Q:
How is it that we permit ourselves in America to talk English?
A:
This question I waited for a long time already. Great kashe. Believe me, it’s a big kashe. I myself, at home, we never speak English. No. All my years, only Yiddish in my house. That’s all.
When I was in Chaim Berlin, I never spoke English at all. To the bochurim I spoke only Yiddish in Chaim Berlin.
But when I came to this neighborhood, in this neighborhood I discovered a whole treasury of people who were Sefardim; they didn’t know any Yiddish. Beautiful people! Excellent people! Once upon a time, at this Thursday night lecture it was all Sefardim. That’s why I switched to English.
In general, if I’m invited to speak someplace I don’t want to speak English. Anyplace else, only Yiddish. But here because of my many good friends, the Sefardim, and some baalei teshuvas too who don’t know Yiddish, so I speak English.
But I’m telling you, it’s always libi nokfi – it bothers me very much. I would love it if I could speak Yiddish every week right here on Thursday night. But then I’d lose some of my good friends. So I can’t help it, that’s all.
But don’t learn from me. Don’t learn from me! שלא שינו את לשונם! Don’t change your loshon!
TAPE # E-124
