Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.142 October 16, 1994 1) Zellig Bach (Arn Abramson) 2) Redn mit got (Arnie Kuzmack) 3) Kiddush Cup Riddle - Solved! (William Wallen) 4) Translators wanted (William Wallen) 5) Second Intl. Yiddish Club Conference (Fishl Kutner) 6) Toronto conference (Fishl Kutner) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 15 Oct 94 21:27:47 EDT From: abramson@uconnvm.uconn.edu Subject: Zellig Bach Zeleg Bakh, a yasher koyekh; biz hundert un tsvantsik yor! I was touched, or rather, deeply moved by your discourse in Vol. 4.141.May the outlook and spirit urged upon us by you be with us all. Thank you. Arn Abramson 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 15 Oct 1994 23:46:27 -0400 (EDT) From: kuzmack@umbc.edu Subject: Redn mit got Zellig Bach wrote (in part): > As far as the word "got" is concerned, I would not capitalize it. I > believe that Jewish people always treated God with all due respect but > _vi an eygenem mentsh_, as one of our own... A couple of pedantic points here. Other European languages that distinguish between familiar and formal forms of the second person, such as French, German, Russian, etc., also use the familiar form for addressing God. Thus, in itself, it does not tell us anything about particularly Jewish ways of relating to God. Hebrew, on the other hand, does not make this distinction. "Ato" is singular and "atem/aten" plural, regardless of the relationship between the speaker and the person addressed. Arnie Kuzmack 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 16 Oct 94 15:54:00 UTC From: w.wallen@genie.geis.com Subject: Kiddush Cup Riddle - Solved! Last week I posed the riddle of my grandfather's kiddush cup, which is inscribed : Aleph. Yud. Mem. Chet. Ostrin 4O Ann. 1930 I asked for submissions as to the meaning of the Yiddish abbre- viations. The next day I received a private e-mail from Yale Reisner in Warsaw, Poland, that began, "Hello, landsman!" It seems that Mr. Reisner's forebears hailed from Ostrin some 150 years ago, and he knew that the above letters stand for =Chevra Mesilas Yeshorim Anshei= - "the Society of the Righteous Path of the Men of Ostrin. Mr. Reisner also put me in touch with the gentleman who owns the archives of the Society. A fine introduction to Mendele, indeed! William Wallen 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 16 Oct 94 15:55:00 UTC From: w.wallen@genie.geis.com Subject: Translators Wanted I am in possession of a box of letters written in Yiddish around the turn of the century by my wife's maternal grandmother, Malke Ruslander [later Lender, then Lander]. These letters were written upon her arrival in New York City around 1910 to her parents back in Yanaveh (sp?). The letters, from what we can tell, contain news about her exploits in America, her addresses, and one letter is thought to inform her parents that she is about to get married. The box also contains other interesting stuff, such as a post card with a picture of the ship that brought her over, and a dues booklet from the White Goods Division of the ILGWU, complete with the constitution of the ILGWU in Yiddish. We are earnestly seeking translators of these letters. We will send volunteer translators a high-quality photocopy (many of the actual letters are quite frail) via snail mail. I am told, however, that the idiosyncratic Yiddish spoken around the turn of the century is different from modern Yiddish, and thus that the translations may be difficult. And then there's Malke's handwriting. We are confident that these letters will provide an interesting perspective on America as seen by a recent immigrant. If you'd like a try at this, please send your home address to me at w.wallen@genie.geis.com. William Wallen 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 16 Oct 1994 14:21:34 -0700 From: fishl@well.sf.ca.us Subject: Second Intl. Yiddish Club Conference Highlights of The Second International Yiddish Club Conference Toronto, Canada, October 7-10 Friday night services (Much better attendance than anticipated) Dinner & Oyneg Shabes Chair: Gerry Kane: Ch. Comm. for Yiddish, Jewish Fed. Gr. Toronto Eda Zimler-Schiff: Pres., (Host Club) Friends of Yiddish Judge Phil Givens: Natl Comm. for Yiddish, Canadian Jewish Congress Gerda Frieberg: Pres., Ontario Region, Canadian Jewish Congress Major Speaker: Aron Fainer, Toronto-- Lecture: "Why A Conference of Yiddish Clubs" Songs by Allan Merovitz and Brian Katz Harry V. Lerner Foundation Lecture: Oscar Antell Ch., Pres. Comm. for Yiddish, Winnipeg Jonathan Sunshine: Pres., Yiddish Club of Greater Washington "The Lerner Foundation" Chava Rosenfarb: Keynote Address; Author, Poet, Lecturer-- Montreal "J. I. Segal--The Internationally Renowned Poet: His 40th Yortsayt" Lecture: Prof. Eugene Orenstein, Chair of Yiddish Studies, Mcgill Univ. "Shabes, Yontev un Traditsie, in der Moderner Yidisher Kultur" Gala Concert: Host, Gloria Valentine Flying Bulgar Klezmer Band--David Buchbinder, Director Claire Klein Osipov: Yiddish Folksinger, Vancouver Di Yidish Shpiler: (A truly marvelous medley of song and skit) Workshops: Frieda Forman: The Works of Yiddish Women Writers Frieda Forman: Leyenkrayz with Women at the Center David Buchbinder: The Roots of Eastern European Jewish Music Nathan Garnick: Creating Yiddish Theater Nathan Garnick: The Art of Bilingual Storytelling Shirley Kumove: Catching Arrows: Translations--Yiddish Folk Sayings Naomi Bell: Yiddish Folk Songs as Social History Jason Berman: Yiddish in the Computer Age Hindy Abelson: Marketing Yiddish Moisey Wolf: Twelve Hundred Years of Ashkenaz Ana Berman: Yiddish Children's Songs Bus Tour of Jewish Toronto : Exhibits Produced Especially for the Conference Reception: Hosted by the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto: Klezmer Music by De Shpeelers In Memory of Peretz Miransky: Ch., David Newman Lecture: Liba Augenfeld--Montreal Music: Cantor Louis Danto, Natasha Tyomkina, Beth Tikvah Choir Readings: Nathan Garnick and Vivian Reis Development of a Successful Yiddish Club: Moderator: Richard Bassett Harold Black: Yiddish of Greater Washington Sunny Landsman: Circle of Yiddish Clubs, Florida Lorraine Singer: Mameh Loshn, Montreal Eda Zimler-Schiff: Friends of Yiddish, Toronto Concluding Remarks: Ch., Fishl Kutner Sing-along: Jenny Eisenstein and Rick Kardonne All of the lectures were completely in Yiddish. Workshops were in Yiddish and English with many of the questions being asked in English. Both the National Yiddish Book Center and the Arbeter Ring had excellent exhibits and several representatives. While there was sufficient Yiddish speaking for even the most ardent Yiddishists, the pracatical aspect was very much present. The session containing ways of attracting young people through music was particularly well-receoved. Toronto is a marvelous city for sight-seeing and we were near many fine museums in the Midtown Section. Members of the International Yiddish Club Conference Committee met to start planning the interviews for the next Conference. Fishl Kutner 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 16 Oct 1994 14:22:44 -0700 From: fishl@well.sf.ca.us Subject: Data on Toronto Conference The Second International Yiddish Club Conference was held in Toronto October 7-10 and while the significance of the long-term results is too premature to evaluate, the growth can be easily measured. Starting under the leadership of the premiere Yiddish club--Yiddish of Greater Washington, the first conference was held at the University of Maryland. A committee was formed consisting of the only Yiddish club newsletters in North America; Miami area, San Francisco, Toronto, and the Greater Wash. D.C. area. To this group was added an independent representative from Ohio, and our own Noyakh of MENDELE. At this point there is no official leader, no official publication, no official membership list, and NO PAID HELP. It is a true grass-roots movement. These attendance data include only officially registered atendees. Many more people in Canada came for only a portion of the conference. What also was encouraging is that the number of letters of support sent from around the world has greatly increased, including one from Montevideo. While most of those present participate in a type of Yiddish club, Yiddish circle, Yiddish sing-along, leyenkrayz, shmoozkrayz, etc., there were quite a few who are Yiddish teachers or Klezmer band members. Viewing exhibits, purchasing books, cassettes and CDs, and networking were additional valuable activities. State 1993 1994 MA 2 4 TX 2 2 PA 2 0 OH 12 13 NY 27 22 FL 6 2 AZ 5 6 NJ 12 4 CA 9 8 PA 2 0 ME 2 2 IL 2 3 GA 2 0 CT 1 3 OR 1 1 MD 38 10 PA 0 1 DC 7 0 VA 1 0 Canada 5 101 Argentina 1 1 Israel 0 1 Total 139 184 Five cities have expressed an interest in sponsoring the next conference. No final decision probably will be made by the committee before the end of this year. Sponsoring cities need a sponsoring club or clubs, a committee, and satisfactory facilities for meetings/workshops and accommodations for out-of-town delegates. Fishl Kutner ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.142 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line 2. Sign your article (full name please) A Table of Contents is now available via anonymous ftp, along with weekly updates. Anonymous ftp archives available on: ftp.mendele.trincoll.edu in the directory pub/mendele/files Archives available via gopher on: gopher.cic.net Send articles to: mendele@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu Send change-of-status messages to: listserv@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele nomail b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail c. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele Other business: nmiller@mail.trincoll.edu