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.
Noami Leaf Halpern's Oral History
Noami Leaf Halpern, Jewish dancer and centenarian, was interviewed by Christa Whitney on January 27th, 2017, in Woodstock, New York.
This interview was conducted in Yiddish.
Noami Leaf Halpern was born in Jerusalem, Palestine in 1914.
Video highlights from this oral history
Losing the Gefilte Fish
1 minute 15 seconds
"They Knew A War Was Coming": Zionism At Home and Leaving Palestine Before World War Two
1 minute 29 seconds
It was Heaven: Camp Kinderwelt
1 minute 40 seconds
Stories from the Road: A Jewish Dancer's 1930s European Tour
3 minutes 47 seconds
Dancing in Maurice Schwartz's Last Play
1 minute 29 seconds
Dancing in the Ziegfeld Follies
1 minute 44 seconds
The Beauty of a Jewish Life
1 minute 18 seconds
Choreographing and Performing Dances about the Women of the Tanakh
1 minute 30 seconds
Find What Makes You Feel Good to Be Alive: Advice from a Centenarian
1 minute 10 secondsArtifacts related to this oral history
Noami Performing with an Instrument
Noami Performing Dance in a Gown and Shawl
Noami Performing with a Basket Balanced on her Head
Noami Performance with Dagger
Drawing of Noami Performing with Basket Balanced on Her Head
Painting of Noami Peforming with Instrument
Color Drawing of Noami Performing with Basket of Fruit Balanced on Her Head
Decorated Tile of Noami Performing with Instrument
Photograph of Group Dance Performance, Four Seated Performers and One Standing
Photograph of Group Dance Performance, Five Performers in Unison
Painting of Noami Performing with Basket of Flowers
Performance Poster Naomi Aleh Leaf in Dances of the Bible & the Near East
Performance Poster 2 Naomi Aleh Leaf in Dances of the Bible & the Near East
Noami and Daughter Photo
Ornamental Hanukiah
R. Leaf Studio Gold Sign
Photo of Noami Performance with Basket Balanced on Her Head
Noami Performance Photo with Pottery
Gold Metal Vessel with Spout
Brass Mask Wall Ornament
Painting of Man Close Up
Painting of Man
More information about this oral history
Themes:
- Yiddish teaching
- Dance
- Music
- Singing
- Zionism
- Israel
- Shabbos
- Eastern Europe
- Western Europe
- United States
- Summer camp
- Food
- Yiddish personalities
- Urban
- Travel
- Relationships
- Jerusalem
- Palestine
- New York City
- Brooklyn
- Bronx
- New York
- Paris
- France
- Maurice Schwartz
- Mikhail Fokine
- Naomi Aleh Leaf
- Camp Kindervelt
- Camp Kinderwelt
- 1920s
- 1930s
- gefilte fish
- choreography
- tour
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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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