April 12-15, 2002 Park East Hotel, Milwaukee, Wis. Origins of the Mame Loshn

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF YIDDISH CLUBS SEVENTH WORLD CONFERENCE

Yiddish, the mother tongue of Ashkenazi Jews, is an Indo-European language comprised of two branches: Western Yiddish and Eastern Yiddish. It spans four historical eras: Earliest Yiddish- 9th Cent.-1250; Old Yiddish - 1250-1500; Middle Yiddish - 1500-1700; and Modem Yiddish - 1700-present. Most scholars believe that Western Yiddish developed first. Jews derived it from Medieval High Gennan in the 9th and 10th Centuries primarily in the middle Rhine region and less so in Bavaria. By the 1600s, the lan guage of the Jews in those areas was distinctively Yiddish. Western Yiddish continued to evolve with influ ences of Modem Gennan in the 1800s and 1900s in Gennany, Holland, Switzerland, Alsace (France), Czechoslovakia and Western Hungary. Western Yiddish is the minority branch of the language. Eastern Yiddish originated east of the Oder River through Poland, covering Belarus, Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Rumania and Ukraine, and in pre-state British Mandate Israel in Jerusalem and Safed. It began developing as Jews fled Western and Central Europe from the 11th to 13th Centuries, escaping mas sacres as they became scapegoats for the Black Plague. These migrating Jews brought Western Yiddish in con tact with Slavic Languages. Eastern Yiddish, the major branch of the language, contains many loan words from Hebrew-Aramaic as well as from Slavic Languages. The use of Hebrew script for Yiddish and other Jewish non-Hebrew languages is a Judeo-linguistic practice. Written Yiddish has two recognized phases. The First Literary Standard, based on Western and Central European Yiddish dialects, predominated until its decline in the 18th century and near-disappearance in the 19th Century. The Modem Literary Standard, or Modem Standard Yiddish, rose quickly in its place and con tinues strong today. The standardization of Yiddish orthography has rapidly increased in the last 11 decades. Thus, a standard written Yiddish exists, but a standard Yiddish pronunciation rests on a variety of non-fonnal dialects. The Eastern Yiddish dialect is divided into the Northeastern Dialect (Lithuania and Latvia), Central Dialect (Poland and Western Galicia) and Southern/Southeastern Dialect (Western Russia and Ukraine). In fonnal usage, the Northeastern Dialect is considered the standard. Modem Literary Yiddish employs a majority of the Northeastern Dialect's vowel features, leading credence to its ownership as the standard pronunciation. The Southern Dialect, however, adds the most grammatical fea tures, the consonant system as well as the gender-neutral feature for many words. In America, the Northeastern Dialect is prevalent in expository prose, especially in New York. The Central Dialect became well known in the belles-lettres. The Southern Dialect was prominent in the Yiddish Theater. At the height of Yiddish usage in Europe in 1939, 11 million people spoke the language. Due to the Holocaust, millions of Jews whose mother tongue was Yiddish were massacred. The center for Yiddish became the United States. While the decline of the U.S. Yiddish-speaking population dates back to 1940, a more rapid decline com menced around 1950. Today, Israel has slightly more Yiddish speakers than the United States. Yiddish is reviving in Israel, particularly in the universities. It also is gaining strength in the Diaspora, as Klezmer music regains international popularity and Yiddish is taught at American and European universities and in local Yiddish clubs. Blake Gentry Tucson, AZ

Sources: "Ethnologue: Yiddish Eastern, Yiddish Western," http://www.Ethnologue.com; "Encyclopedic Dictionary of Judaica," 1974. Aims and Purposes of the International Association of Yiddish Clubs

Historical background: The first international conference of Yiddish clubs took place in Washington, D.C., May 29-June 3, 1993, hosted by Yiddish of Greater Washington. It was a great success and gave rise to the thought that it could be an ongoing event every year-and-a-half or two years. A nucleus of several delegates - Dr. Harold Black, Dr. Allan Blair and Fishl Kutner. - was asked to investigate holding another conference, but where? Toronto was suggested because of a very active Yiddish club and an interested Yiddish community. The Friends of Yiddish accepted the challenge, and the second conference took place in Toronto, Oct. 7-10, 1994. Again a small group, mainly editors of club newsletters, fonned an ad hoc committee to consult about venues for the next conference. They represented: Yiddish of Greater Washington; Der Bay, San Francisco Bay Area; Dos Bletl, Toronto; and the Circle of Yiddish Clubs, Florida. At the third conference in Miami, March 1- 4, 1996, a more fonnal meeting of delegates was held. Harold Black was appointed to head a committee to incorporate this loosely knit group into a more formal organization, to find a venue for the next conference, and to lay the groundwork for a board that would be elected and thus would fonnalize the status of the organi zation. At the fourth conference, held May 24-27, 1997, in Farfield, CT., a board was established with Harold Black as its chair. The name International Association of Yiddish Clubs was adopted, and subsequently the organization was incorporated in the State of Maryland. The fifth IAYC conference was held at UCLA in Los Angeles, August 27-30, 1998. It finnly established the organization with an elected board of nine, representing different geographical regions of North America, and it was given a strong endorsement by the 250 delegates to continue to work together as an international force for Yiddish. This was followed by the sixth conference at the International 4H Headquarters in Chevy Chase, MD. IAYC Mission: To provide a global perspective and network for Yiddish groups - large or small. To exchange educational and cultural materials. To experience a sense of unity while striving to keep our lan guage, literature, and culture alive and well into the new millennium. IAYC Vision: To access all groups, be they leyenkrayzn, shmooz-grupes, shtudir, choral, choirs, large or small clubs or classes from kindergarten, elementary, secondary, post-secondary to adult, to make them aware of their rich heritage. To become a clearinghouse for educational and program materials. To encourage and ini tiate research of existing or new material, be it educational, music, art or literature, and make it available to the clubs. To encourage new writers by giving them a forum in our newsletters or local papers that have a Yiddish column. To encourage the fonnation of new groups wherever possible, be they large or small. To keep in touch with all groups through e-mail, a Web site, telephone, postal mail and newsletters. To encourage groups to issue newsletters even if only once a year. To lobby to include Yiddish in local Holocaust memorial programs. To encourage younger people to take Yiddish classes, wherever available, or to fonn them. To encourage those who are alredy learning the language to explore their Ashkenazic roots through history, music and liter atur e- the history and literature in translation, if necessary. To lobby Jewish schools to include Yiddish class es in their curriculum. To lobby universities to include Yiddish in their Jewish Studies Program. Benefits of belonging to IAYC: To take Yiddish out of isolation and give it a strong international voice. The IAYC conferences has been and will continue to be a source of interaction for groups and their members, from meeting like-minded people to hearing and meeting the best resource people, be they writers, scholars, teachers, musicians, actors, singers or organizers. To access and arrange inter-city touring groups, speakers, singers, theatre groups etc., through existing newsletters or the electronic media. To have Yiddish benefit from such alliances. If your interest is in keeping Yiddish alive and growing, join us in our effort to march forward in a united effort. Conference Organizing Committee

Paul Melrood Andrew Muchin Chairman Program Book

Larry Orenstein Morrie Fell er Co-chair Yiddish for Program Book

Dana Mueller Sylvia Bernstein GeneralCoordinalor Andrew Muchin Flo Sussman Milt Katz Media Treasurer Max Taglin Tybie Taglin Sandra Hoffman City Tour Secretary, Yom HaShoah Chair Herman Weingrod Bookstore Marty "Moshe" Katz Louis "Buddy" Siegel Della Bornstein Registration Boutique Jerry Benjamin, Burt Levine A.B. Data Frieda Levine Mailings, Distribution Partial Registration Bev Chubat Chai Tuchman Conference Logo Design Dorothy Weingrod Esther Weingrod Mae Willenson Scheduling Alvin "Oink" Holzman Liaisons to Cong. Shalom's Yiddish Vinkl Betty Chrostowski Hotel Liaison Dr. Herman Tuchman Dorene Paley Marlene Melrood Jody Hirsh Miriam Orenstein Program Advisors Menu Bev Chubat Jeanette Peckerman Chaikey Greenberg Kosher Meals Frieda Landau Jake Morowitz GeneKrasno Chicago YJVO Society Morton Swerdlow Tickets, Room Set--up Conference Sponsoring Organizations A.B. Data Ltd.- Jeny Benjamin Center for International Education Chicago YIVO Society Harry and Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center of Milwaukee Milwaukee Jewish Federation University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for Jewish Studies Wisconsin Society for Jewish Leaming The Workmen's Circle-National Office

Conference Grand Donors Joe and Marian Chudnow Goodman-Bensman Funeral Hom~Debra Marcus Watton, President Milt and Anita Katz Marty "Moshe" and Debra Katz Larry and Miriam Orenstein Arnie Peltz The Harry V Lerner Memorial Fund Yiddish of Greater Washington Nathaniel Zelazo Zilber Ltd.-owner of the Park East Hotel

International Association of Yiddish Clubs Dr. Harold Black Oscar Antel Bethesda, MD Winnipeg President Michael Baker Minneapolis Dr. Allan Blair Cookie Blattman Columbus, OH Tamarac, FL Vice President Rafoyel Finkel Morrie Feller Lexington, KY Phoenix Troim Katz Handler Treasurer ~st Palm Beach, FL. Philip "Fishl" Kutner Barbara Goldstein San Mateo, CA. Houston Secretary Bess Shockett Toronto Fannie Yokor New Orleans Board Members At-large FRIDAY, APRIL 12

1-4 p.m. - Check-in at the Park East Hotel Key Delegates• get-acquainted time. Hospitality Room, first floor. (Y)= Yiddish (E)=English (E/Y)=English 4: 15-5: 15 p.m. - Shabbat service (optional) at the Jewish Home & Care Center and Yiddish chapel, 1414 N. Prospect Ave. Delegates may walk or use the hotel shuttle.

6-7:15 p.m. - Shabbat dinner at the Great Lakes Grand Ballroom

7:30-10 p.m. - Opening ceremony and evening program A look at Milwaukee Yiddish history and a tribute to the late Milwaukee Yiddishist Howard Weinshel by Prof. hv Saposnik. Greetings from State Rep. Sheldon Wasserman. Yiddish songs sung by Enid Bootzin. Feature presentation: Dr. Sarah Blacher Cohen speaking on "Writing and Performing the Yiddish-American Comedy, 'The Ladies Locker Room."' (E)

SATURDAY, APRIL 13

7-9 a.m. - Continental breakfast in first floor corner dining room (for hotel guests)

7:45-8:45 a.m. - Shabbat service (optional) at the Jewish Home and Care Center chapel, 1414 N. Prospect Ave. Delegates may walk or use the hotel shuttle.

9: 15-10:30 a.m. - Plenary session in the Great Lakes Grand Ballroom • Dr. Eugene Orenstein presents "Yiddish Today Around The World." (EN) • Troim Katz Handler launches her new book of poetry. (E/Y)

10:45 a.m.-12 p.m. - Breakout sessions • Miriam Beckerman speaks on "My Work as a Translator." Michigan Room. (F/Y) • Morrie Feller presents "Yiddish and the Internet." Ontario Room. (F/Y) • Melvin S. Zaret discusses "A Tapestry of Jewish Life: Jewish Communities and People Around the World." Superior Room. (E)

12: 15-1 :30 p.m. - Lunch (on your own) Soup and sandwiches are available at the hotel's Comer Cafe.

1:45-3 p.m. - Breakout sessions . •Dr.Bruce Fetter presents "Growing Up Jewish in Appalachia." Superior Room. (E) • Troim Katz Handler discusses "Yiddish Literary Battles and the Poet Menke Katz, My Father." Michigan Room. (E/Y) • Marcia Levinsohn discusses "How and with What Do We Pass on Our Sweet Yiddish Heritage to our Grandchildren and our Great-Grandchildren?" Ontario Room. (E/Y) • Talent show - with host Tybie Taglin. All talents are welcome. Huron Room. (E/Y) 3: 15-4:30 p.m. - Breakout sessions • Dr. Hasia (Schwartzman) Diner discusses "Confronting Tragedy: American Jews and the Memory of the Holocaust in the Immediate Post-War Years." Michigan Room. (E) • Dr. Chava Lapin presents"Leivick's Dramatic Response to the Khurbn." Huron Room. (F/Y) • Dr. Jeffiy Mallow speaks on "Lakhn Mit Yastcherkes - Humor Under Oppression." Superior Room. (E) • Hilda Rubin presents "Yiddish Community Theater: Programs for Your Group, Club or Class." Ontario Room. (F/Y)

6-7:15 p.m. - Dinner in Great Lakes Grand Ballroom Dr. Sarah Moscovitz reads from her new book of poetry, "Kumt Tzum Tish. " (E/Y)

8 p.m. - Concert at Rubenstein Pavilion, 1410 N. Prosped Ave., with the Chicago Klezmer Ensemble featuring Kurt Biorling, plus singer Sima Miller Board shuttle busses at hotel entrance at the announced time. Busses will return to the hotel after the concert.

SUNDAY, APRIL 14

7-9 a.m. - Continental breakfast in first Roor corner dining room (for hotel guests)

7:15-8:15 a.m. IAYC Board meeting Breakfast in the penthouse.

8:45-10 a.m. - Breakout sessions • Kurt Bjorling lectures on klezmer music. Michigan Room. (E) •Dr.Nathaniel Stampfer speaks on "Payback Time in Israel -Hebrew Borrows from Yiddish." Huron Room. (Y/E) • Prof. Sam Kassow presents "Vilno in Modem Jewish History." Superior Room. (Y)

10: 15-11 :30 a.m. - Breakout sessions • Dr. Richard Lux presents "The Shoah, Christianity and Yiddishkayt. " Huron Room. (E) • Rabbi. Max Ticktin speaks on "Chagall & Yiddish." Superior Room. (EN) • Open time for repeat presentations.

11 :45 a.m.-1: 15 p.m. - Lunch (on your own) Soup and sandwiches are available at the hotel's Corner Cafe.

1:30 p.m. - Busses leave from hotel entrance for community Yom HaShoah program at Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue

2-3:30 p.m. - Community Yom HaShoah program featuring Prof. Sam Kossow

3:45 p.m. - Busses leave Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue and return to hotel

5:30 p.m. - IAYC General Meeting and Elections in Great Lakes Grand Ballroom 6-7:30 p.m. - Dinner in Great Lakes Grand Ballroom Joe Esselin reads from the poetry of his father, Alter Esselin.

8-10 p.m. - Klezmer concert and comedy in Great Lakes Grand Ballroom Featuring Joe and Rick Aaron and their ldezmer band, plus Paul Melrood's take-off on an "Old-Time Sunday Morning Yiddish Radio Hour." (F/Y)

MONDAY, APRIL 15 7-9 a.m. - Continental breakfast in first floor corner dining room (for hotel guests)

9: 15-10:30 a.m. - Breakout sessions • Rabbi Jay R. Brickman speaks on "The World of I.L. Peretz." Michigan Room. (E) • Penny Deshur discusses "How to Find Genealogical Information on Your Family from Eastern Europe." Ontario Room. (E) • Jody Hirsh presents "Adventures of a Jewish Educator in China." Superior Room. (E)

10:45 a.m.-12 p.m. - Plenary session in the Great Lakes Grand Ballroom Dr. Leon Yudkin presents "The Quintessence of Yiddish Literature." (E)

12-12:30 p.m. - IAYC Conference Wind-up Session in the Great Lakes Grand Ballroom

12:30 p.m. - Hotel check-out

2-4 p.m. - Optional bus tour of Milwaukee general and Jewish sites, led by Tybe and Max Taglin Registration is required. See conference administrator Dana Mueller. n, 12 ov, ,,,sue , i2'1'"iS> 1,n,:, ~C,"M P,~I . l'Oltci'O'n , 'i'~ii1,'7.l

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Joe and Rick Aaron: The father-and-son klezmer sensations regularly perform in the Milwaukee area. Joe Aaron, 82, has played as a soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Melody Top Theater Orchestra and Holiday on Ice Orchestra; as lead tenor saxophonist with the Clyde McCoy Orchestra; soloist with many high school bands; and perfomer at countless simchas. Rick Aaron has played his flute in thlpits for Broadway shows, at chamber music concerts, in jazz clubs and leading his own klezmer band.

Miriam Beckerman: Miriam Beckerman is a prize-winning Yiddish-English translator whose work has appeared in Lifestyles International Magazine, Pakn Treger, the Canadian Jewish News, Der Onheib, Parchment, the Yiddish Forward and on the Web site www.jew ishgen.org. Her translation of Rivka Lozansky Bogomolnaya's book, "Wartime Experiences, in Lithuania" (Vallentine Mitchell Press) was published in 2000 as part of the Library of Holocaust Testimonies series. She has studied Yiddish at the Farband Folk Shul inner native Toronto and with Professors Dovid Katz and Dov-Ber Kerler.

. -:-•·. Kurt Bjorling and the Chicago Klezmer Ensemble: Clarinetist Kurt Bjorling is widely acclaimed as one of the finest musicians performing klezmer. He leads the Chicago Klezmer Ensemble, a five-piece group that plays in a style akin to classical chamber music, the way klezmer often was played in the courts of the Chasidic rebbes of Eastern Europe. The Chicago Klezmer Ensemble has released the CD "Sweet Home Bukovina." Bjorling also is a member of the klezmer super-group Brave Old World.

Enid Bootzin: Soprano Enid Bootzin is choir director and soloist at Beth El Ner Tamid Synagogue, Milwaukee. She has performed in the Milwaukee Jewish community for more than 25 years, including the Summer Evenings of Jewish Music series, and has been heard with the Skylight Opera Theater and Milwaukee Opera Company. She is associate director of the Milwaukee Jewish Community Chorale and has served as vice president of the Wisconsin Jewish Music Council. She began developing her Yiddish repertoire while per forming with her father, Arnold Bootzin, and his band. Her grandmother, Helen Bootzin, sang and acted with Milwaukee's Perhift Yiddish Players many years ago.

Rabbi Jay R. Brickman: Jay R. Brickman is a writer, teacher, psychotherapist and rabbi emeritus of Congregation Sinai in Milwaukee, a congregation he helped to establish in 1955. He has taught courses in biblical Hebrew at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Marquette University, and has led seminars on religion at the Clearing and Bjorklunden adult education institutes in Door County, WI. He teaches cl~ses on Jungian psychology and dream interpretation for University of Wisconsin Outreach. He received the Frank Zeidler Award from the Milwaukee Interfaith Conference and speaks requently at churches in Milwaukee and Door County. He is author of two books of brief, humorous religious essays: "Reflections in a Pumpkin Field" and "Reflections on a Lily Pond." /

I Sarah Blacher Cohen: A teacher, playwright, editor and author, Sara Blacher Cohen has served as a professor of English at the University of Albany, State University of New York, for 30 years. She has written numerous plays on Jewish themes, including the Yiddish comedy "Schlemiel the First" in collaboration with Isaac Bashevis Singer, "The Ladies' Locker Room," "Saul Bellow's Stories on Stage" and "Molly Picon's Return Engagement," a musical. She cowrote "Sophie, Totie & Belle," "Soul Sisters," "Henrietta Szold: Woman of Valor" and "Danny Kaye: Supreme Court Jester," with Joanne Roth. Cohen has authored the books "Saul Bellow's Enigmatic Laughter" and "Cynthia Ozicks's Comic Art: From Levity to Liturgy." Cohen is writing her memoir, "Junk Dealer's Daughter," about her Yiddish-speaking immi grant parents who settled in Appleton, WI.

Penny Deshur: Penny Deshur is president of the Wisconsin Jewish Genealogical Society, an organization she founded in 1990. She is the author of "Mother's Family," a 593-page book spanning seven generations of the Fondiller, Gennis, Glazer and Svirsky families, and of "Grossman Family," the story of her husband's family. She has taught courses in Jewish genealogy at synagogues and Elderhostels and has lectured on the subject to numerous organizations. She has participated in several conferences of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies.

Dr. Hasia (Schwartzman) Diner: A Milwaukee native, Hasia Diner is the Paul and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History at New York University, with a joint appointment in the Department of History and the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies. She held a Fulbright Professorship at the University of Haifa from 1990-91. A specialist in immigration and ethnic history, American Jewish history and the history of American women, she is the author of "In the Almost Promised Land: American Jews and Blacks, 1915-1935," "Erin's Daughters in America: Irish Immigrant Women in the Nineteenth Century," "A Time for Gathering: The Second Migration, 1820-1880," "Lower East Side Memories: The Jewish Place in America" and "Hungering for America: Italian, Irish, and American Jewish Foodways in the Age of Migration."

Morrie Feller: Secretary of the International Association of Yiddish Clubs, Morrie Feller leads the Phoenix Leyenkrayz, for which he provides reading materials, many of them gleaned from the Internet. He has been involved in the Onkelos project, which has trans ferred classic Yiddish stories to the Internet, and has taught Yiddish for the Phoenix Bureau of Jewish Education in the high school and adults studies programs.

Dr. Bruce Fetter: A professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Bruce Fetter researches historical demography and health care in world history, and is keenly interested in his own Jewish heritage in Kentucky. His recent published works include "Scars from a Childhood Disease: Measles in the Concentration Camps during the Boer War" in "Social Science History 20"; and "Competing Determinisms and the Demography of Twentieth Century Africa," in "Paths toward the Past: African Historical Essays in Honor of Jan Vansina." Troim Katz Handler: The author and poet will launch her new poetry book, "Simkhe," at this International Association of Yiddish Clubs Conference. The book is the first to be published by the IAYC. She has co-written two books with Prof. Kazuo Ueda that have been published in Japan: "Tri-lingual Guide to Japan" and "Dialogs for Students of Yiddish in Japan." The West Palm Beach, FL, resident taught at the summer Yiddish programs at Oxford University in 1988-89 and lectures widely on subjects related to Yiddish

Jody Hirsh: Director of Judaic education at Milwaukee's Harry and Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center, Jody Hirsh previously served three years as programme direc tor of the Hong Kong Jewish Community Centre. He has taught Jewish studies at the University of California, Mills College, the University of San Francisco, the University of Judaism and Hebrew Union College. In addition to being the world's leading practicioner of "Judeao Cantonese," he wrote the OBIE Award-winning play "Seeing Double"; "The Great King Herod Murder Mystery," Israel's longest-running play; and "The Long Seder."

Prof. Samuel Kossow: A professor of history at Trinity College, Samuel Kassow is author of numerous articles and scholarly talks in English, Russian and Yiddish. He has held National Endowment for the Humanities, Fulbright, Woodrow Wilson and Danforth fellowships and has been an IREX Fellow at Warsaw, Moscow and Leningrad universities. Kassow was a Lady Davis Visiting Professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is author of "Student Professors and the State in Tsarist Russia" and co-editor of "Between Tsar and People." He is working on a book about Emanuel Ringelblum and the under ground archives of the Warsaw Ghetto. A child of Holocaust survivors, Kassow was born in a Displaced Persons camp in Germany.

Dr. Chava Lapin: A Yiddish scholar and teacher, Dr. Chava Lapin is adjunct associate professor of Yiddish at Queens College, New York City, and a frequent guest lecturer at Jewish and Yiddish conferences, seminars and festivals. She also participates in lecture series on East European and contemporary Jewish life. She has taught Yiddish at leading New York-area universities as well as in Oxford, England, and Moscow. She is national director emerita and consultant for the Center for Cultural Jewish Life of the Workmen's Circle/Arbeter Ring, and serves as editor-in-chief of Di Tsukunft, a literary Yiddish journal.

Marcia Gruss Levinsohn: Marcia Gruss Levinsohn is founder/director of the Jewish Educational Workshop, which offers a Yiddish Family Fun group program, and produces and publishes Yiddish children's books. The Silver Spring, MD, resident is chair of the Yiddish Network of the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education. She has pre sented programs for CAJE, the IAYC, the Mameloshn conference, the Jewish Librarians Association, B'nai B'rith and ethnic festivals. She is the author of two Yiddish children's books. Dr. Richard C. Lux: A professor of scripture studies at Sacred Heart School of Theology near Milwaukee, Dr. Richard Lux teaches Hebrew scriptures and Pauline literature. For the past 25 years, he has been involved in Catholoic-Jewish relations on the local, national and international levels. He has served as an advisor to the Secretariat for Catholic-Jewish Relations of the National Catholic Bishops Conference. He is a vice president of the National Christian Leadership Conference for Israel. He has visited Israel often to lead study-tours and for personal study.

Prof. Jeffry V. Mallow: Jeffry V. Mallow is national president of the Labor Zionist Alliance and honory chair of the Chicago Society for the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. He serves on the board of directors of the Forward Association, publisher of the English, Yiddish and Russian Forward newspapers. Mallow is professor and chairperson of the Physics Department of Loyola University, Chicago.

Paul Mel rood: Chairman of the 2002 IAYC conference, Paul Melrood grew up speaking Yiddish. His father was a Milwaukee Yiddish teacher from 1921, when the family arrived from the Ukraine, until 1971. Melrood graduated from Milwaukee's Yiddishe Folk Shule and its Mitl Shule in 1933. He produced a U.S. Army Air corps weekly radio show in • Alabama in 1941. He presented Yiddish readings on Milwaukee's Sunday morning "Forward" Yiddish hour in the 1930s and '40s. Melrood has belonged to Milwaukee's Perhift Yiddish Players since 1946 and wrote four musical comedy satires for the Jewish Community Center Beaux Art Shows in the 1960s and '70s. He has been active in local Jewish and civic organizations since 1946.

Sima Miller: Sima Miller is a consummate interpreter of Yiddish, Israeli, Ladino, Russian and American theater music. The Israeli-born, Chicago-based songstress has appeared in concert throughout the United States and Israel - many of those performances with her late husband, pianist/composer/conductor Arnold Miller. The couple was honored by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Chicago Cultural Center, the Harold Washington Public Library and the Chicago YIVO Society. The couple's five-volume cassette series, "Heritage: The Art of the Yiddish Folk Song," has received critical acclaim from lovers of Yiddish music.

Sarah Traister Moscovitz: With poems published in Pakn Treger, Pen, Kheshbon, Bridges and the Jewish Women's Literary Annual, Dr. Sarah Traister Moscovitz has released a new book of Yiddish poetry, "Kum Tzum Tish (Come to the Table.)" She began writing poetry in 1994 and has been awarded the Anna Rosenberg Prize and a prize from the National Association of Social Workers for her poetry. Moscovitz is a practicing psy chotherapist specializing in work with Holocaust survivors and their families. Dr. Eugene Orenstein: In his 30th year as a faculty member in the Department of Jewish Studies at McGill University in Toronto, Dr. Eugene Orenstein is an associate pro fessor. He specializes in modem Jewish social and intellectual history, with emphasis on the Jewish labor and socialist movement in Eastern Europe and North America, and the development of modern Yiddish culture. He has published articles in academic and popular journals, including the chapter on Canadian Yiddish culture in "The Canadian Jewish Mosaic." He has contributed numerous bio-bibliographical studies to "The Biographical Dictionary of Modern Yiddish Literature" and "The Encyclopedia of World Literature in the Twentieth Century." Orenstein has served as a guest professor or guest lecturer at Yiddish programs held by Columbia University, Oxford University and University College of London. Last summer, he was a faculty member of the Second International Research Seminar in Yiddish Studies.

Hilda Rubin: Fourteen years ago, Hilda Rubin co-founded Di Shpilers, the only Yiddish performing troupe in the greater Washington area. Today she serves as its artistic director, producer, adapter, writer, actress and chief flesh[ vasher (bottle washer). She is a board member and vice president of Yiddish of Greater Washington and has been chair of Cafe Kasrilevke, its monthly Yiddish cultural program. She leads a Yiddish coversation group at the Jewish Community Center of Rockville, MD, and has taught Yiddish at synagogues and religious schools.

Prof. Irv Saposnik: The native of Brooklyn, NY, introduced a course in Jewish American literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he was a faculty mem ber in the English Department. After living in Israel for 10 years and chairing the English Department at the University of Haifa, Prof. Irv Saposnik returned to Madison in 1983 as director of the Hillel Foundation, a job he held for 16 years. Since retiring from Hillel, he has taught about Yiddish literature and Jewish American culture in the Center for Jewish Studies at UW-Madison.

Dr. Nathaniel Stampfer: For the past 35 years, Dr. Nathaniel Stampfer has taught Bible commentaries, Talmud texts, Jewish practices and Yiddish language and literature. He is a professor and dean emeritus at the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies in Chicago. Born in Israel, he grew up in the Midwest, including some early years in Milwaukee. He is co author of two books with Rabbi Jack Riemer: "Ethical Wills: A Modern Jewish Treasury" and "So That Your Values Live On: Ethical Wills and How to Prepare Them."

Prof. Max D. Ticktin: Associate chair of the Judaic Studies Program at George Washington University in Washington, DC, Max D. Ticktin is an assitant professor of Hebrew language and literature. His courses include Hebrew language, contemporary Israeli literature, history of modern Hebrew literature, modern Jewish literature and Yiddish language. He is a member of the National Association of Professors of Yiddish .. and formerly served on the Publication Committee of the Jewish Publication Society of America. His nearly 60-year career in academia includes serving as director of the Hillel Foundation at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1948-64. Dr. Leon Yudkin: A prolific writer and distinguished scholar, Dr. Leon Yudkin teaches in the Modern Hebrew Language and Literature Programme at the University of London. Since 1986, he has directed the international workshop in the Teaching of Hebrew Literature in Translation at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He edits the monograph series "Jews in Modern Culture" for Symposium Press of London. Yudkin has lectured around the world, most recently as a keynote speaker for the Symposium on Modern Jewish Writing in Perth, Australia. The most recent of the eight academic books he has written is "Public Crisis and Literary Response: Modem Jewish Living."

Melvin S. Zaret: During and subsequent to a 30-year career as executive vice president of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, Melvin S. Zaret served as a consultant and advisor to the European Council of Jewish Communities, the Jewish community of Brazil, the Jewish community of Belgium and local Jewish communities in the United States and Canada. He also has served as a consultant to the Jewish Agency for Israel, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and the former Council of Jewish Federations. Zaret has provided training and counsel to executives of Jewish com munities throughout the world and to Israel Defense Forces officers. In loving memory of Ben and Sarah Katz Michel and Chana Katz Max and Anna Hoff1nan

All Yiddish speakers who provided the foundations of my Yiddish.

Milt Katz Milwaukee Thanks to Paul Melrood for his: • Yiddish. • Humor. • Father, who was my Zehrer. • Mother, who was the lehrer's assistant.

Milt Katz Milwaukee In honor of our loving father Paul Melrood and in honor and loving memory of our beloved grandparents Mordecai Melrood, Sonia Becker Melrood, Yaakov Kastrul and Baila Lichter Kastrul and our beloved mother Gitel Kastrul Melrood who taught us Yiddish at home in Milwaukee, WI, throughout the.1950s.

Laurie, Elise and Armin Melrood In honor and loving memory of our parents Franka and Wowek Neufeld who taught us Yiddish at home in Milwaukee, WI, all of our lives. We fondly recall a house full of our parents' friends, all Holocaust survivors, laughing, arguing, playing cards, speaking in Yiddish. How wonde,jul were those days and how we miss them!

Sandy Hoffman, Steve Neufeld and Leo Neufeld Milwaukee In honor of our mother Rose Chrustowski and in honor and loving memory of our father Arthur Chrustowski who taught us Yiddish during our childhood.

Betty Chrostowski, Jeanette Peckerman and Judy Chrustowski-GarCmkel Milwaukee In fond memory of one of the first people to have the vision to become involved in our Midwest IAYC Conference:

Danny Greenberg z"l

2002 IAYC Conference Committee

We will be eternally grateful to our parents and our Yiddish teachers Mordecai and Sonia Melrood for teaching us Yiddish and mentshlikhkeyt.

Paul Melrood and Eugene Melrood In honor of my parents Milton Katz and Jean Katz who taught me Yiddish at home in Milwaukee, WI, through the course of my lifetime.

Moshe Katz Milwaukee

In honor and loving memory of Joseph and Rose Malkin, my parents, who taught me Yiddish at home in Marinette, WI, and Rochel Mark, who taught me Yiddish as an adult. My fondest memory about speaking Yiddish is communicating with elderly immigrants from Russia.

Mae "Malka" Marks Willenson Milwaukee In honor of and In honor and loving memory of with deep respect for Mordecai Melrood Paul Melrood. and Solomon Shapiro With fond recollections of who taught me Yiddish Weingrods, Tuchmans, at the Yiddishe Folk Shule in Arthur Spiegel & friends Milwaukee when I was a girl. Yiddishists unforgettable, passionate community builders.

Dorothy Weingrod Eva and Mel Zaret Milwaukee Milwaukee

In honor of Paul Melrood whose deep passion for Yiddish and unparalleled enthusiasm inspired us and the entire Conference Organizing Committee.

Dana Mueller Andrew Muchin In honor of my parents Milton Katz and Jean Katz who taught me Yiddish at home in Milwaukee, WI, through the course of my lifetime.

Moshe Katz Milwaukee

Mae "Malka" Marks Willenson Milwaukee In honor and loving memory of In honor and loving memory of my grandfather Chaver Mordecai Melrood David Kaplan who taught me Yiddish who taught me Yiddish at the Yiddishe Folk Shule, at home in South Haven, MI. 1804 N. 11th St., Milwaukee. I fondly remember Camp Kinderland, Workmen's Circle Colony, my grandfather, Larry "Lazy" Orenstein Milwaukee family memories and other people long gone.

Julia Rubin Chicago

In honor and loving memory In honor of of my parents, Dr. Nathaniel Stampfer Gitel and Chaim Friedman who taught me Yiddish who taught me Yiddish at home at Spertus College of Judaica in Chicago when I was a girl, in Chicago and gave me and of Mr. Shapiro who a reconnection taught me at the to my grandfather. Y. L. Peretz Folk Shule in Chicago. I fondly recall making lifelong Julia Rubin friends as I learned Chicago my ancestral language. Chai Tuchman Milwaukee In honor and loving memory In honor of my new book of my parents, Chaim and 'Simkhe' Bessie Pomerantz and Prof. Itche Goldberg who taught me Yiddish at home who taught me Yiddish when in Chicago, and of I was secretary to him for Benjamin Graubard and five years after high school. many others, who taught me at My fondest memory is talcing the Farband Shule and dictation from Yiddish writers Workmen's Circle Shul in and transcribing my Chicago from 1935-39 and Yiddish shorthand on the Sholem Aleichem Mitlshul a Yiddish typewriter. in New York. Chaikey Greenberg Troim Katz Handler Chicago West Palm Beach, FL

In honor and loving memory of my parents, In honor and loving memory Yitzak and Bashe of my wife Tuchman actress Dina Halpern who taught me Yiddish at home, who taught me Yiddish and of Mordechai Melrood at home in Chicago and Solomon Shapiro from 1948-88. who taught me Yiddish at the Yiddishe Folk Shule in Milwaukee. Danny Newman Herman Tuchman Lincolnwood, IL Milwaukee In honor of In honor and loving memory of Es" ~ r Wallerstein Grant Jack Rosenthal, a ·1d in nonor and loving memo my father, who taught me -·,. ·~a ·h Rabinovitch z"l Yiddish at home in Chicago, vho taught me at the and Avrum Gurwitz and ~ . :.i · L.tced Course Vilnius Sarah Lazarus, who taught P; , , ~,1 --- r.1 in Yiddish Language me at the Arbeter Ring of and Literature Rogers Park, IL, from 1955-60. 1n su mmer, 1998. I fondly recall listening to the stories of Sholem Aleichem and idrl ish has always been singing Yiddish songs with o. , u ! f.eg ral part of my life. Sarah Lazarus in the shule. Helen (Rosenthal) Boris td ~ 'I' :at Dashkin Beckerman Glencoe, IL

n honor and 1 ·n.g memory of our A Shaynem Dank to nothers, fathers, Paul Melrood s, zaydes and lehrers for loving Yiddish and . • 10 taught us Yiddish for all of his efforts al 1 me and in school. toward making '! 1 an . to them we have been this conference abl t converse in countries a success! all over the world.

· dish Chavurah of Diney, Chai and Dorothy g:regation Beth Israel Milwaukee Milwaukee: A 'Golda Medina'

The board of Milwaukee's Yiddisch Folk Shule, gathered for a Isador Tuchman (fourth from right), school director and father of picnic in 1916, included Goldie Mabovitz (right), who would two members of the Coordinating Committee for this IAYC become better known as Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, and Conference: Dr. Herman Tuchman and Dorothy Weingrod. 1.a.v.e. mame hoshn and The Shoah ffilhWBUKEE Hpri.112-15, 2002

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF YlDDIS H CLU 65