Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.282 January 17, 1995 1) Der ershter yidishist (Aren Portnoy) 2) Ameratses un kehune (Dovid Braun) 3) Prakes (Mikhl Herzog) 4) Yidish fun Grois Vashington (Mendy Fliegler) 5) Fedder-Fraynt (Avrom Yitzkhok Blair) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 16 Jan 1995 17:37:16 -0500 (EST) From: ep73@columbia.edu Subject: Der ershter yidishist In Louis Fridhandler's post, Sholem-Aleykhem's Zhargon standards, of Mendele Vol. 4.274, he mentions that "Sholem-Aleykhem seems to have been one of the first modern Yiddishists (before there was such a word) to see a complete language in _Zhargon_." This brings to mind one of the forgotten, though undoubtedly vital, characters in the history of the Yiddish language, namely Yehoyshue Lifshits. Lifshits was a writer for kol mevasser, the first Yiddish newspaper to appear in Russia (Oct. 11, 1862) and was best known for his articles defending and promoting the Yiddish language. One of these articles, di fir klasn (km, issues 21, 23-25, 1863; also reprinted in Shikl Fishman's, Never Say Die, p. 259-265), laid the basic arguments in defense of Yiddish in the face of its many detractors. In di fir klasn, Lifshits conceived that Yiddish (mame-loshn) must be the language in which the Jewish people should be educated (at the time, the Jewish intelligentsia promoted either Russian or German for the purpose of education) and that the language should be built up to accomodate culturally and scientifically elevated terms in order to enlighten a people that no one else wanted to enlighten. Unlike the vast majority of19th century maskilim, Lifshits felt that Yiddish had, just as any other language, unlimited potential and that any limitation it did have was due only to lack of proper cultivation. In the introduction to his Russian-Yiddish Dictionary (1869, and the first to appear), he wrote that his initial proposals (late 1850's) on behalf of Yiddish language and modern mass culture in Yiddish were at first laughed at by his maskilic peers. One of those who mocked him was none other than Aleksander Tsederboym, editor and publisher of kol mevasser, who pinched Lifshits' idea of publishing a Yiddish newspaper to prop up his economically flagging Hebrew weekly, ha-meylits. It might also be added that Lifshits is said to have convinced mendele moykher sforim to begin writing in Yiddish (dos kleyne mentshele was first serialized in km). If that hadn't happened, we just might be subscribers to an e-journal named shloymele. aren portnoy 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 17 Jan 1995 01:25:43 EST From: dovid@mit.edu Subject: Ameratses un kehune a yid an amorets geyt tsum rov ba zikh in shtot betn, yener zol em makhn far a koyen. vil der rov nit. bet zikh der yid un bet zikh, geyt tsu a tsveytn, bet zikh vayter. der tsveyter zogt zikh oykh op. geyt der yid arum tsu andere rabonim un ale entfern em "eyn mol neyn!" kumt der yid sofklsof on tsu khabar -- er pakt a rov vos lozt zikh unterkoyfn. vifl vet ober der rov nemen far derfar? se lozt zikh oys, az nit mer un nit veyniker vi tsen toyznt toler. git em der yid di tsen toyznt toler, git em der rov di kehune un der yid iz a tsufridener. ruft zikh opet tsum yidn der rov nokhn gantsn eysek un fregt em: "zogt mir akorsht, reb yid, far vos zhe hot ir dos azoy gevolt vern a koyen? far vos iz dos dir azoy gegangen in lebn?" "vos heyst 'far vos'?!" entfert der yid. "vayle mayn tate iz geven a koyen un mayn tatns tate iz geven a koyen un mayn tatns tatns tate far em oykhet. ot derfar." Dovid Braun (a dank Khasye Segal) 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 16 Jan 95 17:31 EST From: zogur@cuvmb.columbia.edu Subject: Prakes One of numerous regional designations for 'stuffed cabbage'. Others are of the the _holeptses_, and _geviklte kroyt_ variety and, for those who love a mystery, at some locations in Southwestern Poland, the word is [ta:belekh]. Mikhl Herzog 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 16 Jan 1995 12:16:32 -0500 From: sroolik@aol.com Subject: Yidish fun Grois Vashington Hertz khevre, der kumindiker farzamlung fun der direktzie fun Yidish fun Grois Vashington vet forkimen dem Donershtik, dem 19 Yanuar. Mir velen huben an interesanter kultur-halb shu in yidish, halb nukh zibn. Mendy Fliegler 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 16 Jan 1995 21:19:14 -0500 (EST) From: ablair@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Subject: Fedder-Fraynt Mayne tayere Fedder-Fraynt: Our project is coming along very nicely. We have folks from all over the US, Europe, Israel, Australia, and other far-away places. I have six Fedder-Fraynt myself, and all seem like, close, dear friends (sounds corny, but it's true). The Fedder-Fraynt project sprang from my own Fedder-Fraynt. Being a Fedder-Fraynt hardly takes any time at all. Your only investment is writing a few lines of Yiddish 3-4 times a year. The dividends are terrific! How about some of you khevre signing up as Fedder-Fraynt. We have only one from New York City (shem zakh!), _nobody_ from Canada. I know there are trillions of Yiddisher shrayber there. C'mon neighbors! This is our line-up so far: Sergey Berkner(Russia) Leon Janis (Alaska) Minna Blayer (New York) Kaylee Goodman (California) Sheldon Clare (Pennsylvania) Robin Sasson (South Africa) Raphael Finkel (Kentucky) Abram Fleischman (Latvia) Katrin Hellerstein (Pennsylvania) Lisa-Leah Jenschke (Ohio) Kirsten Hoge (England) Chaja Arolowisch (Lativia) Jonathon Einhorn (Ohio) Penina Finkel (Kentucky) Celia Jones (Australia) Debra Halper Biasca (Colorado) Jay Lee (California) Colleen McCallum (Ohio) Rosa Linger (Latvia) Brian Zumhagen (California) Jason Payne (Ohio) Elliot Gertel (Californis) Rose Shlecker (California) [unmatched at this time] Seymour Shaffner (New Jersey) Pamela Abramson (California) Aviva Tal (Israel) Sean Martin (Ohio) Anna Verschichik (Estonia) Matthew Daily (Ohio) Leah Zazulyer (New York) Harvey Friedman (Arizona) Francesca Zuniga (California) unmatched at this time Tranliteration only Well, now you see our great little group. Great, but we need, especially for overseas. I have an 8 Year-old who would like to correspond with another youngster about her age. You non-participators out there don't know what you're missing. Please! Zayt azay gut.......lozt heren fun aykh. Avrom Yitzkhok (Allan) Blair 56 South Roosevelt Avenue Columbus, Ohio 43209 ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.282 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. 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