Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 08.141 April 20, 1999 1) Yiddish for toddlers (Steve Cohen) 2) Lomir Yehoyesh romanizirn (Matt Fisher) 3) materialn far a yidish klub (Feygl Infeld Glaser) 4) galkhes (Sam Kweskin) 5) a nayer numer bavebter yid (Sholem Berger un Refoyl Finkel) 6) Yiddish song about Russo-Japanese war (Bill Rodman) 7) broyt mit kiml, beygl (Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett) 8) Kalte shul (Ida Selavan-Schwarcz) 9) Legacy of Yiddish choruses in America (Marion Jacobson) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 11:29:01 -0500 (EST) From: "Steve Cohen" Subject: Yiddish for toddlers Tayere Mendelistn: Tsi veyst emetser vu ken ikh koyfn a kinder-tashme af Yidish? Ikh zukh tashmes vos zaynen gut far kleyne un kinder (vi Sesame Street af English oder Rehov Sumsum af Hebreish), ober af Yidish. Ikh bin nit keyn khosid, ober toyre-mayselekh kenen zayn gut, u n oykh veltlekhe programen. Ikh bin shoyn gegangen keyn Lakewood, New Jersey, un hob gekoyft etlekhe bilder-bikher far mayn 2.5-yor-altiker. Ober, meyn ikh, az dos rov fun zey zaynen gevidmet khsidishe protim. Shloyme-Khayim Cohen Dear Mendelists: Does anyone know where I can buy children's videotapes in Yiddish? I am looking for tapes which are good for toddlers and chldren (like Sesame Street in English, and Rehov Sumsum in Hebrew), but in Yidish. I am not a hasid, but Torah stories could be okay , and also secular shows. I have already been to Lakewood, NJ, and bought several picture books for my 2.5-year-old. But, I think, most of the books are concerned with Hasidic matters. Steve Cohen [Moderator's note: Several games suitable for toddlers can be found in Shtetl's children corner, e.g. http://metalab.unc.edu/yiddish/School/Bpgame or http://metalab.unc.edu/yiddish/School/Cardgame Three picture books by Chaim Beyder: Alef Beys, Yidishe Retenishn, and Yidishe Folks-Vertlekh (online editions by Shura Vaisman) are available as well at http://metalab.unc.edu/yiddish/School/chlib.html -i.v.] 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 15:02:34 -0500 (EST) From: "Matt Fisher" Subject: Lomir Yehoyesh romanizirn This is my first post, so I'll start by introducing myself. My name is Matt Fisher. I am just beginning to learn Yiddish. I was a German major at Haverford College, class of '88, then went back to school for a second bachelor's degree in Environmental Toxicology at the University of California at Davis. After graduating from Davis in 1993, I moved to Chicago, and took a job as an environmental consultant for an engineering firm. None of which explains how I wound up as a computer programmer for the Art Institute of Chicago, where I have been employed for the past three years. Recently I discovered an old copy of Yehoyesh's Yiddish translation of Tanakh in a closet at my shul. I don't think anyone had been in that closet for decades, except perhaps to stash or retrieve a cake and a bottle of whiskey for the customary breakfast after shacharis. (I don't have the iron constitution of the minyan oldtimers, so I don't partake. Dos zeynen di giborim vos fun fartsetn, mener mit a nomen!) But, back to Yehoyesh. I was surprised to find that I could make sense of much of the text -- partly because I already know the story, and the alef-bes, and partly because I can read German. As a way of teaching myself a bisl Yiddish, I have begun romanizing Yehoyesh. Bli neder, I'd like to publish to the web a romanization of the entire text, as well as an Adobe Acrobat and/or Unicode version in the Yiddish alphabet. I would also like to link portions of the text to matching audio files. Of course, I am not yet fluent enough to make the recordings myself, and the text alone is a big enough task. From a previous issue of _The Mendele Review_, however, I gather that a number of people on this list have already romanized portions of Yehoyesh. Anyone who would like to collaborate on the text or audio portions of this project, please drop me a line. (You need not be handy with computers in order to help.) Here's the idea: Lomir Yehoyesh romanizirn, un rekordirn far "Real-Audio", un verefentlikhn dos gantse oyfn veltveytn veb! A freylakhn un a kashern pesakh, Matt Fisher 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 16:12:08 -0500 (EST) From: Feigl I Glaser Subject: onvayzungen vosere materialn tsu krign ontsuheybn a yidish klub In enfer oyf Sandra Tobias onfrage, shlog ikh for di folgndike materialn ontsuheybn a Yiddish klas oder a Yidish klub in ayer gegnt. (1) Buy College Yiddish or a pre-college Yiddish textbook that you can learn from to improve your Yiddish and enjoy right away shmues-materialn (chatting materials, idioms and songs). (2) Get the books of songs -- MIR TROGN A GEZANG, PERL FUN YIDISHN LID and SONGS OF GENERATIONS (with Yiddish text and music, translations, transliterations and historical background) compiled by Eleanor and Joseph Mlotek. (3) Invite Yiddish speakers (vos zeyer redn hot a Yidishn tam) to speak, read , recite or sing for you in Mame-Loshn. (4) Buy the Yiddish video tape LOMIR ALE ZINGEN (A Yiddish Sing Along with Mike Burstyn and other talented young performers). You may inquire for catalogues at the WORKMEN'S CIRCLE BOOK STORE, 45 East 33rd Street, New York, NY 10016; TSIKO FARLAG, 25 East 21st Street, New York, NY 10010; or contact Mark H. David at THE YIDDISH VOICE STORE at mhd@std.com. I hope that my suggestions will be helpful to you. Mit Mendelyaner grusn, Feygl Infeld Glaser 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 10:54:53 -0500 (EST) From: ESSAIKAY@aol.com Subject: galkhes Zollen mir a tritt veiter reydn veygn Paula Teitelbaum's "Galkhes"? "Round" and "snowball" come equally to mind when we realize that "galokhim" evidently comes from the bald-pated friars and priests who wore their shaven heads a la "galkhos". Sam Kweskin 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 29 Mar 1999 15:35:26 -0500 (EST) From: raphael@cs.uky.edu (Raphael Finkel) Subject: a nayer numer bavebter yid Der Bavebter Yid 3:2 http://www.cs.uky.edu/~raphael/bavebter Yidisher literarisher vebzhurnal In dem numer: a por verter fun REDAKTSYE: dos onfirn mitn peysekh-seyder haynttsutog BEYLE SHEKHTER-GOTESMANS a por lider vegn fil-zogevdike akatsyes un dem vort "yo" "der shlof funem seykhl produtsirt monstern" iz an epigram tsu LEYE ROBINSONS a mayse ARN TAUB iz undz mekabed mit zayns a remozimdikn fantazye-lid di libe shabes-kale kumt tsu geyn, mit der bagleytung fun KATLE KANYE Kumt tsu gast! Sholem Berger un Refoyl Finkel 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 08:14:10 -0500 (EST) From: Yosef & Ida Schwarcz Subject: Yiddish song about Russo-Japanese war My father recalled hearing a Yiddish song in his youth that had to do with the 1905 Japanese victory over the Czar in the Russo-Japanese war. The song was basically praising Japan for teaching the Czar a lesson, and probably came out of the democratic or socialist movement. Do the following words sound familiar to anyone (I know they're somewhat garbled, or something may be missing - I don't know much Yiddish)? "Nippon hat sich far ihm geschelt, un mit sympathie die ganz welt" I would love to learn the full correct lyrics and melody. A sweet Pesach to all, and especially to anyone who comes up with the answer! Bill Rodman Suffern, NY - USA 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 2 Apr 1999 17:31:54 -0500 (EST) From: Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett Subject: broyt mit kiml, byalistoker kukhn, beygl, obarzhanki I am writing serious article on the history and changing meaning of the bagel, primarily in the United States, but including the historical context in Europe. I have found a source that indicates that bagels were eaten before starting the fast for Tisha b'Av and that they were also eaten on Lag b'Omer. Earlier sources indicate that bagels were associated with the birth of a child. Is anyone aware of any customs associated with the eating of bagels (aside from the Sunday morning ritual brunch of bagels and lox)? Can anyone help me identify references to the bagel in Yiddish literature, poetry, folksong, drama, or other sources? Does anyone know anything about the bagel baking business and its history outside New York? I have prepared a bagel survey. If anyone is interested and willing to fill it out, I would be happy to send it. I am also interested in interviewing people who remember bagels from before 1970. I would also appreciate help with the following questions: Were bialys known outside the New York area before the 1970s? Is anyone familiar with them in Europe? Or, in United States before World War II. What are the various names for bialy? Is anyone familiar with byalistoker beygl as a term for bialys. Does anyone remember bagels from Europe? How do they compare with obarzanki? Does anyone recall "bagel bread"? Yiddish terms for rye bread? Does anyone remember other Jewish small breads (and their Yiddish names)--shtengl, pletsl, bulke, etc. I would like to contact bagel bakers who once belonged to Local 338. Thanks, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett New York, NY 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 12 Apr 1999 05:05:01 -0400 (EDT) From: Yosef & Ida Schwarcz Subject: Kalte shul To Mendele In many memorial books, there are descriptions of the various synagogues in the particular towns, and one is often designated, "di kalte shul." Is this because it was big and inadequately heated, or because it lacked the warmth and intimacy of the shtiblekh? I would really appreciate an explanation of the term. Ida Selavan-Schwarcz Arad, Israel 9)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 15 Apr 1999 10:57:18 -0400 (EDT) From: Marion Jacobson Subject: Legacy of Yiddish choruses in America: a query Dear Mendele Readers: For a PhD dissertation, I am gathering information on people's experiences singing and participating in Yiddish choruses, and the phenomenon of Yiddish folk singing in general. If you have ever participated in the Workmen's Circle Chorus, the Jewish People's Philharmonic, the New Yiddish Chorale (formerly, Di goldene keyt) or any Jewish labor chorus in the U.S. or Canada, please contact me at msjacobson@worldnet.att.net I chose this project for my doctoral research at NYU for a number of reasons. First, I feel that tradition of Yiddish folk choruses, and their role in enriching yidishkeyt has been widely overlooked. While Jewish music scholars and the press have given much attention to klezmorim, cantors and other Jewish musical professionals, the musical lives of everyday people have yet to be explored in depth. Through ethnography and oral history, I hope to explore this little-understood phenomenon from the perspective of the singers and their audiences. Confidentiality is a very important consideration in this type of research. Quotes from all survey respondents will be anonymous. If I quote some of your answers, I will do so without using your real name or other details that will identify you. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or if you are willing to offer more detailed insights by telephone or in person. Many thanks for participating in this project. Marion Jacobson New York ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 08.141 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://metalab.unc.edu/yiddish/mendele.html