Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 5.283 March 17, 1996 1) International Yiddish Conference, Miami (Martin Horwitz) 2) Vayomer-dovid-glitshn (Andrew Cassel) 3) Prezhnitse (Meyer-Leyb Wolf) 4) U's and i's and i's and ii's (Mikhl Herzog) 5) Ruakh (Zellig Bach) 6) Roykh and ruakh (Kathleen Rose) 7) Afikomen (Meylekh Viswanath) 8) Dina Abramowicz (Zachary Baker) 9) A poeme vegn eyfelekh (Yankev Lewis) 10) A libe iz dos an umglik af der velt (Art Sheppard) 11) Music to a libe iz an umglik af der velt (David Goldberg) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 13 Mar 1996 20:50:29 -0500 From: wk08227@worldlink.com Subject: International Yiddish Conference, Miami Ikh hob geleynt mit groys interes vos Marjorie Hirshan hot gemeldet vegn dem Idish konferents in Miami. Vi azoy ken men krign khotch etlikhe protim vegn di temes? Ikh bin in farbindung mit etlikhe idish krayzn un klubn in Rusland un Ukraine vos veln hobn a gants groys interes in etlikhe fun di temes. Martin Horwitz 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 13 Mar 1996 21:35:39 -0500 From: Andrew.Cassel@phillynews.com Subject: Vayomer-dovid-glitshn While translating a memoir written in the '40s, I found in a passage about winter sports in Keidan, the term "vayomer dovid glitshn". Surprisingly (to me) Harkavy translates this as "skating while covering one's eyes with an arm." The phrase apparently derives from the psalm, "vayomer dovid" ("And David declared...") traditionally said while covering the eyes. It seems to make sense linguistically, but athletically I can't figure it out. Has anyone ever heard of such a game? Andrew Cassel 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 13 Mar 1996 21:46:21 -0500 From: wolfim@chelsea.ios.com Subject: Prezhnitse Stutchkoff (p. 227, left column) includes 'prezhenitse' in the omelet/scrambled eggs subgroup. Curiously, among the many food groups under his number 258 he has none for "fried matza". 'matse-bray' is found only among the pap-foods (p. 225, col. right), in agreement with Harkavy. The term in my family 'gefrishte matse' is nowhere found, though Weinreich has 'gefrisht broyt' = french toast. Why does this maykhl have so many makeshift names? Is fried matza as American as chow mein? Meyer-Leyb Wolf 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 13 Mar 96 21:52 EST From: zogur@cuvmb.columbia.edu Subject: U's and i's and i's and ii's Jonathan Bellman [5.282] misunderstands: Where 'son' is _zun_ and 'sons' is _zin_, _zun_ and _zin_ are _never_ homonyms--by definition. However, in a relatively small area, along the Polish-Lithuanian border, the Yiddish words for 'son', 'sun', and 'sons' (and 'mind') _are_ homonyms. All are realized with /i/, as either [zin] or [ziin], in an area in which i) all historical _u_'s and _i_'s have merged in _i(i)_ and ii) the difference between long and short _i_ is not distinctive. Elsewhere, in the so-called _i_ area (where all Litvish _u_ vowels are realized as _i_), short /i/ in such words as _zin_ 'sun' is distinctively different from long /ii/ in such words _ziin_ 'son(s)'. Along the Belorussian-Ukrainian border (in Volhynia) the word for 'to see', normally _zen_ or _zeyn_, may also enter the picture either as _zin_ or _ziin_. In parallel fashion, Litvish _i_ vowels, are differentially realized in the Polish-Ukrainian so-called _i_ area, as short /i/ in such words as _din_ 'thin', 'law', _bin_ 'am', _shif_ 'ship', _shpin_ 'spider', _shtil_ 'quiet', as against long /ii/ in _diinim_ 'laws', _biin_ 'bee', _griin_ 'green', _tiif_ 'deep', _shtiil_ 'shaft (of a knife)'. Get it? Mikhl Herzog 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 13 Mar 1996 22:24:31 -0500 From: zellig@aol.com Subject: Der ruakh In 5.280,2 Arre Komar writes of the "common Yiddish expletive 'der roykh zol zey nemen'," [roykh meaning smoke]. Sorry, there was never such a _klole_ [curse]. He either misheard it, or misconstrued it. The expression was always "der _ruakh_ zol zey nemen," ruakh (Hebrew) meaning wind, and served as an elliptical saying, in which the adjective _beyzer_ (ill, evil) was left unspoken for superstitious reasons, as if the very mention of the ill, evil wind would be considered a call, an invitation to show up "in person"... Zellig Bach 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 15 Mar 96 14:30 EST From: kathleen_rose@umail.umd.edu Subject: Roykh and ruakh I would like to add to the general confusion concerning the origin of these words. i've always understood roykh to be the yiddish equivalent of german 'rauch'. the word 'ruach' also exists in at least one german dialect (bavarian), and it is used to refer in a very negative way to a person who will always try to get more than his/her fair share of something. the adjectival form is 'ruachet' or 'ruachat' (i'm unsure of the spelling, since i've never seen it written). could this have something to do with the yiddish/hebrew meaning of ruakh as 'bad spirit'? a sheynem dank. kathleen rose 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 14 Mar 1996 11:49:17 -0500 From: viswanat@pacevm.dac.pace.edu Subject: Afikomen Sholem aleykhem alemen. Ikh bin nisht geven af mendele mer vi a halb yur un es iz a mekhaye tsurik tsu kimen. Vi a tsurikkum matone, volt ikh farshteln a peysakhdike vits (an originelle, mayne): Vi azoy veyst men az me est dem afikomen bay nakht un nisht bay tug? Vayl se shteyt 'al ha sove' (sin, vov, veys, ayin)! Ven zeyt men a sove (samekh, kumets alef, tsvey vuvn, ayin)? Bay tug den? Meylekh Viswanath 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 14 Mar 96 16:21:26 PST From: bm.yib@rlg.stanford.edu Subject: Dina Abramowicz (zol zi gezunt zayn!) I would like to direct the attention of Mendelyaners to the new issue of the National Yiddish Book Center's "Der Pakn-Treger/ The Book Peddler." The cover story is devoted to Dina Abramowicz, reference librarian, and previously head librarian (1962-1987), of YIVO. The article, entitled "Keeper of a Civilization," is by The Book Peddler's editor, Jeff Sharlet, and is based on extensive interviews with Dina and on the writer's observations of a legendary librarian at work. From the contents page: "'As a librarian,' says Dina Abramowicz, 'I have an irrational attraction to the *past*.' Still working at age 86, Dina Abramowicz reflects on her life in the stacks, from tending Vilna's War-time ghetto library to presiding over the collection of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, where she has been saving the past -- and looking to the future -- for more than four decades." See pages 9-21 of "The Book Peddler," no. 21 (Spring 1996). Zachary Baker 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 15 Mar 1996 09:50:58 -0500 From: justin.lewis@utoronto.ca Subject: A poeme vegn eyfelekh The Yiddish class I take at the University of Toronto read Moyshe Nadir's poems "Yidn un Tshvekes" (Jews and Nails) and several poems entitled "Dos Lebn". Our homework was to write a poem in the style of Nadir. Mendelyaner parents, especially, might find this result amusing. A Lebn un an Eyfele ("a life and a baby") -- stil un sentimentn loyt Moyshe Nadir Vos iz der shaykhes tsvishn a lebn un an eyfele? Vos iz a lebn un vos iz an eyfele? An eyfele iz geferlekh kleyn. Dos lebn oykh. An eyfele hot nisht keyn tseyn un ken fort baysn. Dos lebn oykh. An eyfele shtinkt amol. A lebn iz amol farshtunken. Ale hobn lib an eyfele un yene vos hobn faynt eyfelekh shemen zikh un redn nisht derfun. Di zelbe zakh mitn lebn. An eyfele redt nisht. Me veys nisht, vos es vil. An eyfele iz nisht tsu farshteyn. Dos lebn oykh nisht. Ale eyefelekh hobn eyn ponim, nor yederer meynt az zayn eyfele iz andersh fun ale andere. Yederer meynt oykh az zayn lebn iz andersh fun ale andere. Az me halt an eyfele un me tantst a bisl vert es gliklekh. Di zelbe zakh mitn lebn. Yankev Lewis 10)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 16 Mar 1996 15:23:32 -0700 (MST) From: spaceman@getnet.com Subject: a libe iz dos an umglik af der velt [5.282] I believe that this is from an old yiddish/russian folk song that can be found in the book "Old Jewish Folk Music: The Collections and Writings of Moshe Beregovski", edited and translated by Mark Slobin, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982 The name of the song appears to be "Ver se zogt, az a libe iz a grojs glik" and can be found on page 333. Art Sheppard Phoenix, Arizona 11)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 14 Mar 96 09:54:32 EST From: david.goldberg@smtpgwy.mla.org Subject: Music to a libe iz an umglik af der velt There was a wonderful version of "a libe iz an umglik..." which I sang in a mitlshul chorus with Moyshe Rauch in the 50s. If there are records out there from the Jewish Music Alliance (of the JPFO/IWO), or anyone who is in touch with the Jewish Peoples Philharmonic Chorus (Peter Schlosser in the CCNY music department may still be the conductor), they may remember the version we sang. My section kept up a kind of hurdy-gurdy sound (un nat nat, un nat nat, unat unat unat unat unat unat) through the whole song. David Goldberg ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 5.283