Thelma Oldak Finkler's Oral History

Thelma Oldak Finkler, Yiddish translator and English teacher who grew up in Mexico, was interviewed by Christa Whitney on October 28, 2015 in Huixquilucan, Mexico. Thelma's father's family came from Poland and her mother's from Russia. She tells a story about finding her great-grandfather's tallit which he had given to her grandfather before he left the old country. Thelma reminisces about growing up enjoying Polish, Russian, and Mexican foods – sometimes several different ethnic dishes on the same table, and other times dishes combining the flavors of more than one culture. She remembers making "matzah-quiles" for Pesach, a version of Mexican chilaquiles made with matzah and hot sauce. Thelma still makes a sweet carrot kugel like the one her mother made for every holiday. Thelma describes growing up in Mexico City, raised together with all the children on the block. All events, such as a bris or bar mitzvah, were celebrated in the house or the garden. Tradition was very important, and her family always attended shul. She credits her parents with teaching her and her brother and sister Jewish traditions and values which have shaped their lives, and she tries to do the same for her son. Thelma grew up hearing Spanish, Russian, Polish, and Yiddish in the home. Her mother taught Yiddish at Thelma's school, the "Yidishe Colegio Israelita de Mexico," and was a staunch Yiddishist. After graduating high school, Thelma worked in a kibbutz for nearly a year, ironing shirts and taking care of babies. She describes the cultural and personality differences between the Jews she met in Israel and those she had grown up with in Mexico. Thelma's family was not involved in politics and her world was very insular until she went to university. While in school she worked at a synagogue and started using her Yiddish again; this eventually led to work as a translator of legal and other documents into Yiddish. She was also hired by a company based in Egypt to translate into Yiddish for Google; boundaries are dissolving now. She feels that Yiddish is still a living language and is excited to have played a small part in inventing new words such as "vebplats" [website]. Updating interactive Yiddish resources on the internet, especially ones for children, is very important in Thelma's view. Thelma talks about her translation method and some of the challenges involved. She thinks that Yiddish translators around the world should share ideas and create guidelines and resources via the internet. She is sure that her mother if she had lived to see it would have been very proud of her daughter's work today.