______________________________________________________
Contents of Vol. 3.252
February 28, 1994

1) Flegn (Debra Halperin Biasca)
2) Index to Yiddish Periodicals (Pierre Lewis)
3) White Challah (Tsipe Khana Shavelson)
4) Feygele (Mitchell Brown)
5) Feygele/faygele/feigele (Dan Leeson)

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri Feb 25 01:46:39 1994
From: <biasca@horton.Colorado.EDU>
Subject: flegn

Do any native-Yiddish-speaking Mendelnikes use the verb 'flegn'
OTHER THAN to mean 'used to'?  If so, how about a sentence using it
that way?  Please include, in your reply, information indicating
where your Yiddish was originally spoken in Europe.

If you reply to me personally, biasca@ucsu.colorado.edu, I promise
to summarize for Mendele if I get responses.

Thanks!

Debra Halperin Biasca

2)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri Feb 25 09:40:28 1994
From: "pierre (p.) lewis" <lew@bnr.ca>
Subject: Index to Yiddish Periodicals

> The Index to Yiddish Periodicals is available to ALEPH searchers
> who can display Hebrew characters.

Can anyone tell me something about this code page? Or point me to
the right place? Where is it defined. Are there other fairly common
code pages that are useful for Yiddish?

A dank,
Pierre

3)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu Feb 24 09:40:33 1994
From: SHAVELSON%BRANDEIS.bitnet@YaleVM.YCC.Yale.Edu
Subject: White Challah

THe author of this story, to which Mark Flumerfelt referred, is I.L.
Peretz. This is indeed an unusualing look in Yiddish literature at
Jews from the point of view of a rather primitive non-Jew. It's also
a very frightening, disturbing story. I strongly recommend it, and
all of Peretz's short fiction, to the Mendele audience. It's widely
available in translation.

tsipe khana shavelson

4)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri Feb 25 10:29:57 1994
From: <BROWN.MITCHELL@tntv7.ntrs.com>
Subject: Feygele

Sorry to disagree, but feygele was very much used as derisive name
for a gay man. I often heard it growing up in Brooklyn in the 60's.
(This always seems to be a touchstone of authenticity!)

I would very much like to reject the adoption of this name for gays
as was suggested in the manner that 'queer' has been adopted in
English by some Gays.  Instead of defusing the power of a hated
appelation, I think it suggests some level of self loathing.
Imagine an ADL or YIVO publication referring to Jews as 'kikes'!

No. Totally unacceptable.

Sorry that I don't have a good suggestion for a substitute, but I am
fairly adamant that 'feygele' isn't go to fly (sorry I couldn't
resist).

Mitchell Brown

5)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri Feb 25 12:01:02 1994
From: leeson@aspen.fhda.edu
Subject: feygele/faygele/feigele

The term "feigele" was used in my neighborhood in the early 1940s
when referring to a specific effeminate person.  My neighborhood was
Paterson, NJ and a greater polyglot of Yiddish speakers can hardly
be imagined: Poles, Hungarians, Litvaks, Germans, goodness knows
what else.  And I don't remember anyone being puzzled when the term
was used.  But I have to be more clear.

There was a specific individual in the neighborhood and I have no
idea if he was gay or not.  But he was very effeminate in his
mannerisms and was called "Onkle tim-tim."  Now I do not know to
this day if that was a Yiddish expression from somewhere relating
either to gay men or to effeminate men, but it was used
interchangably with "feigele."  I sort of got the impression that
effeminate men in general were called "Onkle tim-tim" and "feigele"
but I was too young to understand the full significance of the
appelations.

Finally this: though it was nowhere explicitly said, the term
"feigele" when interpreted as "little bird" seemed to be a good
descriptive for our local Onkle tim-tim, though I have no idea why I
accepted that imagery at that time.

Please understand that I am not trying to belittle or ridicule
anyone by my observation with respect to the use of the word
"feigele" so if any of the above seems to do so, then I have written
badly and apologize in advance.  My comments were strictly with
respect to the use of words, not lifestyles, and the application of
those words to a specific person.  Generalizations may be possible
but I am not at all sure of myself in this respect.

Dan Leeson

______________________________________________________
End of Mendele Vol. 3.252

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.

Send submissions/responses to:
        mendele@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu

Other business:
        nmiller@starbase.trincoll.edu

Anonymous ftp archives available on:
        ftp.mendele.trincoll.edu
        in the directory pub/mendele/files

Mendele: Yiddish literature and language