Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ____________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 17.012 October 1, 2007 1) Kadya Molodowsky in Forverts (Zelda Kahan Newman) 2) farshteler (Anita Di Bianco) 3) krasny bilet (Roberta Newman) 4) krasny bilet (Martin Horwitz) 5) "The Menhunters" (Shirli Sela-Levavi) 6) Max Reinhardt's stage (Anne-Marie Du Ch?tel) 7) Yiddish word for "can" (Chana Chaimovitz Kovalsky) 8) Itsik Kipnis' "Untervegns" (Harriet Murav) 9) di shvue (Kalman Weiser) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: September 6, 2007 Subject: Kadya Molodowsky in Forverts Is there any one who knows precisely which years Kadya Molodowsky wrote for the "Forverts"? If so, could you please let me know. Zelda (Kahan) Newman 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: September 15, 2007 Subject: farshteler I am an artist and film-maker from NY but living in Berlin, and am writing because I am looking for the meaning of a Yiddish word (farshteler) which probably is no longer in use, as it relates to a phenomenon of early 20th century film. My mother speaks Yiddish but was not familiar with this word, and I wonder if any of the list members of Mendele might be able to help me. Below is the context in which I found this word, from a book called Kafka geht ins Kino from 1996. I am wondering if any Yiddish speakers and/or scholars would be able to confirm the meaning or usage of this term. Any help or information about whereIi might inquire with such a question would be greatly appreciated. Best wishes, Anita Di Bianco Zu den seit 1896 weit verbreiteten ambulanten Kinovorf^(n)hrungen in Prag und B=F7hmen gesellte sich 1907 das erste st?ndige Kino im Haus 'Zum Blauen Hecht' (U modr? stiky) in der Karlsgasse 180. Es wurde geleitet von Viktor Ponrepo, der zusammen mit seinem Bruder mit phantasievollen Postkarten f^(n)r seine Vorstellungen warb. Versprochen wurden den Besuchern 'Bilder aus dem Leben und der Welt des Traums', die zu nichts weniger angetan seien, als 'alle Bed^(n)rfnisse des Zuschauers zu befriedigen'. Den Pragern blieb dieses kleine Kino vor allem dadurch in Erinnerung, da? die beiden Ponrepo zwischen den Filmen Zauberk^(n)nste darboten und w?hrend der Filme als routinierte 'Erkl?rer' oder 'Rezitatoren' auftraten. Sie waren Schauspieler des Schauspiels, das auf der Leinwand zu sehen war. Sie waren, wie es im Jiddischen hei?t, 'Versteller'. The widespread ambulatory film showings that took place in Prague beginning in 1896 were joined in 1907 by the first permanent cinema, located in the house known as the Blue Pike (U Modr? Stiky) located at Karlsgasse 180. It was run by Viktor Ponrepo, who together with his brother advertised the performances on fanciful postcards. They promised their visitors "scenes from life and the world of dreams" that were capable of nothing less than "satisfying all the spectator's needs." What made this movie house memorable for the citizens of Prague was, above all, the fact that the two Ponrepos put on magic shows between film showings and accompanied the films as practiced "explainers" or "reciters." The Ponrepos were participants in the action that was shown on the screen. The Yiddish term for them is Versteller - a word that plays on both the German verstellen, to distort or disguise, and vorstellen, to imagine or present. Text: Hanns Zischler, Kafka geht ins Kino/ Kafka Goes to the Movies, 1996 Anita Di Bianco 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: September 16, 2007 Subject: krasny bilet I can't find any of the recent posts about the term "krasny bilet" (red ticket) in the Mendele archive so I can't say for sure whether a definitive definition of it has been posted yet, but yesterday I came across this in Abraham Cahan's "Yekl": "As the only son of aged parents he had been exempt from the duty of bearing arms. Jake may have forgotten it, but his mother still frequently recurs to the day when he came rushing home, panting for breath, with the 'red certificate' assuring his immunity in his hand. She nearly fainted for happiness." Roberta Newman 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: September 6, 2007 Subject: krasny bilet In Ukraine, about ten years ago, I was told that Jewish communists often spoke about "a royter bikhl" or a "royter bilet," little red book or red ticket, meaning their Communist Party document. My hunch is that is what is being spoken about in the original context. Martin Horwitz 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: September 16, 2007 Subject: "The Menhunters" Has anyone ever heard about a Yiddish play called "The Men Hunter" or" The Manhunters"? Can anyone tell me what this play is about and who wrote it? Many thanks for any clue, Shirli Sela-Levavi 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: September 17, 2007 Subject: Max Reinhardt's stage I'm researching the history of Jewish theatre in Berlin. For now, my interest is in Max Reinhardt's performance of the Merchant of Venice in 1905. I know that he invented a revolving stage for this new production of Shakespeare's famous play, with a disc revolving at the center of a round stage. I've learned that "Max Reinhardt's stage measured 20 square meters and had a revolving disc at the centre, with a diameter of 18 meters," but physically that is impossible. Is it that the disc was larger than the base? Or, maybe it is an error of the translator to say "20 square meters," when it was really "20 meters on each side of the square"? Does anyone know the truth, or has anyone seen that stage? Please help me answer this question. Thanks a lot in advance, Anne-Marie Du Ch?tel 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: September 20, 2007 Subject: Yiddish word for "can" Is there an official Yiddish word for "can" (as in a can of vegetables)? I was given the word "blekh" by someone who said his mother used that word. A sheynem dank Chana Chaimovitz Kovalsky 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: September 26, 2007 Subject: Itsik Kipnis' "Untervegns" I would like to know the date of composition of Itsik Kipnis' novel "Untervegns," published together with Di shtub in Tel Aviv in 1977. Unfortunately, the Lexicon of Yiddish Literature does not provide this information. Web sources, which are often unreliable, give conflicting dates: some say Kipnis wrote this work before his imprisonment in 1948, and some say after. The work is set during the Russian Civil War, but when was it written? Thank you, Harriet Murav 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: September 5 Subject: di shvue Es kumt a dank alemen (befrat Judy Wolfthal, vos hot tsugeshikt di unterdike shures) vos hobn mir geholfn optsuzukhn a frantseyzishe iberzetsung fun dem budishn himen "di shvue." Hymne du Bund La Shvue (Le Serment) Paroles de Sh. An-Ski Freres et soeurs de travail et de misere Tous ceux qui sont disponibles disperses Ensemble, ensemble, le drapeau est brandi Il claque de colore, il rouge de sang Faisons un serment, un serment ? la vie et ? la mort! Refrain Le ciel et la terre nous entendront Notre temoin - l'etoile claire Un serment, un serment de sang et de larmes Nous jurons! Nous jurons! Nous jurons! Nous jurons de lutter pour la liberte et nos droits Contre tous les tyrans et leurs laquais Nous jurons de vaincre les forces obscures Ou de tomber en heros dans la bataille Faisons le serment, un serment ? la vie et ? la mort Refrain Nous jurons de garder notre haine intacte Envers les assassins et les voleurs de la classe ouvriere Le tsar, les ma?tres, les capitalistes Nous jurons de les aneantir et de les detruire Faisons le serment, un serment ? la vie et ? la mort! Refrain Nous jurons de mener la lutte sacre Jusqu'? ce que le monde soit transforme Plus de pauvres, de riches, de ma?tres ni d'esclaves! Que tous deviennent egaux - les forts et les faibles! Faisons le serment, un serment ? la vie et ? la mort! Refrain Nous jurons fidelite sans bornes au Bund Lui seul peut maintenant liberer les esclaves Son drapeau rouge est largement deploye Nous jurons fidelite, ? la vie et ? la mort Faisons le serment, un serment ? la vie et ? la mort Refrain Le ciel et la terre . . . (Histoire Generale du Bund by Henri Minczeles. Paris: Editions Austral, 1995, 443-444.) ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 17.012 Please do not use the "reply" key when writing to Mendele. Instead, choose one of these, as appropriate: Material for postings to Mendele Yiddish literature and language: mendele@lists.yale.edu Material for Mendele Personal Notices & Announcements: victor.bers@yale.edu (in the subject line write Mendele Personal) Other messages to the shamosim: mendele@lists.yale.edu Address for the list commands: listproc@lists.yale.edu To signoff from the list, email to listproc@lists.yale.edu with the following request: signoff MENDELE or unsubscribe MENDELE Mendele on the web: http://shakti.trincoll.edu/~mendele/index.htm