About Us
Yiddishacademy.com was created by Moyshe and Shmelke, two people who are excited about all things Yiddish. Moyshe and Shmelke were friends in Detroit way back when, but they lost touch over the years. They were reunited in Jerusalem where Moyshe had already been teaching Yiddish.
Moyshe is passionate about teaching Yiddish, and was interested in writing up his own Yiddish text. When he told his plans to Shmelke, Shmelke suggested an online Yiddish course, as it could reach more people than a book. Shmelke's own interest in learning Yiddish himself gave them both the impetus to embark on the journey that spawned Yiddish Academy.com!
We didn't work alone. We really appreciate the contributions of Prof. Pamela Russ, site editor, and Dr. Herbert Hochhauser, special advisor.
Moyshe Sherizen is a native of Detroit Michigan. He lives and breaths Yiddish. His Yiddish fanaticism began in his youth, when he would spend Shabbos (The Sabbath) at his grandparent’s house. After hearing his grandparents talk to each other in Yiddish, Moyshe resolved to one day understand that mystifying language they spoke. When Moyshe helped out at the old folk’s home during his his teenage years, he learned some of his first Yiddish words.
After high school he pursued a degree in business information systems at the Michigan Jewish Institute. During this period, he also taught at a local Hebrew day school in the metro Detroit area. Through his teaching experiences Moyshe saw that he had a knack and a passion for teaching Jewish culture.
Two years later, he completed his degree and left Detroit, traveling to Israel to explore his Jewish roots and study Jewish culture hands on. While studying at Ner Yakkov in Jerusalem, he began to interact with the Yiddish speaking community, with a heavy focus on learning Yiddish, specifically the Polish dialect.
Moyshe then followed his heart and changed his major to a degree in Judaic Studies. He furthered his Yiddish studies in Jerusalem at the Beth Israel Institute; there he focused on the Lithuanian dialect. After a few years he developed his own innovative curriculum and began teaching Yiddish at the BII and other locations in Jerusalem.
Aside from teaching Yiddish Moyshe is the proud tate of three wonderful children (yes, he speaks to them in Yiddish.) Moyshe is also an accomplished musician and can be seen playing with different bands around Israel.
Shmelke is just your regular Jewish guy. Graduated high school, came to Israel and got married.
Has a wife and two kids, thank God. He’s always wanted to learn Yiddish but never really had the opportunity, and he’d even been out of town when Moyshe gave his Yiddish workshops.
Now that’s changed. Moyshe had always been talking about a Yiddish text-book he wanted to
write, and Shmelke had an aynfal, a great idea. He had watched his wife create two online businesses, http://yiddish-translation.com/ (my wife also loves Yiddish) and www.mavenmall.com, a Jewish women’s clothing store. Why not make an online course?
While creating the Beginners’ course along with Moyshe, Shmelke’s Yiddish has grown by leaps and bounds.
Pam’s first language is Yiddish, and she’s so excited about Yiddish that she did us the favor of editing our whole Beginners’ course! (Not all of her corrections were yet implemented, so don’t blame her for any small error.) Pam’s a (young) bubby living in Montreal. Her mame-loshn (mother tongue) Yiddish is her favorite language, but she then learned English, French, Hebrew, and some Russian, German, Polish, and Hungarian. It’s hard to fool her in any language.
Pam is a former professor of English writing at McGill and Concordia universities in Montreal, and an adult education ESL teacher as well. She’s worked in the social services and healthcare fields for over 15 years, primarily with Yiddish-speaking Holocaust survivors, ensuring that their quality of life and mental and physical health are maintained to their optimum. She considers this the most important job that she has ever had, and that is really where she used her Yiddish to its fullest.
Pam has done lots of Yiddish translation work over the years, and much freelance editing in many different genres. But, yes, family does come first. And a big family, kenenhora, it is, with kids and eyniklekh (grandkids) and loads of nakhes (good stuff). There’s always Yiddish music playing in her home (Yiddish, not Hebrew!), and everyone loves it. Really! And a Yiddish joke, with its contortions and age-old innuendoes – always ready for that too.
So, as Pam says: “Lomir geyn lernen Yidish!” Let’s go learn Yiddish!