Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 08.062 September 25, 1998 1) "Der rebbe tut vunder" (Deena H. Mersky) 2) Camp No Worries (Yankev Lewis) 3) expression (Zlate (Schonhaut) Engelhardt) 4) Meiven (Sheldon I. Clare) 5) Hershele leybt! (Fred Sherman) 6) The Forvitz (Koppel Sipser) 7) The name "Shapiro," "Spiro" (Ellen Casssedy) 8) Rumeniye (Jane Rothstein) 9) Yiddish poems about teaching (Rhoda (Rokhl) Bernard) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 02:07:39 -0400 (EDT) From: dmersky@mail.utexas.edu (Deena H. Mersky) Subject: Does anyone know some verses to a song from my childhood? Something just brought to mind a very irreverent song I learned from my non-believing parents, but I can only remember one verse: Der rebbe tut vunder Ich chob alein gezayn Er Gayt arein in vasser Un kumt arois a nasser! I know there is a refrain and many more verses. Anyone there who can help?? A shaynem un hartsiken dank Deena H. Mersky 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 19:24:46 -0400 (EDT) From: justin.lewis@utoronto.ca Subject: Camp No Worries A friend who is preparing for publication a book of poems which mentions the camp which Allen Ginsberg's parents attended would like to know the correct romanized spelling of the camp's name: Kemp Nitgedayget? Nishtgedayget? Oddly enough in Ginsberg's book Kaddish the name is spelled as if in German, Nichtgedeiget... Does anyone know what spelling was actually in use? Thanks Yankev Lewis 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 21:23:33 -0400 (EDT) From: BubEZadE@aol.com Subject: expression Would anyone have any idea about the derivation of, "Shmear zikh oys de shekh"? Zlate (Schonhaut) Engelhardt 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Sep 1998 14:22:52 -0400 (EDT) From: Sheldon Clare Subject: Meiven What is the origin of "meyven"? I know that it can mean expert. But it can also be used to poke fun at "so-called" experts. I recall my mother, of blessed memory use the phrase: "Er iz a meiven azei vi a khazer oyf Heiven". i.e. "He is an expert just as a pig is with yeast." I've always thought that to been charming. L'shana Tova (aka l'shoneh toyveh) Sheldon I. Clare 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 18 Sep 1998 15:20:10 -0400 (EDT) From: Fred Sherman Subject: Hershele leybt! What is available in English of Hershel Ostropoler's wit? A collected volume might well be the comedian's equivalent of the Physician's Desk Reference.I remember with fondness my father's relating, in English, escapades of "Harry and the Boys". In one story, Hershele was complaining bitterly to a friend that his landlady threw his pants down the stairs. When asked what was so terrible about that, Hershele replied, "I was still in them at the time." It was just as funny when I heard Morey Amsterdam tell it 55 years later. Fred Sherman 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 16:03:47 -0400 (EDT) From: koppel1@juno.com (Kenneth K Sipser) Subject: The Forvitz To my very worthy Mendeler friends, First a Happy New Year, A Gut Yuhr, Shana Tovah, mit gezunt un parnusseh un nakhos fun kinder un eyniklakh, biz khutch a hundert un tzvantzig. I learned to read and write Yidish as a child, and luckily retained some of it to this day, yet I find it much more difficult writing Yidish using anglo-saxon characters, and prefer by far to use the Hebrew ones, so please excuse the fact I have translated my thoughts into English. My father was an avid reader of the paper, and as he got older he began asking me to read it to him since his "eyes hurt". We both knew it was his way to keep me fluent reading and writing the language. As a young man I noticed a peculiarity in the way the Forvitz printed its name in the heading of its newspaper, and when I asked my father about it, even as a long time reader, he did not have an answer. I have asked the question of many people, and have not really had a response with which I might say I was satisfied. So I will put it to you Mendelayners, and hopefully someone will provide what I have been searching for these past fifty years or more. The Condition: The title name of the Forvitz printed with Hebrew characters is: fey, aleph, raysh, vav, vav, eyein raysh, tess, samakh, which clearly spells Forvitz. Question: Why is the last sound tz spelled with tess, samach and not with a tzadik, that is end-tzadik as one might expect it to? Nu? Koppel Sipser 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 13:36:36 -0400 (EDT) From: CassBlum@aol.com Subject: The name "Shapiro," "Spiro" What is the origin of the names "Shapiro" and (I assume related) "Spiro"? Ellen Casssedy Bethesda, MD 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 23 Sep 1998 16:22:58 -0400 (EDT) From: Jane Rothstein Subject: Rumeniye A friend of mine would like to play the Yiddish standard "Rumeniye" for his Sunday school class (6th grade) and discuss it a bit, but does not have a transcription of the lyrics. If anyone has both the Yiddish lyrics and an English translation, I would very much like to be able to pass it on to him. a sheynem dank! Jane Rothstein 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 24 Sep 1998 21:40:22 -0400 (EDT) From: "Rhoda Bernard" Subject: Yiddish poems about teaching I have been asked to write some music in honor of a very gifted teacher of music in Boston. I would like to find a Yiddish poem about teaching to set to original music. Can any of you suggest a poem (it need not rhyme) that would be appropriate? Something about either the value of education, the joy of teaching, the importance of teaching or sharing music, or a similar theme? If you are able to provide bibliographic information for the poem, background info about the poet, and a transliteration of the text either by e-mail or snail-mail (write me directly for my snail-mail address; I can find the yidishe oysyes on my own with a good bibliographic reference), I would really appreciate it. A hartsikn dank, Rhoda (Rokhl) Bernard ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 08.062 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