Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 08.008 June 3, 1998 1) trombenik (Alan Shuchat) 2) tsibres (Yael Chaver) 3) khalaburde (jacob feldman) 4) meyre (Paul Glasser) 5) meire (Stephen Dowling) 6) "a shanda a charpa" (Yeshua Litman) 7) Mandy Patinkin (Sam Kweskin) 8) "Holyvud Star" (Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan) 9) Yom Yerushalayim (Lea Singer) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 22:08:45 -0400 From: Alan Shuchat Subject: trombenik Ven ikh bin geveyn a bokhr in New York, di eltern hobn gerifn a kind a trombenik. Fin vi kimt di vort "trombenik"? Ikh denk az es meynt "troublemaker", ober s'iz emesdik a yidisher vort? Alan Shuchat 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 19:14:47 -0700 From: Yael Chaver Subject: tsibres Reading Peretz Markish's 1922 poem cycle "Di Kupe", I came across the word "tsibres" in the poem that starts "Oyf markn un yaridn": "Oyf markn un yaridn / zidn / steynges flaterdike, krelen, / knep un tsibres." I haven't been able to find "tsibres" in any of the Harkavy dictionaries, or in Stutchkoff. It may be a particular Warsaw phrase, a Ukrainian word (the poems are in memory of the Jews killed in the Ukraine pogroms), or...? Any suggestions? A sheynem dank aykh alemen. Yael Chaver Berkeley 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 26 May 1998 22:45:04 -0700 From: feldman@math.berkeley.edu (jacob feldman) Subject: khalaburde On May 26 Louis Fridhandler asks about "Khalaburde".This is far-fetched, but Could it be related to the Russian word "kalambur" (word play, sometimes silly, sometimes clever; maybe a kalambur on kalambur itself)? jacob feldman 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 27 May 1998 09:56:19 -0700 From: Paul Glasser Subject: meyre The etymology of meyre is most likely Czech mi'ra 'measure', since it refers to a measure of dough. Paul Glasser 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 27 May 1998 11:23:13 EDT From: STdowling Subject: Meire Frankly, when I first saw the heading before reading the messages, I assumed that it was "moire" or fear. What that might have to do with Matza I will leave to others. Some Lithuanian Yiddish speakers will pronounce it "meire" instead of the Clal Yiddish that I was taught in Yiddish class. Along the same lines as Mensen for mentshn Sabes for shabes (Extreme, have never truly heard this) Stephen Dowling New York 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 27 May 1998 10:24:17 EDT From: JGKleiman Subject: "a shanda a charpa" Does anyone know what charpa means in the phrase "a shande un a charpa"? Yeshua Litman 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 27 May 1998 10:35:37 EDT From: ESSAIKAY Subject: Mandy Patinkin Benegeye di gereyd fun Mandy Patinkin, vunder ikh far vos di groisse zinger fun dem fargangenheit hobn nit gekennt zingen sheyne, hibsche idishe lieder in zeire kontsertn? (Tucker, Peerce). Far vos kennen mir tsuherrn Domingo oder Pavarotti oder andere vos zingen italienisch oder spanisch oder frantsoizisch, oder andere vos zingen a modne lied fun a paster vos vargelt mit a sheps, in a 17tn yorhundert liedele fun an unbevuster kompozitor? Shoin tseit az tenoren azoi vi Neil Shicoff un andere zoln forshtelln idishe lieder oif zeiere programmen, un ikh red nit fun Rozhinkes mit Mandeln. Sam Kweskin 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 10:33:41 EDT From: SHirshan@aol.com Subject: "Holyvud Star" Ikh bin zayer shtolts mit di akademiker un gelernte un shraybers vos gibn azoy fil tsayt far undzer dertsiyung un fargenign oyf Mendele. Zey zenen undzere vegvayzers, firer un heldn vayl zey farnemen zikh tog-teglekh mit Yidish, un arbetn az Yidish zol vaksn un lebn. Farshtey ikh nit farvos men freyt zikh nisht vos a Hollywood star vi Patinken hot hartsik gefunen a naye velt fun Yiddish. Mir hobn gevunen a nayer yid! Un efsher iz men amol a Hollywood star vayl men hot take a talant tsum zingen. Er hot ongerirt kinder un eyniklekh tsu hern a Yidish vort, un afile mitzingen vu men ken. Efsher derfar vos er iz a Hollywood star..... Iz vos iz azoy shlekht? S'iz a khisorn der khosn iz tsu sheyn? I am proud of the academics and scholars and writers that give of their precious time to enlighten us (always a pleasure!) on Mendele. They are our leaders and heroes, giving of themselves daily for the survival and growth of Yiddish. Therefore, I do not understand why there is no joy in Mudville when a star sincerely finds a new world of Yiddish and devotes himself to it. We are the winners! Patinkin (whether overemotional in rendition or if his voice displeases some) has touched our children and eyniklekh who listen to the sounds of Yiddish and even sing along. Maybe because he is a Hollywood star.... Is that so terrible? Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan Boynton Beach, Florida 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 27 May 1998 12:30:39 EDT From: RivkaLea@aol.com Subject: Yom Yerushalayim Re: Yom Yerushalayim. The 6-Day War was in 1967, so this is the 31st anniversary not the 32nd, as reported in a previous item. I was there, in Jerusalem, a student at the Hebrew Universary on the American Student Program for my junior year of college. Others on the 1966-67 program were Deborah Lipstadt (Beyond Belief), Jack Miles (God: A Biography), and Richard Friedman (Who Wrote the Bible). While now observed on the Jewish calendar according to the Hebrew date, Jerusalem Day will always be June 7 to me. Lea Singer in St. Louis ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 08.008 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