Heritage Words

In this episode, Sarah Bunin Benor hands over hosting duties to a guest host, Jack Lieberman, who interviews his mother, Michele, about her ancestral language, Yiddish. From family memories to funny Yiddish anecdotes, their chat is a heartfelt tribute to preserving cultural language, food, and music as living links to a vibrant past.

Jack was a student in Sarah’s class "Jewish Language in the 21st Century" at the Universit...

In this episode, Sarah Bunin Benor interviews Ethiopian Jewish mother and son, Tawkalich Michal Avera Samuel and Telahun Liad Samuel, who share stories about their family’s migration, cultural traditions, and the Amharic words that connect their generations. Their conversation highlights how heritage words for foods, holidays, and rituals preserve identity and keep the community’s rich history alive across generations.

Heritage Word...

In this episode, Sarah Bunin Benor interviews Sarah Aroeste in front of a live audience about her journey in exploring her Sephardic heritage through language and travel. They discuss Sarah Aroeste’s efforts to engage people of all ages to learn more about Sephardic Jewry through her career in writing and singing Ladino songs and writing multilingual, Sephardic-themed children’s books that encourage the usage of heritage words.

Heri...

In this episode, Yosef Goldman talks with Sarah Bunin Benor about the rich influence of Arabic music on his Sephardic Jewish heritage, showing how these sounds bridge cultures and generations from Yemen to New York. Yosef discusses the challenge of blending Sephardic and Mizrahi prayer styles into Ashkenazi services, highlighting the importance of educating communities about this rich diversity.

Heritage Words - conversations about ...

In this episode, Sarah Bunin Benor interviews Galeet Dardashti, an anthropologist, musician, composer, and a trailblazing and award-winning performer and scholar of Middle Eastern Jewish culture. Galeet also co-created the award-winning podcast “The Nightingale of Iran,” about her family's Persian musical legacy.

Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by th...

In this episode, Sarah Bunin Benor interviews Asher Shasho Levy, a Syrian Jewish musician based in San Francisco, where he is the hazan and musical director at The Kitchen, a progressive Jewish community. He's also the leader of the Aram Soba ensemble, a group dedicated to the musical heritage of Syrian Jewry.

Heritage Words - conversations about the words we inherit and the meaning they bring to our lives - is produced by the H...

In this episode, the guest is Mayim Bialik, who discusses Yiddish in American English.

Mayim Bialik is best known for her lead role as Blossom Russo in the early-1990s NBC television sitcom Blossom. She played the role of Amy Farrah Fowler on the critically acclaimed CBS comedy, The Big Bang Theory, a role for which she received 2 Critics’ Choice Award wins, 4 Emmy nominations and a SAG Award nomination. She served as host of Jeopa...

In this episode, the guest is Sarah Sassoon, who discusses Judeo-Baghdadi Arabic in Australian English.

Sarah Sasoon is an Australian born, Iraqi Jewish writer, poet, and educator. She is the author of the award winning picture book Shoham’s Bangle and This is Not a Cholent. Her poetry micro chapbook, This is Why We Don’t Look Back was awarded the Harbor Review Jewish Women’s Poetry prize. She is an editorial advisor for Distinctio...

In this episode, the guest is Ilana Mansharov, who discusses Juhuri in Modern Hebrew and Canadian English.

Ilana Mansharov began her career as a Jewish educator over 21 years ago in Toronto and the greater Toronto area. She comes in with a diverse experience teaching, guiding, developing and leading staff and programs for students of all abilities in Jewish elementary day schools and students of all ages programs in Jewish communal...

In this episode, the guest is Danny Jassen, who discusses Ladino in American English.

Danny Jassen is a Seward Park, Seattle native who grew up in the Sephardic community. His maternal great-grandparents were Ladino-speaking Jewish emigrants from Turkey and the island of Rhodes. He currently serves as a board member for Sephardic Adventure Camp, North America’s only overnight Jewish camp that is a unique Sephardic experience. Havin...

In this episode, the guest is Rozeeta Mavashev, whose heritage language is Bukharian.

A graduate of CUNY with a Master's in Clinical Social Work from Hunter College and a BA in Education and English Literature from the College of Staten Island, Rozeeta Mavashev is deeply committed to education, which has driven her volunteerism and career path in the Jewish professional sector. Currently, she serves as the North American Executive ...

In this episode, the guest is Dr. Evelyn Maria Dean-Olmsted, who discusses the concept of heritage words.

Evelyn Dean-Olmsted is an anthropologist whose academic research focuses on Jewish Latin America.  Her book, provisionally entitled The Pragmatics of Diaspora: Language, identity, and religiosity among young Syrian Jewish Mexicans is forthcoming with Brill. She currently serves as Project Lead at Rosov Consulting, where she co...

Heritage Words is a podcast about how we engage with our ancestral languages in new and creative ways. Heritage Words is produced by the HUC-JIR Jewish Language Project, which raises awareness about Jewish ancestral diversity through the lens of language.

The song used in this trailer is "Sheikhat Al​-​Hara / شيخةالحارة" from Fragments by Yoni Avi Battat, used with permission.

Host and executive producer: Sarah Bunin Benor

Produ...