We promote and revitalize Yiddish language, music, and culture in Southern California.

LA Yiddish is a joint project of Kultur Mercado and Der Nister. Through LA Yiddish, we run a monthly Yiddish cultural newsletter, Der Zunenshtral (The Sunbeam), and work to promote Yiddish cultural and educational events and opportunities with our many partner organizations across Southern California.

LA Yiddish serves as a central hub and gathering point for Yiddish culture, language, and community in Southern California — a region with one of the largest and most diverse Jewish populations in the world. Conceived as both a network and an annual celebration, LA Yiddish connects individuals, organizations, and cultural institutions dedicated to exploring and sustaining Yiddish life in all its forms.

At its heart, LA Yiddish is a collaborative initiative designed to bring together the many Yiddish and Jewish cultural efforts scattered across Los Angeles and beyond. It functions as a shared space for coordination, discovery, and creativity where scholars, artists, musicians, educators, and community members can exchange ideas, resources, and inspiration.

Through events such as LA Yiddish Day, ongoing public programs, and digital resources, LA Yiddish aims to revitalize engagement with Yiddish language and culture, while spotlighting California’s unique role in the global Yiddish story. From the early Yiddish poets, cinema, and Yiddish-language journals and press in California to contemporary artists and learners, the project celebrates the continuum of Yiddish creativity that has shaped Jewish life on the West Coast.

We serve as both a bridge and an archive, another link in the goldene keyt (golden chain) connecting generations, mapping cultural memory, and ensuring that the warmth, wit, and wisdom of Yiddish culture remain a living part of California’s cultural landscape.