Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.381 April 10, 1995 1) A ferd blaybt a ferd (Noyekh Miller) 2) December--original Yiddish version (Soreh Traister Moskovitch) 3) Sanctification of Yiddish (Meylekh Viswanath) 4) Origins of proverb (Meylekh Viswanath) 5) Origins of proverb (Morrie Feller) 6) Professor Yi-en Yao (Ellie Kellman) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 10 Apr 1995 From: nmiller@mail.trincoll.edu Subject: A ferd blaybt a ferd.. ..un a shlimazel geveyn, a shlimazl geblibn. Ver volt zikh geveyn gerekhnt, tayere khaverim, az kemat a gants literatur k'moy shenemar fun get-well korten zol oyfshpringn tsulib shvakhe krizhes? Ven der shames ayerer volt nor geveyn gevust derfun, volt er shoyn mit a por teg tsurik zikh gezetst af di fis un zikh geshtelt tsu der arbet. Sof-kol-sof, di naye meditsinen zaynen nishkoshe, ober bikur-khoylim iz fun destvegn k'neged kulam...Ven me ligt in bet tsu lang vert dos ligenish aleyn a krenk. Un nisht arayngerekhnt: az ven me ligt hert men zikh tsu tsum radio. Ober vos far a radio in Amerike haynt-tsu-tog, r"l? Kozakn. Charlatones. Mentshn-freser. Nokh a tog fun aza radio kert men zikh shoyn iber tsu der vant.. Nu, meyle. Ikh dank aykh fun tifstn hartsn far di sheyne vintshevanyes un hof az ikh vel mer nisht shtern ayer fargenign. Hot, Ikh bet aykh, a bisl mer geduld; ikh'll aroysshikn Mendele azoy gikh vi s'iz meglikh un mayn doktorshe derloybt. Tsum ershten, a bisl pavolyinke, ober bald vet shoyn zayn--alevay--a mobl. Un vi bald s'iz higiye hazman shel undzer sheynem khag hamatses, vintsh ikh aykh un ayere a freylikhn, a gezuntn yontef Peysekh. Noyekh Miller 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 30 Mar 1995 09:51:36 +0800 (PST) From: hcedu012@huey.csun.edu Subject: Poem "December" in Yiddish original Thank you Marjorie Schonhaut Shirshan for putting the English translation of my poem " December" on Mendele and for being moved by it. I thought it fitting to put the original Yiddish on along with a report that thanks to Mendele, contact with other Yiddish poets, Eliahu Toker in Buenos Aires, Moishe Shklar in L.A. and Shoshana Wolkowich, Lilke Meisner, Jacob Levin and a group pf Yiddish lovers in Los Angeles,and the recent turn that Israel has taken toward Yiddish heritage,I am feeling more encouraged about Yiddish continuity than when i wrote "December" just over a year ago. DETSEMBER (gevidmet Janet Hadda) Far Yiddish iz Detsember Nishto kayn pripetchok Dos kleyne fayerl tsankt un flattert nor in kholem Der Rebbe vos hot kleyne kindelakh gelernt is tzuzammen mit dee kinder umgekumen oif yener zayt Atlantic in dee groise hasn fayern Un do is unzer Yiddish dertrunken in dem khvalyedikn roish un krakh fun massn kultur Nishto kayn beys-oylem far a shprakh Nor far dee eyntslne redner Un yedes moyl gevorn ayngeshtilt nemt met met zikh a shtikl velt; a koyne fun der Yiddisher gas a melamud's mee,a mame's leed,a shvester's treyst a bruder's hilf,un hundert nisht detzeylte mayselekh umgeshenkte matones fun toyznt yor Yiddishe geshickhte oysgekritzt Ven s'is Latayn geshtorbn hot men fargetert zee in heylike kirkhn... Nishto kayn heylike vent tsu bakovedn mayn Yiddish Nor elnte professorn fun Yiddish vos haltn oif de lahst fun millionen shtume kvorim als eyntslner aynzamer gast in opteylungen fun Daitch Soreh Traister Moskovitch 1994 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 30 Mar 95 16:31:36 EST From: pviswana@andromeda.rutgers.edu Subject: Sanctification of Yiddish fraynt Waldoks shraybt: > Nu! es iz shoyn tsayt far Yidishe tefiles > tsu gefunen a platz. un git dertsu: > By the way, in the most recently issued catalog for Eylat Chayim, the > Jewish spiritual retreat center, is offering a Yiddish Week. It is nice > to see a non-secular, non-Orthodox setting for yiddish renewal. azoy vi me shraybt vegn gefiln, vil ikh zogn az mir darfn nitsn yidish in ale kontekstn; mir muzn es nitsn beshas mir redn vegn politik, seks, religiye, literatur, lingvistik, uaw. ober ikh ze nisht az me darf nitsn es in di tfiles gufe; s'iz a shod me zol viln baytn di doyresdike mesoyre fun undzere tfiles un shafn naye tfiles in yidish-shprakh bimkom yene. (ikh hob gor nisht kegn iberzetsn hebreyishn tfiles.) un a shaykhesdike inyen: ellen prince shraybt vegn yidish limudim in a daytshn opteyl, and zi freygt retorish, 'vi zol me gefinen yidish limudim, ven nisht in a daytshn opteyl?' vel ikh say vi entfern mit a tsveyte meglekhkayt: in a yidishe opteyl. yidishe limudim nemen arayn nisht nor lingvistik un shprakh! nor ikh volt zikh nisht baklogt az se zol zayn teyl fun a daytshn opteyl. un nokh a zakh: farvos zol men zitsn shive af a shprakh vos leybt shtark, nor vayl s'rov fun di yidishe reders zayn nisht sekulare? meylekh viswanath 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 30 Mar 95 16:31:36 EST From: pviswana@andromeda.rutgers.edu Subject: Origins of proverb Ronald Florence writes: > > I'd welcome information about the origin or instances of the usage of > the Yiddish proverb, `Men tor nit betn oyf a nayem melech.' (Never > pray for a new king.) Thanks. I have not heard this proverb, but it may be related to the events related in Exodus, where the Bible says, soon after the ptire of yoysef, (paraphrased, without khumesh in front of me) and there was a new king in the land, who did not know of Joseph, and goes on to describe how he enslaved the jews, etc. This might be the origin. Meylekh Viswanath 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 30 Mar 1995 23:08:02 -0700 (MST) From: feller@pcef.pc.maricopa.edu Subject: Origins of proverb A response to Ronald Florence (Vol 4.378) as to the origin of the Yiddish proverb "Men tor nit betn oyf a nayem melech". I am not sure whether this is the answer that Ronald is looking for, but this proverb is found in "Yiddishe Sprikhverter" by Ignatz Bernshtein. The original versions of this classic were published in the early part of this century, with the latest one about 1912. It was reissued by the Congress for Jewish Culture in 1983. In this latest reissue, the proverb is found on P.130, No.5 under the subject "melekh". There is also a reference to a related proverb under the subject "poretz". The latter proverb (p.161) is: "Oyf a shekhtn poretz tor men keyn mapole nit beten." Morrie Feller Phoenix, Arizona 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 30 Mar 1995 20:31:25 -0500 From: e.kellman@utoronto.ca Subject: Professor Yi-en Yao Professor Yi-en Yao, of the Foreign Language Institute in Shanghai, China would like to correspond with Yiddishists around the world. Working from Russian translations, he has translated some of Sholem Aleichem's work into Chinese. s'iz faran nor eyn tsore: er ken nit keyn yidish. According to his friend at the University of British Columbia, Ms. Yan Yin, he speaks very little English either. vend ikh zikh tsu di mendelyaner vos kenen gut rusish. Perhaps some of you would like to make contact with Mr. Yao. If so, please get in touch with Ms. Yin at the following e-mail address: yanyin@triumf.ca Ellie Kellman ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.381 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