At Yiddish Week, a beloved language is as vital as ever

By DAVID I. KLEIN
Religion News Service

The grounds of the Berkshire Hills Eisenberg Camp in Copake, New York, were alive in mid-August with a gaggle of nearly 100 campers, young and old. Like at many camps, they played sports, boated in the lake, swam in the pool and sang songs around the campfire. But they did all of those things — swim, sing, eat and simply live — while speaking solely in Yiddish. Yiddish-Vokh (Yiddish-week) has been an annual celebration of the tongue since 1975, and draws everyone from non-Jews to secular Jews, as well as Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Jews ranging in age from infants to nearly 90. All of them looking to connect with their identity through the historical language of Ashkenazi Jewry.