Yiddish Classes
If you're looking for Yiddish language classes in Boston (and beyond!), you've come to the right place. Throughout the country, Workers Circle has been a leader in preserving and promoting Yiddish language and culture (Yiddishkayt). Yiddish was the language of 2.5 million Eastern European Jewish immigrants, of the Jewish labor movement and the struggle for rights, equality, and freedom. Today, Yiddish continues to be a vibrant language, inspiring modern literature, music, art, and activism. We invite you to explore this rich cultural inheritance!
Classes
Our instructors are passionate about Yiddish and are experienced educators. Whether you are a beginner, have been studying on your own on Duolingo, are a continuing student, or grew up speaking the language, we have a class that will accommodate you. Students cover a wide age range, from young adults to seniors. We offer semester-long classes across a range of levels. Students in doubt about their course level should email info@circleboston.org.
Most Yiddish language classes will begin the week of Feb. 9, 2026 and run for 10 sessions.
Check out information about our teachers here.
Beginner Semester II: In-Person
Wednesdays, 7:30 - 9:00 pm | February 11- May 6 (skipping 3/4, 4/1 and 4/8)
Instructor: Jonah Sidman
Level: For students continuing from BWC's Fall Beginner class, or those with a few basics who want a structured start to learning anew in an in-person class. Also recommended for Duolingo learners looking for a structured approach to grammar, conversation, and culture. Limited transliteration into the Latin alphabet will occasionally be provided, but students should already know the Hebrew/Yiddish alphabet to participate in this class.
Materials: In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol I. Starting on Chapter 4. Students can purchase this textbook through The Yiddish Book Center (print or digital/PDF is fine), and have it accessible for use during class sessions.
Let's continue to learn Yiddish — lomir vayter geyn mit lernen zikh yidish! This course continues to work through the fundamentals of Yiddish conversation, reading, and grammar through highly-interactive games, songs, activities, and short texts.
Beginner Semester II: Virtual
Thursdays, 7:00 - 8:30 pm | February 12 - April 30 (skipping 4/2 and 4/9)
Instructor: Sasha Berenstein
Level: For students continuing from BWC's Fall Beginner class, or those with a few basics who want a structured start to learning anew in a virtual class. Also recommended for Duolingo learners looking for a structured approach to grammar, conversation, and culture. Students should already know the Hebrew/Yiddish alphabet, or be willing to learn on their own.
Materials: In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol I. Starting on Chapter 5. Students can purchase this textbook through The Yiddish Book Center (print or digital/PDF is fine), and have it accessible for use during class sessions.
Let's continue to learn Yiddish — lomir vayter geyn mit lernen zikh yidish! This course continues to work through the fundamentals of Yiddish conversation, reading, and grammar through highly-interactive games, songs, activities, and short texts.
ADVANCED BEGINNER YIDDISH: VIRTUAL
Tuesdays, 7:00 – 8:30 pm | February 10- April 28 (skipping 3/31 and 4/7)
Instructor: Sasha Berenstein
Level: For students continuing from BWC's Fall Advanced Beginner course, or for those who have been studying Yiddish for one year. Also open to those who already know the Yiddish alef-beys, some basic grammar & vocabulary, and who feel the class description fits their level, including those who have used Duolingo and feel ready to dive into more conversation and culture.
Materials: In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol I & II. Starting on chapter 11. Students can purchase this textbook through The Yiddish Book Center (print or digital/PDF is fine), and have it accessible for use during class sessions.
Do you want to host a potluck and be able to schmooze & nosh with your khaveyrim af yiddish? Would you like to study Yiddish every week with an enthusiastic teacher who showers you with positive feedback no matter how many mistakes you make? In this class, we will continue to deepen our Yiddish learning including covering topics such as how to: talk about family including from a queer/trans/nonbinary inclusive perspective and describe our environments, the people around us and food in the present tense.
Intermediate Yiddish: Virtual
Tuesdays, 7:00 - 8:30 pm | February 10- April 28 (skipping 3/31 and 4/7)
Instructor: Abby Howell
Level:This class is appropriate for students who have completed a beginner Yiddish textbook, and who can read and understand Yiddish sentences with the help of a dictionary. BWC students who have completed BWC's Advanced Beginner semesters 1&2, those who want to continue in Intermediate, and newcomers at this level are all welcome to join. No previous experience with this text is necessary to participate in the class.
Materials: Zikhroynes fun a yidisher revolutsionerin by Puah Rakowski (Original | OCR)
Build confidence in your Yiddish - reading, speaking, and listening, in a supportive and welcoming classroom of intermediate Yiddish students. We'll focus on building reading fluency, comprehension strategies, dictionary skills, and making meaning from texts while enjoying selections from the canon of Yiddish literature. In this class, you will find abundant opportunities to stretch and grow your Yiddish. We'll read slowly, translate continuously, and look up every unfamiliar word as we read (in Yiddish) and discuss (in English and Yiddish) literature together. This semester, we'll continue reading the memoirs of 19th-century feminist icon Puah Rakovsky, whose spellbinding tell-all memoir describes her experiences of arranged marriage, teen motherhood, rejecting her religious upbringing, divorcing her parents' son-in-law, starting a career, and becoming one of the world's first women's rights activists.
Advanced: Shtok Shraybt Vayter: Virtual
Wednesdays, 8:00 - 9:30 pm | February 18 – April 19 (skipping 4/1 and 4/8)
Instructor: Hinde Ena Burstin
Level: The Advanced Yiddish class is suited to advanced readers and speakers of Yiddish and intermediates ready to make the leap to a new level.
This class is conducted in Yiddish and is a supportive environment set up to encourage each person to speak Yiddish freely and fearlessly to the best of their ability. By participating in the this class, you will extend your Yiddish reading, comprehension and conversation skills as well as deepen your understanding of Yiddish literature.
Materials: Students will study a selection of short stories, poems and critical writing by Fradl Shtok. The stories will be drawn from Shtok’s 1919 collection, Gezamlte
ertseylungen, which can be downloaded for free from the Yiddish Book Centre here.
Copies of poems, critical writings and other course materials will be provided.
"Shtok shraybt nokh vayter" will feature different materials from the previous semester as will the texts studied in "Fradl Shtok shraybt" or “Shtok shraybt vayter”.
שטָאק שרײַ בט נָאך ווײַ טער
ֿפראַ דל שטאָ ק )1890-1990( ֿפאַ רּכישוֿפט און ֿפאַ רכאַ ּפט מיט אירע שאַ רֿפע אָ בסערוואַ ציעס און שעֿפערישער שּפיל מיט ווערטער. די גאַ מע טעמעס, ס ֿביֿבות און סטיליסטיק וואָ ס זי באַ ניצט, איז ֿפולשטענדיק און פאַ רשיידן.
שטאָ קס דורכדרינגענדיקע דערציילונגען שּפיגלען אָ ּפ, מיט הומאָ ר, איראָ ניע און קריטיק, די נואַ נסן ֿפון שטעטל- און אימיגראַ נטן-לעבן. זי ֿפאַ רנעמט זיך מיט מאַ רגינאַ ליזירטע, ווייניק-רעּפרעזענטירטע ּפערסאָ נאַ זשן, וועלכע זי באַ שרײַבט מיט טיֿפקייט, אויטענטישקייט און מיט אַ לע ּפיטעשעווקעס. שטאָ קס דערציילונגען ֿפאַ רבלײַבן ֿפריש, באַ טײַ טיק און שייכדיק, איבער 100 יאָ ר נאָ ך דעם ווי זיי זײַנען געשריבן געוואָ רן. אירע לידער זײַנען באַ שמײַסטערט, באַ שאַ ֿפן מיט ליידנשאַ ֿפט, ֿפעיִקייט און ּפרעציזקייט. אירע ליטעראַ רישע עסייען זײַנען באַ לײַכטנדיק.
שטאָ קס שאַ ֿפונגען זײַנען גאָ ר עסטעטיש. בײַ ם לייענען שטאָ קס שיינשרײַ בן אינעם אָ ריגינעלן ייִדיש, קענען לייענערס זיך באַ לעקן מיט דער מוזיקאַ לישקייט, און מיט די חושימדיקע קלאַ נגען און קלוגע ווערטערשּפילן, וואָ ס זײַנען וויכטיקע שטריכן ֿפון שטאָ קס שעֿפערישקייט. עס איז אַ פאַ רגעניגן צוזאַ מען צו צעגלידערן שטאָ קס שרײַבן. איר איראָ נישער הומאָ ר, טיֿפער באַ נעם און אוניקאַ לישע שרײַבן סטימולירט שטאַ רקע, הייס-בלוטיקע דיסקוסיעס אין קלאַ ס.
Fradl Shtok (1890-1990) continues to inspire and entice us with her brilliant observations and way with words. Her stories remain fresh and relevant, a century after they were written. Shtok’s poems are crafted with breathtaking precision and passion and her essays are illuminating. Studying Shtok’s texts in Yiddish enables the reader to savor tthe sensuous sounds, wordplay and musicality that are present throughout her work. Her ironic humour, depth of perception and unique writing style will surely engage students in our discussions.
Wondering whether this class is right for you?
We encourage you to give it a try! For current BWC intermediate students, please register for intermediate, and then attend to both the intermediate and the advanced classes the first week. Once you decide which class you want to take, please let us know by emailing Sandy at info@circleboston.org.
Tuition for All Classes
| $245 | $340 |
Special Rates (Young Adult or Limited Income):
| $175 | $245 |