Honor Wall
In honor or memory of your loved one, or friends, or your Yiddish heritage.
Sonia Zyl
In memory of my father
Perec Zylberberg
who was a Bundist and a strong believer in Yiddish language and culture his whole life. He would have been so happy to see so many people, especially young people, participating in Yidishkayt.
מײַן טאַטע, פּרץ זילבערבערג, איז געווען אַ בונדיסט און אַ שטאַרקער גלויביקער אין ייִדישער שפּראַך און קולטור זיין גאַנץ לעבן. ער וואלט געווען אזוי צופרידן צו זען אַזוי פֿיל מענטשן, ספּעציעל יונגע מענטשן, באַטייליקן זיך היינט אין יידישקייט
October 2021
Susan Katz
In memory of my Great-Grandpa
Ruben Smith
who was born in 1873 in Russia/Lithuania, and became “Smith'”in 1890 upon arrival in the USA–he was a blacksmith. I first met him and Great-Grandma Sarah in their Los Angeles home when I was 11. He took us all to his blacksmith shop, an L.A. anachronism, complete with pin-up girl calendars, hearth, and bellows. At 92 he still made custom tools for the City, and was a front page feature in the L.A. Times. He proudly told me he never shoed horses, and gave me a set of knives, which I still cherish, along with his memory.
September 2021
Dorrit Geshuri
In honor of
Judy Kunofsky
and all the time and energy she has put into promoting Yiddish culture.
September 2021
Sheila Resseger
In loving memory of my grandfather
David Berman
who was born in 1884 in a shtetl in Poland. He had a horse and wagon and would deliver groceries from Warsaw to the shtetl. He happened to drop his cap in a market square and so was arrested as a spy. Then he was sent to prison in Siberia. There, he was in jail for eighteen months and then miraculously released. He persevered through much hardship to make it back to his family in the shtetl, and finally came to America, sending for his family two years later.
September 2021
Ellen Deacon
In tribute and honor to
Rabbi Levi A. Olan
of Temple Emanu-El in Dallas Texas (1948-1970) who offered a sane and enlightening voice to the mind of a little gentile girl who listened to his weekly radio messages all through the 1950’s, and learned, and was thus opened up to the beauty, sense and groundedness of Jewish perspectives and practices. May his memory be for a blessing.
July 2021
Esther Erman
In Loving Memory of my Parents
Gucia & Mulek Gerstenfeld
Holocaust survivors from Poland, each was the sole survivor of their family – most relatives perishing in Treblinka or Auschwitz. My parents met and married in a displaced persons’ camp in Germany and gave me birth in Stuttgart. In our tenement apartment on the Lower Eastside, my parents taught me my first language, Yiddish. Polish was always the language of secrets. Once I started kindergarten in the Bronx, I abandoned speaking Yiddish for English. My parents always spoke Yiddish to me. They’d be thrilled to know I’m reconnecting.
June 2021
Philip “Fishl” Kutner
In Memory of
Pearl “Perele” Kutner
Mom is my hero. She was born and raised in Tiktin (Tikocyn), Poland. After WWI she came to America and married Max who was a WWI veteran. Mama spoke Yiddish to her four boys and was fluent in six languages with English being her poorest one. On our farm she did all the cooking and cleaning besides helping with our chores. She was a pillar of strength.
June 2021
Elaine Elinson
For My Mother
May Gomberg Elinson
Remembered for her warmth, kindness and generous spirit. With her favorite expression “Esn, fresn, gezesn,” she welcomed family and friends from far-flung places to share our table and enjoy her kneydlekh, stuffed cabbage, and mandlbrot.
May 2021
Jo Falcon
In memory of
Mary Helen Kearney
Whatever Yidishkayt I can lay claim to came not from my father, who resented being Jewish, but from my mother, an Irish ex-Catholic. She felt my siblings and I deserved to know our heritage on both sides, so we had a Hanukah bush every Christmas, visits with a less-conflicted uncle (who introduced me to Yiddish language), and the glories of Posen’s Kosher Deli. Both parents had rejected their upbringing, but she’s the one who raised us to explore, and – in the mission of my last job, at the Exploratorium – to “ask questions, and question answers.” Thank you Mary Helen Kearney!
April 2021
Pinny Switzer
Remembering chaver
Avrom Lapin
My teacher at the Peretz Shul in Winnipeg 1948-1951, who tirelessly gave everything of himself to the school and its students.
March 2021
Diana Scott & Joel Schechter
In Memory of
Jean Pauline
Workers Circle/Arbeter Ring of Northern California honors the memory of our beloved friend, social justice activist Jean Pauline (9/24/1921 – 11/23/2016), in her centennial birth year. Warm, strong-willed, and independent, she’s remembered as “an important friend and role model for dozens of younger activists in the Bay Area and beyond.” Jean stood with Women in Black, worked at Modern Times, and volunteered at SFSU’s Labor Archive and Research Center and the anarchist bookstore, Bound Together. With partner-soulmate Tom Brown (d. 10/24/2014), she sang Yiddish songs for many years with the Jewish Folk Chorus of San Francisco. Rest in power, Jean!
March 2021
Abby Marcus
In Memory of
Sam & Sophie Levinson
It never occurred to me that my Grandpa Levinson spoke a language other than English. I remember him sitting on the sofa reading an American newspaper and watching baseball on TV. Though he came from Russia, I never heard him speak one syllable of Russian. I think he was delighted to be in America. I don’t even know if he or Grandma spoke Yiddish. Still, they gave me a strong sense of my Jewish identity. I’ll always be grateful to them for that, and for their love and kindness.
March 2021
Vina Cera
In Memory of My Mother
Bella (Bluma) Lifchus, née Shatkin
She came from a small shtetl outside of Odessa, settled in Winnipeg, Canada, and in our home, we spoke mostly Yiddish, some English, and a smattering of Ukrainian. California became home after marriage, but Baba visited yearly, and our children grew up in anticipation of the regular ‘parcels’ she sent, filled with all kinds of ‘geshmake’ goodies: “kmish bread,” poppyseed cookies, homentashn, beygelekh… She’s been gone many years now, but I still so long for those moments, when a Yiddish expression would capture that magic moment of perfect communication and understanding.
February 2021
Martin & Rena Bobrowsky
With Thanks to
KlezCalifornia
for organizing the Flisik Salon for Yiddish conversation which we have enjoyed for many years
February 2021
Robin Braverman
In Memory of
Pauline & Andrew (Bundy) Lang
My maternal grandparents
February 2021
Joseph Sacks
In Honor of
the tremendous presence and work of
Cantor Sharon Bernstein
February 2021
Meryl Rappaport
In Honor of
Talia Shaham
Honoring the warmth and humanity of my dear friend, Talia. Her time and energy supporting KlezCalifornia and klezmer music over the years makes her a friend to us all. L’Chaim!
February 2021
Joan Rudd
In Memory of
Peysakh Fiszman z’’l
Peysakh Fiszman was an extraordinary teacher of Yiddish, as well as a fine person. An Argentinian transplanted to NYC, I studied with him in programs in NY, in Oxford, and in Seattle. He bestowed my Yiddish name on me and assured me that “You murder the language, but you make yourself understood!”
February 2021
Deborah Kohn
I was born and raised in Cleveland, where I developed a love of the Yiddish language. My parents also were born and raised in Cleveland, but they didn’t learn English until they attended public school’s kindergarten. While Yiddish was spoken in my home, it only was spoken amongst my parents, their parents, and their siblings. On the other hand, until at least the 4th or 5th grade, I never knew the word ‘refrigerator,’ only ‘frigidaire.’
January 2021
Alice Webber
Recognizing the incomparable
Michael Wex
… and the tireless
Judy Kunofsky
January 2021
Carolann Biederman
In Honor of
Laura Sheppard
January 2021
Dmitry Budker
In Honor of
the millions of victims
of communist terror in Russia and elsewhere. Let us not forget!
January 2021
Anita & Steven Feinstein
In Honor of
Judy Kunofsky
Judy, thank you for all you do to bring Yiddishkayt to the world.
January 2021
Jeffrey Hoffen
Our deepest condolences over the passing of
Reuben Rosloff
May your many memories be for a blessing.
Love, Cheryl, Jeff, Jeremy, Jessica
January 2021
Howard Freedman
In memory of
David Schneer
who remains a shining light.
January 2021
Carol Dorf
In memory of
Elsie Pinkowitz
who was very proud of her English Elocution,
but knew more Yiddish than she let on.
December 2020
Preeva Tramiel
In memory of
Charlotte Kaufman Adler
December 2020
Deborah Pines
I am grateful
that you are presenting interesting events,
while we are stuck in our homes.
December 2020
Rabbi Stuart Kelman
In honor of
Judy Kunofsky
October 2020
Sue Frank
In honor of
Rabbi Yechiael Lander
friend, rabbi and my first teacher of Yiddish
October 2020
Ed Anisman & Claire Sherman
In honor of
Judy Kunofsky & the rest of the board
all a source of inspiration!
October 2020
Judy Kunofsky
In honor of
Tony Phillips
October 2020
Gail Rubman
In memory of
Louise Reiter
A good friend to so many. Sing out Louise!
September 2020
Elaine Elinson
In memory of my dad
Jack Elinson
who loved the Yiddish language and singing “The Internationale” in Yiddish — the version he learned at Camp KinderVelt.
September 2020
Karen K. Bergen
In memory of
Monroe & Mort Postrell
Brothers who spoke and loved Yiddish, and sang with the Yiddish Choristers for many years. May their memories be a blessing.
September 2020
Rosalyn Becker
In honor of
Judy Kunofsky
September 2020
Jerryl Lynn Rubin
In honor of the first ever
Humboldt Yiddish Music Festival
February 22-23, 2020
September 2020
Deborah Pines
In loving memory of
Doris W. Cohen
My mother, whom I miss every day. She loved that I was learning Yiddish, and always joked that I was the first person in the family to speak it
August 2020
Renee Enteen
In memory of
Larry Enteen
My father, who worked for justice and gave respect to ALL.
August 2020
Abby Marcus
In loving memory of
Scheindel & Josef Markusfeld
I hope to meet them in Heaven, so that I can thank them for coming to America.
August 2020
Dmitry Budker
In memory of
The Musicians
who perished in the Lenin/Stalin GULAG.
July 2020
Harvey Gotliffe
In honor of
Arona Basha Gotliffe
for all she is doing every day to make this world a better place.
July 2020
Nora Guthrie
In loving memory of
My sister Bobby Burley, my niece Linda Baker, and my aunt Pat Becketti.
July 2020