Free Daily Podcast Summary
Heritage Words: Daily Summaries Delivered
by HUC Jewish Language Project
Heritage Words features interviews about the words we've inherited and the meaning they bring to our lives. Sarah Bunin Benor is the host.
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The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- Yesterday29 min
What Are Your Colors?: Arabic Greetings, Yiddish Memories, and Cultural Curiosity with Michelle Azar
Michelle Azar, an actor and performer, explores her dual heritage as the daughter of an Iraqi father and an Ashkenazi mother. She details the evolution of her family surname from Azaryahu in Israel to Azar in America. She describes a childhood soundscape shaped by her mother’s soothing Yiddish heritage words and her father’s expressive Iraqi Arabic, incorporating words like gikhe and ashlonak. Through her one-woman show From Baghdad to Brooklyn, Michelle explores her ancestral background. She concludes by highlighting the importance of raising awareness of Middle Eastern Jewish diversity.Heritage Words — conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives — is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer:: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Finn Jacobson Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records. All other music from From Baghdad to Brooklyn by Michelle Azar.
- 2 weeks ago48 min
The All-Yiddish Household in California: Generational Continuity with Reyna Schaechter and Isaac Bleaman
Reyna Schaechter, a Yiddish performer and researcher, and Isaac Bleaman, a linguistics professor at UC Berkeley, discuss raising their children in a monolingual Yiddish household. Reyna details her multi-generational Yiddish lineage, describing how her father used musical jingles and annual Yidish-Vokh retreats to transmit their Southeastern Yiddish dialect. Isaac discovered Yiddish as a teenager through klezmer music, leading to his academic career researching Yiddish and developing digital language resources. Together, they describe practical household strategies like code-switching between dialects, translating children's books with label makers, and connecting with other Yiddish families. They conclude by exploring shifting attitudes toward Hasidic Yiddish and language revitalization.Heritage Words – conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives – is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect.Host and producer: Sarah Bunin BenorAssistant producer and video editor: Kyle Elbaz FingerhutEditor: Avishay ArtsyTheme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
- 4 weeks ago46 min
Lezbitzen, Queeruv, and Gaymara: Queer Jewish Language with Miryam Kabakov and Eden Moyal
Miryam Kabakov, executive director of Eshel, and Eden Moyal, a sociolinguist, discuss the intersection of queer identity, Jewish languages, and Orthodox spaces. Eden details the sociolinguistic mechanics of identity, explaining how queer Jews use playful portmanteaus like lezbtzn and Gaymara. She describes their linguistic expressions as deeply infused with reclaimed Yiddish words like umtsveyik and transminik to express their dual identities. Through Eshel's advocacy, Miryam builds communal empathy and supports queer Orthodox Jews, best expressed by the slogan, "We're here, we're queer, we're machmir." They conclude by discussing how shifting language over time reflects changing attitudes and helps Orthodox families navigate identity, grief, and religious faith.Heritage Words – conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives – is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect.Host and producer: Sarah Bunin BenorAssistant producer and video editor: Kyle Elbaz FingerhutEditor: Avishay ArtsyTheme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
- Sep 30, 202650 min
Curses and Code Switching: Dreaming in Yiddish with Sheldon Londner
Sheldon Londner, a secular Yiddishist raised in Los Angeles, shares the powerful legacy of his Polish survivor parents and his lifelong bond with the Yiddish language. Sheldon recounts his parents' miraculous survival of the Holocaust, their journey to America, and how they passed down Yiddish as his first language. He discusses the unique linguistic gift of growing up bilingual, the cultural concept of the "Yiddish gas" (Yiddish street), and the challenges of maintaining fluency without an active speaking community. Today, Sheldon actively preserves this heritage by organizing a weekly Yiddish reading circle.Heritage Words – conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives – is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect.Host and producer: Sarah Bunin BenorAssistant producer and video editor: Kyle Elbaz FingerhutEditor: Avishay ArtsyTheme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
- Sep 9, 202644 min
From Calcutta to Philadelphia: Baghdadi-Indian Language and Identity with Rahel Musleah
Rahel Musleah, an award-winning journalist and educator, discusses her roots as a Baghdadi-Indian Jew from Calcutta. Rahel details the history of her name, explaining how the Arabic pronunciation ‘Musleah’ contrasts with the Hebrew ‘Matsliach’ due to her family's Iraqi origins. She describes her linguistic upbringing as primarily British English, yet deeply infused with Hindustani and Judeo-Arabic heritage words like awafi and kabrowed. Through leading heritage tours to India and preserving her father's Baghdadi melodies, Rahel celebrates her multifaceted ancestry. She concludes by emphasizing her dedication to passing down these unique, blended traditions to her grandchildren.Heritage Words – conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives – is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect.Host and producer: Sarah Bunin BenorAssistant producer: Kyle Elbaz FingerhutEditor: Avishay ArtsyVideo editor: Talia EhrenbergTheme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
- Sep 2, 202639 min
Dementia Summons Dad’s Childhood Language: Preserving Kashi with Sabrina Hakim
Sabrina Hakim, an Iranian Jewish real estate administrator in Los Angeles, discusses her upbringing in Tehran and her family’s roots in Kashan. Sabrina describes migrating to California in 1978 during political unrest, overcoming initial language barriers in high school, and growing up speaking Farsi. When her father developed dementia and unexpectedly began speaking Kashi (Judeo-Kashani), Sabrina urgently started documenting his native language. She details her collaboration with the Jewish Language Project and emphasizes the vital importance of preserving endangered Jewish dialects to safeguard family history and memory.Heritage Words – conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives – is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect.Host and producer: Sarah Bunin BenorAssistant producer: Kyle Elbaz FingerhutEditor: Avishay ArtsyVideo editor: Talia EhrenbergTheme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
- Aug 19, 202648 min
From Taylor Swift to Tehillim: Ashkenazi Identity and Modern Songwriting with Shep Rosenman
Shep Rosenman, an entertainment lawyer and songwriter, discusses his roots as an Ashkenazi Jew from Far Rockaway, New York. Shep details the origins of his names, explaining how his grandmother feared his given name, Shabtai, would link them to the false messiah Shabbetai Tzvi. He describes his linguistic upbringing as primarily English, yet deeply infused with his parents’ Yiddish phrases like “abi gezunt” and “nisht shabbos geredt.” Through his songwriting based on the Psalms, Shep builds spiritual connections and invites listeners to engage with ancient texts. He concludes by discussing his preservation of ancestral Yiddish songs and traditional Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation.Heritage Words – conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives – is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect.Host and producer: Sarah Bunin BenorAssistant producer: Kyle Elbaz FingerhutEditor: Avishay ArtsyVideo editor: Talia EhrenbergTheme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
- Aug 5, 202654 min
Polish Jewish Life Today with Marek Jezowski and Dominika Zakrzewska-Olędzka
Marek Jezowski and Dominika Zakrzewska-Olędzka, members of Warsaw's progressive Jewish community, discuss their experiences reclaiming their Jewish identity in today’s Poland. Marek recounts fighting the 1982 government to register his daughter's Hebrew name, while Dominika shares her personal process of choosing the Jewish name Lilach. They describe navigating a linguistic landscape where Hebrew and Yiddish words like kippah and shul are integrated into daily conversations. Heritage Words – conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives – is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect.Host and producer: Sarah Bunin BenorAssistant producer: Kyle Elbaz FingerhutEditor: Avishay ArtsyVideo editor: Talia EhrenbergTheme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
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About Heritage Words
Heritage Words features interviews about the words we've inherited and the meaning they bring to our lives. Sarah Bunin Benor is the host.
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