Led by Reb Irwin Keller

First Wednesday of Each Month

A Zoom gathering to read the work of Yiddish writers in the original; translate together; discuss, laugh and enjoy. And miraculously, no previous Yiddish knowledge is required.

This month’s session – “Epitaphs and Toasts” – will look at an excerpt from Avraham Sutzkever’s long Yiddish poem, Epitafn, and then turn to the work of Ladino poet Bouena Sarfatty. In her poetry, she memorializes life in pre-Shoah Salonica, Greece, through a series of short komplas, or “couplets”, constructed as toasts. Each kompla remembers and names a particular person from her childhood and something about them – not always flattering, but always insightful and eye-opening.

Both the Yiddish and Ladino poems are truly delicious. Download the handout here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19aLrwbz5Gn5RtVzswS4ytuILehHMsBPL/view?usp=sharing

Please register using the button above. We gather on Zoom and you will receive the Zoom address upon registration. Registration also gives you the opportunity to make a donation to support this program.

The link for this gathering will be sent to you in the weekly Ner Shalom eBlast. If you are not on our email list and would like to be, sign up here.

See you then. It will be a mekhayeh!

Image: Three generations of Jewish women in Saloniki, early 20th century (Publisher: H. Grimaud). From the Folklore Research Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, available through the National Library’s Digital Collection