Zayt Bagrist! (Welcome to Yiddish)
Open up the world of Yiddish language, culture, and history this fall!
Program Description
Start your Yiddish language learning journey at the Peretz Centre with Beginners' Yiddish Language Classes (Fall 2025). In this introductory class, we will dive into the language and culture of Eastern European Jews, and explore the fascinating world of Yiddishkayt. Using a communicative and task-based approach, we will practice basic conversational skills, learn important verbs and adjectives to describe our daily life, and learn to read and write in Yiddish! During our classes we will also learn Yiddish folks songs and get exposed to Yiddish film, art and, culture. Familiarity with Yiddish/Hebrew alphabet is required to participate in this class. (Students should be able to recognize and sound out the letters.) ***Schedule & Fees*** This course includes 7 in-person classes on Thursdays (7-8:30pm) from November 6th to December 18th. The standard fee for Beginners' Yiddish is $180 (or $26 per class), with payment plans available to address financial access barriers. To set up a payment plan, select the "payment plan deposit" ($26) option during registration and Peretz staff will reach out to finalize the details. Plans can be monthly ($90 x 2) or weekly ($26 x 7). ***Instructor Bio*** Itamar Manoff (he/him) is co-executive director of the Peretz Centre. Itamar holds a PhD from the Department of Educational Studies at the University of British Columbia, where he conducted research focused on language education. Itamar has over 15 years of experience in language teaching for adults, including Hebrew, English and Yiddish, and is currently a Yiddish Pedagogy Practicum Fellow at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, MA. In his teaching, Itamar focuses on conversational, communicative and theme-based approaches to the teaching of Yiddish language and culture, all the while emphasizing the importance of grammar and vocabulary acquisition. *Image: Illustration by Issac Lichtenstein in Herman Gold's children's book אין וואלד (1918), US Library of Congress, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.amed/amedscd.54048485
9 spots left
Program Schedule
Registration Policies
ENROLLMENT: Classes in the Kirman Library are limited to 10 students. A minimum enrollment of 6 students is required. If that minimum is not reached, the Peretz Centre reserves the right to reduce the length of the program or cancel the class. Every attempt will be made to notify you before your first class. SCHEDULING CHANGES: We reserve the right to move classes online, postpone them, or make other necessary adjustments to ensure the health and safety of staff and participants. We make every effort to notify students (via email) of any course changes at the earliest opportunity and consult with students about scheduling changes. REGISTRATION & PAYMENT: Registration fees cover the costs of the course, including learning materials and instructor compensation. Full payment is required before the first day of class. Enrollment is on a first-come, first-served basis (returning students may be granted early access to course registration). HEALTH & SAFETY: To mitigate the spread of communicable diseases and support the needs of immuno-compromised students and staff, please stay home if you don't feel well. We will make our best effort to provide online participation options when possible/given sufficient notice, and/or make-up materials. WITHDRAWAL: Refund requests must be submitted to admin@peretz-centre.org at least 7 days prior to the course start date. This amount can be refunded back to your original payment method or kept on file as future credit (with no expiry date). Course withdrawals within the first week will recieve a prorated refund with the consent of the instructor. A $25 cancellation fee will be applied to all cancellations involving refunds.
Contact Details
Peretz Centre, 6184 Ash St., Vancouver
6184 Ash Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada
dbecker@peretz-centre.org