Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 10.032 July 28, 2000 1) Yiddish at Columbia (Mikhl Herzog) 2) Yiddish Symposium in Germany (Marion Aptroot) 3) Help with Yizkor Book translation (Gitl Berkenstat Freund) 4) yizkor book translations (Mark Froimowitz) 5) Searching for a few errant references (Arieh Lebowitz) 6) "Der Rebbe Mit Di Bloe Oygen" (Abraham J. Heschel) 7) yiddish learning resources (Martin Baker) 8) connecting with heritage beyond bagels/challah (Marvin Zuckerman) 9) khotch, zhe, tau (Israel Zwick) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 10:06:29 -0400 (EDT) From: "marvin herzog" Subject: Yiddish at Columbia The following letter to the Editor should be of interest to all readers of Mendele. It is meant to serve as a corrective to the misinformation published in the Forward of 7/15. To the Editor: The Forward hardly serves the cause of Yiddish scholarship by failing to check the accuracy of the wild assertions made by some of its correspondents. Reading Charles Nydorf's letter "'Stupendous Vision' of a Savior of Yiddish", Forward 7/14/00, one may ask if Mr. Nydorf is truly of this world; and why his gratuitous reference to what he considers a "non-issue" ("Yiddish culture alive or dead")? Can he be totally ignorant of the recent appearance of Volume III of the _Language and Culture of Ashkenazic Jewry_ , a gigantic Volume of some 400 pages, including about 180 maps, and of the fact that Volume IV of the series is in press? That preparations for Volume Vff. are in progress? Surely he also knows that any reputable student or scholar can be granted access to the field-notes of the Atlas, which are housed in Butler Library, at Columbia University in New York. I have acceded to all legitimate requests for access that have been directed to me. Would he, too, like access? As for the thousands of hours of taped field-recordings, NONE have been allowed to deteriorate. Indeed the condition of each tape has been professionally evaluated and, in order of perishability (some were recorded as early 1959), all the tapes are now being preserved in digital format at Columbia University's music laboratory, and are being converted to CD's as well. Indeed, they are, even now, being incorporated into a digital data-base in Europe, and will be made available, thereby, on the Internet to scholars and researchers throughout the world. Mr. Nydorf misanthropic comments hardly serve the memory of Uriel Weinreich, to whom he tries to pay tribute, or the cause of Yugntruf of which he is "proud to be a member". Has he hereby given Yugntruf equal reason to be proud of him in return? Marvin (Mikhl) Herzog, Atran Professor Emeritus of Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture, Columbia University, and Editor-in-Chief, Language and Culture Atlas of Ashkenazic Jewry. 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2000 11:02:04 -0400 (EDT) From: aptroot@phil-fak.uni-duesseldorf.de (Marion Aptroot) Subject: Yiddish Symposium in Germany The definitive program for the Third Annual Symposium for Yiddish Studies in Germany is now available on the following website: http://www.phil-fak.uni-duesseldorf.de/jiddisch/ Those who would like to participate can still register at: jiddisch@phil-fak-uni-duesseldorf.de There is no conference fee. Marion Aptroot 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2000 13:20:41 -0400 (EDT) From: "Gloria Berkenstat Freund / Larry Freund" Subject: Help with Yizkor Book translation I apologize at the start for my unfamiliarity with YIVO transliteration standards. I have done the transliterating as best I could and I hope it will be understood by all. I am working on a translation of the Yiddish sections of the Radomsko (Poland) Yizkor Book. I have come across four words that I cannot find in Harkavy nor in Weinreich. I have also tried a German-English dictionary, but without success. I am hoping that among the many learned Mendele subscribers someone will be able to help me. The words are listed below and are followed with the context in which they appear. oiszidlungen (I have found it to mean 'to scold' or 'to curse' neither of which is appropriate in the context of the sentence) Tsvisn di Radomsker, velekhe zenen gevn oifn 'Hagar' biz di letste oiszidlungen habn zik gefunen: platzvukes--a groiser teil fun di virtshaftlekhe platzvukes is gelegn in Radomsker hent ainern-dinst/aprovizatsie--in ainern-dinst, in der aprovilatsie iberal zenen gevn fartratn Radomsker A sheynem dank, Gitl Berkenstat Freund 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 19:22:13 -0400 (EDT) From: Mark Froimowitz Subject: yizkor book translations Dear Mendele, My name is Mark Froimowitz. I was born in Europe after World War II and came to the U.S. when I was 4 years old. My first language was Yiddish which I continued to speak at home and in yeshiva. While I am reasonably fluent in Yiddish, my vocabulary is more limited. Recently, I have become coordinator of the Kielce-Radom (south, central Poland) Special Interest Group which puts out a genealogical journal and I have begun to translate sections of yizkor books from Yiddish to English for the journal. However, there are Yiddish words that are not in any of the Yiddish-English dictionaries that I have. I am hoping that members of this group will be able to help me fill in the blanks. Below are Yiddish sentences from the yizkor book of Kielce and my translation. I have included whole sentences to make sure that the context is correct. 1) Das Yiddishe leben hut zikh daw mare antvikult underen aynfloos fun di falanizatzia-stremungen. Here, Jewish life developed more under the influence of the [ ]. 2) Das iz der nakhkumender dor foon di oysvorfen vas haben tzenynliker kvorim oyfen bais-olum tzegdubben une beroybt di guldene tzeyn fune di maisim. This is the next generation of the human rejects (no exact translation possible) who [ ] tens of graves in the cemetery and robbed the golden teeth of the dead. 3) Ven tzoom letzten transport fallen-tzu 600 yiden - veren zei dergentzt fun di farblibene arbeiter un in Keltzer arbitzlager veren farshpart 1500 yiden. When 600 Jews blunder to the last transport, they become the complement of remaining workers and in the Kielce work camp are locked up 1500 Jews. If you are able to help with with these, I have additional words from the yizkor book of Chmielnik. Thanking you in advance. Mark Froimowitz 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 18 Jul 2000 17:39:52 -0400 (EDT) From: Arieh Lebowitz Subject: Searching for a few errant references Dear Mendele'niks: I am just finishing a bibliographic listing, and at the last moment, seem to have some information missing. Any assistance from you on the few queries/lacunae below would be most appreciated. Please respond to me directly. Thank you in advance! Tcherikover, Elias (1929), Der Ohneyb fun der Yiddisher Socialistisher Bavegung (Liberman's Tekufeh), Warsaw Who published the above item, and is the citation correct? Bentwich, Norman (1960), The Social Transformation of Anglo-Jewry, 1883-1960, London Was this was an article? - if so, in which journal, volume and issue number, and date - and if not, but it was published as a book or pamphlet, who published it, and is the above information accurate? Howard, Walter S (????) Jews in the Furniture Trade, 1880-1921, M.Phil thesis, University of Southampton What year this was completed/published? Samuels, Maurice (1945), Jewish Encyclopedia Was this ever published, and if so, who published it (city, publisher)? If it WAS published, was there an entry by Rogoff, Abraham Meyer, on "Jewish Labor in the American Political Scene"? What was the volume and issue number of American Heritage 8 (1957), and did an article on "The Terrible Triangle Fire," by Tom Brooks, appear in it? What was the issue number of American Jewish History Vol. 82 (1994), and did an article by Gerd Korman on Sidney Hillman appear in it? What was the volume and issue number of American Scholar 18 (1949), and was there an article by C. A. Sherman [was this Charles A. Sherman?) on Sidney Hillman in it? Thanks so much. Arieh Lebowitz 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 20 Jul 2000 20:23:27 -0400 (EDT) From: Abraham J Heschel Subject: "Der Rebbe Mit Di Bloe Oygen" I was recently told that there is apparently a story written by either Sholom Asch or Sholom Aleichem, titled "Der Rebbe Mit Di Bloe Oygen" - "The Rebbe with the Blue Eyes", which was supposedly based on a Chasidic Rebbe. If anyone knows who wrote this story and where it can be found I would greatly appreciate them contacting me at BinMoses@Juno.com Thanking in Advance, Abraham J. Heschel 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 06:28:39 -0400 (EDT) From: martysmarty@musician.org Subject: yiddish learning resources In response to Laurel Shugarman's request for Yiddish learning resources, may I reccomend "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Learning Yiddish" by Rabbi Benjamin Blech, and published by Alpha Books. Sorry Laurel, I'm not calling you a klutz! I'm about half way through it at the moment and it is funny as well as informative. The book is written in English with Romanised Yiddish (ie like Mendele) so is easy to read if your Hebrew isn't too good. The book also introduces quite a bit of Jewish culture, which makes for an interesting read. The book (published this year) costs about seventeen US dollars, and you can even order it through Amazon.com. A glik af dir! Martin Baker 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 21 Jul 2000 13:42:43 -0400 (EDT) From: "Marvin S. Zuckerman" Subject: connecting with heritage beyond bagels/challah In response to Laurel Shugarman (10.031): I saw your email on Mendele. I cannot help you with Hebrew. But if you're interested in Yiddish (as you must be if you subscribe to Mendele), I can recommend a fine book (if I do say so myself), called "Learning Yiddish in Easy Stages" by Zuckerman and Herbst. It is for rank beginners and has much cultural materials (songs, proverbs, conversations, etc.). The new, revised, paperback edition (5th printing) is now available from its publisher, the National Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachussetts. Good Luck, Marvin Zuckerman. 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2000 18:47:48 -0400 (EDT) From: "Israel Zwick" Subject: khotch, zhe, tau When reading Yiddish, I often come across the words "khotch, zhe (as in zug zhe kinderlekh), tau (tes, kometz aleph) I'm not sure how these words are used since they don't seem to have an exact English equivalent. Can anyone help? Israel Zwick NYC ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 10.032 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