Yiddish Book Center
Learning about Jewish culture and history often leads parents and children to conversations about their family’s history, culture, and traditions. Part of The Center’s mission is to offer engaging learning opportunities for curious visitors of all ages who come to the expansive, sunny museum designed to resemble a shtetl (Eastern European Jewish small town), which sits in an apple orchard adjacent to the Hampshire College campus. Visitors don’t need to be able to read or speak Yiddish to enjoy the Center, although, by the visit’s end, they’ll realize they probably knew more Yiddish words than they thought (nosh, schmooze, and shlep are all Yiddish words commonly used in English), and leave knowing even more. – Tours take place on Sundays at 11am & 1pm and Tuesdays at 1pm.
Self-Directed Learning
This video introduces everyday Yiddish words and expressions, many of which families may already use without realizing their origins. From foods like bagels and knishes to playful phrases such as kvetch (to complain) or mensch (a good person), the language reflects Jewish culture, humor, and community values. Paired with a visit to the Yiddish Book Center, the video encourages families to connect language with lived experience, seeing how words hold memory, tradition, and identity. At home, self-directed learners can compare Yiddish expressions to sayings in their own families, practice using new words, or explore how immigrant languages have shaped American English.
What words or phrases in your own family’s language or traditions carry meanings that go beyond their literal translation?
How does food connect to language and memory? Can you think of dishes in your family that come with special words, stories, or sayings?
Many Yiddish words—like nosh, schmooze, or schlep—have become part of English. Can you find other examples of “borrowed words” in everyday use?
