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| Pete Seeger sings in Yiddish |
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We send you our warmest wishes for a joyous
Khanukeh, which begins tonight, December 2.
On Khanukeh it is customary to eat fried food to remember the oil that burned for eight days. So
please eat without guilt knowing you are honoring your history with fried potato latkes and sour cream (or apple sauce)!
There is a long history of American folk musicians singing Yiddish songs, so for this holiday we are sharing with you Pete Seeger's version of
Khanike O Khanike. Also, there's a great version of
Dreydl below in the
Farshidns section. Keep scrolling down for details on
Isle of Klebos bandleader Eve Sicular's talk on
Gay and Lesbian Subtexts in Yiddish Film, and Ola Bilinska's performing contemporary Yiddish compositions. Or perhaps you want more information on honing your klezmer skills at the KlezCalifornia workshop
Bandstand 911, taught by the incomparable Cookie Segelstein. You can read about all these events and more right here in our monthly newsletter.
If you appreciate KlezCalifornia serving up so many delicious morsels of Yiddish culture, please consider
donating some
Khanukeh gelt to us during this giving season. Want to know more about how KlezCalifornia connects you with Yiddish culture? Be on the lookout for our fundraising email in a few days.
Wishing you
a freylekhn Khanukeh! (a joyous
Khanukeh),
from executive director
Judy Kunofsky and the entire KlezCalifornia Board of Directors
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Lesbian & Gay Subtexts in Yiddish Film
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with Eve Sicular
Thursday, December 6, 7pm
Jewish Community Library, SF
Despite the taboo surrounding homosexuality, this topic was too intriguing to be left entirely out of the Yiddish picture. An exploration of lesbian and gay subtext in Yiddish cinema during its heyday, from the 1920s to the outbreak of World War II, reveals distinctly Jewish concerns of the time intertwined with a striking array of allusions to this highly-charged subject.
From musical comedies
Yidl Mitn Fidl and
Amerikaner Shadkhn to classic dramas
Der Dibuk and
Der Vilner Shtot-Khazn, queerness reached the screen in various guises, emerging as an alternate take on themes of conflicted identity, passing, and same-sex attachments.
Drummer, bandleader, and film scholar Eve Sicular formed and leads New York City-based bands
Isle of Klezbos and Metropolitan Klezmer. Her original musical documentary theater piece, J. Edgar Klezmer: Songs from My Grandmother's FBI Files, premiered in 2009.
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Contemporary Compositions of Yiddish and Polish Music
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Saturday, December 8, 8pm
JCC San Francisco, San Francisco
RSVP Required - limited seating. Free and open to the public.
This is the first San Francisco performance by Ola Bilinska, acclaimed performer of Yiddish and Polish music in contemporary compositions, and her three-piece ensemble. Their week-long concert tour in
Washington DC, San Francisco, and Los Angeles is in honor of the 100th anniversary of Poland regaining its independence, 70th anniversary of Israel, and to celebrate Khanukeh. The tour is
sponsored by Taube Philanthropies and co-sponsored by Embassy of the Republic of Poland and JCC San Francisco.
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Bandstand 911
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Sunday, December 9, 3:30-6:30pm
Kehilla Community Congregation, Piedmont
(use street-level entrance near bus stop)
Whether or not you are in a band, the skills we need to play with other people enrich our musical experience. This class is for people who are at least intermediate level on their instruments. We will cover on-the-spot arrangement and dealing with musical emergencies on the bandstand.
Learn the tunes in advance, either from a sound file or sheet music. We will play by ear (i.e. by heart) at the workshop and "field test" common issues and breakdowns. It's fun, like learning to put out Freygish Fires, Mishebeyrakh Mass wrecks with Minor miracles.
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| Flisik Yidish Salon |
Fluent in Yiddish? Come to our
free monthly conversation salon!
Sunday, December 16,
2-4 pm, Oakland
Email or call
415-789-7679
Mir veln shmuesn vegn di temes: 
- Velkheh esnvarg fun dayn mishpokheh glaykhstu nisht tsu esn?
- Vos is di meynung fun Khanikeh, fun dayn kinder yorn un yetst?
- Vort shpil
- Zingen a Yiddish lid
Loz undz visn oyb du kumst, un breng a nash oyb du kenst.
Next Salon: January 20, 2-4pm, location TBD
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Farshidns
Tidbits of Yiddish culture from around the world
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I Have A Little Dreydl -
Great version of this Khanukeh classic from the Maccabeats.
On-line Yiddish culture - Register for classes in Story of the Yiddish Stage, Folklore of Ashkenaz, and Discovering Ashkenaz - Jewish LIfe in Eastern Europe, presented by YIVO.
Yiddish New York
- The nation's largest Yiddish culture festival, December 22-27.
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Yiddish Culture, Dance & Music
December
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Sunday, December 2, 3-5:30pm
iButterflyVilla, Woodside
Monday, December 3, 5:30-7:00pm
The Local Cafe, Alameda
(lunch and music)
Tuesday, December 4, 11:30am-1:30pm
Oshman Family JCC, Palo Alto
Temple Israel of Alameda Menorah Lighting Celebration
Wednesday, December 5, 5-7pm
South Shore Center, Alameda.
Jubilee Klezmer Ensemble
Russian River Jewish Community Chanukah Party
Wednesday, December 5, 5pm
Russian River Senior Center, Guerneville
Chanukah Concert
Thursday, December 6, 1:15 pm
JCCSF, San Francisco
Thursday, December 6, 4-7pm
Marin Country Mart, Larkspur Landing, Larkspur
Thursday, December 6, 7pm 
Jewish Community Library, SF
Klezmer Shabbat
Friday, December 7, 7:30pm
Congregation Sha'ar Zahav, San Francisco
Saul Goodman's Klezmer Band
Saturday, December 8, 12noon-2pm
Saul's Restaurant & Deli, Berkeley
Saturday, December 8, 5:30-7pm
Oshman Family JCC, Palo Alto
Contemporary Compositions of Yiddish and Polish Music, with Ola Bilinska
Saturday, December 8, 8pm
JCC San Francisco, San Francisco
with Cookie Segelstein
Sunday, December 9, 3:30-6:30pm
Kehilla Community Synagogue, Piedmont
Nigunim Chorus Hanukkah Community Celebration
Sunday, December 9, 5:30pm
JCC East Bay, Berkeley
KlezCalifornia Flisik Yidish Salon
Sunday, December 16, 2-4pm
Private home, Oakland
Annual Klezmer Christmas Street Party
Tuesday, December 25, 11am-3pm
Saul's Restaurant & Deli, Berkeley
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Coming in January and beyond
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and Klezmer Conservatory Band, Michael Alpert, Andy Statman
Monday, January 14, 8pm
Davies Symphony Hall, SF
The J-West Conference
January 18-20
La Quinta Inn, Hayward
Sunday, January 20, 2-4pm
Veretski Pass
Sunday, January 20, 4pm
St Alban's Church, Albany
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Donate
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Help us continue our exciting mission to connect people and communities around the Bay Area with Yiddish culture. Donate $18, $36 or $54
here
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If you prefer to mail a check, use the address below.
A sheynem dank! (Thank you very much!)
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