Photo by Victor Nechay
By Rukhl Schaechter
July 3, 2025
For New York Yiddish fans, the concert at SummerStage in Central Park last Monday evening was a night to remember.
Billed as the world’s largest Yiddish sing-along, the concert, produced by the Folksbiene Yiddish National Theater, drew close to 2,500 people. The event, co-produced by Golden Land Productions, was put together by Folksbiene’s artistic director Zalmen Mlotek and associate artistic director Motl Didner.
As in the Folksbiene’s previous concerts at SummerStage, the talent on the stage was inspiring. Eleanor Reissa, Daniel Kahn, Joanne Borts, Lea Kalisch, Riki Rose and many other Yiddish music stars performed a variety of songs in Yiddish, while the lyrics in English transliteration and translation flashed by above them.
Throughout the concert, the renowned Klezmer Brass Allstars headed by Frank London provided the accompaniment.
But what really stood out for me as I sat in one of the back rows was the number of young people attending and obviously enjoying the event. Compared to other Yiddish concerts where senior citizens make up the bulk of the audience, the crowd here had a high number of 20- and 30-somethings.
The result was a lot more cheering and whistling and all-around high-octane energy, kind of like a Yiddish rock concert. Although some young guys sitting in front of me eyed each other and laughed when asked to join in the refrain of the folk song “Tumbalalayka,” they clapped along to the melody anyway, seemingly caught up in the lively spirit of the evening.
Something else stood out for me there. During a time of growing concern about antisemitism, when some Jews say they’re avoiding visibly Jewish outdoor events, it was refreshing to see so many people coming together simply to listen to and sing along in Yiddish.
In fact, there was an unmistakable sense of Jewish pride among the spectators. When stand-up comedian Modi declared that seeing so many Jews coming together to sing in Yiddish was a sign that Moshiakh (the Messiah) was near, the crowd cheered. And when the singers led the audience with “Am Yisroel Chai” — a Hebrew song composed by Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach for the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry movement in the 1960s, people stood up, singing along and swaying.
The finale of the concert is captured well in this video. It begins with Daniel Kahn performing his Yiddish version of “This Land is Your Land” — an apparent nod of support for immigrants who fear being deported during these chaotic days — followed by a song for peace, “Un mir zenen ale brider” (We are all brothers). The clip was filmed by the writer and publicist Shira Dicker.
