Uriel Weinreich Summer Program Testimonial: Anna Matveeva, '25

Reconnecting with My Jewish Roots

by ANNA MATVEEVA, Summer Program ‘25
2025 Centennial Scholar

As a Russian native with Jewish roots, I grew up feeling distanced from my Jewish identity. In Russia, antisemitism was an ever-present reality, and for many families like mine, that meant Jewish culture was pushed into the background. Moving to New York changed everything for me. Suddenly, I found myself surrounded by organizations like YIVO, which not only preserve Jewish history but also make it accessible. I felt an immediate pull—I wanted to learn, to understand, and to help others connect to this heritage as well.

Learning Yiddish became essential, both personally and professionally. On a personal level, it opened the door to a culture and worldview that had been closed off to me for so long. On an academic level, it was just as crucial: my literary research over the past four years has focused on Soviet Jewish poet Genrikh Sapgir, who, intriguingly, translated Yiddish poet Ovsey Driz’s work into Russian—the only translations he ever undertook. To truly understand Sapgir’s choices and nuances, I needed to read Driz’s poetry in the original. Studying Yiddish at YIVO has finally made that possible.

Thanks to the Centennial Scholarship, I could focus fully on the program. And what an extraordinary experience it has been! At YIVO, I didn’t just learn grammar and vocabulary—I entered a community. I began to understand Yiddish not as an abstract subject, but as a living language, one that carries centuries of humor, sorrow, resilience, and creativity. Now, with a strong foundation, I can continue learning independently and bring that knowledge into my research, translations, and teaching.

Learn more about the Uriel Weinreich Summer Program in Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture.