Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.388 April 17, 1995 1) Vegn aramish un yidish (Moshe Waldoks) 2) Sholem-Aleykem belongs to all (Louis Fridhandler) 3) Sholem Aleikhem and Gogol (Jason Payne) 4) Fragment of a Purim song (Shimen Kass) 5) Yiddish Panorama exhibition (Barry Walfish) 6) Ekhod mi yodeya in Yiddish (Mikhl Herzog) 7) Ekhod mi yodeya in Yiddish (Rick Gildemeister) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 17:07:41 -0400 (EDT) From: waldoks@binah.cc.brandeis.edu Subject: vegn aramish un yidish Ikh hob nisht gemeynt tsu zogn az der yidishn Aramish (vos unzere ovos hobn amol geredt) iz dem zelbns vi hayntike Aramayishe vinklech- al achas kama vekhama- azoy vi unzere "heymishe" Aramish is arayn inem sidder, loz mir ale gefinen a Yidishe kval fun tefiles oz khutsh shul-yidn veln hern a yidish vort. A dank Morrie Feller- dos iz an onfang ober ken men hern dortn a yidishn vort yeder vokh? a zisn un kusheren peysach tsu alemen. Moshe Waldoks [For those who don't read yiddish- I have clarified my attitude towards spoken contemporary Aramaic- my reference was to the Jewish dialiect of aramaic that is found in the prayer book- (many in the Hasidic rite are of course Zohar Aramaic, a product of 13th century Spain (loyt Scholem's meynung.] 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 12 Apr 95 17:48:14 EDT From: 74064.1661@compuserve.com Subject: Sholem-Aleykem belongs to all Az men zeyt a brivl fun Zelig geyt oyf der zun. Borkhabe, Zelig. A sakh Mendelyaner gibn azoy fil mi, un makhn fun Mendele aza fayner kval fun visnshaft, yedies un komunikatsiye, Zelig besoykhem. Ober Zelig, mit zayn derfarung in Yidishe gazetn un tsaytungen iz take epes andersh. Zellig! Of course, you're right. You cannot trespass (4.384) where nobody owns the territory. Sholem-Aleykhem belongs to us all just as Yiddish belongs to us all. Your addition to my bits of knowledge about Sholem-Aleykhem are most welcome. I have chosen to specialize because getting to know a human being as thoroughly as possible makes the field he or she enriches much more alive. I am not one who accepts the modern view (or is it postmodern, ver veyst!) that the text is all, never mind the life and times and intent of the creator. I'll never forget Dick Cavett's interview of Bashevis Singer. Dick Cavett recalled Singer's statement that he (Singer) is not interested in knowing the author, just his story, and that if Tolstoy lived across the street, he (Singer) would not be interested in meeting him. Singer said, "Well, across the street, okay, I'd go, but not Flushing." I, on the other hand would go to Flushing or Kiev or Timbuktu, If I could. Louis (Leybl) Fridhandler 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 19:53:42 -0400 (EDT) From: jmpayne@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Subject: Sholem Aleikhem and Gogol For Louis Fridhandler: Having read your post on the relationship between Rabinovitsh and Gogol, I thought you might find this article interesting: Joseph Sherman, "`God and the Tsar': Ironic Ambiguity and Restorative Laughter in Gogol's `Overcoat' and Sholem Aleykhem's `On Account of a Hat'[Iber A Hitl]." in The Walking Sphinx: South African Essays on Russian Culture, edited by Henrietta Mondry. Johannesburg: University of the Witwatersrand Library, 1989. Jason Payne 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 21:40:30 EDT From: kass@umbsky.cc.umb.edu Subject: Fragment of a Purim song Purim is gone, but I cannot wait for next year to pose a question. During a recent trip to Jerusalem, I sat at Gershon Winer's warm Shabbas and Yiddish table. Inevitably, it being Purim, he whipped out copies of a Purim songbook, passed them around and we all sang. During the singing, a fragment of Purim melody and words drifted back to me, which I had sung in the Dovid Pinsky Folk Schule in Brighton Beach in the 1930's. Gershon had never heard it, nor had any of the others. Have any of you? Ratevet mir, emetzn. Unable to reproduce the melody, but here are some of the words: farflucht zol vern homan -- er is geven der ergster! Shimen Kass 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 12 Apr 1995 23:34:33 EST From: walfish@vax.library.utoronto.ca Subject: Yiddish Panorama exhibition The catalogue of the Yiddish Panorama exhibition is now available for purchase. The price is $8.00 (In Canada in Canadian dollars, in the U.S. and elsewhere in U.S. dollars). Only prepaid orders will be accepted. Please make cheques or money orders payable to: The Donner Fund, Jewish Studies Programme, University of Toronto and send to: Eva Hollander Woodsworth College University of Toronto 119 St. George St. Toronto, Ont. Canada M5S 1A9 Also, if anyone is interested in a bonus, a lecture by Chava Rosenfarb, entitled Yiddish Poets in Canada, is available free of charge. Just request it with your order. A freylekhn yontef alemen Barry Walfish 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 13 Apr 95 00:19 EDT From: zogur@cuvmb.columbia.edu Subject: Ekhod mi yodeya in Yiddish Alan Shuchat asks about _Ekhod mi yodeya_ in Yiddish. I leave the preliminary "yum ta da di dum_" to you. In my version, the central part of each of the 13 stanzas is as follow: ver s'kon reydn un ver dertseyln 1. vos der eyns batayt x2 eyner iz dokh got un got iz eyner un vayter keyner. 2. vos der tsvey batayt x2 tsvey zenen di lukhes un eyner iz dokh got un got iz eyner, etc. 3. vos der dray batayt x2 dray zenen di oves un tsvey zenen di lukhes un . . . . etc. 4. . . . fir ... fir zenen di noshim dray zenen di oves etc. 5. . . . finf . . . finf zenen di khumoshim etc. 6. . . . zeks . . . zeks zenen di mishnayes etc. 7. . . . . zibn . . . der zibeter tog iz shabes etc. 8. . . . akht . . . der akhter tog iz mile 9. . . . nayn . . . nayn khadoshim trogt men 10 . . . . tsen . . . tsen zenen di aseres hadibres 11. . . . elf . . . elf zenen di mides 12. . . . tsvelf . . . tsvelf zenen di shvotim 13. vos der draytsn batayt x2 draytsn iz bar mitsve un tsvelf zenen di shvotim un elf zenen di mides un tsen di aseres hadibres nayn khadoshim trogt men der akhter tog iz mile der zibeter tog iz shabes zeks zenen di mishnayes finf zenen di khumoshim fir zenen di noshim dray zenen di oves tsvey zenen di lukhes un eyner iz dokh got un got iz eyner un vayter keyner If anyone knows the Yiddish words to any other songs from the _hagode_, I'd be grateful for the texts. Not simply Yiddish Passover songs, but specifically Yiddish texts for songs in the _hagode_; _adir hu_ or _khad gadye_, for example. Hot mir ale a zisn un a koshern peysekh. Mikhl Herzog [A similar version was also received from Ruth Ellen Seid.] 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 13 Apr 95 09:49:48 EDT From: eeglc%cunyvm.bitnet@yalevm.cis.yale.edu Subject: Mu asapru I'm glad Alan Shuchat brought up Mu asapru (a big favorite of mine). Moyshe Oysher recorded a very beautiful rendition of this song, using Polish-Yiddish pronunciation and "tote-mome" pronunciation. I know he was from Bessarabia, and I think he was from Kishinev. "Dra zenen di totis" (hope I didn't mess up the number; Avrom, Yitskhok, un Moyshe?) Just about everything I've heard of his (I have five albums) is gorgeous and evocative. He'll make you cry. A zisn Peysekh, mayne fraynd! Rick Gildemeister ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.388 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