Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.389 April 17, 1995 1) Hotzmekh (Bernard S. Greenberg) 2) Lekoved Peisakh (Moises Kijak) 3) Tundele (Ruth Ellen Seid) 4) A string game, "ettel-bettel" (Dan Leeson) 5) Sanctification of Yiddish (Matt Dailey) 6) Sovietish yiddish viglid (Avrom Brumberg) 7) Yiddish in Word 6 (Rudi Roth) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 13 Apr 1995 10:58:13 -0400 From: bsg@basistech.com Subject: Hotzmekh? Has anyone familiarity with, or a clear definition or etymology for this term? My mother (b. 1921) uses it, "You look like a _hotzmekh_!", (qometz-aleph in the first syllable) implying unkempt, ragged looking, or the like, but neither she, Weinreich, Harkavy, or several people she considers expert were able to define it adequately. Perhaps it denotes a dealer in rags, a beggar, or something on that order? Anyone? Bernard S. Greenberg 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 13 Apr 1995 14:56:48 ARG From: administ@kijak.recom.edu.ar Subject: Lekoved Peisakh Taiere fraint, mir lebn in a tzait aza, mit azoi fil problemen, az dos hobn a gelegnhait tzu gibn a lakh iz a terapevtisher mitl baitzushtein di tog-teglekhe tzores. Vil ikh take tzulib dem, zikh teiln mit aikh mit a vitz vos men hot mir ersht dertzeilt lekoved Peisaj. S'iz a maise mit tzei iunge khaveirim in Medinas Isroel, vos muzn gein dinen tzu der zelber tzait. Einem shikt men in Negev un er muz durkhmakhn altz vos a zelner muz durkhmakhn. Farshteit zikh az kain honik lekt er nisht. Dem tzveitn, a dank di protektzie, gelungt tzu blaibn in Tel Aviv in an ofis. Ale nekht iz er frai un shloft bai der kale (un mit der kale, farshteit zikh). Bekitzer, er lebt vi Got in Odes. Nokh etlekhe khadoshim, bashlist er khasene tzu hobn. Shikt er take tzum khaver in Negev an ainladung. Dem khaver hot di dozike maise zeier fardrosn, ober vos kon er ton. Shikt er im a briv ful mit vintchevanies tzu der khasene. Ober er vil im fort gibn a shtokh. Tut er es oif aza oifn. Baim sof fun dem briv git er tzu ot dem zatz: Iker shakhakhti, ma nishtano halailo haze mikol haleilois? Der tel aviver khaver derhalt dem briv, farshteit ienems mein, un entfert im oif a fraintlekhn oifn. Un tzum sof git er tzu: vegn dain kashe ma nistano halailo haze mikol haleilois? ken ikh dir entfern az halailo haze shtei peomim. Hot mir ale a frilekhn Peisakh. Moises Kijak 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 13 Apr 1995 22:55:36 -0700 From: ad395@lafn.org Subject: Tundele [Regarding Vulvush Lazer Gershgorn's question (Vol.4.385):] My great aunt (on my mother's side) and my grandmother (on my father's side) used to do something similar. First she'd pretend-spit (tuh, tuh, tuh) on the palm, then, gently poking/stroking the palm with her forefinger she would sing something like this (as near as I can remember): Sorinke, borinke Tema katchke, nevarile (then, wiggling each finger): Temeh daleh, temeh daleh, temeh daleh, temeh daleh (then going from the thumb up and wiggling fingers up the arm): Ooootch ootch ootch ootch ootch ootch The "temeh daleh" part sounds like it could be a little like your "tundele." I also vaguely remember seeing something that was surprising like this fingerplay in a book (maybe a book of fingerplays) in the children's section of the library where I used to work, but I believe the book indicated it was from some slavic country. It didn't say anything about it being in Yiddish. I'll see if I can dig it up somewhere. Ruth Ellen Seid 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 13 Apr 1995 23:40:02 EDT From: leeson@aspen.fhda.edu Subject: A string game, "ettel-bettel" The game of "cat's cradle" played for hours with a piece of string, looped and tied, is as I remember called "ettel bettel" in Yiddish. Does anyone know the origin of this name for the game in question? It sounds almost as if it is made up of nonsense syllables but I say that out of ignorance more than anything. Dan Leeson Los Altos, California 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 14 Apr 1995 08:23:18 -0400 (EDT) From: mdailey@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu Subject: Sanctification of Yiddish I have been following the ongoing discussion on the subject of "the Sanctification of Yiddish" and have seen several good suggestions, but no one has mentioned tkhines. Tkhines are Yiddish prayers composed by men and women mainly for the use of women. These prayers cover all aspects of life, and are pure spiritual gold. A recent work, "Bizkes Emoes, The Merit of Our Mothers", by Tracy Guren Klirs, Hebrew Union College Press, Cincinnati, 1992; is a bilingual anthology of Jewish women's prayers, in Yiddish and in English. Anyone interested in the sanctification of Yiddish should find this book. It would be an important addition to any Shul, or to anyone's personal devotions. If anyone is interested in more information on tkhines they can contact me personally. Matt Dailey 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 15 Apr 1995 11:43:03 -0400 (EDT) From: jwoll@cldc.howard.edu Subject: Sovietish yiddish viglid tsi veyst emetser dem gantsn text fun a lid vos der refreyn fun im iz "oy, hob ikh a tatn/hot er a por ferd/ un afile shabes/akert er di erd." ikh ken dem ferz un melodie nor nit dem gantsn tekst, un ikh bin zikher az dos kumt fun a lid geshribn in di draysiker oder tsvantsiker yorn fun a yidishn sovietishn poet--efsher izi kharik? oyb emetser hot dem tekst, oder veyst vu es gefint zikh lozt mir visn. avrom brumberg 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: 16 Apr 95 11:54 GMT From: rothr@infomail.infonet.com Subject: Yiddish in Word 6 I am trying to use Word to type Yiddish. I am trying out WGreek version 1.9, that contains some macros for reverse typing and overstrike of characters. However in Word 6 for Windows, I have always a space at the right of the overstroke character and part of that field, and I can't get rid of it unless editing the field. I have built some macros (had to learn some of it now) to clean this space, and at the same time made special Yiddish macros in Word, but it is not very elegant (One sees the equation used to build it and written in hebrew...). I tested the same macros in word 2., and surprise, surprise, I had no problem there of additional space. Did someone else encounter the same problem and found a solution to get rid of that anoying space character in Word 6? I am willing to share what I did to solve it in my case, as well as all the special yiddish macros. Is there another system than Wgreek, that allows to type in Yiddish in word 6 ( and also constructing correctly the Fey and Peyz characters!!!)? Does someone know how to address the end-of-line and next-line problem in right to left typing? I think that it is possible to solve with another macro, but none of the programs I have seen (R2L or Wgreek 1.9) solve it correctly (the begin of the yiddish line already typed in, goes to the next line, what is wrong and needs manual correction and attention at each line). A guten Pesakh Rudi Roth Belgium ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.389 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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