Suddenly, Yiddish is everywhere. The language of mostly European Jews has migrated to all corners of the globe, yet has been largely contained within urban communities of elderly Jews. Until now.

It seems appropriate that The Forward, that venerable vestige of early Jewish immigration, would join the 21st century with a Yiddish column, hosted by Rukhl Schaechter (Forward.com/Yiddish) in its new online version. Talk about mixing the old and the new. And now Duolingo, a popular language-learning platform, has launched a Yiddish course, and reportedly about 10,000 have already signed up to learn not only the words and expressions, but even the grammar. Who knew Yiddish had grammar? And then there’s the Yiddish Book Center, which has just released a new multimedia Yiddish textbook. Yes, indeed, Yiddish has upped its cred.

But get this — Oy, ikh ken nisht gloybn es — none other than Yale University, that bastion of Ivy League learning, is planning to launch beginner Yiddish classes this fall, allowing students to fulfill their language requirements with Yiddish, including readings of love songs, poetry, folktales and, ver veyst?, maybe even tweets. To put an academic spin on the news, Maurice Samuels, chair of Yale’s Judaic Studies program, explained that “Yale is a center for the study of Jewish history and the Holocaust, and Yiddish is central to those disciplines.”

A few seasons ago on a Sunday afternoon, shul member Adrianne Greenberg organized a Yiddish workshop that our members raved about. “What fun.” “Let’s do this again.” “ I want to learn more.”

And then Covid…

Nevertheless, according to Adrianne, “There’s been a resurgence of interest in the Yiddish language, partly based on a fear that the “mama loshen” (mother tongue) of many Eastern European Jews may disappear.” Not if Adrianne can help it, it won’t. Adrianne submitted the following for your enjoyment.

“Did you, like me, watch ‘Shtisel’ on Netflix, and kvel (proudly smile) if you were able to understand any of the Yiddish without reading the English subtitles? Maybe you know the translations of these common Yiddish words: bubbe (grandmother); zeyde (grandfather); mamele/tatele/bubele (affectionate references); ziskayt (sweet); zoftik (chubby); punim (face, often squeezed by your aunt when seeing you); chutzpah (nerve); bissel (a little); faklempt (mixed up). People often confuse schlemial with schlimozzel; here’s the difference: a schlemiel stupidly causes an accident; a schlimozzel is the victim. (A schlemiel spills soup all over a schlimozzel.)

What fun Yiddish words and phrases do you know? Submit to info@tiferethisrael.com, and watch next month’s issue of The Shofar for more Yiddishisms.

Greece has assumed the rotating presidency of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance for one year, taking over the position from Germany. The Greek foreign ministry said in a statement that the country “is deeply committed to promoting the IHRA’s work, which is key to keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive.” A number of events will be held to educate younger generations and society as a whole so that the meaning of the Holocaust is upheld, and that a Holocaust is never repeated, the statement said.

Mark your calendars now for Wednesday, May 26, for a total lunar eclipse or “blood moon.” This incredible phenomenon occurs when the sun, Earth and the full moon are perfectly aligned so that the moon enters Earth’s umbral shadow in space. It will occur close to the moon’s perigee — the closest it gets to Earth in its monthly orbit. View it in our area just before sunrise. The moon turns reddish during the event because the only light on the lunar surface is filtered by Earth’s atmosphere, which can scatter blue light, but not red light. [Getty Images]

North Fork Reform Synagogue has announced that applications are being accepted now for the 2021 Linda Rie Cohen Scholarship. Funds will be awarded based on the applicant’s intent to pursue continued education in the fields of the arts or sciences, and accomplishments in the applicant’s chosen field of study.

The Linda Rie Cohen Scholarship Fund is an annual endowment of $10,000, given by Fred Cohen in memory of  his wife, who died in June 2013. The scholarships are administered by the NFRS and are for the benefit of the North Fork Jewish Community.

Applications must be received by May 15; awards will be announced on June 30. Visit nortyhforkreformsynagogue.org for an application and further details.

According to an article in The New York Times, France will return the only painting by Gustav Klimt in its national collection to the heirs of Nora Stiasny, a Jewish woman who sold it under duress after the Nazis annexed Austria.

France’s culture minister, Roselyne Bachelot, said it was difficult but necessary for France to part with Klimt’s “Rosebushes Under the Trees,” which she called “a masterpiece.”

Stiasny was born in 1898 to a Jewish family in Vienna. The painting was passed on to her by her uncle, Viktor Zuckerkandl, a wealthy steel magnate and art collector who had bought the painting in 1911. After the Nazis annexed Austria, she was forced to sell it to survive. Stiasny was deported to occupied Poland in 1942 and died that year, as did her husband and son. 

The man who bought the painting kept it until his death in 1960. France bought it from an art gallery in 1980, having found no evidence at the time that it had been sold under duress.

In 2019, a task force was given a broad mandate to search for and return artwork that had been looted or sold under duress during the Nazi occupation. The Louvre is currently reviewing all acquisitions it made between 1933 and 1945.

Israeli archaeologists have announced that dozens of Dead Sea Scroll fragments bearing Biblical verses were discovered during a National Archaeological operation in the Judean Desert. The scroll fragments are written in Greek and feature portions of the Books of the twelve minor prophets, including those of Zechariah and Nahum. It’s the first time in almost 60 years that an archaeological excavation has uncovered fragments of a Biblical scroll.

In addition to the scroll fragments, archaeologists also uncovered a cache of rare coins from the days of Simon Bar-Kokhba that bear Jewish symbols, and a large basket dating back 10,500 years, making it likely the oldest in the world.

The Dead Sea Scrolls include the earliest known copies of the Biblical texts, and are considered the most important archaeological discovery of the 20th century.