Judaism Unbound Episode 208: Yiddish…Nu? - Dan and Lex
Dan and Lex have one word for you, listeners……Nu? Just kidding, they have many thousands of words to offer in this episode, which concludes a unit of conversations about Yiddish language and culture in America. This episode is the sixth and final episode in a series produced in collaboration with the Yiddish Book Center, as part of its Decade of Discovery initiative, in honor of 40 years since the Yiddish Book Center’s founding. [1]
(0:01 - 15:07): To begin the episode, Dan looks back at a fascinating conversation he had with his grandmother about Yiddish as a child. Lex reflects on the ways in which recent episodes about Yiddish in particular opened up broader conversations about Jewish history, and even about Jews today. Specifically, he notes parallels between the ways in which Yiddish-speaking men felt “not Jewish enough” — a few hundred years ago in Europe — and ways in which Jews today feel that they, similarly, aren’t “Jewish enough” in one way or another. [2] Carrying forward that thread, Dan explores the ways that we idealize the past, such that the existence of Jews in Europe who felt ashamed — due to lack of Jewish knowledge — surprises us. Lex pairs that idealization of the past with the widespread pessimism that fills Jews today, regarding Jewish life today.
(15:08 - 29:29): Dan returns to a thread that he and Lex have discussed before — ideas of “high” and “low” culture — and applies it to the realm of Yiddish. [3] He asks whether there are elements of life today that Jews participate in, without thinking of them as “Judaism,” which one day might appear to people as quintessentially Jewish (as speaking Yiddish appears to us today). [4] Lex argues that in Yiddish specifically, it seems like the realms of “high” and “low” culture are especially blurred with one another. Dan pivots to a surprising anecdote, surrounding (we kid you not) a book of Yiddish curse words! He reflects on why it is that his initial reaction to this book was that it must be a set of fake, made-up words (they were not at all fake). He connects this to the absences in his Jewish education, in which he was taught only elements of Judaism like ethical principles, or religious practices, and not some of the pieces of Judaism that are more relatable, and everyday (like Yiddish curse words). Lex makes the point, in response to this, that all Jewish educators (and educators generally) make choices all the time, regarding which pieces of Jewish history and culture to prioritize, and which pieces to leave out. He also returns to the “shame” point from before, arguing that Jews are literally descendants of “Shame” (the name of one of Noah’s sons, from whom the Israelites descend in the Bible).
(29:30 - 50:14): The hot topic of Daf Yomi (a 7.5 year cycle of Talmud study, which began just a month before this episode’s release) arises. [5] Dan brings it up as an example of how, even in traditional Jewish texts like the Talmud, there is a great deal of what some might call “low culture.” Lex brings up a critique of Daf Yomi, for an entirely different reason, which is that he wishes there were 7.5 year cycles for other realms of Jewish learning and culture. Dan brings up the story of the Yiddish Book Center, naming that there were equally plausible scenarios in which this organization would never have grown into the institution it has now become. He asks what that can teach us about other Jewish experiments that are seen as “failures.” On that point, Dan and Lex confront the tendency to search for one Jewish programmatic “silver bullet” that will solve Jewish communal problems — as opposed to the search for a wide variety of Jewish realms that will each speak to a small but passionate group. [6] To close the episode, Lex explains the thinking behind the title of this episode “Yiddish…Nu,” and in particular asserts that “New” in English, along with “Nu” in Yiddish and Hebrew (two different meanings) collectively encapsulate many important elements of Jewish creativity.
[1] Explore the Yiddish Book Center’s offerings at YiddishBookCenter.org, and learn more about the Decade of Discovery in particular here.
[2] For an episode that looks in-depth at the idea of not being “Jewish enough,” and the related frame of being a “bad Jew,” see Episode 97: Bad Jews - Jenna Reback.
[3] Listen to Episode 171: Digesting Judaism - Rachel Gross (especially toward the end of the episode) for another conversation that explores distinctions (or lack thereof!) between “high culture” and “low culture."
[4] Lex mentions that we should look at the sources from Jewish history that demonstrate how, even in eras of the past that we often idealize, the reality is that many Jews were not connecting to Jewish institutions, or particularly knowledgeable about Judaism. For a piece from 1916, bemoaning those who are unaffiliated, click here.
[5] For a guide to Daf Yomi, see “9 Things to Know about the Daf Yomi,” published by MyJewishLearning. For a piece critiquing the practice of Daf Yomi, see “The Wrong Way to Study the Talmud,” published in Ha’aretz.
[6] For a past episode of Judaism Unbound that explores this issue in further detail, see Episode 116: Passion.