The first Jewish Immigrants to New York City settled around Delancy Street on the Lower East Side. They worked in the garment industry and plied their trade in Yiddish, creating a rich community with theatres, journals, schools and synagogues.
The Decline of Yiddish
Gradually the Yiddish language was weakened by a number of factors, including:
- By the 1940s, the first generation of Yiddish-speakers was dying off;
- Most Yiddish speakers in Europe perished in the Holocaust;
- The new state of Israel rejected Yiddish as the language of the ghetto and replaced it with Hebrew as the official language. (This controversy over whether Yiddish is a language of despair is an ongoing debate);
- The new generations wanted to assimilate fully into American life and speak and read English, and;
- Yiddish became assimilated into the American language. This was a good thing, but meant Yiddish itself became almost forgotten.
The Revival of Yiddish in New York
Today, a new generation of Jews is reviving Yiddish. Groups such as The New York Yiddish Language Meetup Group and the Workmen’s Circle provide Yiddish classes, music, walking tours of the Lower East Side, and various other cultural opportunities.
Many Jewish students are keen to discover their East-European roots and are learning Yiddish so they can connect to their own families who died in the war.
Two old stalwarts of the Yiddish language, The Jewish Daily Forward and Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre, have seen an upsurge in interest by a public keen to experience Yiddish language and culture.
The Jewish Daily Forward
One of the oldest and most influential vehicles for Yiddish culture and language was The Jewish Daily Forward, a socialist journal founded in 1897 and based on the politics of the German Social Democratic Party. It defended trade unionism and published Yiddish authors, including Isaac Bashevis Singer, the Nobel Prize-winner.
Today Forward is a weekly publication which is available in two versions, English and Yiddish. According to their website, with the resurgence of interest in Yiddish, Forward sales are steadily on the increase.
The Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre now National Yiddish Theatre
In 1917, when America entered World War 1, there were twenty-two Yiddish theatres in New York along with two Yiddish vaudeville houses.
The Folksbiene Yiddish Theatre (now The National Yiddish Theatre) was formed in 1915 and is the oldest continuous Yiddish theatre in this vibrant tradition.
The National Yiddish Theatre has done much to promote the Yiddish language, as confirmed by their mission statement, which says the theatre seeks, "To preserve, promote, and develop Yiddish Theater for current and future generations to enhance the understanding and appreciation of Yiddish culture as a necessary component of Jewish Life."
Not only does The National Yiddish Theatre perform the traditional Yiddish plays and musicals but they encourage and promote contemporary playwrights.
According to their website, during the years 2008-2009, The National Yiddish Theatre audience has increased by 60 percent.
Klezmer – Yiddish Music
With its imitation of the human voice, whether sobbing or laughing, Klezmer, a form of emotional Yiddish folk music, is fast gaining popularity on the world music scene. Its lineage can be traced back to the Ashkenazi Jews, so lyrics are typically in Yiddish.
Klezmer music influenced early American jazz. Cab Calloway recorded his own version of a Yiddish song, The Tailor’s Song’ whilst the influence on George Gershwin’s music is obvious in compositions like It Ain’t Necessarily So, My One and Only and Rhapsody in Blue (check out that clarinet!).
Klemzer’s world-wide popularity is ensuring that Yiddish won’t die.
The Diamond District, East 47th Street
Yiddish is used every day by the predominantly Hassidic Jewish dealers in the Diamond District of East 47th Street. Diamonds could be described as a Jew’s best friend, for when trouble meant you had to quickly move on, diamonds could be hidden in clothing or swallowed.
During the Second World War Jews working in the diamond industry in Amsterdam and Antwerp fled to New York. Most never returned, and today the Yiddish language dominates the Diamond Dealers' Circle.
Yiddish has shown a remarkable resilience and refusal to die. In Brooklyn, the resurgence of interest in Yiddish means it is possible once more to tap into a historically important and creative vein of writing, music and language.
Sources:
- Yiddish: a Struggle for Survival BBC Radio 3 (Tuesday, 8th September 2009).
- The National Yiddish Theatre.
- The Jewish Daily Forward online.
See Also:
Daniel Mendoza - First Jewish Boxing Champion - examines the life of Mendoza, born in London's East End and inventor of scientific boxing technique.
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