Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.275 January 15, 1995 1) Ho-admur; introduction (Berel Leiser) 2) Again about the Vilner Ge'on (Leon lipson) 3) Recognized English usage of yiddish words (Moshe Waldoks) 4) Lamed-vovnik--a query (Diane Rabson) 5) Umbeshrign (Jack Feldman) 6) Vos iz mendele (Chane Honig) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 12 Jan 95 12:10:47 EST From: leiser@pacevm.dac.pace.edu Subject: Ho-admur; introduction I have just had the pleasure of reading Reb Zellig Bach's posting on the Vilna Gaon, Zal, and thought a small comment might be of some interest. Reb Zellig translates "Ho-admur" as "the teacher." Well, that's not wrong, exactly, but as a mefunak (a finicky guy who likes precision), permit me to add th e following details: "Ho-admur" (hey, alef, dalet, mem, vav, resh) is customarily prefixed to the na mes of Hasidic rebbes. L'moshel, "Ho-admur mi-Bobov, sh'lita," i.e., the Admur from Bobov, sh'lita. "Ho-admur" in full is "Ho-adon moreynu v'rabbeynu," "the master, our teacher and our rabbi." It's an honorific, all right, and a rathe r special one at that. While we're at it, what about this "sh'lita" business? (shin, lamed, yod, tes, alef). "She-yichyeh l'yomim tovim, omeyn," "may he live for good days, omeyn." Since I have never introduced myself to my fellow Mendelniks, and I see that such is the minhog, let me take this opportunity. I'm a professor of philosophy and adjunct prof. of law at Pace University in New York (philosophy in Pleasantville and law in White Plains). I grew up in Denver, got a little yiddish learning in New York, spent three splendid years in Montreal, where I acquired an appreciation of mamme loshen that might have escaped me if I had not had the opportunity to meet some of the wonderful Montrealers and participate in their very special evenings of poetry at the Lermers'. (By the way, does anyone know where they are now?) I'm most pleased to join your chevra, and look forward to reading your postings and to contributing, from time to time. Meanwhile, my wish for all Mendelniks is that sheyich'yu l'yomim tovim, omeyn. Burton (Berel) Leiser 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 12 Jan 1995 01:52:03 -0500 From: llipson@mail.law.yale.edu Subject: Again about the Vilner Ge'on The Ge'on of Vilna (see Zellig Bach's posting, mendele 4.272) plays a bit part in a story told by the Hasidim. One evening, in a shtetl in the Ukraine, a Hasidic preacher, or magid, opens his door to a knock and is surprised to find a local businessman, orthodox and anti-hasidic (what the Hasidim call an adversary, a misnagid). He welcomes the unusual guest, who tells him, "As you know, I do not hold with you or your beliefs or your ways, but I have a dreadful problem. I should like to put it to the Vilner Ge'on, but my business keeps me here and my problem gives me no relief, so I am come to you on the slim chance that you may be of some help." "So what is your problem?" "My late father, may he rest in peace, is precisely not resting in peace. He comes to me every night in my dreams, insisting that I convert to Christianity. You knew what a pious and devout Jew he was; never never in this world would he have entertained such a thought; but now from the other world he torments me with this demand." "Take up your father's body from the grave. You will find that some sticks of coffin furniture have fallen on his breast in the form of a cross, and that is what has been weighing down his soul. Straighten the sticks, bury your father again, and he really will rest in peace." The misnagid, incredulous, thanks the magid and leaves. The terrible spectral visits continue. At last the misnagid follows the magid's advice, and to his astonishment everything turns out as the magid had said. The misnagid's nights are peaceful again. He is impressed and grateful, and in a few months, finding himself in Vilna, he obtains audience of the Ge'on to tell him of this wonder. The Ge'on listens attentively and comments: "Quite interesting, indeed. It happens that this very matter is touched on in an obscure and difficult passage in the Jerusalem Talmud. The more credit to your magid down there." On his return to the shtetl the misnagid waits upon the magid and bestows on him the praise from the Ge'on. The magid replies: "Hmm. The Ge'on knows it from the Jerusalem Talmud? _I_ know it from where the Jerusalem Talmud knows it from." Leon Lipson 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 12 Jan 1995 15:12:52 -0500 (EST) From: waldoks@binah.cc.brandeis.edu Subject: Recognized English usage of yiddish words I,too, have encountered Kathryn Hellerstein's situation when writing for the popular press. "Khutspe" just doesn't make (the success of Dershowitz's book with the amerikaner spelling didn't help. As to the list, nor bei uns yidn iz faran azoyn mishigas. tsvey yidn, dray da'es. Fuftzig yidn finif minyonim. Ikh farshtey nisht forvos mir putert tsayt redn vegn a shpaltung in unsere hevreh, z'loyt vus- az a por fun unsere khevre hobn faynt iberleynen a philologishe oder linguistishe dermonung- dos is farvos is do a "delete' an oysmekung gelegenhayt in usere computers. Genug shoyn fun di kleynmensch- lich tsugang tsu di inyonim. mit kovid Reb Moshe Waldoks 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 12 Jan 1995 13:48:52 -0700 From: rabson@meeker.ucar.edu Subject: Lamed-vovnik--a query I am writing a biography of my great-grandfather, Moshe Yehoshua Rabinovich, who came from Vishneva, a shtetl near Vilna, to the U.S. c. 1903. His son remembers that "Papa spent a great deal of time in the 1930's filling many composition books with fine Yiddish script. I once asked him what he was writing and he told me that it was a fantasy describing a group of people who went around the world doing good deeds, like building dams, bridges, mills, etc." When I repeated this story to a friend, she said it sounded the "Lamed- Vovnik" story about the souls who are re-born in each generation to make the world better. Can anyone shed any light on this story? A dank, Diane Rabson 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 12 Jan 1995 14:44:08 -0800 From: feldman@math.berkeley.edu Subject: Umbeshrign A friend asks me if I know a Yiddish word something like "umbeshrign", which he thinks means something like "knock on wood". I don't, and can't find it in Weinreich. Does it ring a bell for any of you? Jack Feldman 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 12 Jan 1995 17:54:20 -0500 (EST) From: ahonig@mailbox.syr.edu Subject: Vos iz mendele Tayere Mendelnikes, A shaynem dank tsu Reb Fridhandler... er hot azoy gut derklert vus is Mendele. Bei mir in heym vet zeyn Zuntig, January 29 2 pm. a meeting of undzerer Yiddishe group.. vos hayst kumzitz. In Syracuse, New YOrk, vu mir redn a bisl, lernen a bisl, Yiddish tsuzammen every two months or so... tsum bayshpil, we read a short story of Sholem Aleykhem...or discuss an article in Yiddish ( one that got everyone going was an article in Yiddish on Israeli men who blackmail their wives and won't give a get unless the wife gives up the appartment!) In any case, on the 29th ( at 317 allen st. in Syracuse) I and Arre Komar will do a program of Yiddish folk songs. All mendelniks are of course invited to come sing a bisl oif yiddish oichet . But in addition, the kumzitz members have had their curiosity piqued about what is Mendele. and have asked me to speak on this( I cannot do it in Yiddish...until I read Reb Fridlander's vunderbar verte..so i will bring my lap top down into the living room..and show them some Mendele postings which i have saved into a special file called Mendele on my computer. azoy soln zey visn.. nu...di beste is the eloquent beautiful words of Louis Fridlandler.. about what we are. so I will read those aloud in Yiddish far undzer mitgliders muz zogn vi ich bin tsufriden tsu zayn oyf mendele. no splitting please! Mendele is precious ..even for those of us who mostly "lurk " and kvell" from mendele reportages, fusses, anecdotes...and even technicial and fascinatingly arcane bits of linguistics. Zoln undzere shammos lebn biz hundert und tvantsik!... zay gezunt allemen. Chane Honig ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.275 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. 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