Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 6.161 December 24, 1996 1) Tevye fardreyt Hilel's a posek (Khayem Bochner) 2) "Merry Christmas" af yidish (Irv Goldfein) 3) Zaida-Lea (Les Train) 4) Palindrome (Al Grand) 5) Recognition of Jewish accomplishment (Walter Golman) 6) Yiddish today (Vera Szabo) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 23 Dec 96 21:26:16 -0500 From: bochner@deas.harvard.edu Subject: Tevye fardreyt Hilel's a posek In Mendele 6.137 hot Louis Fridhandler geshribn vegn dem oysdruk "Bemokoym she'eyn ish iz a hering fish", vos gefint zikh, tsvishn andere, bay Sholem Aleykhemen. Er fregt: Hot Sholem-Aleykhem aleyn oysgetrakht dos vertl, oder hot er es genumen funem folklor? Nu, hert a mayse: Di mayse heybt zikh on mit a falsher deye: Dhayne, ikh hob ergets geleyent, ikh gedenk shoyn nisht vu, az der oysdruk nemt zikh (in tokh, nisht in forem) fun a slavishn oysdruk vos iz taytsh "Ven s'iz nishto keyn fish, iz a rak (crab, crayfish) oykh a fish". Loyt der deye iz dos a sheyner moshl fun dem, vi azoy yidn nemen iber kulturele zakhn fun di shkheynim un makhn zey iber mit a yidishn ponim. Ikh hob dos gegleybt, un oykh nokhgezogt andere. To far vos heyst es shoyn bay mir a falshe deye? Ot iz der tsveyter teyl mayse: Mit onderthalbn yor tsurik hob ikh gehat a gelegnheyt tsu hern a kurs fun der elterer yidisher literatur, ongefirt fun Marion Aptroot. Mir hobn arayngekukt in a sakh interesante zakhn, un tsvishn zey hot zikh eyn shtikl mir gevorfn in di oygn: undzer oysdruk vegn hering, in zeyer an altn moker! Bald hob ikh gezen az me darf nisht keyn slavishn moker ... Hob ikh dokh gevolt entfern oyf khaver Fridhandlers frage, ober tsum badoyern hob ikh zikh nisht gekent dermonen di protim. Tsum glik iz Marion tsurikgekumen keyn Boston oyf a vizit, un ikh hob zi gekent fregn. Zi hot bald farshtanen vos ikh vil, un geentfert: kuk in dem araynfir tsum Brant Shpigl. Iz ot hot ir: in seyfer Brant Shpigl, aroysgegebn in Basle in 1602 (!!!), shteyt geshribn azoy: "In mesekhes oves shteyt bemokoym sheeyn ish hayo mishtadel lihyoys ish. Dos iz toytsh eyn ort vo nit iz eyn man zay dikh bamueen un zay eyn man. Oykh zogt man oyf toytsh vo nit beser iz iz hering oykh fish." (Ikh hof az ikh hob nisht tsu fil fargrayzt dem ibergebn funem tekst oyf lateynishe oysyes. Zoln di emese mevinim farbesern!) Vos iz derfun gedrungen? 1. Der oysdruk vegn hering iz zeyer alt oyf yidish, un dafke in mayrev-yidish, vu di slavishe shprakhn hobn gehat veynik hashpoe. Nisht alts, heyst es, nemt men iber fun di shkheynim! 2. Der oysdruk hot zikh shoyn tsunoyfgeport mitn posek fun Pirke Oves kimat dray hundert yor far Sholem Aleykhemen. Khotsh in seyfer Brant Shpigl shteyt a bisl andersh vi me zogt itst, iz es mistome geven a teyl funem folklor ale lange yorn ... Un mistome iz es nisht geven keyn nayer oysdruk oykh in 1602! Khayem Bochner 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 23 Dec 1996 18:14:39 -0800 From: goldfein@ix.netcom.com Subject: "Merry Christmas" af yidish Perhaps in anticipation of the success of the Yiddish B'rit Chadash, the Britannica World Language Dictionary, (copyright 1954, 1955, 1956, Robert C. Preble,) translates Merry Christmas as "a freylekhn nitl." This appears on page 2055, in the "Useful Expressions" section of "Yiddish Special Lists." Yiddish (in transliteration) is one of the six "World Languages," together with French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Swedish. Uriel Weinreich is credited as the German and Yiddish Editor. Anyone have any background information on this project? Any conjecture as to how often two yiddish speakers would have occasion to use this greeting? Irv Goldfein 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 23 Dec 1996 22:53:24 -0500 (EST) From: ltrain@chass.utoronto.ca Subject: Zaida-Lea In translating a Russian document, I came across a woman's name:'Zaida- Lea'. Ive never heard of Zaida as a woman's name, and am wondering if it is related to the anglo-jewish Sadie. Les Train 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 23 Dec 1996 22:56:28 -0500 From: savoyid@aol.com Subject: Palindrome I'd be grateful for anyone who has come across a Yiddish palindrome or has succeeded in formulating one to share it with this list. But aside from constructing a palindrome in Yiddish, I believe it is even more difficult to think of a Yiddish word that would convey the concept of "palindrome". Al Grand 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 24 Dec 1996 01:45:48 -0500 (EST) From: velvele@wam.umd.edu Subject: Recognition of Jewish accomplishment The Mloteks' note about the decision by someone at the New York Times to admit Sholem Asch to a non-Jewish pantheon brings to mind Albert Einstein's comment about the reception given to his Theory of Relativity. It went something like this: "If my theory proves to be untrue, the French will denounce me as a German, and the Germans will describe me as a Jew. But if the theory proves true, the Germans will claim me as a German, and the French will describe me as a citizen of the world." Walter Golman Silver Spring, Maryland 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 24 Dec 1996 09:12:18 +0000 From: verele@osiris.elte.hu Subject: Yiddish today A question to all mendelnikes. I am writing an essay about Yiddish today for a Hungarian Jewish magazine and I would like to ask those who can to send me inormation on the subject. Having lived and studied Yiddish in New York for 2 years, I am familiar with the major institutions and trends in the US and to some degree in Isreal. I have some idea about what is happening in/around Yiddish elsewhere, too, but I's like to get exact information as to: -Yiddish schools (day/afternoon/Sunday); how many students? when were the last ones closed, if there aren't any. -Yiddish journals/newspapers published outside of America/Israel/Oxford? -Yiddish study/reading groups? -Statistical data on the number of Yiddish speakers today? I know I am asking a lot, but it seems that from goles-ingern that is the only way of research. Vera Szabo ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 6.161 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line 2. 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