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The Charlotte Jewish News - May 2013 - Page 14 A College Student’s Experience at the Yiddish Institute By Sarah Mann It is hard to put my experience at the Yiddish Institute into words on a page. The friends I made, the activities I participated in, and the knowledge I gained are truly unique to the program. Never have I felt more comfortable and at home with a group of people I just met than at the Yiddish Insti tute. I was welcomed with open arms into what I’d call a commu nity or rather a mishpocheh of friends and family near and far all sharing a love and passion for the Yiddish language and culture. Having taken up Yiddish at the University of Pennsylvania my sophomore year, partly prompted by hearing my Zeydah speak bits and pieces of “Kitchen Yiddish” and my enthusiasm for studying the Holocaust, I became very in terested in attending the Yiddish Institute. I must admit that I was anxious to attend given the fact that I had just taken up the lan guage, and was far from being flu ent, though I was pleasantly surprised at how relaxed the at mosphere was and how much oth ers were willing to help. While I expected the program to run much like a school, it rather felt more like a summer camp to me - an environment that fosters learning in new and exciting ways, offering different activities to meet every one’s interests. I attended the Yiddish Institute with only two semesters of Yid dish under my belt, hardly any compared to those who have spo ken for a lifetime. However, despite my rather limited knowl edge, I was still able to understand a great deal while others spoke, and was always urged to practice my skills with others in simple conservation. The program offers a very unique way to practice Yid dish. Meals were served in a big dining hall, and people at every table could be heard kibbutzing. The relaxed social setting made me more willing to step out of my comfort zone and push aside Eng lish to speak in Yiddish. Dr. Scott Menaker, dds Dr. Tricia Rodney, dds » General Dentistry for all Ages » CEREC Same Day Crowns and Veneers- no temporaries » Same Day Smile Makeovers » 3-D X-Ray/Cone Beam Imaging for Implant Planning and Placement »All aspects of Cosmetic Dentistry and Smile Enhancement Services » 7:00 AM Appointments Daily » Multiple Clear Orthodontic Options for simple to complex cases » Care Credit Financing-12 month no interest options »Technologically advanced practice including digital x-rays, imaging, and email and texting communications. » Experienced caring professionals serving the community since 1985 New Patients Always Welcome Scott is a long time community volunteer, leader, and sponsor in the Jewish community since 1985. Both he and Tricia, along with their dental team, volunteer their time and expertise to make a positive impact in our community. :)CLT SmileCharlotte.com 2711 Randolph Road, Suite 205 Charlotte, NC 28207 704-377-2503 WADDELL Fincmcia! Advisors™ Providing Personal Financial Planning Investing, With a plan? For more than 70 years Jennifer Sperry, CFP*® FINANCIAL ADVISOR 5950 Fairview Rd. Suite 200 Charlotte, NC 28210 704-553-7220 x127 jsperry@wrad visors, com The Yiddish Institute gave me an opportunity to not only hone my skills as a beginner Yiddish speaker, but also provided me with experienees in whieh to learn firsthand about Yiddish eulture. My fondest memories of the trip were the musieal performanees and late night bonding whereby singing, daneing, storytelling, and sehmoozing would take plaee. In Yiddish elass, I had watehed videos of Klezmer bands, and heard famous Yiddish singers, but to sit in the audienee for a live Klezmer band and singing per- formanee by those with whom I had beeome friends, was truly an amazing experienee. I felt as though I was beginning to under stand the importanee of musie and song not only in Yiddish eulture, but in the greater Jewish eulture as well. As the tunes shot through my veins, I felt the urge to danee, and along with those I just met, I made my way around the audienee, daneing and singing, urging others to partieipate. The late night gatherings were memories I’ll eherish for a life time. While I read short stories, songs, and simple poetry in my Yiddish text books in sehool, dur ing these gatherings I got to hear great Yiddish literature, riddles, and jokes. I surprised myself by how mueh I eould understand. Listening to the stories and per sonal poetry gave me a mueh greater appreeiation for the Yid dish language, perhaps beeause I was enjoying them with a group of people whose love for Yiddish was so immense and whose deter mination to pass on the Yiddish language to those younger and less knowledgeable was so great. The Yiddish Institute provided me with an opportunity that I eould not find elsewhere. It en abled me to refine my language skills, provided me with a greater appreeiation and love for Yiddish eulture, but most importantly in- trodueed me to a loving, weleom- ing, and inspiring group of Yiddish speakers whom I’m most proud and happy to say I’ve met. I was expeeting to spend my time at the program with a few eollege students, however to my surprise I found myself surrounded by a group of people of my parent’s and grandparent’s generation. I was delighted by their interest and willingness to help me improve my skills, their inelination to share life their life experienees, and their energy and passion for what many eonsider a dying language. Before attending the Institute, I was even questioning whether Yiddish was aetually a dying lan guage - a statement many would make upon learning that I had ehosen to study Yiddish. How ever, after attending the Yiddish Institute, I ean surely say with great eertainty that Yiddish is most definitely very alive, and it will take this generation and the next to ensure and safeguard its future. I am proud to say that I will eontinue learning and pursing my passion for Yiddish and hope to help keep sueh a beautiful lan guage and its aeeompanying eul ture alive. ^ J Force at the Levine JCC Waddell & Reed, Inc. Member SIPC By Lauren Abeles “Rock On!” You might hear these words coming from Missy when you walk by the glass windows that en close the J Force room at the Levine JCC. If you look into the room, you will see that the partici pants are working hard and having fun while getting in shape. If you have ever wondered ex actly what J Force is or how it might benefit you, read on! The J Force program is de signed for exercise at all fitness levels and provides a holistic ap proach to a healthier lifestyle. Each day is a new workout, to keep the program fresh and your body challenged. The focus is on strength, aerobic and anaerobic conditioning, muscular en durance, power, agility, balance, and speed. Missy Schomaker is the J Force Coordinator and its leader. This popular program has grown over the last few years and has added more hours and trainers during the week. Josh Ferguson is the new Assistant for the J Force Program. Both Missy and Josh are Certified Personal Trainers and they embrace a full body approach when it comes to fitness, devel oping the body from the inside out. Along with having amazing trainers, one of the most compelling features of J Force is its Wave System, which really differentiates it from other fitness pro grams. Basically, you are able to work out in “waves,” set time frames for a 30 minute high intensity workout, which are scheduled every 45 minutes, and focus on different body parts each day. Monday and Thursday the focus is on lower body, Tuesday and Friday the Missy Schomaker (far right) supervises her client at JForce. focus is on upper body, and Wednesday and Sunday core strength. The trainers consistently vary the routines ensuring a diver sified and fresh program. Often people feel that they are in better condition within weeks. Karen Ransenberg, a longtime Levine JCC member, has recently become a member of the J-Force team and has had a very positive experience. “I have done several exercise classes at the J that I like very much, but I found myself not going consistently. I would walk by the JForce room, and it just seemed beyond my physical reach. However, I tried one class and realized that I could actually do the workout. I thought I would it gives me the flexibility of going to the class at my own conven ience. Missy has pushed me be yond what I thought was my peak of fitness. She is a ‘superwoman’ and she praises you for whatever level you can accomplish. She is welcoming to anyone who walks through that door and her enthusi asm for reaching and going be yond your personal best is infectious. Most days I end my workout out of breath or lying on my back, but at the end I have a great sense of accomplishment.” There are two ways you can try JForce. You are invited to come by or call Missy to set up a time to give it a try. The first session is free. You can also schedule an Intro to JForce session, which is a great segue into JForce. This small group option gives you extra instruction and guidance on the basic exercises, before you try a regular JForce workout. Fitness Trainers Patty Tor- cellini and Cathy Bennett run a similar program for youths from 5th-10th grade called JForce Youth. JForce Youth is a unique program. Teens will experience a similar structured circuit workout that is a lot of fun for them. The kids love working out together and they especially like using the Expresso Bikes. They can drop in anytime Monday-Thursday from 3-5 PM for a 40 minute workout. We presently have over 20 teens enrolled and most come twice a week. Teens of all fitness levels are welcome and their workout fits their individual goals. This is great for teens who are in between team sports seasons or are in need of some strength training that they are not getting at school. ^ Trainer Patty Torcellini, far left, leads a JForce Youth group. start out slowly but found that I wanted to go more often. I try to go at least 4 to 5 times a week. Also, I like that J Force has differ ent wave times during the day, so Charlotte
The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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