Mendele: Yiddish literature and language
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Contents of Vol. 15.048
March 2, 2006

1) Heavenly Footstools (Yaffa Glass)
2) Heavenly Footstools (Lyuba Dukker)
3) "Wedding Without a Bride" (Sylvio Band)
4) Visotskis Tey/Dovid Bergelson (Mike Hirsch)
5) pushke (John V. Burke)
6) Death of Yiddish (Hershl Hartman)
7) Opatoshu's name (Yakira H. Frank)
8) vu iz dos gesele (Lyuba Dukker)
9) Child's Finger Game/varnishkes (Lyuba Dukker)

1)----------------------------------------------------
Date: February 17
Subject:  Heavenly Footstools

I have consulted a Rabbi and here is his reply:

"Yes, see Shemot 1:21 and Rashi there (footstools I suppose implies 
support and protection like a house) and from here it follows that it was 
both in this world and the next."

Yaffa Glass

2)----------------------------------------------------
Date: February 22
Subject: Heavenly footstools

The way I understand it, the Yiddish fisbenkele (footstool) is just a
translation of the Hebrew expression hadom reglayim. It is a Biblical
expression, but its meaning is not a lowly piece of furniture for a 
husband to put his feet on, but something elevated to be closest to the 
throne. For a "prostn yid" this meaning has become obscured.

Respectfully,
Lyuba Dukker

3)----------------------------------------------------
Date: February 17
Subject:  "Wedding Without a Bride"

I would appreciate if the khaverte Joan Levin could give me some more 
information about the CD "Wedding Without a Bride" produced by Budowitz 
with the late Majer Bogdanski as the vocalist in the role of the badkhn. I 
would like to obtain it.

A shaynem dank foroys,

Sylvio Band

4)----------------------------------------------------
Date: February 18
Subject: Visotskis Tey/Dovid Bergelson

There is an old brand of tea, Wissotsky's (sp.?), which I believe I saw 
for sale very recently, but can't recall where.

Philadelphia's Jewish Exponent (Feb. 9, 2006) had an interesting review of 
Bergelson's "The Shadows of Berlin" by Robert Leiter, titled 
"Deconstructing Berlin." (www.jewishexponent.com). See "archives, Vol. 
219, No. 20, Books & Writers."

Mike Hirsch

5)----------------------------------------------------
Date: February 18
Subject: pishke (pushke)

A friend asks if someone on the list knows the origin or etymology of
a word he knows as "pishke," meaning a small can in which coins are
dropped for charitable use. A shaynem dank,


John V. Burke

6)----------------------------------------------------
Date: February 21
Subject: Death of Yiddish

Rumors of the death of Yiddish are wildly exaggerated, as the following 
item from the New Yorker magazine would indicate (emphasis added):


CARLYLE HOTEL
Madison Ave. at 76th St. (212-744-1600)-The Cafe
Carlyle, a snug, windowless enclave in the doorman district, features 
discreet waiters,wraparound murals, and, through Feb. 25: Ute Lemper. Her 
new show includes material by her beloved Kurt Weill and other Weimar-era 
artists, as well as such unexpected fare as a medley of Yiddish poems. She 
delivers it all with her signature blend of theatricality and sensuality.

Hershl Hartman

7)----------------------------------------------------
Date: February 21
Subject: Opatoshu's name

The original name of the author Opatoshu was "Opatovsky."  I haven't been 
able to discover why and when he changed it and what the origin of the 
suffix 'shu' might have been.   Any suggestions or information?

Yakira H. Frank

8)----------------------------------------------------
Date: February 22
Subject: vu iz dos gesele?

There are numerous web sites with both lyrics and music to "vu iz
dos gesele". Here is one samle:

http://zemerl.com/cgi-bin//show.pl?title=Vu+Iz+Dos+Gesele%3F

Best of luck,
Lyuba Dukker

9)----------------------------------------------------
Date: February 22
Subject: Child's finger game/varnishkes

a)Soroka-vorona: I believe this Russian/Ukrainian nursery rhyme has been 
mentioned in Mendele before.  Please see Contents of Vol. 10.019, June 16, 
2000. It is so touching and amusing to learn that it is being played with 
an "American" baby! The version which I played with my children, if 
literally translated into English, goes like this:

Magpie-crow was cooking porridge and feeding her children. She gave some 
to this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, but there was none 
left for that one (the pinky). "You are small, clumsy, you haven't 
gathered any firewood, you haven't brought any water...!" Tickle, tickle, 
tickle...

b) varnishkes: I could be alone on this, but in my family kasha
was buckwheat or other kind of hot cereal, and varnishkes were dumplings 
(vareniky/knedliky/kolduny), not necessarily together. Also, if I remember 
correctly, the song Varnishkes (oy, vu nemt men...), as sung by my fellow 
litvatshke Nekhama Lifshitz, lists the ingredients - lokshbrot, zalts, a 
khosn af tsu esn di varnish hkes - with no mention of kasha.

Sincerely,
Lyuba Dukker
______________________________________________________
End of Mendele Vol. 15.048

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