Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 5.110 September 14, 1995 1) N'sokhim (Eliyahu Juni) 2) Zalbe-viflt? (Zellig Bach) 3) Miriam Scheraga's query (Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan) 4) Kinehore (Dan Leeson) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 12 Sep 1995 13:55:01 -0400 From: ao107@freenet.carleton.ca Subject: n'sokhim In numer 5.109, Reb Leybl Botvinik hot gebrenkt a lid mitn ferz n'sokhim veln mir gisn fun dem bestn vayn un hot gefregt vos zenen "n'sokhim", und tsi s'volt g'darft zayn "trinkn" oder efsher "makhn mit" anshtat "gisn". B'derekh klal rift men oyf english "n'sokhim" 'libations'. Mit yeder korbn vus m'brengt oyfn mizbeyakh, miz men brengn a shier vayn; der vayn gist men oyfn vinkl fun der mizbeyakh. Der vayn iz geveyn hekdesh, (dus hayst, s'hot g'hert tsum Eybishter,) un m'hot es nisht g'megt trinkn. In'm lid, derfar, iz 'gisn' gerekht. Eliyahu Juni 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 12 Sep 1995 19:04:13 -0400 From: zellig@aol.com Subject: Zalbe-viflt? "Zalbe-viflt"? The Yiddish word_vifl_ [how much] normally does not take a "tes" /t/ at the end. But in this special instance I elected to add the "tes" on purpose, to illustrate the particular characteristic of the "zalbe-" construction. In my post "Me and my feldsher" (5.083,2) I wrote that we were a family "zalbe zibn," that is consisting of seven family members. This was a grammatical error. It should have read "zalbezibnt" or"zalbezibet." Zalbe- is a prefix, and means together, a group of so many persons, specified by a number. Combined with a numeral it becomes an adverb. The adverbial Zalbetsveyt means by two, or two together; Zalbedrit -- three together; Zalbefert -- four together; Zalbefinft -- five together; and so on. Zalbeakht -- eight together, does not take an extra "tes," and the "tes" in the original word _akht_ serves here a double function. (As we know, Yiddish spelling does not take double consonants, except when he _final_ consonant of a prefix is the _same_ as the _initial_ consonant of the verb with which it is joined. Thus, for example, faRReytlen zikh [to blush], faRRikhtn [repair]. The double tes in "glatt kosher," as seen so often in print, does not make it kosherer.) The word "zalbenand" has the same meaning as zalbetsveyt (two together). A random example: "Mir zaynen shoyn _zalbetsent_ un mir kenen zikh shteln davnen" [we already have a _minyen_ and we can start praying]. (Minyen is the minimum requirement of ten Jewish males for certain religious services.) In a pitying, but sometimes also in a linguistically jocular vein, one might say "er lebt nebekh _zalbe'eyns_," he lives by himself, he is a habitual loner. Note that in this case "eyns" (one) does not take the usually added "tes" as when any other numeral is combined with zalbe-. I have been told that the construction zalbe- with a numeral following it exists only in Lithuanian (litvishn) Yiddish. Is this correct? Also, where does zalbe- come from etymologically? Maybe our khaver Mendelyaner Anno Siegel (Berlin) could enlighten us on this score. The famous poet Avrohom Reyzn wrote a beautiful short song about a very poor family in which he used in the title and in the first line a word that has a bearing on this essay. This will at the same time answer the query of our most recent new member Miriam Kurnow Sheraga (5.109,1). I remember the following several lines from Reyzn's lid: A gezind zalbeakht, un betn nor tsvey, un kumt on di nakht, vu shlofn dan zey? Dray mitn tatn, un dray mi der mamen, Hentlekh un fislekh, geflokhtn tsuzamen... Translation (contents only): A family of eight, with only two beds, and when the night falls, where do they sleep? Three with the father, and three with the mother, little hands and little legs entwined together... Zellig Bach Lakehurst, NJ 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 13 Sep 1995 11:41:04 -0400 From: shirshan@aol.com Subject: Miriam Scheraga's query The poem you seek is called "A Gezind Zalbe Akht" by Avrom Reisen, written in Warsaw in 1899. It lives in "The Penguin Book of Modern Yiddish Verse" (Howe, Wisse, and Shmeruk) on page 89. A gezind zalbe akht Household of eight. Un betn nor tzvey, - Beds are two. Un kumt on di nakht, When it gets late, Vi shlofn dan zey? What do they do? Dray mitn tatn, Three with father, Un dray mit der mamen- Three with mother: Hentlekh un fislekh, Limbs Geflokhtn tzuzamen. Over each other. Un kumt on di nakht, When it's night M'darf makhn di betn, And they go to bed, Dan heybt on di muter Mother begins Dem toyt oyf zikh betn. To wish she were dead. Zi meynt mit an emes, - A resting place Es iz nisht kayn vunder: All her own. Oikh eyng iz in keyver, Narrow- Dokh ligt men bazunder...But you sleep alone. Nathan Halper Welcome to Mendele, Miriam. Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan Boynton Beach, Florida [A similar post was received from Marcia Gruss Levinsohn.] 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 12 Sep 1995 16:19:07 EDT From: leeson@aspen.fhda.edu Subject: Kinehore A long life to Leybl Botvinik!! Yes! Yes!! Yes!!! Leybl's joke is funnier than mine and it's the same joke. I had forgotten that it exists in two forms, one with Keynehore and the other with biz 120. I would have given my joke in Yiddish too but I can't spell any of the words so I had to do it in English, but Leybl, a blessing on your head for having done yours in mamaloshen. (To give you an idea of how bad my spelling is, I once put the word for "ringing" as in "ringing in the ears" on this board and Zelig Bach, who can figure out anything, bounced off the wall saying, "Wha???" I spelled it "zghouzhit." When it was finally shown to me how it should be spelled, I laughed for an hour.) There is even a third variation on the same joke. The same judge is in a rush to get out of court one day. And who is brought in on some charge? A chassid. The judge figures that this is going to take a year. He takes one look and, without even asking a question, says "Get me an interpreter at once!". The interpreter comes in and the judge says to him, "Ask the witness what is his name, where does he come from, and how old is he?" The interpreter asks the question in Yiddish to the witness, who then turns to the judge and says, in absolutely letter-perfect English, "My name, dear Sir is Samuel Schwarts. I come from London where I recieved my several degrees in theology, chemistry, physics, and also my rabbinic ordination. And on the 13th of July, let me see, I shall be 92 years old." The interpreter turns to the judge and says, "Er zogt az er is tsvey un nayntzik yor alt!" Dan Leeson Los Altos, California ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 5.110