Sholem-aleykhem! Welcome to Yiddish 3!

Learning Yiddish is an opportunity to connect with this rich Eastern European Jewish language and culture with its beautiful music and literature. This is a treasure trove that is just waiting to be discovered!

This Yiddish course is designed for participants, who are at an Advanced Beginners or Lower Intermediate level of Yiddish, having studied Yiddish for at least two semesters. (See more information below under “Prior knowledge”.) 

We will start each lesson with some Yiddish conversation, which we will build up more and more as we go along. Then we will revise some of the grammar and vocabulary learned in the previous lesson. After that, we will work with our Yiddish textbook, read the reading material, the dialogues and the jokes there, learn new vocabulary and grammar and do some of the exercises in the book. And we will conclude every lesson with a Yiddish song.

The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden and Jiddischsällskapet i Stockholm.

Paideia folkhögskola also offers the online courses Avrom Sutskever – Yiddish Poetry, Yiddish 7 and Yiddish conversation (in Yiddish/Swedish) during the spring semester of 2026. Please see more information under each course’s webpage.

Course structure

This will be an interactive online Yiddish course, which will include Yiddish conversation, working with a Yiddish textbook, reading, learning new grammar and vocabulary and doing various exercises, as well as some Yiddish songs. 

Participants will be expected to spend some time every week to work on their reading and writing, to learn the vocabulary and to revise the grammar covered in each class.

Prior knowledge

The course is given in English.

This is a course designed for participants at an Advanced Beginners or Lower Intermediate level of Yiddish. Participants should be able to form sentences in the present and past tense and to read texts in Yiddish in the Hebrew script.

To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.

Course literature

All course literature is not included in the course cost. You need to acquire the following books on your own: 

• “Yiddish, Volume 1″ (Sheva Zucker).  
• “Yiddish, Volume 2″ (Sheva Zucker).  

You will receive more information about the course books that you purchase on your own, if you get accepted to the course.

About the teacher

Dr. Beruriah Wiegand is the Woolf Corob Lector in Yiddish at the University of Oxford. She holds a BA and MA in Hebrew and Jewish Studies from Leo Baeck College, London, and a Ph.D. from University College London, with a thesis on Jewish mystical motifs in the works of Isaac Bashevis Singer. She has lectured on Bashevis’s works and on Yiddish poetry at major conferences around the world.

Beruriah is also a Yiddish poet and translator, who has published two bilingual collections of her poetry (Yiddish/English) with the H.Leyvik-farlag in Tel Aviv, as well as various translations from and into Yiddish.

Photo: The image is of a painting by Jean Hessel.

This page is not available in English as this course is given in Swedish.
For information about the course, we refer to the Swedish course page. 

Photo: Paideia/Canva.

HUMOUR AND IRONY IN 20TH AND 21ST CENTURY JEWISH NARRATIVES (ONLINE)

This course samples from narratives by Jewish authors employing humor and irony in their representation of various Jewish identities through the 20th and 21st centuries. After a short introduction on basic theories of irony and humor, participants will read stories and watch films addressing essential issues of Jewish life in the period. All texts will be in English, either originally, or in translation.

Discussions will explore themes frequently represented with humor and irony as well as the diverse rhetorical devices with which the authors achieve such effects. Participants completing this course will have an overview of the relevant theories and they will be able to identify and analyze in depth humor and irony in numerous media and on multiple levels.

The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.

Course structure 

The teaching methods used include lectures, discussions, and group assignments.

Participants are expected to spend a couple of hours a week on reading and half a day preparing for the final presentation.

Prior knowledge

The course is given in English.

No prior knowledge about the subject is needed.

To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.

Course material

Extra costs for literature, that you purchase yourself, may be applicable for this course. You will receive more information in your admission letter, if you’re accepted to the course.

About the teacher

Katalin Szlukovényi is a senior lecturer at the Department of English Studies, Eötvös Loránd University,  Budapest, Hungary. She was a Bruno Schulz Fellow at Paideia (2015-2016). The Hungarian book version of her PhD dissertation in English (Irony, Self-irony, and Humor in 20th Century Jewish American Literature) was published in 2018. Apart from her academic career, she also works as an award-winning poet, literary translator, and editor.

Photo: Canva. 

BECOMING MODERN, STAYING JEWISH: CITIZENSHIP AND IDENTITY SINCE THE ENLIGHTENMENT (ONLINE)

Spanning Western Europe to Israel via the Middle East and North Africa, this course will explore modern Jewish history through the lens of rights, citizenship, and belonging. Based on in-depth analysis of, and conversations about, primary sources—textual and visual—we will discuss the multiple visions that individual Jews have articulated about the relationship between individual and collective rights over the past three centuries. 

We will explore how the various and often conflicting expressions of Jewish belonging were not confined to a single region but were transnational in scope, particularly as Jewish communities grew increasingly interconnected in the 19th century. This was facilitated by European colonial expansion, the growing power of print media, and increased cross-border mobility.

Understanding how Jewish rights and citizenship have been shaped, granted, denied, and contested across time and space raises broader questions that resonate far beyond the Jewish case. In an era marked by global migration and rising ethno-nationalism, questions of how to manage diversity, safeguard religious minorities, protect noncitizens, and balance individual and collective rights remain as urgent as ever. Jewish history ultimately reveals that citizenship is not a clear before-and-after condition, but a contingent, contested, and non-linear process: rights can be expanded—but also curtailed—at any given time.

The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.

Course structure

This course is intended for participants who are committed to exploring and reflecting on the primary sources before each session, in preparation for in-class discussions. Reading for at least one hour prior to each class is an integral part of the course.

The teacher will provide lectures as part of the course structure to offer historical context for the sources. However, the overall goal is to make the sessions as interactive as possible.

Prior knowledge

The course is given in English.

No prior knowledge about the subject is needed.

To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.

Course material

Course material is included in the cost for this course.

About the teacher

Geraldine Gudefin is a modern Jewish historian researching Jewish migrations, family life, and legal pluralism. She is currently a Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Asian Legal Studies at the National University of Singapore, and is completing a book titled An Impossible Divorce? East European Jews and the Limits of Legal Pluralism in France, 1900-1939.

Photo: Canva. 

The Pesach Seder is a complex ritual that though familiar to many is opaque and confusing to most of us. Whether you are a leader or a participant, the emphasis is often on simply performing the ritual, with an emphasis on tradition. But what would a seder be like if we had an equal commitment to the content and intention of the ritual?

In this course we will explore the history, the purpose and the goals of the seder, with a view to being better leaders and participants in this central rite of Jewish practice.

The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.

Course structure

The course is lecture based. 

Prior knowledge

The course is given in English.

Application is open for anyone who has ever wondered what they are doing at a seder.

To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.

Course material

Course material is included in the cost for this course.

About the teacher

Eiran Davies is a rabbi with roots in London, England. He has studied at Montefiori endowment in London, Midrash sepharadi in Jerusalem and Yeshivat hamivtar in Efrat. He is also an artist, beekeeper and trained goldsmith.

Photo: Canva.

This page is not available in English as this course is given in Swedish.
For information about the course, we refer to the Swedish course page. 

Photo: Paideia/Canva.

In this course, we will be introduced to the fascinating history of the Karaite Jewish movement, one of the ancient branches of Judaism, which dates back to the 8th century during the Geonic period. We will explore the movement’s history, the various communities around the world today, and make comparisons between Rabbinic Halacha and the binding law of the Karaites. We will also delve into key principles of Karaite thought.

The course will cover and discuss topics such as the calendar, holidays and their differences, marriage, and burial practices. We will compare texts of prayers and explore the writings of different Karaite sages. Throughout the course, the teacher will also share his personal story from his upbringing and how his family history has shaped his understanding.

The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.

Prior knowledge

The course is given in English.

No prior knowledge about the subject is needed.

To apply, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.

Course material

Course material is included in the cost for this course.

About the teacher 

Ran (Ranash) Menashe was born and raised in Ra’anana, Israel, in a secular Karaite family. He is a freelance educator, lecturer, and group facilitator. As a social entrepreneur, Ranash has been involved in, and established, two large non-profit organizations in Israel focused on self-reflection and personal growth, influencing Israeli society: Elul Bashvil and Masa Hevrati.

In 2022-23, he was a fellow in Paideia’s one-year programme in Jewish studies. Throughout that year he also explored his Karaite roots and decided to create a series of lectures in which he shares his personal experiences and imparts knowledge about this unique and often overlooked Jewish movement.

Photo: Wikipedia/Tamar Hayardeni of the Main Karaite Synagogue in Israel, in Ramle.

This page is not available in English as this course is given in Swedish.
For information about the course, we refer to the Swedish course page. 

Photo: Paideia/Canva.

The study of Jewish texts is, more often than not, a social activity. In particular, the Talmud is typically studied in groups of two or more, a method known as chevruta (study partner), in which the group works through the text together and discusses the underlying issues.

The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden.

Course structure

This class is modeled as a Talmud workshop with the participants doing the reading and interpreting with support from the lecturer.

Prior knowledge

The course is given in English.

Hebrew knowledge is helpful but no prior knowledge or Hebrew language skills are required. Participants that can not read Hebrew are still welcome to take part, joining the class discussions and using English translations, such as Sefaria. The students who can read Hebrew take turns reading the original Talmud text.

No prior knowledge about the subject is needed.

To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.

Course material

Course material is included in the cost for this course.

About the teacher

Joseph Shain studied at a yeshiva in Jerusalem and at Bar Ilan University. His interests revolve around oral tradition in early rabbinical Judaism and how it transformed into written form. Joseph drafts and prosecutes patent applications at Grand Patentbyrå AB, a Swedish intellectual property firm that he founded himself.

Photo: Paideia folkhögskola.

THE EARLY AVROM SUTSKEVER – HIS PREWAR AND GHETTO POETRY (ONLINE)

In this course, we will be reading and discussing Avrom Sutzkever’s early poetry — from his beginnings as a young poet in the prewar years to his poetic writings in the Vilnius Ghetto. Based on this corpus, we will try to understand how his poetry developed and was shaped by the poet’s historical experiences.

אין דעם קורס וועלן מיר לייענען און אַרומרעדן אַן אָפּקלײַב לידער, מיט וועלכע דער גרויסער פּאָעט אַַבֿרהם סוצקעווער האָט אָנגעהויבן זײַן , פּאָעטישן וועג אין די פֿריִע 30ער יאָרן. מיר וועלן דערנאָך אַריבערגיין צו זײַן פּאָעזיע פֿון די מלחמהֲ־יאָרן, דער עיקר די לידער וואָס ער האָט געשריבן אין ווילנער געטאָ. אויפֿן סמך פֿון דעם קאָרפּוס וועלן מיר זען, וואָסער אַנטוויקלונג דער פּאָעט האָט דורכגעמאַכט

The course is given in collaboration with Paideia – the European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden and Jiddischsällskapet i Stockholm.

Paideia folkhögskola also offers the online courses Yiddish 3, Yiddish 7 and Yiddish conversation (in Yiddish/Swedish) during the spring semester of 2026. Please see more information under each course’s webpage.

Course structure

Participants will be asked to prepare the readings in advance, and read aloud in class, so that you can also work on pronunciation. During class, the teacher will focus on the language, the poetic content, the imagery, as well as the cultural, idiomatic, and historical references and allusions. All discussions will be conducted entirely in Yiddish.

This will be an interactive language course based on advanced reading material, but the main aim will be to enable participants to discover one of the greatest Yiddish poets at their own pace and in the poet’s original language. The course will also provide an opportunity to improve active speaking skills.

Homework

• Mandatory: Preparation of the text to be discussed in the next lesson, which means reading and looking up new words.
• Voluntary: Writing short essays related to the texts discussed in class.

Prior knowledge

The course will be taught entirely in Yiddish, to participants of advanced level. Describe your prior knowledge in your application.

To apply for this course, you need basic computer skills and knowledge of how to use the digital platform Zoom. The school offers Zoom manuals and a training opportunity before the start of the course.

Course material

Course material is included in the cost for this course.

About the teacher 

Dr. Miriam Trinh was born in Poland, grew up in Germany, and has lived in Israel since 1995. She holds a PhD from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and her main field of research and teaching is the Yiddish language and modern Yiddish literature, especially poetry with a focus on the Holocaust period. She currently teaches at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem but has also taught over the years in various countries and institutions, including in recent years at Paideia’s Intensive Yiddish Summer School.

מרים טרין איז געבוירן אין פּוילן, אויפֿגעוואַקסן אין דײַטשלאַנד און לעבט אין ישׂראל. זי לערנט די ייִדישע שפּראַך און ליטעראַטור שוין איבער 25 יאָר אין פֿאַרשיידענע לענדער און ראַמען, און באַזונדערש אויף די אינטערנאַציאָנאַלע ייִדיש־זומערקורסן צווישן אַנדערע אין ייִוואָ (ניו־יאָרק) און תּל־אָבֿיבֿער אוניווערסיטעט. אין די לעצטע 3 יאָר האָט זי אויכעט געלערנט אויף די אינטענסיווע זומערקורסן אין פּאַידעיע, שטאָקהאָלם. איר דאָקטאָראַט האָט זי געשריבן וועגן פּאָעטישע טעקסטן פֿון די געטאָס און לאַגערן און בכלל ספּעציאַליזירט זי זיך אין מאָדערנער ייִדישער ליטעראַטור און חורבן־פּאָעזיע.

Photo: Avrom Sutzkever, by Haïm Urison (1905 – 1943).