Calendar of Events | Yiddish Book Center

Hours

The Yiddish Book Center’s building is closed, but our work continues online and on social media.

CANCELED | Monsieur Mayonnaise | Sunday, March 22 @ 2 p.m.

This event has been canceled due to the Covid 19 emergency. While the Yiddish Book Center’s building is closed our work continues - online and on social media.

CANCELED - Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival | Four Winters, with director Q&A | Thursday, March 26 @ 7 p.m.

This event has been canceled due to the Covid 19 emergency. While the Yiddish Book Center’s building is closed our work continues - online and on social media.

CANCELED - Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival | The Adventures of Saul Bellow, sneak peek, with director Q&A | Saturday, March 28 @ 7:30 p.m.

This event has been canceled due to the Covid 19 emergency. While the Yiddish Book Center’s building is closed our work continues - online and on social media.

CANCELED - Pioneer Valley Jewish Film Festival | Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles | Thursday, April 2 @ 7 p.m.

This event has been canceled due to the Covid 19 emergency. While the Yiddish Book Center’s building is closed our work continues - online and on social media.

CANCELED | An American Tail | Sunday, April 5 @ 2 p.m.

This event has been canceled due to the Covid 19 emergency. While the Yiddish Book Center’s building is closed our work continues - online and on social media.

CANCELED - AUTHOR TALK | The Dairy Restaurant, with Ben Katchor | Thursday, April 23 @ 7 p.m.

This event has been canceled due to the Covid 19 emergency. While the Yiddish Book Center’s building is closed our work continues - online and on social media.

CANCELED - Community Open House | Sunday, April 26, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

This event has been canceled due to the Covid 19 emergency. While the Yiddish Book Center’s building is closed our work continues - online and on social media.

TOUR | From the Vault: A Behind-the-Scenes Tour | Tuesday, May 5 @ 2 p.m.

ArtWeek 2020 | Yiddish Book Center Bibliographer and Editorial Director David Mazower leads a behind-the-scenes tour of the Yiddish Book Center’s book vault. Click to read more.

FILM | American Jerusalem: Jews and the Making of San Francisco | Sunday, May 10 @ 2 p.m.

This film tells the remarkable story of the pioneering Jews of San Francisco, who played a central role in the transformation of the once-sleepy village into the largest metropolis in the American West. Click to read more and to purchase tickets.

FILM | The Land Was Theirs | Sunday, May 17 @ 2 p.m.

Set in New Jersey and focused on Jewish farmers and their communities, this film opens a window onto the wider experience of immigrants who came to America in search of a better life. Click for more information and purchase tix.

FILM | Of Stars and Shamrocks: Boston's Jews and Irish | Sunday, May 24 @ 2 p.m.

Of Stars and Shamrocks chronicles the interaction between Irish and Jewish immigrants in Protestant Brahmin Boston over the last 100 years. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

FILM | Edgar G. Ulmer: The Man Off-screen | Sunday, June 14 @ 2 p.m.

A fascinating documentary which paints a vividly impressionistic portrait of a no-budget auteur stylistically able to "take a rat and make Thanksgiving dinner out of it." Click to read more and purchase tickets.

FILM | Sam Spiegel: Conquering Hollywood | Sunday, June 28 @ 2 p.m.

The last of his kind, independent film pioneer and tycoon Sam Spiegel's career conveys the turbulent but ever-so-rewarding, star-studded business during the final years of Hollywood's Golden Age. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

Yidstock 2020: July 9-12

The ninth annual Yidstock will take place at the Yiddish Book Center on July 9-12, 2020.

TALK | The New Yiddish Textbook, with Asya Vaisman Schulman | Thursday, July 9, 12 - 1 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | In a lively presentation, Asya Vaisman Schulman will share what's inside the new Yiddish textbook, including its recurring characters that reflect the diversity of Yiddish speakers today. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

TALK | The Essential Klezmer, with Seth Rogovoy | Thursday, July 9, 2 - 3 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | Seth Rogovoy, Yidstock’s artistic director takes the audience on a multimedia journey through klezmer, from Old World shtetls to New World stages. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

TALK | The KCB at 40: A View from the Trenches, with Hankus Netsky | Thursday, July 9, 4 - 5 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | Hankus Netsky, the band’s founder and director, will share the remarkable story of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, the most enduring ensemble to come out of the klezmer resurgence. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

CONCERT | The Klezmer Conservatory Band | Thursday, July 9, 8 – 9:15 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | The Sarah Rose Lazarus Family Concert | With a current lineup of band veterans mixed with more recent additions, the Klezmer Conservatory Band will offer a trip down memory lane. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

TALK | The Yiddish and Klezmer Music Renaissance: Global Success and Jewish Ambivalence, with Hankus Netsky | Friday, July 10, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | Hankus Netsky will explore the reasons why klezmer and Yiddish musical genres have had little impact within the fields of Jewish education and Jewish studies, and consider paths forward.Click to read more and purchase tickets.

WORKSHOP | Sing in Shabbos: Welcoming the Beloved with Song, with Aviva Chernick | Friday, July 10, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | Award-winning Canadian musician, prayer leader, and vocalist Aviva Chernick will guide participants through song and poetry, warming up the spirit for the coming of Shabbos. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

WORKSHOP | Yiddish Dance 101: How to Dance to Klezmer Music, with Steve Weintraub and Lauren Brody | Friday, July 10, 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | World-renowned dance instructor Steve Weintraub offers an overview of the Yiddish style of dance. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

WORKSHOP | Yiddish Choir, with Polina Shepherd | Friday, July 10, 12:45 – 2 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | Polina Shepherd’s choir work covers many aspects of vocal music. In her two Yidstock workshops this weekend, Polina will endeavor to get participants to learn a few choral arrangements. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

TALK | A Conversation with Michael Winograd | Friday, July 10, 1 – 1:45 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | Michael Winograd has recently emerged as a leader of a new generation of klezmer. Michael explores his creative process in conversation with Seth Rogovoy. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

CONCERT | Eleanor Reissa Ensemble | Friday, July 10, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | The Helen and Jonathan Sunshine Memorial Concert | Eleanor Reissa debuts a new ensemble and new arrangements this year, as she continues to reinvent the art of Yiddish cabaret. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

TALK | A Conversation with Socalled | Friday, July 10, 4 – 4:45 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | The foremost practitioner of klezmer hip-hop, Socalled has worked in a myriad of styles on his own and with artists. He explores his creative process in conversation with Seth Rogovoy. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

CONCERT | Aviva Chernick Ensemble | Friday, July 10, 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | Aviva Chernick has put together a special repertoire for this pre-Shabbos concert, which also draws on her training in the cantorial arts and as a meditation teacher. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

WORKSHOP | Build-a-Sher Yiddish Dance, with Steve Weintraub and Lauren Brody | Saturday, July 11, 10 – 11:30 a.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | World-famous dance instructor Steve Weintraub explores the iconic Jewish square dance, the sher, with participants creating their own Yidstock sher. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

WORKSHOP | Yiddish Choir, with Polina Shepherd | Saturday, July 11, 10 – 11:30 a.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | Polina Shepherd’s choir work covers many aspects of vocal music. In her two Yidstock workshops this weekend, Polina will endeavor to get participants to learn a few choral arrangements. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

TALK | So Cool, So Jewish: The Bronx Salon of Yiddish Poet Bertha Kling, with David Mazower | Saturday, July 11, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | In the early twentieth century, Bertha Kling and her husband kept open house in the Bronx. David Mazower uses rare family archives to explore this unique group of Bronx bohemians. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

WORKSHOP | Instrumental Klezmer, with Brian Bender | Saturday, July 11, 1 – 3 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | An instrumental workshop for aspiring klezmer musicians, taught by trombonist/keyboardist Brian Bender of the Yiddishkeit Klezmer Ensemble. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

READING | ‘The Last Survivor,’ with Eleanor Reissa | Saturday, July 11, 1 – 1:45 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | Eleanor Reissa will read a selection from her play 'The Last Survivor,' followed by a conversation with Seth Rogovoy and an audience Q&A. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

TALK | A Conversation with Polina and Merlin Shepherd | Saturday, July 11, 3 – 3:45 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | Husband-and-wife duo Polina and Merlin Shepherd will explore their creative process integrating various influences in conversation with Seth Rogovoy. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

CONCERT | Socalled Sings Golden Age Yiddish Hits / Michael Winograd Plays TANZ! | Saturday, July 11, 8 – 10 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | The Joan A. Backman Memorial Concert | This concert by two of the twenty-first century's most forward-looking young visionaries looks back to early-to-mid-twentieth century in America. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

WORKSHOP | Lomir Zingen! Yiddish Song Workshop, with Asya Vaisman Schulman | Sunday, July 12, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | At this workshop, participants will learn to sing Yiddish songs old and new, including some of the songs being performed throughout the festival. No prior knowledge of Yiddish necessary. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

FILMS | Wexler Oral History Project Presents… | Sunday, July 12, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | The Yiddish Book Center's Wexler Oral History Project is a growing collection of in-depth interviews with people whose stories provide a deeper understanding of the Jewish experience. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

CONCERT | Polina and Merlin Shepherd | Sunday, July 12, 12 – 1 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | Merlin and Polina Shepherd play a blend of new and old compositions reflecting their unique backgrounds and influences. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

TALK | A Conversation with Aviva Chernick | Sunday, July 12, 1:30 – 2:15 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | Aviva Chernick explores her journey and her newfound interest in Yiddish in conversation with Seth Rogovoy. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

CONCERT | Yidstock All-Stars, with special guest Susan Hoffman Watts | Sunday, July 12, 3 – 4 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | With so much incredible talent in one place at one time, we have asked Frank London to put together a unique band drawn from this year’s festival artists for a once-in-a-lifetime concert. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

TALK | Marking the Fortieth Anniversary and Mapping the Future, with Aaron Lansky and Susan Bronson | Sunday, July 12, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | Yiddish Book Center founder and president Aaron Lansky and executive director Susan Bronson reflect on the Center's storied history and look to the future. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

CONCERT | The Klezmatics | Sunday, July 12, 7:30 – 9 p.m.

YIDSTOCK 2020 | The Bernard and Reva Broder Memorial Concert | The Klezmatics blend instrumental and vocal virtuosity and experimentation with theatricality firmly rooted in klezmer and Yiddish tradition. Click to read more and purchase tickets.

FILM | The Way We Were | Sunday, July 26 @ 2 p.m.

A stormy relationship begins on a college campus in 1937 and struggles through the coming decades. Click to read more and to purchase tickets.

FILM | Crossing Delancey | Sunday, August 23 @ 2 p.m.

Set in modern-day New York, this romantic comedy highlights the contrasting values between first and third generation American Jews. Click to read more and purchase tickets.