Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 14.021 December 6 , 2004 1) "a lid on a nomen" (Amitai Halevi) 2) Riaba (Ruth Gay) 3) "All I Got Was Words" (Yehuda Berger) 4) shmontses (Dina Levias) 5) Yiddish Scrabble (April Rosenblum) 6) Three songs (Itsik Goldenberg) 7) "shelkes" un "feshantkove sorte"(Rose Jimenez) 8) 1908 Czernowitz Conference (Suzanne Faigan) Visit Mendele on the Web: http://www.mendele.net 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: November 16, 2004 From: chr04ha@techunix.technion.ac.il Subject: "a lid on a nomen" As a new subscriber, I understand that I am expected to introduce myself. I was subscribed to Mendele a good many years ago, but - being more of a Hebraist than a Yiddishist - I eventually dropped out under pressure of more pressing matters. My immediate reason for re-subscribing at this time, is as follows: I have been entrusted (Why and by whom may be interesting in itself; I will amplify if anyone is interested.) with the task of finding the text of the poem "A lid on a nomen" by Melech Ravitch. It was published in "Di Goldene Keyt", 1974, No. 82, and may also appear in one of his books or in an anthology of Yiddish poetry. Any assistance will be much appreciated. Amitai Halevi 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: November 17, 2004 From: ruthgay1@verizon.net Subject: Riaba I am translating the original manuscript of Jacob Gordin's "Jewish King Lear." In it there is a reference to the "Riaba School" - either a real or fictional academy in Vilna. One person I've consulted thinks it may be the name of a town. But I do not find it in my "Shtetl Finder" and I wonder if it might be the name of "rebbe" - or...? Any good thoughts about this problem would be most welcome. Ruth Gay 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: November 20, 2004 From: berger788@verizon.net Subject: All I Got was Words Does anyone here know the source of the following poem? Who wrote it? About when? Where it was published? Anything at all about it? Yehuda Berger All I Got Was Words When I was young and fancy free My folks had no fine clothes for me. All I got was words. got tsu danken. got vet gebn zol men nor lebn un gezunt zayn. When I began to travel far They couldn't provide me with a car. All I got was words. gey gezunterheyt gey melakh hob a gliklikhe rayze. I wanted to increase my knowledge But they couldn't afford to send me to college. All I got was words. hob seykhl zay nisht keyn nar toyre iz de beste skhoyre Years have flown, the world has turned, There are things I've forgotten, things I've learned Yet still I remember, zog dem emes geb tsedoke hob rakhmones zay a mentsh All I got was words Pity those who never got the words 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: November 22, 2004 From: dinale@bluewin.ch Subject: shmontses Can anyone tell me what the word "shmontses" means ? In my home, it was used to designate any set of worthless objects, "tchatchkeles", things of no value.. A Polish friend tells me that nowadays, in Poland, Polish people use the word (when speaking Polish!) to designate "Jewish jokes" ! I searched for the word in Weinreich's dictionary, and couldn't find it. Any indication as to its meaning, usage, and origin, would be greatly appreciated ! Dina Levias Geneva, Switzerland 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: November 26, 2004 From: grapeape@temple.edu Subject: Yiddish Scrabble ikh bin a yunger yidishist un makh af mayn mamen a "Scrabble" shpil nitsndik yidishe oysyes. ikh darf visn: velkhe yidishe oysyes nitz men merste oft, etsetere? vuhin ken ikh gefinen epes an analiz fun dem? oykh, iz men mit mir maskim vos "Grabl!" vet zayn a giter iberzets fun "Scrabble"? I am a young Yiddishist and I'm making my mother a Scrabble game using Yiddish letters. I need to know: Which Yiddish letters are used most frequently, etcetera? Where can I find some kind of an analysis of this? Also, do people agree with me that "Grabl!" would be a good translation [or an acceptable synonym] for "Scrabble"? April Rosenblum 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 2, 2004 From: rgoldenberg@sympatico.ca Subject: Re: Three songs I believe the sheet music for "Slutsk", which might reveal more information, is at the Library of Congress. It is listed in Irene Heskes' Catalogue of Popular Yiddish Songs held there. Bruce Adler performs "Hudl mitn Shtrudl". It is on his recording of Yiddish theatre songs. Perhaps he could give you more information if you can locate him. The sheet music for "A Malke af Peysekh" gives no hint of which production it came from. The cover has "A Malke auf Paissach - An Easter Song by Louis Gilrod, featured by the eminent yiddish comedian of Thomashefsky Theatre Aaron Lebedoff (sic)". YIVO in New York may have these folios in their sheet music collection. Itsik Goldenberg 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 3, 2004 From: Rjimi@aol.com Subject: "shelkes" un "feshantkove sorte" Ikh hob ersht ibersetst a Yiddish briv geshribn in 1913. Der vos hot dem briv geshribn iz gekumen fon die Ukraine tsu Varshe. Er shraybt az er vet makhn a leben fon "shelkes" (mayne genzenfislakh) un hot gekoyft a mashin kedey tsu makhen die "shelkes". Er shraybt az zayn froy iz geshtorben fon "feshantkove sorte" (mayne gezenfislakh). Efsher ken emitzer mir erklern vos die verter in genzenfislakh meynen? Dos zenen die eyntsige verter fon dem briv velkhe ikh ken nit gefinen: ikh hob 5 verterbikher un di verter zenen nit in keyner fun zey. Zayt azoy gut un helft mir mit dem. Mit frayntshaft Rose Jimenez 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: December 6, 2004 From: faigan@mandelbaum.usyd.edu.au Subject: 1908 Czernowitz Conference Is there anything approximating a proceedings for the 1908 Czernowitz Conference? I have seen N Birnbaum's and IL Peretz's speeches but nothing by the other participants. I would be grateful for any information. Suzanne Faigan ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 14.021 Address for the postings to Mendele: mendele@lists.yale.edu Address for the list commands: listproc@lists.yale.edu