Mordkhe Schaechter

Itsye Mordkhe Schaechter (; December 1, 1927 – February 15, 2007) was a leading Yiddish linguist, writer, and educator who spent a lifetime studying, standardizing and teaching the language.

Schaechter, whose passion for Yiddish dated to his boyhood in Romania, dedicated his life to reclaiming Yiddish as a living language for the descendants of its first speakers, the Ashkenazic Jewry of central and eastern Europe. He was also the third editor of Afn Shvel (1957–2004), a Yiddish magazine.

In Europe He was born Itsye Mordkhe Schaechter in the then-Romanian town of Tshernovits (in Yiddish; known in German as Czernowitz, in Romanian as Cernăuţi, and in Ukrainian as Chernivtsi). He became fascinated with Yiddish as a student, and he decided to study linguistics at the University of Bucharest. He earned his doctorate in Linguistics at the University of Vienna in 1951.

From 1947 to 1951, Schaechter lived in the Arzbergerstrasse Displaced persons (DP) camp in Vienna. During this period he worked for the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, as a zamler, or collector, for the YIVO Archives.

In the United States When Schaechter came to the United States in 1951, he served in military intelligence in the United States Army during the Korean War.

Family

His mother, Lifshe Schaechter-Widman, wrote a memoir, Durkhgelebt a Velt (A Full Life) in 1973, and served as a resource for folksong researchers with her recording Az Di Furst Avek (When You Go Away).

His sister Beyle Schaechter-Gottesman was a renowned Yiddish poet and songwriter.

Schaechter's daughter Rukhl Schaechter is the editor of the Yiddish edition of The Forward. His daughter Gitl Schaechter-Viswanath is a Yiddish-language poet and edited the Comprehensive English-Yiddish Dictionary. teaches Yiddish among the ultra-Orthodox community in Tsfat, Israel. His son, Binyumen Schaechter, is the music director and choral arranger for the Yiddish Philharmonic Chorus.

His nephew Itzik Gottesman is a contributor to The Forward and the online journal In Geveb, and a scholar of Yiddish folklore.

His grandson Naftali Schaechter Ejdelman helped found Yiddish Farm, which facilitates Yiddish-immersion programs on an organic farm in Goshen, NY.

His grandson Arun Schaechter Viswanath is the Yiddish translator of Harry Potter and Pippi Longstocking.

Death He died on February 15, 2007, after a long illness following a stroke in the summer of 2002.

Publications Di Geviksn-Velt in Yidish ["Plant Names in Yiddish: A Handbook of Botanical Terminology"]. New York: League for Yiddish/YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, 2005. Yiddish II: An Intermediate and Advanced Textbook. Fourth Edition. New York: League for Yiddish, 2004. Fun Folkshprakh tsu Kulturshprakh [The History of the Standardized Yiddish Spelling], New York: League for Yiddish/YIVO, 1999. Kurs Fun Yidisher Ortografye [A Course of the Yiddish Orthography], 4th ed. New York: League for Yiddish, 1996. Trogn, Hobn un Friyike Kinder-yorn [Pregnancy, Childbirth and Early Childhood]. New York: League for Yiddish, 1991. English-Yidish Verterbikhl Fun Akademisher Terminologye [English-Yiddish Dictionary of Academic Terminology]. New York: League for Yiddish, 1988. Laytish Mame-Loshn [Authentic Yiddish]. New York: League for Yiddish, 1986. Mit A Gutn Apetit! Reshime Gastronomishe Terminen Bon Appétit! [Yiddish Gastronomic Terminology]. New York-Hamden-Philadelphia: Foundation for a Living Yiddish, 1976. Elyokum Tsunzers Verk: Kritishe Oysgabe, [The Works of Elyokum Zunser: A critical edition]. New York: YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, [2 volumes], 1964. Guide to the Standardized Yiddish Orthography. YIVO, 1961. Aktionen im Jiddischen: Ein sprachwissenschaftlicher Beitrag zur Bedeutungslehre des Verbums. Phil. Diss. Vienna 1951.