World’s Preeminent Yiddish Program Adds Ladino This Summer

Registration for language courses with The Workers Circle is now open

Contact: Karin Vanegas, karin@anatgerstein.com, 347-361-7049

June 3, 2022

(New York, N.Y.) –The Workers Circle, a 122-year-old Jewish nonprofit headquartered in New York City and the world’s preeminent provider of Yiddish language instruction, has opened registration for its Summer Semester with newly added Ladino courses.

“Interest in Yiddish has reached an all-time high. We continue to hit new records for enrollment every semester, and this spring term was no different” says Workers Circle CEO Ann Toback. “Our students have incredible enthusiasm for connecting to our cultural heritage, language learning, building community around the world, and reconnecting with the vast array of global Jewish traditions, that we are very excited to begin offering Ladino instruction in addition to Yiddish!”

“We have lots of new offerings this summer, including Beginners Ladino with Bryan Kirschen, Complicated Topics of Yiddish Verb with Shlomo Groman, Isaac Bashevis Singer and Polish Jewry with Robert Shapiro, and a course with Zhenya Lopatnik on Folk Yiddish Ballads that chronicle Jewish life,” says Kolya Borodulin, Yiddish Program Director at the Workers Circle. “We also have a number of intermediate-advanced offerings that focus on Yiddish literature, both poetry and prose, and writers.”

With 16 courses offered at the Beginners level, first-time students are encouraged to register.  There are an additional 11 courses offered at the Intermediate level and 10 courses for Advanced Yiddishists. The summer semester begins in late June and early July and runs until early or mid-August, depending on the course.

All classes will be taught virtually via Zoom, ensuring the summer remains COVID-safe and accessible to students residing across the United States and internationally.

Throughout the pandemic, the Workers Circle has registered Yiddish students in all five boroughs of New York City, in 30 states around the U.S., and in 24 countries around the world. Yiddish instructors have been hired in eight different countries.

For more detail on course descriptions and dates, visit:

https://www.circle.org/2022yiddish

Member rates this summer are $150 per class or song course and $295 for intensive courses. Non-member rates are $170 per class or song course and $340 for intensive courses. The Workers Circle offers a 50% class discount to full-time students and Yiddish teachers.

For more on costs and to register, visit:

https://www.circle.org/2022-yiddish-class-price-and-registration

For students and Yiddishists eager to learn and practice in person, the Workers Circle will also be hosting its annual Trip to Yiddishland at the Circle Lodge in upstate New York, a 7-day retreat for families and adults to enjoy recreational summer activities, concert presentations, children’s programs, dance, theatre, and music workshops, and a selection of Yiddish language instruction classes across four levels of proficiency. There are a limited number of scholarships for young people between the ages of 18 and 30 who demonstrate the motivation and capability to play a role in the future of Yiddish language and culture. To apply for a scholarship, please email Bob Kaplan at rak@circle.org.

The Workers Circle (or Der Arbeter Ring, as it is known in Yiddish) was founded over a century ago by Yiddish-speaking immigrants to New York and has been at the forefront of the contemporary Yiddish renaissance, teaching the language for the last 30 years and presiding over its surge in popularity. Its Yiddish program currently serves over 1,000 students annually.

About the Workers Circle

Founded 122 years ago, the Workers Circle (formerly known as the Workmen’s Circle) is a social justice organization that powers progressive Jewish identity through Jewish cultural engagement, Yiddish language learning, multigenerational education, and social justice activism. For over a century we have provided this 360-degree approach to Jewish identity-building. Through contemporary cultural programs, strategic social justice campaigns, vibrant Yiddish language classes, interactive educational experiences and more, we connect Jewish adults, kids and families of all affiliations with their cultural heritage, working to build a better and more beautiful world for all. Learn more at www.circle.org.