Mendele: Yiddish literature and language
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Contents of Vol. 6.085
October 28, 1996

1) Zamenhof and Yiddish (Chana and Yosl Mlotek)
2) Zamenhof and Yiddish (Rick Turkel)

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 27 Oct 1996 12:59:46 -0500
From: chaniyos@aol.com
Subject: Vegn Dr. Zamenhof, der grinder fun Esperanto un yidish

Mit yorn tsurik (29 oktober 1972) hot Profesor Nosn Ziskind undz
ongefregt in dem rubrik "Perl fun der yidisher poezye" in Forverts tsi
Dr. Ludvig Zamenhof hot geshribn yidishe lider.  Er hot dort geshribn:

      Adolf Holtshauz tsitirt in zayn biografye "Doktora kai linga
      esperanto" (mir tsitirn dem titl loyt dem yidishn tekst) di
      vayterdike 5-shuredike strofes fun Zamenhof's nit-publikirter
      'Yidisher gramatik' fun a ksav-yad vos gefint zikh in der
      natsyonaler biblyotek in yerushalayim.  Dort vert take ongegebn
      Zamenhof vi der mekhaber fun di lider....un azoy vayter."

Er tsitirt di lider (mir brengen zey tsum sof fun briv) un fregt on vos
mir veysn vegn dem, tsi dos zaynen Zamenhofs eygene lider.  Etlekhe
vokhn shpeter (in di Perl l3 detsember l972) hot a Zamenhof-forsher N.
Ts. Maymon fun san frantsisko geentfert:

      Mr. A. Forsher, Oyf der frage vos prof. Nosn Ziskind hot gefregt
      tsi Dr. Zamenhof hot geshribn di yidishe lider (vos er hot aykh
      geshikt), tsi emetser andersh, derloyb ikh zikh - als
      Zamenhof-forsher - tsu entfern.

l. Dr. Zamenhof hot geshribn a sakh lider: in der tsayt fun Khivas-tsion -
tsionistishe, in rusish, speter - espirantistishe in esperanto.

2. Vegn di rusishe lider hot Nokhem Sokolov gezogt tsu Dr. Emanuel
Olshvanger, az zey zaynen geven di shenste tsionistishe lider, vos er
hot ven geleyent in rusish.  Eyn lid, ibergezetst in esperanto, vert
gebrengt in Zamenhofs biografye un dort gefinen zikh di verter "Vakh
oyf, mayn folk". Fun dem iz gedrungen az "Shtey oyf mayn folk" iz
Zamenhofs un men darf es nisht zukhn bay Mikhl Gordon un A. Goldfaden.

3. Dr. Zamenhof dertsylt in zayn kurtser oytobiografye, az shoyn als
tsen-yoriker bokher hot er gekholemt tsu vern a groyser rusisher poet.
Oyb azoy, farvos zol er nit hobn geshribn oykh lider in yidish, dos
loshn vos er hot shtark lib gehat: 'Ikh lib heys dem azoy-genantn
'zhargon' - shraybt er in onheyb fun zayn 'Yidishe gramatik' un shpeter
oyf an ander ort: 'Beys undzere inteligentn (arayngerekhnt afile di
yidishe shrayber) batsien zikh tsu yidish mit di greste farakhtung un
batrakhtn zi a bisl vild, hobn mir zikh shtendik batsoygn un batsien
zikh tsu ir oykh itst mit libshaft un mir zeen in dem azoy genantn
zhargon di zelbe shprakh vi ale andere shprakhn.

4. Di 'gramatik' vu di yidishe lider gefinen zikh, hot Dr. Zamenhof
geendikt in onhoyb fun Khivas Tsien in Varshe, l881-l882.  In der tsayt
hot er zikh a sakh mesasek geven mit Khivas tsien un iz geven eyner fun
di prominente firer.  Demolt hot er oykh geshribn tsienistishe artiklen
un lider in rusish. Un derfar merkt zikh oykh zeyer shtark on der
tsienistisher gayst un entuziasm in di etlekhe lider oyf yidish.  Es ken
zayn az er hot nokh mer yidishe lider farfast, nor di por zenen geblibn.

5. Trots dem shvakh fun Sokolov oyf Zamenhofs tsienistishe lider in
rusish, hot Zamenhof aleyn zikh nisht gehaltn far a groysn poet.  Er
zogt befeyresh in der gramatik: 'Ikh breng di dozike lider nor als
bayshpiln vi azoy tsu makhn yidishe ferzn, nisht als literarishe
produktn fun groysn vert'.

6. Dr. Olshvanger, vos iz geven an esperantist un hot gehat perzenlekhn
kontakt mit Zamenhofn, hot mir geshribn in yor l95l: 'Dr. Zamenhof iz
geven der ershter vos hot farfast a genug detalirte gramatik fun yidish,
un hot arayngezets oykh zayne lider in yidish' - befeyresh; zayne eygene
lider.

7. Derekh agev vil ikh do dermanen, az di gramatik iz take geshribn in
rusish, ober a kleyner teyl iz iberzetst gevorn in yidish fun A. Litvin
un gedrukt in zayn vilner zhurnal 'Lebn un visnshaft', l909-l9l0
(hakdome un ortografishe erklerungen; nisht-hoyptvort, bayvort, tsolvort
unazoyvayter). Es iz nisht gedrukt gevorn in gantsn, vayl Litvin hot
gevolt makhn enderungen in tekst un Dr. Zamenhof hot oyf dem nisht
maskim geven (loyt Dr. Olshvanger, gehert fun Zamenhof aleyn)."

N. Ts. Maymun dermont oykh agev az Mr. Adolf Holtshoys vos hot aroysgegebn
dos bukh iz nisht keyn yid.

Oygust 5,l973 hot di Perl gedrukt a zayt fun der esperanto-tsaytung "Heroldo
de esperanto" (fun l junio l973) vu er drukt undzer onfrage:'Cy Zamenhof
verkis jidajn poemojn?"

Di finf lider vos Dr. Ziskind hot geshikt zaynen:

l.
Oyf yeder loshn zingt ir, mayne brider,
Vi betlers nemt ir alts bay fremde layt -
Genug, mayn folk! vu zaynen dayne lider?
Ver oykh a mentsh! Shtey oyf, es iz shoyn tsayt!

2.
Dayn geveyn vet got nit hern,
Blind iz er far dayne laydn;
Zeyen muzstu, zey mit trern,
Oyb du vilst in freydn shnaydn.

3.
Tsien, heyb oyf dayne farshvolene oygn,
Fun dayne kinder un zeyer noyt;
Shvakh un farshvartst un in tsveyen geboygn,
Betlen zey oys zeyer shtikele broyt.

4.
Es tsien zikh shifn - es zingen di layt.
Es shoymen zikh freylekh di veln,
Dos geyen di yidn fun goles bafrayt
An eygenem koymen tsu shteln.

5.
Get (?) farges dayne tsores un gliklekherheyt
Heylt di vundn mit lider un vayn,
Un dertseylt dayne kinder in nakhes un freyd
Vi es iz biter a yosem tsu zayn.

Chana un Yosl Mlotek

2)----------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 1996 11:42:34 -0500
From: rturkel@cas.org
Subject: Zamenhof and Yiddish

[Regarding Sholem Yafe's comic poem (6.084)

        Hista bokhe le Zamenhofe
        Meyks mi lakhe on a sofe.
        Donerveter!  Sacremento!
        Eto sfoso Esperanto!               ]:

I think the base language here is Hebrew or Yiddish.  I can't make sense
of it all, but the end of the first line is le-Zamenhof (to Zamenhof);
"bokhe" is probably Yiddish "bokher" (young man), from the Hebrew
"bakhur."   Perhaps the whole line is Yiddish - heyst a bokher Zamenhof.
Then, "makes me lakhn un a sof (Yiddish: laugh endlessly)."
"Donnerwetter" in German means "thunderstorm," and is a mild curse;
"Sacramento" is the capital of California, and looks to be there purely
for the rhyme.  The first word in the last line is Russian for "this,"
and the next word is surely Hebrew sof-sof (in the end).

The entire doggerel seems to be a play on the fact that Esperanto is
composed of elements of many different, unrelated languages.

Hope this helps.

Rick Turkel

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End of Mendele Vol. 6.085