Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.296 January 28, 1995 1) Mendele who-is-who (Anno Siegel) 2) A Question about Shmuel-Zaynvl (Dovid Braun and Khayem Bochner) 3) Who is Moyshe Flekhter/Flekhtl (Dovid Braun) 4) The Great Apikores of Vilna (Szalom Lew Korbman) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 27 Jan 95 15:17:49 +0100 From: anno4000@w172zrz.zrz.tu-berlin.de Subject: Mendele who-is-who Dear Mendelniks, the first edition of Mendele's "ver is der doziker" is now available. The file name is who-is-who and it can be retrieved by anonymous ftp from the well known place: ftp.mendele.trincoll.edu in the directory pub/mendele/files The file consists of all introductions that have been sent to Mendele, in alphabetical order by last name. There are currently 350 of these and the file size is a little less than 400 KBytes. I intend send updates in monthly intervals near the end of each month, so new introductions will be included after a while. Also, if you have already sent an introduction and now send another, the new one will replace the old one. If you have comments, suggestions or corrections concerning the who-is-who, please send them to my address siegel@zrz.tu-berlin.de. Be well, Anno Siegel Berlin, Germany [A hartsikn dank in nomen fun ale Mendelyaner. The file will also be available in compressed form for those who use pkzip or its equivalent. Those who download the zipped form shought remember to set the ftp transmission to "bin". nm] 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 27 Jan 1995 18:34:59 EST From: dovid@mit.edu Subject: A Question about Shmuel-Zaynvl Certain Yiddish names are commonly paired, such as Menakhem-Mendl, Shrage-Fayvl, Itshe-Meyer, Doyv-Ber and there are many reasons. In the last one, for instance, a name from Semitic (Hebrew) is coupled with its Yiddish translation -- the first name reflects the name by which the name- bearer is called to the Torah and the second is the one by which he is called in everyday discourse. Khayem Bochner and I would like to know whether Shmuel-Zaynvl (variants: Zanvl, Zavl) is a common pairing. There was the pre-WWII Yiddish folklorist Shmuel-Zaynvl Pipe. Are you familiar with any others (famous ones, infamous one, or simply family members)? Please answer to my or Khayem's address and we'll summarize the results on Mendele (and we'll explain why we've asked). Thanks! Dovid Braun dovid@mit.edu Khayem Bochner bochner@das.harvard.edu 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 28 Jan 1995 00:50:24 EST From: dovid@mit.edu Subject: Who is Moyshe Flekhter/Flekhtl In the folksong section of the _Forverts_, "Leyener dermonen zikh lider", of January 13, 1995, the authors (Khane and Yosl Mlotek) discuss a children's rhyme and song which begins with the words "Afn hoykhn barg/ afn grinem groz/ shteyen a por daytshn/ mit di lange baytshn/ [...]". (This rhyme is pre-1900, so neither the Germans of WWI nor the Germans of WWII are meant, by the way.) First of all, does anybody on Mendele know this rhyme/song? Secondly. A version of it printed in the Ginzburg-Marek collection contains a stanza: "Kumt khayem der blinder/mit di tsvelf kinder/kumt moyshe flekhter/ makht on a gelekhter/oy, kha-kha-kha, oy kha-kha-kha". Perhaps Khayem der blinder and Moyshe flekhter existed, perhaps they only exist for the rhyme. I'm wondering, though, what a _flekhter_ is. Is anybody familiar with this character (from this or another rhyme/song)? And if so, how do you interpret the word? A final note: I've collected a version of the (quite popular) children's song that begins with the words: "Kumt der liber zumer/ shpiln mir in zamd" in which a character "Moyshe Flekhtl" appears in the second stanza. Now, _flekhtn_ is 'to braid (e.g. hair, a khale/challah'); _flekhtl_ is the noun form - 'braid'; and _flekhter_ is 'one who braids'. But is there any other understanding of this word or the activity that I don't understand, such that a character should have been created out of it and this character travelled from one children's song to the next? I'll be happy to receive replies at my personal e-mail address; I'll then summarize them on Mendele. Dovid Braun p.s. This possibility occurred to me: to compose rhymes in doggerel style is _flekhtn gramen_. Maybe this guy was a _gramen-flekhter_, a clown type. This accords with the description of him: "Kumt Moyshe flekhter/ makht on a gelekhter". But still, any other explanations and allusions to him known to you? 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 27 Jan 95 10:57:35 GMT From: s.korbman@agora.stm.it Subject: The Great Apikores of Vilna I know a story that is similar to the one told by Rick Turkel on the Apikores Subject. If it is similar, why tell it again and waste your time and my time? First, because it is a story that I like very much, in which I feel deeply involved; second, because similar is not equal, and the world is made up of subtle differences; third, because I discovered Mendele one week ago, I feel enthusistic about it and I have to contribute in a way or another. It goes like that: In a little shtetl in Poland lived an Apikores; he did not believe in the religious narishkaytn: he never went to Shul, he travelled on Saturdays, he ate pork. He also mocked the religious jews and met with other Apikorsim to enjoy how clever they were. Short, he was a normal Apikores and was quite satisfied of himself. He learnt that in Vilna was living a Great Apikores, the most important Apikores in his times, and decided to go and visit him, so that they could discuss how to fight the religious mob. When in Vilna, he asked were was the Great Apikores of Vilna, and they kept addressing him to the main temple. It is a mistake, he thought, who cares, I will ask inside. In the Shul was a long table, with old and wise man around it discussing Toire un Mishne. At the head of the table was sitting an impressive character, big, with a long white beard, commanding eyes, who discussed, monitored, counterbated, was the leader of every argument. Imagine the surprise of our little Apikores when he is told that that person is the famous Great Apikores of Vilna! But he is not easily frightened: he goes directly to the man and asks: - Mister! Are you the Great Apikores of Vilna? The other one interrupts his speech and looks at him; than he says, with a deep, sonorous voice: - Yes, I am the Great Apikores of Vilna. Who are you? What do you want? - I too am an Apikores and I came to visit you. But what are you doing here? Why do you waste your time speaking with these beheymes? What are you doing in this place of mishigas? - You did not study the Bible? You do not read the Talmud? - Of course not! There are much better things in life than such tedious trevia. The Great Apikores of Vilna rises to his feet and shouts: - You are not an Apikores! You are an ignoramus!" This is the story, which I think thoroughly illustrates the meaning of the _Apikores_ word and the misunderstanings it is subject to: it really means "heretic", but it is also commonly used for "non religious Jew" or "a Jew who rejected Jewry"; may be that the word also feels the influence of the non-Jewish equivalent, "epicurean", usually associated with someone who enjoys the good things of material life (typically food and sex). There remains a sheyle that I would like to ask. I am ignorant and/or an apikores: to me, the story is a vits, it makes me laugh. My wife is a gelernete un a frime, she does not laugh at it, she claims that I have it all upside down; not only that, my Jewish friends take it as a meaningful tale but nothing to laught about. Is the story humorous or not? Only for Apikores? Szalom Lew Korbman Milan, Italy ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.296 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. Provide a meaningful Subject: line 2. 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