Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 07.184 April 9, 1998 1) Ire fislekh un ire zokn (Wolf Krakowski) 2) Ire fislekh un ire zokn (David Robboy) 3) Yom Tov Ehrlich (Miriam Isaacs) 4) vegn shprakh vikukhim (shmuel batt) 5) ya-tebe-dam (Spencer Daniel) 6) ya-tebe-dam and Avraam Uri Kovner (Harriet Murav) 7) "grisheh" (Irv Young) 8) Moses Horowitz Play: "Trisa Esler" (Naomi Fatouros) 9) "virtual Yiddish" course? (Andreas Schwantner) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 07 Apr 1998 09:29:07 -0400 From: "Kame'a Media" Subject: Ire fislekh un ire zokn Shleyme Axelrod makes reference [07.180] to the Barton Brothers' "Cockeyed Jenny" and the lines: . These lines were "borrowed" from Yiddish theatre great Aaron Lebedeff's "Oy, I Like She". Wolf Krakowski 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 10:32:15 -0700 (PDT) From: David Robboy Subject: Ire fislekh un ire zokn RE: _Ire fislekh un ire zokn_, I tell you, people, it's no use talk'n'... (Which Itsik Goldenberg calls plagiarism, but my brother Ron points out was drawing upon the canon) I can't resist referring readers to a great couplet from Mickey Katz's St. Louis Blues: "I gave you a check, Now you varft mir avek." This is so concise as to be almost meaningless out of context, but the Mickey Katz recording is a superb performance musically and also a great example of blues singing in Yiddish, and this couplet in the context of the song is right in the tradition of Blues couplets and at the same time right in the tradition of Yinglish humor. David Robboy 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 15:39:59 -0400 (EDT) From: miriam isaacs Subject: Yom Tov Erlikh In reply to Marjon Aptroot's question, Yom Tov Erlikh is extremely popular in haredi circles and has put out quite a few cassettes that can be bought in shops in religious neighborhoods. His songs are quite funny, in Litvish Yiddish, usually rythming and quite witty. He sings and, I assume, composes his own materials. Miriam Isaacs [Moderator's note: some of Yom Tov Ehrlich's records: Ikh hob gevart / Oceanphonic Records, 1982. No.451 (12in - 33 1/3 rpm) Cassettes: Der Satmar Rebe (TS 268-23, 1980), Yidish nahes (1986), Journey through song (JN16, 1986), Emunas tsadikim (JN28, 1986). -i.v.] 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 07 Apr 1998 15:06:40 -0700 From: samuel batt Subject: vegn shprakh vikukhim a sakh Mendelianer hobn,vi se seyt ois, hanoe fun shpaltn an hor nit oif fir, nor oif tsendliker teyln. kh'bin nit zikher tsi dos darf zayn di oifgabe fun Mendele bikhlal. tsu di vikukhim volt ikh veln tsugebn ot vos:in dem farmilkhomedikn yidishn folk, vos di nazi-merders hobn farshnitn, zaynen geven in europe tsendliker dialektn vi in jeder lebediker shprakh.in poyln alein hot men gekont ontseyln farshidene- oi- af ,broit-breit, tate- tote un a.v. haynt iz, loit mayn meynung, der doziger vikuakh a nit neytiger. di treger fun jene dialektn zaynen(oder zenen) mer nito(oder nishto).dos vikhtigste is, dakht zikh mir, tsu kultivirn di itstike yidishe kultur un literatur shprakh,in velkher s'hobn geshribn un shraybn vayter di nokh lebedike yidishe shrayber,un velkhe s'nutsn di lebedike yidishe tsaytshriftn oif der velt,khotsh, vi mir veysn, az oikh in di hoikhe yidishe fentster geyen on vikukhim, vos veln doyern azoy lang vi lang di yidishe literatur vet lebn d.h. EIBIG. ikh shlog for az mir zoln mer nutsn di zaytn fun internet-Mendele tsu bakenen zayne mitglider un leyner mit di gedrukte oder nokh nit gedrukte arbetn fun yidishe shrayber vos lebn in rusland, amerike, isroel, kanade un andere lender.firn vikukhim iber verk fun geleynte oder ersht gedrukte shrayber un dikhter - mit zeyer onteyl,oib meglekh- volt, meyn ikh, geven a sakh produktiver say fam mame-loshn, say far ire libhober. vi meynt ir, tayere Mendelianer? a gezuntn un freylekhn peysakh aykh alemen un yedn bazunder. shmuel batt (oder sam) 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1998 00:02:00 +0100 From: Spencer Daniel Subject: ya-tebe-dam Louis Friedhandler asked, in Mendele vol. 07.181, from where comes ya-tebe-dam. I have never come across this word or phrase in my limited exposure to Yiddish, but as a Slovak and Czech speaker it appears to me a precise transliteration of the Czech for "I will give to you". Ya tebye dam is perhaps the same but closer to a Slovak pronounciation, though it is also pronounced as such in Russian, and not much different in Polish and some of the other Slavic languages. The 'big shot' translation mentioned perhaps can be inferred from this Slavic statement that 'I shall give to you' as reply or as an initial comment within any discussion. Danny Cohen Bratislava, Slovakia 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 08:41:09 -0700 (PDT) From: hlmurav@ucdavis.edu (Harriet Murav) Subject: ya-tebe-dam and Avraam Uri Kovner "Ya-tebe-dam" (ia-tebe-dam) means "I'll give you ...." in Russian. I'm not aware that it is a set expression meaning "big shot" in Russian. I would also like to ask how I might find out more about the family of Avraam Uri Kovner (1842-1909), the Hebrew writer, "nihilist," and criminal. I have Weinreich's and Grossman's books. I am working on a book on Kovner, and would like to find records about his childhood in Vilna. Kovner's autobiography gives an extraordinarily negative picture of poverty and enmity in the family, but a brief bio of Kovner's physician brother Savelii suggests otherwise. Yours, Harriet Murav Davis, CA 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 00:14:44 EDT From: YOU 2 IG Subject: "grisheh" A contribution re the meaning of the word "grisheh" It conveys the general sense of gnawing, maceration, aggravation, or grinding. Some usages follow: A hund grishet a bayn. Es grishet mir in die gederem. Ich hob sich a sach gegrishet iber damit. Irv Young Back in Philadelphia 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1998 00:46:45 EDT From: NFatouros Subject: Moses Horowitz Play: "Trisa Esler" Dear People, On behalf of a gentleman from the Jewishgen mailing group I am inquiring about a Moses Horowitz, who was his relative and a Yiddish playwright and actor in Roumania and New York. Moses Horowitz wrote a play called "Trisa Esler" which was based on a tragedy that occurred in the town of Stanislau. Any information about the author, play or the actual tragedy would be gratefully received. Naomi Fatouros 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 09 Apr 1998 12:19:32 +0200 From: andreas Subject: "virtual Yiddish" course? Hello, my name is Andreas Schwantner, I am living in Vienna, Austria. I am interested in learning Jiddisch, does someone know a "virtual Yiddish" course? Thanks Andreas Schwantner ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 07.184 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