Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.221 December 7, 1994 1) LA in the 50's (Mikhl Herzog) 2) Ohser among the Yekes (Reuven Frankenstein) 3) Ohser among the Yekes (Anno Siegel) 4) Berhkes/barkhes (Neil Jacobs) 5) Berhkes/barkhes (Reuven Frankenstein) 6) Berhkes/barkhes (Mikhl Herzog) 7) Yiddish Concert (Paula Horwitz) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 7 Dec 94 00:47 EST From: zogur@cuvmb.columbia.edu Subject: LA in the 50's Gershon Margolis: "a kleyne velt". I, too, am a Canadian who lived in LA in the early 50's and, get this, performed in a dance pantomime of Peretz's "Zibn gute yor" directed by ????? a colleague of Benjamin Zemach. Could his name have been Nathan Vizonsky? Would you or your parents know? Mikhl Herzog 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 7 Dec 1994 15:20:34 +0100 (MEZ) From: frankens@mibm.ruf.uni-freiburg.de Subject: Ohser among the Yekes Michael Shimshoni mentioned the term "ohser", which I would prefer to spell "osser". It is one of a long list of words german jews, though refraining and rejecting yiddish, still used in their german. I can remember the way my grandmother used it, when she thought the talk would harm the children: "Osser, die Kinder..." - meaning, this is forbidden to talk as long as the children stay in the room. In another context it would come as "osser-khaser". I am quite sure it stems the hebrew word "assur" (= forbidden). Reuven Frankenstein 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 7 Dec 94 10:28:12 +0100 From: anno4000@w172zrz.zrz.tu-berlin.de Subject: ohser "Ohser" does ring a bell. Apparently among maskilim there was a strong habit to quote Friedrich Schiller, especially from _Don Carlos_ "Geben sie Gedankenfreiheit, o Sir" (Give us freedom of thought, oh Sir). This latter quotation seems to have been so popular that is developed a short form "Oser zogt Schiller" which was further shortened to just "oser". These two forms were probably not used by maskilim, but in a rather ironical way by their adversaries. If this be true -- and for the life of me I can't remember where I think I read that -- "oser" has a rather bizarre etymology: An English phrase made its way into Yiddish via the quotation of a German author and it's ironical contraction. Anno Siegel 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 7 Dec 1994 08:44:48 -0500 (EST) From: njacobs@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Subject: Western Yiddish term in Swedish Michael Shimshoni recently asked for responses on how far east certain Western Yiddish terms have spread. Among other words he mentioned was "something like barshes" for khale-bread ("challah" in English). Swedish has a word--in two variants--denoting a white bread, braided: *barkis* is the general term, with the variant *bergis* used in the Stockholm area. This braided bread loaf is sold in most food stores, bakeries, and markets, and is not generally perceived of as "Jewish" by Swedes. The first legal settlement of Jews in Sweden proper dates to the late eighteenth century; they were WY speakers from Mecklenburg. Neil Jacobs 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 7 Dec 1994 15:36:18 +0100 (MEZ) From: frankens@mibm.ruf.uni-freiburg.de Subject: Barches This is again a yiddish term preserved in the colloqual german of the yekes. My father used it always instead of "khala". But imagine my surprise strolling once in the medieval town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber and discovering in a bakershop in the main street, not far from the Judengasse, a bread with the sign reading "BERCHES". The jewish name of this bread remained though the jews disappeared. This is course the case with about 300-400 original hebrew words, which found the way to the german language, either through the Yiddish or the Rotwelsch or both. Reuven Frankenstein 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 7 Dec 94 00:47 EST From: zogur@cuvmb.columbia.edu Subject: berhkes/barkhes Michael Shimshoni: Volume I of the Yiddish Atlas has a map which displays the distribution of "berkhes/barkhes" (abstracting from the variants of the medial consonant). It occupies the entire area west of the Polish-German border plus the Transcarpathian area in the South. Volume III will present it again in greater detail, in conjunction with maps of "d/ta:tsher", "khale", and other words for the Sabbath loaf (koyletsh, shtritsl, kitke). The Hebrew phrase you cite is the usual one offered in explanation, but note: While the vowels of "berkhes"/"barkhes" are easily derived from the "i" vowel of "birkat"--lowering before "r" is the rule--not so the consonant. It's easier to derive the consonant from the construct plural "birxos" (birxot). Would you agree? Furthermore, I think the earliest documentary record is actually spelled "birkhoskukhn". As for "d/ta:tsher", "taashir" is a reasonable source, given the usual neutralizations that take place in the small area of its distribution in western Germany (where, for example, we also find the merger of "dales" 'poverty' and "tales" 'prayer shawl'. Sorry, we're not finished yet. "Some" say that "berkhes" AND "khale", both BRAIDED loaves, however much they "sound like"/"look like" they're of Hebrew origin, REALLY derive from the names of the braided-haired Teutonic goddesses, Berchta and Frau Holle (note also the Western Yiddish naming ceremony "holekra:sh", presumably from "Holle" and "kreischen" 'shriek'. I don't have the reference at hand but Max Weinreich has an article on "holekra:sh"). I won't go on. Mikhl Herzog 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 07 Dec 1994 10:22:53 -0400 (EDT) From: pqh5922@acfcluster.nyu.edu Subject: Yiddish Concert I received notice of "Yiddish In the Village" Concert staring world renowned Andy Statman Klezmer Orchestra Saturday, December 24th 9 PM. Box office and doors open at 7:30 PM for classic Yiddish film screening. Champaign served. Tickets $10 and $20 at the door. This came from Congregation Darech Amuno 53 Charles Street, New York, NY 10014 Tel # (212) 242-6425. Paula Horwitz ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.221 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 Send change-of-status messages to: listserv@yalevm.ycc.yale.edu a. For a temporary stop: set mendele nomail b. To resume delivery: set mendele mail c. To subscribe: sub mendele first_name last_name d. To unsubscribe kholile: unsub mendele Other business: nmiller@mail.trincoll.edu