The Workers Circle Announces 2024 Winter/Spring Yiddish Classes, Beginning in February
—Registration for language, klezmer, and song courses is now open: www.circle.org/2024yiddish
January 22, 2024
Contact: Joanna Gallai, joanna@anatgerstein.com, 347-361-8687
(New York, N.Y.) –The Workers Circle, a 123-year-old Jewish nonprofit headquartered in New York City and the world’s preeminent provider of Yiddish language instruction, has opened registration for its winter and spring semester, with nearly 60 courses — more than any other organization. The program is designed to reach people at any level of their Yiddish-language-learning journey, from those with no experience to master Yiddishists. And, because music is so central to the language, the Workers Circle continues to offer klezmer and Yiddish song workshops. All classes are offered exclusively online, which enables students and instructors from all over the world to join. This semester, instructors hail from Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Israel, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
“Every semester, it’s incredible to see over fifty class offerings with such a wide variety of topics—add to this the world-class instructors who teach from all over the globe, and you can see what really distinguishes Workers Circle Yiddish instruction from other providers,” says the Workers Circle CEO Ann Toback. “Where else can you take a class about Sholem Aleichem’s little-known screenplays in the context of the emergence of Jewish silent films? It’s these niche topics—and the fact that they can be explored exclusively in Yiddish, using primary sources—that set us apart. And many of the learners in these advanced classes started out in our beginner classes. It is just extraordinary!”
“Our instructors really make the classes and keep students returning year after year. I’m especially excited to welcome Josh Waletzky to our roster this semester. Josh’s musical career began in the 1960s and has continued to this day, producing 40 original Yiddish songs and collaborating with many leading Yiddish musicians. Ethnomusicologist Mark Slobin has called him ‘the poet-laureate of new Yiddish song’ and we are just thrilled that he’ll be teaching a course he created: Vi trogt men a gezang? Exploring the Rhythmic and Melodic Idioms of Yiddish Song,”says Kolya Borodulin, Yiddish Program Director at the Workers Circle.
The winter/spring semester features 21 courses offered at the Beginners level, 12 courses at the Intermediate level, and 16 courses for Advanced Yiddishists. There are also nine klezmer and Yiddish song classes. All classes will be taught virtually via Zoom, ensuring the semester remains COVID-safe and accessible to students residing across the United States and internationally. Each class is recorded and sent to students for review or to catch up. Classes begin in February or March.
In 2023, the Workers Circle registered nearly one thousand Yiddish students (many taking multiple classes), from 38 states and 25 countries.
For more details on course descriptions and dates, visit: https://www.circle.org/2024yiddish
Winter/Spring semester fees for Workers Circle members are $310 for regular courses and $620 for intensive courses. Students and Yiddish teachers who are also members pay $155. Winter/Spring semester fees for non-members are $360 for regular courses and $720 for intensive courses. Students and Yiddish teachers who are not Workers Circle members pay $180. For more on costs and to register, visit: https://www.circle.org/2024-yiddish-class-price-and-registration
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 over 35 years and presiding over its surge in popularity.
About the Workers Circle
The Workers Circle is a national, secular, Jewish social justice organization founded by Eastern European immigrants who came to the United States fleeing autocracy and persecution, and seeking democratic freedoms and economic opportunities at the turn of the 20th century. That history drives our work for an inclusive democracy and human equality today. Our activism is rooted in 1,000 years of Yiddish culture and tradition. Through strategic social justice campaigns, vibrant Yiddish language classes, and interactive educational programs, we power a multi-generational community of activists that is building “a better and more beautiful world for all.” Learn more at www.circle.org.