06/06/2022
Read the Book of Ruth in Yiddish - online for free! (link below)
It is a tradition on the Jewish holiday Shavuot (this Sunday and Monday) to read the Book of Ruth.
Why not read it in Yiddish?
If you're a beginner, try at least sounding out the words, or focus on just a couple of verses. Simply by engaging with the text, you're showing your subconscious that YIDDISH MATTERS TO YOU. And the more your subconscious believes it's important, the more natural it'll become.
If you're intermediate, try translating a few verses from Yiddish into English, and then compare your English translation with the one on Sefaria. This will not only give you practice and teach you new words; it'll engage your curiosity as you ponder the differences in translation.
If you're advanced, IGNORE THE YIDDISH -- go straight to the English translation (or the original Hebrew) and translate a few verses into Yiddish. Then, compare your Yiddish translation with the one on Sefaria. This will help you notice and acquire idiomatic phrasing. (For example, notice that in the first verse, "in the land" is translated as "in land" rather than "in dem land." This is similar to how we say "in gas" for "in the street" and "in shtub" for "in the house", omitting the word for "the.")
And as you're doing this, keep in mind - you're not just learning and practicing Yiddish. You're USING the language in context: celebrating this weekend's holiday by USING your Yiddish to engage with a text that is traditional for the holiday. And it doesn't matter if you're a beginner or totally fluent - you're doing it! You're using the language, however much or little. 🙂
READ IT HERE:
https://www.sefaria.org/Ruth.1.1?ven=Tanakh:_The_Holy_Scriptures,_published_by_JPS&vhe=Yehoyesh%27s_Yiddish_Tanakh_Translation_[yi]&lang=bi
