Yiddishland California

Visit Yiddishland La Paz!
2026-03-21, 2026-03-22, 2026-03-23, 2026-03-24, 2026-03-25, 2026-03-26, 2026-03-27, 2026-03-28 and 2 more dates
Visit Yiddishland La Paz!

By Yiddish Arts and Academics Assn. of N. America
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Location TBD
Multiple dates

Overview

Visit Yiddishland’s new cultural center in La Paz, Mexico!

Yiddishland is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to expand awareness of the beauty and joy of Yiddishkeit and to preserve and advance the Yiddish language and culture in the United States, Mexico and beyond. Visits of Yiddishland La Paz are available by appointment. Please feel free to book a tour using the form below. We ask visitors for a $5 donation, which helps sustain the center. Address will be provided upon RSVP.

Special Screening With Yale Storm and Elizabeth Schwartz
2026-03-21 18:30 - 20:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Sherman Heights in San Diego
Join us for the second screening in our new monthly Yiddishland Movie Club series as we celebrate Yiddish culture through cinema, conversation, and community.
This month, we will once again enjoy a surprise film selection, and we are thrilled to welcome facilitators from our Board of Advisors – Yale Strom and Elizabeth Schwartz. Following the screening, they will lead an engaging conversation about the film. Come gather with fellow lovers of Yiddish culture for an intimate evening of storytelling, insight, and connection.

When : Saturday, March 21, 2026, 6:30–8:30 p.m. PT / 8:30–10:30 p.m. CST / 9:30–11:30 p.m. EST
Where : In person in a residential venue in Sherman Heights in San Diego
Cost :
Early bird : $5
Regular admission : $10
Register for this event

Pesach concert with Zisl Slepovitch
2026-03-29 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Chicago) | Zoom
Multiinstrumentalist, singer, composer, and music scholar, D. Zisl Slepovitch, invites you to join him for an online program of Passover – Pesach songs coming from various facets of Jewish tradition. The program includes a lot of newly discovered, obsolete, fun, educational songs, niggunim, and instrumental pieces.

http://zislepovitch.com
When: Sunday, March 29, 2026, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. PT / 1–2 p.m. CST / 2–3 p.m. EST / 7–8 p.m. CET / 8–9 p.m. in Israel
Where: on Zoom
Cost:
Early bird: $20 (if registered before Friday, March 27, 2026)
Regular admission: $30
Performer:
D. Zisl Slepovitch was born and raised in Minsk, Belarus and has been a New Yorker since 2008. He is a critically acclaimed Jewish music scholar (PhD, Belarusian State Academy of Music), performer (woodwinds, keyboards), conductor, music producer, band leader, educator (music, Yiddish language), composer / arranger, and a musician-actor. He is a founding member of Litvakus klezmer band, Musician-in-Residence at the Fortunoff Video Archive for Holocaust Testimonies at Yale University, and pianist and music coordinator at Stephen Wise Free Synagogue (NYC). His recent credits include Musical Treasures from Sofia Magid’s Jewish Collection (music folios, 2 volumes), Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish (off-Broadway), Defiance movie, and more.

Intermediate-Advanced Yiddish Conversation with Osian Sharma
2026-04-26 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom
For students looking to practise their speaking skills or to enjoy conversation with other Yiddish learners, this class will involve a series of fun exercises and games to put vocabulary and grammar to use. Each class will introduce a topic through a Yiddish song or short text, followed by open discussion, some imaginative games, and hopefully no curses!
When: Sundays, April 26 – June 7
10:00 a.m. PT / 12:00 p.m. CT / 1:00 p.m. ET / 8:00 p.m. Israel
Cost:

Early Bird: $194 (available until Sunday, April 19)
Regular Admission: $245

Register for this event
Teacher: Osian Sharma
Osian (Oshn) Evans Sharma is a Yiddish teacher from the UK. He has studied Yiddish at University College London, and courses in Tel Aviv, Berlin and Paris. He has led Yiddish poetry courses online for Babel’s Blessing Language School and in-person workshops at the Shtetl Berlin Festival, the Maison de la Culture Yiddish and the Yiddish Sof-Vokh UK, which he also helps to organise. He teaches at the summer programme ‘Ot Azoy’ and recently completed a pedagogy fellowship at the Yiddish Book Center (Amherst, MA).

Conversational Hebrew for Beginners
2026-04-28 19:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom
Have you ever wondered how to ask for food in a restaurant, understand basic expressions, or express your feelings in Hebrew? If so, this is the course for you! After the first lessons, you will be able to request information about prices, meals, and everyday life situations in a natural way, enriching your vocabulary and improving your confidence when speaking Hebrew.
When: Tuesdays, 7:00 p.m. PT (9:00 p.m. CT, 10:00 p.m. ET), starting on Tuesday, April 28, ending on Tuesday, May 19
Cost:

Early Bird: $125 for 4 sessions (available until Sunday, April 19)
Regular Admission: $145 for 4 classes

Register for this event
Instructor: Jana Galek Lew
Jana Galek Lew is an experienced Hebrew and Yiddish instructor with over 15 years of teaching students of all ages. She holds a diploma in teaching Hebrew as a second language from Universidad Hebraica and an MA in Education and Jewish Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Jana currently teaches Jewish Studies and Hebrew at a Jewish elementary school in Mexico City, where she combines cultural insights with an engaging, accessible teaching style.

Conversational Hebrew for intermediate and advanced students
2026-04-30 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom
Conversational Hebrew Classes are the perfect opportunity to take your Hebrew fluency to the next level. In this advanced-level course, you will broaden your vocabulary, talk about diverse factual topics, and gain the ability to give and receive detailed instructions in Hebrew. Students will strengthen their conversational skills through guided dialogues, role-playing activities, and interactive discussions.
Over the course of four engaging sessions, you will not only improve your speaking and listening abilities but also learn useful Hebrew idioms that bring conversations to life. By the end of these Conversational Hebrew Classes, you will be able to hold meaningful discussions on subjects such as Israeli music, art, culture, and current events. The class will also explore expressions that are common in everyday life, helping you communicate naturally and confidently.
When: Thursdays, 7:00 p.m. PT (9:00 p.m. CT, 10:00 p.m. ET), starting on April 30, ending on May 21
Cost:

Early Bird: $125 for 4 sessions (available until Thursday, April 23)
Regular Admission: $145 for 4 classes

Register for this event
Instructor: Jana Galek Lew
Jana is an experienced Hebrew instructor with over 15 years of teaching students of all ages. She holds a diploma in teaching Hebrew as a second language from Universidad Hebraica and an MA in Education and Jewish Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Currently, she teaches Jewish Studies and Hebrew at a Jewish elementary school in Mexico City, bringing her expertise, energy, and passion for language learning to every class.

ADVANCED JUDEO-SPANISH (ADVANCED LADINO)
2026-05-05 11:00 - 2026-06-02 13:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom
This course is intended for students with prior exposure to Ladino who wish to strengthen their reading, speaking, and grammatical awareness. The course methodology is based on three main components: learning and reinforcing the official Latin-script orthography of Judeo-Spanish, reading a wide range of texts from different genres, and developing guided class discussions in Ladino based on the readings.
Students will work with materials from both the Sephardi literary tradition and contemporary Ladino sources, including humorous narratives, fables, historical and cultural texts, folklore, poetry, and traditional songs. Grammar instruction will emerge directly from the texts and will address key topics such as pronoun systems, verb tenses and moods, and especially contrasts such as perfect vs. imperfect and indicative vs. subjunctive.
Through gradual practice, students will enrich their vocabulary, improve lexical access in spontaneous speech, and transform their intuitive knowledge of Ladino into a more conscious and accurate command of the language, resulting in greater fluency and confidence in communication.

When: Tuesday, May 5, 2026, 8:00 am PT, 10:00 am CT, 11:00 am ET
Where: on Zoom
Cost:
Early bird: 5 classes for $270
Regular admission: 5 classes for $300
Register for this event
Performer:
Esther Rute holds a BA in Semitic Philology (Complutense U.) and two MA in Jewish History and Spanish Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI). She is a certified language teacher (HUJI) and Ladino instructor at the Sephardi Community Council of Jerusalem and the Instituto Cervantes in Tel Aviv. She is also the External Advisor to the National Authority for Ladino (ANL) and Deputy Editor of Aki Yerushalayim. Her main position is Head of the International & Israeli Section at the Guiding Department of Yad Vashem, Jerusalem.

Conversational Hebrew for Beginners
2026-05-05 19:00 - 19:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom
Have you ever wondered how to ask for food in a restaurant, understand basic expressions, or express your feelings in Hebrew? If so, this is the course for you! After the first lessons, you will be able to request information about prices, meals, and everyday life situations in a natural way, enriching your vocabulary and improving your confidence when speaking Hebrew.
When: Tuesdays, 7:00 p.m. PT (9:00 p.m. CT, 10:00 p.m. ET), starting on Tuesday, April 14, ending on Tuessday May 5.
Cost:

Early Bird: $125 for 4 sessions (available until Tuesday, April 7)
Regular Admission: $145 for 4 classes

Register for this event
Instructor: Jana Galek Lew
Jana Galek Lew is an experienced Hebrew and Yiddish instructor with over 15 years of teaching students of all ages. She holds a diploma in teaching Hebrew as a second language from Universidad Hebraica and an MA in Education and Jewish Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Jana currently teaches Jewish Studies and Hebrew at a Jewish elementary school in Mexico City, where she combines cultural insights with an engaging, accessible teaching style.

Conversational Hebrew for intermediate and advanced students
2026-05-07 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom
Conversational Hebrew Classes are the perfect opportunity to take your Hebrew fluency to the next level. In this advanced-level course, you will broaden your vocabulary, talk about diverse factual topics, and gain the ability to give and receive detailed instructions in Hebrew. Students will strengthen their conversational skills through guided dialogues, role-playing activities, and interactive discussions.
Over the course of four engaging sessions, you will not only improve your speaking and listening abilities but also learn useful Hebrew idioms that bring conversations to life. By the end of these Conversational Hebrew Classes, you will be able to hold meaningful discussions on subjects such as Israeli music, art, culture, and current events. The class will also explore expressions that are common in everyday life, helping you communicate naturally and confidently.
When: Thursdays, 7:00 p.m. PT (9:00 p.m. CT, 10:00 p.m. ET), starting on April 16 and ending on May 7.
Cost:

Early Bird: $125 for 4 sessions (available until April 9)
Regular Admission: $145 for 4 classes

Register for this event
Instructor: Jana Galek Lew
Jana is an experienced Hebrew instructor with over 15 years of teaching students of all ages. She holds a diploma in teaching Hebrew as a second language from Universidad Hebraica and an MA in Education and Jewish Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Currently, she teaches Jewish Studies and Hebrew at a Jewish elementary school in Mexico City, bringing her expertise, energy, and passion for language learning to every class.

The Old Rebbe: Yehuda Pen and the Birth of Jewish Fine Art
2026-05-31 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom
Jennifer Stern will talk about the painter Yehuda Pen, who was Marc Chagall’s first art teacher in Vitebsk, Russia.
Pen was not an obviously revolutionary artist; he trained at the art academy in St. Petersburg and painted in an old-fashioned style. But he was the first Russian artist to combine traditional techniques with openly Jewish subject matter – drawn not from the Hebrew Bible but from the daily lives of ordinary Jews. Pen invented “Jewish fine art” in Russia, and passed on this innovation to the mostly Jewish students at his Vitebsk art school.
Chagall, El Lissitzky, Solomon Yudovin and other Pen students embraced the avant-garde, but in a distinctively Jewish way. Without “the Old Rebbe,” Chagall’s affectionate nickname for Pen, Jewish modern art in Russia (and beyond) might never have existed.
Come learn about Pen himself and about some of his famous students.
When: Sunday, May 31, 2026, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. PT / 2–3 p.m. ET / 8–9 p.m. CT.
Where: on Zoom
Cost:
Early bird: $18 (if registered before Sunday, May 17, 2026)
Regular admission: $25
Register for this event
Jennifer Stern lives near Boston, Massachusetts. She has an MA in Art History from Yale University. She dedicated 26 years of service to the Art History Department at Brandeis University. She writes about art and culture in English and Yiddish for the Forverts.

Beginner Juedo-Spanish (Beginner Ladino)
2026-06-02 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom
Beginner Ladino Course (5 lessons – 1.5 hours per lesson)
This course is designed for students who wish to learn Ladino from the very beginning, whether out of interest in the Sephardi language and culture or because they come from Ladino-speaking Sephardi families but did not have the chance to acquire the language at home. No prior knowledge is required.
Over ten one-and-a-half hour lessons, participants will build basic vocabulary, learn the official Ladino orthography, and develop essential communication skills through everyday topics and fundamental grammar. The course also includes cultural content such as traditional songs, Sephardi geography, and adapted stories of Djohá, as well as special sessions on Moadim among Sephardic Jews. Students will work with materials from both the Sephardi literary tradition and contemporary Ladino sources. The course concludes with a guided conversation and interactive activities to reinforce language and grammar while exploring Ladino today.
When:Tuesdays, June 2 – June 30: 8:00 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. PT / 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. CT / 11:00 – 12:30 p.m. ET
Where: Online via Zoom
Cost:
Early Bird: 5 classes for $270 available until Tuesday, June 16th, 2026
Regular: 5 classes for $300
Register for this event
Teacher: Esther Rute
Esther Rute holds a BA in Semitic Philology (Complutense U.) and two MA in Jewish History and Spanish Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI). She is a certified language teacher (HUJI) and Ladino instructor at the Sephardi Community Council of Jerusalem and the Instituto Cervantes in Tel Aviv. She is also the External Advisor to the National Authority for Ladino (ANL) and Deputy Editor of Aki Yerushalayim. Her main position is Head of the International & Israeli Section at the Guiding Department of Yad Vashem, Jerusalem.

Healing Hearts - Yiddishland Support Group
2026-07-09 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom
Healing Hearts – Yiddishland Support Group
Join Meaghan Fitzsimmons for an hour of guided meditation and energy healing rooted in Jewish spirituality and timeless wisdom. This session focuses on healing trauma and reclaiming your narrative to create a healthier, more grounded context for daily life. Together, we will cultivate inner harmony and share a collective sense of compassion and hope within a Jewish communal framework.
When: 2nd Thursdays of the month — July 9, August 13, September 10,October 8
12–1 p.m. PT / 2–3 p.m. CT / 3–4 p.m. ET / 9–10 p.m. CT / 10–11 p.m. Time in Israel
Where: Online (Zoom)
Cost: Suggested Donation: $5–$36 (sliding scale)Options: $5, $18, $36
Guide: Meaghan Fitzsimmons
Our Coach’s Bio: Meaghan Fitzsimmons holds a master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling and currently serves as a professional mental health care and lifestyle coach here in La Jolla Village. Her experience in the international field of disaster trauma and group counseling facilitation allow her to support this local Jewish community to share, grieve, and empower each other through these radical times of terrorism, war, and social upheaval.
As a means of giving back and creating a sense of commitment, a $5 – $25 sliding scale donation is requested. Please complete your registration and donation through Humanitix. Your receipt (screenshot or electronic) is requested at the beginning of the meeting. If you cannot make this donation, one will be made on your behalf.

Jews and Jazz – a Talk by Yale Strom
2026-09-20 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Denver) | Zoom
This will be a lecture that includes photos and music.
When: Sunday, September 20, 2026, 11:00 a.m.– 12:30 p.m. PT / 1:00–2:30 p.m. CT / 2:00–3:30 p.m. ET
Where: Online (Zoom)
Cost:
Early bird pricing: $20 per lecture (if registered before September 6, 2026)
Regular pricing: $25 per lecture
Register for this event
Artist Name: Yale Strom
Artist’s Bio:
Yale Strom (violin) is one of the world’s leading ethnographer-artists of klezmer and Romani music and history. With a master’s degree in Yiddish Studies, he has conducted extensive ethnographic research across Eastern Europe on Jewish and Romani musical culture.
His fieldwork shaped the repertoire of his klezmer band Hot Pstromi and informed his work directing 10 award-winning documentary films, including The Last Klezmer (Oscar short-list).
Strom has written 15 books and two award-winning audio dramas, recorded 20 CDs, and presented numerous photo exhibitions in North America and Europe. His latest documentary, Recordially Yours: Lou Curtiss (2023), explores the life of San Diego audiophile-ethnomusicologist Lou Curtiss; he is currently developing a musical on Marc and Bella Chagall. Strom was Artist-in-Residence in Jewish Studies at San Diego State University (2006–2020). He now teaches in the Music Department and previously taught at New York University. His first historical novel, The Autobiography of the Offenbacher, will be published in 2026.

Forging Survival: Operation Bernhard and the Holocaustv
2026-11-08 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Zoom
Jeremy Stern will talk about Operation Bernhard, a German scheme to counterfeit British bank notes during World War II. Jewish prisoners were forced to become counterfeiters for the Nazi state. The Nazis hoped to use forged British paper money both to finance their agents across Europe and to undermine the British economy. Skilled Jewish captives were ordered to operate a makeshift forgery factory at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. Their only choice was to produce convincing counterfeits for the SS, or to die. The conscripted forgers made astonishingly close copies of British notes, with only a few subtle errors. The prisoners faced a deadly dilemma: risk finishing the work and face certain death, or play for time and risk the SS deciding the scheme was no longer worth the trouble. Finally, the operation fell to pieces as the German war effort failed, leaving the forgers’ fate hanging on the decisions and self-interest of the scheme’s SS commander.
When : Sunday, Nov 8, 2026, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. PT / 1–2 p.m. CT / 2–3 p.m. ET
Where : Zoom
Cost :
Early bird : $18 (if registered before Sunday, October 25, 2026)
Regular admission : $25
Register for this event
About the Speaker :
Jeremy A. Stern, Ph.D. is an independent historian, writer, and history educator. In addition to consulting on educational standards and content across the country, he has written and spoken for both popular and professional audiences on a wide range of historical subjects. He has long been intrigued by the story of Operation Bernhard, especially since he acquired an original forged Bernhard note – a rare direct physical trace from the Nazi camps.
