Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 6.077 October 8, 1996 1) A geoyem opshik far an oftn "tsitat" (Shikl Fishman) 2) Yiddish on WEVD (Sholem Berger) 3) A bitere shayle (Zellig Bach) 4) Universities with degree programs in Yiddish (David G. Roskies) 5) Universities with degree programs in Yiddish (Allan E. Blair) 6) Bookshops in Israel - a tikn toes (Leybl Botvinik) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 08:05:34 -0700 (PDT) From: fishman@csli.stanford.edu Subject: A geoyem opshik far an oftn "tsitat" Men tsitirt oft max vaynraykhn (Max Weinreich) in shaykhes mitn zog "A language is a dialect with an army and a navy". Tsi hot emetser a genoyem opshik far yenem tsitat in eyne fun vaynraykhs publikatsiyes? Vaynraykh aleyn hot dem zog "tsugeshribn" tsu "emetsn do in zal" in zayns a referat in yivo beys a konferents vegn tsveyshprakhikeyt, April 1967. Vaynraykh hot geredt ad"t "Tsvey toyznt anderthalbn yor yidishe tsveyshprakhikeyt". Dem referat hot men rekordirt un er gefint zikh inem arkhiv funem yivo. Loyt mayn zikorn, bin ikh der "emetser", nor oyb men ken gefinen af dem a genoyem opshik in vaynraykhs a publikatsiye, iz dos nit mer vi a shpitsl fun mayn zikorn un der emetser do in zal iz gor an anderer. Ikh fleg dem oysdruk nutsn in mayne klasn un hob dos ibergezogt far vaynraykhn. Ober efsher hobn mir dos beyde fun an andern vos is oykh geven "do in zal" beys vaynraykh hot geredt. Tsi hot emetser a genoyem opshik tsu a gedruktn moker fun yener tsayt? Shikl Fishman 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 07 Oct 1996 19:11:17 +0000 From: bergez01@mchip00.med.nyu.edu Subject: Tsores fun kultur = dkhak in idealizm? shayekh dem "WEVD"-inyen hobn firgeleygt etlekhe mendelyaner, az di tsores vos kumt bay di veltlekhe yidish-shprakhike kultur vern farergert makhmes a miklompershtn dkhak in "idealizm," ibergegebnkayt, oder epes azoyns. dos klingt mir nisht azoy rikhtik. faran den haynt veyniker idealizm, veynike ibergegebene yungen, veyniker mesires-nefesh tsulib kultur eyder vos in frierdike doyres? me veyst gants gut fun di ale yunge, idealistishe yidishistn vos makhn yor-ayn yor-oys vos me ken far yidish. idealizm felt undz take nisht. ibergegebnkayt derzet zikh oykhet. ober: di ikerdike mayse, di shtrenge, groylike mayse, iz dos vos s'felt undz a nishkoshedike bafelkerung yidish-rednders vos zol oysshpreytn un farbreytern di arbet fun di-o yungen. di yungen virkn _yo_ afn hayntikn matsev fun yidish; ven nisht zey un zeyer arbet, kholile, volt geven haynt a sakh erger far der shprakh bay veltlekhe yidn. ober on an arumike bafelkerung iz dos alts a sakh, gor a sakh shverer un pamelekher. idealizm hot men, ibergegebnkayt hot men--es heybt afile on tsu zayn, vos mentshn in amerikaner yidishn klal bavayzn a shtark-farbeserter shtimung legabe yidish. di ale faktn ober hobn nor a kleynem shaykhes tsu der groyser arbet vos blaybt undz, un di groyse pruvn vos darfn oysgefirt vern kedey der idealizm, yidishizm, un ale sheyne "izmen" zoln mekuymen vern in epes a kleyner, nor emeser veltlekher bafelkerung in kumendikn yor-toyznt. far dem iz idealizm neytik, un take faran, ober vayt nisht genug. sholem berger 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 22:20:53 -0400 From: zellig@aol.com Subject: A bitere shayle I received the following "shayle" [question] from a Mendelyanerke: "Vi azoy leygt men oys dos vort far gedempte fleysh -- roye oder gekokhte?" [How do you spell the word for "gedempte fleysh" -- raw or kooked?] I promptly wrote back the following collaborative reply (I say 'collaborative' because I composed it with the loving assistance of my wife): " 'Gedemfte fleysh' is certainly not roye (raw) but rather gekokhte (in English: potted meat)." The word is related to damp (from the German "dampf"), moderately wet, cooked slowly, simmered, in a covered pot." This exchange promptly elicited the following return: "...ven ikh hob geshribn "roye" hob ikh gemeynt [when I wrote 'roye' I meant] stew meat that one purchases in the market prior to cooking." Well, why do I receive such "shayles"? (One might call them "klotz kashes" -- hiltserne [wooden] questions. Do my posts in _Mendele_, heaven forbid, convey an unintented, unconscious subliminal message to the effect that in my kitchen something is always on the burner going, that something is always cooking?... For a change of pace, may I in this connection share with my colleagues the following heart-warming story about a shayle of a serious nature: A very poor woman somehow managed to scrounge together several kopkes [pennies] and bought for the Friday, erev-shabes, meal a scrawny _hindl_ [diminutive for" hun," chicken]. While she was _kashering_ it, the gall broke, and she immediately took it to the _rov_ [orthodox rabbi] to ask if it is still kosher for consumption. The rov said to her: "Yidene" [woman], give the innards of your chicken a lick with your tongue and tell me if it tastes bitter." This test would determine the answer to her shayle, because in the affirmative it would be treyf, unfit for Jewish consumption. When the woman heard the word "biter," she promptly answered in a rapid breath : "Oy vey iz es biter! Mayn man iz krank, er halt in eyn hustn, tog un nakht, un di kinderlekh zaynen bloyz hoyt un beyner, on a pitsl fleysh af zeyere kerperlekh, Oy vi biter es iz! Got zol zikh derbaremen af undz!" [And how bitter it is! My husband is sick, keeps coughing day and night, and the children are but skin and bones, with not an ounce of flesh on their little bodies. Oy is it bitter! May God have mercy on us!] The rov did not repeat his request that she tastes to check whether the fluid from the erupted gall spread all over. He listened with his heart to her bitter lament and, without skipping a heart bit, said to her: "Got vet helfn! Oyb s'iz biter, iz es kosher" [God will help! Since it is bitter, it is kosher.] Zellig Bach Lakehurst, NJ 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 08 Oct 1996 05:38:59 -0400 (EDT) From: daroskies@jtsa.edu Subject: Universities with Degree-Granting Programs in Yiddish JTS (also known as The Jewish Theological Seminary of America) has several degree-granhting programs in and around Yiddish. On the Masters level, students may enroll either in Modern Jewish Studies or Jewish Literature. The first is an interdisciplinary program combining history, literature, philosophy, and art. The second combines medieval and modern Hebrew literature and modern Yiddish literature. On the Ph. D. level, students elect either to specialize in Hebrew or Yiddish, or to combine the two. Franco Melfi did both, as did Mikhail Krutikov. The core Yiddish curriculum consists of a 3-semester survey of the history of Yiddish literature from 1780-1980, taught in Yiddish. There are currently eleven students enrolled in the first semester. Prof. David Fishman teaches courses on East European Jewish history and culture. Peysach Fiszman teaches beginners and intermediate Yiddish. JTS has the largest Yiddish collection in the USA outside of the YIVO. There is also a consortium agreement (on the Masters and Ph.D. level) among JTS, Columbia, and NYU. David G. Roskies 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 02:32:18 -0400 (EDT) From: ablair@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Subject: Universities with Yiddish programs Re: Shalom Goldberg's query about Universities with Yiddish programs: Do not forget Ohio State University. Ohio State has a large Yiddish program with undergraduate majors and minors, as well as a complete graduate division through the PhD (including the MA). The OSU Library has a large collection of Yiddish books, movies, and other resources, as well as maintaining a branch reading room library in the Department of Yiddish and Ashkenazic Studies. For information, please contact Professor Dovid N. Miller, The Ohio State University, Dept.of Yiddish and Ashkenazic Studies, Cunz Hall, Columbus, OH 43210. Allan E. Blair 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 8 Oct 1996 07:26:03 +0200 (IST) From: leybl@telecomm.tadiran.co.il Subject: Bookshops in Israel - a tikn toes in Mendele V6.065 git dovid herskovic a reshime fun bibliotekn un gesheftn in yisroyl vu men ken bakumen yidishe bikher. layder, hot er ongegebn nit rikhtike protim vegn eyn ort. es daref zayn: Beys Leyvik, Dov Hoz 30, (Nr. Rehov Gordon) Tel Aviv [beys sholem aleykhem: y.d. berkovitz 4, tel aviv] derekh agev, beys leyvik iz oykh der heym fun dem shrayber-fareyn in yisroyl un oykh fun dem veltrat far yidish. un oyf kalisher, vet ir gefinen dem arbeter-ring/bund un oykh dem hemshekh dor ohavey-yidish. oyf brener 14, ibern peretz farlag, gefint zikh beys rishoyni poyley-tsiyoyn. leybl botvinik netanya ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 6.077