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Chutzpah is the best known Yiddish word. It is used by Jews and non-Jews alike to describe someone who has a lot of courage and arrogance. About 100 years ago Yiddish was spoken by 8 to 9 million people around the world. Today Yiddish is alive with more than a million speakers worldwide and a revival of interest in this ancient Jewish language. To keep Yiddish as a living language there are dozens of Yiddish clubs around the world. In Frankfurt the Yiddish Club provides a venue to explore and cherish Yiddish Culture, enjoy cultural opportunities relating to Yiddish language and literature, and offers young people in-depth Yiddish learning opportunities.

Today more Yiddish material is available to everyone than ever before. There is an up-to-date Wikipedia in Yiddish available to everyone in the world, there is a search-engine in Yiddish available to everyone who wants to find Yiddish texts, there are computer programs that can write and read Yiddish. There are also books, periodicals, magazines, comic books and even a Yiddish-English- dictionary. A language exists to enable us to communicate with as many people as possible, but in the case of Yiddish it also tells people who you are.

Wilson Ruiz, Jewish News One, Germany.