Yiddishkeit (
YiddishYiddish is a non-territorial High German language of Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world...
: ייִדישקייט —
yidishkeyt in standard transcription) literally means "Jewishness", i.e. "
a Jewish way of life", in the Yiddish language. It can refer to
JudaismJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
or forms of
Orthodox JudaismOrthodox Judaism is a formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim.Orthodox...
when used by religious or Orthodox Jews. In a more general sense it has come to mean the "Jewishness" or "Jewish essence" of
Ashkenazi JewsAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities of the Rhineland valley and northern France...
in general and the traditional Yiddish-speaking Jews of Eastern and Central Europe in particular.
From a more secular perspective it is associated with the
popular culturePopular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture...
or
folkThe English word Folk is derived from a Germanic noun *fulka meaning "people" or "army"...
practices of Yiddish-speaking Jews, such as popular religious traditions, Eastern European
Jewish foodJewish Cuisine is the collection of cooking traditions of the Jewish people. It is a diverse cuisine that has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws and Jewish Festival and Sabbath traditions...
, Yiddish humour,
shtetlA shtetl was typically a small town with a large Jewish population in pre-Holocaust Central and Eastern Europe...
life, and
klezmerKlezmer is a musical tradition which parallels Hasidic and Ashkenazic Judaism...
music, among other things.
Before the
HaskalahHaskalah , the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the late 18th century that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew language, and Jewish history...
and the
emancipation of JewsJewish emancipation was the external and internal process of freeing the Jewish people of Europe, including recognition of their rights as equal citizens, and the formal granting of citizenship as individuals; it occurred gradually between the late eighteenth century and the early twentieth century...
in Europe, central to
Yiddishkeit were
Torah studyTorah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...
and
TalmudThe Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....
ical studies for men, and a family and communal life governed by the observance of
Jewish LawHalakha — also transliterated Halocho and Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish religious law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions....
for men and women.
Yiddishkeit (
YiddishYiddish is a non-territorial High German language of Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world...
: ייִדישקייט —
yidishkeyt in standard transcription) literally means "Jewishness", i.e. "
a Jewish way of life", in the Yiddish language. It can refer to
JudaismJudaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible , as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts...
or forms of
Orthodox JudaismOrthodox Judaism is a formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim.Orthodox...
when used by religious or Orthodox Jews. In a more general sense it has come to mean the "Jewishness" or "Jewish essence" of
Ashkenazi JewsAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities of the Rhineland valley and northern France...
in general and the traditional Yiddish-speaking Jews of Eastern and Central Europe in particular.
From a more secular perspective it is associated with the
popular culturePopular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture...
or
folkThe English word Folk is derived from a Germanic noun *fulka meaning "people" or "army"...
practices of Yiddish-speaking Jews, such as popular religious traditions, Eastern European
Jewish foodJewish Cuisine is the collection of cooking traditions of the Jewish people. It is a diverse cuisine that has evolved over many centuries, shaped by Jewish dietary laws and Jewish Festival and Sabbath traditions...
, Yiddish humour,
shtetlA shtetl was typically a small town with a large Jewish population in pre-Holocaust Central and Eastern Europe...
life, and
klezmerKlezmer is a musical tradition which parallels Hasidic and Ashkenazic Judaism...
music, among other things.
Before the
HaskalahHaskalah , the Jewish Enlightenment, was a movement among European Jews in the late 18th century that advocated adopting enlightenment values, pressing for better integration into European society, and increasing education in secular studies, Hebrew language, and Jewish history...
and the
emancipation of JewsJewish emancipation was the external and internal process of freeing the Jewish people of Europe, including recognition of their rights as equal citizens, and the formal granting of citizenship as individuals; it occurred gradually between the late eighteenth century and the early twentieth century...
in Europe, central to
Yiddishkeit were
Torah studyTorah study is the study by Jewish people of the Torah, Hebrew Bible, Talmud, responsa, rabbinic literature and similar works, all of which are Judaism's religious texts...
and
TalmudThe Talmud is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history. It is a central text of mainstream Judaism....
ical studies for men, and a family and communal life governed by the observance of
Jewish LawHalakha — also transliterated Halocho and Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish religious law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions....
for men and women. Among
HarediHaredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism, sometimes referred to as Ultra-Orthodox Judaism, though the term is considered pejorative by some, is the most theologically conservative form of Orthodox Judaism...
Jews of Eastern European descent, who compose the majority of Jews who still speak Yiddish in their every-day lives, the word has retained this meaning.
But with
secularizationSecularization or secularisation generally refers to the transformation by which a society migrates from close identification with religious institutions to a more separated relationship...
,
Yiddishkeit has come to encompass not just traditional Jewish religious practice, but a broad range of movements, ideologies, practices, and traditions in which Ashkenazi Jews have participated and retained their sense of "Jewishness".
Yiddishkeit has been identified in manners of speech, in styles of humor, in patterns of association. Another quality often associated with
Yiddishkeit is an emotional attachment and identification with the Jewish people.
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