Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 2 no. 74 September 26, 1992 1) Introduction (Alice Nakhimovsky) 2) Introduction (Shelomoh Slawomir Zieniuk) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 24 Sep 1992 10:19:29 -0400 (EDT) From: ANAKHIMOVSKY@COLGATEU.BITNET Subject: brief introduction My name is Alice Nakhimovsky. I teach Russian language and literature at Colgate. I've come to this through something of a back door - that is, I have studied and written about Russian Jews, 1860s to present (whatever I could figure out as of last year is in a book called Russian-Jewish Literature and Identity, Johns Hopkins 1992). Last year for the first time I managed to collaborate on a course that included Yiddish lit in translation. It was wonderful and I hope to do it again if the educational establishment here permits. So I'm here mostly to listen, unless someone has a question about Russian. My Yiddish is pretty primitive - if someone has information about worthwhile language tapes (not lit on tape) let me know. Alice Nakhimovsky Department of Russian Colgate University Hamilton N.Y. 13346 USA anakhimovsky@colgateu.bitnet tel 315-824-7274 fax 315-824-7176 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 24 Sep 92 19:35:42 CET From: Shelomoh Slawomir ZIENIUK Subject: (') Sholem fun Varshe| (B) Tanakh in Yidish? Varshe, ma'ariv, yom shishi, 27 Elul '752. Sholem aleikhem ale Mendelnikn| *(')*(')*(')* 'Kh bin Shloime: a poilisher Yid in Varshaver Universitet. Delighted to 've joined this great_fun@Noyekh.un.Co.EDU. So diverse topics, so incentive conributors; last not least, so energetic *THE* Moderator (|special thanx|). Here at the U. of Warsaw, WAR-SAW I study for my majors applied linguistics (@ the Inst. of Applied Linguisics) & Hebrew philology (@ the Oriental Institute). Besides, minoring in some extra subjects (Asia Minor included) at other U.W. faculties. The still-bachelor marital status allows me to spend more time for broadminded studies. (U know, 'Dzieci nie placza' ã='Children aren't weeping'! -- as a polish-lg sayin' goes -- as I don't have any yet ãanyway, hope the mitzva of kiddushin & procreation should be fulfilled in a farther unspecified 'near Zukunft'!). At present, engaged in the activities of DEGEL_HATORAH, that I founded on the 24th yarzeit of the ill-famed Eight of March, '68 (start of the anti- Semitic campaign in this country). The unabridged name of D"H reads: (Hebrew:) Dales-Giml-Lamed Hei-Sov-Vov-Reish-Hei DEGEL_HATORAH Jewish Circle for Arts and Sciences (Polish:) Judaistyczne Kolo Nauk i Sztuk SHEMitologist Alliance. The Circle is not sponsored & run totally on a voluntary basis. Now performing the job of its secretary's I've got a lot of challenges to face, of which the top one is (I'm afraid unconquerable, at least for the time being) severe time deficit. Pse don't treat this remark as a grumble of mine, for one MUSTN'T grumble, kiMrivah k'yom massah bammidbar (T'hillim TzH:Ch). One of D"H's main objectives is to combat the anti-Semitism, the polish variety of that pest in particular. On the whole the body is meant to experience/study Yiddishkeit at large, incl. Middle Eastern political deals. Thus, whenever U were visiting Warsaw, pse feel free to drop me a line beforehand, & I'd be happy to see U here delivering a speech/interview on a J- topic to U.W. students. Since the audience is supposed to be prevailingly non- J, the topic's format needn't be necessarily high-brow. The J-lectures to that goishe audience intend to deliberately enlighten the biased uneducated pollacks on what Judaism is in fact. To combat foolishdom effectively=give the foolish a chance to study. In general, poles are a heavily lazy & anti-self-educational people -- this is my 26.5-yr-old personal observation, myself having been raised on (& erased from) this soil. But the nineL taught, 'Study, study, & once more study|' Lernen zikh iz ai(|)-ai(|)-ai(|), n'est-ce pas? A curious bit is the lectures due to take place at the Department of Arabic & Islamic Studies, U.W. Myself being a student to this place as well, I've been given the Dept.'s Director's permission to rent their lecture hall. BTW, no securer place at the Univ. as far as the safeguard against the P.L.O.'s gun unpredictability is concerned. (Which one of those folks should venture a bomb attack on a place meant for the study of qur'an's lg, where some Palestinians apparently study as well?). *(B)*(B)*(B)* BTW, could any1 of U (nice people in Ha'aretz & over the ocean) advise me on how I could get a copy of a cheap good Yiddish translation of Tanakh (or Torah at least)? How many different translations have been made so far? Any help thanked much in advance| LESHANE TOIVE HThShNG|| SHELOMOH@PLEARN.PL.BITNET Shelomoh Slawomir ZIENIUK, student, c/o Katedra Hebraistyki (Department of Hebrew), Instytut Orientalistyczny (Oriental Institute), Wydzial Neofilologii (Faculty of Modern Languages), Uniwersytet Warszawski (University of Warsaw; U.W.), ul. Krakowskie Przedmiescie 26/28, PL-00-927 WARSZAWA (WARSAW), poland, Eastern Europe. ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol 2.74 If your message is intended for MENDELE, please write to: mendele@vax1.trincoll.edu If you want to discuss personal business or have a shmues with the shames, please write to: nmiller@vax1.trincoll.edu Please sign your articles.