National Yiddish Book Center

I took a wonderful on-line Yiddish class. Looking forward to more on-line experiences. Very well done. Also, suggested the reading of "Outwitting History" by Aaron Lansky to my book group. It was very well received

I wrote donor but if I were able I would really donate a lot more. My daughter graduated from UMASS and one of the saddest things for me is that now I am not able to get to the Yiddish Book Center twice a year.
I love the exhibits, the fantastic book shop with knowledgeable personnel, and the lovely greeters at the door who always made me feel I am back home again. I also miss sitting in the fantastic orchard and reading and writing.

I am a long time member of the Book Center and have always been impressed at their ability to mobilize people & resources to save Yiddish books. I am very excited the the center is now beginning to work at preserving the culture as well as the written record of Yiddish. This is a powerful and important step for the NYBC and for Yiddish culture.

What a pleasure to be able to say something to honor the National Yiddish Book Center. I am fortunate to live nearby and to see the many ways the NYBC reaches out across the nation and the world while it provides beautiful resources for its neighbors. It reaches out to all ages and cultures through Elder Hostels and college internships and through other classes, performances, and articles and playful language instruction in the Pakn Treger. I always run to the museum store to find Bar/Bat Mitzvah and Hanukkah presents (usually garnished with a pair of Mazel Toes socks). In summer its gardens are the perfect place to bring visitors or to sit and space out or read. Of course at its center is the huge collection of Yiddish literature and the innovative ways the NYBC has devised to make texts available to scholars all over the world.

I too (as at least one other reviewer mentioned) come from the generation whose children were told that we shouldn’t speak Yiddish any more because we are Americans. It was a gift to see my mother and an elderly cousin live long enough to visit and be in awe of the Center and the fact that the Yiddish language was something to treasure and not to hide.

I discovered the National Yiddish Book Center as a young professional taking Yiddish lessons. I attended their 1 week "camp" for adults about 1990 and had a tremendous experience learning about Yiddish and my cultural heritage. So when I was planning my wedding in 1991, I requested donations to the Book Center in lieu of wedding presents and thereby many family and friends got"plugged in" to this remarkable organization .
THe NYBC has done an enormous job of helping to rescue a language considered headed for extinction , exploring and celebrating its cultural heritage past and present, as well as doing ground-breaking work in preserving and digitalizing the Yiddish lworld literature. What they have achieved with Yiddish is unique and sets a standard for other languages and cultures to learn from.

The National Yiddish Book Center is a vital site for scholars interested in Yiddish literature and Yiddish-language culture. A brilliant idea excellently presented. Its importance for an understanding a central part of European and North American culture can scarcely be exaggerated.

I was born into a Yiddish speaking household 67 years ago and grew up understanding most Yiddish. At 5 years of age my grandmother died and I was told that we don't speak Yiddish anymore. I even had to take elocution classes to correct my syntax and V's and W's. As I got older my other grandmother taught me to read the Yiddish newspaper. I forgot that too.

At 62 years of age I decided I wanted to learn Yiddish. My classes at the local shul lasted about a year and because of financing they were canceled. I have since been studying on the net with books from the National Yiddish Book Center and their magazine. I just wish the Book Center were closer to Tucson, AZ

The National Yiddish Book Center has given me the sources to learn about my grandparents' life in prewar Europe and also the resources to tell the story to my grandchildren.

I am a second Generation Holocaust survivor. We always spoke Yiddish in my house. Now that both my parents have passed away, The National Yiddish Book Center is my source of everything Yiddish and is available for my children and grandchildren and hopefully many future generations. The National Yiddish Book Center is a miracle by its very existence and will keep alive an amazing culture that was almost extinguished. It serves as a wonderful resource for all who are interested in researching Jewish history. Digitizing these treasures and in so doing making them available nationally and internationally is awesome. Through the Yiddish Book Center I was able to collect many Yiddish films which provided hours & hours of pleasure to my parents when they were no longer mobile. They would watch them over and over and it would remind them of their shtetl and it would serve as a point of further discussion about their past. This would not have been possible without the Book Center.

The National Yiddish Book Center does valuable work preserving the literature of diverse Jewish cultures and keeping the Yiddish and Ladino languages alive for future generations. They publish an informative magazine and present programs that showcase Yiddish art and culture.

I learned about the National Yiddish Book Center through Aaron Lansky's book, "Outwitting History." As someone who's grandparents and father spoke Yiddish, and as someone who was never taught the tongue of my people, I was so excited to learn that there was a group dedicated to preserving what many call a "dying language."

A membership to the NYBC is the only thing I request for Chanukah each year, and I ask for my family members to make a donation, because of the cultural significance impact Yiddish has had both here in the U.S. and abroad.

The only constructive feedback I can give is that as much as I'd like to visit the center in person, it's costly and very time-consuming to take off of work to visit (I live in Florida). It would be nice for the NYBC to sponsor events in other locations, such as South Florida, which is home to many Yiddish speakers.

Wonderful organization doing work that is vital now and for generations to come.

The Yiddish Book Center is keeping alive a culture that was systematically destroyed in Europe. How wonderful to have an organization dedicated to bringing Yiddish literature, music, theater, and everyday life back into our lives. The exhibits are fun as well as informative and the summer festival is a treat. We've taken 2 summer vacations to the Book Center for a week of Yiddish culture.

Keep Yiddish alive. How wonderful to make accessible the culture and literature of our past, so we can read and remember. My beloved grandparents spoke Yiddish and I love the sound of it although I regret not knowing the language.

Unique! No other place has collected over 1 million Yiddish books and helped resurrect this dying language. Not just a dusty library, the Yiddish Book Center offers classes, concerts, and exhibits that bring Yiddish to life.

The Center provides for the preservation of Yiddish literature. It also serves as a way of preserving Yiddish culture, educating new generations who will safeguard the language. A beautiful, peaceful setting, a great resource for current Jewsih fiction and non-fiction, the National Yiddish Book Center is truly a treasure.

This organization preserves hundreds of years of knowledge.

An eager recipient of stored and perhaps vulnerable Yiddish language books and print materials. Major effort has been successful in integrating a library collection, with digital storage being made available to the general public worldwide. Certainly a highly desireable resource for the preservation of literature and the Yiddish language.

Two books of poems by my grandfather, Max Milton, are digitized, archived online to be read in Yiddish and easily available for any one to order. This, and an English translation project later, will bring his voice, and others', to the world again after many years.

Staff person have been helpful and welcoming. The tone of the Center is inclusive, from its setting and architecture to its communications, which are warm and clear, inspiring one to help fund new projects. The magazine is
beautifully designed, fascinating and useful.

The Center is remarkable in the way it has grown to extend its efforts without losing its original mission.

The range of events makes me wish I lived near the Center.

I am so impressed by the mission and programs of the National Yiddish Book Center. First of all, just saving books - preserving the written word - is a worthy undertaking. But the Book Center is doing even more. It is helping to save and grow an entire language and culture. It also is serving as a clearinghouse in the United States for all things Yiddish.

I was able to visit the Book Center facility a couple of years ago. It combines aspects of library, research-space, museum, art-space, classrooms and cultural center in a beautiful rural setting on the campus of Northhampton College. The space and the setting are perfect for the books (many of which have come from estates) and for new students of Yiddish culture.

I have loved reading the blogs of the young people who work and study in the Summer Program. I was moved by the generosity with which the Book Center put out a call for (and coordinated) book donations to replace the library that was lost when a synagogue in Crete was destroyed by arson last year. I love that the Book Center is collaborating with UMass-Amherst to offer courses studying Yiddish, not only to college students in the area, but also on-line.

I don't speak or read Yiddish (although I may decide to enroll in the on-line study), and I am not Jewish. I am an Irish Catholic who loves books and cares about people. I am pleased to be an active donor to the National Yiddish Book Center.

The story of how Aaron Lansky began the effort that became the National Yiddish Book Center is fascinating and inspiring in itself, but its real legacy is in the ongoing work that the center has engaged in since it's inception, not only to preserve a language/culture, but to breathe life back into it for new generations.

To me, the story of the founding of the Nationall Yiddish Book Center is an absolute miracle--Aaron Lansky saw Yiddish books being thrown away and had the thought that he should do something about it. From that very kernel of a thought, this massive collection of intellectual property was gathered, conserved, and as a result, a significant cultural and educational institution grew from nothing--from a guy looking at "garbage".

I've been "with" the organization since the beginning and hope to continue our relationship forever. First of all, when Aaron asked us for money, he really needed it. Every letter actually explained the reason he was asking for money and what specifically he was going to do with it. He has always kept his word and our dreams for our culture, our literature and our heritage alive. The planning for growth has been thoughtful, strategic and forward thinking. I cannot believe how far the organization has come from one man and a van picking up old books. I am filled with pride and gratitude that this critical part of a culture decimated by WWII has been preserved for the future.

The National Yiddish Book Center is simply my favorite charity, bar none. I share its mission in my heart.

This is an amazing organization that has preserved and help spread Yiddish books and now Jewish culture. Although I have supported this organization for at least fifteen years, I moved one town away seven years ago and collaborate with them as a Jewish communal professional.

I think that Nat'l Yiddish Book Center did something unique in history: the organization saved what would have become a lost literature, then made it accessible to the world, and it became the first literature to be digitalized. It has been one of the tragedies that so much world literature has been lost, from the Provencal language literature, to that of the Mayan and Incan peoples. This would have been the fate of Yiddish, esp. after WWII, when such a huge percentage of Yiddish speakers were murdered. But now this vibrant literature is available to the world.

Incredibly valuable service in preserving Yiddish and Jewish culture. A wonderful resource and reaches out to the public in an informative way including Pak n Trager.