Picture of forlorn-looking older Jewish man: Check.
Lead with acknowledgment that everyone knows and writes about the fact that Yiddish is dying: Check.
Superimpose cultural connotations of Yiddish onto subject of article, with a phrase like “flinty Yiddish contrarianism”: Check.
Name-drop Sholom Aleichem and Isaac Bashevis Singer: Check.
Note that language is actually on the rise in Hasidic communities: Check.
Name-drop a Gentile Yiddish enthusiast (in this case, Shane Baker, whom Tablet Magazine has profiled): Check.
Mention the Lower East Side and a particular Brooklyn neighborhood (Brownsville, in this instance): Check.
End on mournful note: Check.
I’ll be honest: I could read a new one every week.
Shop That Speaks Yiddish Needs a Rich Man’s Help [NYT]
Related: The Ventriloquist [Tablet Magazine]
Earlier: Amid Dying Languages, Yiddish Lives On
Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.