Summer 2026 ‑ Introductory Yiddish!

Learn Yiddish this summer!

This course will introduce you to the basics of the Yiddish language and the cultural worlds of those who speak it. By the end of the semester, you will be able to read the Yiddish alef-beys (alphabet), read simple texts, listen to songs, watch videos, as well as enjoy basic conversations in Yiddish. You will get an introduction to Eastern European Jewish culture and learn about the people who called and still call Yiddish their mame-loshn (mother tongue). Please note the summer Yiddish course is not for credit. It is open to the public, so anyone can register!

Details:

Meeting times: June 1st – August 26th, 2026. Mondays and Wednesdays, 6:00 – 7:30pm.

Cost: Sliding scale starting at $485. $242.50 for students.

Location: Marion McCain Building Room 1184 (Classics Library)

6135 University Ave, Halifax, NS, B3H 4P9

Instructor: Dr. Brett Winestock

About the instructor: Brett Winestock is a part-time professor of Yiddish at the University of Ottawa and an adjunct professor at Dalhousie University. He is the author of Written for the Drawer: Leonid Tsypkin, Uncensored Writing, and Soviet Jewishness and his research on the history and culture of the Jews of Eastern Europe has been published in The Russian Review and In geveb: A Journal of Yiddish Studies.