Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 07.110 November 28, 1997 1) shmuzn (Ruben Frankenstein) 2) Der Tkies-kaf fun Perets Hirshbeyn (Gilles Rozier) 3) A mol iz geven a mayse (Marcia Gruss Levinsohn) 4) Yetta (Bernard Katz) 5) Sholem Ash (Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan) 6) vanity plate? (David Sherman) 7) Amol is geven a mayse (Pinyeh Weichsel) 8) shpatsirn (Joachim Neugroschel) (Wolf Krakowski, Martin Davis) 9) dav(e)nen (Beni Warshawsky) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 11:03:47 +0100 (MEZ) From: Ruben Frankenstein Subject: shmuzn Carl Goldberg asked about "shmuzn" (Mendele 07.105 of November 21.). Coming from the hebrew "shmu`ot", meaning originally "what is being heard, rumors" it entered into Yiddish also as a verb "talk, chat". But it came into colloquial German through another channel, that is Rotwelsch, the thieves` cant of late Middle Ages ant it is due to this channel that another shifting in the meaning of the word came. Nowadays german dictionaries list not only "Schmus", "Schmuser" and "schmusen" but also "Schmu" = cheating, and "Schmonzes" = balderdash and all are derived from the Hebrew. Reuven Frankenstein 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 15:26:32 +0100 From: Bibliotheque Medem Subject: Der Tkies-kaf fun Perets Hirshbeyn Ikh zukh kontekstuele protim vegn Perets Hirshbeyns piese "Der Tkies-kaf" (1907) (lemoshl tsi es iz inspirirt fun an ander piese oder mayse, tsi me ken gefinen andere protim vegn di forshtelungen vi di vos me gefint in di tsvey groyse leksikonen fun der yidisher literatur un in dem leksikon fun yidishn teater). Gilles Rozier 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 09:17:04 -0500 (EST) From: Marcia Gruss Levinsohn Subject: A mol iz geven a mayse in Vol. 07.108, November 26, 1997, Jack Feldman bet far di verter fun di shlof-lid vos mayn mame flegt lib hobn. me ken es gefinen in _Mir trogn a gezang_ ("Favorite Yiddish Songs" compiled by Eleanor Gordon Mlotek - bflat), un _Jewish Folk Songs, in Yiddish and English_ compiled and edited with English adaptations by Ruth Rubin - fsharp. _A mol iz geven a mayse_ Mlotek version Ruth Rubin diferences A mol iz geven a mayse, Di mayse iz gornit freylekh, Di mayse heybt zikh onet (hoybt) Mit a yidishn meylekh. Refrain: Lyulinke, mayn feygele, (de zelbe) Lyulinke, mayn kind. Kh'hob ongevorn aza libe, Vey iz mir un vind! A mol iz geven a meylekh, Der meylekh hot gehat a malke, Der meylekh hot gehat a malke, Di malke hot gehat a vayngortn, Di malke hot gehat a vayngortn, Der vayngortn hot gehat a boym. Lyulinke, mayn kind. Lyu... (Ref.) In vayngortn iz geven a beymele, Der boym hot gehat a tsvayg, Dos beymele hot gehat a tsvaygele, Der tsvayg hot gehat a nestele, Oyfn tsvaygele iz geven a nestele, In nestele iz geven a feygele, In nestele hot gelebt a feygele. Lyulinke, mayn kind. (Ref.) Der meylekh iz opgeshtorbn, (di zelbe) Di malke iz gevorn fardorbn, Dos tsvaygele iz opgebrokhn, Dos feygele fun nest antlofn.(Ref.) (0) Vu nemt men aza chochem, Er zol kenen di shtern tseyln? Vu nemt men aza dokter, Er zol kenen mayn harts heyln? (Ref.) "Folk song. Text published in 1901 by S. Ginsburg and P. Marek; text and music published in 1911 by Platon Brounoff and S. Kisselgof. This folk song uses the metaphoric king and queen in referring to man and wife in keeping with Sabbath and Passover tradition." Di mame flegt zogn az s'iz di Yidishe folk (di feygelekh) vos zaynen avekgefloygn fun Tsion. vareme vintshn far a zisn un freylekhn Khanuke, Marcia Gruss Levinsohn 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 15:47:00 -0500 (EST) From: Bernard Katz Subject: Spelling "Yetta" Aron Mandl (07.108) asks about the correct spelling of "Yetta" as a given name. I think there are many spellings of this name, related to where the person so-named lived and how it was pronounced. I have heardand read the following variations: Yetta, Yitte, Ytke and Ydes, and I'm sure there are still more. They all stem from the Hebrew Yehudit, as far as I am aware. Bernard Katz Guelph, Ontario 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 16:06:55 -0500 (EST) From: SHirshan@aol.com Subject: Sholem Ash Es iz mir geven a khidish as keyner hot zikh nit opgerufn vegn, oder kegn, Sholem Ashn, ven ikh hob tzetirt aza positive nekrolog (obit) in the Chicago SunTimes of 1956. There was a day when Orthodox eggs would have flown; when irate quotes from Khaym Liberman of the Forverts would have been flung like stones accusing him of deserting (and even harming) the Jewsih people; when the Yidlit teacher in Arbeter Ring Seminar was teaching that Asch (who CHOSE to write only in YIDDISH) deserted our people in a selfishly motivated effort to arrive at a Pulitzer from the majority culture. Now, a half century later, does the nonreaction on Mendele say we are more sophisticfated and embrace him, that he was ahead of his time in having so wide a world view, tryinmg to present a common, derivative spirituality for both Jews and Christians. Or does it merely mean that Asch is out of print because he's no longer read? Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan Boynton Beach, Florida 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 16:44:49 -0400 From: "David M. Sherman" Subject: vanity plate? In an email exchange with Itsik Goldenberg, I've had occasion to wonder what the appropriate term is a for a personalized licence plate, sometimes known as a vanity plate (such as Itsik's ZAMLER or our MMLSHN, both in Ontario). Any suggestions? What about "hevl-shildl"? David Sherman Toronto 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 21:01:40 -0600 (CST) From: "Paul M. Weichsel" Subject: Amol is geven a mayse Jacob Feldman asks about the song with the line: "Amul iz geven --- a kenig" The song in question is entitled "Amol is geven a mayse" and it can be found in the collection: Anthology of Yiddish Folk Songs, Vol 1 page 118. It is published by the Magnes Press in Israel, ISBN 965-223-447-8. Pinyeh Weichsel 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 20:46:43 -0500 (EST) From: ACHIM1 Subject: shpatsirn In regard to the origin of the Yiddish verb "shpatsirn"--it most likely comes from German "spazieren(gehen)," (same meaning as in Yiddish) which in turn goes back to Italian "spaziare": to roam, wander, etc. Joachim Neugroschel [Similar answers were provided by Wolf Krakowski and Martin Davis. --shames] 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 17:12:59 -0800 From: Beni Warshawsky Subject: dav(e)nen I have been following the various responses to my suggestion that dav(e)nen comes from the Aramaic. The responses come in two categories. With the first point of view, I have a fundamental disagreement. This position is propounded by Manaster Ramer. Manaster Ramer states, "Such problems as the etymology of dav(e)nen are in this picture very small beer indeed, but it is precisely against the background of this bigger picture that we must seek to solve such problems." This big picture includes a conception that " the dynamics of the history of Yiddish suggest that the more easterly dialects often replaced words of Romance or German origin with either Slavic or Hebrew-origin ones." This type of reasoning is precisely what I found unacceptable in some of the choices for the origin of dav(e)nen. This reasoning is entirely inconsistent with Jewish history and culture. The Hebrew/Aramaic words are the core words in Yiddish because they articulate Jewish religious concerns which are not expressed using words from the dominant environment. These words express the continuous core of Jewish religious life and are not simply expressions which are swapped in and out based on location or fashion. I suggest that Manaster Ramer, time permitting, look into a new Judeo-English which is developing among English speaking yeshiva students. It is whimsically called Yeshiva-speak. In Yeshiva-speak, Jewish religious concepts and concerns are always expressed in Hebrew/Aramaic/Yiddish. This phenomenon confirms what was true in all generations, that Jewish religious concepts are conveyed in a Jewish form. Consequently, it is beyond common sense to look for "sound alike" word relationships while ignoring the basics of Jewish life. The second point of view directly dismisses my choice d'Avanan/d'Avinin (Aramaic vocalization has divergent oral traditions) as the source of dav(e)nen and is expressed by Meyer Wolf and Bob Hoberman. Their primary concern is that the word d'Avinin is not grammatically correct in Aramaic; therefore, does not exist. We all know that grammatical correctness does not determine whether a word exists. For example, are the words Shabosim or Seyfer Toyres nonexistent in Yiddish because they have another grammatical form in Hebrew? Similarly, I propose that Av which has an irregular masculine noun plural with a vov- sof ending (Avos) took a regular masculine noun plural yud-nun ending (Avin). At this point the word could have taken one of two tracks. The first track, another yud-nun for the masculine personal pronoun suffix for 'our' was added to make the word Avinin. Alternatively, an aleph suffix for the definite article was added to Avin, creating the word Avina, add a daled for from and you get d'Avina (fun di oves). Either form is consistent with a) the tradition that the word stems from our/the forefathers b) is in conformance with Brachos (26b) which states, "Always say the forefather's instituted prayer." c) is consistent with the understanding that Jewish religious concepts are conveyed in a Jewish form. Beni Warshawsky Valley Village, CA ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 07.110 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