work, she is interested in the Jewish intelligentsia in interwar Europe and the attempt to create a Yiddishist identity among young people. She notes that this movement developed in parallel with Zionism but grappled with the meaning of being a diaspora Jew in Poland. Jordana tries to keep up her conversational Yiddish skills, but shares that it is challenging in Toronto. Jordana discusses the role academics play in cultural transmission. She is not so sure about the term "Yiddish revival" as there is little actual Yiddish language at the various festivals and other events. She advises students to seek out older Yiddish speakers to experience their rich knowledge of the language and culture.