Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 6.126 December 8, 1996 1) Zschokke (Louis Fridhandler) 2) Was Sholem Aleichem a Yiddishist? (Louis Fridhandler) 3) Sholem Aleichem's letters in Russian (Louis Fridhandler) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 6 Dec 1996 19:50:08 -0500 From: lfridhan@aol.com Subject: Zschokke Mendelyaner farnemen in zikh a universitet. A dank Joachim Neugroschel far an entfer vegn Zschokke [6.123]. Bashaynperlekh hot Zschokke geshribn af Daytsh. Men hot ibergezetst af yidish zeyer a sakh in nayntsentn yorhundert un in di ershte yorn tsvantsikstn yorhundert. Afile shund romanen fun andere shprakhn. Az di muter fun di dertseylern in Sholem Alekhem's A Vayse Kapore leyent Tshoke (Zschokke) iz mistome a simen az zi leynt shund romanen nor nisht Shomer (Nakhem Sheykevitsh), a barimter yidisher shund-romanist. Efsher meynt zi az a shund roman fun a nit-yidisher shprakh halt men af a hekherer madreyge. Louis Fridhandler 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 6 Dec 1996 19:50:39 -0500 From: lfridhan@aol.com Subject: Was Sholem Aleichem a Yiddishist? David Herskovic (6.122, 6) questions whether Sholem Aleichem was a Yiddishist. Yo, Sholem-Aleykhem iz gevorn a yidishist trit bay trit. Ongehoybn hot er in zayne yunge yorn. A briv tsu Shemen Dubnov iz shaykh. In _Fun Zhargon tsu Yidish_, fun Shemen Dubnov, Vilna, Kletskin 1929, zaytn 64-65, shraybt Sholem-Aleykhem tsu Dubnov af Rusish (ibergezetst fun Dubnov af yidish): Baylegndik derbay mayn khibur "Dos Bintl Blumen" oder "Der Buket," _ferzn in proze_ (in der yidisher shprakh der ershter pruv tsu shraybn azelkhe lider, vos derfirt di shprakh tsu fulshtendikeyt, nisht onkumendik nisht tsu keyn daytshe, nisht tsu keyn rusishe oysdrukn un verter), bet ikh aykh tsu gebn dem a por verter inem noentstn bukh fun Voskhod. [Translation] Enclosing herewith my work, "The Bunch of Flowers" or "The Bouquet," lines in prose (the first attempt in this Jewish language to write such poems that take the language to completeness without resorting to German or Russian expressions and words), so I plead with you to devote a few words to this in the next issue of Voskhod [a Russian language periodical of Jewish interest]. Sholem Aleichem also devoted his writing, editorial and publishing efforts to produce two massive volumes of Di Yidishe Folks-Bibliotek, the first anthologies of the best Yiddish writing in 1888 and 1889. The Jewish world was stunned and delighted. Peretz published his very first Yiddish work in those two anthologies. While he traveled to give public readings he was delighted to discover Yiddish expressions, and he used them in his works. That must have caused them to be spread over the Yiddish-speaking world, enriching the language and increasing its value as a lingua franca. There is, of course, more evidence that Sholem Aleichem was an influential Yiddishist, becoming even more emotionally involved over the years; but enough for now. He wanted his work to reach more of the world than Yiddish could, and so he was eager to see his work translated into Russian, English and other languages. As to Sholem Aleichem's use of the term, zhargon, to designate Yiddish. He meant no disparagement. Zhargon was a pejorative term back when Moses Mendelssohn used it, but it eventually became a neutral term. That's how Sholem Aleichem used it. See Max Weinreich's History of the Yiddish Language (English translation) pp. 321-322. In the early 1900s it was replaced by the term Yiddish. Jargon is in use again as a pejorative term for Yiddish along with hodge-podge. Vos veysn azoyne mentshn? Ikh her zey vi dem koter. Louis Fridhandler 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 6 Dec 1996 12:37:50 -0500 From: lfridhan@aol.com Subject: Sholem Aleichem's letters in Russian Iosif Vaisman (6.122, 5) cites a 1970s Moscow publication that includes letters by Sholem Aleichem and that all letters to family members from this sample are in Yiddish. This is totally at variance with the collection of letters in Dos Sholem-Aleykhem Bukh, 1926, 1958, compiled, edited and partly written by I.D. Berkowitz, Sholem Aleichem's son-in-law and close confidant from 1905 to 1916. One hundred and eleven letters are in Russian to family members (children, wife, son-in-law Mikhail, niece Natasha, grandchildren). It might be useful to compare the particular letters in the 1970s Moscow publication with perhaps identical letters in Dos Sholem-Aleykhem Bukh. Did those editors, perchance, omit noting that the letters were translated from the Russian original as noted in Dos Sholem-Aleykhem Bukh? Or did they find letters completely uncharacteristic of those selected by Berkowitz? Sholem Aleichem wrote in Yiddish to brother Vevik and mother-in-law Rokhl Loyev. He wrote Hebrew to son-in-law I.D. Berkowitz and brother Elyohu. He wrote Russian to other family members according to the letters compiled in Dos Sholem-Aleykhem Bukh. That is the only publication I can think of at the moment that is careful to note the original language of each letter. And of course he did not abandon Yiddish in the family, but Russian was the everyday language. See Marie (daughter Marusi) Waife-Goldberg's biography of her father. I can't resist quoting Sholem Aleichem's letter from America to 4-year-old Bella in Odessa, charming and poignant. It was translated into Yiddish from Russian by her father Mikhail Kaufman. August 5, 1915 Mayn libe, tayere Belotshke! Ikh shrayb dir, az bay aykh iz a milkhome un bay undz nit, az du bist in odes afn fontan un mir in Amerike af a datshe, un az do iz zeyer heys, un az bay aykh iz faran a yam, heyst er der Shvartser Yam, un bay undz iz faran a yam, heyst er okean, der Atlantisher Okean, un nokh shrayb ikh dir, az ikh hob dikh zeyer zeyer lib un az ikh hof nokh tsu zen dikh un di mame un dem papa Mikhail, vos iz shoyn bald a doktor. Un ikh bin nit kayn doktor. Ikh bin a shrayber. Dayn papa Sholem-Aleykhem (From Mikhail Kaufman's memoir in Dos Sholem-Aleykhem Bukh, p. 138) Sholem Aleichem did not want to be called "zeyde." Louis Fridhandler ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 6.126 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line 2. Sign your article (full name please) Send articles to: mendele@yalevm.cis.yale.edu Send change-of-status messages to: listserv@yalevm.cis.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele nomail b. 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