Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.195 November 22, 1994 1) Bistu (Yude Rozof) 2) Poem by Yod Yod Schwartz (Moishe Feller) 3) In defense of Prokofiev (Ruben Frankenstein) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 22 Nov 1994 00:53:17 -0500 (EST) From: jrosof@sas.upenn.edu Subject: Bistu Ikh heyb nisht on tsu farshteyn dem tararam arum oysleyg inem prat fun bistu. Lefi dati es toyg afn fayer tsi dos iz logish tsi nit. Se'do a sakh zakhn vos zenen umlogish afn gebit fun yidish. Ot lemoshl: der rafe. Farvos iz do a rafe iber a veyz oder a fey ober nisht lehavdl iber a khof oder a tes? Mit vos iz dos andersh fun yetst, un halemay?, un vos zogn khazal vekhadoyme biz iber di hore-khoyshekh. Do redt zikh vegn pilpl raboysay! Farshteyt zikh, ikh hob nisht bedeye a shmays tsu ton mit mayne a bisl harbe verter di andere mendlyaner, nor eyn zakh vil ikh untershtraykhn: shprakh iz nisht logish (do nitst ikh nisht, dortn nit: Sholem Aleykhem hot geton dos eygene). Az shprakh volt geven logish volt di yidishe shprakh keyn mol nisht geven ufgekumen af der velt. Oyb shprakhn zenen nisht logish-- iz farvos badarf oysleyg zayn logish? Gib a kuk-- leyen a zats af english, vet ir bekorev dershpirn vi on a klal iz der englisher oysleyg. Ober iz es? In tokh arayn iz English yo logish-- nor der seykhl kumt nisht gikherheyt afn gedank derfar vayl es iz a geshikhtlekher. Keyner zogt haynt nisht /gh/ af english ober es vayzt tsurik tsu di tsaytn fun amol az oykh in english iz geven faran dem daytshn /ch/ : light-Licht--right--recht--night Nacht--high---hoch un azoy vayter. Yidish iz a sakh yinger fun English, un es hot zikh nisht gebitn azoy shtark in loyf fun di yorhunderter vi english. Deriber iz geven miglekh tsu shafn af yidish a tsum meynstn teyl logisher oysleyg sistem. Hagam groyse organizatsyes hobn baygetrogn biz a groyser mos in der antviklung funem oysleyg, lesof is dos geven an inyen fun geshmak metsad der hamoyn am vayl yidish iz reshus harabim-- klal eygns. Der hayntiker oysleyg iz d"h geven a kompromis mit derkherets far farsheydene traditsyes: keyn eyn organizatsye hot nisht proklamirt Vayehi! vekakh have. Ikh meyn az se past nisht haynt tsu paskenen naye klalim al pi undzer seykhl fun logishkeyt. Me hot azoyns frier gepruvt af english in Amerike unter der firershaft fun a gevisn prezident: zenen mir geblibn mit theater, hi-fidelity, tonite, un thru-way. Der sistem in zayn gantskeyt iz nisht oyle-yofe geven-- farvos? Vayl a vikhtiker velt koyekh vi di englishe shprakh vos filt di eygene vert iz konservativ -- gehoybn, bekovedik-- me besert a verdike dame nisht oys. Dos iz an inyen fun traditsye-- vi zogt men? A minik brekht a din. Un oykh ven der minik iz nisht aza prekhtiker--iz ma rash? Antevke iz undzer heym! Yude Rozof 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 21 Nov 1994 22:54:52 -0700 (MST) From: feller@pcef.pc.maricopa.edu Subject: Poem by Yod Yod Schwartz In the book "Fun Der Yiddisher Poezia" by Joseph and Hannah Mlotek, there is a poem by Yod Yod Schwartz whose first lines are: "S'vern nit keyn Shabbos likhtlekh Oif dayn tish getzunden..." If anyone can supply the name of the poem and the rest of the lines, I would be truly grateful. This poem was recited by one of the main speakers at the recent International Conference of Yiddish Clubs in Toronto, and it made a great impression on all who attended. Moishe Feller 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 22 Nov 1994 15:56:27 +0100 (MEZ) From: frankens@mibm.ruf.uni-freiburg.de Subject: In defense of Prokofiev Soreh Benor maintained Prokofiev denied the Jewishness of his music (Overture on Hebrew Themes). I`m sorry but this is just rubbish! It is totally unfair to claim such a thing without giving evidence or the source of such an information. It sounds to me like a libel. The facts may be found in any biography of Prokofiev and in his diaries. In the autumn of 1919, the Jewish "Zimro" ensemble arrived in America. The group comprised of a string quartet, a clarinet and a piano. All the musicians had been fellow students of Prokofiev`s at the Conserva- toire. "The official purpose of their tour was to raise funds for a Conservatoire in Jerusalem. But this was merely to impress the Jewish population of America. Actually they barely made enough to keep themselves alive. They had a repertoire of rather interesting Jewish music to diverse combinations of instruments: for two violins, trio, etc. They asked me to write them an overture for a sextet, and gave me a notebook of Jewish themes. I refused at first on the grounds that I used only my own musical material. The notebook, however, remained with me, and glancing through it one evening I chose a few pleasant themes and began to improvise at the piano. I soon noticed that several well-knit passages were emerging. I spent the next day working on the themes and by evening I had the overture ready. It took ten more days to whip it into final shape. This is Prokofiev`s own evidence. Besides, would he give his own composition this title if he wanted to deny its Jewishness? Ruben Frankenstein ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.195 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. 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