In the Former Cradle of Yiddish, Mama Loshen Still Speaks to Heart

By Michael J. Jordan, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, January 2, 2007

The blonde pianist enters the stage first, followed by a goateed, serious-looking young opera singer, Rafailas Karpis. Hands clasped above his bright yellow tie, he belts out five songs in Yiddish, odes to love and loss.

To a North American audience, the moving, mournful melodies might trigger nostalgia, even tears, for the world of their forefathers, an existence scarred by pogroms, then snuffed out by the Holocaust.

Yet here in Vilnius, not a moist eye is seen among the mostly elderly audience.

That's because Yiddish here is no relic of the past. It's still a living, breathing language, having survived the decimation of a unique Jewish community, the Litvaks.

From cultural performances to reading clubs to private conversations, Lithuanian Jews are reclaiming their Yiddish-speaking heritage in the historic heart of Yiddishkeit - the city that used to be known as Vilna.

There's talk elsewhere of Yiddish "revival," but the Litvaks' effort to resurrect the mama loshen are organic, despite a collapsing demographic and the many demands on the time of younger generations.



To read the entire article, please click here.

Back to News