Yiddish Folktales

Class starts Jan 8 10:00am-11:30am

Tuition: $360 | YIVO members: $270**

This is a live, online course held twice a week on Zoom. Enrollment will be capped at about 25 students. All course details (Zoom link, syllabus, handouts, assignments, etc.) will be posted to Canvas. Students will be granted access to the class on Canvas after registering for the class here on the YIVO website. This class will be conducted primarily in Yiddish.

Instructor: Vera Szabó

Yiddish folktales, originally solely an oral tradition, were collected by folklorists in Eastern Europe in the early part of the 20th century. Folklore in general, and folktales in particular, let us “hear” directly from people in the past. By studying folktales, this class will allow for a glimpse into the spoken language, as well as thoughts, desires, fears, and fantasies of those who told and listened to them.

In this class, folktales will be read in Yiddish. The course discussion will be conducted mainly in Yiddish, with some English when necessary. This class is open to anyone with fluency in reading Yiddish. Language and storytelling exercises will help students expand their vocabulary and enhance their fluency in speaking and understanding.

Yiddish Level:
This course, conducted in Yiddish, is designed for intermediate Yiddish students and above, or those who are able to understand written and spoken Yiddish.

Course Materials:

Y. L. Cahan, Yidishe Folks-mayses. (Digital access link)
Yiddish Folktales, ed. Beatrice Silverman-Weinreich (YIVO, 1988 / Random House, 1997) (Purchase)
Bochner/Beinfeld, Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary (verterbukh.org)
Schaechter-Viswanath/Glasser, Comprehensive English-Yiddish Dictionary (englishyiddishdictionary.com)

Additional course materials will be provided by the instructor (students will have free digital access via Canvas).

Questions? Read our 2025 Winter Yiddish Seminars FAQ.

Vera Szabó was born and raised in Budapest, Hungary. She holds an M.A. in Yiddish Studies from Columbia University as well as an M.A. in English and German Studies from ELTE University, Budapest.

She has taught Yiddish language, literature and folklore at various universities in the US (University of Michigan, Stanford, the University of Washington) and in Israel (Ben-Gurion University of the Negev) as well as in various intensive summer programs (NYU/YIVO, Vilna, and Tel Aviv University.) She currently teaches various levels of Yiddish at Beth Shalom Aleichem.

Vera also translates literary and non-literary texts from Yiddish and Hungarian into English. Her research interest is Yiddish folklore. A certified yoga teacher, Vera has been teaching yoga in Yiddish for the past few years in Jerusalem, where she resides. More information on her website: www.verele.com

**Become a member today, starting at $54 for one year, and pay the member price for classes! You’ll save on tuition for this course and more on future classes and public programs tickets.