Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

The Yiddish language today is widely spoken by Orthodox Jews who want to preserve the sanctity of Hebrew, the holy language, thus reserving it for study of sacred texts, relegating Yiddish to be spoken in day-to-day conversation.

Is there a future for Yiddish in other communities when the number of Yiddish speakers has dropped nearly 50 percent from 1980 to 2007?

A small group of Orlando residents are answering this question and meeting this challenge by attending a monthly gathering called "A Nosh of Yiddish," sponsored by the Jewish Pavilion, at Brookdale Island Lake each third Thursday of the month at 10:30 a.m.

When each participant was asked to state why they felt it was important to attend this program, the overwhelming response had to do with the desire to keep the language alive.

Collectively they stated: It represents the memories of our parents and grandparents, the way to express certain emotions that just cannot be expresses adequately in other languages. It is the mentality of our people, the way we think and what we believe.

This program is open to the public and newcomers are welcome. The programs include grammar exercises and vocabulary, short conversations, stories, songs, and of course, a nosh. For more information, please contact Susan Bernstein at susanjewishpavilion@gmail.com.