Mendele: Yiddish literature and language
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Contents of Vol. 14.031
February 16 , 2005

1) lebns fragn (Itskhok Luden)
2) Yiddish with Palm OS 5 (Ben Teller)
3) Chovetz Chaim (Hershl Bershady)
4) Laikhe fun Lakewood (Joe Murray)
5) zi geyt in spodek (Justin Jaron Lewis)
6) Sephardim and Yiddish (Alan B. Berkowitz)

Visit Mendele on the Web: http://www.mendele.net

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: February 4, 2005
Subject: lebns fragn

Oyf der onfrage fun AdAm Rubin [Mendele 14.030], tsi der zhurnal "Lebns-Fragn"
egzistirt nokh:

Yo, er egzistirt un dershaynt shoyn dos 55-ste yor reguler yede tsvey
khadoshim un iz haynt tsu tog der farshpreytster yidish-zhurnal oyf der velt.
es is di teg dershinen der nayer numer far yanuar-februar 2005 mit a raykhn
inhalt.

Der yerlekher abonament-prayz iz:

far Amerike (tsofn un dorem) un Australie -30 amer. dol.
Europe - 25 Euro;
Dorem-Afrike: 25 amer. dol.

Der adres - tsuabonirn, bashteln un araynshikn dem optsol:

"LEBNS-FRAGN"
c/o Brith Avoda - Arbater-Ring
71 Kalisher St.
TEL-AVIV 65165,  ISRAEL

Mit derekh erets

Itskhok Luden

2)----------------------------------------------------
Date: February 4, 2005
Subject: Yiddish with Palm OS 5

Could anyone help me find a program to read and write Yiddish on my Zire 72
running Palm OS 5.

I am studying Yiddish and would like to use a flash card program on the Zire
to help me memorize Yiddish words.

Also what Hebrew text entry system will allow me to enter the pasakh aleph,
komets aleph , pasakh zvey yuden , etc. correctly?

A sheynem dank,

Ben Teller

3)----------------------------------------------------
Date: February 6, 2005
Subject: Chovetz Chaim

I've run across reference to a character, person or type of person in Philip
Roth's "Operation Sylock"  that is strange to me, which is perhaps not so
strange.  This character goes by the name of Chovetz Chaim.   The Chofetz
Chaim wrote the definitive work on Jewish gossip, or loose talk (loshon hora).
He died at age 95, "after having devoted his long life," says Roth, to trying
to get Jews to shut up."  (I add: thank goodness he didn't succeed). This is
on page 333 of the book..  Does anyone know what "Chovetz"  means? Was there a
real historical character, or someone in Yiddish literature or folklore whose
name was Chovetz Chaim (Roth's spelling)?  Of course, this may be purely
Roth's fabrication, but maybe not.  I'd be most appreciative for any
information on this.

Hershl Bershady

4)----------------------------------------------------
Date: February 10, 2005
From: cq015@freenet.carleton.ca
Subject: Laihke fun Lakewood

About 70 years ago I remember listening to an old record on my bobe's
Victrola.  The song was about "Laihke fun Lakewood" and I'd be
interested if a) anyone remembers this song, b) if anyone has the
record.

Joe Murray

5)----------------------------------------------------
Date: February 10, 2005
Subject: zi geyt in spodek

Harkavy's Yiddish-English-Hebrew Dictionary (p. 842) s.v. "spodek" has the
expression "geyn in spodek" as something said about a woman who dominates her
husband, similar to the English "she wears the pants".   A similar expression
occurs in a story I am working on and I would be interested in hearing from
Mendelyaner who know of this expression or similar ones involving the spodek
or shtrayml and can comment on the usage and connotations of such expressions.

A groysn dank,

Justin Jaron Lewis

6)----------------------------------------------------
Date: February 16, 2005
Subject: Sephardim and Yiddish

I have been working on a lecture devoted to the Yiddish language history and
customs of the Ashkenazi Jews.

I know that the Sephardic Jews spoke Ladino, a mixture of Spanish or
Portuguese with Hebrew mixed in.

I'd like to know about those Sephardic Jews who learned to speak Yiddish --
perhaps after the inquisition period or the flight to Canada and the U.S. in
order to do business or trade with their Ashkenazi cousins. Can anyone lead
me in the right path on this? Thank you,

Alan B. Berkowitz

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End of Mendele Vol. 14.031

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