Marcia Gruss Levinsohn of Silver Spring devoted her life to Jewish education and Yiddish culture, inspiring generations to see the language as a living bridge between the past and the future. A teacher, translator and storyteller, she found countless ways to share her love of learning and Jewish heritage with others.
Levinsohn died on Oct. 5 at 93. She was best known in the Washington area for her work through the Jewish Educational Workshop, which she co-founded with her husband, Maury Levinsohn. Their program, Mishpokhe Yiddish, invited parents, children and grandparents to learn together the language through stories, songs and crafts.
“The atmosphere was always happy,” said her daughter Marian Dowling. “There’d be snacks, singing, arts and crafts — and my mother was at her best with children. She loved them and made learning Yiddish fun.”
Her teaching affected her outlook on life. “She always sought out opportunities where she could be with other people — to share her joy and her knowledge in everything she was learning,” Dowling said.
Her sister, Debbie Wood, said their mother was “intellectually curious and endlessly creative.” “She didn’t just study Yiddish as an academic pursuit,” Wood said. “She lived it. She used it to build community, to connect families and to bring joy.”
Born and educated in New Jersey, Levinsohn began her studies at Trenton State Teacher’s College, earned her undergraduate degree from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta and a master’s in education and humanities from the University of Maryland. She started her career at the Trenton Jewish Community Center nursery school and later directed cooperative nursery schools in Montgomery County. She also taught Sunday school and Yiddish and Hebrew classes in the Washington, D.C., area.
Her motivation came from “a love of learning and a desire to honor her grandmother, who only spoke Yiddish at home,” Dowling said. Education was both a passion and a necessity.
Even while raising five children, Levinsohn included her family in her cultural work. “When she had children at home, she started the dance group Tanz L’Chayim so her girls and her son could join her,” Dowling said. “She always found a way to include family in what she was doing.”
The family identified strongly with Jewish home traditions, celebrating the major holidays together. “We were cultural Jews,” Dowling said. “My grandfather was a rabbi, but my parents didn’t belong to a specific synagogue.”
Wood remembered those years of music and movement. “We all danced in Tanz L’Chayim at some point,” she said. “She loved Israeli folk dancing, and it brought people together. The performances were joyful, full of energy — just like her.”
Levinsohn often recalled a turning point when her first grandchild, Jamie, began calling her “Bubbe,” the Yiddish word for grandmother. She didn’t feel entitled to the title until she had learned enough Yiddish to pass on the tradition. “She felt she had to earn that title,” Dowling said.
Her pursuit of that goal led her in 1983 to an intensive Yiddish language program at Columbia University. She studied grammar, reading and writing by day and joined cultural workshops and Yiddish song and dance in the evenings. “It was delightful — she called it a mekhaye, a joy,” Dowling said.
She went on to study with noted teachers including Rochelle Shusterman, Dorothy Bilik, Max Ticktin and Miriam Isaacs, and continued her education at the University of Maryland and the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington.
“She had a real drive to master things,” Wood said. “If she wanted to learn Yiddish, she wasn’t going to dabble. She studied it seriously and then found ways to make it accessible to others.”
Levinsohn’s enthusiasm for teaching found a new outlet in writing. When a father at one of her family sessions remarked, “If I had a book with your sentences about Goldilocks, I could probably learn Yiddish,” she took the comment to heart.
She and her artist sister, Fayga, created “Goldilocks Apologizes,” a Yiddish retelling of “The Three Bears.” A translation of Eric Carle’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” followed, along with her own Passover story, “The Horseradish.” Her son Martin and son-in-law Ken Schwartz contributed photographs, and her granddaughter Jamie edited the images. “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” translation is available at Yiddish and used book sites.
“She kept her eyes out for stories that would translate well into Yiddish,” Dowling said. “It was a family project — her way of bringing Yiddish into the modern world.”
Family gatherings often featured readings from her books. “We’d get together, and there’d always be a moment when she’d take out one of her books and read to the kids,” Dowling said. “She loved it.”
Wood added, “She was proud that she had made something lasting — something that children could hold in their hands and connect with.”
A natural performer, Levinsohn extended her teaching beyond classrooms. With her husband, she hosted “The Jewish Hour,” a local radio program featuring stories, music and Yiddish culture. She also taught Yiddish conversation at Leisure World and Congregation Har Tzeon’s senior nutrition site, where she led weekly discussion groups. “Even into her later years, she loved teaching and being around people,” Dowling said.
Her passion for movement remained constant. “She loved dancing — you could see it in her face,” Dowling said. “Our group was full of happy teenagers and my mom at the center of it all.”
She and Maury were active in the Reconstructionist Federation of Greater Washington. After meeting others at a havurah retreat, they joined a study group that met in members’ homes to explore topics in Jewish life and culture.
“She found belonging in that community,” Wood said. “It gave her the chance to share ideas, to keep learning, and to keep celebrating Jewish life in her own way.”
Her daughters agreed on what they hope people remember most. “Her spirit, her warmth, her joy of life,” Dowling said. “She made every gathering a celebration.”
Wood added, “That was her gift to all of us — to approach life with curiosity, creativity and love.”
Ellen Braunstein is a freelance writer.
