Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.135 October 12, 1994 1) Introduction (Sharon Kearse) 2) Introduction (Sara Zaidspiner-Leibo) 3) Introduction (William Wallen) 4) Nickname (Evelyn Q. Feins) 5) Grine kuzine (Sara Zaidspiner-Leibo) 6) Grine kuzine (Robert Klein) 7) Yiddish theater in Germany (Robert Klein) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 11 Oct 1994 15:21:33 -0400 (EDT) From: skearse@wam.umd.edu Subject: Introduction I'm a *returning* (don't we love those polite euphemisms!) graduate student in American Studies at the Univ. of Md. at College Park. Since I am an African American, my years long self-study of Yiddish has raised a few eyebrows... I've taken to telling people that my interest in Yiddish language and culture is a "past-life bleed through"--which raises the brows even higher! Now that I'm back in school, I've found a "real" use for my Yiddish (as if the pleasure of speaking and writing and reading such a wonderfully expressive language were not real enough!)--my academic interest is in the culture of the first large Yiddish-speaking communities in the U.S.--the Jews who lived in New York during the late nineteenth century. I'm finally in a real Yiddish language class and my teacher is a model of patience (thank you Dr. Bilik!) with the hodge-podge of mispronounced phrases and semi-understood grammar rules I've picked up over the years! So perhaps, someday I will finally realize my ambition to earn those magic letters after my name...NNY--(Noted Negro Yiddishist)! :-) Sharon Kearse 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 11 Oct 94 23:21:34 EDT From: Steven_A._Leibo@MTS.RPI.EDU Subject: Introduction Since I've been lurking on and off for at least six months, it is time I introduce myself (since others have been brave enough to introduce themselves...) I am a passive bilingual as far as Yiddish is concerned but grew up speaking Yiddish and Spanish in Havana (thus I'm a Juban). Though I attended a Yiddish day school there, I've lost nearly all speaking ability and answer my father in Spanish when he speaks Yiddish (as he normally does) to me. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading Mendele, though I've a huge backlog at the moment, and perhaps may feel confident and knowledgeable enou knowledgeable enough in the future to contribute. Thanks. Sara Zaidspiner-Leibo By the way, if anyone on Mendele came from Havana and is in their late thirties, write and maybe we knew each other and can get re-acquainted. 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Oct 94 00:11:00 UTC From: w.wallen@genie.geis.com Subject: Introduction I am William Wallen of Langhorne, Pa (20 miles north of Philadelphia), a new member. I have a general interest in Yidish literature and Yiddishkeit, and I pose the following riddle to you: I have in my possession a sterling silver kiddush cup which commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Ostriner Landsmanschaft in l930. My maternal grandfather, Isidor Galinsky, came to this country from Ostrin, Lithuania in l905, and became a shopkeeper in New Brunswick, NJ. The cup bears an inscription which I invite imaginative listmembers to decode. There are four lines on the cup. Line 2 says, in Yiddish, Ostrin. Line 3 reads =40 ANN.= Line 4 reads =1930=. Line 1 contains an apparent abbreviation in Yiddish, with the following letters appearing right to left, each followed by a period: Chet Mem Yud Aleph. This stands for something, but what? I figure that the Chet stands for =chevra=, but after that I am stumped. Can anyone guess what these letters stand for? William Wallen 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 11 Oct 94 23:12:00 UTC From: m.feins@genie.geis.com Subject: Nickname Dan Leeson's note about his father's hair color, reminds me of a somewhat similar puzzlement that I've had. My Grandmother had red hair. They called her Russi, or Rossi, but her papers listed her name as Rose. I find it hard to believe that her name was Rose, when she had an older sister named Rose, and a daughter name Rosa, or Razel. Would Russi be a nickname for redhead? Evelyn Q. Feins 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 11 Oct 94 23:21:34 EDT From: Steven_A._Leibo@MTS.RPI.EDU Subject: Grine Kuzine Martin Davis recently wrote one version of the ending of "Grine Kuzine" (and on Columbus Day, yet)! as: A shlok zol tryfn Columbus's Medina. I've heard it as: Brenen zolt Columbus's Medine. Sara Zaidspiner-Leibo 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Oct 1994 08:41:16 +0100 From: roklein@mzdmza.zdv.uni-mainz.de Subject: Re: More on "Grine Kuzine" On a Theodore Bikel CD the last line of Grine Kuzine is not "a shlok soll treffen..." but "brenen soll Columbus's medine" Robert Klein 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Oct 1994 08:44:00 +0100 From: roklein@mzdmza.zdv.uni-mainz.de Subject: jiddish theater in Germany The yiddish theater of Tel Aviv will be in Germany in this October for the first time. They"ll show Ephraim Kishon"s "Der Trauschein" in 13 Cities (in yiddish plus simultaneous translation into german). They'll be in Bonn on Oct. 19, Koeln (=Cologne) on Oct. 24 and Frankfurt/Main on Oct. 27. Robert Klein ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.135 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line 2. Sign your article (full name please) A Table of Contents is now available via anonymous ftp, along with weekly updates. Anonymous ftp archives available on: ftp.mendele.trincoll.edu in the directory pub/mendele/files Archives available via gopher on: gopher.cic.net Send articles to: mendele@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu Other business: nmiller@mail.trincoll.edu