The Rena Costa Center for Yiddish Studies

The Rene Costa Center for Yiddish Studies began as a chair for Yiddish studies in 1983. Over the years, the chair has become a vibrant center within the Department of People's Literature in the Faculty of Jewish Studies.
For about a thousand years, the Yiddish language was used by the majority of European Jews and was also the language of many outside the borders of the continent. In this language, over the generations, cultural treasures have been created that are inexhaustible sources for fruitful academic research. The Center for Yiddish Studies is one of the only ones in Israel and in the world that offers the student population the opportunity to specialize in master's and master's degree courses, as part of their studies in the department. The students receive linguistic training that enables them to read literary and scientific texts and are exposed to a fascinating variety of genres and content that reflect a thousand years of life and abundant creation. The students acquire tools for the study of multifaceted culture, which they can apply in research branches in various fields of knowledge, making its unique contents accessible to a variety of target audiences, for teaching and creation. A unique and prominent feature of the center's curriculum is the teaching of some of the courses in Yiddish, as appropriate for any framework of language and culture studies.
A rich library with an impressive collection of books and periodicals is available to the students of the center.
Over the years, the center has been and continues to be in contact with academic units in Israel and around the world that are engaged in the study of the Yiddish language and its culture, as well as with cultural institutions to which Yiddish is close.
The center's outstanding teaching staff is recognized and appreciated in international research forums and has a long and high-quality list of important scientific publications in Israel and around the world.

What do we learn?
• The Center for Yiddish Studies wishes to present a broad and interdisciplinary picture of Yiddish literature and culture against the background of contemporary Hebrew and general literature and in relation to the periods, places, events and processes within which it was created and developed.
• Language studies at beginner and advanced level.
• Genres and contents in old Yiddish literature (up to the eighteenth century).
• Genres and contents in modern Yiddish literature.
• Hassidism and its connection to Yiddish.
• Geographically related creators and works (Poland, the Soviet Union, the United States, etc.).
• Children's literature in Yiddish.
• The world of the individual and the general in Yiddish memoirs.
• The work in Yiddish during and about the Holocaust.
• Yiddish press as a center of public and cultural discourse.
• Jewish education in Yiddish.
• Folk culture in Yiddish.
• Yiddish theater for generations.
• Yiddish cinema and its achievements.
So why study at the center for Yiddish studies?
• Courses in a variety of focused and interdisciplinary fields of knowledge.
• Unmediated acquaintance with a glorious culture that was lost and a contribution to its perpetuation.
• A library rich in books and periodicals.
• Excellent teaching staff.
• Study tours in cultural institutions.
• Seminars.
• Discussion between the research students.
• Personal treatment and a pleasant study atmosphere.
• Scholarships for those who qualify.
1. The structure of the program
Master's and Master's degrees in the Department of Literature with the People of Israel, specializing in Yiddish culture
Master's degree
• Track A - research (with thesis): 14 NIS.
• Track B - non-research (no thesis): 18 NIS.
Ph.D
• 12 Sh

Details of the department's requirements on the department's website:
https://hebrew-literature.biu.ac.il/node/2184

Admission conditions

• For those registering for a master's degree in both tracks: a bachelor's degree from a recognized institution in Israel or abroad with an average grade of at least 85.
• For applicants for a third degree: a master's degree from a recognized institution in Israel or abroad with an average grade of at least 85.
• personal interview.
• Complementary studies according to department and center requirements.
• Knowledge of Yiddish is desirable but not necessary.

Want to hear more? happily!
Contact Information
yiddish.center@biu.ac.il
03-5318630
Building 410, room 303