Uriel Weinreich Summer Program Testimonial: Vera Geranpayeh, ‘26

Thinking—and Even Dreaming— in Yiddish

by Vera Geranpayeh, Summer Program ‘26

This summer did far more than strengthen my language skills. It changed the way I understand my intellectual work, my relationship to Yiddish, and even my sense of myself as a writer.

I arrived at YIVO hoping to improve my reading knowledge so that I could work more confidently with Old Yiddish texts as part of my research in medieval Germanic vernacular literature. By the middle of the program, I realized that I was beginning to think—and even dream—in Yiddish.

The summer also expanded my sense of what I might be able to do with the language. Through the generosity of teachers who took my ideas seriously, Yiddish has become a language in which I can increasingly think, speak, and create. I hope to continue bringing Yiddish into my research and teaching and, wherever my career may take me, eventually to teach courses on Yiddish literature myself.

On a personal level, Yiddish was the language of my great-grandparents in Ukraine and is also part of my husband’s family history in Canada. As I have continued learning, my mother has begun recalling the Yiddish her grandparents spoke and the few phrases her father retained. My studies have therefore prompted memories and conversations across both of our families. Their histories were shaped by pogroms, displacement, and migration through Ukraine, Germany, Austria, Mandatory Palestine, Canada, and the United States. Through Yiddish, I feel that I am helping to carry forward a shared language and culture that endured across borders, even when its transmission was interrupted. My participation in the program was both an academic opportunity and a deeply personal act of continuity.

I leave the program with new research projects, new mentors, and a renewed commitment to Yiddish language and literature.