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Free Yiddish Translations: Who Pays?

Will you give me a free Yiddish translation? This is one of the most frequently asked question that I get on this site. My answer is: a competent Yiddish translator costs money. Some people feel that I have a sacred duty to Jewish history translate their old Yiddish documents for free, while others wish they Read More…

How do you Say Passover in Yiddish?

Pesach is less that a week away and as Jewish families around the world prepare for a joyous annual getogether, I want to create a special holiday gift for Yiddish Translation’s visitors, fans and customers. So here I present an original video: The 4 Questions of the Passover Seder (Mah Nishtana), in Yiddish and Hebrew, Read More…

Happy Birthday Yiddish Translation!

This website, Yiddish Translation, is 1 year old today. Happy Birthday or as we say in Yiddish, א פרייליכן געבורטסטאג! (A freilichen gebortstag) Want to learn Yiddish? Visit our sister site Yiddish Academy and get a free Yiddish lesson! Consider it a birthday gift! Over the past year, I’ve been privileged to manage over 40 translation projects, Read More…

Gwyneth Paltrow Digs Up her Jewish Roots

Academy Award Winning Actress Gwyneth Paltrow has joined the Jewish Genealogy trend, having been profiled for the NBC series “Who Do You Think You Are.” The episode, which will air this weekend, follows Paltrow as she researches her family tree and promises some interesting discoveries. Gwyneth’s father, TV producer Bruce Paltrow, descended from the Paltrowicz Read More…

Yizkor Book Translations

Michael Schoeman, of New York,  really hit the Genealogical Jackpot when he opened the Yizkor Book for the Polish town of Biala Rawska, from which his grandfather emigrated in 1905. There, he found a photo that he recognized from his childhood home and was excited to discover that it accompanied an article written in Yiddish by his Read More…

Biala Rawska Yizkor Book Translation

This article from the Biala Rawska Yizkor Book was written by Joseph Meyer Weber (1883-1958). Our translation was commissioned by his grandson Michael Schoeman, and it is published here with his permission. The original Yiddish text can be found on the website of the New York Public Library (Biala Rawska Yizkor Book, images 122-131). My Read More…

Yiddish Names for Girls

I’m creating a list of Yiddish names to help you identify the names you find in your family tree, and learn out about their meaning and origin. In this post, I’ve included a list of Yiddish names for girls. (A similar list of Yiddish names for boys is also in the works – coming soon) There Read More…

Is it Really Yiddish?

Yiddish translation almost always involves more than just Yiddish… Yiddish was orignally formed from a mixture of other languages: German, Hebrew, Slavic languages, etc. In contemporary Yiddish-speaking communities, the languages continues to morph and borrow words from the languages of the host countries where it is spoken. For example, American Yiddish is rich in English Read More…