Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 07.090 October 31, 1997 1) shlock (Ben Warshawsky) 2) shlock or schoch? (Bob Werman) 3) Dav(e)nen (Alexis Manaster Ramer) 4) superstitions (sylvia schildt) 5) folklore: sneezing (Arre Komar) 6) Meaning of thumbed gesture (velvl golman) 7) Rebe Elimelekh (Jacques Kapota) 8) Superstitions (David Herskovic) 9) Words to Yiddish song (G.Roth) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 20:58:37 -0800 From: Beni Warshawsky Subject: shlock I grew up with the understanding that "a shlock zol im trefn" is a curse and should not be used in polite society. The meaning for the term shlock was clearly understood by all to mean a stroke. Considering the linguist difficulties in my household, (my father was a Poylisher and my mother is a Litvishe) it was an unusual concurrance. I also just checked my Weinreich dictionary under stroke and found der shlock. Ben Warshawsky 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 14:37:21 +0200 From: Robert Werman Subject: shlock or schoch? I think there is some confusion here. It is schoch, and not shlock, that is placed on the sukkah roof. schoch derives from the the Hebrew root "sin [or samech]-kuf-kuf," meaning to cover or to roof, and a Sukkah in particular. The word is found fairly often in the Talmud [e.g. TB Eruvin 3a]. The root is found in the Tanach, for example in Exodus [Shemot] 25:29, where Rashi specifically uses the word schoch to explain. Bob Werman, Jerusalem 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 09:23:40 -0500 (EST) From: "Alexis Manaster'Ramer" Subject: Dav(e)nen Meyer Wolf raises some very valid objections to the etymology I support. Some of them are among the reasons why I have not published anything yet. I myself mentioned another loose end myself in an earlier posting, the mystery of the -e- which some dialects or speakers have and others do not. So for the present let us try something less ambitious than a definitive killer argument for this etymology. Can we at least agree that (a) most of the other proposals are totally impossible, (b) THIS one is at least not yet ruled out, and maybe even (c) this one is the best or even (d) the only proposal so far that is still not ruled out--and specifically that this is so because the D-B-B etymology accounts for the details of the actual forms. But I would add that (a) whether dav(e)n is attested does not seem crucial to me (unless Meyer has some argument in mind that I do not know of) and (b) the semantic change from 'to pray quietly' to 'to pray' (in general) does not seem to me at all outlandish, yet that is precisely what seems to be at issue in his argument regarding the semantic developments. Alexis Manaster Ramer 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 11:20:42 +0100 From: creativa@charm.net (sylvia schildt) Subject: superstitions Ellen Prince dermont onem oysdruk "di kale iz a freser". bay undz in shtub (litvakn) iz dos oysdruk geven "di kale iz a nasherke". dos heyst az di kale hot nit gekent vartn biz nokh der khupe tzu farzukhn di "frukhtn" fun farheyretn lebn. Ellen Prince recalls the expression "di kale iz a freser." In our Litvak household the expression was "di kale iz a nasherke". This means that the bride could not wait until after the ceremony to taste the fruits of married life. sylvia schildt baltimore, maryland 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 12:41:22 -0500 (EST) From: Arthur Komar Subject: folklore: sneezing The superstition about the significance of sneezing aparantly also occurs in Hungarian folk lore. In the musical piece Hary Janos by Kodaly the work opens with a huge orchestral sneeze whose intention is to signify that the tall tales to follow are the truth. This is evidently close to the Yiddish lore to the effect that the preceeding tale was the truth. It is of course unclear which culture did the borrowing. Arre Komar 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 15:58:30 -0500 (EST) From: walter golman Subject: Meaning of thumbed gesture vegn yidishe fayg-simboln veys ikh nit, ober in minsk, farshtey ikh, flegt men oyshteln "a fayg unter a dakh" als a baleydikung. un in sheykspir's "romeo un juliet," bayst a kapulet diner zayn grobn finger akegn a soyne fun montagu tsad als baleydikung un aroysruf tsu a geshleg. [dos kumt for in der ershter stsene funem ershtn akt.] velvl golman, Silver Spring, Maryland 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 19:26:23 +0100 From: Jacques KAPOTA Subject: Rebe Elimelekh Re Siegfried Risse's request for the texts of Yiddish songs, DER REBE ELIMELEKH - text and music : Moshe NADIR (1885-1943) Az der rebe Elimelekh Iz gevorn zeyer freylekh, Iz gevorn zeyer freylekh Elimelekh, - Hot er oysgeton di tfiln, Un hot ongeton di briln, Un geshikt nokh di fidlers di tsvey. Un az di fidldike fidlers Hobn fidldik gefidlt, Hobn fidldik gefidlt hobn zey ! Un az di fidldike fidlers Hobn fidldik gefidlt, Hobn fidldik gefidlt hobn zey ! Un az der rebe Elimelekh Iz gevorn nokh mer freylekh, Iz gevorn nokh mer freylekh Elimelekh ! - Hot er oysgeton dem kitl, Un hot ongeton zayn hitl, Un geshikt nokh di tsimblers di tsvey. Un az di tsimbldike tsimblers Hobn tsimbldik getsimblt, Hobn tsimbldik getsimblt hobn zey ! Un az di tsimbldike tsimblers Hobn tsimbldik getsimblt, Hobn tsimbldik getsimblt hobn zey ! Un az der rebe Elimelekh Iz gevorn gor shtark freylekh, Iz gevorn gor shtark freylekh Elimelekh, Hot er opgemakht havdole, Un dem shames reb Naftole Hot er geshikt nokh di payklers di tsvey. Un az di paykldike payklers Hobn paykldik gepayklt, Hobn fidldik getsimblt hobn zey ! Az di paykldike fidlers Hobn tsimbldik gepayklt, Hobn fidldik getsimblt hobn zey ! Best regards, Jacques KAPOTA 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 22:46:01 +0000 From: David Herskovic Subject: Superstitions Iosif Vaisman asks [vol.07.079] for equivalents of 'zol mir zan far dir'. The theme is to be found in Rashi on Deut. 32.11 where the posik likens God to an eagle, 'So did He spread His wings and take him, bear him along on His pinions' (JPS trans). Rashi explains the analogy to an eagle that while other birds carry their nestling in their feet to protect them from the eagle, the eagle fears only man and therefore carries its offspring on its wings. The eagle says, 'let the arrow rather hit me than my children'. Re. Ellen Prince's query about even numbers of flowers [vol. 07.088], zuges, which means pairs, or even numbers, is discussed in the talmud as ominous. Here are another few superstitions. Not to remove two garments at the same time Spill some water before drinking Leave some drink behind in the glass When you're being spoken about your ears burn Not to finish a conversation on a bad note, so khsidim have a saying 'der neshkhizer iz geveyn a gite yid in mayerels tsimes iz gite tsimes' and so they finish the shmis To scream 'mazel tov' when a glass or plate breaks If you sit on the corner of a table you won't get engaged And one final litvishe s/sh parody Bisleyme ikh sleyme vos ikh ken nit zogn sir hasirim aser lisleyme zog sir hasirim aser lisleyme, ober di sleyme vos di kenst zogn sir hasirim aser lisleyme vos zogst du sir hasirim aser lisleyme? David Herskovic 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 16:51:07 -0800 From: "THE SNYDERS" Subject: Words to Yiddish song I have been looking for the words of Yiddish song the first line of which is: In ain litvish derfl vait, in ain shtibl in der zeit....Can you help? My name is Gerald Roth I am writing this from the home of a friend of mine. I do not have an e-mail address at this time. Please reply to him (Joe Snyder) and he in turn will contact me. A shainem dank G.Roth ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 07.090 Address for the postings to Mendele: mendele@lists.yale.edu Address for the list commands: listproc@lists.yale.edu Mendele on the Web: http://www2.trincoll.edu/~mendele http://sunsite.unc.edu/yiddish/mendele.html