Heritage Words features interviews about the words we've inherited and the meaning they bring to our lives. Heritage Words is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project, which raises awareness about Jewish ancestral diversity through the lens of language, in partnership with HUC Connect. Sarah Bunin Benor is the host.
Marek Jezowski and Dominika Zakrzewska-Olędzka, members of Warsaw's progressive Jewish community, discuss their experiences reclaiming their Jewish identity in today’s Poland. Marek recounts fighting the 1982 government to register his daughter's Hebrew name, while Dominika shares her personal process of choosing the Jewish name Lilach. They describe navigating a linguistic landscape where Hebrew and Yiddish words like kippah and shul are integrated into daily conversations. Heritage Words – conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives – is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
How do you talk about Shabbat? Do you say Hamotsi or Nöten? Kiddush or ‘Adus? Attend knis, kenisa, kal, or shul? This episode features American Jews from various backgrounds – including Syrian, Bukharian, Persian, Iraqi, and Ashkenazi – discussing their Shabbat traditions, with a focus on the unique words from other languages present in their English. Heritage Words – conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives – is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
Ariel Lazarus, Nissimmi Naim-Naor, and Samuel Torjman Thomas discuss their diverse Mediterranean Jewish roots spanning Morocco, Gibraltar, and Libya. The guests detail how family histories are preserved through heritage words, explaining how unique dialects like Llanito and Tripolitanian Arabic pronunciations shaped their identities. They describe their upbringing as deeply infused with ancestral traditions, carrying forward heirlooms like chraime recipes and Andalusian piyyutim. Through their respective arts in food and music, the trio celebrates convivencia and the dynamic quality of Jewish culture. They conclude by discussing the vital social aspect of preserving and sharing these tangible and spiritual heirlooms. Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
Growing up in a polyglot household, Benny Ginsberg-Margo developed a deep fascination with the intersection of language and identity. With mixed Sephardi and Ashkenazi roots, he developed a connection to Ladino after encountering it during his bar mitzvah. As a linguistics student and WikiTongues fellow, Benny launched Mersi Muncho, a Ladino cooking YouTube channel, to revitalize the language and celebrate Sephardi culture. In this episode, he shares his vision for Ladino's future as a community language for generations to come. Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
Hannelore Krug, a German-Jewish immigrant, and her son Ken, a genealogy enthusiast, discuss their family's roots in Hesse-Nassau, Germany. They detail the family's history as cattle dealers, noting a unique professional German-based jargon that incorporated many Hebrew words, including for numbers. Hannelore describes immigrating to New York in 1937 and her rapid linguistic assimilation, while Ken recalls German becoming a secret language used by his elders. Through preserving heritage words like schneckchen and traditional recipes like bienenstich, Ken pieces together their ancestral puzzle. He concludes by highlighting his extensive genealogical research and successful efforts to reclaim their family's German citizenship. Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
Michèle Russel-Capriles and Phyllis Meit of the Jewish Cultural Historical Museum in Curaçao discuss their roots as Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews on the island. Michèle details her 15th-generation Sephardic heritage and the unique Jewish Papiamentu vocabulary her grandmother documented. Phyllis describes her Ashkenazi background, tracing her family from a Romanian shtetl to the Caribbean, and notes the survival of Yiddishisms within her community. Through their work, they preserve and showcase the island's diverse cultural history. They conclude by reflecting on their multilingual upbringing and the importance of keeping ancestral languages alive. Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
Ruben Shimonov, a multilingual educator and artist, discusses his roots as a Bukharian Jew from Uzbekistan. Ruben details the etymology of his names, explaining how the Russian suffix -ov was forced upon Bukharian names. He describes his linguistic upbringing in Tashkent as primarily Russian, yet deeply infused with Bukharian loanwords like bas and osvo. Through his Hebrew-Arabic-Persian calligraphy, Ruben builds interfaith bridges and celebrates the "Persianate" Jewish world. He concludes by discussing the vulnerability of the Bukharian language and his efforts to preserve it within the diaspora. Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
Memoirist Samantha Ellis discusses her background as the daughter of Iraqi Jewish refugees and her memoir about losing her ancestral tongue, Judeo-Iraqi Arabic. Samantha speaks about her family's migration from Baghdad to the UK, explaining why her parents chose not to fully pass the language down to her. And she explores her evolving connection to her ancestral culture, from her heritage words and foods like amba to embracing her role as a "keeper" of Judeo-Iraqi Arabic, rather than a fluent speaker. Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
Sarah Bunin Benor interviews musician Yoni Avi Battat, who discusses his background studying classical violin and his journey to bringing Arab music into the American Jewish soundscape. Yoni discusses his mixed Ashkenazi and Iraqi-Jewish heritage, explaining how he reclaims his Iraqi roots through microtonal melodies, the oud, and his album Fragments. Yoni explores the contrasting experiences of his ancestral languages, from his Polish maternal side's loss of Yiddish to the vibrant Judeo-Iraqi Arabic of his paternal grandparents, finding connection through heritage words like abdalak and the guttural sounds of Arabic. Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
Jenna Weissman Joselit discusses Restless Soul , her biography of Mordecai M. Kaplan. Jenna begins by exploring her own family’s linguistic history, including the myth of a “Marrano bullfighter” ancestor, before diving into Kaplan's 102-year life and massive diary that he called his “golem.” She details Kaplan’s vision of Judaism as a civilization rather than just a religion, highlighting his goal to create “plus-Jews” who embrace the joys of tradition. Jenna explains Kaplan’s rejection of Yiddish in favor of Hebrew and English and his invention of terms like “peoplehood” and “Reconstructionism”—a term likely borrowed from Upper West Side real estate development. Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
Meet Joseph Bendahan, a nuclear physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who grew up in Caracas, Venezuela. Joseph details his family’s Sephardic roots in the Moroccan cities of Tetouan and Ouezzane before their migration to South America. Reflecting on the endangerment of his ancestral language, Haketia, he describes how the mix of Spanish, Hebrew, and Arabic thrived in Venezuela’s unique social environment. Joseph highlights vivid folklore like the chicken-footed dembajos and expressive phrases like se te caiga el mazzal, illustrating how even his Ashkenazi friends adopted these colorful Sephardic words on the playground. Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
Today we want to introduce you to another podcast that we think you’ll like, Ayuni: Voices of our Jewish Grandmothers. On Heritage Words we discuss Jewish culture that's passed down through the generations. Ayuni does that too, taking us into the homes of Jewish families from the Middle East and North Africa. Dalya Arussy Di Veroli, Sarah Sassoon, and Dr. Drora Arussy have delightful conversations around rituals, holidays, food, and, yes, heritage words. Even their title is a heritage word. As their description says, "Ayuni, a term of endearment meaning “my eyes,” passes from grandmother to granddaughter, carrying worlds of memory, longing, and love." Check out Ayuni on YouTube and wherever you listen to your podcasts. As a taste, here's a sample episode we think you'll like: Food As Memory. The hosts share the foods they grew up on and the stories surrounding them. Enjoy this bonus episode! Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
Sarah Bunin Benor interviews Nora Lacey, founder of the Assyrian Arts Institute, and Alan Niku, a filmmaker and scholar of Mizrahi culture. Together, they explore the connections between their endangered Neo-Aramaic dialects: Nora’s Christian Assyrian and Alan’s Jewish Hulaulá from Sanandaj. Nora details her work revitalizing the language through the arts, including the first Assyrian opera, Gilgamesh, while Alan discusses documenting his heritage through his Dreamy Kalimi video series. The guests test their mutual intelligibility and share heritage words. Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
Sarah Bunin Benor interviews Sam Miller, a computational linguist of mixed Ashkenazi and Nash-Didan heritage. Sam details his maternal roots in the cosmopolitan city of Urmia, Iran, where his family navigated a multilingual world of Aramaic, Farsi, and Kurdish. Driven by a childhood desire to shoulder the “burden” of his endangered ancestral language, he discusses his documentation work with the Jewish Language Project. Sam highlights Nash-Didan heritage words for traditional foods like shifteh and tava, and shares creative revitalization projects, including a Lishan Didan cover of “Country Roads.” Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
Sarah Bunin Benor interviews Ashton Kahen, a Baruch College student and researcher dedicated to Iranian Jewish history and endangered languages. Ashton details his family’s diverse roots across Iran, including Tuyserkan, Damavand, and Kashan. Driven by a desire to preserve his heritage, he discusses his work documenting his ancestral language, Judeo-Tuyserkani, which has led to a partnership with the Jewish Language Project. Ashton highlights common Persian Jewish heritage words like kenisa and Ben Ebri, while also exploring the Farsi-English language mixing prevalent in his Great Neck community. Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
Sarah Bunin Benor interviews writer and journalist Lauren Hakimi, whose family roots trace back to Mashhad, Iran, via Tehran. Lauren recounts the unique history of Mashhadi Jews, including the forced conversion, which led her ancestors to practice Judaism in secret for a century. She discusses the social separation of Mashhadi Jews from "Tehrani" (non-Mashhadi Persian) Jews in Great Neck, New York, a major center of Persian Jews. Lauren shares how her father integrated the Yiddish word tuches into their family and also shares Farsi terms like gabool boshe and delbozorg . She also discusses her reporting on Persian Jewish languages re-emerging in relatives with dementia. Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
Sarah Bunin Benor interviews comedian Ariel Elias, who discusses her unique background as a Jew growing up in Kentucky and her move to the Jewish comedy scene in New York. Ariel discusses her mixed Ashkenazi and Sephardic heritage, explaining why she prioritizes the Spanish connection and how she obtained Spanish citizenship. Ariel explores the contrasting experiences of her ancestral languages, from inheriting some Yiddish words like yenta and shaina maidele from her maternal side to feeling the "hurt" of losing her paternal side's Ladino. Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
This Heritage Words episode features Raphael Bob-Waksberg, creator of the new Netflix series Long Story Short. Bob-Waksberg discusses his Ashkenazi roots, noting that his primary exposure to Yiddish came from American pop culture such as Mad Magazine and Mel Brooks. He also discusses his show's use of overlapping dialogue and Yiddish heritage words such as tsures and ungepatchke, sharing that this specificity allows audiences to find universal connections. Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records. Clips in this episode are courtesy of The Tornante Company.
This episode features Stephanie Ives, who shares her experience growing up in Los Angeles with a diverse Middle Eastern Jewish heritage, tracing ancestors from Tunisia, Libya, and Iraq. She discusses the various languages and cultural practices that shaped her and her journey to rediscover and transmit her family's Arabic and French heritage words to her children, emphasizing the importance of preserving this cultural depth for future generations. Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
This episode features Dr. Karen Skinazi, who explores her diverse linguistic heritage, tracing words and expressions from her Ashkenazi mother's Yiddish-speaking background, including terms like "eggies" and "zei gezunt". She also delves into her Sephardic Egyptian-Israeli father's influence, discussing Arabic words like "do'a" and "howaga," a French children's rhyme, and Hebrew expressions. Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the HUC Jewish Language Project and HUC Connect. Host and producer: Sarah Bunin Benor Assistant producer: Kyle Elbaz Fingerhut Editor: Avishay Artsy Video editor: Talia Ehrenberg Theme music: Maurice El Medioni’s French and Algerian Judeo-Arabic album “Cafe Oran,” featuring the Klezmatics’ David Krakauer and Frank London, courtesy of Piranha Records.
