November 14-16 saw the inaugural Midwest Yiddishfest bring a celebration of Yiddish language and culture to the Champaign-Urbana community. Included in the festivities was a headline performance Saturday night by Golden Thread Ensemble at The Venue CU.

Eventgoers were transported back in time to prominent social movements of the 20th century, from the Russian Revolution to the Labor Movement, through the Ensemble’s “Yiddish Songs of Social Change.” The concert consisted of a varied assortment of traditional and adapted music featuring new arrangements by group member Craig Judelman.

“There’s a lot of resonance to it with what’s going on in the world right now,” said Sara Pfannkuche, audience member and Champaign resident.

Midwest Yiddishfest was created to celebrate the rich history and culture of Yiddish, a Germanic language with Hebrew and other influences historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews in Central and Eastern Europe.

Golden Thread Ensemble describes its project as combining sounds from klezmer music, a classical Yiddish musical tradition, along with folk song, cantorial and classical music. 

When event co-organizer and Urbana resident Frances Harris heard that the group would be performing in Chicago, she jumped at the chance to host them in Champaign-Urbana. From there, the event grew into a three-day cultural affair hosted by the Champaign-Urbana Jewish Federation following a grant from the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts.

“We’re so excited,” said co-organizer and Rabbi Gabe Miner. “It’s been an amazing turnout from the Jewish community, from the larger community.”

Performing at the event were group members Lorin Sklamberg as the lead vocalist and accordion player, Craig Judelman on violin and vocals, Abigale Reisman on violin, Lysander Jaffe on viola, Raffi Boden on cello and Kirsten Lamb on bass and vocals. Vocalist Sasha Lurje could not attend due to visa issues. 

The audience of Yiddish and musical enthusiasts was an actively engaged crowd, clapping and swaying along to the music, cheering and contributing overall to the lively atmosphere created by the music. Some organizers and patrons even got up to dance. 

The songs were all sung in Yiddish, the lyrics having been pulled from works from prominent poets, musicians and activists, but the group displayed English subtitles on the big screen for most of the songs.

As Harris pointed out in her introduction, the ensemble consists of some of the world’s premier klezmer musicians and was a major selling point for the weekend’s festivities. She talked excitedly about the resurgence of interest in Yiddish culture and its thousand-year history.

After immigrating to America and especially after World War II, many Jewish immigrants wanted to put Yiddish culture behind them to assimilate into American life.

“This is why I didn’t grow up speaking Yiddish, because my parents and grandparents just wanted to be in America,” Harris said. “Now we’re all saying, ‘Wait a minute, this is a cultural treasure that we don’t want to abandon.’”

Saturday evening’s event was only one of many programs put on in honor of the festival. Other festivities included Yiddish 101 lessons, children’s Yiddish story time at the Champaign Public Library and short lightning lectures about Yiddish history at the ARC. 

“Part of the preservation work is also the celebration work,” Miner said. “The people who came are leaving with an appreciation and an understanding of it.”

The grand conclusion Sunday evening consisted of more live klezmer music and a bake-off for the best kugel, a traditional casserole dish, judged by the mayors of Champaign and Urbana as well as the Interim Vice Chancellor Designate of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for the University. 

Golden Thread Ensemble will be continuing its United States and Canada tour with November shows in Los Angeles, Seattle and Vancouver.

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