Yiddish Scholar Will Join Harvard Faculty

Yiddish scholar Ruth Wisse, an outspoken conservative lecturer and writer, will join the Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations faculty in January.

The language has never been a formal component of the Harvard curriculum, Wisse said in an interview yesterday.

Yiddish is a blend of German, He brew and Polish that was spoken by Jews in Eastern Europe.

Wisse, who contributes regularly to the Canadian Jewish News and has been a frequent contributor to Commentary magazine, is a "very, very" outspoken conservative in American and Israeli politics, said Rabbi Reuben Poupko of Montreal's Beth Israel Beth Aaron congregation.

A popular lecturer at McGill University, Wisse has been known to make "antifeminist-type comments," said Tamara L. Hauerstock, a third-year McGill student who majors in Jewish studies.

Poupko said he thinks Wisse will remain an important figure in Montreal.

"We don't think we're losing her," Poupko said. "For us, Boston is just a commute."

Wisse, who fill a new chair in Harvard's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, said the Harvard library system has an excellent Yiddish collection.

"One of the things I really look forward to is just being in the stacks," she said.

Wisse's brother, Jewish Theological Seminary scholar David Roskies, was also in the running for the same Harvard position, Poupko said.

Next year Wisse will teach courses in Jewish writing in America and the works of two Yiddish authors. Both courses will be open to undergraduates and taught in translation.

Wisse won the Fieldhouse award for her undergraduates teaching at McGill.