Jewish Studies
- Sheridan Libraries
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- Yiddish Language and Literature
Explore research options for Jewish history, Hebrew and Yiddish literature, Jewish philosophy and religion
Librarian for the Program in Jewish Studies
Language resources
- The Yiddish LanguageLocations in the JHU Libraries for language resources.
- Der Oytser fun der yidisher shprakhfree download of this indispensable thesaurus of 150,000 Yiddish words, idioms, phrases, similes and proverbs.
- VerterbukhComprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary. The most extensive Yiddish-English dictionary to date. Broad coverage of Yiddish words of all origins: Hebrew-Aramaic, Slavic, and Romance as well as Germanic. Many regional and dialectal variants are included alongside standard literary Yiddish forms.
- YiddishPOPYiddishPOP is an interactive program that teaches Yiddish to speakers of other languages.
- YIVO page: What is Yiddish?plus links to many Yiddish web sites
Rare Books
Rare Yiddish material in Special Collections
Dem Zeydns Kloles by Publication Date: 1919A spectacular children's book illustrated by El Lissitzky.- Mayn khorever heym: a gedekhnish byA beautiful book of woodcuts, depicting shtetl life in 1923.
- Di Yidishe shprakhA Yiddish language periodical, printed in Kiev from 1928-1930.
Schaechter Collection
- In 2006, the Sheridan Libraries acquired the library of Dr. Mordkhe Schaechter and his wife, Charne Schechter.
- The collection includes over 9,000 Yiddish books and periodical volumes.
- The Sheridan Libraries is now one of the leading research collections for the study of Yiddish language and culture in North America.
- Although the strength of the library is in linguistics and literature, every aspect of Yiddish publishing, from music to botany, is represented.
- Most of the books were published in Eastern Europe before the Second World War.
- The collection also includes a notable selection of Holocaust memorial books.
Here is a link to a list of books in the Schaechter Collection.
Literature and Drama Resources
- Primary Literature in Yiddisha guide to finding, identifying, accessing books in Johns Hopkins libraries
- Finding Secondary Literature in Yiddisha guide to critical studies on Yiddish literature in Johns Hopkins libraries
- Digital Yiddish Theatre ProjectThe Digital Yiddish Theatre Project [DYTP] uses digital technology to study and preserve the rich legacy of the Yiddish stage.
- National Yiddish Book CenterFull text of out-of-print Yiddish books
Spoken Yiddish
- Evidence of Yiddish Documented in European Societies: The Language and Culture Atlas of Ashkenazic JewryOne of the biggest collection of spoken language in the world – about 6000 hours
- Yiddish alphabet and pronunciationwith links to other Yiddish sites
- Dartmouth Jewish Sound ArchiveMusical and spoken recordings, including in Yiddish
Periodicals for Yiddish Studies
- MLA International Bibliographybest database for language and litertaure
- Di Tsukunftwe recently purchased a complete run of this important journal of Yiddish literary and cultural life, beginning in 1892.
- Tam Tama quarterly journal of Yiddish literature, from the Maison de la Culture Yiddish
- RAMBIbest all-round database for Jewish Studies
- Index to Jewish Periodicalsthe definitive index on Jewish history, activity and thought. This database provides a comprehensive guide to English-language articles, book reviews, and feature stories in more than 160 journals.
- In gevebSubscription-free digital journal for Yiddish Studies.
- Historical Jewish Pressfrom the National Library in Israel, including Yiddish titles
Web Sites for Yiddish Studies
- Yiddish Sourcesa site with links to information on reference, research and events
- Yiddish Web Sitesa list put together by Dr. Beatrice Caplan
Encyclopedias for Yiddish Studies
- Encyclopedia JudaicaSearch on "yiddish" and bring up lots of good articles on language, literature, culture, individuals, periodicals, etc.
- Algemeyne entsiḳlopedye5 original volumes covered the the first 2 letters of the alphabet. 7 volumes followed on strictly Jewish topics.
Yidishe folḳs-entsiḳlopedye: far yidishe religye, geshikhṭe, filozofye, liṭeraṭur, biografye, lender-ḳibutsim un andere inyonimthe only complete encyclopedia in Yiddish; invaluable for its treatment of Jewish religious topics.
