Will knowledge of Yiddish be useful traveling in Israel?
I am traveling to Israel for the first time this summer, and generally when I go to a country I like to learn a little bit of the language to make navigation easier (and because it's cool).
However, I'm already reasonably competent in Yiddish and would love an opportunity to actually use it (and really don't know Hebrew well at all). Is Yiddish spoken enough in Israel that it's likely to come up? Are there parts of Israel where there might be more Yiddish speakers?
Best Answer
You'd be most likely to find people speaking Yiddish in Chareidi neighborhoods.
One exercise that might be interesting to you would be to walk into a shop in Meah Shearim, in Jerusalem, an strike up a conversation in Yiddish with the shopkeeper.
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Is Yiddish widely spoken in Israel?
Today, there are about 1 million Yiddish speakers around the world, including 250,000 of Israel's 3.5 million Jews. Israelis speaking the language include the elderly, immigrants from the Soviet Union and the ultra-Orthodox who reserve Hebrew for prayers.Do you need to know Hebrew to visit Israel?
As tourists in Israel, there is no expectation to speak Hebrew, however, it is almost always appreciated and shows that visitors are making an effort to speak or understand the language.What percentage of Israel speaks Yiddish?
Today, just three percent of Israel's Jews \u2013 about 215,000 people, most of them haredim \u2013 speak Yiddish.Do I need to speak Hebrew to live in Israel?
Yes, living in Israel without speaking Hebrew is very possible.The State of Yiddish in Israel: Yechiel Szeintuch's Experiences with Yiddish in His Time in Israel
More answers regarding will knowledge of Yiddish be useful traveling in Israel?
Answer 2
As long as you are dressed modestly, meaning long skirt and long sleeves, you can go into some of the Chareidi stores and the men will talk to you, as long as you have some purpose for being there, i.e. buying something. I have done this on multiple occasions.
Answer 3
Yiddish is spoken by older Russian immigrants (50+) all over. However it is not clear and has to be searched for. Since it is identified with old Ashkenazi and religious Haredi, outside certain neighbourhoods (some mentioned above) and cities (Bnei-Brak, parts of Jerusalem) it is not obvious. Anyway it will not hurt to use Yiddish, which Israelis see as a dead language. There is a goodsearched Yiddish theatre in Tel Aviv.
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