Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 13.022 March 16, 2004 1) meshulekh (Mechl Asheri) 2) shnorer (Mel Poretz) 3) lepeturekhe (Miriam Brillman) 4) Peretz's "Monisch" (Martin Green) 5) yovn (Meyer Zaremba) 6) Yosef Opatoshu (Herman and Shoshana Taube) 7) Rumenye (Refoyl Finkel) 8) ferd-ganovim (M. Abrams) Visit Mendele on the Web: http://www.mendele.net 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 15, 2004 From: donnom@netvision.net.il Subject: meshulekh I remembered a word I hadn't thought of in years, "meshulekh". It doesn't seem to be used here [Israel], but it certainly was in the Americas and means a man who shnors for a yeshiva, cheder etc. on a commission basis. In other words, his parnosseh is the commission he takes on every dollar he shnors for the institution he represents. It is not a very respectful word. The word "sh'liakh", which I mentioned, although from the same shoresh, is far more respectful, since it implies that that the man is sent directly by the rebbe, rosh yeshiva or institution and is paid a salary or its equivalent, but that the money he collects does not give him a commission. Lubavitch, for example, had and I imagine still has, an extensive army of sh'likhim, but it is well known that they are paid a regular salary and are not to be classified as meshulokhim. In any event, meshulekh should certainly be included among the terms meaning shnorer. The lower type of meshulekh was often referred to by his victims (all of us) as representing "The Nehmer Yeshiva". Mechl Asheri 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 16, 2004 From: empe@aol.com Subject: Re: shnorer I've read the long and short discourses about shnorers. I believe that two aspects of shnorer-keyt have yet to be laid on the tish. One is the gender of the shnorer. Surely there were (and are) female shnorers. Second, being called a shnorer, as some might reflexively believe, does not automatically mean that the shnorer is poor, indigent, a luftmensh or a nokhshleper. Many people of means shnor. Whatever the reason or motivation, the act of shnoring by a shnorer may be more related to a personality or psychological component, than to the thickness or thin-ness of the shnorer's wallet or how much money may be stuffed in a female shnorer's bosomkestl. Also, some shnorers enjoy shnoring. Some shnoring is socially acceptable. I am a notorious food beggar, whether it's cadging lollypops in medical offices, or chocolate chip cookies at Publix which are intended for kids. (I tell the clerk I am an orphan and am big for my age. Never fails!) Mel Poretz 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 15, 2004 From: mzbrillman@comcast.net Subject: lepeturekhe Has anyone heard of the word lepeturekhe as describing a person who flits around from one social activity to another? Miriam Brillman 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 16, 2004 From: marty@aptitude-testing.com Subject: Peretz's "Monisch" I am encouraged by the recent upsurge in activity on Mendele to post an observation that might provoke some discussion. I believe that Y. L. Peretz first became known as a Yiddish writer with the publication of his epic ballad "Monish" in the late 1880's. One of the striking features of this poem is the use of the Poylish-Galitsianer pronunciation in the rhyming couplets, e.g. "Monish iz a voyler ying Mit a kepl fayer-flink." In later years, Peretz rewrote the poem several times, and among other changes he got rid of all the "dialect" rhymes: in fact, over two dozen of them. I wonder why he did this? Was there pressure/snobbery from literary critics of the day? Was he trying to cultivate more of an intellectual image for himself or perhaps for the Yiddish language? As a side issue, I have trouble with one word in the poem: after Monish hears the Christian girl singing and is captivated by her voice, he goes to kheder and sings from the gemorah with the same melody: "Zingt dernokh er di gemore Un is m'taim (?) yeder svore" What is the word spelled mem-tes-ayin-yod-mem? I am guessing that it might be a typo in my edition. either "metamim" (satisfying, pleasurable) or better still "metama" (contaminated) would fit, but either of these are a bit of a stretch to justify as mere typos. Any ideas? Martin Green 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 16, 2004 from: greenehcuzineh@aol.com Subject: Re: yovn I don't know if anybody suggested this previously but there is a Yiddish expression that suggests that somebody is completely out of place in a given situation or even like a "bull in a china shop". It asserts, "er iz azoy vi a yovn in Suke". (He behaves like a soldier in a suke". Meyer Zaremba 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 16, 2004 From: hershl218@juno.com Subject: 50th yortsayt of Joseph Opatoshu -O"H Joseph Opatoshu - O"H "He has taken his bright candle and is gone into another room I cannot find, But anyone can tell where he has been by the little lights he leaves behind." / The Lamplighter/ Fifty years since you are gone, your face lives in our memory, we hold dear our visit with you, we cherish the letter you wrote, that gave us courage to go on. We still remember our visit at your home, you kept asking questions, you said; "I thank God you survived, you are a witness to our sorrow, an affirmation to our endurance". From the Stupsk forest, Mlawa, you carried a bright candle of light, ubder the 'shadow of the generations', through ruins and destruction to Israel warriors. You led through 'Bar Kochba' to 'The Forests of Poland', from 'Rabbi Akiva' to Ghetto uprisings, claiming through out; " The Jewish People Lives Again!" In your novels and short stories you sought the fusion between our peoples struggle for survival, the fiber that binds us to Yiddish, the believe in 'Netzakh Yisroel'. Your 'little lights' reached all the corners of our globe, wherever Yiddish was alive. You left us a flaming inheritance, a demand; My people, march on. Keep going! Herman Taube Shoshana Taube 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 16, 2004 From: raphael@cs.uky.edu Subject: Re: Rumenye I have added Al Grand's transcription of Rumenye to my online version. You can see it at http://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/yiddish/rumenia.html Refoyl Finkel 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: March 16, 2004 From: mabrams1@rcn.com Subject: A town of horse thieves A friend of the family once said of the town of Butrimants (50 miles or so south of Kovno and Vilna), "Butrimants, a shtot fun ferd-ganovim" - in english "Butrimants, a town of horse thieves". I'd like find out what that meant exactly. Were there such towns in the old country? Or was this a kind of teasing/joke? Would anyone out there know anything on this topic? M. Abrams ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 13.022 Address for the postings to Mendele: mendele@lists.yale.edu Address for the list commands: listproc@lists.yale.edu