Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.351 March 4, 1995 1) Yiddish Lullabies (Sam Abrash) 2) Lazar Treister (Moishe Kijak) 3) Paul Robeson (Dvosye Bilik) 4) Diminutives of names (Amos Wittenberg) 5) Dina Abramowicz and the Vilna ghetto library (Zachary Baker) 6) Rotwelsh (Laura Schere) 7) Etimologishe nayes fun a yisroeldike yeshive (Vera Szabo) 8) Sholem Ash (Jay Kraut) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 03 Mar 95 10:58:00 PST From: bakern@dbisna.com Subject: Yiddish lullabies The following was received at another list. I thought Mendele folks would be able to help Sam out. I can't think of a more effective way to pass Yiddish on to the next generation than by starting out in the cradle. Yashir Koach to Abe. Neil Baker I am about to become the papa of a little girl, and I want to sing her Yiddish Lullabies, especially, the lovely Rozhinkes mit Mandlen (Raisins and Almonds). However, I can't seem to find a songbook which contains the words and music for this song, or other Yiddish lullabies or other Yiddish songs. Does anyone know of a songbook which contains this song (at least) and other Yiddish songs (ideally). I was first exposed to these songs from records of the Klezmer Conservatory Band, so maybe Klezmer songbooks would do. Sam Abrash abrash@urvax.urich.edu 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 03 Mar 1995 11:43:32 ARG From: administ@kijak.recom.edu.ar Subject: Lazar Treister Aaron Herhkowitz fregt zikh nokh vegn dem shraiber Leizer Treister. Ot shik ikh a kitzer fun zain biografie, genumen fun "Musterverk", band 85. "Geboirn in Apt, Poiln, gelernt in kheider, yeshive, gimnazie. Gezelnshaftlekh aktiv in profesionele fareinen, Hashomer, un Poale Tzioin. Iz geven tzisho-lerer oikh in di Fareinikte Shtatn, vu er iz gekumen in 1937. Debutirt vi a dertzeiler in kanader "Der kamf", drukndik dernokh in a sakh tzaitungen un jurnaln. Mekhaber fun teater-verk "Der pastekh-kenig" in 1955, un andere" In di "Musterverk" zenen gedrukt etlekhe shafungen zaine in di bend 74, 85 un 91. Moishe Kijak 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 03 Mar 95 12:30 EST from: dorothy_bilik@umail.umd.edu Subject: Paul Robeson On our local PBS radio WETA FM station during the first week in March Paul Robeson Jr. told of a 1949 Moscow concert where Robeson Sr. sang "Zog nit keynmol" defiantly. Earlier he had insisted on meeting with Itsik Feffer who had,of course, by that time been imprisoned at Lubianka.There was a recognition through gestures by both that all was up with Feffer. Robeson's rendition of the Yiddish partisan song drew a tumultuous response from the audience which can be heard on this hitherto unreleased archival disc which will be issued by Phoenix or "Foenix" records, a California company. Dvosye Bilik 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 3 Mar 95 15:05:53 EST From: pviswana@andromeda.rutgers.edu Subject: Diminutives of names A recent post in mail.jewish discussed the existence of a name yisroel isser, with isser being a variant of the name yisroel. If true, this is an additional example to the samples provided by Dovid Braun and others. I append the original post in mail.jewish. Meylekh Viswanath _________________ From: Amos Wittenberg Subject: The Name "Issur" Ben Rothke asks in V18#59 for the origin of the Yiddish name "Issur". That name is really "Isser" and is derived from Yisro'el. A Yiddish version of Yisro'el is Isserl which *sounds* like a diminutive but of course is *not*. A hypercorrectism leads to the dropping of the final lamed and a new name is born. The name is often used together with Yisro'el: Yisro'el Isser. The R'mo's last name was Isserles = son of Isser. No connection with 'issur [= Hebrew "prohibition"]. 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 3 Mar 95 12:52:20 PST From: bm.yib@rlg.stanford.edu Subject: Dina Abramowicz and the Vilna ghetto library In my haste to compose and send out my last posting, on the list of rules and regulations for use of the Vilna ghetto library (found among the documents received at YIVO last week, from Lithuania), I inadvertently neglected to mention that my colleague and predecessor as Head Librarian of YIVO, Dina Abramowicz, worked in the Vilna ghetto library -- and is probably the only surviving member of the ghetto library's staff. She wrote about her experiences in the Vilna ghetto library in the 1950 collection "Lite" (cols. 1671-1678). Regarding the rules and regulations, she has a number of interesting observations, which I hope to share at a later date. Zachary Baker 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 3 Mar 1995 15:57:44 -0500 From: matzohfac@aol.com Subject: Rotwelsh A friend of mine is working on a project on Jewish gangsters and in her travels has come across some references to rotwelsh (sp?) a thieves' language in use from the 14th to the 19th centuries which consisted, reputedly, of 80% Yiddish words. Could any mendeleyaner enlighten her further or suggest other sources? Laura Schere 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 3 Mar 1995 16:56:30 -0500 (EST) From: vs55@columbia.edu Subject: Etimologishe nayes fun a yisroeldike yeshive Ot iz di letste nayes fun yisroel: Vos iz a filantrop? Der vos zogt fil un git a trop. Vera Szabo 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 3 Mar 1995 22:04:23 -0500 From: jay_kraut@mbnet.mb.ca Subject: Sholem Ash Eyner fun mayne balibtste shrayber is Sholem Ash. Kh'leyen itster zayn bukh _Kidesh Ha'Shem_ vos ikh gloyb iz eyns fun zayne beste bikher. Do bindt er tsunoyf zayn fantazye mit faktn fun der realitet vegn dos shvere yidish lebn in Zlokhev in der tsayt fun der ukraynisher revolutsye. In mayn basheydener meynung ken men Sholem Ashn farglaykhn mit Sholem Aleykhemen un Peretsn. Jay Kraut ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.351 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. 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