Ladino Classes

Our new Ladino course is your gateway to exploring this beautiful, historic language while immersing yourself in the poetic expressions of Sephardic life. Build your Ladino vocabulary and grammar skills, journey through the captivating world of Ladino poetry, discover the deep cultural and historical context behind each poem, and develop the specialized skill of reading in Hebrew Rashi script.

Whether you have a basic command of Ladino or a background in Modern Spanish, this course is designed to enrich your knowledge and appreciation of this fascinating language and its poetic traditions.

Also known as Judeo-Spanish (djudeoespanyol), Ladino is a language that originated from Old Spanish spoken by Jews in Spain before they were forced to leave in 1492. After the expulsion, these Jewish communities moved to places like Turkey, Greece, and North Africa, taking their language with them. Ladino is similar to Spanish from the late 15th century, so it has old-fashioned words and grammar that you won’t find in modern Spanish. Over time, it has picked up words from other languages like Turkish, Greek, Arabic, and French because of the different places where Sephardic Jews lived. Having a centuries-old literary tradition, Ladino is still used by some Sephardic Jewish communities, especially for religious practice and cultural expression.

We are fortunate to be able to offer our students the very rare opportunity to study Ladino from the basics to beyond. Our classes delve into vocabulary, grammar, speaking and reading, even Rashi script! Please explore some of our past offerings below, and check out our upcoming activities and events calendar for future classes.