Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 5.009 May 19, 1995 1) Avade dem tatn (Ruvn Millman) 2) Yiddish tsvishn tsvey velt milkhomes (Zellig Bach) 3) An andere meynung vegn NYBC (Andrew Cassel) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 May 1995 18:44:43 -0400 From: ruvn@aol.com Subject: Avade dem tatn In Mendele Vol 5.003 reb Bach hot derkent mayner a tues. S'iz geven mayn emesn fargenign gibn tsu farshteyn vos s'iz geborn gevorn tsu Naomi Cohen un Sender Botwinik a yingle (a yidish redndik). Atsind, vir teg nokh dem bris ken ikh aykh gebn der nomen fun dos yingle: Toyvi Eliezer Botwinik. Er iz adurkh der bris nor mit eyn kleyn geshreyele. Un vayter... (vi dermont reb Bach)... "Ir kent bagrisn beydn _ der mamen un dem tatn _" (ncohen@sjuphil.sju.edu). Ruvn Millman 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 May 1995 22:00:02 -0400 From: zellig@aol.com Subject: Yiddish tsvishn tsvey velt milkhomes 1. A German general surrenders to a Yiddish-speaking G.I.: The New York Times Magazine of Sunday, May 7, 1995. was a special WW II issue in connection with the allied victory in Europe (V-E Day) 50 years ago. It contained riveting personal battle accounts of participants, and a most telling collection of war photographs and the victory celebrations. The title of one of the war memoirs was "A Lesson in Yiddish" by Gardner Botsford, a former editor of _The New Yorker_. Normally this title would mean a lesson that one takes to learn Yiddish, or a Yiddish lesson that one teaches. In this particular instance, however, it had a figurative meaning: A lesson a German general received in Yiddish from an American serviceman named Max (the author gives no other details: no rank, no last name, no town where he came from, nor the exact wording of the Yiddish "lesson"). The German army, pressed by the Russians from one direction and by the Americans from the other direction, was surrendering _en masse_ along the entire front. The writer of the article, with Max and another buddy, found themselves in the city hall of a town in Czechoslovakia where the Burgomaster (Mayor) advised them that he wishes to surrender the town to the American Army, and that General Schwaben, the German commandant of the region, is on his way here for this very same purpose. Presently the General with two aides-de-camp came into the hall, clicked his heels, and presented himself. "Are you empowered to speak for the American Army?" the Burgomaster asked. "We are the American Army," Max said grandly in Yiddish. Schwaben "looked as though he had just stepped into something disgusting. We were not only slovenly [from our day- and night long track to get here], we were Jewish! He started for the door, but then came back, undid the flap of his holster, pulled out his Luger and presented it to Max." Max stuck the surrendered weapon into his pants belt... 2. Yiddish in the American army (WW I): The above story reminded me of another episode, this time about Yiddish in the American Army during World War I, as described by Maurice Samuel in his memoirs _Little Did I Know_ (1963, pp.16-17): "... My regiment, the 307th Infantry, had a large contingent of New York East-Siders, some of them recent arrivals in this country, with very little knowledge of English. My captain asked me whether I would not take over two squads of the newcomers snd teach them the rudiments of close-order drill in Yiddish. It was a request rather than a command, and in an evil hour I accepted. "...My Uncle Berl was profoundly shocked by the use [of Yiddish in the service of training soldiers]. He was also puzzled: Where did I get the military terminology? He had never heard of such a thing in Yiddish. Jews had never fought in that language... "I told him that I gave the commands in English and explained their execution in Yiddish. 'Ven ikh zog "Te-en-SHUN" you must stand up straight _ot azoy_like this, feet together at an angle _ot azoy_, shoulders drawn back...' "... The men didn't take me seriously because of my Yiddish. [Was it on account of his accent? His parents came from Rumania. --Z.B.] "... One of the soldiers said to me: 'You want to say "Attention," say it, don't shout "Te-en-SHUN" and get red in the face... You want to say "Forward March"? Don't yell "Faw-wau-HARCH" Say it plainly, reasonably, like a human being...' "..."Isn't he right?" said Uncle Berl, and went back to his lament: "Vey, vey, you take a beautiful language like Yiddish, and with it you want to teach them to kill... Feh! " 3. Yiddish between two world wars: In the period between WW I and WW II Yiddish experienced the zenith in its development -- a wondrous landscape of schools, newspapers, magazines, libraries, a scientific research institute, a world-acclaimed literature, poetry, dramaturgy, and so on and on, a pulsating and vibrant language in the mouths of millions and millions, a language that conquered the hearts and minds of Jews all over the world. Now we reached the depth of despair with regards to Yiddish, and we talk about its sanctification. Zellig Bach Lakehurst, NJ 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 18 May 1995 22:25:25 -0400 From: cassel@libertynet.org Subject: An andere meynung vegn NYBC The problem isn't building with union labor, or building with non-union labor, IMHO. The problem is building, period! If NYBC is really devoted to the preservation of Yiddish books and culture, why patchke around, as mayne eltern used to say, with constructing monuments and theme parks? Does the fragile Yiddish world really need to be spending its meager financial resources on (yet another) building fund? How many synagogues, Jewish centers, etc. have built themselves into a position where all their time and energy goes into maintenance of the edifice, rather than nourishment of the membership ? Why not honor the memory of our radical ancestors with something really radical: forget all the donor plaques and architectural ego-trips, and stick to collecting books .... Andrew Cassel Elkins Park, PA ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 5.009 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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