Mendele: Yiddish literature and language ______________________________________________________ Contents of Vol. 6.037 July 22, 1996 1) Searching for an-sky (Joshua Fogel) 2) Anti-Yiddish sentiment in Israel (Michael Shimshoni) 3) Unwed mothers (Kees Booy) 4) Akeda in Yiddish literature (Marti Krow-Lucal) 5) Akeda in Yiddish literature (Moishe Kijak) 6) A forleyg (Moishe Kijak) 1)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 10:31:06 +0900 From: fogel@zinbun.kyoto-u.ac.jp Subject: Searching for an-sky I am in Kyoto, Japan for this year as a visiting professor of history and I have indirectly begun to make the acquaintance of a Japanese professor here who has thus far unsuccessfully been trying to track down a copy of the text of Sh. An-sky's famous play, _der dibek_. He has a copy of the classic film and wanted to get a copy of the text. If anyone out there has the text and they'd be willing to make a copy of, we'd be more than happy to reimburse you for copying and mailing. Please respond to me at: fogel@humanitas.ucsb.edu My mail is being forwarded from my home university. Many thanks. Joshua Fogel 2)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 22 Jul 96 10:29:28 +0300 From: mash@weizmann.weizmann.ac.il Subject: Anti-Yiddish sentiment in Israel Unfortunately I am not a great "meyven fun yidish", but I love the language within my limitations, and follow Mendele with much pleasure. Still I was really shocked to see to what extend "love" of Yiddish can bring some people as I read in Mendele Vol. 6.035 what Sylvia Schildt wrote in connection with the status of Yiddish in Israel. I do not think that she was quite correct with: "hitler un zayne antisemitishe mithelfer hobn gevolt farnikhtn dos yidishe folk bkhlal -- un yidish bfrat". I do not think that Hitler yimakh shemoy was concerned with killing Yiddish, he wanted to kill all Jews, whatever language they spoke. But this is a minor point and I can even understand, and *almost* accept her "mir torn im nit opgebn a nitzokhn nokhn krig. ven men shtitzt mame loshn shpayt men di sonim in ponem". But I wish to protest strongly against wild comparisons like her: "ven men harget yidish (azoy vi es tut der burg) iz men a shutef mit di ale natzis un andere antisemitn vos hobn im azoy frayvilik aroysgrholfn". I know that sometimes Yiddish publicists like exaggerations to make a point, but I consider it fairly disgusting to compare "der burg" with "ale natzis" by being their shutef. I can well understand that some people are very upset about what they consider some actions of Avrum Burg, but I always thought that one should remember that yiden are yiden and natzis are natzis. Never forget that! Michael Shimshoni Rehovot, Israel 3)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 14:34:57 +0200 (MET DST) From: booybrcl@worldonline.nl Subject: Unwed mothers Could anybody on Mendele tell me about the situation of the jewish unwed mother in Galicia at the end of the last century. Prof.Fuks told me that they were no longer accepted by their family. Therefore they often had to live in great poverty in another shtetl. Are there any studies on their situation? Are there yiddish writers who treated this theme in their novels or poems? Salamon Dembitzer wrote in short stories on the life of his mother, who was unwed, however without saying explicitely that she was. Kees Booy 4)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 10:24:48 -0400 From: kromobile@aol.com Subject: Akeda in Yiddish literature Daniel Soyer should check the introduction to the Penguin Anthology of Yiddish Verse (bilingual), eds. Irving Howe, Eleazar Greenberg and Khone Shmeruk. If I remember correctly, the writer in question was H. Leivick, who later included a wonderful discussion between Job and Isaac (and the ram!) in his verse play "in di teg fun iov" (1953). If anyone knows of other Yiddish akeda writings (poems, stories, commentaries, etc.) I would be very grateful to hear about them. I have Manger's akeda poems from the "khumesh lider" but am most interested in anything else anyone may know of. Marti Krow-Lucal Sunnyvale 5)-------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 19:23:27 ARG From: kijak@einstein.com.ar Subject: Akeda in Yiddish literature Daniel Soyer fregt zikh epes vegn der akeyde. er meint zikher h. leiviks zikhroines. es iz gedrukt in zayn bukh: eseien un redes (kultur kongres 1963). Moishe Kijak 6)---------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 22 Jul 1996 19:23:27 ARG From: kijak@einstein.com.ar Subject: A forleyg Sylvia Schildt hot ersht ongeshribn a zeltn shein lid vegn idish. es zenen faran in undzer reshime fil talantirte shraiber un dikhter vos voltn zikher geshribn mer, ven es volt geven vu tzu drukn zeiere arbetn. ikh volt forgeleigt az es zol zain a literarishe bailage, ein mol oder tzvei mol in khoides, kedei tzu drukn di literarishe shafungen. oib undzer shames vet darfn hobn ver es zol im tzuhelfn, veln zikher zain fraivilike vos veln es ton. vos klert ir vegn dem? ikh vart oif ayer entfer. zait ale gezunt. Moishe Kijak ______________________________________________________ End of Mendele Vol. 6.037