Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 09.002 May 16, 1999 1) "Simkhe Plakhte" (Seth Wolitz) 2) Lernen (Morrie Feller) 3) lernen (Ellen Cassedy) 4) lernen (Sam Kweskin) 5) Di Mezinke Oisgegeben (David L. Streiner) 6) Yiddish in Strasburg (Miriam Isaacs) 7) Strasburg (Sam Kweskin) 8) Hebrew names in Yiddish (Yankev Lewis) 9) Mr. Meckler's _balabe(t)shke_ (Dovid Braun) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 6 May 1999 08:55:50 -0400 (EDT) From: slwolitz@mail.utexas.edu (seth l. wolitz) Subject: "Simkhe Plakhte" I have a request. Are there any people who remember the play Simkhe Plakhte as it was performed in Warsaw by the Yung teater or people who attended the Maurice Schwartz production in New York? If so, could they share their memories with me? Seth Wolitz 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 00:58:29 -0400 (EDT) From: feller@indirect.com (Morris Feller) Subject: Lernen In response to Bruce (Liebe) Denner in 8.149, I believe "lernen" means to teach, while "lernen zikh" means to learn. Morrie Feller Phoenix 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 09:11:32 -0400 (EDT) From: CassBlum@aol.com Subject: lernen Re: "lernen" for both "to teach" and "to learn" : I was under the impression that "lernen zikh" was the best way to say "to learn" or "to study." Interesting that in English, young children often say things like "she learned me how to tie my shoes" -- maybe there's a need to conflate the two concepts. Ellen Cassedy Bethesda, MD 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 11:28:40 -0400 (EDT) From: ESSAIKAY@aol.com Subject: lernen Liebe denner's question about LERNEN (08.149) can be simply answered: Ikh lern di kinder (here, it is used as TO TEACH) Di kinder lernen zikh(Here --WITH THE REFLEXIVE--it is To Learn). Sam Kweskin 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 4 May 1999 22:36:19 -0400 (EDT) From: David Streiner Subject: Di Mezinke Oisgegeben Bernard Katz mentioned that he hasn't heard this song in a long while. Theodore Bikel sings it in his record, "Theodore Bikel Sings Jewish Folk Songs." It's been re-released as a CD -- Bainbridge BCD-2507. David L. Streiner Toronto, Ontario 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 10:19:10 -0400 (EDT) From: miriam isaacs Subject: Yiddish in Strasburg A couple of years ago I was traveling from Switzerland to Belgium by train via Strassburg and spent a few hours in the vicinity of the train station. I did encounter some elderly Yiddish speaking Hasidim who were on their way to Antwerp- my own destination. I imagine that this is a station on the path between Basel and Antwerp, a commercial route. Many Hasidim take vacations in Shveitz. That may account for some of the Yiddish found there. I would be interested in learning more. Miriam Isaacs 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 11:25:19 -0400 (EDT) From: ESSAIKAY@aol.com Subject: Strasburg What memories Harry Krane brings back! I also served in the Alsace, with a heavy mortar battalion, and I remember one day walking ---on the nervous line---through an Alsatian village that, despite its white bedsheets hanging from most windows, could easily have held snipers. One woman leaned over her third story window, and i thought she might be the source for a souvenier. "Haben Sie eine deutsche Fahne?" I shouted. She held a hand to an ear. "Haben Sie eine deutsche Fahne?" I shouted again. Again, she raised her hands to define her nor having understood. This time, I reverted to pure Yiddish: "Tsi host a deitsche fon?!" I shouted. Her answer came quickly: "Yoh, yoh!!" and threw down to me the swastika'd, ten foot long linen flag, just as I was about to catch up to the squad. Another "lost Jew" with 10th century background? Sam Kweskin 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 5 May 1999 23:41:52 -0400 (EDT) From: Enkin * Lewis Subject: Hebrew names in Yiddish Re: Pe'rets Mett's posting on the badkhn Yoynesen Shvarts -- is that indeed the pronunciation of the name, Yoynesen? I've never heard it in Yiddish but would have thought it would be Yenosn (accent on the "nos") based on the usual phonetics. Also, how does one pronounce the name "Yokhanan" in Yiddish? I was once assured that it's pronounced just as in Israeli Hebrew, accent on the "nan" and all -- which seems odd. Thanks for educating me on this, Yankev Lewis 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 6 May 1999 17:53:42 -0400 (EDT) From: David S Braun Subject: Mr. Meckler's _balabe(t)shke_ Mr. Meckler's great-great-grandmothers hapax is no hapax at all [08.151]: _balabe(t)shke_ (in Zhitomir probably: [balo'betshke]) is a 'bowtie,' as I know it. It's what's eaten with _kashe_ ('kasha, buckwheat groats') and called by other _varni(t)shkes_. Dovid Braun Cambridge, MA [Moderator's note: for a definitive answer see http://metalab.unc.edu/yiddish/kikh/balob.html -i.v.] ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 09.002 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://metalab.unc.edu/yiddish/mendele.html