Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.350 March 4, 1995 1) Shmuel Rollansky (Moishe Kijak) 2) A yold iz mir mekane (Robert Shapiro) 3) Der yold iz mir mekane (Bob Rothstein) 4) Zogerins (Elke Kelman) 5) Lomikh/lomir (Zishe Carlow) 6) Noyfes tsufim (Paul Pascal) 7) Menakhem Mendl (Dvosye Bilik) 8) Joshua Sobel (Dvosye Bilik) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 02 Mar 1995 16:46:48 ARG From: administ@kijak.recom.edu.ar Subject: Shmuel Rollansky z"l, a vegvaizer Ale vos hobn gekent fun der noent dem lerer un shraiber Shmuel Rollansky z"l, vos iz nifter gevorn mit getzeilte teg tzurik, flegn im rufn "der kultur akshn". Dem dozikn tzunomen hot er gehat kosher fardint. Vos er flegt zikh unternemen letoives der idisher kultur, hot er oisgefirt. Ein baishpil bloiz: dos aroisgebn di hundert bend "Musterverk". Ikh bin nisht kain meivn in CD ROM, ober ikh gloib az s'iz meglekh dos iberfirn di Musterverk in CD ROM. Men volt zei nisht gedarft ibershraibn nor bloz makhn fun zei a kopie. Vifl es volt batrofn veis ikh nisht, ober ikh bin zikher az iede universitet un fil studentn un forsher voltn es gekoift, glaikh vi zei hobn gekoift (di Vatikan-bibliotek araingerekhnt) di gantze 100 bikher. Kh'volt gevolt hern aier meinung, iberhoipt fun di vos zenen spetzialistn oif dem dozikn gebit. Moishe Kijak 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 2 Mar 1995 18:28:16 -0500 (EST) From: shapiror@yu1.yu.edu Subject: A yold iz mir mekane Linda Cantor (4.346) can hear a couple of renditions of "A yold iz mir mekane" in Josh Waletzky's documentary, "Image Before My Eyes". Robert Shapiro 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 03 Mar 1995 12:52:11 -0500 (EST) From: rar@slavic.umass.edu Subject: Der yold iz mikh mekane Linda Cantor asked about the song "Der yold iz mikh mekane." Shmuel Lehman included it in his _Ganovim-lider_ (Warsaw, 1928). The text is as follows: Der yold iz mikh mekane (3x) mit mayn laykht shtikele broyt. Er vil fun gornisht visn, az der keshene iz tserisn, es kumt mir on shver vi der toyt. Mayn mame un mayn tate, zey zenen gevezn blate; a rebele ikh zol vern dos iz zeyer farlang. Biz draytsn yor keseyder hob ikh gelernt in kheyder, biz draytsn yor hob ikh gekvetsht di bank. Indem bin ikh gezesn, getrinken un gegesn, mayn mamele flegt mir untershtekn a kleyn bisele gelt. Geshtorbn iz der tate,-- un bald nokhdem di mame, geblibn bin ikh elnt af di velt. A yerushe hob ikh bakumen, mit andere mezumen, kortn-shpiln un koleges--arayngelozt zikh shtark. S'gelt hob ikh farloyrn, in kortn ongevoyrn, geblibn bin ikh rayn on a mark. Kum ikh aroyn in mark un pak a gutn targ: a mase-matn fun dolarn hot zikh mir gemakht. Kukt af mir a yente un shikt on af mir a mente, m'nemt mikh glaykh un m'tsintevet mikh ayn. In turme bin ikh gezesn un aroysgekukt durkh di kratn... Zumer ze ikh regens nisn, vinter zey ikh shney. Ale mayne yorn zenen in tfise opgeforn un haynt tut mikh in yedn eyver vey. The reference in the fourth stanza to German marks suggests, according to Lehman, that the song was written during the German occupation of Warsaw in World War I. As with any good folk song, numerous textual variants exist. For example, instead of _turme_ in the last stanza other versions have _tfise_, _kitshe_, _kuchment_ and even _prizn_ (in sheet music published in NY in 1920). In Y.-L. Cahan's Vilna version (1938) the last stanza begins: Ikh zitst mir in di krates, ongeton in shmates. Bob Rothstein 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 2 Mar 1995 20:10:36 -0500 From: e.kellman@utoronto.ca Subject: Zogerins ikh zukh informatsye vegn der zogerin in der yidisher literatur, der iker in proze bay froyen. ikh ken shoyn di mayse "Di zogerin" fun Rokhl Brokhes un di gor interesante bashraybung fun der zogerin Dvoyre in Dora Shulners zikhroynes. ver es ken andere kvaln, say beletristishe, say historishe, zayt azoy gut, lozt mikh visn. Elke Kelman 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 2 Mar 1995 22:28:59 -0500 From: zishe@aol.com Subject: Lomikh/lomir Could anyone explain the constructions of "lomikh" and "lomir"? Why does "lomikh" (let me) use the accusative "mikh" (me) and "lomir" (let us/let's) use, what I assume is, the nominative "mir" (we)? And is "lomikh" used only in the familiar? When would one use "loz mikh" and "lozt mikh"? And can "lomir" exclude the one being spoken to? For example, can you say "Lomir aykh helfn."? Zishe Carlow 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 02 Mar 95 22:38:22 EST From: 75332.2735@compuserve.com Subject: Noyfes tsufim Mikhl Herzog asks why I wrote _kreyn_ instead of _kroyn_ in my transcription last week of a selection from Noyfes Tsufim, which I was trying to transliterate into standard Yiddish from its patently Galitzianer accent. The reason is that that is how it is spelled in the text. To wit: shva-kuf, tserey-reysh , tsvey yudn, khirek-nun, yud, langer nun This sudden Litvish is a puzzle to me too. (Maybe the Shapiro brothers' press had Litvishe gremlins that stole into the printing house at night and inserted Litvishe typos!) Paul Pascal Toronto 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 03 Mar 95 12:30 EST From: dorothy_bilik@umail.umd.edu Subject: Menakhem Mendl Skotsl kumt may be found in one of the letters from Sheyne Sheyndl to Menakhem Mendl. She is quoting her yidene mit an eyringl mother- Menakhem Mendl's shviger who refers to her son-in-law's supposed arrival with the bitter irony of the mother of a virtual agune "Skotsl kumt." As all of you who have been following this trail may recognize all of the ironic meanings we have amassed are transmitted in Sholem Aleykhem's use of the phrase qupted by a wronged woman attributed to her tough cookie of a mother and referring to her quinessentially errant and hapless husband. Ober dos bin ikh nit oysen. Dvosye Bilik 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 03 Mar 95 12:30 EST From: dorothy_bilik@umail.umd.edu Subject: Joshua Sobel I recently had the opportunity to see the remarkable play _Ghetto_ by Sobel whose Yiddish title is Nidim for the Yiddish marionette theatre which flourished in Vilna before the war and the idea of puppetry is used by Sobel as the subtext. The play contains songs by Katerginski and other Yiddish poets and Sobel assured me that they are sung in Yiddish in other productions of the play. Sobel took part in the panel discussion which followed and he was himself moved and certainly moved members of the audience (the pruduction took place at Catholic University in DC) when he spoke about the destruction of the Yiddish speaking,reading,breathing world. Dos iz eyn mol avek. Dvosye Bilik ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.350 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 subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele Other business: nmiller@mail.trincoll.edu