Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 3.017 May 30, 1993 1) Yoshke Pandre (Meylekh Viswanath) 2) Rosl vs Zoyermilch (Benson Ginsburg) 3) Bintel Brief (Zachary Baker) 4) Yiddish from Israel (Zvi Lando) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri May 28 16:55:00 1993 From: meylekh viswanath (viswanath@draco.rutgers.edu) Subject: yoshke pandre Seymour Axelrod writes: > >3. "yoshke pandre" = a disparaging name for Jesus Christ. Is the >second element Slavic? Hebrew? Does it refer to out-of-wedlock >birth? The gemore refers to yeshua ben panthera; I seem to remember that this panthera was supposed to be a roman soldier (this last bit may not be from the gemore). meylekh 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat May 29 18:16:33 1993 From: Benson Ginsburg Subject: Rosl vs Zoyermilch To all you fortsers- By unser mishpoche hobn mir nisht gehert fun a forts in rosl. Men hot gezogt az "Er dreyt zich arum ve a forts in zoyermilch." Azoy lang az mir farnemen zich mit fortsen, hob ich tsvei vitsen: 1. Tsvei menschen zeinen gesesen tsusamen, hot einer aroysgelozn a forts. Zogt er tsum freint zeiner, "Tsvishen uns zol dos bleibn." Entfert im zein freint, "Zol es besser farnandergein." 2. A retenish: Ayner a klayner On hoyt un on bayner Shist in pyate un treft in noz - Benson Ginsburg 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat May 29 20:31:04 1993 From: Zachary Baker (bm.yib@rlg.stanford.edu) Subject: Bintel Brief Although I am not at my desk (even YIVO librarians take a weekend off, every now and again), I can answer Jesse C. Rabinowitz's question regarding the Bintel Brief (in MENDELE 3.016) with a fair degree of confidence: Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge there has never been a compilation _in Yiddish_ of selected Bintel Brief letters. Readers interested in the original must peruse the microfilms of the "Forverts," perhaps sampling them on a decade-by- decade basis. I do not know if there is a set of the "Forverts" in the Bay Area, although I suspect there must be, since Prof. Moses Rischin (San Francisco State University) has been working on a biography of Abe Cahan, the long-time editor of that Yiddish newspaper, and I imagine that he would have access to the microfilm through one or another library nearby (try SF State, UC-Berkeley, Stanford). By the way, in addition to the compilations (two of which I am aware) by Isaac Metzker, the YIVO Library has an interesting M.S.W. thesis on the Bintel Brief, dating from circa 1930, by one George Wolfe. Also, as a kind of appendix to his thesis, Mr. Wolfe prepared sample translations of Bintel Brief columns, taking two six-month (as I recollect) segments, originally published in the "Forverts" about two decades apart from each other (circa 1906 and 1926). This was presumably done for comparison's sake, given the different conditions faced by immigrants and their families at the peak of immigration (after the 1905 Revolution) and after the imposition of quotas on immigration from Eastern and Southern Europe (1921, 1924). The physical bulk of these two volumes is substantial; I wonder if thesis requirements for a master's degree in social work have changed since Mr. Wolfe's days at Columbia. On another note, and seconding the thoughts of some subscribers to MENDELE, I too would appreciate seeing the contents of this forum diversified beyond purely linguistic concerns. But readers must recognize that it is in the very nature of the medium for an electronic publication such as MENDELE to be driven by the interests of those of its subscribers who contribute to it. So it is really up to _us_ -- and not some hypothetical "you" -- to bring literary, bibliographical, informational, etc., topics to the attention of subscribers. On that note, I wish to report that a memorial gathering for the late bibliographer Berl Kagan will be held at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research (1048 Fifth Avenue, New York) at 11 a.m., Sunday June 6th. There will be eulogies by representatives of YIVO, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the Federation of Lithuanian Jews, and other organizations. Zachary Baker, YIVO Library 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat May 29 15:42:29 1993 From: Zvi Lando Subject: Yiddish from Israel Shalom: I have some information that may be quite exciting and important to you and your list members, and I would like to hear your comments on it. The Ministry of Education under the order of Shulamit Aloni, in Israel has decided to put a big stress on the Yiddish Language and culture in Israel. In accordance with this, we hope, at Jerusalem One, to have at our hands, a lot of information and resources. There is also talk of setting up a newspaper in Yiddish from Israel on our network. Since this is news that has just been brought to my attention, the facts are a bit sketchy. Even so, I would like to know if you have any ideas on how we can take the opportunity in giving Yiddish a push through our network. Please send out any and all ideas. Thanks Zvi Lando Jerusalem One Network Manager lando@jerusalem1.datasrv.co.il home ph: 972-2-964519 Kenesset: 972-2-753820 fx: 972-2-964588 --0-65980290-738655444:#2177-- [Readers are invited to share their ideas on this matter with Mendele as well. nm] ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 3.017