Bridging Communities the Oy Way

Long-time JAMsj supporter Harvey Gotliffe organized several Gathering of Friends events that brought together former Japanese American internees and Holocaust survivors so that they could discuss their own personal stories. At the first Gathering of Friends event in 2005, a Holocaust survivor was sitting next to a former Japanese American internee, and held up a sign and said, “This is my name in Japanese.” Her new found friend held up a sign that the survivor had made, and proudly proclaimed, “This is my name in Yiddish.”While few members of the Japanese American community were able to speak Yiddish, Harvey has published a book that might help resolve that situation. The Oy Way is an entertaining book that helps readers learn thirty-six Yiddish expressions while engaging in a restorative, meditative, moving exercise experience.If you want to learn about The Oy Way, just click here to get to the author's web site, and be prepared to speak a bisl  (bit of) Yiddish by the next Gathering of Friends.