Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 6.014 June 11, 1996 1) Yiddish is down, but not out (Leybl Botvinik) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Tue, 11 Jun 1996 13:57:40 +0300 (IDT) From: leybl@telecomm.tadiran.co.il Subject: Yiddish is down, but not out To paraphrase Mark Twain (also known amongst Yiddish lovers as the "American Sholem Aleikhem"): The news of the demise of Yiddish is premature. In her article entitled "Shule Daze: Is Yiddish back from the dead?" (New Republic, May 27, 1996), Ruth Wisse would have us believe that the Yiddish language and culture has finally departed the world of the living; Yiddish, once spoken by about 10 Million Jews worldwide has gone through the worst physical and spiritual tortures thought up by the cruel minds of men. Yiddish has been mistreated by both 'friend and foe', and is truely bruised and battered, --- but not shattered, and has not said its last word. The Germans and their cohorts could not extinguish Yiddish, not even after killing off millions of its speakers during World War II. The Soviets could not totally extinguish the light of Yiddish, even after closing all Jewish schools, executing and causing the 'disappearance' of the major Yiddish intelectuals, etc., cutting off all contact with the rest of the world's Jewish populations, and suppressing almost all Yiddish creativity. Even the modern State of Israel, which has in the past negated and is still actively participating in damaging Yiddish (mostly in the countries of the former Soviet Union), has adopted certain governmental legislations to protect the Yiddish language and culture. But let us return to our expert, apparently one of a "handful" (her word). Even in the North American arena Yiddish has not entirely disappeared. Ruth Wisse has been misleading audiences during at least the last two decades, with fairly correct historical facts, but with sly, misleading interpretations of the present and future potential of Yiddish. In 1986 a tremendous stir was raised by an interview with her entitled "No Tears" by Marilyn Silverstein a staff writer for an American Jewish periodical. The opening line was: "The Yiddish language is dying and, remarkably, Ruth R. Wisse is not sorry to see it go." She goes on to be quoted saying: "I am certainly not one who mourns the decline of Yiddish in America..." and further we find "It's a crime to be sentimental [-] {about the decline of Yiddish- MS} [-] It's criminal." With friends like Ruth Wisse, Professor of Yiddish and Comparitive Literature at Harvard, who needs enemies. In response to her wisdom, Dr. Mordkhe Schaekhter, one of the most renowned and respected authorities on Yiddish Language, wrote in the Yiddish Forward about her and Dr. Benjamin Hrushovski [my translation]: "... It is best to ignore them, because what they want, these "kavronim" (gravediggers)... is publicity... Had they said something positive about Yiddish, who would have noticed..." Ruth Wisse is like a bad doctor giving the prognosis of a hit-and-run victim on the basis of the superficial, ugly wounds, stating that the patient is dead or dying, without checking out all of the internal damage. Worse yet, she doesn't care or bother to administer any aid in trying to save the patient. Thus, Ruth Wisse would like us to believe that there are only two alternatives for American Jewry vis-a-vis the survival of the Yiddish language: Assimilation (and abandoning Yiddish) or segregation/seperation (and abandoning English). There are, however, other possibilities. Her short sightedness doesn't allow her to see beyond her preconceived conclusions. Although the assimilation of American Jewry into the American English milieu is a fact, the assimilation is not total and complete, nor is it irreversable. Besides, the US is not the only place where Yiddish lives. Allow me to put forth several counter-arguments and suggestions, and to present some other facts which she is ignoring or misinterpreting. This different viewpoint is, by the way, shared by more than a "handful" of experts and intelectuals, which will be joining me, as we shall see further, this summer in Israel to discuss the present and future of Yiddish. Let's start by looking at her 'expert position'. She first leads her unknowing audience along with a premise that Yiddish is dead. By using such opening statements as "back from the dead", "revival", and "renaissance", she immediately sets the tone of the article. Then, after having made her expert or scientific diagnosis, she begins a vivisection of her subject in order to 'prove the facts' of the claim. Having made or led to the statement that Yiddish is dead, she then begins to present the facts (many of which are true) of the weakening of Yiddish and the assimilation of the Jew into North American English culture. Ruth Wisse seems to base much of her position on the 'inherent logic' of man: "Jews could only effect a Yiddish revival today if they were prepared to 'deassimilate'...they are not likely to..." Ruth forgets, that the Jew is just as illogic as any man (or woman). Experts had once claimed that no one would ever succeed in flying, or reaching outer space. And to rebuild the Jewish state and revive the Hebrew language after 2000 years of exile --- who would have believed that that were possible? Some people, fortunately did not listen to the 'nay sayers', and we thank them to this day. Even in the various Hasidic communities, some efforts have been made to preserve and protect Yiddish as a living language, negating Wisse's claim that "Members of these communities are devoted to Jewish Law, not language". The following three examples should disprove her global judgement (condemnation?): 1) Several years ago a group of respected rabbis called for members of their communities to speak Yiddish and not English because of the fear of assimilation; 2) The late Rabbi of the Tsanzer khasidim (such as in in the community Kiryat Tsanz, just outside of Netanya in Israel) left in his will a decree that Jewish children should be taught Yiddish. As a result, special language classes and workshops were set up for the girls to learn to read, write, and speak Yiddish (the boys know Yiddish and use it in their studies, but not in written form); 3) The teachers of the Woman's Teacher's Seminary of the Bet Yaakov (religious) schools in Israel have just received a new, modern illustrated book for teaching Yiddish to girls in the schools. Book 2 should be coming out within the year. The orthography is according to the secular YIVO standard and not like the haphazard works which have appeared in the past. The Yiddish academic world should take note of how Wisse slights the level of training and knowledge of those working in the field. She claims that there are only a "handful of trained scholars who are capable of translating, editing, teaching and interpreting..." What is her numeric claim of a "handful": 10-20? There are many, many more than that. In any case, even a "handful" of scholars could train several hundred. In 4-10 years, we could in theory have (15 scholars * 100 students)= 15 hundred 'new scholars'... who could then prepare several tens of thousands more... Note also, that Yiddish teacher training and retraining is being offered at many sites and universities throughout the world (Canada, Mexico, Israel, US, countries of the former Soviet Union) to prepare teachers for the thousands of elementary and high school children learning Yiddish as a 2nd or 3rd language. In Israel alone, there are more than 70 such teachers now being prepared for work in teaching Yiddish in the public schools. There is a new breed of performer, actor, singer of Yiddish. In fact, there are formal attempts to train new interpretors of Yiddish. Here in Israel the YiddiShpil National Yiddish Theatre has opened a school for retraining Hebrew actors for the Yiddish stage. New Yiddish writers, many from the former Soviet block countries have begun producing in Israel and elsewhere. A new children's publication "Kind-un-Keyt" has just appeared in Israel, and will be published quarterly. There is even talk of a new or revamped Yiddish weekly to appear in the very near future with a staff of dynamic young writers and journalists. Yiddish computer edutainment and CD ROMS's are just around the corner. This summer in Israel, from the 29th to the 31st of July, some of the world's most important young Yiddish intellectuals, writers, teachers, performers, academics, etc will be getting together at three university sites, for some fun and brain-storming in Yiddish to take some first steps in mapping out future directions for Yiddish, including the use of new technologies in Yiddish education, entertainment and academic learning. In fact, several key individuals will not be able to be there in person, but will be hooked in via Internet and other modern vehicles of telecommunications. This will form the basis for a new infrastructure of activity in and for Yiddish among the new generation of Yiddish lovers. The get-together called "Yidish Eybik Yung" (Yiddish Forever Young) is being called together by the Israeli Hemshekh Dor Libhobers fun Yidish (New generation lovers of Yiddish) and the NY based Yugntruf Youth for Yiddish. Participating will be Youth representatives of some of the leading academic centres for Yiddish and educational institutes in Israel and in the world. Let me challenge Ruth Wisse to participate in the conference. One of the mottoes of the American revolution was "Don't tread on me". Yiddish asks the same of her and others who would bury the patient alive, before trying to save him. The patient, Yiddish, is worth saving. I suggest, that Professor Wisse redirect her energies in trying to help keep Yiddish alive and flourishing, instead of kicking it when it is down. But no matter, Yiddish has survived much worse than R. Wisse's doomsday prophesies. The great Yiddish writer, poet and playwrite H. Leivick put it best in his famous song "Eybik" (Eternal): "... ikh bren un ikh bren un ver nit farbrent nor heyb zikh oyf vider un shpan avek vayter" [... I burn and I burn and am not consumed but raise myself up, and my journey resume] Leybl Botwinik ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 6.014