Episode Highlights

Air date: January 15, 2025

Rabbi Sholom Ber Diskin

A shaliach at Chabad of Pacific Palisades, Rabbi Diskin shares his first-hand experience of surviving the Los Angeles wildfires that destroyed his home. He discusses the ongoing relief efforts he and his team are leading. We reached him at his temporary residence in the Pico Robinson neighborhood on Jan. 15, 2025.

➡️ Learn more about fire relief efforts: Chabad of Pacific Palisades Fire Relief
➡️ Support individuals directly:

• Help My Elderly Parents Rebuild After Fire—Ruby Elliot Zuckerman's fundraiser for her grandparents, the Yiddish scholar Marvin Zuckerman and his wife Kathy Kohner Zuckerman a/k/a Gidget
• Help the Diskin Family Rebuild from the Palisades Fire—to support Rabbi Sholom Ber and Nechama Diskin and their family, who lost their home last week in the wildfire.

Shulem Londner

A community member from the Fairfax neighborhood of Los Angeles, Shulem shares insights from the Yiddish literary world and reflects on the wildfire crisis. We reached him by phone at his home on Jan. 15, 2025.

Kolya Borodulin

Join Kolya for a discussion on the Workers Circle’s upcoming online event, Winter in Yiddishland. We reached him by phone at his Arbeter Ring office in New York on Jan. 15, 2025.

New Yiddish Music

This episode features songs by rising stars on the Yiddish music scene:

• Jordan Wax: Makht and Keler fun Ash
  ➡️ Listen on Bandcamp
• Hershy Bleich: Yene Second
  ➡️ Listen on Mostly Music
• Mendy Shapiro: Kivinu
  ➡️ Listen on Mostly Music
• Moshe Milstein: Lichtele
  ➡️ Listen on Mostly Music

🎵 Intro Music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

• Arele Schaechter Viswanath, the translator of the Harry Potter book series into Yiddish, was interviewed about, and read excerpts from, his translation of the second book, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which was recently published by Olniansky Press (Sweden, 2024) under the Yiddish title הערי פּאָטער און די קאַמער פֿון סודות. Arele works in the field of strategy and analytics at tech companies in New York City, while "moonlighting" as a Yiddish translator. His previous translations include the first Harry Potter book (הערי פּאָטער און דער פֿילאָסאָפֿישער שטיין); Do you know Pippi Longstocking? (צי קענסטו פּיפּי לאַנגשטרימפּ); and Uh-oh! (געוואַלד). To purchase the latest Harry Potter book in Yiddish in the US we suggest you either email CYCO Yiddish Book Center at [email protected] or visit the League for Yiddish Store's Harry Potter book 2 page. For non-USA orders, we recommend purchasing directly from the publisher Olniansky Press's Harry Potter page.

• Lillian Shporer-Leavitt (לאה), co-host of The Yiddish Voice, led the interview with Arele, as she previously did for the first book in 2020. Lillian grew up in Boston in a Yiddish-speaking home and has been teaching and translating Yiddish in the Boston area for several decades.

• Our show ended with a selection of Hanukkah recordings. Happy Hanukkah! אַ פֿריילעכן חנוכּה

Music:

• Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz
• John Williams: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Complete Motion Picture Score (excerpts)
• A series of Hanukkah in performed by various singers and musicians, including Moishe Oysher and the Pripetshik Singers.

Air date: Dec 11, 2024

Highlights:

• Moyshe Hoffman, proprietor of Hoffy's Kosher Restaurant in Antwerp, Belgium, where you can "enjoy Yiddish traditional cuisine". He talks about his restaurant, some personal and family history, and a bit about Yiddish life in Antwerp. We interviewed Moyshe Hoffman at Hoffy's on Nov. 14, 2024. Hoffy's website: https://hoffys.be
• Richard Fein (רובֿן-יעקבֿ פֿײַן) reads the poem "To My Father" in English, and Sholem Beinfeld reads the Yiddish. This was recorded at Fein's home in Cambridge, MA, on Sept. 20, 2024, as a bonus when we recorded Fein's translations of Avrom Sutzkever's poetry, but it could not be included in that program, so we are now airing it for the first time. (Our podcast with Fein's translation of Sutzkever poems: https://podcast.yv.org/episodes/erev-rosh-hashona-with-sutzkever-poetry-translated-and-read-by-richard-fein-and-sholem-beinfeld)
• From the archives: Jake Turx (אבֿרהם-יעקבֿ טערקלטויב) - Take a walk back in history to the early days of the first Trump administration with our 2017 interview featuring Turx, senior White House correspondent and chief political correspondent for Ami magazine. Listen to the original podcast here: https://podcast.yv.org/episodes/jake-turx

Music:

• Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz
• Abe Moskowitz: Vu Iz Dos Gesele
• Chava Alberstein: Vilna

Air date: Dec 4, 2024

Highlights:

• Rukhl Schaechter (שׂרה-רחל שעכטער), editor of Forverts (a/k/a the Yiddish Forward, פֿאָרווערטס), online at forward.com/yiddish, reflects on 25 years with this Yiddish institution, originally as a writer and now as its editor. She spoke with us on Zoom from her home in Yonkers on Nov. 24, 2024. The Forward is celebrating her anniversary with a Celebrate Our Rukhl event in New York, NY, on Weds., Dec. 4, 2024. Info: https://www.pages.forward.com/rukhl-celebration

Music:

• Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz
• Intermittent music: Itzhak Perlman, Dov Seltzer, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: Afn Veg Shteyt A Boym (instrumental)
• Outro music: Dudu Fisher: Afn Veg Shteyt A Boym

Air date: November 27, 2024

Highlights:

• Abraham Friedman (אבֿרהם פֿרידמאַן), publisher of Di Tzeitung (די צייטונג), a major weekly newspaper in the Chareidi world, especially among the Chassidic community in New York. In this interview he talks about what his newspaper offers, discusses current events recently covered by his newspaper, and a little about himself. We reached him by phone at his home in Brooklyn on Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. Website of די צייטונג: http://ditzeitung.com/
• From our archive, outtakes from previously aired interviews that were not previously aired due to time limitations.
  • Samuel Kassow (שמואל קאַסאָוו), professor of history, Trinity College: outtake from an interview originally aired Nov. 1, 2017, on the theme of the Russian Revolution of 1917 and on the occasion of Yivo Institute's Conference on Jews in and after the 1917 Russian Revolution. Original podcast: https://podcast.yv.org/episodes/samuel-kassow-elissa-bemporad
  • Jordan Kutzik of Kinder-Loshn Publications, and David Forman, translator of the book Dos Kluge Shnayderl/The Clever Little Tailor: outtake from an interview originally aired in November, 2021. Original podcast: https://podcast.yv.org/episodes/jordan-kutzik-david-forman-dos-kluge-shnayderlthe-clever-little-tailor
  • The above two interviews were conducted by Sholem Beinfeld, a regular contributor to The Yiddish Voice, co-Editor in Chief of the Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary, and Professor of History, Emeritus, Washington University, St. Louis.

Music:

• Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz
• Intermittent/outro music: Itzhak Perlman, Dov Seltzer, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra: Afn Veg Shteyt A Boym (instrumental)

Air date: November 20, 2024

אַ גמר חתימה טובֿה! און אַ גוט געבענטשט יאָר!

Highlights:

• Rabbi Itzik-Boruch Teitelbaum (Monroe, NY), known as Der Pshiskher Rov, with a vort for erev Yom Kippur. We reached him by phone at his home in Monroe on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024

• Interviews with Israelis about Oct. 7, one year on.

  • Avremi Zaks the host and producer of the weekly Israeli Yiddish radio program "Kan Yidish." He also teaches Yiddish. He was born in Israel and lives in Jerusalem with his wife and children. We reached him by phone in Jerusalem on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024.
  • Daniel Galay is a composer, playwright, Yiddish activist, educator, and writer, and Chairman of Leyvik House Yiddish Cultural Center in Tel Aviv. We reached him by phone in Tel Aviv on October 8, 2024. Additional info online: https://www.leyvik.com
  • Miriam Trinh is the editor-in-chief of Afn Shvel, teaching Yiddish language and literature at Hebrew University and online platforms like Workers Circle and YIVO. She has written for the Yiddish Forward (Forverts), including the interview with Tzili Venkert described on our show and a recent article published post-show, "לכּבֿוד יום-הזכּרון זאָל דער געדענק־פּלאַקאַט פֿון קיבוץ בארי נישט לאָזן פֿאַרגעסן." Trinh moved to Israel after high school and resides in Jerusalem with her family. We reached her by phone in Jerusalem on October 9, 2024.

• Greetings on behalf of the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants of Greater Boston, featuring members Tania Lefman (Treasurer), Mary Ehrlich, Rosalie Reszelbach and Miriam Modricamin.

• Greeting from Dovid Braun, co-host. Recorded Oct. 2, 2024, by phone.

• Greetings from Eli Dovek ז״ל, late proprietor of our sponsor Israel Bookshop, Brookline, MA.

• Greeting from Lillian (Leye) Leavitt, co-host. Recorded Sept. 25, 2024, by phone.

Music:

• Cantor Joseph Shapiro: B'Rosh Hashona
• Leibele Waldman: Der naier yuhr
• Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air date: October 9, 2024

אַ כּ‫תיבֿה וחתימה טובֿה!

Highlights:

• Avrom Novershtern (Israel) Professor Emeritus of Yiddish Literature, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. We reached him by phone on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024.
• Eli Sharfstein (Israel) writer and poet. We reached him by phone in Greece, where he was stranded due to cancelations of flights to Israel, on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024.
• Rabbi Itzik-Boruch Teitelbaum (Monroe, NY), known as Der Pshiskher Rov. We reached him by phone at his home in Monroe on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024.
• Greetings on behalf of the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants of Greater Boston, featuring members Tania Lefman (Treasurer), Mary Ehrlich, Rosalie Reszelbach and Miriam Modricamin.
• Greeting from Dovid Braun, co-host. Recorded Oct. 2, 2024, by phone.
• Greetings from Eli Dovek ז״ל, late proprietor of our sponsor Israel Bookshop, Brookline, MA.
• Greeting from Sholem Beinfeld, co-host. Recorded Sept. 18, 2024, by phone.
• Greeting from Lillian (Leye) Leavitt, co-host. Recorded Sept. 25, 2024, by phone.
• Greetings on behalf of the League for Yiddish / די ייִדיש-ליגע by Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath, Board Chair. Recorded Sept. 18, 2024.
• Greetings on behalf of the Hebrew Actors Foundation and CYCO Yiddish Book Center by Hy Wolfe. Recorded via Zoom Sept. 18, 2024.

Music: (Partial List)

• Cantor Joseph Shapiro: B'Rosh Hashona
• Malavsky Family: Kevah Kures
• Sholom Katz: Zochreinu L'Chayim
• Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air date: October 2, 2024

This week, greetings for Rosh Hashona from friends, participants, and sponsors of The Yiddish Voice / דאָס ייִדישע קול, combined with a poetry reading by Richard Fein and Sholem Beinfeld.

אַ גוט, געבענטשט יאָר אַלע אונדזערע צוהערער - לשנה טובֿה

Highlights:

• Author and translator Richard J. Fein (Yiddish name: Ruvn-Yankev), along with his friend, collaborator, and regular Yiddish Voice cohost Sholem Beinfeld, read from Fein's book The Full Pomegranate: Poems of Avrom Sutzkever (SUNY Press, 2019), which features Sutzkever's poems in their original Yiddish along with Fein's English translations. Avrom Sutzkever (1913–2010) is widely regarded as one of the greatest Yiddish poets of the 20th century. Richard J. Fein is Professor Emeritus of English at the State University of New York at New Paltz and the author, editor, and translator of many books, including With Everything We’ve Got: A Personal Anthology of Yiddish Poetry. Sholem Beinfeld is Professor Emeritus of History at Washington University in St. Louis, and is perhaps best known as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary (Arumnemik Yidish-English Verterbukh), as well as a translator of Yiddish texts and creator of new subtitles for classic Yiddish movies. For further information on Fein's book The Full Pomegranate, see the publisher's web site: http://www.sunypress.edu/p-6690-the-full-pomegranate.aspx We recorded this at Fein's home in Cambridge, MA, on Sept. 20, 2024.
• Greetings on behalf of the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants of Greater Boston, featuring members Tania Lefman (Treasurer), Mary Ehrlich, Rosalie Reszelbach and Miriam Modricamin.
• Greetings from Eli Dovek ז״ל, late proprietor of our sponsor Israel Bookshop, Brookline, MA.
• Greeting from Sholem Beinfeld, co-host. Recorded Sept. 18, 2024, by phone.
• Greeting from Lillian (Leye) Leavitt, co-host. Recorded Sept. 25, 2024, by phone.
• Greetings on behalf of the League for Yiddish / די ייִדיש-ליגע by Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath, Board Chair. Recorded Sept. 18, 2024.
• Greetings on behalf of the Hebrew Actors Foundation and CYCO Yiddish Book Center by Hy Wolfe. Recorded via Zoom Sept. 18, 2024.

Music:

• Cantor Joseph Shapiro: B'Rosh Hashona
• Malavsky Family: Kevah Kures
• Sholom Katz: Zochreinu L'Chayim
• Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air date: September 25, 2024

This week, greetings for Rosh Hashona from friends, participants, and sponsors of The Yiddish Voice / דאָס ייִדישע קול, combined with an exciting new interviews with Rabbi Moshe Waldoks and Holocaust survivor Henry Slucki.

אַ גוט, געבענטשט יאָר אַלע אונדזערע צוהערער לשנה טובֿה

Highlights:

• Interview with Rabbi Moshe Waldoks, whose biographical one-man show "You Can Live If They Let You" recently debuted in Boston, amid much acclaim (including a Boston Globe feature article) to sold-out audiences. Recorded Sept. 18, 2024, by phone. Info on Moshe Waldoks on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moshe_Waldoks
• Interview with Henry Slucki, a Holocaust survivor, professor of psychology at USC, cultural and political activist. Recorded Sept. 18, 2024, via Zoom.
• Greetings on behalf of the American Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants of Greater Boston, featuring members Tania Lefman (Treasurer), Mary Ehrlich, Rosalie Reszelbach, and Miriam Modricamin.
• Greetings from Eli Dovek ז״ל, late proprietor of our sponsor Israel Bookshop, Brookline, MA.
• Greeting from Sholem Beinfeld, co-host. Recorded Sept. 18, 2024, by phone.
• Greetings on behalf of the League for Yiddish / די ייִדיש-ליגע by Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath, Board Chair. Recorded Sept. 18, 2024.
• Greetings on behalf of the Hebrew Actors Foundation and CYCO Yiddish Book Center by Hy Wolfe. Recorded via Zoom Sept. 18, 2024.

Music:

• Cantor Simcha Koussevitzky: Zochreinu L'Chayim
• Pesachke Burstein: Men ken leben nor men lozt nit (Composer: Joseph Rumshinsky)
• Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air date: September 18, 2024

This week, interviews with Perl Teitelbaum and Hy Wolfe. We spoke with them in person at 2024 Yugntruf Yidish-Vokh in Copake, NY, on Aug. 21, 2024.

• Paula (Perl) Teitelbaum is a Yiddish language at Arbeter Ring, Yivo Institute, and elsewhere. She talked about a new technique she's been using for teaching Yiddish by watching films. A Yiddish singer who has performed on several album, she also shared memories of creating the popular song Vaserl along with co-writer Rukhl Schaechter.

• Hy Wolfe is a Yiddish singer and actor, as well as an activist involved in managing several important Yiddish organizations: Hebrew Actors Foundation, Sholem Aleichem Culture Center, and CYCO Yiddish Book Center. He talked about those organizations, and also shared some personal memories from his career on the Yiddish stage.

• Music:

  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz
  • Philip (Fayvl) Yucht, Shifee Lovitt: Vaserl וואַסערל (Arrangement by Andy Statman and his ensemble)
  • Meilech Kohn: Mein Held מײַן העלד

Air Date: August 21, 2024

This week, an interview with Dovid Braun, talking about the Yivo Bard Zumer-Program and a few related matters. Dovid serves as Academic Director for the summer program, which recently concluded, and year-round as Yivo's Academic Director for Yiddish. And we hear from our archive (1995) Miriam Libenson on Tisha B'Ov , which falls this year on the night of Monday, Aug. 12.

• Music:
  • Intro instrumental music: DEM HELFANDS TANTS, an instrumental track from the CD Jeff Warschauer: The Singing Waltz

Air Date: August 7, 2024