Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 3.218 February 7, 1994 1) Responsa (Mottel Lakin) 2) Schindler's List (Andrea Most) 3) Origins of Ashkenazic Jewry (Bob King) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Feb 7 12:38:11 1994 From: Martin Lakin Subject: Responsa Shleymele Axelrod, zol er nor gezundt zein!, asks about "kamershpil" and "kleynkunst-teater". Chotch ich bin nit a groisser kenner, volt ich geproovt trefen: Kamershpil muz doch zein azoi vie kamermuzik, haist dos nist vie far a groisser oilom; Ich mein az der tzveiter oisdruk hot dem zelbigen tam. Nu, und efsher hob ich a toes, und oib azoi kent ihr mich roofen 'Knaknissel". Ted Steinberg vill vissen fun vannen ehr shtampt, und speziel vill er vissen vie azoi hoben die mittel mizrachishe yidn dergreicht zein ihn azelche Europaische lender vie, tzum baishpil Russland oder Deitschland. Und noch der tzu vill er vissen far vos zehen mir zich oiset vie die Europeier (nisht cholileh alleh, nor tzuvishen unz zeinen takeh a sach "Slavishe" und oich affileh Aryanische gezichten.Ich volt nisht gevagt prooven geben an entver tzu a zeiyer vichtige frage. ober s'faran bicher velche geben tzu farshteyen (afilleh mit bilder) vegen die vanderungen fun folk Isroyel zint der zeit fun beis hamikdash in Yerushalayim. Vegen unzer gezichten, aint you ever heard of "race mix'n" and surely it has occurred in one way or another over a 2000 year history. Mit hartzige gerissen Mottel Lakin 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Feb 7 12:38:35 1994 From: MOST@BINAH.CC.BRANDEIS.EDU Subject: Schindler's List A response to the use of "Ofn Pripetshik" in the film. I actually felt that the song was quite appropriate. Because the subject of the song is about the trials and tribulations of galut, and how they are evoked by the Yiddish language, the song seems perfectly appropriate for a film about the Holocaust. The song has always indicated to me the importance of lanjguage in understanding the history of the Jews, and seems a fitting metaphor for a story about the destruction of a vast portion of that language. In terms of "Yerushalayim shel zahav," I also had some problems with it, but understand Spielberg's choice. I think it served as a linking device for the last scene of the film, which takes place in Israel, and implies that many of the Jews on Schindler's list eventually settled there. Of course, the political overtones cannot be missed, and I think Spielberg very much chose to make clear to a broad American public the reason for and importance of the establishment of the state of Israel. Considering the projected audience for the film, it seems a fair move. Andrea Most 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon Feb 7 13:20:41 1994 From: Bob King Subject: Origins of Ashkenazic Jewry Ellen Prince alluded to my musings on the origins of eastern European Jewry, and I would like at the least to inform Mendeleniks where they can find out more about those ideas, even if I am not temperamentally suited to lay out my hypotheses in elaborate detail here. Alice Faber and I first published on this in 1984: "Yiddish and the Settlement History of Ashkenazic Jewry," The Mankind Quarterly 24:393-425. The most definitive account of our ideas was published by me in 1992 as "Migration and Linguistics as Illustrated by Yiddish," in Edgar C. Polome and Werner Winter (eds.), Reconstructing Languages and Cultures (Berlin--New York: Mouton de Gruyter), pp. 419-439. The main points of this hypothesis are, I suppose, these. 1) The importance of the Rhineland (Loter) as a *demographic* basis for Ashkenazic Jewry has been exaggerated in the "received" version of Jewish settlement history of eastern Europe. 2) I place the locus of settlement farther east, along the Danube, in the *linguistic* area called Bavarian (which in medieval times covered not only present-day Bavaria but Austria and large parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire). 3) There was a larger Jewish population living in the east (e.g. in Poland) prior to the outbreak of the Crusades (c. 1100 C.E.) than one reads about in the standard accounts. They came most likely from the south and the southeast after the destruction of the Second Temple. 4) The Khazars likely did contribute something to the Asheknazic gene pool, as did rape and intermarriage. The Koestler (nee Pollak) theory grossly inflates their importance as the demographic foundation of Ashkenazic Jewry. 5) The evidence for this theory is primarily linguistic, though also epigraphic and archeological. One final note. In view of how little things often become *very* BIG things on the Mendele network, I feel like I should have my head examined for even trying to lay out my theories for the benefit of our readers. I'm not going to respond to all the objections that can and will be made to my "Danube--Bavaria" theory. I've heard most of them by now, and some of these objections may well be right. I say just read what I've written about it and what Alice Faber and I wrote about it and draw your own conclusions. Bob King ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 3.218 To subscribe, send SUB MENDELE FIRSTNAME LASTNAME to: LISTSERV@YALEVM.YCC.YALE.EDU Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a Subject: line. 2. Sign your article. 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