Haga un donativo, participe en la rifa, pero más importante, ¡haga realidad el sueño de quienes viven, orgánicamente, en la granja Yiddish!
My Mission in Life (AKA click here to donate)
Having grown up with Yiddish as my first language, I inherited a special connection to my heritage. I have been trying to share this treasure with others since I first started teaching Yiddish during my junior year of high school. Since then, I have taught adult classes and organized Yiddish conferences, events, meals, classes and parties. However, since my students lacked opportunities to weave Yiddish into their daily lives, they were not becoming fluent despite putting in many hours of hard work. In March 2010, after nearly a decade of teaching and promoting Yiddish, I came to the conclusion that the best way for people to learn Yiddish would be to spend time living on a Yiddish-speaking community farm which brings together native speakers and Yiddish students, Hasidim and secular Yiddishists, older people and younger generations. The only problem was, such a place didn’t yet exist.
This week marks 2 years since the Yiddish Farm Education Center was formally founded. Since December 2010, we have created the most extensive Yiddish-immersion ulpan program in the world, while my business partner Yisroel has built an organic farm from scratch. Our programs have served hundreds of people ranging in age from 4 through 82, and including Jews from unaffiliated, secular, Reform, Conservative, Modern Orthodox, Yeshivish and Hasidic backgrounds. By providing sustained Yiddish immersion among native speakers, we are playing an important role in the preservation and development of the Yiddish language.
The groundbreaking nature of our work has received recognition across the Jewish world. We were selected to participate in the PresenTense Community Entrepeneur Partnership as well as the ROI Global Community of Jewish Innovators. In addition, we have received excellent press in the Forward and in the Pakn Treger, the magazine of the Yiddish Book Center (see image below).
As Yiddish Farm continues to pick up momentum, we are ambitiously planning to expand and improve the next growing season. We are looking to more than double our capacity by building new cabins, renovating a bungalow, and creating additional programs. We are also creating a scholarship fund so that financial considerations do not prevent people from participating. Please consider making a year-end tax-deductible donation to Yiddish Farm by clicking here. People who donate $50 or more will enter into a raffle to win a new Casio Watch (retail value: $150).
Thank you to our hundreds of donors, participants in our programs, volunteers, advisers and well-wishers that have helped us accomplish so much. I feel a special gratitude to the owners of the farm, the Jochnowitz family, as well as the family foundations that helped us launch our signature educational summer programs: The Naomi Prawer Kadar Foundation, The Benyumen Shekhter Foundation, The Aaron and Sonia Fishman Foundation and the Chaim Schwartz Foundation. Finally, I thank my grandfather, Dr. Mordkhe Schaechter whose stubborn devotion to Yiddish inspired generations, and whose deep connection to nature and agriculture planted the seeds of Yiddish Farm decades ago.
I wish you all new year of health and prosperity.
Naftali Schaechter Ejdelman
Donate $50 or more before January 1 to enter a raffle to win a brand new $150 watch!
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