We had our first, organizational meeting on the last Sunday of February, 2004, so we’ve been meeting for almost 18 years, but obviously not during the pandemic. Our meeting on October 30th, 2016 was our 120th gathering. In the early years we used to meet on the last Sunday of each month, at 7.00 PM, for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. We switched over to Sunday mornings a few years ago, mainly to avoid driving after dark, and because the roads and sidewalks are safer in daylight, especially in the winter months. We meet every month except during snow months.
The programs are designed to suit the knowledge of Yiddish among those attending. Because there are folks who attend that have a limited knowledge of Yiddish, everything is translated and collaboration is encouraged.
Our usual meetings begin with a few jokes read out slowly in Yiddish, with line by line translation by those who are more fluent. We always have Yiddish music at every meeting, with full translation of the lyrics to the songs. And we always have a film or other video as part of our program. The Yiddish language films always include English subtitles, but most of our films are completely in English, though always on a topic with Jewish content.
We have had a variety of other activities: quizzes, stories, poems, Yiddish bingo, Name That Tune in Yiddish, performing short skits in Yiddish, interesting Yiddish vocabulary and all sorts of other fun things.
Thanks to lvan and Toni Samson, we have a fine breakfast set up for all who attend.
The key thing to remember: you do NOT have to know Yiddish to attend, participate and enjoy the Yiddish Club. Everyone helps each other when challenged for the meaning of a word.
And finally, the raison d’être for this Club, is to celebrate, promote and keep alive our beautiful Yiddish culture and heritage.