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          -ברוכים הבאים אויף "ביי ייִדיש" -אַן אָרט פֿאַר ייִדיש אינעם דרומדיקן בײ
Welcome to "BayYiddish.Net" --  where Yiddish lives in the South Bay!  This site provides information about Yiddish classes in the southern San Francisco Bay area.  The site has been updated as of summer 5783-4 (that's 2023), but the aim is to expand and to incorporate useful links and pages for learning and so to become an all-around Yiddish resource!

Stanford Students, undergrad and grad:

Yes, Yiddish will happen this fall quarter of 2023-24! Yiddish Quarter One, Year One, is currently scheduled for MW 1:30-3:20.  Any background in Hebrew or German can help a lot, but no prior knowledge is required, and there are no prerequisites.  If you have an interest, sign up!  Or, contact Yankl through this site or at: jnlvtw@stanford.edu.  

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We also offer a Second Year Yiddish class if there is a demand, covering the history of Yiddish literature. -- in Yiddish. This class is for students who can already read to some degree.  Uncertain?  Reflect on the "Why Study Yiddish?" page above.  Questions or concerns?  Contact Yankl directly at jnlvtw@stanford.edu.

 

Yiddish at Stanford University:

jewishstudies.stanford.edu/yiddishstanford 

It's "the "Emes Truth!"

Yes, Yiddish is spoken across the South Bay -- and regular, university-level Yiddish classes are offered at Stanford and at UC Santa Cruz. For non-university people, there are classes at local JCC's and synagogues -- and now via "Zoom" too!

 

("Emes" -- spelled as in Hebrew אמת, is Yiddish for "truth," but the old folks thought this redundant expression was funny.  It even appears in the move, "Network.")

 

Why "davka" Yiddish?

Yiddish is Hebrew, Aramaic, German, Polish, Old French, and Russian -- it's Jewish, European, and American

history -- and it's contemporary life -- it's ten subjects in one!  

("Davka" -- דווקא -- is Hebrew and Yiddish and Aramaic for "specifically," "out of all the possibilities in the world, this one!")

UC Santa Cruz students

Yiddish classes will return to UCSC in winter quarter 2024, and interested students can also continue into a second quarter in the spring.  As stated in another box above, a little background in Hebrew or German can help a lot, but no prior knowledge is required, and there are no prerequisites!  All are welcome!  Questions or concerns?  Contact Yankl through this website or at jlevitow@ucsc.edu.

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The Center for Jewish Studies at UC Santa Cruz: cjs.ucsc.edu/

For starters, here's a fun quiz!  Can you identify all of the following places where Yiddish has been spoken? (Answers are at the end of the "About Yankl" page.)

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