Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 07.172 March 17, 1998 1) Morning Freiheit (Zachary Baker) 2) Leo Rosten (Zachary Baker) 3) A Guide...Hebraic Words In Yiddish (Bernard Katz) 4) Guri's "1000 Yiddish Idioms..." (Bernard Katz) 5) sholem alaykhem min hatoyre minayin? (David Herskovic) 6) Hare hunt in Hagodes (Hershl Hartman) 7) shmusen (Mikhl Herzog) 8) kurva (Meyer-Leyb Wolf) 9) Shayn khaseneh gemakht (Mel Poretz) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 12:08:30 -0500 (EST) From: Zachary Baker Subject: Morning Freiheit Microfilm runs of the Morning Freiheit can be found at YIVO, The New York Public Library, and perhaps in other libraries. When the Freiheit closed, about ten years ago, its editor Paul (Peysekh) Novick donated the newspaper's office correspondence and other materials to the YIVO Archives. Other, related materials are also available in the YIVO Archives and in other repositories. Zachary M. Baker 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 12:33:43 -0500 (EST) From: Zachary Baker Subject: Leo Rosten Concerning the late Leo Rosten, I would like to bring to the attention of Mendelyaner two articles that appeared in issue no. 185 of the YIVO News / Yedies fun YIVO (Fall 1997). The first, entitled "The Joys of Leo Rosten," describes the donation to YIVO of 53 volumes from the author's personal library of books written by him. The article describes Rosten as a "humorist, novelist, cinephile, journalist, and magazine editor," and it is in that perspective that his works on Yiddish should be appraised. The second article, entitled "Yiddish: A Word Defined," responds to a reader's inquiry concerning the word "doppess" (dapes), which Rosten defines as a "useless but commiserating bystander; [an] ineffectual observer who is of little help." In the article I am quoted as disputing Rosten's contention (in "The Joys of Yiddish") that the word is "not Hebrew but Ameridish: a local coinage of the garment center in New York. This Yiddish word, known only in America, was born in New York's garment center, of unknown parents, in some obscure loft -- possibly as a more scornful version of 'dope,' schlemiel, shmegegge." Instead, I proposed that doppess/dapes is related to the German "Taps" (meaning "clumsy oaf"), or "Dapps," a dialectal variant that is cited in Grimm's Deutsches Woerterbuch. I leave it to our Germanisten to either sustain this hypothesis or shoot it down. The point I am making is that Rosten's writings on Yiddish must be handled with extreme caution, to put it very gently. Incidentally, for what it's worth, the first editions of "The Joys of Yiddish" _and_ Uriel Weinreich's "Modern Yiddish-English, English-Yiddish Dictionary" were both published in 1968 by McGraw-Hill! Zachary M. Baker 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 13:39:01 -0500 (EST) From: Bernard Katz Subject: A Guide...Hebraic Words In Yiddish I haven't seen a response to Neil Jacobs' query about how to obtain copies of this work, since said query (and plea for help) appeared in Mendele 07.162. Assuming my "getting older" eyes haven't missed it, I'll pass the following on to him and to anyone else who might like the same info. Steven Jacobsen's book, A Guide To the More Common Hebraic Words In Yiddish, 4th edition, was published July 1995. I purchased a copy directly from Steve Jacobson that same year. he may be up to a 5th or 6th edition by now! The cost *then* was $17 (U.S.), including postage within the U.S., I believe. Steve's address *then* was P.O. box 82849, Fairbanks, Alaska 99708. It's a wonderful book! Bernard Katz 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 13:44:17 -0500 (EST) From: Bernard Katz Subject: Guri's "1000 Yiddish Idioms..." I see that Yosef Guri has had his "1000 Yiddish Idioms and Their Equivalents In English, Hebrew and Russian" published by the Hebrew University Press (169 pp., softcover). Has anyone on Mendele had the opportunity to see this book and if so could we have some comments about it, please and thank you? A shaynem dank derfar! Bernard Katz 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 17:03:08 +0000 From: David Herskovic Subject: sholem alaykhem min hatoyre minayin? Ofn liste fin YiddishNet, ongefirt dorkh Reyzl Kalifowicz-Waletzky, bin ikh gevoyr gevorn az ofn oylem hanets gefint zikh a bletl leili nishmas sholem alaykhem. http://www.sholom-aleichem.org/ Es hot mikh bald fardrosn. Hayitokhn az aza shtikl nayes zol ikh nisht ersht hobn gelaynt of mendele? Hot take mendele a shem ra az es farnemt zikh nor mit di inyonim vos der malekh hot osgelrnt yosefn ven er hot geyoyshevt baym sar hatabokhim? In az es iz azsh yo azoy iz dokh shver ma inyen shmite aytsel har sinay? kloymer vos hot mendele moykher sforim, al shem veym deym liste hayst, farlaygt mit diye klayne oysiyes? Er hot dokh geshribn slavisms az es gayt a royekh. Ir kent mikh ale rifn knak nisl az ikh farshtay a tseyntl vos er shrabt alts. K'hob ober ariber gerifn dem mazl es derlangt a knak in k'hob shnel fargesn fin ale mane tsores. Es hot mir bageygnt a bild finem reben alayn. Akhits dem vonze, dos tashen zayger in der proste shnipsl hob ikh bamerkt az er hot nisht aynts nor tsvay feyders inem vestl tash. Nu, sof kol sof iz er dokh geveyn a yid. Ikh knak vater mitn mazel in ikh zey a bild fin a yingn sholem alykhem vos er alayn hot tsi deym tsigeshribn 'ben khay shone'. Ikh shtel mikh for az sholem alaykhm hot gekent der mishne 'ben shmoyne esre lekhipe' nor di kale vast er ints nisht. Vi zogt nor di velt min hastam davent er a lange shmoyne esre. Inter deym bild freygt der melaket, take dem rebns an aynikl, tsi men vil zeyn nokh bilder fin sholem alaykhemn. Vos iz di shale? Reb Robert, tomer ir laynt dos zog ikh akh laygts arof vifil es shit zikh. A shale tsi a yid vil nisht zeyn sholem alaykhem? Upgekikt di bilder hayb ikh on tsi laynen zikhroynes fin zane ayniklekh. Ayner dertsaylt vi er fleygt krikhn of ale fier ven er hot zikh mit zay geshpilt in dermit gelekhert dem kop finem shokhn. Nokh dertsayln zay vi er fleygt ostoshen di galoshen fin zane gest in andre khokhmelekh, in vi er fleygt mit zay tsi shpiln in raytsn. Dem sakh hakel iz az er iz geveyn gor a voyle zayde, - khotsh lemase hot men eym gerifn 'Papa'. Hobn gelaynt di ale zakhn in dertsi zane shvere kinder yorn, in okh kenendik motl payshe khazns hob ikh mikh gevindert tsi es lign nisht do simonim fin a farshpiltn yignt vos der mekhaber vil zikh tsi deym tsirik tsikhapn. Ober diye inyonim zenen nisht man tspetyaliteyt. Ikh layn okh fin a profesor vos shrabt vi in sholem alaykhem ligt kol hatoyre kile in az men lernt mit studentn sholem alaykhem ken men shoyn mit deym pateren tsi lernen khimesh rashi in gemore toysfes. Akhits deym vert okh dermant in a por artikln veygn sholem alaykhem's 'shir hashirim', finem yerid. Ayn zakh nor hot mir osgezeyn epes modne. Inem mokem (site) iz do an iberblik finem eynglishn tatsh fin Motl Payshe Khazns vos hot dershaynt inem New York Times. Baym Times iz dokh sholem alaykhem nist kan gresere mekhitn vi hinderter andre shrabers in ven zay batsien zikh tsi eym in mitn artikl shrabn zay bloyz 'Aleichem'. Freyg ikh akh vos far a tam hot alaykhem onem sholem? Vi shimshen on di hor in vi moyshe onem shtekn. Shtelt akh for ven men zol lehavdil eylef havdoles aros geybn a bikh of lovon hoarami in men zol shrabn arami one lovon. Iz dokh kol shken sholem alaykhem vos afile der ershte halb alayn volt okh geveyn a khilel hashem iz avade ven men nitst nor 'Aleichem'. Farshtayt zikh az ikh layn okh veygn zan petire viazoy er iz nebekh avek in a dire serikhe in der Bronx ofn dratsetn may in nantsen zekhtsen in vi es zenen gegangn of zan levaye hindert fiftsik tosent melavim. Kenayne hore a levaye! In atsind kim ikh tsi tsim titl fin deym shtikl: Vi vert merimez sholem alaykhem in di toyre. Az a yid laynt veygn di ptire fin an erlikhn tid trakht er bald fin tsvay zakhn. Aynts az of yenem tog ken men zikh osdrayen fin zogn takhnen in dernokh vert di moyekh glakh farkrokhn tsi leykekh in bronfn of tikn leili nishmosoy. Tsi di zakhn darf men ober visn dem yidishn tog finem yortsat, val az ikh zol mikh onrikn in shil ofn dratsetn may mit tikn in di hent veln di khevre maynen az es hot epes tsi tin mit yom hatsmaut. Di mashke veln zay take ostrinkn ober mir veln zay aroskopn beomrom keomrom az di mashke iz a mitsve habo ba'avayre. Nem ikh mikh man elektronishn liekh in ikh zey az in yenem yor iz gefaln dem dratsetn may of shabes koydesh parshes behar, yid iyer. Ir hot shoyn avade ale gehert finem nayem bal hatirim, Mikhoel Drosnin. Shtots gimatriyoes treft er andre sort remozimlekh inem toyre. Er tsaylt of ahin in er tsaylt of tsirik in intsvishn vert shoyn epes a reymez. Hob ikh aros genimn a vayikro khimishl in ofgemisht parshes behar tsi trefn an aygenem reymezl. In vos maynt ir? yogato imotsoso tamin. Vifil psikim iz do in parshes behar? Zibn in fiftsig. In vifil yor hot sholem alaykhem zikh arim gedrayt of deym velt? Take okh zibn in fiftsig. Hot ir a befereshn posik. In s'iz nokh nisht ales. In parshes behar redt zikh fin shmite in yoyvl. In inzre rebe hot take geleybt a yoyvl mit a shmite. Hot ir shoyn a rashi okh. Deym pshetl past zikh efsher far an ingerishe ruv ober di kashe finm titl mist ir mir moyde zan hob ikh shayn farentfert. Hots mir ale a gitn tog. Dovid Herskovic 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 16:39:56 EST From: Hershl Subject: Hare hunt in Hagodes Diane Wolfthal (07.162) and others may be interested in an entirely different understanding of the "hare hunt" illustrated in _hagodes_ of the Middle Ages. I believe it was Max Weinreich who pointed out that this is a case in which Yiddish was used for liturgical purposes. As I recall it, the cartoon was a mnemonic for the order of the first seyder when it coincides with _shabes_: Yayin (wine), Kidish (blessing), Ner (candles), Ha-Zman (blessing of thanksgiving)= YaKiN HaZ = yogn hoz (chasing rabbit/hare). Hershl Hartman 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 15 Mar 1998 17:36:24 -0500 From: "Mikhl Herzog" Subject: shmusen William Safire (March 15, 1998) missed the chance to tell us that "German _schmusen_" 'to wheedle', 'smoodge', 'cuddle' (designated as _burschikos_ 'student-like', 'unmannerly', and slang, in Wildhagen's German-English Dictionary), is derived from Yiddish _shmuesn_ 'to talk', 'to discuss', 'to chat', probably derived, in turn, from Ashkenazic Hebrew _shmuos_ 'rumor(s)', 'news', 'gossip', etc. (Hebrew root _shin, mem, ayin_ 'to hear', 'to listen', 'to obey'). In our salad days (Toronto in the 40s), when we spoke of_shmoozing_ 'necking', we thought we were speaking English. When we did it, we knew we were speaking a universal language. Mikhl Herzog 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 00:08:06 -0800 From: Meyer Wolf Subject: kurva Thanks to Ellen Prince, we now know that Church Slavonic, the written form of Old Bulgarian, had kuruva 'adulteress', which seems to be a more reasonable source for kurva in in the Slavic languages than a doubtful H/A etymon. Since Church Slavonic goes back to the ninth century, it is difficult to believe that kuruva or the like got to passed on to Bulgarian from Yiddish by way of other Slavic languages -- but perhaps I have misread Hugh Denman's etymology and he is saying that the Slavic languages got the H/A form from some other source language and passed it on to Yiddish. Meyer-Leyb Wolf 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 04:20:26 EST From: EMPE Subject: "Shayn khaseneh gemakht" Sounding that phrase triggered the memory of a related expression which I know has several variants. When something was too late for redemption, my mother was as likely to say "Fahrshoren der kalen un shayne" as much as Americans, using a popular advertising slogan of the twenties and thirties, might have said "Too late for Herpicide!" The bride's hair having been cut, it was too late for anything to happen other than that which was bahshert. I recall hearing several different "correct" versions a lifetime ago, but can't remember how any of them went. In any case, this is what my own mame-lushn tells me in the here and now. A shaynem dahnk. MEL PORETZ ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 07.172 Address for the postings to Mendele: mendele@lists.yale.edu Address for the list commands: listproc@lists.yale.edu Mendele on the Web: http://mendele.commons.yale.edu http://sunsite.unc.edu/yiddish/mendele.html