Yiddish Word of the Day - "Dreaming"

In 2020 the Forverts launched a daily series of short informal video clips called Yiddish Word of the Day.The series, written and narrated by Forverts editor Rukhl Schaechter, aims to give non-Yiddish speakers an introduction to familiar Yiddish words and phrases and how they might be used in everyday situations. 

Schaechter, who was appointed the new editor of the Forverts in 2016, is the first woman to helm the paper in its 119-year history, its first editor to have been born in the United States, and likely its first editor who is shomeret Shabbat.

We posted the first of this series in May 2020. Now that the Forverts is continuing the series, we'll continue sharing some of the words and phrases as a regular feature of Jewish Humor Central.

Today we get to learn the Yiddish word for dreaming and some of the words and expressions associated with dreams.

Enjoy!

Yiddish Phrase of the Day - "Oy a Broch!"

Rabbi Gavriel Bellino is a frequent guest on comedian Modi Rosenfeld's blog, "And Here's Modi." The blog is an inside look at the man behind the microphone. Hosted by Modi, And Here's Modi features a raw and unfiltered side of the comedian rarely seen on stage. 

A native of Lower Manhattan, Rabbi Bellino grew up attending the Young Israel of Fifth Avenue, and after graduating from Ramaz, studied at Yeshivat Shalavim outside of Yerushalayim before getting his degree in Psychology, Philosophy and Women’s Studies from Brandeis University. He pursued his smicha at RIETS before returning to his childhood community in 2006 to lead the Sixteenth Street Synagogue (formerly the Young Israel of Fifth Avenue).

In a recent episode he traced the origin and usage of the Yiddish term Oy, a Broch.

Enjoy!

Humor in Yiddish Phrases - "A Groiseh Knocker"

In our search for new faces and new sources of Jewish humor, we came across a series of posts by a ventriloquist who goes by the name of Dr. Allan and has a dummy named Chaim.

Here's a post with Chaim explaining the meaning of the Yiddish phrase "A Groiseh Knocker."

Actually we remember the phrase as "A Gantseh Knocker" but let's accept both in the spirit of variations in Yiddish dialects.

Enjoy!

Humor in Yiddish Phrases - A New Series - "A Goyishe Name from Ellis Island"

In our search for new faces and new sources of Jewish humor, we came across a series of posts by a ventriloquist who goes by the name of Dr. Allan and has a dummy named Chaim.

Here's a post with Chaim telling a classic story of how an immigrant arriving at Ellis Island managed to end up with a very non-Jewish name.

Enjoy!