Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.150 October 24, 1994 1) Introduction (Sheine Mankovsky) 2) Meyir Bal Ha/nes (Zellig Bach) 3) Sheva Zucker's book/IB Singer Biblio.? (Meyshe-Yankel Sweet) 4) Hefker-Petrushkii (Martin Davis) 5) Hefker-Petrushkii (David Sherman) 6) V'toes l'oylem khoyzer (Joshua Fishman) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 16:59:53 -0400 From: Sheine_Mankovsky_at_MTCAOM01@cclink.metrodesk.metrotor.on.ca Subject: Introduction I am a neophyte on internet. I am a public servant in the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto, and a part time Yiddish teacher. I teach a grade 10 course in Yiddish in the North York Board of Education, one of the six area municipalities which comprise the "federation". I have three daughters who attend Bialik Hebrew Day School and have been learning Yiddish since the third grade. I am very proud that my second daughter is pursuing volunteer work at the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, and numbers among her skills the ability to speak (not bad) and understand (flisik) Yiddish. In Toronto, not traditionally known in the past for its Yiddish atmosphere, it is now possible to study Yiddish from pre-school to the Ph.D level. A lot of work by a lot people, particularly one Sylvia Lustgarten. Shik mir noch a brivele. Sheine 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 23 Oct 1994 15:45:37 -0400 From: Zellig@aol.com Subject: Meyir bal ha/nes In shaykhes mit Ruben Frankenstein's etlekhe fartaytshn vegn vord "yeke" (4.148,2), ot iz a kurtse geshikhtele vegn a yeke, vi an ilustratsye: A yeke zukht a gas in Tel-aviv. In hant halt er a tsetele mit an adres. Shtelt er op a farbaygeyer un fregt em vu iz di gas "Meyir bal HANS" . Nu, vos zol ikh aykh zogn? Di gas heyst "Meyir bal Ha'NES." The street sign in Hebrew does not show the diacritical marks under HNS, that is no pasekh under the letter /hey/ and no segl under the letter /nun/. This explains the yeke's reading of the word as the popular German first name Hans. At the same time it also demostrates the yeke's total lack of familiarity with Jewish life in Eastern Europe where for centuries Jewish women kept charity boxes called Meyir bal ha'nes _pushkes_ for collection of money for the poor in the Holy Land. These alms boxes were the forerunners of the Zionist Keren Kayemes boxes for the forestration of the lend in what was then called Palestine. His real name was, apparently, not Meyir. He was so called-- Meyir in Hebrew means the enlightener--on account of his exeptional ability as an expounder of the Toyre. And he was called "bal ha'ness--the miracle worker--but I do not know of any miracles ascribed to him. Meyir bal Ha'ness was martyred during the Roman oppression in the second century A.D. He was a ta'ne--a Talmudic sage, a disciple of Rabbi Aki've, and continued his teacher's work of clasifying systematically Jewish Law, which made possible the final classification and compilation of the Mish'ne. Zellig Bach 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 22 Oct 94 20:12:01 CST From: msweet@facstaff.wisc.edu Subject: Sheva Zucker's book/IB Singer Biblio.? A comment and a question-- 1. Sheva Zucker's new Yiddish text seems wonderful--though I'm at an intermediate level, at least for reading, have benefitted from going through the lessons so far--good grammar points, entertainingly presented. The language has a lot more tam than Weinreich's College Yiddish--it has a real colloquial feel. Highly recommend it to beginners and others wanting to review their grammar. One drawback--no key to the exercises, no good for autodidacts. With the Mendele discount, a metsie. 2. Does anyone know of a bibliography of Bashevis Singer's Yiddish work, other than the one which appears in "Der shpigl un andere dertseylungn"? Am specifically searching for the Yiddish source for his story "Two", which is found in the collection "Old Love", without any reference of course. Would be grateful to help in tracking this down. Meyshe-Yankl Sweet 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 23 Oct 94 20:47:29 -0400 From: davism@turing.cs.nyu.edu Subject: Hefker-Petrushkii Mottel Lakin writes: > In my own family, the phrase was used to indicate > states of "mixed upness" or utter confusion, but not without comic > undertones. It might be used to describe the state of affairs in > someone's house the (mis)handling of affairs. The phrase was used with just about the same meaning in my Polish-Jewish family. However, I knew the word "petrushka" as referring to a white root vegetable that I believe are parsnips. My mother used it in (delicious) soups. Gey Veys! Martin Davis 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 24 Oct 94 14:19:18 EDT From: dave@cai.lsuc.on.ca Subject: Hefker-Pietrushke We use it in our family. My in-laws are from Staszow, Poland. I didn't know the origin of Petruskii, though; thanks for the explanation. David Sherman 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 24 Oct 1994 11:59:01 -0400 (EDT) From: jfishman@aecom.yu.edu Subject: V'toes l'oylem khoyzer Der nekhtiker onzog vegn a "literarishn ovnt" iz layder geven ful mit toesn vi a tsig mit bibkes. Ot iz der oysfarikhter text: A Literarisher Nokhmitog Mendelnikes fun (oder fun nit vayt fun) der bronks zendn hartsik farbetn af a nokhmitog lekoved dem dershaynen fun a tsveyshprakhikn (yidish-englishn) opklayb fun Rukhl Fishmans poezye. Der nokhmitog kumt for zuntik dem 20stn november, 1:00 nokhmitog, inem Sholem Aleichem Kultur Tsenter, 3300 Bainbridge Avenue, Bronx, NY. Di program vet bashteyn fun forleyenungen fun der dikhterins lider, say in original, say in iberzetsund. S'vet oykh gezungen vern irs a lid tsu velkhn men hot ersht letstns tsugapast muzik. Doved Roskes vet referirn af der teme "Rukhl Fishmans poetisher gang" un ir bruder, Shikl Fishman, vet dertseyln zikhroynes vegn ir kindheyt. Di filadelfiyer geboyrene Rukhl Fishman hot gehat bakumen di Manger premiye in 1978, bloyz zeks yor far ir fritsaytikn toyt in elter fun bloyz 49 yor. Zi hot opgelebt 3o yor af a kibuts (Bet Alfa) in yisroel un hot ibergelozt an oytser mit lider mit velkhe s'iz befeyresh keday zikh tsu bakenen. Der nayer opklayb fun ire lider iz aroysgegebn gevorn fun Wayne State University Press, in der iberzetsung fun Seymour Levitan. Joshua Fishman ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.150 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line 2. 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