Yiddish & Hebrew family letters
Yiddish Letter TranslationYou found the letters. I will tell you what they say.
Old family letters, postcards and records in Yiddish or Hebrew, deciphered from the handwriting, typed out word for word, and translated into clear English or Hebrew.
Prefer to talk? Call +972-52-767-5926 or email chavy@etrog.net.il
- Native Yiddish speaker
- Born in the U.S.
- Translating since 1980
What families send me
Letters, records and inscriptions in Yiddish or Hebrew
Letters from the old country
Letters between parents in Europe and children in America, often the last news a family received.
Postcards and photo backs
Short notes, dedications and names written on postcards and on the back of photographs.
Society minute books
Landsmanshaft and burial society minutes that record members, deaths, burials and dues.
Memoirs and diaries
Handwritten life stories and notebooks kept by a grandparent.
Yizkor books
Memorial books of destroyed towns, including the pages that mention your family.
Hebrew letters
Letters in Hebrew, full of rabbinic abbreviations and dated by the weekly Torah portion.
Records and documents
Certificates, contracts, ledgers, forms and official papers.
Tombstone inscriptions
Hebrew and Yiddish inscriptions, with names explained and dates converted.
What you receive
Three things for every page
A translation alone is not enough when the original is handwritten. You get the full chain, so anyone in the family can check the reading later.
A transcription
Every word typed out in the original Yiddish or Hebrew, exactly as written, so the text can be read, searched and kept.
A translation
Faithful, readable English or Hebrew that keeps the voice and the expressions of the writer.
Notes that explain
Hebrew dates converted to the civil calendar, abbreviations spelled out, and names, places and customs explained.
A real page
Brooklyn, 1936: a burial society’s minutes
A minute book page that records a member’s death and burial. Notice the English words written in Yiddish letters, like מיטינג (meeting) and סעמעטערי (cemetery).
Brooklyn, March 1, 1936
Protocol no. 133
A special meeting is being held; brother Yankel W. is opening the meeting. A cemetery report that Sister Reiza W. passed away on February 6, 1936, and was buried on Friday, February 7, 1936. The committee attended to the legalities to satisfaction, $96 has been paid. Secretary brother Levy W. reports that for one year Anshel H. and Theodore H. haven’t …
ברוקלין, מערץ 1, 1936
פראטאקאל נומ. 133
א ספעציעלע מיטינג ווירדע אבגעהאלטן; ברודער יענקל וו׳ עפענט דיא מיטינג. סעמעטערי בעריכט דאס שוועסטער רייזע וו׳ איז געשטארבען דעם 6׳טען פויבער 1936 אונד בעערדיגט פרייטאג דעם 7 פויבער 1936. דיא קאמיטע האט אללעס אטענדעט געזעצליך אונד צופרידענהייט געפוינטעט 96 דאללער איז באצאהלט געווארען. סעקרעטער ברודער לויע וו׳ בעריכטעט דאס אנשעל ה׳ אונד טהיעדאר ה׳ האבען שאהן ביינאהע איין יאהר נישט …
Excerpt. Family names are shortened to initials for privacy. See more samples
How it works
From a scan to a story in three steps
Send a scan or photo
Use the form or email. Include both sides of every page, and the envelope if you have it. Keep your originals at home.
Get a fixed quote
I read the pages first and tell you the price and the delivery date before any work begins. The quote is free.
Receive your files
Transcription, translation and notes in one document, laid out next to your scan and ready to share with family.
Who reads your letters
Hello, I’m Chavy Eisenstein
Yiddish is my mother tongue. I was born in the United States and have lived in Israel since 1969, so English, Yiddish and Hebrew are all part of my daily life.
Since 1980 I have translated thousands of documents: family letters, memoirs, society records, literary texts, and official forms for government and public bodies. My specialty is the hardest part of the job, reading old handwriting that others could not make out.
- Languages
- Yiddish (native), English, Hebrew
- Experience
- Translating professionally since 1980
- Specialty
- Handwritten Yiddish and Hebrew letters and records
- Clients
- Families, genealogists, archives and public institutions
Questions
Before you send your letters
How much does it cost?
Every page is different. A short, clear postcard takes far less time than a faded four-page letter in tight handwriting. Send a scan and I will give you a fixed price before I start. The quote is free and you are under no obligation.
How long does it take?
Your quote includes a delivery date. Large collections can be done in batches, so you can start reading the first letters sooner.
Can you read faded or damaged handwriting?
Usually, yes. Reading difficult handwriting is my specialty. Where a word cannot be read with confidence, I mark it as illegible or give my best reading with a question mark, so you always know what is certain and what is not.
I’m not sure if my letter is in Yiddish or Hebrew. Does it matter?
No. Both are written with the same alphabet, and many family letters mix the two. Send it and I will tell you what it is.
Do I need to mail you the originals?
No, please keep your originals safe at home. A good scan or a clear phone photo is all I need.
Found letters you can’t read?
Call, email or WhatsApp me, or send a scan through the quote form. I’ll read it first and give you a fixed price before any work begins. The quote is free.