Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 3.253 February 28, 1994 1) Feygele (Ellen Prince) 2) An enquiry into emotional meaning of the Golles (Mottel Lakin) 3) Penis as bird in Boccacio (Martin Davis) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri Feb 25 12:08:52 1994 From: "Ellen F. Prince" Subject: feygele to: mikhl herzog well, maybe your community 'hot nish gevist fin azelekhe zakhn' --bay undz hot men yo gevust un afile geredt. i can remember like yesterday overhearing my mother on the phone, telling a cousin how happy she was that the only gentile guy in my group to france was 'a feygele, got tsi dank'. this was 1962. i remember it so well because i was madly in love with him and had missed this crucial fact. alas, i had no trouble whatsoever understanding the word... (btw, she was speaking in yiddish, as was her wont.) and i remember hearing at a family circle meeting that so-and-so's son was a feygele--i can't date this but i know it was before i knew about sex since i asked what that meant and was told it meant he didn't like women, which i found quite reasonable! it could not have been after 1954. so, are you going to tell us what it comes from, if not the word for 'bird'? inquiring minds want to know... :) ellen prince 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri Feb 25 18:59:18 1994 From: Martin Lakin Subject: An enquiry into emotional meaning of the Golles Ich shreib vegn die muzik fun Brave Old World,die bande klezmer velche hoben geshpilt far unz do in Duke Universitet mit a por chadoshim kerik. Dos is poshit geven oisergevainlich. Ich bin gessessen a farvunderter und ich bin geven bageisteret fun zeyer muzik. S'iz andersh vie andere klezmerische gruppen velche shpillen bloiz nostalgische zachen (Chotzch ich hob zei oich lieb) ich bin nisht kein muzikant, ober ich main az zei (BOW, haist doss) zeinen ganz origionel und geben zeyer muzik a speziele oisdruk. Interresant az der oilom iz nisht geven ingantzen azoi bageisterrt veill men vole gevolt besser patchen mit die hent und vellen dermont veren die alte, mer bakante lieder fun amol, oder affile fun Yiddische vaudeville. Ober ich her tzich tzu tzu zeyer tashme ven ich for in mein machine und mein veib und ich veren nisht mid zei herren. (Zie hot nisht gekent geyen mit mir az zei zeinen geven do in Durham) Ober fun destveggen vil ich freggen bei Meyshke Alpert a frage (azoi vie ich farshtei, iz er oich bei unz a mitglid in Mendele) In dein areinfir und altz ende, du singst und shpilst (tzuzamen mit der group, es farshteit zich) a zeiyer tzart leid vegen die lage fun zeinnen a klezmer -- a Yid -- in heintigen Deutschland. S'iz zeyer troierik, avadeh und doss is ganz farshtendlich. Tzuvishen die verter fun'm liedel s'faran "Shpil mein fiddele, zing mein fiddele , vie freiyer hot nisht geshpilt keiner. Und shpil mir tzu a shein golles liedel, mit a benkshaft a reiner." Ich mein nisht kein kritik. doss lied is zeiyer shein und rirendik. Nor mir dacht zich az doss iz der ershter mol voss ich zeh tzuzamen die verter "ziss" und "golles. Adrabe, ich gedenk oisdruken vie tzum baishpil, Bitter vie der golles" Shvartz vie der golles" Gott gibe unz kayach der golles tzu fartrogen. Rateven fun'm golles, und azoi veiter. Ober a "ziss golles liedel" ??? Und efsher iz es a min sort "revisionism"? rekhenen az der golles iz takeh geven shener vie men hot gemeint, (und der Yiddisher land is efsher "miyeser"? ) Epes hot Alpert gemaint in dem, und efsher ken ich durch Mendele ihm fregen veggen dem. Agav, zein areinfir in verter veggen Deutschland und der paradox voss heint iz takeh Yiddische muzik popular tzuvishen die intelligentze iz nisht nor interresant. Es is merkvedik. Und affile a Deutsche skating pair in die Olympics hobben "getzntzt tzu YIddische Chassidische muzik!! Und efsher iz doss a tzaichen, az men harget aveket a feint, ken men ihm koved geben?!!!! Vieder vill ich erkleren az die muzik und die muzikanten zeinen oisgetzeichent und yeder fun unz ken hobben hanoiyeh fun zei. Mit yomtovdige bagreisungen, Mottel Lakin 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri Feb 25 18:59:24 1994 From: davism@turing.cs.nyu.edu (Martin Davis) Subject: penis as bird in Boccacio Jascha Kessler writes: > The little bird that flies away, the penis, is nicely done in some > of Boccaccio as I recollect. It flies away and returns to nest, too. Not quite. In the Boccaccio tale a young woman wishing to spend the night with her lover persuades her parents to permit her to sleep on the balcony insisting that the song of the nightingale will lull her to sleep. In the morning her father finds the couple entwined with one another in such a position that he tells the girl's mother to come and see: their daughter has caught the nightingale and is holding it in her hand. Not much to do with Yiddish but perhaps not totally inappropriate on Purim. Martin Davis ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 3.253 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