Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 4.400 April 30, 1995 1) Introduction (Joann Zazofsky Green) 2) Introduction (Hy Meltz) 3) Introduction (Alan Shuchat) 4) Introduction (Art Sheppard) 5) Yiddish census guide (Patty Becker) 6) Mu asapru (Rita Falbel) 7) Zhotnik (Paul Miller) 8) A nametag for Mendele (Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 29 Apr 1995 05:41:40 -0700 From: greenjz@ix.netcom.com Subject: Introduction I am a newcomer to Yiddish, stricken with all the symptoms of new romance. I am likewise new to Mendele, and hope to understand more in the coming months. What is the possiblility of a Yiddish Ulpan, like the Hebrew ones, or the Middlebury summer language school, total immersion, with grammar and readings available at several levels as students wish? I believe there would be much interest for a summer four or six week session, as well as one week or ten day sessions in fall and spring. Perhaps the NYBC in Amherst could be tempted to start one. Joann Zazofsky Green 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 29 Apr 1995 16:14:10 -0400 (EDT) From: ind01917@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu Subject: introduction Nu, vos ken ich aich zogn. I am a retired teacher of English from NYC who landed in Orlando,FL. Somehow I got myself a volunteer(read unpaid) job as the host of a weekly Jewish Hour on the radio here. I've been on for over three years now playing all kinds of music of the Jewish people;Yiddish folk songs,theatre songs,Israeli music, khazones, klezmer both old and new,Ladino,etc. I'm on every week for an hour on Sunday morning at 8AM on WUCF 89.9FM,the station of the U. of Central Florida. I'm the gantze tzimmis;the producer, the on air host,the editor,etc. I am always on the lookout for Jewsih music. Ich bin take a shnorrer. I have found Yiddish music at the Smithsonian, in the Library of Congress, wherever. I very much enjoy Mendele and Fish'ls Der Bay. Zeit ale gezunt. Ven ihr zent bay Disneyvelt git mir a geshray. 407-365-6387 A shaynem dank. Chaim, der alter zayde in Florida. Hy Meltz 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 29 Apr 1995 17:35:48 -0500 (EST) From: ashuchat@wellesley.edu Subject: Introduction I've been receiving and contributing to mendele for a while, but haven't gotten around to introducing myself. Ikh bin a matematiker bei Wellesley College, vu Larry Rosenwald oikh arbet az a maven fun english. Ven ikh bin geven a kind, mayne bobe iz gevoint mit undz. Zi un mayne eltern hobn a sakh yidish gredn, az di kinder zoln nit farshteyn. Hob ikh gelernt a bisl yidish af "self-defense." Ven ikh bin geven etlekher yor elter, hob ikh geleynt dem bukh fun Weinreich un hob afilu geshriben briven zu di bobe. Zi iz geboyren gevoren in Bessarabia ( Soroki), un mayne andere bobe-zayde zenen gekumen fun Ukraine (Tolne, vu der alter zayde iz geven a khazn), un ikh red der yidish fun dorten. Yetzt zukh ikh bikher af der yidisher leben in Bessarabia un Ukraine fun zeyer tseit. 'Siz far mir a fargenigen laynen yidish bei mendele. Yasher koyekh zum shames far zein arbet. Alan Shuchat 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 29 Apr 1995 14:37:01 -0700 From: spaceman@gn2.getnet.com> Subject: Introduction My name is Arthur Sheppard (Art to friends) and I've just started to learn Yiddish. I come from a very non-jewish home. In fact I had my Bar Mitzvah two years ago at the age of 66. Our Temple Chavurah has just started a "Yiddishkite Chavurah and I and my wife are both members. My wife (Bobby) and my sister-in-law both speak and sing in Yiddish since their mother and father were members of the Yiddish theatre in Pittsburgh many year ago. I am a retired Communications Engineer and spent many years travelling around the world in that capacity. The sobriquet "Spaceman" comes from my many years connected with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. We have four children worldwide. A son in Denver, another son in Redondo Beach, California, a daughter in Israel, and another daughter in Los Angeles, which gives us four grandchildren. So you can see my wife and I still do lots of travelling. Art Sheppard 5)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 25 Apr 95 21:32:04 EDT From: patty_becker@mts.cc.wayne.edu Subject: Yiddish census guide For Zellig Bach and others: it might make you feel just a tiny bit better to know that Barbara Bryant, Director of the Census Bureau from 1989-92, has acknowledged the problems with the Yiddish guide. This appears in her new book "Moving Money and Power" which is a chronology and perspective on her years as Census Director. As for the 2000 Census, we'll be lucky to have a Yiddish guide, or any foreign langugage guides, at all. Congress is being pretty sticky about money for everything that doesn't actually count people directly. (If anyone wants to know more about Congress and the 2000 census, or anything about the census, please email me directly.) Patty Becker 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 28 Apr 1995 13:26:47 -0400 From: rfalbel@mail.med.cornell.edu Subject: Mu asapru I was away for Pesach and when I checked my mail today, I came upon the discussion of Mu Asapru, one of my favorite songs. The version I know from one of Theo Bikel's recordings has a few differences. >der zibeter tog iz shabes siben zenen di vokhenteyt >zeks zenen di mishnayes same >finf zenen di khumoshim same >fir zenen di noshim fir zenen di emes >dray zenen di oves same >tsvey zenen di lukhes tsvey zenen di likhes >un eyner iz dokh got un eyner is der Got >un got iz eyner same >un vayter keyner same Rita Falbel 7)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 29 Apr 1995 16:23:48 -0700 From: pmiller@ix.netcom.com Subject: Zhotnik I am trying to clear up a mystery I hope you can help me with. I recently adopted a cat named "Zhotnik". Zhotnik was named by a previous owner who has since departed the scene. Thus the mystery: What's Zhotnik? I have inquired about the derivation of "Zhotnik" with Russian and Serb language newsgroups to no avail. Zhotnik himself has nothing to say on the subject. A friend suggested the word might be derived from Yiddish. I would be fascinated to hear any clues to this mystery anyone may have. Paul Miller 8)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 30 Apr 1995 10:59:11 -0400 From: shirshan@aol.com Subject: A nametag for Mendele With Mameloshn '95, Ashkenaz in Toronto, and the wonderful third International Yiddish Convention in Miami, all looming on the horizon, wouldn't it be a fargenign to be able to identify our Mendele family members in the yom fun penimer that participate? How about designating a means of identification to be worn as a nametag? I volunteer its design and an attempt to disseminate same, if you deem the idea workable and valuable. Looking forward to meeting (and easily recognizing) you, Marjorie Schonhaut Hirshan Boynton Beach, Florida [Hearing no objections, Mendele now has an official graphics designer. A dank fun undz ale.] ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 4.400 Mendele has 2 rules: 1. 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