This past March, the 15th Annual Honolulu Jewish Film Festival screened films that celebrate Jewish culture from March 4-26, and the Honolulu Museum of Art Spalding House also held its monthly "Bank of Hawaii Family Sunday" event to give children and parents another opportunity to learn about Jewish art, stories, and culture.

A child visitor participating in the Jewish-themed activities and creating a mask.

While talking with Gloria Katz, a leader of one of the event's Yiddish activities, I learned about the importance of teaching Jewish culture. She shared that before the Holocaust, millions of Jewish people spoke Yiddish. However, after the Holocaust, there was a huge decline in the number of Yiddish-speaking Jewish people. Since many people like Gloria believe that languages are reflections of different cultures and backgrounds, Gloria hopes to share that Jewish culture is not something to be suppressed, but to be celebrated, by keeping Yiddish alive.

As I watched the curiosity and fascination these kids had while listening to stories and creating pieces of art, I was so glad that I decided to participate in and help out at this special Family Sunday event.  It's my hope that the children and their families also learned something about Jewish culture and Yiddish that day so that Gloria's wish will come to fruition.