For the first time since the opening of Jews’ College in 1856, that famous rabbinical seminary has instituted courses in Yiddish, Yiddish literature and the history of the Yiddish language.
The courses will be given by Dr. Shloime Birnbaum, son of the well known Jewish philosopher, Nathan Birnbaum. Up to the time he was forced to leave Germany because of the advent of the Nazi rule, Dr. Birnbaum was instructor in Yiddish at the University of Hamburg.
In addition to his courses at Jews’ College, Dr. Birnbaum will give a series of popular lectures on Yiddish. The first of these has already been delivered and attracted a large audience to the Community Centre. Dr. Birnbaum described Yiddish as being the most prevalent language among the masses of Jewry and, as such, full of the spirit of the Jewish people. Yiddish is no more a jargon or a mixed language than is English or any other modern language, the speaker said, and, like any such language, Yiddish has every right to existence.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
