Unofficial Homepage of

Yiddish Festival
May 27-31 1999

Schedule


learning!...language!...music!...simkhe!... at Rutgers University

Get ready for Mame-Loshn'99 at the idyllic suburban campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey! It is our fourth Mame-Loshn weekend! From Thursday May 27th to Memorial Day, May 31st we will be...
Dancing
Singing
Learning and studying Yiddish language and culture...
registration forms
day program
evening program
rates and accommodations
All levels of Yiddish are welcome and encouraged. NOT EVERYBODY AT Mame-Loshn knows Yiddish, learning takes place in an open and accepting atmosphere. This is four days of sharing our love of Yiddish literature, song and spirit. We celebrate who we are - past, present and future - by enjoying an extended weekend of Yiddish language and culture, including a complete youth program.
Only the most enthusiastic and qualified people lead workshops at Mame-Loshn. People like:
  • Chava Lapin (director of education at the Workmen's Circle)
  • Pessach Fiszman (one of the best loved Yiddish teachers in the United States)
  • Naomi Hirsch (international virtuoso and cantor)
  • Adina Cimet (Doctor of Sociology and Yiddishist from Mexico)
  • Miriam Hoffman (weekly contributor in the Forverts and important Yiddish playwrite)
  • Michael Alpert (world famous klezmer musician and exciting ethnomusicologist)
  • Jeffrey Warschauer (klezmer musician and expert mandolin player)
  • Debra Strauss (virtuoso violinist)
  • Pearl Gluck (filmmaker...she appeared in the film, "A Life Apart")
  • Daniel Soyer (author and professor)
  • Iosif Vaisman (moderator of Mendele, the only Yiddish computer disscussion group)
  • Professor Morris Moskowitz (head of The Department of Hebraic Studies at Rutgers)
  • Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman (Poet, teacher and Yiddish songwriter)
  • Troim Handler (Yiddish poet and writer)
  • Boris Sandler (Editor of The Yiddish Forward)
  • Gershon Jacobson (Founder of The Algemeiner Journal)
  • Yosef Y. Jacobson (Columnist and Book Review editor of The Algemeiner JournaL)
AND MANY MORE !!!

The weekend is so full that you won't have time to sleep! So come join us to live, love and learn in Yiddish!

Mame-Loshn '99 BY DAY...

Mame-Loshn is greser, beser and more! This year you have more than 40 workshops and classes to choose from! Mame-Loshn programs and classes are offered in Yiddish, English and both. YIDDISH CLASSES: ELEMENTARY TO ADVANCED. Yiddish language classes are offered at a variety of levels from Beginners Alef and Beyz to Advanced. New, at Mame-Loshn '99 is "Hebrew for Yiddish Students," a class that focuses on Hebrew aspects of the Yiddish language. Our teachers include some of the best in the world: Chava Lapin, Pessach Fiszman, Pearl Gluck and Larisa Pecherskaya.

DANCE BY DAY
Michael Alpert, the high-energy ethnomusicologist and leader of "Brave Old World" leads Eastern European Folk Dance. And for dancing bekele-to-bekele, Victoria Kriner-Stepanovsky, leads American Style Ballroom Dance. (In Yiddish and English)

SING WITH US
If you can say it you can sing it! Mame-Loshn '99 is a place to hear and learn new songs from different traditions. Several song workshops are part of the program. Each one has a unique flavor: Eastern European, Songs of the Yiddish Theatre or Spritual Yiddish Music. With Michael Alpert, Jeff Warshauer and Cantor Naomi Hirsch.

JUST FOR KIDS! shpil un shpas!
Rebecca Margolis (Columbia University).
With Nathan Fishkin, Elissa Harmolin and Nadia Siritsky kids at Mame-Loshn '99 spend three days playing, singing, learning, and having fun. They do arts and crafts, storytelling, drama, cooking, a magic show, and much, much more. Children will be visited by many of the adult workshop leaders for a rich cultural program. For ages 5-12.

BAR/BAT MITZVAH WITH A "YIDISHN TAM"
Bat Mitzvah girl and her parents will lead this workshop on how to incorporate Yiddish materials into a bar/bat mitzvah ceremony and course of study. How to blend Yiddish with the traditional Hebrew; resources for language study; a Yiddish reading list including recently discovered stories by women. Learn secular and religious Yiddish blessings. Share your own ideas with leaders: Meg and her parents Ellen and Jeff.

YOGA IN YIDDISH
Reyzl (Kathleen) Rose helps you shpan zikh oys...for your body and for your mind. shal...oooom!

KNEYTSH UN KVETSH: MASSAGE
Donna Gallers with Ruvn Millman guides you through a selection of massage techniques in a hands-on workshop (come with a partner or without).

WALKS THROUGH NATURE
Leah Robinson. Visit Rutgers' working animal farm. Learn the difference between a ferd and a ku. (In Yiddish)

LECTURE/DISCUSSIONS IN YIDDISH
Adina Cimet, professor of Sociology (a kuk arayn: di indishe gezelshaft shprakh un yidish identitet)

A NEKHTIGN TUG!
Pearl Gluck
What are Chasidic stories? Who tells them? And what do they have to do with me? Spend your weekend telling stories, hearing stories, and delving deeper into the concepts behind Chasidic storytelling. Discover texts from the Chasidic community. Understand roots of the mythology as we recreate mayses fun a nechtign tug. (In English and Yiddish)

YIDDISH POETS OF BUKOVINA
Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman speaks about M.M. Shafir, Fred Weinger and Yankev Freedman. (In Yiddish and English)

HOW JEWISH IS SHOLEM ASCH?
Troim Handler fired from The Jewish Daily Forward after writing his controversial work "The Nazarene." Accused of having converted to Christianity. Even in 1999, controversy and misinformation still abound. 

ORTHODOX VS SECULAR
Miriam Hoffman
A rare glimpse into the contrapositions of two former Yeshiva students. A secular Yiddish poet and, the other an orthodox Jew. Did the holocaust change their view of God and man? Based on Chaim Grade's My Quarrel with Hirsh Rassayner (In Yiddish and English).

ALEFBEYZ: HUMOR AND WIT
Miriam Hoffman
The "Alefbeyz" tells tales of wonder, unravels the world of the mystics, reflects the wit of its people and casts a magic spell over the muses. (In Yiddish and English)

THE YIDDISH PRESS
Gershon Jacobson, editor Algemeiner Journal History of The Algemeiner and stories from a life in journalism. (In Yiddish and English)

THE FORWARD AND THE ALGEMEINER
Boris Sandler and Gershon Jacobson
A panel discussion between the editors of The Yiddish Forward and The Algemeiner Journal. (In Yiddish)

KABBALAH
Yosef Y. Jacobson columnist and book review editor for The Algemeiner Journal presents a program on Yiddish and the Kabbalah.

SEND A SALAMI TO YOUR BOY IN THE ARMY
Eve Jochnowitz
Sites of Jewish Memory and Identity at Lower East Side Restaurants. (In Yiddish and English)

JEWISH LIFE IN  KOVNO
Tina Lunson is involved with organizing the new Yiddish Summer Program in Lithuania and is recently returned from Kovno. (In Yiddish and English)

SHOLEM ALEICHEM AND MOZART
Prof. Morris Moskowitz talks about Musical Philandry in Sholem Aleichem's "Stempenyu" and Mozart's "Don Giovanni."

FINANCIAL PLANNING
Abe Ostreicher, certified planner (Lakewood, NJ)
Sharpen your pencils as Mr. Ostreicher shows you your financial future in Yiddish. (In Yiddish)

A JEWISH BOYHOOD IN POLAND
Norman Salsitz
Author of "Against All Odds" discusses his book and shows a documentary film, made in 1929 of his Polish home town. (In Yiddish and English)

THE MAME-LOSHN CHORUS!
Binyumen Schaechter
The chorus meetS several times in preparation for a Sunday evening performance.

THE STRIKE OF THE VILNA STREET GIRLS
Sylvia Schildt
A reading and discussion discovering Slavic elements in Vilna Yiddish and underworld jargon.

A YIDDISH LOVE AFFAIR!
Sylvia Schildt
Love songs and poems to the Yiddish language

LUBOML
Nathan Sobel, translator of the Luboml Yizkor Bukh presents its history. (In Yiddish and English)

KLEZMER  STYLE AND TECHNIQUE FOR STRING PLAYERS
Deborah Strauss leads an intensive workshop for ages 12 and up with intermediate playing skills. Bring pieces from your repertoire to this master class setting. (In English)

MAME-LOSHN 2000
Paintings and drawings by Alexander Vaisman
Alexander Vaisman works in different genres and media and does not adhere to any particular style. However, it is possible to use a single keyword to characterize his art. This keyword is "Yiddishkayt". All artist's paintings, drawings and sculptures form a multifaceted reflection of a civilization created by the Eastern European Jews during the last millenium. This exhibition offers a series of drawings on the themes of Yiddish songs "Mame-Loshn 2000", illustrations to Yiddish prose and poetry, and other selected works. Alexander Vaisman's online gallery can be visited here.

90TH ANNIVERSARY OF CZERNOWITZ Conference.
Iosif Vaisman
In celebration of the 90th Anniversary of Czernowitz Conference. (In Yiddish and English)

YIDDISH ON THE NET
Iosif Vaisman 
Yiddish web sites, mailing lists, library catalogs and more (In Yiddish and English)

MAME-LOSHN KLEZMER BAND!
Jeffrey Warschauer
Bring youe instruments! Rehearsals will be held throughout the weekend in anticipation of a Sunday evening performance. Participants should have intermediate playing skills and bring music stands and battery powered cassette recorders. (Ages 12 and up) (In English)

Mame-Loshn '99 BY NAKHT...

Mame-Loshn evening programs are exciting in 1999. Here are just some of the surprises!

EVENING PROGRAM MC: COREY BREIER

A YIDISHE SHABES
Cantor Naomi Hirsch
Yiddish and kehile turn stam Friday night into shabes. For one evening, Cantor Naomi Hirsch takes a community of people: Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative, Orthodox and plain old non-Jews...and enjoins us all in a Mame-Loshn shabes!

LANDSMANSHAFTN ORGANIZATIONS IN AMERICA
Daniel Soyer  gives a talk on his new book with slide presentation.

AN EVENING OF STORIES
Rachel Botchan, Pessach Fiszman and Suzanne Toren

"BREAK A LEG"
Skits and Songs from the Yiddish Theater.
Starring Suzanne Toren, Hy Wolfe, Rachel Botchan and Phyllis Berk.
Written and adapted by Miriam Hoffman.

THE KLEZ DISPENSERS
Princeton University's Klezmer band perform at Mame-Loshn dance evenings.

SPECIAL AFTERNOON CONCERTS
by The Strauss/Warschauer  Trio and Cantor Naomi Hirsch.

MAME-LOSHN CABARET
Hy Wolfe is back as the "tumbler" of the Mame-Loshn cabaret. THis is your chance to perform! Bring your instrument, sheet music, poetry, stories and rhymes and show everyone what you've got.

JAM ALL NIGHT!
Bring your instrument and "jam" at the Mame-Loshn late night parties. Sorry folks, these parties only run until 5:00am.

CONCERT BY DAVID STEPANOVSKY
David Stepanovsky is from Czernowitz and was a student of Sidi Tal, one of the last great actresses of the Yiddish theater in the USSR. Mr. Stepanovsky was very popular in Ukraine (concerts, TV shows, state honors - mostly for the Ukrainian songs, but he always had Yiddish songs in his programs, even when it was strongly frowned upon), and has recently recorded 4 songs for the new CD "Hidden Histories: Songs from the Kovno Ghetto."

PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER BAND
New on the scene, Basya Schaechter's Pharaoh's Daughter is a delightful blend of traditional Chasidic and Middle Eastern melodies. Schaechter performs some of her own modern music, originally written in Hebrew, "taytched" or translated into mame-loshn.

Rates and Accommodations:

The rates are for four days, Thursday dinner through Monday lunch. There is NO DISCOUNT for late arrival or early departure. All costs are per person. All meals, taxes and tips are included. All meals are vegetarian and dairy. Kosher meals are available with advance notice only. This year, we have two types of accommodations.

Lippincott Residence Hall
Each standard Residence Hall room has two single beds, two desks, a dresser and a closet. There are NO bunk beds. Rooms are double-occupancy (Single occupancy available) with shared bathroom. Each wing, 16 rooms to a wing, shares a large communal bathroom. The Lippincott Residence Hall building is not air-cooled.We will separate them by sex.

Full-Linen Lippincott Residence Hall         Single $352         Double $320
Non-Linen Lippincott Residence Hall        Single $332         Double $300
Children under the age of 12 cannot be accommodated in the Lippincott Residence Hall.

Newell Apartment Building
Each standard apartment consists of two bedrooms with two beds per room. Rooms are double-occupancy (Singles would have one of the two bedrooms to themselves) and all have a full kitchen and lounge. There are NO bunk beds.

Each apartment has a standard bathroom that is shared by the other guests of that apartment. Half of the apartments are on the ground floor. The remaining half are on the second floor. Participants requiring a ground floor apartment should request it on their registration form. The Newell Apartment building is an air-cooled building.

Full-Linen Newell Apartment         Single $400         Double $352
Non-Linen Newell Apartment        Single $380         Double $332
Children Ages 2-5     Full-Linen Newell Apartment $232
Children Ages 6-12   Full-Linen Newell Apartment $256

**SPECIAL TO PARENTS
Children that stay in a NON-LINEN Newell Apartment (Parents must also choose the "non-linen" option) receive the following discounted prices
Ages 2-5 in a non-linen apt.   $130
Ages 6-12 in a non-linen apt. $144

GENERAL INFORMATION:
Rooms do not have TV's or phones. Linen rooms (where Rutgers supplies the linen) come with a set of sheets, a towel, pillow case, pillow, blanket, soap and a cup. Non-linen rooms mean exactly that. You should plan on bringing your own bedding. All participants should bring shampoo, hangers and extra soap.

COMMUTERS AND DAY TICKETS
Commuter and Day tickets are available for Friday May 28th, Saturday May 29th and Sunday May 30th. Day tickets that include meals must be purchased in advance. Those wishing to bring their own meals (Or visiting the Cook Campus Center Café) can purchase their tickets at the conference.

If you live in the area or if you prefer not to stay on campus, several hotels are available in the New Brunswick, New Jersey area. The closest of these is the Rutgers Conference Center Bed & Breakfast, located on the grounds of Rutgers Cook/Douglas Campus. They are holding a limited number of rooms for Thursday May 27th and have a larger number available May 28th - May 30th. Room rates are $90 double occupancy or $79 single occupancy, breakfast included.

The rooms are being held under the name "Mame-Loshn" and must be reserved no later than April 28th in order to be guaranteed. They can be reached at (732) 932-9144.

Click here for a list of hotels near the Cook Campus.

We regret that we cannot provide transportation from off-site locations to the Rutgers campus.

Commuters (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) 2 Meals, and all day and evening activites $160
Lunch and all day and evening activites $145
No meals and all day and evening activities $120

Day Tickets
2 Meals and all day and evening activities $60
Lunch and all day and evening activities $55
No meals and all day and evening activities $45

Group Rates
Group rates are available. Please call Moshe Zeilingold at 212-579-4173.

TRANSPORTATION
Rutgers Cook Campus can be reached by Amtrak, NJ Transit, Suburban Transit Bus Lines. All of the above leave you in downtown New Brunswick, which is a five minute cab ride away from the college. We regret that we are unable to pick-up arriving in the manner above.

Shuttle service to and from Newark Airport is provided by The Airporter, 800-385-4000. Please call them for details.

Click here for directions to the Cook Campus.
Click here for an interactive map of the Rutgers University campus.
Click here for directions to New Brunswick.

We have arranged to have a bus that will depart from the Workmen's Circle building ($20 EACH WAY) in mid-town Manhattan. The bus will depart Thursday, May 27th, 1999 at 3:30pm and will depart following lunch Monday, May 31, 1999 at 2:00pm.

CANCELLATION POLICY
Full refunds will be available, except a $25 cancellation fee per person, until May 15, 1999. Cancellation request must be made in writing and received prior to May 15, 1999. No refunds will be issued after May 15, 1999.

WORK SCHOLARSHIPS
A limited number of discounted work/study scholarships are available. Cost to the attendee is $220 in exchange for 10 hours of the attendees time. With regard to work/study participants, preference will be given to full-time students.

Mame-Loshn is sponsored by Mame-Loshn LLC.

Mame-Loshn would like to thank Professor Moishe Moskowitz and The Department of Hebraic Studies at Rutgers University, without whom, this conference would be impossible.

Registration forms:

Please enclose a check for the full reservation made payable to Mame-Loshn.
Partial reservations will not be accepted. Thank you.

Mail to:
      Mame-Loshn '99
     110-64 Queens Blvd.
     Forest Hills, NY 11375

Full Conference Resident and Commuter reservations must be received no later than May 5, 1999.
Day tickets with meals must be reserved no later than May 15, 1999.
Day tickets without meals can be purchased on the day of the conference.

For More information, please call 718-441-6063
E-mail Ruvn@aol.com or  Stdowling@aol.com
Or visit our Homepage.
Or visit some links to previous Mame-Loshn's:  ML97, ML96

Mame-Loshn Scholarship Fund (helps bring students and families to Mame-Loshn) - please send a separate check, payable to Mame-Loshn. Indicate that it is a contribution. Thank you.

Mame-Loshn ' 99 is coming!

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