Our 4th weekend of immersion in Yiddish will be held from Friday 20 to Sunday 22 June 2025. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here. Reduced early bird prices are available until April 12.
Once again, the Sof-Vokh will take place at Hillscourt, a hotel and conference centre built in 1897 and located in the lush green surroundings of the Lickey Hills outside Birmingham and within easy reach of a railway station. This year the Sof-Vokh has exclusive use of the centre, which will become a true enclave of Yiddishland for the duration.
The retreat brings together around 60 attendees of all ages from across the United Kingdom, Europe and farther afield, including a range of language backgrounds from keen learners to native speakers. It’s a fantastic opportunity to meet fellow Yiddishists and reconnect with old friends.
For more information regarding accommodation options, refunds, and accessibility, please see our FAQ page.
Bursaries
We strive to make the space accessible for participants with a variety of individual needs and may be able to offer bursaries for those who cannot otherwise afford to attend. We are unlikely to have the same level of funding available as last year so may not be able to meet all requests in full. As a guide, we are likely to be offering bursaries of up to £150 but we will consider each application individually. Please find the bursary application form here. Please complete the application form, save the file, and email it to svbursaries@yiddishcafe.com.
To make a financial gift towards our bursary funds, please donate here.
Programming
The programme will be confirmed soon but typically features an enormously broad range of workshops, talks, discussions and activities, which participants propose and lead themselves on a voluntary basis. In the past these have included everything from talks about the history of Yiddish in Finland to workshops on traditional pickling, spirited football matches and mini-concerts. We also offer activities suitable for families with children.
One special highlight of every Sof-Vokh are the open-mic sessions, modelled after the monthly Yiddish Open Mic Café. These typically include musical performances, readings of literature new and old, theatrical sketches and special presentations from the weekend’s workshops. You can sign up for a slot beforehand or spontaneously during the weekend. Of course, performing is completely optional and applause is an equally welcome contribution.
The weekend also includes many opportunities to socialise and get to know each other: singalongs, Shabes dinner and havdole, all-inclusive vegetarian meals, coffee breaks with bountiful hot beverages and biscuits – and even some dancing. Your registration fee includes your room, all meals, and all activities.
Programmed events will be in the conference centre, which is a very short distance from the accommodation and dining block, along a path accessible to wheelchairs.
Further info
If you’re interested in learning more about whether coming to the Sof-Vokh is for you, In Geveb recently published an interview (in English) with two of our organisers which you can read here. You can also read press coverage of the 2023 Sof-Vokh in the Forverts article “A Yiddish Weekend in the English Countryside” (in Yiddish) and in the spring/summer 2023 issue of the League for Yiddish’s print journal Afn Shvel (also in Yiddish). Finally, please find below a few testimonials from past attendees:
“Having learned Yiddish entirely online during the pandemic, it was a real delight to be able to experience Yiddish in real life. I want to say a particular thank you to the Sof-Vokh team for being so helpful with making sure I could access and participate in everything with my wheelchair.”
– Natasha Lipman
“The Sof-vokh was exactly what I was looking for as a Yiddish learner – an immersive experience in the language. I came away feeling really encouraged that yes, I can speak Yiddish.”
– Josh Kassanis
“Walking into the Yiddish Sof-Vokh was like entering a parallel universe and my only regret is that it’s not a Yiddish Yor. After 48 hours and several lifetimes I was dreaming in Yiddish, and I left Wortley Hall very reluctantly with new friends, new tunes, ample food for thought, and a voracious appetite for more.”
– Jake Schneider